We can always learn from the public and nonprofit sectors. Many times these organizations must work virtual information technology miracles, without the means available to the enterprise sector. In fact, some of their IT security lessons are particularly important, given how nomadic data has become in the age of the "cloud".

One such standout organization is Lawyers Without Borders (LWOB), a nonprofit based in New Haven, Connecticut. LWOB marshals together hundreds of volunteer lawyers from the world’s most prestigious firms to work on cases worldwide. These legal pros offer their varied services pro bono, in the interest of supporting the rule of law, economic development, conflict resolution, and the promotion of peace.

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IBM’s big layoff-cum-reorganization called Project Chrome kicks-off next week when 26 percent of IBM employees will get calls from their managers followed by thick envelopes on their doorsteps. By the end of February all 26 percent will be gone. I’m told this has been in the planning for months and I first heard about it back in November. This biggest reorganization in IBM history is going to be a nightmare for everyone and at first I expected it to be a failure for IBM management, too. But then I thought further and I think I’ve figured it out…

I don’t think IBM management actually cares. More on this later.

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Windows power plans seem simple, at least in theory. Launch the Power Options applet, then select "High performance" on desktops for maximum CPU speed, "Power saver" on mobile systems to optimise for energy use, or "Balanced" for somewhere in between.

That’s most how it works, too, but Windows also has a hidden setting which can fine tune the results, maybe saving more energy or further improving system speeds.

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President Barack Obama made clear in his State of the Union address earlier this week that he intends to push through new legislation aimed at tightening corporate cyber security standards across the US. Just as the US’s Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002, designed to improve the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures in the wake of the Enron scandal, effectively forced companies wanting to partner or do business with US corporations to comply with its rulings, so Obama’s proposed cyber laws are likely to have a global ripple effect across businesses outside America. Companies based in countries like the UK will need to tighten their own cyber security if they expect to do business with American firms which might otherwise see them as a weak link and potential vulnerability in their communications and data networks.

In his address to the nation on Tuesday (January 20th 2015), Obama said: "I urge this Congress to finally pass the legislation we need to better meet the evolving threat of cyber-attacks, combat identity theft, and protect our children’s information. That should be a bipartisan effort. If we don’t act, we’ll leave our nation and our economy vulnerable".

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Sometimes a product comes along, that makes so much sense, that you wonder how no one thought of it before. For example, the Snuggie. I mean come on, a blanket with sleeves? Genius! Let us not forget about the George Foreman Grill; that thing makes some damn tasty turkey burgers.

From a technology perspective, however, Intel has a new product for education that is so damn awesome, I'm not sure why it never existed before. The company's Education Content Access Point will provide content to devices even when there is little to no Internet access or electricity. Sounds awesome right? Yep. Best of all? It is powered by Linux!

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I was just a young man when the movie Total Recall was released. My dad and I saw it in the theater and it blew my mind. If you aren't familiar, it is an action/mystery/science fiction film that ultimately takes place on Mars. One of the most famous scenes is where a female alien has three breasts, but I digress. The Schwarzenegger film sparked a curiosity in me about one day actually visiting Mars.

Unfortunately, traveling to Mars is pretty much a death sentence; even if you did survive the long trip there, getting home would be almost an impossibility. In other words, with current technology, you could probably never get back to Earth. In 2015, however, visiting Mars might be easier than we think; virtually, at least. Microsoft is empowering NASA to experience Mars with the all-new HoloLens-powered technology called OnSight. Will the Curiosity rover be getting some company?

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Surface got off to something of a stuttering start, but Microsoft's sort-of-tablet/sort-of-laptop has gained quite a following as it hit the third generation. With the launch of Windows 10 on the cards, the company is now thinking about not just software, but also new hardware formats. We've seen HoloLens, but the device that could transform both work and education is the Surface Hub.

Announced as an 84-inch Surface, it would be easy to dismiss this as a headline-grabbing gimmick, but it's more than that. Much more than that. It's a tool for the office, a tool for enterprise, and a tool for schools and colleges. This is Microsoft showing how Windows 10 can be used for collaborative work, bringing the interactive whiteboard kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

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Microsoft made some long expected announcements today -- the return of the start menu, one version of Windows 10 across all devices and an attempt to make Windows apps work across those same devices. Unfortunately, the limited overlap between Windows PC developers and mobile developers makes the latter a weak proposition. On the other hand, Microsoft's HoloLens headset may have some potential.

