You know what’s better than $1 million? $1 billion. Which is not only a line from some film or other (The Social Network, truth be told) but is also what must have gone through the minds of Kevin Systrom and co. when Facebook came a-knockin’ at Instagram HQ. So Instagram is now in the hands of Mark Zuckerberg, and who knows what future plans he has for this almighty (at least in terms of userbase) photo-sharing app.

Spotify recently added a new selection of apps to its platform. We have already looked at five of the best, including Classify and Tweetvine, but here are another five worth exploring in order to get the most out of the music streaming service from Sweden. What the following five Spotify apps all have in common is that they’re run by and for specific record labels. Which is a notable change in strategy.

Draw Something is the current darling of the mobile games industry, having achieved huge popularity around the world in a short space of time. In fact, it’s been crowned the fastest-growing mobile game of all time thanks to 50 million downloads in its first 50 days of being available. Zynga saw so much potential there it bought the company behind the game just to get its hands on this one title.

I have accounts on several social networking sites, and spend far too long on them writing my own updates and reading the updates of others. I enjoy doing so, being able to interact with friends, family, and random strangers online in a controlled environment. For someone who works at home, this is a big positive. However, social networking sites aren’t a wholly positive influence on the world.

We geeks know what we are and revel in our existence as our place in society grows ever stronger. We are geeks, we are proud, and we’re not going anywhere. As the Internet becomes a bigger part of everybody’s lives, we are the ones who they, the non-geeks, will turn to for help and advice. And we will offer that help and advice without hesitation. There are some fantastic resources on the Web for geeks, of all ages and all kinds.

Google Chrome has come from nowhere to be the third most-popular web browser in the world. It’s rapidly catching up to Firefox, which is currently sitting in second place behind the omnipresent Internet Explorer from Microsoft. How on earth has it achieved such a feat? By being new and different, and offering speed and efficiency above all else. At least in its early days.

At the end of 2011, Spotify, the insanely popular and rapidly growing music-streaming service, added apps into its already heady mix of awesomeness. There were some true gems hidden in there, with 5 of the apps in particular being truly addictive. Several months later and Spotify has added a second round of apps to its service. This next generation of apps are a mixed bag.

The current generation of home games consoles – the Wii, the PS3, and the Xbox 360 – have all been with us for some time. This seventh-generation began in 2005 with the release of the Xbox 360. The Microsoft console was joined by Nintendo’s innovative new motion-control-based Wii and Sony’s more-of-the-same PS3 a year later in 2006. By industry standards this is a long-lasting generation.

The Google logo is recognized the world over. It’s a logo that many people see on a daily basis as they make the Google homepage their first port of call in exploring the wider web. It’s simple and yet iconic at the same time. But no one wants to see the same old logo staring back at them every time they search for something online, do they? Google doesn’t think so.

I personally cannot fathom the mindset of people who queue for the latest gadget on launch day. I’ve tried, I really have, but I think it’s a bizarre choice to queue up for hours or even days, through all weathers, purely in order to purchase a next-gen device in person. There is absolutely no need to ever queue for a new gadget on day one as, the Internet means queuing is unnecessary.

The fourth wall is the invisible wall which separates the audience from a performance, whether it be on stage, on television, in movies, or in video games. Breaking the fourth wall is when a performer obliterates the idea of that invisible wall and talks directly to an audience. This is how The Fourth Wall, an indie game for Windows, got its name.

I hate to admit it but I’m a little addicted to Angry Birds. I know many people hate the game in all its different iterations – it’s for casual gamers, it sucks, it’s pointless – but I just can’t get enough. I know why this is so, having explored the reasons Angry Birds is so addictive in a previous article, but that hasn’t helped. Never mind. There are worse things to be addicted to.

As you’re no doubt aware thanks to the blanket coverage all across the Web, Apple unveiled its latest hardware on March 7. That hardware being “the new iPad,” or “iPad (third-generation),” or, as most people will call it, the iPad 3. While all the Apple fanboys and fangirls virtually creamed their pants in anticipation of spending five minutes with the new iPad, some of us weren’t quite so impressed.

Metacritic is one of a handful of big review aggregation sites. Its motto of, “Keeping score of entertainment” sums up what it does perfectly. Rather than focus on just one aspect of entertainment such as movies or games, Metacritic tracks them all, with separate sections for ‘Movies’, ‘Games’, ‘TV’, and ‘Music’. However, Metacritic can be a force for both good and bad.

Last week we turned MakeUseOf over to you in order to gauge opinion on a relevant topic. We asked you a question, and you answered in a multitude of interesting ways. We have read and replied, cogitated and compiled, and ended up with an understanding of what you think of the subject at hand. The subject at hand was social networking; which has become a dominant force on the Internet in recent years.

I have ripped on Apple quite a bit here on MakeUseOf in recent weeks. Partly because a company of that size and stature deserves to get taken down a peg or two from time to time, partly to counter the weight of Apple fanboys on the Web, and partly because, well, it’s fun, quite frankly. However, in the spirit of fairness there are other tech giants ripe for a little gentle ribbing.

While there is no sign yet of a PS4 or Xbox 720 (not likely to be the real names when they do finally arrive), we do have one next-generation games console on the horizon to look forward to. Or dread. Depending on your point of view. That console is the Wii U, it’s the follow-up to the Wii.

This generation of home games consoles is nearing an end. Sony and Microsoft are surely both working on successors to the PS3 and Xbox 360 respectively, even though neither will admit to it. While they likely won’t show their hands until 2013 or later, Nintendo has already officially announced its next-gen effort. And it’s called the Wii U. The question is whether the Wii U will succeed or fail.

A lot of people really don’t like Steve Ballmer. Perhaps because he’s Mr. Microsoft, or because he was (for many years) Bill Gates’ lickspittle underling. Whatever the reason, he’s a figure of fun in a way neither Gates, or his sparring partner Steve Jobs, has ever been. And there are plenty of videos demonstrating why Steve Ballmer is ripe for being laughed at, five of which are embedded below for your pleasure.

The Internet has brought plenty of new ways to discover and listen to new music. Some are completely legit, others not so much, and a fair few of these methods are positively illegal. Thankfully there are enough that reside on the right side of the law to mean those of us who don’t want to cross the line don’t have to. One of which is Freemake Music Box.

My name is Dave Parrack, I’m a 34-year-old freelance writer from England, and I have a problem. I’m addicted to playing Angry Birds. Being hooked on catapulting feathered weapons of mass destruction into smug pigs may not be as bad as addictions to cigarettes, alcohol, or hard drugs, but it’s an addiction nonetheless. I’ve admitted I have a problem. Which is the first sign on the road to recovery, or so they say.

Last Wednesday we began a new weekly column here on MakeUseOf. We ask you, the MUO readership, a direct question and invite you to do our work for us let us know what you think about the subject at hand. After a healthy debate we then compile the answers into an easily-digestible summary for your pleasure on the following Tuesday.

If you’re an Apple fanboy or fangirl then Apple can do no wrong. And their commercials are perfect slices of marketing genius that border on being works of art. The rest of us find most of them a little pretentious, to say the least. From the PC vs. Mac and iPod ads right through to the MacBook Air and Siri ads, all Apple commercials have a particular look and feel to them.

The majority of the most-watched videos on the Web are official music videos. The problem is finding these music videos, especially if you want to watch in high-definition.