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Lenovo seems to be hedging its bets in the exciting new world of tablet-Ultrabook hybrids. The company offers models where the screen is removable, like the ThinkPad Helix, and also where it rotates, like the ThinkPad Yoga. The Yoga 2 Pro is the latest non-corporate version of the latter. The basic concept is the same as the ThinkPad Yoga, but it moves the genre forward considerably in one key area.

The primary step forward is the screen, which has a whopping resolution of 3,200 x 1,800. This is even greater than the considerable 2,560 x 1,440 offered by Dell's XPS 11 2-in-1 Ultrabook, although the Yoga 2 Pro has a larger 13.3-inch display, like Toshiba's KIRA 101. It's an IPS screen, too, so doesn't suffer from the viewing angle issues of the cheaper TN variety, with the display clear from every position. Detail is superb, although colour is a little more muted than we would have expected.

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While there’s certainly no shortage of cloud storage solutions to choose from, Norton Zone’s appeal -- on paper at least -- is the security it offers users. Content is encrypted when uploaded and stored in Symantec’s own secure data center, and the service automatically scans files for malware before they can be downloaded. As is fairly typical, you get 5GB of storage for free.

Or rather you did. Symantec has made the decision to discontinue Norton Zone and wind down support of the service over the next 30 to 60 days.

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South Korean manufacturer Samsung announced, earlier today, that five of its Knox-enabled Galaxy smartphones and tablets have been approved by the US Department of Defense for use on its unclassified defense networks.

The devices in question are the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S4 Active, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 and Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition, running Android 4.4 KitKat, with Knox 1.x in tow. The company's latest smartphone flagship, the Galaxy S5, as well as other Android handsets sporting Knox 2.x have not received the nod of approval from the DOD, which would have allowed them to be included in the Defense Information System Agency's Approved Product List (APL).

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Believe it or not, system builders are a diverse set. Some people focus on looks, others on performance and some on value. However, gamers are typically the ones that push the boundaries with performance and high-costs when building rigs. While some people will write-off video games as a silly time waster, they are actually a vital driver of personal computing innovation. Hell, it is also good financially for the hardware business -- new games need better hardware and gamers are willing to pay to play.

Beyond expensive video cards and overclocked CPUs and RAM, gamers are constantly looking for a way to gain an edge. Anything that can make a game load faster, even by seconds, is extremely attractive to them. Today, SanDisk announces the Extreme PRO SSD -- a storage solution for gamers that want to utilize SATA III rather than much costlier options. PlayStation 4 owners will want to take notice too.

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Microsoft has a digital crimes unit, which it has utilized to systematically go after botnets around the world. The company claims several victories, but none is likely as big as the one now unveiled.

Zeus, an especially troubling entity, has been taken down by a combination of the Microsoft DCU and the US FBI. The company announces that the game is now over for "GameOver", a variant of Zeus (also known as Zbot).

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Android may be the dominant force in the smartphone market, but according to mobile advertising specialist Vserv Windows is surging forward as a mobile OS.

As prices of smartphones continue to fall, making them more popular across global markets, this is good for the whole market and Vserv sees the adoption of the next generation of Windows-based phones as being all but guaranteed.

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Google Nexus 4, 5, 7 and 10 users are in for a treat, as Android 4.4.3 KitKat is now rolling out. The latest version of the operating system is also available to customers of US mobile operator T-Mobile, which has revealed the sort of changes users can expect from the upgrade.

Android 4.4.3 KitKat is not a major upgrade over its predecessor, as T-Mobile says there are no new features in tow, but only improvements related to security and the customary fixing of bugs. The US mobile operator lists the upgrade as rolling out starting June 2, for its Nexus-toting customers.

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Jovial Notepad is a portable Notepad replacement, exceptionally small (32KB download, a single 64KB executable) yet still managing to cram in plenty of interesting features.

The program looks at first much like the standard Notepad, but you’ll soon spot some differences. URLs become highlighted and clickable as you type them; the status bar displays the date, a character and line count; and a Symbols menu allows you to enter useful symbols (copyright, pi, degrees, various currencies) in a couple of clicks.