I have long been a believer in the long-term potential of "field of vision" devices (AR and VR) for one simple reason -- despite their downsides, their potential benefits cannot be matched by existing computing platforms. In my opinion, this is a necessary (but not sufficient) condition for triggering a new market disruption. While we are still in the early stages of the technology (think first mobile phone, not first smartphone), I believe we could see increasing consumer interest in this category over the next five years.

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Approximately two-thirds of Britons hate how much time they spend using their smartphone, according to a new survey by Voucher Codes Pro.

A poll of 2,500 UK adults found that 62 percent resent the fact that they find it so difficult to stop using their phone.

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There was a time when Kim Dotcom was hardly out of the news, but it's been a little quieter for him of late. He popped up recently when he apparently intervened and persuaded Lizard Squad to stop attacking the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. Dotcom used the opportunity and attention he drew to himself to advertise his Mega storage service, and anyone following him on Twitter can't help but have noticed constant references to MegaChat.

Well, the time for talking about MegaChat is over. The browser-based, ultra-secure chat service that offers end-to-end encryption is now ready for you to talk through. Dotcom refers to it being a Skype-killer, but it remains to be seen just how much trust people are willing to place in the service.

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It’s weird to think that this time 10 years ago we still hadn’t been interrupted from our feature phones to grasp hold of Apple’s smartphone revolution, which in fact didn’t take place until mid-2007. Those gray (or off-yellow) and black tinged days when all we wanted to do was type a text that was longer than 161 characters and play games about slithery animals on small screens.

So grab a hold of your eBay account details as these five beauties will have you bidding on bricks to help you relive those days.

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Microsoft told us a lot about Windows 10 yesterday (it's free!), as well as the future direction of some other interesting projects such as HoloLens and the Spartan browser. We did get a brief glimpse at the touch-friendly versions of Office apps for Windows 10, but today Microsoft also reveals more about the next desktop release -- Office 2016.

In keeping with Microsoft's latest vision, the focus with Office moving forward is "mobile-first, cloud-first". We'll be able to try out Office for Windows 10 very soon as the universal apps are due for release for Windows 10 Technical Preview very soon, and the final version will be pre-installed -- for free -- on phones and small tablets. Some of this we knew yesterday, but talk of Office 2016 is new!

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I have been having difficulty staying in touch with friends and family lately. The problem? Everybody is using different services! Apple fans are on iMessage and Facetime. Google users are on Hangouts. Other people embrace Facebook Messager or SMS. Quite frankly, it is maddening. Lately, I have been considering embracing Skype, as it works on Windows, Linux, OS X, iOS, Android and Windows Phone. In other words, I don't have to worry about the platform the other person is on. I can have my friends and family use Skype to get in contact with me.

Luckily, Windows 10 will have Skype installed by default, meaning every user of that operating system can easily access it. I will not have to instruct people how to download and install it -- this is huge. Not only is it installed, but tightly integrated into the OS. Plus, with Lync being transformed into Skype for Business, Microsoft's communication solution may be poised to dominate.

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Windows 10 is shaping up to be the best Windows yet. I am still wrapping my head around it, but after going through most of the changes I think there are a ton of things to like about it, which is an astonishing achievement. Microsoft really managed to surprise me, and I didn't expect that, to be perfectly honest.

However, what seals the deal for me is how all the changes tie together. I can now say that there are clear benefits to using the latest Windows across all devices that support it. It makes total sense, for the first time. In fact, without even trying the new Preview release, I am sold on Windows 10. Count me in as one of the first to make the switch on all of my devices!

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Yesterday’s Windows 10 briefing was weird. I mean that in a good way. Microsoft went all Apple on us, aping much of the style and presentation of its rival, right down to the "one more thing" which turned out to be a crazy holographic nerd helmet that was nowhere near finished and can’t yet do most of the things claimed for it. But has potential.

In the aftermath of the presentation tech writers began asking questions like "When did Apple become the boring one?", and that would have raised a smile or two at Redmond. Microsoft needed to shake off its reputation of a firm which makes dull, or flawed "me too" products, and for the main I think it succeeded.

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