Alan Buckingham

The year is winding down, but the tech world is winding up with Black Friday deals already appearing and CES heading our way in early January. As always a lot came out this year, and most people will have differing opinions on their favorite product, which is fine. To each his own. I'm just throwing in my two cents.

While I tested and reviewed many products during the course of this year, there was one that stood out. One that I use every single day. What is it?

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Thanksgiving is rolling around in the US, kicking off the holiday season. Of course this also means shopping, but at the moment minds are mostly geared towards food. To perhaps nobody's surprise cooking is a hot topic, after all it's what the holiday is all about -- well that and football.

Google has released the top search topics leading up to the big day. At the top of the list is, of course, turkey, the bird that was, at one time, nominated for the national bird though it lost out to the bald eagle.

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Nest is one of the darlings of today's connected home, bringing integration with multiple devices such as Amazon Echo and Harmony remotes (at least some models). Now the device maker is rolling out an update to add a bit more to your experience with it.

The company is launching major enhancements to the thermostat and this will be available for all generations of the device.

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We heard earlier this week that Hilton Hotels had been hit with malware designed to steal personal data and, even worse, credit card information. The breach affected point-of-sale systems. Sounds familiar? This same sort of beach happened to a number of major targets in 2015, mostly retail chains like Target and Home Depot.

Hilton has now responded to the issue and admits there was a problem. It's advising customers to keep a close eye on transactions on their accounts. Though customers are generally not held responsible for fraudulent charges it's a major hassle to go through.

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Charity is something everyone should be concerned with, providing they have the means to contribute. Of course each place donated to needs a bit of investigation to see where the money is really going. Most aren't an issue, but there is the occasional shady operator, some of which we've seen outed in the past.

Depending on your opinion Google is a reliable source for such things. The company pumps a lot of money into supporting movements and clean energy and now it is aiming at special education.

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Security problems are certainly nothing new, vulnerabilities seem to crop up just about everywhere. We've seen countless ones from software makers and large store chains, however shipping new computers with one built-in is less common. But, that's exactly what Dell has been doing, unintentionally of course.

A problem has been discovered in the eDellroot certificate, described as a vulnerability that allows hackers to install malware. To be fair, the problem is more than just Dell, it also lies with the makers of web browsers.

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Time is the latest version of the smartwatch from Pebble and it even comes in a special round version. The wrist device works with both Android and iPhone, which covers most customers -- sorry Windows Phone users. Now Pebble is bringing more functionality to its Apple friends.

The company boasts that this is the first non-Apple smartwatch to deliver voice and text integration. There are a number of stipulations that come along with this, though.

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The Internet of Things, or IoT, is the latest rage with more products coming onto the market all the time. It's also become a bit of a target for hacking, though the problem is likely a bit exaggerated. We've recently looked at one of the newest offerings on the market from startup MivaTek, many other players are on the field and one of those is Samsung.

Samsung now has a line it calls SmartThings and it includes an array of products such as outlets, water sensors, security and much more.

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It's that time of year with the weather turning cold, shopping lists in mind and a general feeling of...well, it depends on the person. However, many folks like a bit of spirit for the season and holiday music purveys that, frequently bringing back memories of youth with the likes of Bing Crosby and Burl Ives.

Now WebRadio, a BRS Media company, is trying to bring you the best of the holidays with a long list of channels to choose from.

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If you haven't been to the Smithsonian in Washington DC then you're missing out on a great time. The institution operates a number of museums situated along the mall, bracketing such famous sites as the Washington Monument and memorials to war veterans and past presidents.

Take the Smithsonian and roll in a bit of the BBCs famous Planet Earth documentary and you get the Smithsonian Earth channel.

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It's getting to be that time of year when thoughts turn to holiday giving. Amazon has already launched its Black Friday deal site and we've seen Best Buy's answer to that. Now the Amazon attempts to go one better with a special offer.

The online retailer is announcing its eight day holiday special, beginning this Friday November 20th. The company plans to add new deals as often as every five minutes.

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Pandora and Rdio are two of the major forces in the streaming music industry. It's a growing market now that CDs have become part of the past. Yes, sales of them still exist, just not what they once were.

Now Pandora is planning to acquire Rdio and consolidate the two services. It's an interesting proposition and will certainly have implications. Pandora and Rdio are different in certain ways. Pandora simply lets you create stations based on taste and does an excellent job of it. Rdio allows for streaming individual songs.

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The past couple of days have been an endless cycle of bad news with the terror attacks in Paris. Everyone feels bad for those caught up in the violence and we all wish we could help in some way. Some are in a position to do so and Sprint and T-Mobile fall into that category, and are planning to do their part during this crisis.

Both are offering free communication options so loved ones can check on friends and family. That's a key thing in any situation, be it a terror attack or natural disaster.

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For those who didn't know, the BBC has launched a 24 hour news channel to compete with such entities as CNN and Al Jazeera. Now the issue is making the network available for as many viewers as possible in this crowded market that is today's news cycle.

One of the largest markets is India and the channel is now there, announcing it has signed on to provide its network to YuppTV, the world's largest provider of OTT TV, at least for Indian content. The service provides more than 200 channels and 5,000 movies to viewers.

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Using Microsoft's latest operating system and looking for cloud storage? There isn't a shortage of options out there and you can use whichever appeals to you. However, if you're looking for a dedicated app for Windows 10 then Box could be the direction you want to head in.

The service is announcing its app for Windows 10. It has been a partner of Microsoft for a while and claims that it sees things headed in the right direction under the new management.

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