They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but boy oh boy, don't tell that to Satya Nadella. To many, Microsoft represents a dinosaur in technology, but as the fictional Jurassic Park showed us, dinosaurs can be brought back to life and thrive in modern times. In other words, even though Microsoft never died, its image was in decline, but it has been resurrected by doing and saying all the right things.

Today, Microsoft continues its upwards trajectory by announcing that .NET is going open source. While this isn't Microsoft's first open source rodeo, this is certainly the biggest. Hell, it is even bringing .NET to both Linux and OS X! Competitors beware; Microsoft is a Tyrannosaurus Rex and is showing its teeth.

While I'm no expert in copyright or trademark law, I am sure of one thing -- the GNOME desktop environment for Linux is awesome. It is a very intuitive interface, with great programs and a helpful community. The name "Gnome" is hardly unique though; its a common word that other companies use. As an example, Travelocity, an online travel site, uses a Gnome as a mascot.

It is a bit curious then, that the Gnome Foundation is upset with deal website Groupon for using the Gnome name. Groupon is not using it as a desktop environment; no, it is using it for a point-of-sale tablet and operating system; will people really confuse such a device with a Linux desktop environment?

Windows Phone is a fantastic mobile operating system, hindered only by a lack of apps. To be more specific, Google's lack of support makes Microsoft's mobile operating system a non-starter for many. Hell, my colleague Joe Wilcox recently declared his disdain for the platform, even though he loves the hardware. It's unfortunate, really.

Today, Microsoft officially announces the Lumia 535 -- notably missing the Nokia branding. The first handset featuring "Microsoft Lumia" branding is a low-end affair that will do nothing to sway Windows Phone detractors, or woo users of the popular iPhone. Instead, it represents affordability and style, targeting cost-conscious consumers in emerging markets.

Many people accuse me of being both paranoid and a hypochondriac. Well, they are probably right; I tend to get caught up in the media hype and ignore common sense. Am I likely to catch Ebola on Long Island? No, but that did not stop me from buying masks and gloves from Amazon. Hell, after the Fukushima disaster I bought iodine pills too. Do I feel stupid afterwords? A bit, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

While Ebola in the USA is not probable, it is a disaster in Africa. Remember, love and humanity are borderless, and even though these Africans are not our countrymen, they deserve our support and compassion. Today, Google announces an initiative to raise money and fight the horrific virus. Will you give to the cause?

The web browser is a very under-appreciated program. While the web is not the Internet in its entirety, for many people, the web is all they know. In other words, people live in the web browser, and enjoy it immensely, but don't think about the software that is acting as a portal to their favorite websites.

Mozilla's Firefox is certainly not the first web browser, but it is responsible for many design cues and technologies found in other browsers. Not to mention, Mozilla is on the forefront of fighting for an open web and Firefox shares that ideology -- by using the open-source browser, you are choosing to support a free web. Today, Firefox celebrates its 10th Birthday and to celebrate, I ask you to think of it fondly. Well technically, Firefox's Birthday was yesterday, but who cares, let's party!

In America, Black Friday is a retail-focused holiday following Thanksgiving. In other words, the day after we spend time with family giving thanks, we rush to the stores to spend money. Yes, it is bizarre and a bit conflicting, but actually, it is a good thing. Not only is a positive for the economy, but it also brings families together; waiting in line together, fighting fellow shoppers together and spending money together -- at least family is together. It is actually rather nice to see a tired, post-shopping family eating omelettes together at 3am at a 24-hour diner.

Another tradition of Black Friday is buying the newspaper and reading the circulars. Normally, the deals are supposed to be revealed the day before; people would make it a point to buy the newspaper on Thanksgiving. The Internet, however, has birthed "leaked" Black Friday deals, where websites publish the deals weeks in advance. While some people may imagine store employees secretly smuggling the information, others hypothesize that it is the stores themselves leaking the deals. Today, Microsoft takes the approach of openly leaking its Black Friday deals weeks in advance, by emailing them to its customers; however, there is a catch.

In the classic movie Rambo: First Blood, Col. Trautman tells John Rambo, "It's over Johnny. It's over!", to which Rambo exclaims, "Nothing is over! Nothing! You just don't turn it off!" While the interaction is actually regarding Rambo's trouble leaving the Vietnam War in the past, it actually sounds like something an ex-iPhone user would say about iMessage. You see, Apple's messaging platform has been historically difficult to eliminate from one's life -- leading to missed text messages and overall frustration.

Sadly, this has been a huge inconvenience for quite a while, but Apple is finally rectifying the cause of Android-converts' indignation. Today, the company introduces a new tool called "Deregister iMessage". Those that have ditched the iPhone should check it out as soon as possible.

On November 9, 1989, twenty-five years ago today, the Berlin Wall was torn down. Many young women and men nowadays either weren't born yet or were too young to understand it. I fell into the latter; in elementary school, my teacher taught us that this wall was bad and that it was torn down. I did not understand Communism or inequality -- my simplistic understanding was just that people should be free to move about and interact with each other.

