A walled-garden approach to apps for operating system is something we've become used to in the mobile world. Apple, in particular, has been incredibly successful in creating a closed-off eco-system that ensures it remains -- broadly speaking -- in control of what hits the App Store. With Windows 10, Microsoft is trying to blur the boundaries between mobile and non-mobile, and developers -- especially game developers -- are not happy.

Windows 10's Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is described by Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney as a "closed platform-within-a-platform". More than this, Sweeney says that it is the "most aggressive move Microsoft has ever made", warning that the company is trying to monopolize app distribution to the detriment of consumers and the entire PC industry. Writing for the Guardian, Sweeney bellows out a call to arms saying that UWP "can, should, must, and will die".

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NooG is a lightweight internet search bar for the Windows desktop.

We watched the installation process closely, because this is just the kind of app to trash your system with a pile of adware, but no -- the entire program is under 2MB in size, nothing intrusive at all.

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Amazon has came out in support of encryption, following Apple's recent legal battles with the US government, saying that it "plays a very, very important role" in protecting customer data.

But you might be surprised to learn that Amazon has also decided to quietly drop support for full disk encryption on its Android-based Kindle Fire tablets. Since it is portraying itself as an encryption and consumer advocate, its decision to go in the opposite direction strikes me as sheer hypocrisy.

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For the past couple of weeks the tech news has circled around Apple versus the FBI, after the iPhone maker refused to comply with a court order to unlock a phone used by one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino shootings. That handset may or may not hold data relevant to the case or perhaps reveal plans for future attacks.

We'll possibly never know, given the agency changed the Apple ID and there are claims that even the iPhone maker cannot now get into it. The FBI, for its part, has acknowledged that it made a mistake in changing that ID.

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To be on the cutting edge of technology you sometimes need to make some hard decisions. If you are a Mac user who is interested in Oculus Rift, you will have to choose between your love of Apple's computers and enjoying the virtual reality headset. That is because the two do not go hand in hand, as Oculus Rift only supports Windows PCs. Ouch!

Your Mac is not held back by Windows per se, because it can be easily installed via Boot Camp or Parallels -- and you get pretty much the same user experience as a PC user. The reason why Mac support is currently out of the question boils down to hardware limitations.

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Update: Despite raising over $1 million in funding, iPhone E-ink case creator popSLATE closes down

At BetaNews we get bombarded with Indiegogo and Kickstarter campaigns on a daily basis, the vast majority of which we never cover. Occasionally though, we see something that really makes us sit up and pay attention. popSLATE 2 is such a project.

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A recent poll into the state of eCommerce has unveiled that half of businesses believe their eCommerce sites help them be as profitable as possible.

The results were released late last week in the 2016 State of the Digital Commerce report, published by Salesforce eCommerce integration company CloudCraze.

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In the digital world it's increasingly APIs that hold everything together, allowing information to be easily shared between applications.

A new study from SmartBear Software gathered responses from over 2,300 software professionals around the world to paint a picture of the current state of the API industry.

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One-hundred and seventy in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows 8.x and Windows 10 in the past seven days.

Several interesting games and apps were released this week including this week's "app of the week" Tap Tap Legion, and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (a Windows 10 Store exclusive).

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Tax restructuring at Facebook means the company is due to pay millions of pounds in tax in 2017. The social network famously paid just £4,327 in corporation tax in 2014, but this bill is about to get much larger as advertising revenue is set to be routed through the UK rather than the tax haven of Ireland. A wide-scaled restructuring means advertising sales will now be booked in Britain and subject to UK tax.

Tech companies such as Amazon, eBay and Google have been criticized for their use of tax avoidance schemes, although Google recently agreed to pay back £130 million in tax. Not everyone was happy with Google's 'sweetheart' deal and there has been increased pressure on other companies to pay their fair share.

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You might think Apple or Google have the greenest datacenters, but it’s actually a German startup called Cloud&Heat that takes the crown.

The company said it managed to realize the lowest energy consumption and has "undercut Google’s optimum value by 40 percent".

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The average contract price of mainstream PC-Client OEM SSDs in Q1 of 2016 has dropped, a new report by TrendForce’s DRAMeXchange suggests.

MLC-based SSDs, as well as their TLC-based counterparts have seen their prices drop 10-12 percent, and seven-12 percent respectively.

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Here's the deal folks -- I am scared of some amusement park rides. Put me on an intense roller coaster and I will fill with anxiety and probably weep like a baby. I know I am not alone in this regard -- I see other fearful men and women at these parks.

Today, Samsung announces a partnership with Six Flags that could make some roller coasters even more exciting. You see, Six Flags will be leveraging the Oculus-powered Samsung Gear VR for virtual reality roller coasters. The big question is, will wearing a VR mask while on a roller coaster make it even more scary for those with ride-anxiety, or could it alleviate the problem?

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The Internet of Things, more commonly called simply the IoT, is coming into its own, with an ever-growing array of products and manufacturers. Big players are in this market, with the likes of Samsung, Apple and Google being among them.

But who is leading this push to connect your home devices to one another, the internet and, in some cases, hackers? A new study has some possible revelations and insights into this brave new world of products. Argus Insights took the time to look into this matter, and here is what it found.

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Faster -- like bigger -- is better, right? Not necessarily. Windows 10 includes a feature called Fast Startup which certainly sounds enticing. Microsoft's description in the Control Panel says, "this helps start your PC faster after shutdown". Who wouldn't want a slice of that pie?

Enabled by default on most clean installations of Windows 10, Fast Startup essentially hibernates the Windows kernel and loaded drivers to help slash startup times. It all sounds great, but Fast Startup may not be quite as good as you think. Not only can it seriously mess up dual-boot systems, it may also interfere with the installation of updates, and could cause problems with encryption software.

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