Windows has included a basic slideshow-type screensaver for many years, and it’s always been very easy to set up. Choose a source folder, maybe a display speed, and that’s it: your PC will begin showing your digital photos whenever the screensaver kicks in.

While this works just fine, it’s a little -- okay, extremely -- limited. But there is an alternative. The free JPEG Saver can also be set up in a flash to display a quick and easy slideshow. But it can also customize what happens next in just about any way you like.

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Any efforts to break the Android and iOS duopoly in the smartphone market appear to be for naught as the pair continues to take the lion's share of shipments and sales. Even third place occupant Windows Phone struggles to gain significant territory, despite higher unit volumes.

A new report from ABI Research shows Android, iOS, and Windows Phone shipments grew in Q1 2014, compared to the same period from 2013. Despite this increase, Apple's platform lost share quarter-over-quarter, dropping from 11 percent to 10 percent. Meanwhile, Android and Windows Phone's shares grew, sequentially, to 44 percent from 39 percent, and to 3 percent from 2 percent, respectively. The numbers are lower than what the likes of IDC report because ABI Research's data combines smartphone and phone shipments.

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Google has updated its mobile mapping apps with the release of Google Maps for iOS 3.0 and Google Maps for Android 8.0.

Both platforms gain improved turn-by-turn navigation controls as well as the addition of travel time estimates. Also added is support for saving offline maps with user-defined names and tagging favorite locations when signed in for access via any device.

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The Nintendo Entertainment System was the best console of its day and I still have very fond memories of playing classic games like Metroid, Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out and -- of course -- Super Mario Bros 3.

If you’re hankering after a little old school NES action, but scaled up to a more modern 1080p, Analogue Interactive’s Analogue Nt could be just what you’re looking for. It’s the original NES guts (Ricoh 20A3 CPU and Ricoh 2C02 PPU) packaged into a single, stylishly crafted solid block of 6061 aluminum. The result is a lovely modern, yet thoroughly retro, console.

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As businesses shift more of their operations to the cloud so the demand for reliable, scalable services and platforms increases.

To address these needs HP is launching a new portfolio of cloud products and services called HP Helion. This incorporates existing HP cloud offerings with new OpenStack technology-based products, professional and support services in a single portfolio to help meet customers' specific business needs.

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Acer has come up with a low-cost 5in handset in the Liquid Z5, and one with a neat chassis design, too. However, it needs some distinguishing characteristics to make it stand out, as things are competitive in every segment of the handset market these days. So does the Liquid Z5 have what it takes to be a winner?

The Liquid Z5 comes in a Duo version -- that’s one which supports two microSIMs. That’s why the cover for the SIM slot on the single SIM model (which I was sent for review) is so very long. The dual SIM version is currently available online for £140, while Asda has my single SIM version for £95 as I write (the phone isn't currently being sold in the US). That is an attractive price for a handset with a 5in screen. Leading budget handsets cost more -- Motorola’s Moto G comes in at £150, and Sony’s Xperia M is around £135. So how has Acer managed to get down to this sub-£100 price?

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Growing up, I watched a lot of television -- hey, thats what we American kids did in the 80s. One of my favorite things to watch was old episodes of the Andy Griffith Show. You see, it was fun to see how people lived in simpler times. Plus, it was interesting to see a sheriff and deputy keep the peace without hardly ever needing a gun.

Unfortunately for Andy and Barney, there were no computers back then in Mayberry. While the internet would have disrupted the simpler lifestyle, it also would have helped them solve crimes. Heck, they could have implanted GPS in Otis the Drunk to keep track of him. Today, technology is abundant and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has adopted Microsoft's Office 365 to assist them in official business. Yes, Office 365 has been deputized!

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Dear old Google. Dear, dear old Google. In the fallout from the NSA revelations, the company has been falling over itself to try to appear open and transparent about the relationship it had with the security agency during its surveillance program. But a series of emails dating back to 2012, obtained by Al Jazeera America, show that things were rather different than the picture that has been painted thus far. Google -- and other web companies who have, for whatever reason, cooperated with the NSA -- has made it seem as though they were unwillingly forced into taking part in NSA activities, but things may not be quite what they seemed.

