The release of iOS 7 seems like as good a time as any to reassess the mobile operating system market, and this is precisely the thinking of Pfeiffer Consulting. The firm pitted Android, Blackberry 10, iOS 7, iOS 6 and Windows Phone 8 head to head (to head to head to head), comparing the aspects of the OS that have direct impact on user experience. Rated in four key areas, Windows Phone 8 came bottom of the list in terms of overall usability.

The results are quite damning. Looking at what the report terms "cognitive load" (how easy it is to pick up the OS), Windows Phone 8 actually fared well, receiving the same rating as iOS 7 and being praised for its "streamlined user interface". However the OS is criticized for reducing the overall user experience and efficiency.

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The ever-productive Nir Sofer has announced another NirSoft freebie, NetworkConnectLog, which monitors your network and logs each device as it connects and disconnects.

The end results can be informative if you’re curious about network usage, or perhaps are just wondering whether anyone else is illicitly accessing your wireless network. Check the NetworkConnectLog table occasionally and you’ll see a list of everything that’s connected to or disconnected from your network, including its computer name, workgroup, MAC address, IP address, network adapter manufacturer and connect/ disconnect time.

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Three months ago, Yahoo announced plans to recycle email addresses. The addresses, which the tech giant said had all been inactive for 12 months or longer, were to be offered on a first come first served basis. In covering the story, my colleague Brian Fagioli pointed out some worrying privacy flaws, but Yahoo said it was confident its plans would not compromise user security.

Despite the fact I already have five email addresses I use on a regular basis, and a couple more I dip into occasionally, I applied for one of these recycled addresses, and at the end of August Yahoo emailed me to say "Great news! The username you wanted is yours". I was surprised and delighted, then promptly forgot all about it until yesterday when I logged into my new email account for the first time and… OMG!

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According to a survey by research company Gartner only 43 percent of organizations have a comprehensive privacy program in place whilst seven percent admit to only doing the bare minimum to address privacy laws. The results are based on 221 organizations surveyed in April and May 2013 in the US, Canada, UK and Germany.

"More than a third of organizations still 'consider privacy aspects in an ad hoc fashion' and it is surprising that so many companies are saying that they are not conducting privacy impact assessments before major projects. Sixty-two percent do not scan websites and applications, or conduct an organization-wide privacy audit every year. Organizations must put these activities on their to-do list for 2014," says Carsten Casper, research vice president at Gartner.

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With the release of the Nexus 7, Tesco's Hudl and new Kindle Fire HD and HDX, there are certainly plenty of tablets to choose from with screens around the 7-inch mark. GOCLEVER is the latest contender to enter the ring, announcing the availability of the 7-inch Aries 70.

Although this is a tablet with a budget- to mid-range price tag (£159.99 or €189.99), there is still a quad-core processor lurking in the innards -- pegged at 1.2GHz. Integrated GPS is a useful feature and, coupled with the 3G connection, makes it ideal for popping on the dashboard and getting directions on the road. The preinstalled maps perhaps reveal the Aries 70's roots or target market -- if you need to find your way around Poland, the Czech Republic or Slovakia, you're good to go right out of the box!

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Windows Phone receives quite a bit of bad press for its immature feature set and lack of killer apps. The smartphone operating system, however, has a few neat tricks up its sleeve which some users may not even know about. The one feature that I find to be quite useful yet highly understated is the ability to find, lock, ring and wipe Windows Phones, officially known as "find my phone", which comes in handy in case of theft or misplacing the handset.

The feature is available, and probably operational too, out-of-the-box. You only need a couple of minutes to spare, a Windows Phone and access to a computer, smartphone or tablet, to set it up properly and find, lock, ring or wipe your handset remotely.

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German software developer Ashampoo has released Ashampoo Anti-Virus 2014 ($39.99), a full-featured antivirus tool which combines the Bitdefender and Emsisoft engines to help keep you safe online.

The package offers all the core functionality you’d expect from a modern antivirus package: real-time protection, on-demand scanning, behavioral monitoring, browsing protection and more.

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Now here's a blast from the past. RealNetworks (remember it?) is launching RealPlayer Cloud, a new service that aims to make it easier than ever to share videos between devices and across platforms. The service has been developed to help avoid the need to transfer videos from one device to another or upload them to an online storage repository ready to download elsewhere.

The idea is that users do not have to worry about the platform videos will be viewed on, or the format they are saved in. There are a huge number of video codecs in use, so the appeal of something that helps to overcome compatibility issues is understandable. There are plenty of services that already make it possible to stream video wirelessly from a PC to an iPad or other device. This is nothing new, nor is the ability to pick up from where you left off watching when you switch devices.

