In some ways it only seems like five minutes since the appearance of Windows 8. But at the same time, it feels as though Windows 10 has been a long time coming. While Microsoft has been talking about the upgrade for quite some time, it has only been in recent months that there has been any sense of progress having been made.

Early builds of Windows 10 were a little lacklustre, and even later builds failed to inspire the levels of excitement that Microsoft would undoubtedly want them to do. Any new version of Windows is met with a combination of trepidation, eagerness, and disappointment, and Windows 10 is no different. It's very easy to say that it is impossible to please everyone, but it's certainly fair to say that Windows 10 has proved particularly divisive. Now, as we edge ever closer to launch, the time comes to ask -- what has Microsoft done right, and what is still wrong?

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Google is everywhere, you cannot run and you cannot hide. Well, maybe I am being a bit dramatic, but if you use Android or any of Google's services, it is compiling data to track your actions and behaviors. The search giant may know your favorite restaurants, sexual tastes, plus home and work locations too.

If you use Google Maps and location services, the search giant is even tracking your movements. While that can lead to powering some useful solutions, it is also creepy as hell. Today, Google announces "Your Timeline", which is a tool for Android and desktop that shows you all the places you have been. While it is sort of cool, it is also a reminder that Google is watching you.

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All eyes turned to Apple this afternoon as the world's most profitable tech company announced the first full quarterly results that include its smartwatch. You could hear a collective pin drop across the Internet as U.S. stock markets closed and everyone waited wondering: Flop or Not?

We don't know. In the press release, CEO Tim Cook refers to the "great start for Apple Watch", but there's no data in the PR or in the 8-K filing with the SEC. The device fits into the "Other" category. During Cook's earnings conference call opening remarks hard data also is lacking.

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After the closing bell today, Apple announced results for fiscal third quarter, which largely is congruent with calendar Q2 (End date, April 27). Broadly: $49.6 billion in sales, $10.7 billion net income, and $1.85 earnings per share. Year over year, revenue rose 33 percent and EPS by 45 percent. Apple guidance before the big reveal: Between $46 billion and $48 billion revenue. Wall Street consensus was $49.31 billion sales and $1.81 EPS. The Street's estimates ranged from $46.9 billion to $53.64 billion.

Gross margin reached 39.7 percent compared to 39.4 percent annually and 40.8 percent sequentially. Company guidance: 38.5 percent to 39.5 percent. Once again, international sales accounted for most of the quarter's sales: 64 percent, which is up from 59 percent the previous year but down from 69 percent three months earlier.

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An ex Google employee says her bonuses were blocked by management because she created a crowd-sourced spreadsheet which revealed inequality in pays.

Erica Baker worked at Google for nine years before switching to Slack. She recently took to Twitter to explain what she did. On a boring Sunday afternoon at work, Baker and a couple of colleagues created a spreadsheet that would list everybody’s salaries as an experiment in radical transparency.

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It’s fair to say Anonymous is no fan of Islamic State. The hacktivist collective has been waging an online war against the terrorist organization for a while now as part of #OpISIS. Five months ago it described Islamic State as a virus, and itself as the cure.

Now Anonymous has a new weapon which it’s using to reduce the impact of Islamic State’s presence on Twitter -- female Japanese Anime characters.

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When Hacking Team was hacked, a massive cache of data was leaked, including the source code for government-strength surveillance tools. Hacking Team warned that the code could have fallen into terrorist hands, but then backtracked slightly to say that any code that had been obtained was incomplete and out of date.

We already know that the company managed to sneak malicious apps into Google Play, and you might be concerned that some of its malware has made its way onto your computer. To help put minds at rest -- hopefully -- Rook Software has released a tool to seek out Hacking Tool malware.

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Many consumers buy iPads or other tablets and then run out to buy super-rugged cases. Buying a case is a good idea, as it protects the tablet from drops. With that said, many of these cases are overkill. Doubling or tripling the weight of your tablet when you don't even take it out of the house is silly -- a lesser case will probably be enough to survive a spill from the couch.

With all of that said, there are people that truly need rugged tablets. These are men and women working in harsh conditions -- hot temperatures, mud, snow, etc. Today, Dell announces a tablet for these people, the Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet. It is hardcore to the max!

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The Surface line of computers are amazing machines. Whether you choose the less-powerful (yet more compact) Surface 3 or more powerful and larger Surface Pro 3, you are sure to be happy with your decision. They are truly the best way to experience Windows on the go.

Unfortunately, they require Wi-Fi for internet connectivity. While some people can share their smartphone's connection with the Surface, not everyone has that ability. Plus, tethering can quickly drain the phone's battery too. An LTE- enabled model would be ideal. Well, that is soon to become a reality. The long-promised Surface 3 LTE is coming to AT&T on July 24th. In just a few days you can buy the portable machine of your dreams.

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When a company's information was held all together in a single data center it was easy to keep control, to protect it and to ensure it didn't fall into the wrong hands.

But today with data in the cloud and on mobile devices locating, tracking, monitoring and preserving sensitive details is a much harder task.

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For some strange and unknown reason, we humans often fear our certain ideas, products and ways of thinking are coming to an end.

Think of all the "iPhone killers", "Facebook killers", "World of Warcraft killers" out there -- products, devices and services which were thought to bring the end for some of our most lovable inventions.

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One of the main reasons businesses move their systems to the cloud is to save money. Where business communications are concerned the savings can be significant but can lead to having yet another separate platform.

Now though business communications specialist RingCentral is announcing the integration of RingCentral Office with Microsoft Office 365. This blends RingCentral's cloud business phone system with Microsoft's cloud productivity work environment, giving joint customers a powerful solution.

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The Internet of Things (IoT) is stealing a lot of headlines today, and much of it is due to its truly impressive growth numbers. For example, according to Cisco Systems, in 2008, there were already more "things" connected to the Internet than people, and by 2020, the number of Internet-connected things is projected to reach 50 billion.

What does this rising growth in IoT-connected devices mean for your network? Because there could be many additional devices that need to be monitored in the future, this could make network monitoring more time consuming and complex. For some, this may seem like an incredible challenge, but by planning and taking action now you can get ready to face this challenge of the future. So what can you do today to get ready for the future rush of IoT devices?

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You know what to expect when it comes to war games, right? Lots of shooting, action, and bravery. This War of Mine isn’t like that. At all.

For starters, you don’t play as a soldier, or a band of fighters. Instead you’re in charge of a small group of ordinary Eastern Europeans trapped in a war zone, just trying to survive on a day-to-day basis by whatever means possible. This includes scavenging, bartering, and stealing. While there are moments of positivity, the chief feelings you’ll experience as you play the game are hopelessness and despair. But that’s what makes it so great. This War of Mine stays with you long after you’ve turned off the iPad.

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When Apple announced the new storage sizes for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, a lot of customers were bummed that the 32GB option did not replace the 16GB option. It essentially forced anyone who used a fair share of apps to buy the 64GB model.

Thankfully, Apple might be planning to change this with the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. According to MIC Gadget, Apple will make the 32GB model the standard, with 64GB and 128GB for those that want to use all of the storage of music, movie and photo files.

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