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Android can be a bit of a pain in the butt, as new versions of the operating system don't reach all devices -- even new ones. Unlike iOS where Apple provides updates to all of its devices for years, many Android manufacturers seldom ever issue updates. Heck, it is possible to buy a phone or tablet and never get an OS update!

The best way to avoid such madness is to buy a Nexus or Pixel device directly from Google. This will guarantee you a reasonable amount of updates, although not on the same level as iOS. If you own a Nexus or Pixel device, I have good news. Starting today, you can download the first official Android "Oreo" Beta. While Oreo is not yet the official name, many folks are predicting it to eventually be named after the famed cookie.

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Google Home is getting smarter. Today at Google I/O, Google revealed that the Amazon Echo rival will not only be spreading to more countries this summer (Canada, Australia, France, Germany and Japan specifically) but it will benefit from more new features than you can shake a stick at.

In all, there are more than 50 new features coming to the smart little device including Proactive Assistance, integration with the likes of Soundcloud and the free tier of Spotify, as well as hands-free voice calling. There's also expanded Bluetooth support to transform Google Home into a more useful speaker, and much more.

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Two thirds of consumers in the UK would "break up" with a brand if it suffers a data breach.

That's according to a new report by Talend which highlights the importance of businesses engaging with customers to ensure they provide high-quality data security.

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Yes, the rumors were true (as they so often are when it comes to Google) -- the search giant announced at its I/O developer conference today that its personal assistant is coming to the iPhone.

As you might expect (and as is the case with Microsoft’s Cortana), you won’t be able to replace Siri with Google Assistant, instead you’ll need to summon it through a dedicated app. That’s not the only downside.

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Today is the start of Google I/O 2017 -- be sure to watch the keynote here. There will be plenty of interesting announcements from the company. While much of it will be developer focused, there is sure to be news that will tickle the fancy of consumers too.

Gmail is one of Google's most popular services, and today, the company announces that it is bringing a cool feature to it -- Smart Reply. What is it? Well, the search giant's computers will read your emails, and then offer suggested replies. The service will even use machine learning to improve by reading your replies too. Understandably, some people will have privacy concerns.

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When Microsoft rolled out the previous Windows 10 Redstone 3 build to Insiders (Build 16193), it looked as if the new Story Remix feature was going to be included. However, it turns out the software giant had other plans, and only made it available to a select group of testers (of which I’m lucky enough to be one).

Microsoft says that the "large majority of Windows Insiders in the Fast ring should have Story Remix right now", however, and you can check by launching the Photos app which it’s part of. (If it's not there, and you want to try it, you can request access by sending an email to [email protected].) There’s no such confusion with this week’s new release, Build 16199, as everyone can try all of the new features today -- and there are quite few of those.

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Enterprises are under increasing pressure to adopt the benefits the Internet of Things can offer, but they need to be able to deliver fast performance at large scale.

IoT platform company infiswift is launching a new solution to deliver powerful IoT infrastructure that can also be scaled down from the cloud to run on an edge device like a Raspberry Pi or Arduino.

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If you do not fancy the Apple iPhone 7 Plus or the new Samsung Galaxy S8+, Google still has a very attractive option for fans of bigger smartphones -- the Pixel XL. It has a premium build, fast internals, an amazing camera, and software support straight from the search giant itself.

Making the Pixel XL an even more interesting option is the fact that Google is now offering a free case with the purchase of its larger Android 7.1-powered smartphone. Here's what you need to know.

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It’s that time once again when Google takes to the stage to reveal its future plans.

The annual Google I/O developer conference kicks off today, with a keynote taking place at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. Among other things, the search giant will be revealing more about Android O, the next version of its Android operating system. That’s not all though.

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Android tablets aren't very exciting anymore, as manufacturers have seemingly lost focus on them. There have been a few solid offerings here and there, but it is a very sad state of affairs. With that said, Amazon's Fire tablets -- which run a version of Android called "Fire OS" -- still provide rewarding experiences as consumption devices. This is especially true if you are a Prime member. These tablets are definitely a bright spot in the market.

Amazon's tablets have needed a refresh for a while now, and today it happens. The company announces two newly updated models -- the Fire 7 and the Fire HD 8. They both feature Alexa support, of course, and are designed for a quality experience with all types of media, such as movies, music, and books. The 7-inch has a 1024 x 600 resolution, while the 8-inch variant has 1280 x 800. Best of all, they are extremely affordable.

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A majority of cyber security professionals don’t trust the data that they get from their tools according to a new report from risk analysis company Bay Dynamics.

The survey, carried out by research firm Enterprise Management Associates, of more than 400 security professionals in organizations with more than 5,000 employees reveals that 52 percent of threat alerts are improperly prioritized by systems and must be manually re-prioritized.

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The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are off to a fantastic start. Samsung's latest Android flagships have posted the "best ever" performance in terms of pre-orders, with Samsung touting a 30 percent improvement over the Galaxy S7 series. That should not come as a surprise considering just how well received the two smartphones have been.

But, question is, how does that translate into actual sales? An estimate that we've seen last month indicates that annual sales will exceed the 50 million units mark, and, so far, it looks like Samsung is on the right track judging by the first official sales announcement.

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Windows utilities specialist Ashampoo GmbH has released Ashampoo WinOptimizer 15.0, a major new update of its Windows maintenance and optimization tool.

Version 15 has been rebuilt around making the program easier to use via a new usability concept and more intuitive user interface. It’s also fine-tuned many of its system maintenance tools for significant performance improvements.

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Python is an open source, versatile, and powerful programming language. Learning Python, from Packt Publishing, will teach you how to master it, and code like a professional. It’s well written, easy to follow, and lays a good foundation for those who are interested in digging deeper.

Starting with the fundamentals of programming and Python, it ends by exploring very different topics, like GUIs, web apps and data science. The book takes you all the way to creating a fully-fledged application.

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News over the past week has been dominated by the fallout from the WannaCry ransomware. Now the hacking group that released the NSA's hacking tool kit into the wild has announced plans to start an exploit subscription service in June.

ShadowBrokers used a blog post to announce that next month will see the launch of "TheShadowBrokers Data Dump of the Month" service. Described as "being like wine of month club," such a subscription service would attract a great deal of interest from intelligence agencies and would-be hackers alike, particularly if -- as the group suggests -- it includes access to Windows 10 exploits.

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