Alan Buckingham

It seems like Google Play has been with us as long as Android, but in truth it hasn't, although that's only due to a name change for the store that was there from the start. Now the modern version of that store is celebrating a birthday. It's been three years since the relaunch of the app, which comes with most, but not all, Android devices.

In celebration of this momentous occasion Google is offering up some deals, and they span across all manner of things -- from apps and books, to movies and music. Steep discounts are being given for many things and a dedicated page in the store will give you the list.

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March Madness is almost upon us. For those outside the US this may sound a bit weird -- almost like what people claim to happen during a full moon. In truth it's actually more mundane, though many folks may argue that point. It's the college basketball tournament that culminates in the crowning of a school as the new national champion. It's the time of year when even non-gamblers lay down money and fill out brackets.

Can you watch it online? Well, sort of. A special YouTube channel is being set up to bring you some of the action. The selections for participation will be made March 15th and the games get underway on the 17th. The grand finale actually supersedes the month, with a championship game played on April 6th.

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Cameras are everywhere these days, even on the dashboards of cars. In fact many of these, while in place for other reasons, have shown us all sorts of interesting stuff, including a recent meteor on its way to earth over the country of Russia. But where do you store all of this data?

SanDisk has a solution that could solve this problem. A new microSDXC card that comes with 64 GB of storage and promises up to 10,000 hours of HD video recording, though a caveat is offered in the fine print -- "video content recorded at 26 Mbps to one device; results, video support and performance may vary depending on host device, file attributes and other factors". Honestly, if it comes anywhere close to that then it's more than enough for any consumer.

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The rainforests of the Amazon can be an inherently dangerous place, with everything from poison dart frogs to flesh eating fish. The Earth itself can be a dangerous place, more so in some locations than others, though it can be argued that only the types of dangers change. With that said, who wouldn't want to explore this pristine, and disappearing, area of the world?

Google Maps Street View can take you on that dream vacation and it's doing so in style -- a zip line to be precise. But this time you don't have all those dangers to worry about.

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For those with a fair amount of entertainment gear in their home there's perhaps no better solution than a universal remote control. Several are on the market, but for "bang for the buck" most choose Harmony Logitech now owns the company and recently it has begun doing some upgrades of the product line. The handheld devices don't come cheap, so getting a deal is important to many users.

That deal is now out there waiting for buyers. Today Logitech announces a deal spanning the month of March that will allow customers to bring in old remotes and get a discount on an upgrade.

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Let's be clear right off the bat, you won't be slipping these glasses on and disappearing from the people around you, though there are times you may want to. However the name of the new product from AVG lends itself to these comparisons, though the actual glasses are a bit different from what the imagination conjures up.

So what does this product from AVG Innovation Labs actually do? The security firm claims it can protect your identity in this new era of cameras everywhere. It's not as tin-foil hat as it sounds -- we've seen malware that can activate cameras on phones and computers, security cameras in public abound and we'd be hard-pressed to leap to any conclusion that says the NSA and others aren't also doing this.

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Ever since Apple introduced it's ultra-thin and light laptop competitors have been popping up with efforts to trump the notebook. While this competition has been good for the market, and hence consumers, there's little doubt that Apple's offering continues to be the standard for many people. The latest to step up to the plate is HP, announcing its version of an ultrathin device.

The company is touting a wealth of statistics, though how it all works will be for the consumers to decide. However those interested don't have long to wait -- in fact it can be purchased direct from HP today and will hit Best Buy shelves on March 15th.

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Song lyrics can sometimes be confusing -- think Jimi Hendrix "excuse me while I kiss the sky" that people mis-heard as "excuse while I kiss this guy". Numerous other examples exist, including prominent ones from Bruce Springsteen and The Police. Many times we're left completely confused and searching lyric websites to see if the ear deceived us.

Now music streaming service Spotify aims to save you a trip to A-Z Lyrics, or whatever site you use. The company is bringing the lyrics to you, right in the desktop app. The update will utilize Musixmatch, a service that has a good reputation for getting things right, regardless of how confusing it may sound.

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While the phrase "patent troll" is not technically correct, it has become synonymous with a business model that is almost universally loathed. Companies that are created as a front and used to buy up patents and then extort, for lack of a better word, money from smaller businesses -- typically ones they feel they can push around for an easy and quick profit. Unfortunately the tactic works in many cases as those facing litigation can't afford to fight and end up settling to save money.

This practice has brought about a cry for reform of the patent system, which many feel is irrevocably broken. Now Congress is listening and today the Electronic Frontier Foundation will take center stage to plead its side of the argument.

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Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev is a Russian hacker who could make you rich in a couple of different ways. He is the gentleman who is thought to be the architect behind the Zeus botnet as well as the infamous CryptoLocker scam that holds data hostage for a ransom. Those are two of the largest problems facing today's computer users and each still persists while Bogachev remains elusive.

He has twice been indicted in US courts, once in Nebraska and, more recently, in Pennsylvania. The array of charges is quite long, including conspiracy, money laundering, computer fraud, identity theft and more. These indictments mean little as long as he remains on the run.

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Sports is the great pain of the cord-cutter -- networks force set-top box providers to verify a cable or satellite account to log into their channels, at least in many cases. The latest addition to Roku changes that somewhat, though not enough to satisfy most customers.

The manufacturer is introducing WatchESPN as a new channel on its product. You'll get everything -- right after you verify your subscription. Otherwise, you'll have access to news clips. Not terrible, and certainly better than nothing, but also not what we want to hear.

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Microsoft has been a tireless proponent of education -- the company has many schools on its operating system and Office suite, sometimes at very big discounts. But the best discount of all is always "free", which is exactly what some students will pay for Office. The software giant has even instituted a way for students to check their eligibility.

This comes on the heels of New York City announcing that its students and teachers will be running Microsoft's Office programs. The city isn't alone either, as many other educational bastions move to the platform.

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Windows 10 isn't here yet, though in a way it sort of is -- in other words, it's a Preview version meant to test the waters. Microsoft has high hopes of putting version 8.x behind it, even skipping a number to distance itself. But not everyone wants to run a possibly unstable version of an operating system, especially on a production machine. However, you can still get the new icon set without installing the OS.

Packs of the icons have been collected and made available for customers of both Windows 7 and Windows 8x. Getting them on your desktop is just a click or two away. The icons are spread out, encompassing desktop, system tray and Explorer.

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Microsoft and Minecraft are two of the biggest entities in their respective fields -- software and gaming. While the former captures most desktop users, the latter has become an almost obsessive fascination for kids and even many adults. Logic dictated the two should team up, and that's exactly what happened when Microsoft bought Mojang and Minecraft last year.

As a testament to the partnership, two kids -- Alec Baron and Alessio Tosolini -- are using Minecraft in a cool and geeky way. The work, according to the boys, took more than 100 hours of collaboration. When they were finished, they had recreated the Microsoft Production Studios in Minecraft.

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While much is made about Gmail from Google and Outlook.com and Hotmail from Microsoft (now pretty much combined), Yahoo Mail quietly flies along getting little attention, but huge numbers of customers. Many people likely have accounts without even knowing it -- if you register for a Yahoo service you get an email address, and the company has several popular arms, such as Flickr. Now it is looking to improve its email offering.

First off, there is now an easier folder search. Customers can select any of their folders from a list and then type a word or phrase to zero in on the targeted email. A dropdown menu on the right allows for the folder selection.

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