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If This Then That has been popular for a while, allowing users to create all sorts of new and creative functionality to make their lives simpler. In fact, recently the service became compatible with Amazon Echo and we took a look at how to set up a simple recipe that allows users to locate a lost phone -- providing it isn't muted and is within range to hear it ringing.

We're always looking for new and creative ideas to make this even better and one of those is home automation. With that in mind, IFTTT is unveiling its Honeywell Total Connect Comfort channel. Much like Nest, this is a smart thermostat that can be set from an app and done from anywhere in the world.

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To quote my main homeboy Charlie Brown, "Good grief!" -- 2015 has been a very difficult year. While no year has ever been perfect, this one has felt particularly long and taxing. Sure, there were positives, such as Caitlyn Jenner's courageous gender change, and the royal birth of baby Charlotte. But sadly, there were also horrific moments, such as the terrorist attacks in Paris, the Germanwings 9525 crash, and the heart-breaking EU refugee crisis.

While the importance of each moment varies in importance from person to person, overall, we have a shared societal experience that makes all of these things impact our lives. Whether you like it or not, the Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy break-up -- as silly as it may be -- has changed the world. A great way to see what is on the minds of people is to analyze search data. Today, Microsoft shares the top Bing searches of 2015. And yes, Kim Kardashian is once again making the list.

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If you are a computer builder, you have probably bought a graphics card before. Sure, some people -- like yours truly -- like to utilize on-board graphics when possible to save money, but for the best gaming performance, a dedicated GPU is ideal.

For businesses, however, gaming is not typically a priority. With that said, some companies still have a need for a powerful GPU in a workstation depending on their needs. For instance, if your business works with CAD, it is essential. Today, AMD unveils the FirePro W4300 -- a low-profile beast. It features 4GB of GDDR5 and four mini Display Ports in a svelte package -- perfect for small form factor machines.

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Facebook has done an excellent job of becoming the social network, connecting people all over the world. More recently, it has tapped into business markets by providing companies with a quick, easy, and -- importantly -- free way to create an online presence. Now, with an update to its Page plugin, Facebook is making it easier for businesses to connect and communicate with customers.

The update makes it possible to better integrate Facebook with an existing website. Companies can easily add the ability to send a message via their website, and the communication will appear on Facebook on the Messages tab. The update also makes it easier to share news about upcoming events, keeping all-important customer engagement going.

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Privacy issues in relation to Facebook make frequent appearances, but they tend to focus on instances of the social network using the browsing and account data of logged in users. However, a recent court case in Belgium highlighted the fact that the site was tracking people who accessed public Facebook pages either without a Facebook account, or without logging into one.

This change has a couple of implications for people. Firstly, it means that people who are trying to stay off Facebook's radar will be better able to do so, but it also means that previously accessible content will only be available to those willing to log into their account. Facebook is complying with the Belgian court order that was handed down last month, but the company is not happy about it and intends to fight back.

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Slowly over the past couple of months, Sling TV has been rolling out an update. It has already hit Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Android TV, Mac, PC and also mobile platforms Android and iOS. Now the reach of this release will become complete, as Roku is on tap.

This is happening now, as Sling TV is officially announcing the update for the tiny set-top boxes. The company labels this as phase one of its plan. This brings a brand new user interface which contains a revamped channel guide that Sling claims gives a quicker response and easier access to live channels and on-demand content.

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A group of hackers is trying to extort money from three Greek banks and is threatening the financial institutions with DDoS attacks unless they comply.

The group, which goes by the name Armada Collective, has asked the three banks which weren’t named, to pay a ransom in Bitcoin or face a distributed denial of service attack.

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Regardless of where you stand on climate change, loving the earth and your fellow inhabitants of said planet are always a positive. Yes, it can be confusing that we are told the world is warming while experiencing crazy amounts of snow, but remember -- your experiences aren't indicative of the entire world. If some small changes in our day to day lives can have a positive impact, why argue about it?

Today, AMD announces that it has signed the American Business Act on Climate pledge, joining President Obama and the White House in protecting humanity from man-made climate change. This is on top of the company's existing initiative to protect the Earth.

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Google got accidentally DDoSed by an unnamed European network carrier, sending its cloud service offline on the old continent for about an hour.

The incident occurred last Monday, but it is only now that Google has decided to explain exactly what happened.

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As the world's home users trend towards greater cloud-storage adoption, the enterprise continues to -- wisely -- embrace on-premise storage too. Don't forget, the cloud is not magic either; the online storage companies need hard disk drives to store all of this data.

Today, Western Digital's HGST subsidiary announces that it is shipping the world's first 10TB hard disk drive. Featuring perpendicular magnetic recording and a helium-filled body, it is on the cutting-edge. Data center maintainers should go absolutely gaga.

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Application producers are aware of rapid change impacting their ability to make money from their software products, but they're not adopting the automated licensing and entitlement management systems that would protect them from those changes and enable them to be more agile, and grow revenues and profits.

This is the conclusion of a new report by Flexera Software which shows that producers are aware that rapid technology changes are impacting the business climate, creating new opportunity and risk.

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When it comes to migrating to the cloud, 65 percent of companies are concerned with security, a new survey by Netwrix has unveiled.

Moreover, 40 percent worry about the loss of physical control over data in the cloud. In particular, 69 percent of companies fear migration will increase the risk of unauthorized access, while 43 percent worry about account hijacking.

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New research from information security company High-Tech Bridge reveals that the security of some of the most popular mail services, including Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo is lacking.

The company used its SSL checker service to test the popular email services for 31 different criteria, including the most recent SSL/TLS vulnerabilities and weaknesses, compliance with PCI DSS requirements, and compliance with NIST guidelines.

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Even though it already has a smartphone line, rumors suggest that Microsoft wants to release a smartphone under the Surface brand. It may sound a bit far-fetched, but this might just be what Microsoft and Windows 10 Mobile really need to become a serious contender in the high-end smartphone market.

While Surface tablets are increasingly more appealing, following the introduction of Surface Pro 3, the Lumia line is proving to be increasingly less attractive in consumers' eyes, as proven by its tiny 1.7 percent market share. Moving an upcoming flagship product from a fading to an up and coming brand starts to make a whole lot of sense.

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More than 60 percent of companies in the UK and Germany say that they either test their disaster recovery plan either less than once a year, or don't test it at all.

This is among the findings of research conducted by data recovery specialist Kroll Ontrack which finds that a mere nine percent of companies test their plan every one to five months and another 29 percent every six months to a year.

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