The hacking and spying techniques of the UK's Government Communications headquarters (GCHQ) have been exposed in the latest leak by Edward Snowden. The wide-ranging techniques include invasive methods for online surveillance, as well as some of the very techniques that the US and UK have harshly prosecuted young online activists for employing, including distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks and "call bombing".

The document is set out in a massive Wikipedia-style archive used by GCHQ to internally discuss its surveillance and online deception activities.

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For years, Steve Jobs fought the good fight against IBM and IBM compatibles. Heck, Apple was the anti-IBM. Sure, the fruit-logo company was out to make money, but not at any cost -- products and perception mattered. To many Apple enthusiasts, IBM was looked at as a dinosaur. Ultimately, IBM failed as a personal computer company, but thrives today offering services. The once mighty ThinkPad line is now property of the Chinese, by way of Lenovo. Apple stands strong in America.

Boy oh boy, Jobs must be spinning in his grave. Today, Apple and IBM join forces to strengthen iOS for the enterprise. Make no mistake, this is not Apple throwing IBM a bone. No, IBM is the stronger enterprise brand lending legitimacy to the iPhone and iPad for business. Big Blue is hired muscle for Apple.

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The FCC is currently taking public comments on it proposed changes to net neutrality. The law, if passed, would create a two-tier system where ISPs would be able to charge a premium to certain companies, such as Netflix or YouTube, in order to prioritize traffic. Those who do not pay, or startups that simply can not afford to, would face the possibility of being slowed down.

Many tech companies have, not surprisingly, spoken out against this possible change in legislation. The latest is video streaming service Vimeo -- a company that would likely be affected by the new law.

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Last week Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella took another step in redefining his company for the post-Gates/Ballmer era, sending a 3100-word positioning memo to every Microsoft employee and to the world in general. I found it a fascinating document for many reasons, some of them even intended by Nadella, who still has quite a ways to go to legitimately turn Microsoft in the right direction.

We’re seeing a lot of this -- companies trying to talk their way into continued technology leadership. Well talk is cheap, and sometimes that’s the major point: it can be far easier to temporarily move customers and markets through the art of the press release than by actually embracing or -- better yet -- coming up with new ideas. We’re at that point to some extent with this Nadella message, which shows potential but no real substance. But I think this was not written for customers so much as for the very employees it is addressed to.

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Not many days pass without security being in the news in some form or another. Most of that news isn't good either. Services being attacked through vectors like DDoS, gaping holes in software that many people use everyday -- hello, Adobe and Java.

Now Google is taking its own steps to try and protect users. The company has already implemented SSL for many of its services, but the latest push is against zero-day vulnerabilities.

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The Surface Pro 3 is quite possibly my favorite computer of all time. This is quite the amazing declaration, as I have used many. Besides its usability and high-end power, it is an awe-inspiring example of engineering. The fact that Microsoft has crammed all of that high-end tech into such a svelte chassis is nothing short of amazing.

As great as the hardware is, all is not roses. Unfortunately, there has been a plague of Wi-Fi bugs to impact users. Bugs can be commonplace on new hardware, so this is not a massive scandal by any means. However, it is disappointing to the Microsoft-faithful who invested big money to get their hands on the unique hybrid computer. Problems with an internet connection is one of the most maddening, hair-pulling issues that there is. Luckily, the disappointment will be short lived -- the company will be fixing it tomorrow -- for some users at least.

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Today, Microsoft announces that the highly-anticipated Nokia Lumia Cyan firmware upgrade, that comes with Windows Phone 8.1 in tow, is now finally rolling out across the globe for the existing Nokia-branded Windows Phone 8 lineup.

Windows Phone 8.1 will officially arrive on all Lumia Windows Phone 8 devices "in the coming weeks", according to Microsoft. Previously, Lumia users had to join the Preview for Developers program -- which offers early access to new Windows Phone releases, including betas -- in order to get the latest version of the tiled operating system on their Windows Phone 8 devices. Here is what Nokia Lumia Cyan offers.

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New in stores: It’s the "Personal Computer" -- the ultimate companion device for your smartphone or phablet!

Ever wished your mobile device had a larger screen? Or that there was a better way to input long documents than tapping tiny little virtual keys on a slab of glass (or sapphire)? Well, then you’re a perfect candidate for PC ownership.

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Unlocking the bootloader is not a task most Android users may want or need to undertake, as it comes with its fair share of risks, but it is paramount for those who want to install a different distribution, load a faster kernel, use a third-party recovery and so on. I personally prefer to turn off all the nannies on every Android device I own, as it makes way for quick modifications.

While not all manufacturers allow users to unlock the bootloader on their devices, there are a couple of vendors which believe this should be possible, and straightforward. Among them is Sony, known for its modder-friendly attitude, which has just improved its dedicated online tool for Xperia smartphones and tablets. And here is how easy it is to use.

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Effective sales campaigns are all about personalizing the message so that it's relevant to the customer. But generating this content can be time consuming.

Sales communication specialist Tellwise is launching a new Smart Message feature that helps sales professionals to more effectively communicate in a multi-channel and multi-device world.

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Windows Phone developers should be commended for the great job they are doing with third-party apps, which are, sometimes, even superior to the real deal. But, while they cover quite a few popular services, like Dropbox, Gmail or YouTube, I have yet to come across a competent client for Google+. For some reason, all Windows Phone apps I have tried either did not work as advertised or were acting as a wrapper for the mobile site.

As a result I have stopped trying to use Google+ altogether on Windows Phone, switching over to my laptop or tablet whenever I want to reach followers on the social network. But, thanks to G.T.F.O. Productions and its gPlus app, that might change.

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The increased demand for solutions based on big data has led to something of a shortage of data scientists, which means in many cases companies are struggling to unlock the information they already have.

A new tool from data specialist GraphLab provides enterprise-grade machine learning to simplify and automate the handling of big data. By bringing together ease of use and computing scale the software makes it possible for one data scientist to do the job of many.

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WindowsX has released Windows 8 UX Pack 9.0 and Windows 8 Transformation Pack 9.0, new builds for its Windows skinning tools.

Each tool allows users to emulate the newer Windows 8.1 user interface on PCs running older versions of Windows -- the UX Pack works with Windows 7 or later, the Transformation Pack works with Vista and XP also.

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One year after it went on sale, Nokia Lumia 1020 is still the smartphone to beat when it comes to delivering the best Windows Phone imaging experience. That can be attributed to its mighty 41 MP camera, which continues to be in a league of its own, unmatched in resolution by any of its modern rivals.

In the US, Lumia 1020 has been an AT&T-exclusive since its launch, in July 2013, much like other Windows Phone flagships which have been released in the second-largest smartphone market. But, now, you can buy it unlocked, right from Microsoft Store, without any AT&T branding in tow.

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Barely a month after its initial release, and Piriform has released not one, but two minor updates to its new Android cleaning app. CCleaner for Android 1.02 promises improved analysis and cleaning processes as well as a handful of new features and tweaks.

The app, which requires an Android phone or tablet running Android 4.0 or up, provides a selection of cleaning tools for reclaiming storage space and improving performance by removing junk and other unnecessary files.

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