Few people have heard of microcontrollers, but a great many people own them. They are found in household appliances such as fridges and TVs. They are small computers that, for example, manage the dials and display on a washing machine, open and close the taps, start and stop the drum, and perform other functions for the user's selected wash program. More complex devices have several microcontrollers. A car, for example, might contain 30 of them.

Manufactured by the million, and costing a few dollars each, they have been a standard feature of product design for years. What is new is that they are becoming connected to the Internet. The result is the Internet of Things. What does this mean for consumers? Some eye-catching possibilities have been widely advertised, such as the ability to turn up the heating in your home on your way back from vacation. But less spectacular benefits, such as higher reliability and lower maintenance costs, could be more important.

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EaseUS has released EaseUS Todo PCTrans 8.0 Free, an updated version of its PC transfer software for migrating data and applications to a new computer.

The new build no longer requires users to transfer directly between two active PCs on the same network. Instead, the program follows more established tools like Laplink in allowing users to save their data to an image file, which allows them to migrate in their own time, or install a new version of Windows on the same PC before transferring back their data and apps.

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The easiest way to track your favorite TV shows is usually to download a suitable app, or maybe sign up at a website. There are a huge number of options, and the only real challenge is finding out which one is best for you.

But what if you’d like a solution that works offline? One that doesn’t involve opening yet another account somewhere, and runs happily on the Windows desktop? Then you need to check out epCheck.

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The Surface Pro 3 is, for me, hands-down the most significant device released in 2014. It is designed for both productivity and entertainment and delivers on both. Unfortunately, the tablet can be rather expensive which makes me a bit nervous handling it. Don't get me wrong, it is not fragile, I just cherish it and do not want to break it.

Luckily, a new case is coming on the scene, which should protect the Surface Pro 3 from accidental drops. Urban Armor Gear, a company that makes hardcore, yet affordable, cases for smartphones and tablets announces military-grade Surface Pro 3 protection.

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Twitpic will no longer close on 25 September as the photo sharing service has found a buyer. There's not yet any word on who is behind the acquisition, but the takeaway news is that photos should be safe as Twitpic will live to fight another day.

Just a couple of weeks ago, founder Noah Everett posted the news that Twitpic was to close following something of a legal tussle with Twitter. But things have taken a turn for the better. After users scrabbled to download their images to ensure they were safe, it now transpires that the service is not going anywhere.

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Turning on data encryption can make a huge difference in case your Android device is lost or stolen, as it will make it extremely difficult -- if not impossible -- for a third-party to access your files. It also gives you quite a bit of time to remotely wipe your device, which means that your photos, videos, texts and whatnot have a better chance of remaining private.

And if the local authorities want to take a peek, they are also out of luck -- it's good news for those involved in criminal enterprises, and others as well. All this sounds great from a privacy and security standpoint, except that encryption has never been enabled by default in Android. But that is soon about to change.

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Last week we had leaked screenshots and even videos from Windows 9 build 9834, and now new screens have appeared from build 9841, or what might well be very close to the actual Technical Preview.

Whereas all the leaks last week came from WinFuture.de, these new screens come from WinSuperSite.com, which also has information on the Start menu (naturally), apps, files, personalization and more. One of the new things we learn is that anyone trying out the preview build will be able to provide feedback directly to Microsoft through a Feedback app. There can be no accusations of Microsoft not listening to customers this time around!

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The use of technology within the sporting world is extensive. Players on the pitch or court, or in the pool, make the most of sports science in their diets and training. Strength and conditioning equipment is state-of-the-art, with some of the biggest names in professional sport investing huge sums of money in training facilities.

Even the kit worn by athletes uses technological innovations to provide every advantage possible. For teams, an inch or a split second can prove vital and kit needs to reflect this.

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Password-management service LastPass has unveiled LastPass for Premium 3.1.0 for iPad and iPhone users with paid-for LastPass accounts.

Version 3.1.0 taps into two new iOS 8 features to deliver direct support for Safari and Touch ID integration, allowing users to unlock LastPass using their finger rather than a passcode or master password.

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SwiftKey has hit the top of Apple’s App Store charts just hours after launching on Apple iOS 8 devices bringing with it the swipe-to-type features that have become second nature to Android users.

The swipe-to-type app is number one among all free "Utilities" apps in the Apple App Store and comes out in second overall for all free apps on the entire Apple App Store.

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While I love all animals, I probably love cats and dogs the most. Growing up, my family always had cats, so they have a special place in my heart. Seriously, what on earth is better than cuddling with a kitten or playing with a ball of string?

For whatever reason, cat videos have become very popular on the Internet. Whether nerds truly love cats, or it is enjoyed ironically, the videos are clearly here to stay. Amazingly, Friskies cat food has an annual awards show to find the best cat videos, called "The Friskies". Here are the 4 best, according to public voting.

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Nero has announced the launch of Nero 2015 Classic and Nero 2015 Platinum, a very mobile device-oriented update for its flagship digital media suites.

Nero MediaHome now streams files directly to all Android and ("coming soon") iOS devices (as well as TVs and media players) over wifi, automatically transcoding media along the way for immediate compatibility.

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Television and movies are so last generation. Nowadays, all the cool kids are crowded around their laptops and tablets watching online videos of cats and other nonsense. However, believe it or not, not all online content is frivolous. There's quite a bit of quality videos on YouTube, and I have a select group of content creators to which I subscribe. Who, you ask? Chris Pirillo, iJustine and Barnacules Nerdgasm to name a few.

Unfortunately, content creation is a huge job and even short videos can take a long time to create. While creators can get paid from advertisements, it probably is not enough to live on. Luckily, Google is going to step in and fund some of the content of its top creators.

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Moto X should be one of the most hotly-demanded smartphones on the planet. But Motorola lacks Apple's skill cultivating core groups of bloggers and journalists who swoon ecstatically and influence others to do the same. For example, I thought Stephen Fry's outrageously over-the-top adjective-rich iPhone 6 review was hilarious until reading The Register's parody, which is almost believably genuine.

Motorola bets on voice interaction over touch, making Moto X more like a device from Star Trek than the early 21st Century. Touch is oh-so 1980s -- what Apple pitched with the Macintosh 30 years ago -- whereas touchless is the next big thing. For people queuing up for iPhone 6 on September 19, welcome to the past. You should consider second version Moto X, which is available for preorder, if reaching to the future.

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Apple Watch is off to a rather shaky start, as some folks feel it isn't as smart looking or svelte as we were expecting, and others don't believe it has enough functionality, and doesn't do anything different from existing smartwatches.

And now UK motoring organization the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is putting the boot in -- on all smartwatches, mind, although the organization’s press release highlights Apple's -- and the risks of using such a gadget while driving.

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