Last year around seven percent of all data was stored in the cloud, but by 2016 it's estimated that 36 percent of data will be in cloud storage, generating a potential revenue of over $4 billion. Of current storage users, 38 percent say they already use the cloud with 34 percent planning to do so.

Salesforce and Google Drive linking specialist Cirrus Files has been looking at the three main public cloud providers, Dropbox, Box and Google Drive to see how their services compare in this fast-growing sector.

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Twenty-fourth in a series. Apple refreshed its aging iPod touch lineup this week, introducing a new 16GB model with an iSight camera, and lowered the price of the existing models. If you’ve been tempted to pick up an iPod touch, but were put off by the price, now is the time to go for it.

The App Store saw some excellent releases this week, including a free app which lets you store unlimited photos and videos in the cloud, a Ministry of Silly Walks game voiced by John Cleese, a travel app that covers everything from planning to booking, an origami based puzzle game, and a slot machine that lets you put pictures of friends and family on the reels. And that’s just for starters!

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The hype machine is still in overdrive in the storage market, cranking out myths that businesses need to see through if they don't want to be bamboozled into adopting solutions that won't meet their requirements.

While there are plenty of things storage vendors want you to believe, here are 10 things they don't want you to know.

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Samsung has told investors to expect lower than anticipated profits for its second quarter results for the fiscal year.

The news reinforces concerns over a year-on-year downturn and finance chief, Lee Sang Hoon has confirmed the financial woes.

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Opera Software ASA has unveiled Opera Mini 8.0, a major new version of its speed-optimized browser for iPhone and iPad. The browser, which uses compression technologies to speed up data transfer and browsing, gets a major overhaul with this new release, the first for over two years.

It’s also joined by a new version of Opera Developer 24.0 for Windows and Mac, which adds a new Tab Preview feature.

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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.

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NPO The Blender Foundation has released Blender 2.71, an update to its cross-platform, open-source 3D graphics tool. Version 2.71, also available in 64-bit and portable form on Windows, includes new features and continues to build on the recently revamped user interface.

Areas that enjoy significant changes include the Cycles renderer, Animation, Modelling, Sculpting-Painting, Game Engine and Freestyle NPR Rendering tool.

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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.

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Technology users are putting themselves at risk by ignoring how their personal information is being stored and the potential security risks that go hand in hand with digital devices.

This is the conclusion of a round table panel of security experts put together by hosting company UKFast. According to the panel the buzz of social media and the ever-evolving digital scene has created an ignorant culture of technology consumers.

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Last week Apple quietly introduced a new entry-level iMac. This week it’s added a new entry-level iPod touch to the Apple Store, and slashed the price of existing models.

The new iPod touch comes with 16GB of storage, a 5-megapixel, 1080p rear iSight camera and color-matched wrist strap loop. It’s priced at $199. The price of the 32 and 64GB models have been slashed to $249 and $299 from $299 and $399 respectively.

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Taiwanese maker HTC is now, undoubtedly, at the pinnacle of timely Android upgrades. It was among the first to announce and deliver KitKat, and now it is stepping up to the plate once again by revealing its Android "L" plans.

HTC says all of its One (M7) and One (M8) smartphones will receive Android L within 90 days of getting the final bits of code from Google. That means both unlocked and mobile operator-branded versions of its two most-recent flagships; One (M7) -- as the original One is referred to by HTC now -- arrived more than a year ago, while One (M8) was launched in late-March, 2014.

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Unix is renowned for its powerful command line tools, and there are many ways you can try at least some of them on the PC. Installing Gnu on Windows gets you 100+ of the best known tools, recompiled to run under Windows, while favorites like grep have been ported individually.

But if you’re looking for simplicity and convenience, it’s hard to beat BusyBox, which crams tiny versions of 117 Unix utilities into a single 645 KB executable. There’s no bulk, no complex folder structure, just one package which provides everything you need.

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Google I/O 2014 started yesterday and, thanks to a lengthy first-day keynote, the search giant has already made plenty of headlines one after another. And for good reason, as it unveiled new software, new hardware (albeit none of it was Nexus-branded) and a number of sweeping changes to its portfolio. Say what you will, but Google sure had plenty of interesting things to show without even announcing a new Nexus tablet (as we were used to in the past two years).

The amount of information from the conference is overwhelming, so here is the tl;dr version.

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Browsing Instagram photos online is simple and straightforward, but if you’d prefer local copies then that’s also easy to arrange, with just a little help from the open source InstagramSaver.

Download, unzip and launch the program and you’re presented with a clear and simple interface. At a minimum, all you have to do is enter an Instagram user name, click Download, and watch as InstagramSaver grabs all the photos from that account.

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Social media is increasingly important to companies, not just as a marketing tool but also to help spot trends and allow firms to react in real time.

Consumer intelligence specialist newBrandAnalytics has released a new cloud-based offering called Pulse which allows companies to monitor trending topics and conversations that impact their brand and product perception.

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