Five years. That's how long it is since Chrome was unleashed on an unsuspecting world. Five years and we've already made it to version 29! There will undoubtedly be a few glasses charged in celebration, but Google is also taking this special date as an opportunity to reveal a "new breed of Chrome Apps". Head to the Chrome Web Store and you'll find a new section: For Your Desktop.

Working online with web apps has become increasingly common, but traditional desktop apps are still more popular. Now Google is looking to blur the boundaries between the two, making web apps much more like desktop software. The key thing to note here is that the apps that are found in this section do not -- after the initial download process of course - require an internet connection: they can be used in offline mode.

In recent weeks we've seen social collaboration become the new black as far as business computing is concerned. Gartner has reported growing expectations from social technologies and new product releases from major players have focussed on this sector.

Washington DC-based HyperOffice was an early entrant into this field and its current offering is aimed at SMBs looking for a scalable solution that will grow with the business. As well as social collaboration HyperOffice includes online document and project management, shared calendars and contacts. It also lets you build an intranet, maintain wikis and forums and handle business email as well as offering traditional project planning tools like Gantt charts.

If you've ever felt like you needed an easier way to manage your Office 365 installation then you're not alone. Tech Data Corporation and MessageOps have had the same thought and joined forces to offer an easy to use cloud management platform called 365 Command.

The tool offers a fast, accurate and cost-efficient way for solution providers to manage their Office 365 clients. Bharath Natarajan, director of product marketing, TDCloud and software services at Tech Data says, "Available through Tech Data's award-winning Solutions Store, powered by StreamOne, 365 Command will bring profitable success to solution providers' cloud businesses, creating a continual revenue and profit stream".

Adopting cloud computing can help smaller businesses compete with larger organizations according to communications and data center specialist Node4. However, many have yet to embrace the full potential of the cloud despite the fact that it can give them a competitive edge.

Node4 says that making the switch from using a capital expenditure model to a pay-as-you-go operational expenditure plan opens up opportunities to use enterprise grade IT without the hassle of maintenance.

Yahoo China is no more. It has ceased to be. It has expired and gone to meet its maker. It is bereft of life. It rests in peace. The website now displays a goodbye message before redirecting to the news site Toaboa. As the message explains the closure comes as a result of a deal between Yahoo and the Chinese Alibaba Group.

The relationship between the two companies dates back to 2005 when Yahoo bought a 40 percent share of Alibaba. An agreement in 2012 paved the way for the closure of Yahoo China, and this had already been preceded by the closure of Yahoo Mail in the country a couple of weeks ago -- again, customers were redirected to using an Alibaba service, Alimail.

For those in the States, the mad dash to compliance is unquestionably on. After years of taking a "wait and see" approach to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations surrounding medical office technology, healthcare providers (and related covered entities) are scrambling to get their systems and procedures in order. Big Brother has officially set a September 23, 2013 deadline for most new rules that put into place heightened protocols for how patient information (PI) is shared as well as how notifications about breaches need to be handled, among other things.

Naturally, a lot of my consulting clients in the healthcare industry are reaching out for professional help on how to get their IT systems in line as these deadlines approach. One of the biggest facets of the new HIPAA laws, which affects companies like mine that provide hands-on IT consulting, is that for the first time ever we are being considered "covered entities" in the same boat as the healthcare outlets themselves.

On Friday, Finnish mobile maker Nokia announced HERE Connected Driving, a cloud-connected in-car navigation solution with offline mapping, real-time traffic information and mobile device app support. Labeled by the company as "the only end-to-end driving solution on the market", it will be officially demoed during the International Motor Show in Frankfurt, Germany.

Nokia's in-car navigation solution is comprised of four parts -- HERE Auto, HERE Auto Cloud, HERE Auto Companion and HERE Traffic. HERE Auto takes care of navigation instructions, with or without a data connection, similar to the company's HERE Drive+ Windows Phone 8 app. It provides turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation in 95 countries, while supporting 2D, 3D and satellite map views (street imagery is also included). According to Nokia, Continental's Open Infotainment Platform already integrates HERE Auto and it is expected to arrive in cars in upcoming months.