Fast-forward to 2014 and quite frankly, my simplistic view hasn't changed much; I still want people and information to flow freely. Sadly, issues with borders still exist; both literally and figuratively. A wall definitely exists in countries like China and North Korea, but it is designed to keep information and ideas out. Luckily, the Internet is the great equalizer and companies like Google are working to knock down, or at least weaken, these walls erected by censoring and oppressive forces. Today, the search-giant unveils a very special "doodle" and guest blog post by German musician, Nils Frahm.

When Microsoft released Office for iPad, it was immediately popular and shot to the top of the app charts. This was hardly surprising, as people had been hoping for it ever since Apple's tablet was released. Sure, Apple's iWork solutions are fine, but Office is, well...Office. It is the gold standard for getting things done.

The problem was, while the apps were free, editing was not. You see, downloading Word, Excel and PowerPoint cost nothing, but it did not function as consumers had hoped. Only viewing office documents is a frustrating experience -- people want to edit too. The solution for this was to become an Office 365 subscriber, which unlocked the full potential of the software. While many recognized the value in being a subscriber, it is a hard sell when Apple's offerings are much more affordable (or free with a new iPad). Microsoft responded by making editing a free feature and all are happy right? Not so; what about the people who already paid? Great news, you can get a refund now!

Back in the day, Dell disrupted the PC industry with its direct sales and low prices. What really made Dell stand out, however, was its quality and attention to detail. I remember being a computer salesman in a brick and mortar retail store, trying to sell Compaq and Emachine laptops. Without fail, after helping someone for 30 minutes, they would say "but can you match Dell's prices?" Of course, we usually couldn't and they would leave the store to buy from Dell direct.

Things have changed quite a bit over the years -- manufacturers have come and gone. While the PC market is not as strong as it once was, Dell remains a significant player, offering both value and power machines. Today, the manufacturer refreshes the popular Venue 11 Pro, with a fanless Broadwell processor.

With the increased popularity of the cloud, lines are becoming blurred between what is local and what is stored online. One of my favorite cloud services is Google Drive, as it integrates perfectly with Chrome OS, while also working well with both Windows and OS X.

It can be problematic though, when I am navigating Drive in the browser, and want to open a file. Sure, I can save the file locally, but this is tedious and messy -- my desktop is full of such files. Today, Google blurs the lines even further, allowing both Windows and OS X programs to be launched directly from the Chrome web browser with an extension.

As an American, I often take for granted the benefits and opportunities I am afforded. It is easy to get caught up in iPads, the NFL and junk food and forget that many people in the world go to bed hungry. Yes, there are people that have no food and are forced to drink dirty water. Hell, I am a fat guy who has trouble losing weight -- that sounds pretty lame in the grand scheme of things. If it wasn't for the periodic television commercial asking for donations to stop hunger, American's might never think of the plight of the less fortunate.

The Internet in particular is something that improves our lives immensely; we are so lucky to have high-speed access that can deliver the answer to almost any question in seconds. Shockingly, there are still 4 billion people on this Earth that have never even tried the Internet. Think about that for a moment; there are people that have no access to something we consider to almost be a right. Today, Mozilla announces a partnership with the GSMA, that will focus on bringing a relevant mobile web to emerging markets. All I can say to that is, hallelujah!

The Nexus 9 is the best Android tablet on the market. Hell, I called it "magical". It is built well, has great sound quality and comes with the newest version of Android, 5.0 Lollipop. While I love the tablet, my biggest criticism is the arguably high price. Don't get me wrong, I believe the tablet is worth the $399, but I hate to see it priced out of reach for some consumers.

Today, the manufacturer of the tablet, HTC, is offering $50 off. Yes, only one day after launch, you can score it for the starting price of $349. However, there is a catch.

Fedora is my favorite Linux distro, but more importantly, it is the operating system of choice for someone far more important than I. Who is this person? Linus Torvalds of course! Yes, the foul-mouthed father of Linux does his computing on Fedora, legitimizing the operating system as one of the best.

Unfortunately, Fedora has fallen a bit behind lately with a slow release schedule, frustrating some users. How bad is it? Well, Fedora 20 was released back in December of 2013. Today, finally, the first beta of Fedora 21 is released, and there is something unique about it; for the first time, there are three distinct versions (flavors) of the operating system. Is that a good or bad thing?

Acer makes some cool computers and has been known to take some chances on design. Sure, the company produces the typical clam-shell laptops, but also computers like the R7, which features a unique hinge and experience. I appreciate a company going out on a limb with computer designs, as it can fall flat or be a success.

Today, Acer takes another unique approach to design with the Aspire Switch 12 -- an evolution of the previously released Switch 10. Not only is the screen larger, but the functionality increases immensely. Oh and did I mention that it is fanless? Yeah baby, no fan-whirring!