If you’re using/testing the preview version of Microsoft’s operating system as one of the million+ "Windows Insiders", get ready for a big update. Build 9879 is arriving today and will be with you shortly, if it isn’t already.

Microsoft's Gabe Aul has provided a handy run through detailing all of the major changes, but one of the big additions is the ability to hide the Search and Task View buttons on the taskbar. That will please my colleague Mark Wilson who hates them. You’ll be able to toggle those off just by right-clicking the taskbar and disabling them in the context menu.

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The battle for your hard earned money in the music streaming business is heating up, which seems to be a statement I make regularly these days. This time, the offering comes from an unexpected source. While YouTube is a go-to for music videos, it isn't generally thought of for a streaming music source. Or perhaps I'm old.

YouTube is unveiling its new service, Music Key. "You’ve asked us for ways to listen to music without ads, to keep playing music videos even if you lock the screen or start using another app, and to play music even if you’re not connected to the Internet. That’s why today we're introducing YouTube Music Key beta, a monthly subscription service".

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One of Android's most attractive aspects is also its greatest weakness. You see, unlike the iPhone and iOS, Google's Linux-based operating system is available to any manufacturer that is interested. This means you can see many Android devices in different shapes, sizes and styles. Hell, hardware aside, even the operating system can be customized. The problem is, with so much different hardware and tweaked software, many phones do not get regular updates -- this is also due to extensive carrier testing. To the average consumer, this is not a huge headache, as app compatibility is generally fine across versions. Where this becomes an issue is when vulnerabilities are discovered -- delays in updates or a total lack of updates can put a user at risk.

Enter the Nexus line of Android devices. Every year, Google hand-selects a manufacturer to build a smartphone running "vanilla" Android, meaning it is pure and not tweaked or customized. These phones (and tablets) are designed to get fast updates directly from Google. This ensures that not only does the user have the latest features, but the safest and newest version of the operating system too. The latest such phone is the Motorola-built Nexus 6 -- named as such for having a 6-inch screen (technically 5.96 inch). Is it the best Nexus yet?

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They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but boy oh boy, don't tell that to Satya Nadella. To many, Microsoft represents a dinosaur in technology, but as the fictional Jurassic Park showed us, dinosaurs can be brought back to life and thrive in modern times. In other words, even though Microsoft never died, its image was in decline, but it has been resurrected by doing and saying all the right things.

Today, Microsoft continues its upwards trajectory by announcing that .NET is going open source. While this isn't Microsoft's first open source rodeo, this is certainly the biggest. Hell, it is even bringing .NET to both Linux and OS X! Competitors beware; Microsoft is a Tyrannosaurus Rex and is showing its teeth.

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DDoS attacks can be extremely disruptive to business but it can be hard to quantify that disruption in financial and business terms.

A new report by security company Incapsula collates responses from 270 North American organizations of varying sizes to gauge the true impact of attacks. The findings indicate that DDoS attacks are relatively common with 45 percent of the respondents indicating their organization has been hit at some point. Of these, almost all (91 percent) reported an attack during the last 12 months, and 70 percent were targeted two or more times.

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As consumers we're used to being able to download apps for just about any purpose. As we come to expect this sort of flexibility in enterprise applications too, a shift is needed in the way software is delivered in order to keep us appy -- sorry!

A new report by Flexera Software in conjunction with IDC suggests that a transformation is under way, paving the way for software vendors and intelligent device makers, including IoT manufacturers, to profit from the 'appification' of the enterprise.

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For anyone who has ever been sent MP3 songs or YouTube videos via Email, you may be interested to hear that you can actually play these straight from your Gmail inbox.

It’s also possible to compile all the songs and videos that you’ve ever received into a playlist, meaning you can listen to all your favorite music without having to open another tab or program. Here's how it’s done.

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Moving business applications to the cloud doesn't remove the need for securing them, in fact it potentially makes them more vulnerable.

Cloud application delivery service Instart Logic has announced a new Security Suite offering customers multi-layered protection against DDoS attacks and other cybersecurity threats.

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New research commissioned by technology services firm Reconnix has found that 82 percent of UK IT leaders do not believe they are fully ready to make the move to Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) providers, due to a shortage of in-house skills.

Only 10 percent of the 100 IT decision makers involved believed they were ready, whilst a further 8 percent had already migrated or were in the process of migration.

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According to a new survey carried out for security device specialist Kensington, 73 percent of executives recognize that BYOD presents greater risks for the organization.

However, 59 percent still approve the use of personal devices for business use and to address concerns 55 percent are planning to invest more in physical security.

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Security firm AVG has published a new report looking at online privacy which shows the considerable amount of regret admitted by some teenagers when it comes to things they have posted online -- and the fact that seven in ten teens don’t know everyone they have befriended on social media.

The Digital Diaries research, which quizzed some 4,000 teenagers aged between 11 and 16 -- not that those under 13 are technically teenagers, but we’ll let that slide -- found that 28 percent of teens said they later regretted posting something online.

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Windows 8 supports several ways to log on to your PC: password, picture password, PIN number, or of course automatic logon with no password at all.

VSUsbLogon is a free tool which also enables you to log in via a USB storage device, like a key, camera, phone and more. This is faster, arguably more secure, and you can also use the key to automatically trigger certain actions, perhaps shutting down your system as soon as it’s removed.

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Just in time for Christmas, Google is introducing family games for Chromecast. The diminutive streaming device is more readily associated with watching YouTube videos, but there are a growing number of apps springing up. The latest additions to the selection are a batch of games which can be enjoyed by the whole family.

What's that? The Chromecast has no controller? Far from being a problem, Google sees this as a big advantage: "there's no hassle or expense with extra controllers. Anyone with a phone or tablet can join in". Just as you use your phone or tablet to control media playback, you can do the same to control games, and the built-in sensors found in many handsets mean they work like Wiimote (or Wii Remote if you will insist on proper terminology).

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An enterprising Chinese hacker has decided to ditch iOS 8 from his new iPhone 6 Plus, and instead run… Windows 98.

Yes, Microsoft’s venerable desktop OS runs quite readily on Apple’s new phablet by all accounts, even if there isn’t much point to installing an old incarnation of Windows on a modern smartphone.

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Email overload -- it's something that we all suffer with; but what’s the solution? To help make it easier to focus on the emails you need to see and deal with, Microsoft is launching Clutter. It's a tool aimed at Office 365 business customers who want to be able to wade through the rubbish and get to the emails that actually matter.

In many ways, Clutter is Microsoft's answer to Google's Priority Inbox feature for Gmail. It determines which messages are those which you are likely to want to handle later rather than straight away, and moves them out of the way to free up your inbox. Less crap to sort through leads to increased productivity -- at least that's the theory.

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