Technology can be a wonderful thing. We live in quite the glorious time, where we have access to amazing medicines and computers. Science and technology have improved everyone's lives -- rich or poor, man or woman -- we all benefit.

Sadly and scarily, technology can harm us too. We have all become far too dependent on devices like smartphones and utilities like indoor plumbing and electricity. If you want to see the worst of humanity, look no further than a blackout. When there is a large-scale power-outage, society quickly breaks down. Friends and neighbors will turn on each other for a loaf of bread at a local bodega. Today, Symantec announces a malware discovery that targets energy companies, including in the USA. In other words, this malware has the potential to cause chaos and destroy society.

Everybody is gaga over the friggin' cloud. Sure, I love the convenience of the cloud too -- I backup my precious family photos to Google Drive just in case. The cloud should not be anyone's sole means of backup however, and if it is, there should be redundancy between 2 or 3 services.

For my important files, I do not trust the cloud exclusively. Believe it or not, I still like to use optical media as a backup medium. However, I no longer use CD or DVD, but 50GB Blu-ray disks. Pricey? Yes, but worth it. In addition to optical media, I also use flash drives, but only ones of quality and performance. In the past, I have had luck with Silicon Power products, and that company announces the M70 flash drive -- super fast and super sexy.

I'll let you in on a secret -- I was not a good student. I was more interested in daydreaming and staring out the window than learning about long division and history. I would wait all year for summer vacation so I could turn my brain off for a couple of months. While some people liked to read during the vacation, I much preferred flattening pennies on the railroad tracks, running around barefoot in the grass or throwing rocks at a random object like a stop sign. Book learnin' during the summer months was for suckers.

Today, Microsoft announces plans to ruin summer vacation for kids with the power of Bing. Yes, the company actually wants kids to learn while off from school. Will you make your kid learn?

Apple makes some wonderful hardware, like MacBooks, iPads and iPhones to name a few. Plus, its OS X and iOS operating systems are well-designed and rock solid. However, the company's apps and programs are rather hit or miss.

iWork used to be a very capable office suite. Sure, it was not as good as Microsoft Office, but it got the job done. Last year, Apple updated iWork and while it looked pretty, much of its functionality was removed. The same was done to Final Cut Pro X in 2011. In other words, Apple seems to be focusing more on casual users than professionals. Today, the company kills popular photography program Aperture which continues this trend of dumbing down its own software.

While the Amazon Appstore's app selection is not as abundant as the Google Play store, it does have many premium apps. One of the most endearing qualities of Amazon's store is that every day, it offers one paid app for free. If you check it every day, you can discover some great and not-so-great apps. However, it is tedious to check it every day and easy to forget too.

Today, Amazon is deciding to be generous and delivers 31 awesome paid apps for free. That's right, you pay nothing for 31 apps that combined would normally cost over $100. There must be a catch right? Well, sort of -- they are only free for two days. Read on to take advantage.

Being number three can be good. In the Olympics, it is good enough for a bronze medal. However, there are different levels of third place, as it depends on how many competitors there are.

When it comes to smartphones, Windows Phone is a distant third in a race that only has three legitimate competitors, with iPhone and Android being the other two. Microsoft’s platform however, is making huge strides and today gets two premium apps -- Adobe Photoshop Express and Roku. Apple and Google should be worried.

Linux is great for a litany of reasons, but one of the most important is refurbishing. You see, an operating system based on the open-source kernel can breathe new life into an older computer, and effectively turn it into a new machine. This is because the operating systems are typically less system intensive than Windows.

Unfortunately, not all Linux-based operating systems are equally lightweight. Some may require better specs than others, usually due to the environment. Something like Unity or KDE may require a more modern computer for an optimal experience, but what if your machine has really low specs? A great environment for an old and weak machine is Xfce. Though not the lightest, it feels modern, while lighter environments can feel archaic. Today, Linux Mint embraces the low-end, with version 17 of its operating system, now with Xfce as an option.

Google is a cool company. Regardless of what you think about its services or products, you cannot deny the cool-factor that it has. However, can a person or company be too cool? What I mean is, can the cool actions become tiring and possibly even annoying? Remember when Fonzie jumped over a shark on Happy Days?

I'm not saying Google "jumped the shark", but today, the search-giant may have crossed the line into being a parody of itself with a new project called Cardboard. The name is quite literal -- Google wants users to fold cardboard in the shape of a face mask that will ultimately turn  the user's smartphone into a makeshift virtual-reality mask. Yes, Google is asking us to strap a smartphone to our faces. Umm, cool?

