HD inspired pretty much everyone to buy a new TV, but then the manufacturers faced a problem -- what next? They banked on 3D, but people balked, and the technology failed to capture interest with pretty much everyone.

As you may already know, Roku has jumped into the TV market now, pumped up by the possibilities for the future of the platform. The set-top box maker hasn't jumped into the business with its own OEM, but has licensed its software to power the latest big screens in your home. Now the latest model is hitting the market, this one rolling out from Hitachi, a big name brand in the electronics market.

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Anonymous has declared war on various organizations and individuals in the past, ranging from Islamic State, and Ku Klux Klan, to Donald Trump.

Today, in a video it describes as a "call to arms", the hacktivist collective declares war on -- wait for it -- the "corrupt" US government, which it says has "been working to end the Constitution because it has been bought by corporations" and will "endanger the American people".

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Open source employees in Europe have it good, especially when we compare that market to the rest of the world. This is according to a new report by Dice and The Linux Foundation. The report says that out of 1,000 European respondents 60 percent believe it would be fairly easy to find a new job this year. Globally, the figure stands at about 50 percent.

"Demand for open source talent is growing and companies struggle to find experienced professionals to fill open roles", says Bob Melk, president of Dice. "Rising salaries for open source professionals indicate companies recognize the need to attract, recruit and retain qualified open source professionals on a global scale. Regardless of where they reside around the world, these professionals are motivated by the opportunity to work on interesting projects".

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Tiny Beest Image Optimization is a free Chrome extension which can resize and optimize web images to reduce their file size.

Once it’s installed, right-clicking an image displays a where you can resize the image to a few standard resolutions (1920px, 1440px, 1280px, 1080px, 600px, 300px). Alternatively, an "Optimize current size" option rewrites the image with lower quality settings.

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MasterCard has just rolled out a new feature that should simplify online shopping, without making any compromises in security. The feature, called Identity Check Mobile, allows users to use biometrics like fingerprint scanning or facial recognition to verify their identity before making a purchase, eliminating the need for passwords or PIN codes.

At the moment, the technology is being introduced in 12 European countries: the UK, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. Worldwide rollout is expected next year, although no specific dates have been given.

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There are many ways to try to learn a new language, ranging from audio books and text books, to software and web-based options. One learning tool that's proving popular at the moment is Duolingo, and a new feature has been introduced that helps to provide an immersive linguistic experience.

It is said that one of the best ways to learn a language is to visit the country that speaks it and surround yourself with native speakers. As this is not always possible, Duolingo's new chatbot feature could be the next best thing.

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The LG V10 was one of the biggest surprises of 2015. While it wasn't marketed as a flagship, many folks -- including yours truly -- preferred it to the LG G4. The V10 was special, as it featured an exclusive extra screen at the top of the device. While the secondary display looked like a gimmick, it actually worked well -- it proved useful. The LG V10 was built like a tank too, making it one of the best Android phones ever.

Earlier this year, LG released its G5 flagship, and sadly, it was a dud. It had build-quality issues, and was overall a boring product. The interchangeable modules were poorly executed, making it a bad choice. Luckily, the successor to the V10 is on the way to wash the bad taste of the G5 out of consumers' mouths. Don't worry -- the LG V20 has the extra screen like its predecessor. If you want to buy it on T-Mobile, I have good news -- today, the company reveals the release date. As icing on the cake, the cellular carrier is giving away high-end headphones when you buy the LG device.

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FBI director James Comey made the news last month when he admitted that he tapes over his laptop's webcam to avoid being spied upon. Mark Zuckerberg does it too. As Comey puts it, blocking the webcam is a "sensible" thing to do -- and if you too care about your privacy you should follow suit. But, there is a problem.

When you remove the tape to chat with someone you are left vulnerable. And, as a security researcher will demonstrate today at the VB2016 conference, a hacker could use that opportunity to record Mac users' activities "in an essentially undetectable manner".

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Traditional authentication methods are struggling to keep up with the expansion of online services. Yet additional systems like two-factor authentication can prove to be cumbersome.

The answer may lie in analysis of behavioral biometrics which can be used to determine wether credentials are being used legitimately. We spoke to Neil Costigan CEO of Swedish company BehavioSec to find out more about where it’s already being used and how it could change the way we access banking and other services.

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NirSoft’s user-tracking LastActivityView now displays all the recent wireless network connects and disconnects for the current system.

This is particularly handy for computer forensics, as it might help show where a laptop user has been over the past few days.

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If you have a phone running Windows 10 Mobile, you can use it as a mini PC, connecting it to a TV or monitor. However, this functionality -- Continuum for phones -- is only available on certain devices.

If you want a more powerful pocket PC, then Ockel Sirius A is a promising solution. It’s a full Windows 10 PC in a tiny, mobile-sized device that will fit comfortably in your pocket.

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Shazam is a fantastic app for identifying music but, judging by the launch of a new version, it is not for everyone. Its maker believes that potential new users in emerging markets might be better served by a smaller and lighter version of the app, so today it introduces Shazam Lite.

Unlike Shazam, which takes just under 60MB of storage on a OnePlus 3, Shazam Lite has "a highly optimized size of less than 1MB" to suit the entry-level Android smartphones that are taking over emerging markets. It is not uncommon for such a device to have 8GB or 16GB of storage.

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Choosing between a restaurant offering free Wi-Fi and one that doesn't, two thirds (66 percent) of consumers will go with the one that allows free connectivity, according to new research. Hughes Europe's new report says access to free Wi-Fi has become a "major factor" when consumers are faced with eating and drinking choices.

Almost half (46 percent) also say this affects their choice of shops. "Our survey explores how consumers increasingly expect access to Wi-Fi when they shop, enter a restaurant or look for somewhere to stay", says Chris O'Dell, vice president of sales and marketing, Hughes Europe.

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Whilst CRM systems are used by many companies to handle their sales processes, they still rely heavily on the human element when it comes to interpreting the data they hold.

Marketing cloud specialist Optimove is seeking to bring machine learning and artificial intelligence to bear on CRM with the launch of Optibot. This is designed to automate the analysis and interpretation of customer marketing campaigns behind the scenes and recommend actionable insights to help marketers improve their campaign performance.

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There are a number of benefits to being a Windows Insider, the primary one being that you gain access to the latest features before anyone else. If you're running build 14936 of Windows 10, there's a new option available that will be of interest to many people -- the ability to remove built-in apps.

It's something that Windows 10 users have been looking for for some time, and it's not quite clear why it has taken Microsoft so long to make the option available. The good news is that it is now possible to remove some of the default apps that you simply do not need; the bad news is that there are still some that remain untouchable.

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