Merry Christmas y'all! Today is all about celebrating Jesus' birth, but since he isn't here, we will give and get gifts in his honor. Santa Claus keeps us all saturated in gifts galore, ranging from socks and underwear, to new computers.

Speaking of computers, there is one that I find to be the best, and that is the Surface Pro 3. Did you get one under the tree today? If so, congratulations! You must have been really friggin' good this year. By all means, power it on, and have fun -- get your grimy fingerprints all over the screen. But please know that owning a Surface Pro 3 is a lifestyle -- a special club, if you will -- and there are some things you should consider.

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This year Amazon jumped into the set-top box market with a remarkably mature competitor. Since its release, the Fire TV has continued to accumulate features and improve. In fact, it's now serious competition for the likes of Roku and Apple TV. So did you find one under your tree this year? If so, there are a few things to know.

First, and perhaps most obvious, you need to  have an Amazon account. That shouldn't be a barrier for most people. You'll just need to enter your email and password to get up and running on your new set-top box. It also needs to connect to Wi-Fi, unless you can use a wired connection (which is better). If your router is password protected then that will be the final entry to start.

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Google Chromecast is the perfect stocking filler -- it’s small, affordable, and guaranteed to be a hit with anyone who receives it as a gift this holiday season. Google is continuing to bolt on features (most recently it added a guest mode), so you’ll be able to do even more with it throughout the coming year.

The tiny powered dongle plugs into your TV set and lets you watch streaming video from the likes of YouTube, Hulu Plus, HBO Go, BBC iPlayer, Netflix, and Google Play. You can even 'cast' content from your Chrome browser on to the big screen, and play your own videos.

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A little last minute gift shopping and panic wrapping aside, we're all ready for Christmas here at BetaNews. The tree is trimmed, the eggnog is flowing, and we’ve got all the Santa tracking apps we need fired up and locked in on the jolly big man and his reindeer-powered sleigh.

Hopefully you're similarly prepared for the big day tomorrow, (even if you don't celebrate Christmas, we trust you've got something fun in mind to do) and we'd like to take this opportunity to wish you a merry Christmas. We’re crossing our fingers that you receive all the tech treats you're hoping for.

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When Sony Pictures was hacked, it was a horrible situation for the company. Not only were its computers knocked offline, but the content of corporate emails were disclosed, embarrassing both the company and individual employees. Sadly, this hack escalated into a terrorist threat, which ultimately led to the opening of film, 'The Interview', being put on hiatus.

While this was a huge blow to Sony and free speech overall, the good guys are getting the last laugh. Today, on the Eve of Christmas, Google and Microsoft shock the world and announce that you can watch The Interview today on Google Play, YouTube movies and Xbox Video!

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"Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that"…. Oh wait you want some happier news. Well, there is some -- you can track the progress of Santa tonight, just so you know where the big guy in the red suit is at all times.

Google Maps is once again providing the data on the sleigh ride. You can follow the progress around the world using the GPS equipped on the vehicle. There's more to it than just tracking though. You can open all sorts of options.

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Windows Phone has no future in the consumer market. After being around for more than four years, its market share is only at 3 percent, and declining. Microsoft might as well pull the plug now, before its nickname becomes BlackBerry. After all, no one would really miss Windows Phone. Seemingly bracing for the inevitable, even die-hard Microsoft fanboys have embraced rival platforms (you know who they are). There's nothing to be gained by being the last one on the podium, unless Microsoft is looking to become the laughing stock of the market. It'll have to fight BlackBerry for the title, but that's not hard.

The consumer market is not only tough for Microsoft, but for relevant players too. Samsung's profits are sliding, and its sales aren't doing well either. Apple may still have the highest profits, but its iPhones' market share is closer to that of Windows Phone than Android. Other players are struggling with similar issues, which will only grow larger with time. So why keep going at it? At the end of the day, Windows Phone adds little to no value in the consumer market. However, there is still hope for the platform in the enterprise market, which has a different set of priorities to consumers. There, Microsoft actually has a chance of becoming a major player.

