Every summer, I board a charter boat out of Captree State Park in New York to go fishing. Why do I do this? I love to fish and I cannot afford my own boat, so it is a great way to experience the Long Island nautical life for the afternoon (not to mention catch a tasty dinner). It is also a great way to have a technology-free day, leaving the smartphone at home and replacing it with a rod in my hand.

Almost always, however, there is some idiot who does not appreciate nature, that throws his garbage overboard into the waters below. It is depressing to see people not care about the environment. Not to mention, seeing Bud Light cans and food wrappers floating by ruins the picturesque scenery. Today, Docker announces a new 'Open-source-a-thon' where people can learn about both open source and marine life conservation. The best part? Docker will use the proceeds to adopt a blue whale! Any excess proceeds will be given to Oceanic Society to help study and protect our oceans.

Buying a new Windows computer can be a really fun moment. When you say goodbye to your aging and slow machine, and start fresh with a new model, everything seems faster and peppier. Unfortunately, many manufacturers pre-load unwanted software on these computers, causing headaches and wasted time for the consumer. It can take hours to uninstall all of the stuff you do not want.

Sadly, Lenovo has crossed a line when it comes to this practice. Along with all the the usual added software (bloatware), was a piece of adware called Superfish. From a security standpoint, it could potentially put customer data at risk with man in the middle attacks, which in turn threatens the manufacturer's reputation.

Believe it or not, even as a big tech and gadget nerd, I have never owned an iPhone. My smartphone life went from Palm, to BlackBerry and ultimately Android. I didn't purposely boycott the iPhone or anything, it just never happened.

As an iPad owner, however, I have come to love iOS for its ease of use and collection of amazing apps. For whatever reason, I usually prefer the iOS version of apps over the Android equivalent; they seem more snappy and fluid. So, why haven't I switched to the iPhone? There are still some major issues with Apple's phone and mobile operating system that prevent the jump. The ball is in Apple's court, however, and if the company meets my demands, I will switch.

Music is my favorite hobby, and I am certainly not alone. Technology has enhanced my listening in ways that I never dreamed. As a child of the 80's, I started with cassettes and later upgraded to CD. Collecting CDs and vinyl consumed my life; I even embraced MiniDisc to create my own digital mixes from my newest records.

Nowadays, I have continued my evolution to mp3 and ultimately, streaming. Long gone are the days of collecting and storing; Spotify is the sole source of all my tunes. Whether listening on my PC, tablet or smartphone, I demand a quality speaker -- preferably Bluetooth and portable. My current favorite portable is the UE BOOM. Today, I am looking at the next-generation, called the MEGABOOM. Is it mega awesome?

The world of computing is getting very scary. I tend to be a bit of a conspiracy-theorist, mostly due to my inquisitive nature. While being concerned about hacked hardware and government surveillance would be viewed as paranoia years ago, it now becomes a sad reality.

In light of Kaspersky Labs' bombshell and brilliant research (deserving of an award, in my opinion), we now know that nothing can be trusted -- your hard drive may be an undetected spy. Today, Imation announces the IronKey S1000, a hardware-encrypted USB 3.0 flash drive, which the company calls the "world's fastest hardware-encrypted USB flash drive". Can it thwart the now-infamous Equation Group?

It's Oscar time, baby -- woo! It's time to start planning your parties and get-togethers. Hopefully you've seen all of the nominated films. Sadly, I have not seen any, which is tragic, as I love the cinema. Unfortunately, I can no longer afford to regularly go to the movie theater (who can, nowadays?), and I am opposed to pirating films. I've heard wonderful things about American Sniper, Whiplash and The Theory of Everything -- maybe I will try to see one of them on Saturday (Whiplash looks like the best of the bunch).

Microsoft announces that its search engine is predicting the Academy Awards. Believe it or not, Bing has a pretty good overall track record -- it predicted the Patriots to win the Superbowl long before New England was guaranteed a spot in the game. With that said, it predicted Beyoncé to win best-album Grammy, but the more talented Beck won instead. Will Bing see success at the 87th Academy Awards?

The Surface Pro 3 is still one of the the best computers you can buy. Sure, there are more powerful and less expensive machines, but the overall Surface experience is unique and versatile. It can be a tablet, laptop, or desktop, while the included pen offers even more added value.

The problem for many, however, is the price. Yes, you can get a core i3 Surface Pro 3 for $799, but once you add in the keyboard attachment -- which is technically optional, but realistically necessary -- you are approaching the $1,000 mark. With that said, it is not overpriced; the price is quite reasonable for what you get, especially when the cost is averaged over the life of ownership. If you want to get one at a discount, today is your lucky day -- sort of. If you have a previous generation Surface -- both ARM and x86_64 -- you can trade it in towards a Surface Pro 3. Believe it or not, you can earn up to $650! However, there is a catch and you shouldn't do it.