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Roku is expanding its streaming media product line with the release of the Roku 1, Roku 2 and Roku LT. The three new devices join the flagship Roku 3, and are targeted at the entry-level and mid-range market. The cheapest of three is the Roku LT at $49.99. It will only be available in the US and supports video output up to 720p. Next in line is the Roku 1 which will retail for $59.99 and ups the video support to full 1080p HD.

Topping off the new releases is the Roku 2 which will retail for $79.99 and will, like the Roku 1, be available in the US, Canada, the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Borrowing ideas from the existing Roku 3, the new Roku 2's remote includes a headphone jack and the device itself features dual-band Wi-Fi. All three models are available for pre-order now, and are expected to hit stores at the beginning of October. The entire range sports an updated look that is in keeping with the Roku 3.

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Earlier today we reported on Amazon's launch of three all-new Kindle Fires. Thanks to the introduction of improved enterprise and productivity features in Fire OS 3.0, Amazon hopes to make the latest Fire HD and HDX more attractive to BYOD and business users.

"Kindle Fire is already the second most popular tablet at work in the US," says Raghu Murthi, Vice President of Enterprise and Education at Amazon. "As employees increasingly bring their own devices to work, the new Kindle Fire tablets can be easily integrated into the workplace with the new enterprise features, including encryption, secure Wi-Fi, a native VPN client, integration with leading MDM solutions, and Kerberos support for Intranet access".

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Twitter is in the process of rolling out a new notification system designed to help users find interesting people to follow. It is not an entirely new system -- the micro blogging site is basing the feature on its @MagicRecs account, which started off as an experiment earlier in the year, making "magic recommendations" about who Twitter users might like to follow.

@MagicRecs monitors the activity of the people you follow and people in your network and sends out direct messages letting you know when several people you are connected to follow a particular user. The thinking is that if two or more people are interested in following someone else, there's a high chance that you will be too. In a blog post, Senior Software Engineer, Venu Satulur explains how the recommendation system has been tweaked and updated.

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Work collaboration and project management specialist Clarizen has announced that it now provides connectivity to JIRA, Atlassian's bug and issue tracking software. The integration allows users to plan projects, portfolios, resources, budgets and more, while seamlessly integrating research and development activities from JIRA to Clarizen and vice versa.

"While Clarizen customers appreciate our native functionality, they are also looking for ways to seamlessly interact with their other mission-critical systems," says Guy Shani, chief strategy officer at Clarizen. "A core part of our business is to continually support the needs of our customers, so we listened to those who have standardized on JIRA in their R&D environment. Rather than managing bugs and issues in a silo, our new integration allows the data to sync with broader projects and cross-departmental teams using Clarizen. The bi-directional nature of the integration now closes the loop between project management and R&D, allowing teams to fully implement agile methodologies".

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It’s all about tablets this week as following on from Microsoft’s Surface reveal, Amazon today announces three new Kindle Fires -- the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD, and the Kindle Fire HDX, in 7 and 8.9-inch sizes. The new devices offer a slimmer design, better screens, faster hardware and an updated OS.

The $139 Kindle Fire HD has a high-definition display with 1280 by 800 resolution and 216ppi -- 66 percent more pixels than the previous generation Kindle Fire. It’s powered by a dual-core 1.5 GHz processor, and has dual stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus audio.

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I am a big fan of YouTube. I particularly enjoy videos by iJustine and Chris Pirillo. While the videos are great, the comments usually aren't. Quite frankly, YouTube comments are often vulgar, racist and upsetting -- an overall blemish on humanity in my opinion.

Today, Google announces that "starting this week, you’ll see the new YouTube comments powered by Google+ on your channel discussion tab. This update will come to comments on all videos later this year, as we bring you more ways to connect with familiar faces on YouTube."

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If we are to believe all the comments posted on the Interwebs by Microsoft fanboys, then the Surface lineup should have delivered two of the most popular tablets on the market and Apple and Android OEMs should have gone out of business by now. But, once reality sets in and we overlook the silly one-sided comments, people just don't care enough about Microsoft's slates -- the 4.5 percent Windows market share, from IDC's Q2 2013 report, coupled with the $0.9 billion write-off speak for themselves.

Now there's a second-generation Surface lineup which was unveiled yesterday, comprised of Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2, that quietly wants to change people's perception about Windows-based slates and their preference towards Android tablets and iPads. On paper, the new Surfaces look great. Microsoft appears to have gotten the hint -- more power, more battery life, more versatile kickstand, more accessories. The new Surface lineup is simply "more" than its predecessor. Yet I don't think many people will notice that and rush to pre-order now or buy on sales day.

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