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It’s no secret that Christmas is best when it’s spent with friends and family. That’s not always possible, of course, but at least you can take photos of your favorite moments and share them with others.

You could post your pictures on Facebook, maybe Twitter, or perhaps send them via email. But if they’re really special then you could use PhotoSpills to present them in a professional photo collage.

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Hotels are keen to extract money from guests, and in a bid to try to force them into paying for internet access, the industry is trying to gain permission to block personal Wi-Fi hotspots. Microsoft and Google are usually rivals, but the two companies are putting up a united front to fight these plans.

The American Hospitality & Lodging Association and Marriott International has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to use network management hardware that could prevent guests from creating and sharing their own private hotspots. The argument against this is that hotels are essentially requesting permission to block access to unlicensed parts of the wireless spectrum.

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If you're thinking of starting afresh with your Surface or Surface Pro in the New Year, Microsoft just made your life a little easier. The company has just released a series of recovery images for Surface devices that can be downloaded and used to restore the Windows tablet to the state it was in when you first bought it.

As this restore feature is something that's built in by default, you might be wondering what the value of these recovery images is. Well, there's always the possibility that your existing recovery image is corrupt, or you may even have freed up some space by wiping it out. Now you can get it back.

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JPMorgan Chase could have avoided one of the most damaging cyber attacks in history with a simple security fix.

The bank, which was struck in late August, revealed in October that the attackers had made off with the data of 76 million households and 7 million small businesses. The scandal was reported to have started with just one compromised password.

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By now you've likely heard that the US is trying to seize emails held by Microsoft on foreign soil, something that you'd think it has no right to do. After all, the US government may have some reach, but grabbing from another nation seems to be extending it quite far. Both company and country are baulking at the prospect.

None of us wishes for a criminal to not be caught, but we want it to be done legally. Now Microsoft has officially filed its amicus brief in the New York court of appeals, with general counsel Brad Smith.

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German researchers have discovered that technology from the 1980s can be used by hackers anywhere in the world to spy on your phone calls and text messages.

The Signaling System 7 (SS7) network, which is still in use today, could allow hackers using an African or Asian network, for example, to hack into a US or UK-based mobile.

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Christmas is almost here, and I am so excited! Yes, I am looking forward to getting gifts, but more importantly, I like giving them. When you reach a certain age, a gift becomes just another thing taking up space in your home. The gifts I really want -- processors, RAM, graphics cards -- are too expensive to ask friends and family for. Some nice underwear and socks will do me just fine -- my current pairs are holier than Christmas itself.

Luckily, Linux is free, and makes the perfect gift for the nerd in your life. Today, Santa Claus pulls Linux from his sack a bit early -- PCLinuxOS 2014.12 sees release, and it looks awesome. If you have never tried a Linux-based operating system before, this is a great choice.

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Apple makes really great products; Mac computers included. I respect the closed garden and restrictive hardware from a quality perspective, but I take umbrage with the high prices and questionable business practices. While OS X may look pretty from the outside looking in, after playing with it for long periods of time, it becomes apparent that all which glitters is not gold. My interest in Apple's operating system was very short-lived, as Microsoft's Windows is just a superior product.

Apple promoters are quick to point out the safety and security of Macs, as Apple is less likely to be targeted by malicious software and contains fewer vulnerabilities. As the smart people know, however, OS X is only "safer", as it has a far smaller install base. In other words, because of its lack of popularity, bad guys pay less attention -- its increased safety and security is a myth. I hate to break it to you Apple fans, but it turns out your precious Macs are currently at risk. Comically, this vulnerability is found in Thunderbolt -- you know, that wildly unpopular standard that Apple seems to love, but its accessories are too costly for many users. True, some Windows machines have Thunderbolt, but it is mostly an Apple affair, and now the fruit-logo company's computers are vulnerable because of its method of implementation.

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