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Yosemite! Woo! iOS 8! Yay! New way of programming! Huzzah! These were the obvious highlights of Apple's WWDC keynote yesterday, but as the dust settles there are some additional interesting tidbits emerging. As this was a developer conference, it should come as no surprise that the announcements and revelations have the most immediate impact on developers -- but things will also filter down to users. One change that was not given any fanfare at the WWDC is an alteration to Apple's App Store Review Guidelines which paves the way for virtual currency support.

The guidelines themselves are surprisingly easy to read -- this document is nothing like an EULA! But if you'd like to cut to the chase, jump to 11.17 in the "Purchasing and currencies" section. Here you'll find the advice that "Apps may facilitate transmission of approved virtual currencies provided that they do so in compliance with all state and federal laws for the territories in which the app functions". There is no reason that this possible virtual currency support should not include Bitcoin, although the currency has not been specifically mentioned.

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Five years ago today, Microsoft launched the Bing search engine. I remember it well. In particular I remember shaking my head at that name, but also admiring the photography that appeared on the home page.

To celebrate five years of Bing, Microsoft has put together a blog post that chronicles the changes that have occurred over the years, and hints at what’s to come. It’s also assembled a gallery of the best home pages.

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HTC has been praised numerous times for making its two most-recent flagships, the One and One (M8), out of metal. That is because this material gives such smartphones a premium look and feel that is actually worthy of the asking price. And, in the Android world, it sets the company's flagships apart from the myriad plastic-clad competitors. Metal is undeniably good. Except when it is not.

The use of metal adds to the cost of HTC's smartphones, which makes them less attainable for many, if not most, consumers. So, to give them a chance to experience the One (M8), albeit on a budget, HTC has taken out the metal and replaced it with plastic. Meet the new One (E8).

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After Google chopped off the umbilical cord from the oft-used Free Edition of its Google Apps suite back in late 2012, users were left wondering where they could take their custom email domain needs to. One of the best remaining alternatives was by far Outlook.com, Microsoft's free email service which I use in place of Gmail now. I penned an extensive how-to piece on getting Outlook.com working as your own custom domain host for email last year.

How the tables have turned in just over a half year. In an about-face, Microsoft recently announced on its custom domains page for Outlook.com (called the Windows Live Admin Center) that it is no longer accepting new applications for the service. PC World and ZDNet actually reported on this back in April, but I have been so busy with client work that I forgot to post this news over here for all the curious potential Outlook.com custom domain converts.

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Dyson is of course famous for its vacuum cleaners (along with hand driers and so forth), but the company has experimented with products in other fields -- including a tech effort which bears an uncanny resemblance to an admittedly much clunkier version of Google Glass.

It's not surprising that it's clunky by nature, though, given that Dyson was working on this concept some ten years ago.

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Tim Cook took to the stage at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference yesterday, to announce iOS 8, the next iteration of the company’s mobile operating system. As expected, the forthcoming release builds on the foundations laid down by its predecessor, refining elements and introducing some new features.

Craig Federighi, SVP of Software Engineering, ran through a lot of the changes yesterday, including interactive notifications, HealthKit, Family Sharing, Spotlight Suggestions, iCloud Drive, Continuity, Photos with iCloud, and context sensitive predictive text. But there were loads of features that Federighi didn’t mention.

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Many people are loyal to a specific operating system. While I mostly use the wonderful Windows 8.1, I also use Linux and OS X too. Apple's operating system works and looks very well, but from a productivity standpoint, Windows still has it beat. Don't get me wrong, OS X is fun to use and rewarding, but it can't even do window-snapping on the edges of the screen. Don't even get me started on the horrible native email client.

Today, Apple showed-off the latest version of OS X (10.10), dubbed "Yosemite". The fruit-logo company has slapped a new coat of paint on the operating system, making it resemble the flatness of iOS 7. However, the appearance is only part of the story. It not only has a new look, but new features and improvements too. In other words, Yosemite looks to be an important update for Mac users.

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