Alan Buckingham

The Google Maps team is at it again, trekking the world to bring images to its users, going around cities, down trails and into the oceans. This time the target is the islands of Brazil, which are seldom seen, even by tourists. These are the dots of land known as Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas, which lay just off the coast. According to Wikipedia, they are "an archipelago of 21 islands and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, 354 km (220 mi) offshore from the Brazilian coast".

This is more than just beautiful tropical island landscapes, the Google crew also went beneath the waves for more images. You'll get to see the dolphins swim and even a grab a rare glimpse of sea turtles in their natural environment.

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We've just passed Selection Sunday, which revealed the collegiate teams set to join in the hoopla that is known as March Madness. Live sports are still the bane of the cord-cutter existence, but Sling TV changes that a bit. The service offers multiple ESPN stations and Universal Sports, among the other channels included with a subscription.

Now the company is bringing its offering to owners of Microsoft's latest gaming console, the Xbox One. It's already live on various set-top boxes like those from Roku and Amazon, but Xbox is the first gaming console to get access.

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The Xbox One has been on the market for a little over a year and, despite a slight sales lag behind Sony's console offering, it seems to be a success. Microsoft is attempting to do all in its power to get you to buy its gaming system / home entertainment box, the company is desperate to invade the living room because it senses that real money lurks there.

The software giant has even gone so far as to release a non-Kinect version, which it prices at $399, a full hundred bucks beneath the original product. However, if that's not enough to satisfy your needs then Sam's Club, the discount warehouse, can do one better.

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The Internet of Things is a major buzz phrase these days and it encompasses all sorts of connected devices from light bulbs to crock pots. It's a market that every company wants to get in on with hopes of future profits. The latest firm moving into the field is retail giant Amazon, which has a history of getting into all sorts of areas including hardware, streaming media and much more,

Amazon has purchased a company called 2lemetry, which describes itself in the following manner -- "2lemetry is an Internet of Things platform and technology company that powers the connected enterprise, tying people, processes, data and devices together -- transforming raw data into real-time actionable intelligence".

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For those who grew up in the 80's there are many things that stand out, and some we wish we could forget. There were Polo shirts worn with the collars up, Members Only jackets and the dreaded parachute pants -- leg warmers as well if you are female. But one thing from that era has endured -- Swatch. The company never went away, it just lost favor among the "in" crowd. But that piece of hardware on your wrist back then meant everything.

Call it retro or nostalgia, but the company is enjoying a bit of a resurgence. So much so that, apparently, the watch maker feels emboldened to jump into the smartwatch market. Swatch has a unique take on things -- a mechanical version of this latest craze.

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Over the years Microsoft has managed to break computers with updates, though not intentionally of course. However, it's generally wise to wait just a bit after Patch Tuesday and keep an eye out for reports of any problems that other customers are experiencing. It's generally safe, but you can never be too cautious.

Now those who have stayed behind, clinging to Windows 7, seem to be on the receiving end of just such an incident. If users of the TechNet forums are to be believed, and there's no reason to suspect otherwise, then KB3033929 could wreak a bit of havoc with Windows 7 systems.

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Nielsen has been tracking the TV viewing habits of Americans practically since the invention of the tube. In recent years the polling company has had to adapt its operations to fit with newer technology that is increasingly being used by customers to satisfy their video needs.

That now seems to be leaning dramatically towards subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD). A new report states that this form of entertainment is winning across the board, and the numbers aren't even particularly close in this poll.

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Security software can be inherently dangerous. That appears to be a statement that doesn't seem to make sense, but it does none-the-less. We've seen it time and again, as well-meaning tools cause chaos with computers. The problems over the years have run the gamut from endless reboots to dead systems to files "accidentally" removed. The software has the best interest of the user in mind, but sometimes it goes too far, treading beyond the line of safety.

Such is the case in this latest incident which affected customers of the popular anti-virus program, Panda Security. It is not the first, nor likely the last, to cause these issues. By it's very nature, the programs search for files identified as malicious. The problem arises from the definitions it installs with each update. These are designed to search for malware, but can also appear as the culprit for which they are looking for.

