While the iPad is seen as a content consumption rather than a content creation device by some, there's no denying that it has been widely adopted across many organizations, and has made an impact on the business world as well as the consumer arena.

The iPad can be a sterling productivity device -- providing you're well equipped for that prospect in terms of software and hardware, of course. Out of the box, your iPad Air doesn't make such a great partner in crime when it comes to cracking through whatever business needs you might have. So, what software and accessories do you need to be truly productive with your iPad? Read on...

The biggest news of this week came from Apple which held a keynote speech at WWDC in San Francisco. One of the major announcements was the unveiling of iOS 8 which will be making its way to iPhone and iPads around the world sometime in the Fall. There was a lot to take in, including "Hey, Siri", HealthKit and iCloud Drive. OS X also got a new lick of paint with Yosemite, with beta versions made available for immediate download. There was also an intriguing change to the App Store Review Guidelines that suggests the doors may be opened to virtual currencies such as Bitcoin.

Windows 7 continues to grow faster than Windows 8.x, but if you're looking for an alternative to Windows, Linux Mint 17 "Qiana" could be worth a try. Windows XP is still managing to hang on it there for the time being. Microsoft celebrated the news that Windows Phone is becoming increasingly popular -- if not with developers -- particularly when security is important; which is just as well, because reports suggest that handsets need to be made more secure for enterprise. Microsoft also had cause for celebration after helping the FBI to take down the Zeus botnet.

Colleague Wayne Williams is right to call out Surface Pro 3 hidden costs necessary to make a reasonable laptop replacement. There is another choice, which geeks often overlook. Surface 2 is a great value for the price, and everyone considering Apple iPad Air as a laptop replacement should look to Microsoft's tab first.

Before explaining, I start a diatribe that will continue to future posts. Geek reviewers hung up on specs and the fanciest features missing what matters more: Benefits -- to whom they are important and in what circumstances. Not everyone needs the fastest, coolest thing, or can afford it. Lower-cost is a benefit, too, and it's one too often ignored by fanboys and tech reviewers. Wayne gets it. So should you.

Twenty-second in a series. It was Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) this week and as expected the company took the wraps off OS X 10.10 ('Yosemite') and iOS 8.

New features in the next iteration of the mobile OS include interactive notifications, HealthKit, Family Sharing, improved chatting, a better keyboard, and iCloud Drive. It will be released sometime in the fall.

WWDC has proven to be the big event this week, introducing the latest iteration of Apple's operating system, known as OS X Yosemite -- yes the company has moved on from big cats, it did so with Mavericks.

One of the first to take advantage of this new platform is Netflix. The streaming video service is announcing it will bring HTML5 to Safari in the new operating system. "We're excited to announce that Netflix streaming in HTML5 video is now available in Safari on OS X Yosemite! We've been working closely with Apple to implement the Premium Video Extensions in Safari, which allow playback of premium video content in the browser without the use of plugins", says Netflix.

Porn has always been big business, and online porn accounts for a staggering proportion of web traffic. The availability of always-on internet connections in the home, and near blanket use of internet-enabled mobile phones and tablets, means that it is now easier than ever to get a porn fix if you feel the urge. But have you ever wondered how all of this porn is being accessed? Well… wonder no more! Porn site (you don’t say!) PornHub conducted research after Gizmodo expressed an interest in seeing which browsers were most used by consumers of porn, and the figures make for interesting reading.

It perhaps comes as no surprise that desktop browsers prove the most popular. Some 51 percent of Pornhub's traffic comes from people using desktop computers. But, without wanting to put too many unpleasant images in your head, this leaves 49 percent of porn perusal that is enjoyed on mobile phones and tablets. You know, those devices that are easily transported to a quiet room and are rather easier to hold in one hand than a laptop...

Yosemite! Woo! iOS 8! Yay! New way of programming! Huzzah! These were the obvious highlights of Apple's WWDC keynote yesterday, but as the dust settles there are some additional interesting tidbits emerging. As this was a developer conference, it should come as no surprise that the announcements and revelations have the most immediate impact on developers -- but things will also filter down to users. One change that was not given any fanfare at the WWDC is an alteration to Apple's App Store Review Guidelines which paves the way for virtual currency support.

The guidelines themselves are surprisingly easy to read -- this document is nothing like an EULA! But if you'd like to cut to the chase, jump to 11.17 in the "Purchasing and currencies" section. Here you'll find the advice that "Apps may facilitate transmission of approved virtual currencies provided that they do so in compliance with all state and federal laws for the territories in which the app functions". There is no reason that this possible virtual currency support should not include Bitcoin, although the currency has not been specifically mentioned.

Tim Cook took to the stage at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference yesterday, to announce iOS 8, the next iteration of the company’s mobile operating system. As expected, the forthcoming release builds on the foundations laid down by its predecessor, refining elements and introducing some new features.

