Plex is perhaps the best media server available for customers these days, though that will certainly vary by individual tastes. The server and apps are capable of running across almost any platform, and Google will apparently not provide a stumbling block for that.

The company is announcing it will be ready when Android TV launches later this year. The platform, which had been rumored for sometime, was announced this past week at the Google I/O conference.

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The battle for dominance between Microsoft and Google continued, with Microsoft offering a huge storage boost for Office 365 and OneDrive users. This was quickly trumped by Google later in the week at 1/0 2014, when the company announced unlimited storage for Google Drive for Work users. Microsoft is basking in the glory of being heralded as cooler than Apple by Joe -- and stunts like offering cashback deals to sway MacBook Air owners into switching into Surface Pro 3 certainly helps. Microsoft opened a new store on Long Island, while Google branched out into new territory with a trial run of a new domain registration service. Microsoft also ventured into new waters with its first Android smartphone, the Nokia X2.

In something of an interesting twist, Microsoft opted to use Opera Mobile as the default web browser. Opera is also returning to Linux after the surprise release of Opera 24 Developer. Linux Mint 17 "Qiana" KDE was also released. Linux also managed to hit the headlines for facilitating the hacking of Google's Nest thermstats. If this hasn’t put you off, Logitech added support to its Harmony remotes.

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"All politics is local," said House Speaker Tipp O’Neill, meaning that every politician has to consider the effect that his or her positions will have on voters. What makes perfect sense on a national stage might be a disaster back in the district, where the actual voters live. And so it is, too, with big companies, where local impact is sometimes more important than national or international. Sometimes, in fact, companies can be completely re-routed solely to please or affect a single executive. I believe we are seeing precisely that right now at Google concerning Google X.

Google X is that division of the search giant responsible for self-driving cars, Google Glass, and the prospect of hundreds or thousands of balloons floating through the stratosphere bringing Internet service to grateful Polynesians. It’s those balloons, in fact, that led me to this topic.

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Apple makes some wonderful hardware, like MacBooks, iPads and iPhones to name a few. Plus, its OS X and iOS operating systems are well-designed and rock solid. However, the company's apps and programs are rather hit or miss.

iWork used to be a very capable office suite. Sure, it was not as good as Microsoft Office, but it got the job done. Last year, Apple updated iWork and while it looked pretty, much of its functionality was removed. The same was done to Final Cut Pro X in 2011. In other words, Apple seems to be focusing more on casual users than professionals. Today, the company kills popular photography program Aperture which continues this trend of dumbing down its own software.

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I find the whole smartwatch craze rather amusing, even more so now that Google has officially announced Android Wear, with two models, made by LG and Samsung, shipping next month. One-day battery life? Bwaaahaha. Do they never learn? Microsoft-powered smartwatches got better than that a decade ago, and short battery life still turned out to be one of the main reasons the timepieces failed.

In product design you can never ignore existing behavior. A watch is a set-it, and forget-it device. I suppose some gadget geeks accustomed to daily smartphone charges (or less) will be dumb enough to buy. But smart consumers will be Android Wear wary. Just ask Microsoft about the road to ruin, which is paved with the best intentions, the right manufacturing partners, and concept seemingly smart that isn't.

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Many Google fans and developers are still excited in the wake of an eventful Google I/O 2014. From a transcendent show-opener where a metaphor-heavy Rube Goldberg device crossed through the physical and digital space to more discussion on the expansion of wearable technology, there was something for everyone at this developer conference.

The US tech giant's big hitter of this year was an emphasis on improving the integration of Android apps more seamlessly into users' everyday lives. Conference attendants were also granted an unprecedented look at the figures behind Android users' buying habits in the Play Store.

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While the Amazon Appstore's app selection is not as abundant as the Google Play store, it does have many premium apps. One of the most endearing qualities of Amazon's store is that every day, it offers one paid app for free. If you check it every day, you can discover some great and not-so-great apps. However, it is tedious to check it every day and easy to forget too.

Today, Amazon is deciding to be generous and delivers 31 awesome paid apps for free. That's right, you pay nothing for 31 apps that combined would normally cost over $100. There must be a catch right? Well, sort of -- they are only free for two days. Read on to take advantage.

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Amazon Prime has been busy these days, both adding a music streaming service, as well as launching its own original programming. The latter has already seen complete first seasons for Betas and Alpha House, and more pilots set to launch later this year.

Today the Studio arm of the retailer takes on children's shows, debuting a new title called Creative Galaxy. The show comes from Angela Santomero, who previously worked on Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, as well as creating the hit show Blue's Clues.

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Avast Software has released the fourth update to its Avast 2014 range of products with the unveiling of build number 9.0.2021 for Avast Free Antivirus 2014, Avast Internet Security 2014 and Avast Premier Security 2014.

As with the previous few updates, R4 contains no new features, but does include several important security enhancements among other tweaks and optimizations that once again make it essential for existing users.

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Eighty-seventh in a series. Welcome to this week's selection of the best applications for Windows 8.

Windows Store saw some excellent releases this week, including a Sudoku application by Microsoft, the photo studio app PicsArt, which made app of the week, the beautifully designed North Face, and Bee Leader, Mega Run and RED. applications and games.

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At the I/O 2014 conference, Google showcased the latest version of Android, known only as L until its official launch later this year. Compared to its predecessor, KitKat, it comes with 64-bit support, design changes, the ART runtime running the show, tightened security, battery life and performance improvements, notifications tweaks, new APIs and more.

Android L may not yet be ready for prime time, but a preview version is now available for Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 (2013 Wi-Fi model), giving users the option to get comfortable with the slew of changes it introduces. Here is how you can download and install it.

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Last year around seven percent of all data was stored in the cloud, but by 2016 it's estimated that 36 percent of data will be in cloud storage, generating a potential revenue of over $4 billion. Of current storage users, 38 percent say they already use the cloud with 34 percent planning to do so.

Salesforce and Google Drive linking specialist Cirrus Files has been looking at the three main public cloud providers, Dropbox, Box and Google Drive to see how their services compare in this fast-growing sector.

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Twenty-fourth in a series. Apple refreshed its aging iPod touch lineup this week, introducing a new 16GB model with an iSight camera, and lowered the price of the existing models. If you’ve been tempted to pick up an iPod touch, but were put off by the price, now is the time to go for it.

The App Store saw some excellent releases this week, including a free app which lets you store unlimited photos and videos in the cloud, a Ministry of Silly Walks game voiced by John Cleese, a travel app that covers everything from planning to booking, an origami based puzzle game, and a slot machine that lets you put pictures of friends and family on the reels. And that’s just for starters!

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The hype machine is still in overdrive in the storage market, cranking out myths that businesses need to see through if they don't want to be bamboozled into adopting solutions that won't meet their requirements.

While there are plenty of things storage vendors want you to believe, here are 10 things they don't want you to know.

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Samsung has told investors to expect lower than anticipated profits for its second quarter results for the fiscal year.

The news reinforces concerns over a year-on-year downturn and finance chief, Lee Sang Hoon has confirmed the financial woes.

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