Ad blocking has been going on for years, but it’s risen in popularity a lot lately, thanks in part to Apple allowing ad blockers into the App Store. Popular content blocker Adblock Plus has been having conversations with advertisers recently too and is looking to discover just why people block ads on the web.

In an interesting move, mobile network operator Three has announced that it will be using ad blocking technology created by Israeli startup Shine to block adverts on a network level.

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After a flurry of new builds, Insiders on the Fast ring have had to wait a whole two weeks for the latest Windows 10 update to arrive.

Unlike previous Fast ring releases, which focused on updates to OneCore (the core that Windows 10 shares across devices) and preparing the ground work for future additions, like extensions, Build 14267 actually has some improvements worthy of note, including several usability enhancements to Microsoft Edge.

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Surface Book, Microsoft’s hybrid laptop/tablet combo, officially launches in the UK from today.

If you're not familiar with it, the device has a detachable screen, a hinge that divides opinion (some people think it looks great, others hate it), and enough power to suit most users’ needs. It has a 13.5-inch PixelSense touchscreen display with a 3:2 aspect ratio that makes it great for getting "real work" done.

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While Gmail is the most popular webmail service in the world, not everyone uses it. Plenty of people prefer to get their email through Outlook.com or Yahoo Mail.

Google would like you to use its service -- naturally -- but understands you may not want to go to the hassle of switching, or changing your email address. This is where Gmailify comes in. Link your existing Microsoft or Yahoo webmail account through it (support for other email providers is planned), and you’ll get all of the benefits of Gmail without needing a Gmail address.

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Microsoft launched its original Wireless Display Adapter back in 2014. The accessory allows anyone to wirelessly beam content from a Miracast-enabled device -- be it a tablet, smartphone or laptop -- directly to a big screen TV. It functions in a similar fashion to the Chromecast, but while Google's dongle works best with apps that support it, Microsoft's product uses Miracast technology and doesn't require individual app support.

Today the tech giant announces plans for an updated model. So what’s changed?

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Apple has been ordered by the US courts to help the FBI gain access to data on an iPhone belonging to San Bernardino gunman Syed Rizwan Farook. Farook and his wife killed 14 people in the California city late last year before being shot dead by police.

The FBI says the phone contains information crucial to the investigation, and needs Apple’s help to unlock it. Data on Apple devices is encrypted by default -- and has been since September 2014 -- which means no one, other than the device owner, can access it. And that includes Apple itself.

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Part of the reason the PC was originally so successful is down upgradability, and that’s still a factor today. If your computer starts to run a little sluggish, you can always add more RAM, or swap your HDD for an SSD. Some PCs are easier to upgrade than others, but Microsoft is looking into a way to make upgrading so easy that absolutely anyone could do it.

The idea is a modular computer that consists of magnetic units that you can snap off without the use of tools and replace with newer, better components. Not unlike building a PC from Lego.

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If you grew up in the UK in the 1980s, you likely either had a Sinclair ZX Spectrum or a Commodore 64. I was firmly in the Spectrum camp, and whiled away much of my youth playing classics such as Jet Set Willy and Skool Daze.

Retro Computers, led by Sir Clive Sinclair, last year resurrected the Spectrum in the form of the Vega, and this year it’s following up that low-cost games computer with a handheld model -- the Vega+.

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Yesterday, The Inquirer reported on how Windows 10 was resetting some changed app defaults back to Microsoft’s own bundled universal apps.

In the primary example given, image viewer Irfanview was displaced by Windows 10’s own Photos app, a change that had been instigated, it seems, by cumulative update KB3135173.

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The Raspberry Pi Zero is incredibly hard to get hold off. Hardly surprising, when you consider its $5 asking price.

Retailers such as The Pi Hut do replenish their stocks on a semi-regular basis, but even so you’ll have to act fast as even with a one-per-customer restriction in place, they sell out again almost immediately. Fortunately, there is a clever way to find out where the Pi Zero is in stock.

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There have been a few serious iPhone issues discovered recently. Some phones got bricked by the iOS 9 Slide to Upgrade bug, there was a website that instantly crashed browsers and rebooted iPhones, and -- most recently -- Error 53 bricked devices repaired by non-Apple technicians.

Now a new iPhone-bricking bug has reportedly been discovered. And I say reportedly, because I’m certainly not about to try it.

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Modern IT architectures have opened commercial off-the-shelf software categories to new forms of innovation. But still, most B2B eCommerce solutions have yet to evolve. The result is that many firms are left with outdated, in-house infrastructures or bulky SaaS tools that hamper operations, leave customers unsatisfied and can’t keep up at the speed businesses demand. Developers today who work with B2B eCommerce tools gravitate toward cloud-based platforms that are more comprehensive, agile and customizable. This allows for the creation of services and workflows that meet their unique needs.

I spoke with Steve Davis, chief technology officer at Four51, which powers B2B eCommerce for over 10,000 businesses and nearly 20 million users, about what B2B eCommerce solutions should entail and what developers’ priorities are -- or should be -- when building a modern day eCommerce site.

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Windows 3.1 was the first version of Windows I ever used. The Internet Archive, which has over the past couple of years made it possible to play classic DOS games and console games in your browser, has just added over 1,000 Windows 3.1 programs to its catalog.

These include games, utilities and business software, and each can be run in your browser just by clicking on them.

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If you’re a Windows 10 Insider you currently have the choice of being in either the Fast or Slow rings. The Fast ring is used for cutting edge -- and potentially more buggy -- builds, while Slow ring releases tend to be pushed out less frequently, but are proven to be more stable.

Which ring you choose depends on how desperately you want to try out new builds -- it’s safe to say Fast ring releases aren’t really suited for use on your main PC. However, from today there’s now a third choice available to Insiders, and that’s the Release Preview ring.

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The reason Microsoft has given for pushing Windows 10 so aggressively is it wants to get users to a "safe place". Very altruistic. Although there’s no excuse for forcing users to upgrade in the manner that it has.

Still, there’s no questioning that Windows 10 is Microsoft’s safest operating system to date and to help sell the security benefits, the software giant has put together a web page detailing how the OS can protect you from modern security threats.

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