When it comes to tapping into our fondness for old computing and gaming platforms, Stella has always been at the forefront. This cross-platform Atari 2600 VCS emulator first saw the public light of day back in 1996, and now -- 18 years later -- it may just have delivered it most significant update yet with the release of Stella 4.0.

Version 4, also available in 64-bit form, sees the emulator ported across to SDL2, which brings many new features and performance improvements.

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VirusTotal is an excellent free web service which scans any file for malware against 50+ of the top antivirus engines. But it can take a moment to use, as you must visit the site, choose the type of scan you need (file or link), then point VirusTotal in the right direction.

VTzilla and VTchromizer are Firefox and Chrome add-ons which simplify this process by integrating VirusTotal scanning options into the browser, enabling you to check any file or URL with one or two clicks.

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After making factory images available for Nexus 5 and Nexus 7, Google releases the source code for the Android L preview through AOSP (Android Open Source Project) for most of its compatible Nexus devices. And for many enthusiasts this means development for the next CyanogenMod version should kick off shortly.

The team behind the popular custom distribution, however, announces that CyanogenMod 12 development will not start until the final bits of code are available. "'So let's get the flood-gates started on CM 12!' -- right? No", says the team in a new blog post, aptly named The "L" is for Later.

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Microsoft has taken unprecedented action against million of cybercriminals by shutting down a barrage of servers used to infect PCs with dangerous malware across the globe.

The firm, which obtained a court order, gained control of a large number of domains being used to spread malware and in the process shut down legitimate sites due to what the domain owner called "heavy-handed" tactics.

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A new report from research specialist Gartner says that the physical location of data is becoming increasingly irrelevant and that by 2020 a combination of legal, political and logical location will be more important.

Gartner research vice president Carsten Casper says that the number of data residency and data sovereignty discussions has soared in the past 12 months, and that this has stalled technology innovation in many organizations. Originally triggered by the dominance of US providers on the Internet and the Patriot Act, the perceived conflict has since been fueled by revelations of surveillance by the NSA made public by Edward Snowden.

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Sony launched the first Walkman in 1979, and this is this week the tech breakthrough is celebrating its 35th birthday.

Nowadays there are iPhones, devices that one can use as a phone, a computer and a music player. Before that, there were just iPods that enabled people to put their favorite music all onto one device and create playlists to fit their mood or preference. However, what many younger kids today won't know is that what started this whole process and changed the way we listened to music entirely was the introduction of the Walkman.

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You’re bored with your home’s look. It’s time for a change. Repainting could make all the difference, but which color scheme will work best? Dulux Visualizer is a smart iOS/ Android app which can show you. Just point your camera at the wall and it’s repainted, in real time, to match whatever color you like.

This all starts by selecting your preferred color. One option is to browse a color picker covering the entire Dulux range. Alternatively, you’re able to take a picture of any scene and extract a color you like.

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Icecream Apps is a new company which recently launched three freeware Windows tools: Media Converter, PDF Split and Merge and Image Resizer. Polished and professional, available in several languages and with Mac versions available “pretty soon”, the software suggests Icecream wants to be taken seriously. We downloaded the new range for a closer look.

Icecream Media Converter is a free tool for converting video and audio files between all the main formats (and most of the minor ones). The program can import multiple local files, or download its source videos from web URLs, before converting them to your preferred device, audio or video format.

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PlayOn is one of the best cord-cutter services that flies largely under the radar. The online TV and DVR service is completely legal, thanks to the way it operates and, in the past, has partnered with Roku to distribute devices. Now PlayOn and its PlayLater service are going to distribute even more devices to customers.

The company is announcing that new "lifetime subscription" customers will receive a free Chromecast with the purchase. "With Chromecast and PlayOn, smartphones and tablets become powerful remote controls for TV viewing. Users can browse through hundreds of channels and thousands of movies and shows in an easy-to-navigate interface on their mobile device. PlayOn's PlayLater software gives Chromecast users DVR capability to record almost any online video for casting later when they are no longer available online. The included PlayOn browser extension gives users the ability to cast almost any full screen video from any browser on their PC to their TV with ease and without any web browser frames", the company says.

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Image conversion tools are supposed to save you time, at least in theory, but after you’ve chosen your source files, specified exactly what you’re likely to do with them, and set up your destination options, it doesn't always feel that way.

Send-To Convert makes your life easier by allowing you to set up a conversion task, and run it directly from Explorer. At its simplest you might select a few images, right-click, select Send To > Send-To Convert, and that’s it: your images are converted right away.

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In recent years there has been a lot of love shown for Plex, the slick and frankly brilliant media sharing solution that encompasses just about any platform. But it’s not the only media server in town.

It’s lurked in the shadows for some time, but now there’s a serious competitor starting to eye up Plex’s crown, and that solution is Media Browser.

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Boneheaded. That’s the first word that comes to mind when I think about Microsoft abandoning its Surface branding in favor of Nokia Lumia.

You see, successful branding is a tricky business. Getting people to internalize your brand or product name as part of their everyday vocabulary is a herculean task. Coke did it. So did Xerox and Kleenex. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve gone to "Xerox" something, or asked the person next to me to pass me the box of "Kleenex".

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Right now, it is summer in New York. The temperature keeps creeping up and the humidity is causing crankiness. There is no better place to witness the crankiness than the parking lot of a big store like Best Buy or Walmart. People will camp out for a close parking spot with their car's blinker on and fight with each other. Why? They do not want to walk far in the heat. Me? I gladly park far away from the store, because I am thankful that I can walk. No, I am not being judgmental -- only observing perfectly healthy people taking their blessings for granted.

For someone who cannot walk or move their arms, life must be a frustrating, maddening struggle. Luckily, in 2014, we have technologies that can assist people in overcoming their disabilities. Prosthetic technologies are getting better every day and medicines keep improving. A Seattle man named Tyler Schrenk is leveraging technology to live a full life despite being paralyzed, but you may be surprised by what he is using -- a Surface Pro and Xbox 360.

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As a young Londoner, I'm not much of a driver, but boy do I see some congestion. Our capital's streets are bursting at the seams with cars, buses, bikes and trucks, and the majority are completely unconnected to each other.

So it was with interest that I attended NXP's Innovation Day in Eindhoven, Holland, to witness a range of technologies developed by the semiconductor company, including the latest automotive innovations. Falling under the ever-expanding category that is the Internet of Things, the connected car is seen by many to be the future of sustainable transport.

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Given the amount of hype surrounding it you could be forgiven for thinking that big data is the answer to most business and scientific problems.

But a new survey by database specialists Paradigm4 reveals that almost three-quarters of data scientists believe that big data has made their research harder. The reason for this is not, as you might expect, the volume of data but the variety.

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