There are many Linux-based operating systems nowadays, making it difficult to pick one. This is a good problem to have, however, as trying new distributions can be fun. Unfortunately, many are so similar, that you can end up wasting your time.

One alternative distro may be worth the time and effort; Bodhi Linux. Since it is based on Ubuntu 14.04, there is less of a learning curve for users of Canonical's OS. What really makes it stand out, however, is the Enlightenment window manager, which is lightweight, functional and pretty.

The Earth is one place, where all human beings are family. True, we may use a different language or live in different countries, but we are all equal. In America, for instance, there is no official language; English is most popular, but it's not written in stone as the one true language. The USA is a melting pot, where all languages and cultures are celebrated.

China in particular, is a big contributor to the world of technology; both for hardware and software. Whether a developer is Chinese and residing in China, or an American that speaks only Chinese, Google has found a great way to show respect and support; the Chinese Google Developers YouTube channel.

The first generation Raspberry Pi was a rousing success; its low cost and potential captured the imaginations of many. For $35, you could not only buy an inexpensive computer, but be a part of something. In other words, the Raspberry Pi community is so vast and plentiful, that ownership gains access to countless projects.

The Raspberry Pi 2 is now here, however, and it ups the ante even further. This new generation Pi is six times more powerful than the original, while retaining the same $35 price tag. Buying one is a no-brainer, but if you do purchase it, it may be confusing as to what you should do first. Don't worry, we've got your back; here are 5 things you should do.

I'm a GNOME 3 man through and through, but I love KDE too. Quite frankly, you can't go wrong with either desktop environment, but if you are new to Linux, KDE may seem a bit more familiar. Why? It more resembles the traditional "Windows" user interface.

What makes Netrunner the best KDE-based Linux distribution, and one of the best distros overall, is the polish. The team behind it pays close attention to detail, making it a cohesive and positive user experience. It comes pre-loaded with plenty of software and it is drop-dead gorgeous. Today, you can download version 15, codenamed "Prometheus". The most exciting aspect? It has been redesigned and comes with KDE Plasma Desktop 5.2 -- yeah, you want this.

Panasonic's durable Toughbook line of laptops are legendary. Not only are they designed to take a beating, but are extremely functional too. To the average home user, the massive body and weight can seem like overkill. If you are sipping latte's all day in a coffee shop, it may seem that way. In reality, much work happens outside of safe places like an office or Starbucks; blue collar workers use technology too, and the Toughbook series is built for these workers.

Today, Panasonic announces the Toughbook 54. This semi-rugged machine is actually quite svelte (for being a semi-rugged Toughbook), which may make it more attractive in situations where a job is rough and dirty, but not overly so. Best of all? It is powered by a 5th generation Intel Core i5 vPro; durability meets performance and impressive battery life.

While I don't own a Mac, I do own an iPad -- which I love. However, as popular as iOS devices are, not everyone owns one. Yes, believe it or not, many people do not own any Apple hardware. Unfortunately, in order to register for Apple iWork for iCloud, you had to have an iCloud account. In order to register for an iCloud account, you had to own Apple hardware -- Windows, Android, Chromebook and other Linux users were out of luck.

Well, today this changes. Now, anyone can register for and sign in with a regular Apple ID and use the web-based office suite. What does this mean? Pretty much anyone with a modern operating system and web browser can take advantage of Pages, Numbers and Keynote at no charge. You no longer need a full-fledged iCloud account. Before you say you don't care since you can already use Office Online or Google Docs, I urge you to try it; Apple's offering is quite slick.

Education is a very important market for computer manufacturers and other technology companies. Just yesterday, Microsoft announced a huge deal with the New York City Public Schools, to offer Office 365 to all of its students and teachers for free.

Today, Dell is presenting new hardware to the education segment; new laptops and tablets running Chrome OS, Android and Windows. By offering a diverse range of form factors and platforms, the manufacturer can gain access to many school systems and classrooms.

I'm going to let you in on a secret. Ever hear of Microsoft Office? Of course you have. Well, learning it is essential for success in a business environment. I'm not just talking about word processing, but spreadsheets, presentations and more -- Microsoft's software is the best. Sure, the average student can get by with Google Docs on a Chromebook or Libreoffice, but guess what? Formal education ends eventually. Software that is "good enough" just won't cut it in the working world.

Today, all New York City Public School students and teachers gain access to this important software, as Microsoft Office 365 is being given to them for free. Yes, you are reading that right -- every teacher and student for free. This is a huge win for Microsoft, the students and the teachers. More importantly, however, it is a win for society, as future members of the workforce will be better prepared for success.