Craig Federighi, SVP of Software Engineering, ran through a lot of the changes yesterday, including interactive notifications, HealthKit, Family Sharing, Spotlight Suggestions, iCloud Drive, Continuity, Photos with iCloud, and context sensitive predictive text. But there were loads of features that Federighi didn’t mention.

Many people are loyal to a specific operating system. While I mostly use the wonderful Windows 8.1, I also use Linux and OS X too. Apple's operating system works and looks very well, but from a productivity standpoint, Windows still has it beat. Don't get me wrong, OS X is fun to use and rewarding, but it can't even do window-snapping on the edges of the screen. Don't even get me started on the horrible native email client.

Today, Apple showed-off the latest version of OS X (10.10), dubbed "Yosemite". The fruit-logo company has slapped a new coat of paint on the operating system, making it resemble the flatness of iOS 7. However, the appearance is only part of the story. It not only has a new look, but new features and improvements too. In other words, Yosemite looks to be an important update for Mac users.

On stage at Apple WWDC, CEO Tim Cook has just announced the latest iteration of its mobile operating system. He began, as you’d expect, with some impressive statistics. 800 million iOS devices have been sold to date, a figure made up of 100 million iPod touches, 200 million iPads and 500 million iPhones. He also noted 130 million customers were new to Apple in the last year, and many were switchers from Android.

To the surprise of no one, iOS 8 builds on the design of iOS 7. Following Cook on stage, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi walked through the improvements and new features and apps. These are some of the highlights:

As the American tech press turns to San Francisco and Apple's developer conference, the real world looks to Taipei and Computex. There you see the Android Army's march against iOS. ASUS announces new Android tabs, HP takes the wraps off a laptop running the operating system, and Samsung serves up a phablet so large it crosses category boundaries. In literature, they would call this foreshadowing. Do you see how this story will unfold -- as Android manufacturers and Apple engage like factions from the Divergent series.

Android accounted for 39.7 percent of device shipments -- hybrids, PCs, phones, and tablets -- during 2013, according to Gartner. Apple's iOS and OS X: 10.4 percent. Forecast for this year puts Android at 47.2 percent and the fruit-logo platforms at 11.5 percent. That's context for today's announcements from the East and West. As I write, Apple's announcements dribble (iOS 8 and OS X 10.10) out of Worldwide Developer Conference 2014, so this post focuses on what the Android news means.

Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference kicks off today, with the big keynote speech scheduled for 10am PST/6pm BST.

Among the highlights we can expect to see OS X 10.10, which might, possibly, be called 'Yosemite' (the OS X banner showing at the Moscone Center in San Francisco has the famous California national park in the background), and iOS 8, plus new versions of existing hardware, and maybe a few surprises.

No week would be complete without a little Windows news, and this week was no different. A registry hack emerged that should make it possible to receive updates for the no-longer-supported Windows XP right up until 2019. Microsoft later spoiled the fun by pointing out that it could lead to problems as the updates that would be made available as a result of implementing the hack would not be designed for regular desktop versions of Windows XP.

Last week we were wondering why it took eBay quite so long to warn users to update their passwords after a security breach earlier in the year. This week we discovered that it was because the company was under the impression that no user data had been accessed. Apple forgot to renew its SSL certificate, and in another Apple-related security story, a hacker managed to take control of iOS and Mac devices, and hold them ransom. To console itself, the company then splashed the cash on Beats Music -- Joe pondered whether this was just another indication of Apple's lack of innovation.

The more I ponder Apple's Beats acquisition, the less sense it makes. Buying big well-known brands that compete with yours is usually a bad idea -- worse when the acquirer owns no foreign brands. Extinguishing the big name, as Microsoft does with Nokia, is marketing murder. There's no place for the Beats brand in the Apple lexicon. The gun is drawn and ready to fire.

What I do see is another sign that Apple has lost its way. Tim Cook is a very able CEO, but as stated previously he is Star Trek's Spock without Captain Kirk (Steve Jobs). Cook's approach to business logistics, while brilliant, unmakes Apple. Beats is an acquisition that is off-key -- out of tune with the culture that made the fruit-logo company great. As such, on this Thursday in May, comes my confession. I was wrong five years ago in post "Why Apple succeeds, and always will". That company is gone.

Streaming music is the future, there is no question about it. The concept of buying, downloading and storing music is so passé. This is a natural evolution of the music market as the world heads to the cloud. Strangely, Apple was absent in the initial boom. While Spotify, Google Play Music All Access and Xbox Music were on the forefront, Apple was stuck in the past with half-baked services like iTunes Radio.

Apple's failure to lead in this segment has cost it dearly -- $3 billion dollars. You see, today, the company announces that it is buying Beats Music and Electronics for that much. In the blink of an eye, Apple is a leader in music again, but was it worth it?