Alan Buckingham

The environment is news these days with phrases like "climate change" and "carbon footprint" appearing regularly in the news. It's important stuff, given we don't yet have another planet to flee to -- "Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves", said Carl Sagan.

That means we have to be kind to our home. The Environmental Protection Agency hands out awards to companies who work to protect our planet, and Microsoft is a recent recipient.

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This past week, streaming service TuneIn Radio announced it had gained rights to NFL games. You can now listen to the broadcast of your favorite team's game. Granted, it's not video, but it's better than nothing and a lot cheaper than NFL Sunday Ticket.

So how does it work? First you need to sign up for a Premium plan, which will run you $7.99 per month, though you'll get a seven day free trial. This requires all the usual things -- username, password and credit card information.

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If you haven't yet tried out the Amazon Echo then you're in for a wild, and sometimes interesting, ride. There's an increasing amount of things the device can do, from telling you the weather and traffic to playing your music, even controlling home automation gear.

Out of the box Alexa can give you sports scores or tell you who your team plays next, but now it has a new feature -- actual news about your teams. You'll need to set it up first, as smart as it seems to be, it doesn't know your team.

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Everytime Microsoft releases a new operating system security comes to the forefront for regular users and especially for IT pros. There are other considerations of course -- usability is a big one after Windows 8 annoyed many customers.

Now Dell is coming out talking of its security features which work in conjunction with Windows 10, the latest and, possibly, greatest OS to come out the doors at Redmond, Washington.

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Way back in early June we learned of two manufacturers for Steam Machine gaming computers. One of those was Dell who, at the time, had a very brief window open for pre-orders. Those customers are still waiting now, more than four months later.

But things are getting closer and, as of today, Dell has opened up pre-orders for everyone. So far the machine has not leaked out and no review units have been issued. Dell points out that "Up until now only a select few inside the halls of Alienware and Valve had the chance to experience the Alienware Steam Machine in all its glory".

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If you've cut the cord on your cable or satellite TV  then you have an increasing list of choices for things you can still watch. One of the newest players is Sling TV, which had a number of channels available right from the start and has since been adding more. In fact the service managed to score HBO right before Game of Thrones began its 2015 season run.

Now, as a reward for customers, this weekend Sling TV will be offering free HBO to everyone. Of course these sorts of offers are also a hope that some people will decide to keep it. In that case, you can expect to add $15 to your monthly bill.

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Music has always been a part of late night television, regardless if it's the shows own group or a special guest performing live. To catch most of these acts you need to watch live or on demand and obviously need a TV. But now you can catch some of it right on your computer.

Yahoo is announcing the addition of concerts on Jimmy Kimmel Live and it kicks off tonight. If you tune into the site you can watch Duran Duran beginning at 11:35pm CT. The band just released its 14th studio album titled "Paper Gods".

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While it isn't always reciprocated, Microsoft does its best to support other platforms, putting its apps on rival mobile operating systems and releasing its videos via Google's YouTube. Now the software giant is planning a big release celebration for the much-anticipated Xbox title Halo 5: Guardians, and will be bringing the festivities directly into the homes of fans.

Today Xbox Live chief Larry Hryb, AKA Major Nelson, announces that Microsoft will utilize YouTube to show "Halo 5: Live,” a six-hour live broadcast featuring exclusive gameplay reveals, celebrity appearances, live interviews with the 343 Industries development team and much more.

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While Office 2016 is out, not everyone has it. Starting with the 2013 version of the software, Microsoft offered subscription plans called Office 365 -- customers could pay monthly or annualy, with the latter providing a discount. You can also install 365 on up up to five systems. The differences stop there as both provide a full Office suite on your computer.

So when will Office 365 subscribers see the new version of the suite? Like seemingly all things Microsoft, it's complicated. In a blog post, Microsoft's Todd Sweetser laid out the time frame for upgrades.

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The market for stolen goods is bustling, as it always has. The only difference today, as opposed to 25 years ago, is the high-tech approach to crime. Instead of buying your new speakers out of the back of a van you can go online and purchase someone's identity, or at least parts of it, such as a credit card.

A new report from Intel Security Group member McAfee delves into the prices and packaging. It's surprisingly cheap to buy many of these things. Alarming may be a better word. Your credit card may be priceless to you, but not to others.

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As much as you may want to know multiple languages, not everyone does. Fortunately for the rest of us there are translation tools to help out and Google is one of the more popular ones, plus it's available on multiple platforms.

Today Google rolls out new translation features, bringing English and German translations to Arabic via printed text -- conversations were already available.

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Yesterday Adobe rolled out its monthly security patches, something all users should pay attention to given past history. Flash, Reader and Acrobat all received fixes, presumably remedying the current batch of problems plaguing the software. The problem is, nothing ever seems fixed in the world of Adobe.

To that end, a zero-day exploit has already been discovered by the folks at security firm Trend Micro. Yes, that didn't take long and Adobe didn't fix this one.

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Have you ever driven across the country? It's an adventure everyone should experience, going from the big city of New York to the majesty of Yosemite and even taking an opportunity to follow the path of Jack Kerouac. You obviously can't see everything so you need to plan the journey wisely.

If you miss things along the way then Google may be able to help. The company is boasting its Street View images that take you from the East to West coast and show you what is in between.

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We already knew that there was a roll out of new Windows 10 devices coming in quick succession over a two week period. The latest announcement comes from Japan where Microsoft joined Toshiba, one of the flagship device makers, for a show.

The new device is called the dynaPad and is another hybrid tablet and laptop. Terry Myerson of Microsoft was on hand with Toshiba for the event.

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The National Football League season is in full swing and there have already been some surprises. Teams expected to compete have floundered, while those considered underdogs have managed to thrive. But what if you can't watch your team? Some folks live "out of market" and some have cut the cord. Well, there's radio right? No, not if you aren't in market.

Now TuneIn Radio aims to change that, bringing broadcasts of all 32 teams right online. You can listen to the play-by-play call from home, even if your favorite franchise is a thousand miles away.

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