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Species have been going extinct for millennia, with larger events occurring periodically. We find ourselves living in one such epoch, though it mostly goes unnoticed because these events don't happen overnight. However research quickly points out the trend, and it's one we'd rather avoid.

To do so there are endangered species acts and restrictions of other sorts to help preserve the wildlife we have left. Individuals can get involved, both physically and financially, and Samsung is releasing a new line of battery chargers to get a few specific creatures to the public attention.

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Microsoft and Cisco believe the next generation of tools is on the way and that the cloud will be a key feature. There's little surprise in that statement, as things have been trending in that general direction for a while now. Microsoft and Cisco aren't strangers either, as the two have been partnered before, so the latest news simply expands on that relationship.

This time around a tool is being unveiled. According to Microsoft's Aziz Benmalek "next-generation services require close compatibility between hardware, software, network, storage and compute", and the firms have teamed up for a new product called Cisco Cloud Architecture for the Microsoft Cloud Platform. Benmalek claims that engineers from both companies have worked closely the ensure the integration between products from each. The result is combining Windows Azure Pack and Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI).

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The hubbub surrounding Superfish has died down in the news now, but that doesn't mean the problem has been eradicated. Not only has the fiasco hurt consumers it has eroded the reputation of computer maker Lenovo. To its credit the company acted quickly, working with Microsoft and Superfish to alleviate the problem and attempt to regain consumer trust.

Microsoft aided on the Superfishing trip by adding the Win32/CompromisedCert to its Malicious Software Removal Tool, which is included in all modern versions of Windows. Many customers likely don't even know this tool is there, as there is no icon for it. It will run on its own in the background, but a manual launch can be accomplished by accessing "Run" and typing "MRT".

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As a cord-cutter for almost a year now I've learned to live with certain limitations. My TV viewing is sparse, so this wasn't difficult and Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime have done an admirable job of filling the void. Both work great on my Roku 3 and Amazon Fire TV. There's a Google TV here as well, though it's long been disconnected and I haven't got around to purchasing an Android TV, much as the Nexus Player intrigues me.

One set-top box that has failed to get my attention is Apple TV. That's largely because I don't live in the Apple ecosystem. I'm not an iTunes customer and it seems fairly limited compared to what I have. That may soon change.

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Motorola introduced Moto Maker as a way to let customers personalize phones with all sorts of adventurous designs from wood to pigskin and all manner of other things. However, the company was also among the first to jump into the Android Wear space, bringing the new smartwatch platform to everyone. Now the two are combining.

Today the company announces that the same sort of customization is arriving for your smartwatch -- providing, of course, that it's Motorola branded. You'll get three cases and nine bands to choose from as you walk through the process. Motorola also points out that you can "complete your design by choosing one of 11 watch faces. Once you get your watch, it’s easy to swap watch faces from our collection or through Google Play".

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A number of popular projects have come from crowd-funding via Kickstarter. It's a great place to find new and innovative ideas. Many things there fail to reach their goal (although it could be argued that the market for those items made the decision), while others blast past the funding goal and enter the market. Pebble watch is a great example of that success.

There is some peace of mind when donating money -- for one you will get the product. But, if it fails to hit the goal you aren't out anything. Now you'll have one more option for funding that next great product. Kickstarter is announcing it will start to accept Apple Pay.

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Microsoft continues to update its latest gaming console on a regular basis, though the company also keeps the Xbox 360 alive as well. Now a new update rolls out to the Xbox One, bringing all sorts of features that fans have been waiting for since the box debuted in late 2013. In fact, Xbox Live's Larry Hryb, AKA Major Nelson, states "This month’s system update on Xbox One brings you some of the most-requested features by our fans".

First up is screenshots, which should make many gamers happy. Simply double-click the Xbox button on the controller to snap a shot, then press Y to save it. Or, even better, you can say "Xbox take a screenshot" and handle both tasks at once.

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