Alan Buckingham

HD inspired pretty much everyone to buy a new TV, but then the manufacturers faced a problem -- what next? They banked on 3D, but people balked, and the technology failed to capture interest with pretty much everyone.

As you may already know, Roku has jumped into the TV market now, pumped up by the possibilities for the future of the platform. The set-top box maker hasn't jumped into the business with its own OEM, but has licensed its software to power the latest big screens in your home. Now the latest model is hitting the market, this one rolling out from Hitachi, a big name brand in the electronics market.

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It's probably no great secret that today's older generation has a flock of followers online that they largely do not want, who are trying to con them out of their money. Trying to take advantage of this generation is nothing new. In the past it was done door to door with scams such as "roofers" and "driveway repairmen".

Security company Kaspersky has done a study of internet users aged 55 and older and the results, while unsurprising, aren't particularly good.

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Tonight at 9pm ET the two vice presidential candidates square off in their one and only debate. Unlike the top of the ticket, this pair doesn't get three tries at it. Mike Pence and Tim Kaine, perhaps the most two ordinary candidates in an extraordinary year, will get the chance to give their views and defend their tickets.

If you have cable or satellite then you should have no problem catching the action, depending on your package. But if you no longer have that option it doesn't mean you're out of luck. There are other ways to catch the big debate.

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Up until now Amazon has had a free reign of the market for home assistants thanks to the success of Alexa. It was time to get some competition, which tends to make things better all around and few companies are more capable than Google.

That's exactly what the search giant is doing today. While rumored as the event to unveil the Pixel Phone, other things were also on tap for showing off, including a new Wi-Fi system and Home, Google's answer to Alexa.

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As Google TV struggled, Roku and Amazon Fire TV were seemingly taking over the market. Google finally let its TV platform go, but announced it would be replaced with Android TV. The company also promised a third-party set-top player known as the Mi Box.

It has taken since June, but the much-anticipated Mi Box, announced at Google I/O, is finally hitting the market.

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One of the fastest growing areas in home automation seems to be lighting. Every day new products come on the market and one of the most popular has been the Philips Hue, thanks to not only simple automation but also the ability to change colors. However, it is not the only one on the market with such a chameleon quality.

LIFX also produces bulbs that can set the color to your mood or taste. The LIFX Color 1000 is one of the latest models from the manufacturer and it will do all that other bulbs in this market are capable of.

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If you have a Wink hub then it's easy to set up home automation across a number of different platforms. Throw in Alexa and do a little additional setup and you'll be able to control it all with voice commands.

In the past you've been able to use groups to control multiple bulbs -- simply name each bulb and then add them to a group which you also name.

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Of the multitude of properties Googles owns, Maps and Calendar are two of the more popular ones. Both products can easily be associated with one another in the case of business travelers, so why not bring them together?

That's exactly what Google is doing, making your Calendar appointments available to see while using Maps. This isn't just driving either, it will work just as well if you are taking public transportation.

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You'd be hard pressed to find someone who enjoys a trip to their department of Motor Vehicle. While not everyone there is bad or unfriendly, the general reputation would have you believe so. Couple that with long wait times. One thing you don't think you need to worry about is a stalker.

That  appears to be sort of what happened recently in New York. The New York Motor Vehicle employee was caught using a work computer to get a date with a customer -- without the customer's knowledge.

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This has been a controversy for quite some time. Companies don't like their flaws exposed, and for the most part researchers have honored this, at least to a reasonable degree. Generally, a period of time is given for the company in question to fix the problem, but if it fails then the issue is made public, somewhat akin to branding the company with a scarlet A.

Now, one researcher is working on a book that will point out common system flaws and how to either fix them or avoid them to begin with.

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Streaming services proliferate the music market these days, making CDs seem very much a thing of the past. One of the more popular options available to customers is Spotify, which sometimes seems to have pretty much taken over. The company would like to keep expanding its global footprint and is taking another step towards that.

Now the company is launching its latest destination, Japan. Spotify announces that at the moment it is invitation-only however, it will be available across major platforms including mobile, tablet, desktop and PlayStation.

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Back in August we learned of access to US voter registration databases in the states of Arizona and Illinois. After an extensive investigation it was widely believed the attempts had come from Russia, which has a history of attempting to influence votes in foreign nations.

Now Director Comey has once again appeared before congress to give some more bad news. "There have been a variety of scanning activities, which is a preamble for potential intrusion activities, as well as some attempted intrusions at voter registration databases beyond those we knew about in July and August", Comey states.

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About a year ago, Wink released its first home automation hub and it came out of the box with a great deal of compatibility, working with a good many of the products already on the market, along with Amazon Echo for voice control of the home.

Since then the list of supported products has grown and Wink has added many new ones, but it seemed increasingly clear that the hub could eventually get overwhelmed. So now the company is introducing a new model known simply as Wink Hub 2.

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When you put together all of the shows one person watches, the list can cover a staggering amount of channels. It seems like we're always flipping from one to another when we have nothing particular on. That gave rise to today's channel packages, which can provide hundreds of networks to choose from.

One channel that does provide content viewed by a wide range of people is CW, and now it's coming to Roku. The tiny set-top box maker announces the network is available beginning right now and it's free -- no login or subscription needed.

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Today is a big day for Roku. The company has never before introduced this many new players to its lineup or carried some of the features now available. The new lineup should contain something for just about everyone, including those on a budget.

In fact, a budget is where the lineup begins. The new Roku Express features 1080p support for only $29.99. Perfect for those looking for a second box in another room. If you're still living with an older TV then you can pay $39.99 for the Express+, which comes with a composite jack and a/v hookup -- those old red, white and yellow cables.

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