A speedy six weeks after its beta release, Acronis International has announced the first full release of Acronis True Image 2014 ($49.99), as well as a new Acronis True Image 2014 Premium edition ($79.99).

This release is all about the cloud. There’s now 5GB of free storage space included with the program (though only for a year, unfortunately), which can be expanded up to 250GB at extra cost. And you can now back up files, folders, or your entire system image to the cloud, just as easily as any other destination.

As some of you may know, Evernote is my favorite note-taking app. And, there is a very good reason for that -- the cloud-based service is available for all major mobile platforms through their respective app stores, making it easy to use, regardless of which operating system I may favor at the time. This makes it particularly handy when I'm jotting down ideas for upcoming stories on my Windows Phone 8 smartphone, but wish to look into them further on my laptop, which runs Windows 8, or straight on the web.

Another good reason as to why Evernote is at the top of my note-taking app list is the ongoing commitment for Windows Phone 8. New versions are rolled out regularly for the tiled handset OS, introducing new features and improvements at a steady pace. And the latest iteration that was released late-yesterday, brings yet another batch of goodies, including speech-to-text support.

When Microsoft first launched SkyDrive, the company offered 25 GB of storage to everyone willing to sign up. As the service grew and was increasingly integrated into more places, like Windows 8 and Office 2013, that free ride came partially to an end. Free storage was downgraded to seven gigabytes, but those who met certain criteria were grandfathered in.

Now that 25 GB threshold breaths new life, though not quite for everyone. This time around the extra cloud space goes to Pro users -- business customers. "Today, we're pleased to announce three new significant improvements to SkyDrive Pro for Office 365 business subscribers - to help you be more productive", the Office 365 team announces.

Its all about the cloud these days. At least that is what we are being told. Truth is, it is a rather handy product of modern computing, and one that I use daily. Now G Cloud Backup, a product from Genie9, announces a new update to its Android app that aims to improve and simplify this experience even more.

The app backs up your messages, call logs, contacts, photos and music. You will need to sign up for an account, but both the app and the account are free. Customers get 1 GB of free storage, though more can be earned.

Californian work collaboration and project management specialist Clarizen has launched the latest version of its cloud-based platform. Clarizen v6 combines social engagement and project management to achieve better results.

Clarizen’s co-founder and CEO Avinoam Nowogrodski says, "Clarizen v6 was designed from the ground up to support the requirements of today's changing modern workplace. Increasingly, companies and organizations are staffed by people of different generations, with different skill sets and who are located around the world. Clarizen v6 delivers on our Work Funnel concept of connecting social context, tasks and projects on a single cloud-based platform, so collaboration will drive results".

Emergency surgery is the appropriate analogy for the firing of the iconic CEO. Yes firing. Microsoft announced Steve Ballmer's departure today, quite unexpectedly, and in his own words "within the next 12 months, after a successor is chosen". Meaning: Soon as there is a replacement, he is gone. Vamoose. Adios. We'll send Christmas cards. Not!

Unless Ballmer is in ill-health, or something bad happened to someone he loves, he wouldn't just walk away whistling to the wind. The man is too passionate about Microsoft. There is but one interpretation: The board of directors gave Ballmer his pink slip.

iWork for iCloud beta was originally only available for developers (or people with developer accounts), much to the ire of the fruit-logo company's eager and loyal following. Today, without any fanfare, the cloud-based Office platform is now available to all Apple ID users.

Apple describes the service by saying "iWork has always been the best way to be productive on the Mac. And iWork for iOS made it easy to create beautiful documents on iPad and iPhone. With iWork for iCloud we’re bringing Pages, Numbers, and Keynote to the web -- on Mac and PC. And thanks to iCloud, your work is always up to date on all your devices".

The man behind UK cloud and hosting provider UKFast is launching a new fund to help protect businesses from online threats. Called BASE (Building A Safer Environment) it aims to make quality security solutions available to businesses who can't afford the inflated costs charged by suppliers.

The fund set up by Lawrence Jones, CEO of UKFast, aims to help businesses add security features to their network and grow to the next level. UKFast grants £5,000 to each business that qualifies for the funding to boost their solution.