Accessing Wikipedia is generally easy. Need to know something? Point your browser at www.wikipedia.org, search for the topic in question, and you’ll have all the details you need in just a few moments.

But what if you have a slow connection, maybe metered, perhaps no connection at all? Then what you really need is Kiwix, which allows you to download a local copy of Wikipedia for speedy offline access on your PC, Mac or Android device.

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Microsoft's issues with Outlook.com continue to rumble on. Following last week's server wobble the company has issued an apology for the temporary outage, explaining that problem was a result of a "failure in a caching service that interfaces with devices using Exchange ActiveSync".

The company promises that steps have been taken to ensure that "the service will be more resilient in the future", in a status update posted at 9:34am, August 17. In spite of this, a more recent update, posted at 19:36 -- and still in place at time of writing rolling on into August 18 -- states that "There's a problem with Outlook at the moment".

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I am typically not a fan of hardware convergence. My first computer, a Packard Bell, had a combination sound card and modem -- I kid you not. When I decided to upgrade the modem, I lost sound. What I learned that day so many years ago, is that it is better to have individual components.

When the opportunity to test the new Logitech All-In-One TK820 arose, I was excited. Logitech is known for quality hardware; but a combination keyboard and trackpad? I was dubious to say the least.

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Looking at the the biggest stories on BetaNews from August, 11 - 17, 2013. This week there has been a lot of Microsoft related news setting tongues wagging -- and it's been something of a rollercoaster. Early on in the week we got a sneak peak at what to expect in the upcoming Windows 8.1 update after a new build leaked online. Build 9471 includes a number of changes from the official Preview, including new tutorials, extra personalization options, changes to a few of the built-in apps and integrated Skype.

Not long after the leak version was discovered, Microsoft went on to talk about creating a unified experience across different Microsoft and Windows devices and services. And for anyone who is sick of the Windows 8.1 hype there was some good news -- the official release date is only a couple of months away, after which things should start to quieten down.

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Avast Software has officially revealed the first public betas of Avast Free Antivirus 2014 (aka Avast 9), Avast Pro Antivirus 2014, Avast Internet Security 2014, and Avast Premier Antivirus.

These aren’t just routine by-the-numbers updates, either -- the new releases see notable improvements in many different areas.

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Microsoft may be continuing to celebrate with a "we're number three" chant, but the company also isn't resting on this minor victory over Blackberry. Instead it wishes to spread further and wider, and create its own apps when others fail to come through -- especially Google, which has been a major thorn in the side.

Fresh Paint, an art app that was only released last month, has a new update that is designed to support even more devices -- "Fresh Paint, Microsoft’s popular free art app first released on the phone last month, has just been updated to support Windows Phone 8 models with 512MB of RAM", says the company's Michael Stroh.

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It's easy to learn how many iPads and iPhones have been sold -- sales figures are readily available. But this isn’t enough information for advertisers who need to know what type of demographic makes up their potential market. Research by Flurry helps to shine a light on the types of people who own different iOS devices.

A random sample of over 44,000 iOS device owners reveals that 72 percent have an iPhone and 28 percent an iPad. Plotted on a chart, the figures make for interesting reading but, as ever, the most intriguing results are to be found at the extremes.

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A few weeks ago, I discovered a product on Kickstarter called the NFC Ring. It is an interesting concept -- you unlock your NFC-enabled smartphone by tapping it with a ring worn on your finger. Today, Motorola announces a very similar accessory for the Moto X which is called Skip. However, this product is not a piece of jewelry.

According to Motorola, "Skip is a thin, thumb-sized clip that pairs with your Moto X and unlocks it with a simple tap. Wear Skip on your shirt sleeve, shirt hem, belt loop -- wherever it feels most comfortable. It's fast, easy and secure. It provides all the benefits of a PIN without the hassle".

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Azureus Software has released Vuze 5.1, a major update of its cross-platform BitTorrent client. Vuze, described by Azureus as "the best way to download torrents", aims to make finding, sharing and download torrents easier than other clients.

Version 5.1 boasts a new flow for its Open Torrent dialog box, a new Tags Overview option, the ability to view torrent file availability and an option to amend transfer stats, among other new features. It's had a number of notable bug fixes made too.

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Forty-second in a series. If you thought that last week's application growth was bad, you may be even more disappointed this week as it took another dive. Only 613 new apps were published this week, down another 117 apps from last week's weak performance.

The total app count rose to 79,130 apps this week, with 61,062 of them free to install and 18,068 commercial. Free apps grew by 537 apps this week and paid apps by only 76.

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Capturing the screen on a PC is easy enough, particularly with Windows 8, where pressing Win+PrtSc can finally save your grab as a file.

Actually doing something with that grab, like sharing it with someone else, normally takes rather more work, of course. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Especially if you install a copy of the open source CloudShot.

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The MapMy franchise continues to grow at a rapid pace. The company already has apps and web sites for general fitness, running and biking, but the expansion is not yet complete. Today, it continues, with the announcement of new integration with some of today's hottest fitness devices.

"MapMyFitness is excited to announce a 2-way integration with UP by Jawbone, a wristband and app system that helps you know yourself so you can make smarter choices and feel your best. Also added to our list of supported devices is the Nike+ FuelBand. The Nike+ FuelBand uses a sports-tested accelerometer to measure your movement throughout the day", says the official announcement today.

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According to Wikipedia, a fractal is "a mathematical set that has a fractal dimension that usually exceeds its topological dimension", and that doesn’t exactly sound like an ideal starting point for a fun application, accessible to all.

Fortunately you don’t have to understand the math to have plenty of fun with fractals. It’s enough to know that they’re a great way to generate colorful abstract art, and if you’ve a copy of Fractal Zoomer (and a little time to spare) then getting started is very easy indeed.

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It's a big day in anyone's life -- turning 18. The strike of the clock at midnight opens up a world of opportunity that simply did not exist before. Things may not be quite so dramatic in the life of a web browser (they can't vote, for starters), but today is a big day for Internet Explorer nonetheless; today marks the 18th anniversary of the release of Microsoft's much loved and hated browser. There's something of a nostalgia-fest underway at IE's Facebook page!

Whichever side of the fence you fall on, there's no denying that Internet Explorer has been, and continues to be, an incredibly important tool in opening up the Internet to a wider audience. Usage figures may not be quite as high as they were back in the heady days at the turn of the century when there was slightly less competition in the market, but IE continues to do well -- amazingly well considering the criticism and ridicule often levelled at it.

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I remember the UK launch of Windows XP very well. It took place in London a few weeks after the attacks of September 11 and security around the event was tight. Steve Ballmer was there to discuss the new OS in his own inimitable style, and afterwards we were given a copy of XP to try out for ourselves. That was 12 years ago, and obviously a lot has changed in the tech world since then, yet plenty of businesses are still running XP -- a major source of frustration to Microsoft.

In a blog post yesterday, Tim Rains, Director of Product Management in Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing group, discussed the risks of running Windows XP after support ends in April 2014. In a second post elsewhere Chris Hallum, Senior Product Manager at Microsoft, talked about how the evolution of security threats impacts businesses.

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