Recently, a NSA lawyer made it clear that Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and others were fully aware of the levels of data collection that were being performed. This flies in the face of the earlier claims that these firms were completely ignorant of what was happening. You might have thought that such mass surveillance would be illegal, but no, this was absolutely fine according to a federal judge.

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Pebble, the upstart smartwatch maker, has been busy so far in 2014, unveiling new apps and products. In the meantime, other companies are working to support the platform, including Pandora. The music streaming service today unveils its support for Android customers, matching what it has already done for iOS.

While this may sound simple -- Pandora was already on Android -- getting the tunes to your wrist is another story, and requires a special adaptation of the app. "We’ve already seen a great response to the first 'wearable' technology device that Pandora is available on, so we’re thrilled to share that the Pebble app is now available for Android smartphone users as well", says Pandora's Mike Grishaver.

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Emsisoft has released the first public betas for Emsisoft Anti-Malware 9, and a new product, Emsisoft Internet Security 9.

Anti-Malware has essentially the same browsing and antivirus protection as before, but Internet Security 9 takes the package further with a completely new firewall core. Think Emsisoft Online Armor, but with full IPv6 support, more packet filtering rules and better overall performance.

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Those looking to build a low-cost, lightweight media server will be pleased to see that OpenELEC 4.0.0 (32-bit) and OpenELEC 4.0.0 (64-bit) have been released.

OpenELEC provides a complete Linux-based distribution based around XBMC that takes up a mere 125MB thanks to the fact it’s designed specifically for running XBMC and nothing else. Version 4.0.0 includes the recently released XBMC 13.0 FINAL and includes several under-the-hood changes of significance.

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Modern classrooms are often anything but -- they can be very outdated. This comes down to many factors, including funding. However, antiquated techniques that are still in practice can be blamed on a lack of technology too. Teachers are not always educated in the newest education management software. Even if they are, it can sometimes be clunky and not cost effective.

Google is aiming to change this with a new tool it calls Classroom. This teaching management solution will eventually be a part of the Google Apps for Education (at no additional charge). Today, to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Day, the search giant is accepting applications from teachers to test it.

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In San Francisco, Google and Intel kick off a special event for Chrome OS, which I assert is come of age with the matchup. Ahead of the 1 pm Eastern start time, Lenovo announced new Chromebooks and Google unveiled "Classroom", preview of a new education app.

Unquestionably, Chrome OS-devices are primed for the education market, and many of the newest Chromebooks are directly marketed for schools, students, or teachers. Dell jumped ahead of today's event touting Chromebook 11 adoption in schools.

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Today's Google-Intel event is a turning point for Chrome OS. The matchup is more magnanimous than Apple shipping the first x86 Macs eight years ago. Intel is after all the other half of Wintel, and the company's coming out for Chrome OS endorses the browser-based operating system as mainstream -- as do a rash of new Chromebooks announced or released over the past month by Acer, Dell, Lenovo, and Samsung.

Chrome OS has huge momentum in the education market, for example. There are news stories about school conversions nearly every week. Those are sales taken away from Apple or Microsoft platforms. Success is shocking, because every new operating system directly competing with Windows has failed since release of version 3.1 two decades ago. The Microsoft monopoly is insurmountable, or was until Google's entrance.

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Big data jobs are some of the most well-paid jobs across all sectors, and in honor of Big Data Week 2014, we thought we'd put together a guide on how you can get in on the action.

There's been a predicted shortfall of 243 percent of skilled individuals needed to fill big data analytics jobs in the UK alone, and companies and organizations are currently scrambling over each other to recruit emerging talent. What's more, a data scientist can emerge from just about any field. Most analysts will tell you that it's misleading to describe big data simply in terms of a set of tools or programming languages. The common thread is the need for data-savvy professionals who have the ability to draw meaningful insights from the flood of data pouring into the modern organization.

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