There are many ways to save money nowadays, such as only brushing your teeth every other day to save toothpaste or filling up your ketchup bottle with packets from McDonalds -- just kidding, guys. However, there are some things you should never do to save money. A good example is shoes -- something that are on your feet all day. In other words, buying uncomfortable shoes to save a buck is hardly a bargain.

This is also true with wireless routers and trust me, I've learned the hard way. Buying bargain-priced routers results in poor performance and dropped connections. Nothing sucks as much as having to unplug your router to reset it each week. And so, when it comes to routers, I try to get the best. Currently, I am using the newest Apple Airport Extreme AC router. It has proven to be extremely reliable and very fast. Today however, NETGEAR releases a router that makes me consider upgrading -- the Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Tri-Band WiFi Router.

Some people say Google is better than Bing, and maybe they are right. However, that is a subjective statement. What they really mean to say is that Google is better for them. In reality they are both great search engines with different pros and cons. My favorite aspect of Microsoft's search engine is Bing Rewards -- a program that rewards users for searching. Hell, if you are searching anyways, why not get rewarded?

Sadly, Microsoft released a Bing Rewards app for Android and iOS, but not its own Windows Phone platform. This was hugely disappointing for users of Microsoft's mobile operating system, including myself. Today, Microsoft levels the playing field and makes it available for Windows Phone too.

The Surface Pro 3 is an amazing computer -- one that I highly recommend. It can be your full-time laptop, tablet and desktop too. Yes, there are less expensive computers, but if you can afford it, don't you deserve it? Unfortunately, in these tough economic times, not everyone can afford a new computer. Between utility bills and the rising cost of gasoline for your car, there is not as much money to go around. College students in particular are aware of these woes, struggling to afford the high costs of education, while eating ramen soup.

Luckily, it seems Microsoft understands these issues and wants you to have a Surface Pro 3 anyway. No, the company isn't just giving them away -- the tech giant is having a sweepstakes in conjunction with Skype and you can possibly win one. Interested? Read on.

Earlier today, my colleague Wayne Williams reported that Microsoft is releasing its first Android phone. While not the first smartphone from Nokia to be powered by Google's operating system, it is the first under Microsoft's leadership. Let that sink in for a minute -- Microsoft is releasing a device powered by Linux. Has hell frozen? Are pigs flying? Surely, this is the sign of the apocalypse.

Every smartphone needs a default browser however, and the Nokia X2 is no exception. Sadly, Microsoft has not ported Internet Explorer to Android -- I would welcome that in the future though. No, it has chosen a different browser as default and it is not Chrome or Firefox, but Opera.

Sometimes it feels like the whole world went and got crazy. It's true, with every passing day, all types of newfangled gadgets, doodads and wild ideas are released. Google is at the forefront, with Google Glass, self-driving cars and Nest internet-connected thermostats. Truth be told, I'm hardly a Luddite, but I am wary of having a computer and camera strapped to my head or having my home connected to the internet.

I am not scared of the technology, but of the hackers. You see, anything connected to the internet has the capability of being hacked or exploited. This makes me hesitant to embrace the connected home. Think I'm crazy? Think again. Today, popular Google TV hacking site GTV Hacker, announces it has hacked the device to enable the booting of unsigned code. If you own a Nest, hackers could have a backdoor into your home.

It is very sad that countries cannot trust each other anymore. Maybe they never did and I am simply naïve, but I never gave a second thought as to which country manufactured my electronics. Hell, as an American I have to trust the goods from other lands -- we do not manufacture any! (OK, we do manufacture some things). But could my motherboard, Blu-ray player or cable box have secret spying capabilities baked in? I suppose so. Even sadder, I am powerless to do anything about it -- I am not about to create circuit boards in my garage.

What once may have been seen as paranoia, now becomes reality in the aftermath of PRISM and other Snowden-leaked programs. It seems every country is spying on the other, including allies. It is rumored that the USA may have directly spied on German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany is supposed to be a friend an ally, so if that is happening, lord only knows what the USA would do to its less friendly world neighbors. Today, it comes to light that Russia is looking to ditch computer processors made by Intel and AMD in favor of its own, presumably to prevent spying by the USA.

I love using and tinkering with Linux -- it is a very rewarding hobby. However, I am quite busy most days and don't have as much time for tinkering and playing around as I would like. Still, I enjoy using Linux-based operating systems for general use, and for that I demand something easy and mindless. There are so many distributions to choose from (some may argue, too many), but lately I just go with dependable and easy-to-use Mint.

I am a huge fan of Gnome 3, but I will concede that it isn't the most productive environment when working with a large monitor. While Cinnamon is great, it cannot be customized to my liking and is overall not as pretty as the superior KDE. Today, the Mint Team announces the availability of Linux Mint 17 KDE and I am excited.