Today, Google officially announced its closing of the Orkut service, September 30,2014.

Microsoft is getting ready for their latest round of patches.

Now that more people are starting to use XBMC 13.0 codename “Gotham,” several issues have popped up which testing hadn’t previously revealed. After releasing two betas and a release candidate, it’s time for a final 13.1 release. The incorporated fixes are the ones already mentioned in the release candidate announcement, nonetheless we will list them again below. Do note that this release contains only fixes, and no new features. This 13.1 release can be safely installed on top of any previous XBMC releases. Please read the important notice at the bottom as well. Should you find any problems, you can find how to report these at the bottom of this announcement. Very likely we will release another bug-fix release after this version, with additional fixes and small improvements. These are however to intrusive to already include in this 13.1 release, as they need careful testing.

We love speed... and after reviewing the Samsung 840 Pro, we were chomping at the bit to get the 840 EVO in the lab. Not only does the newer EVO model use newer 19nm 3-bit Triple-Level Cell vs that of 2-bit MLC found in the 840 Pro, but it also features a much more attractive price-point and an increased IOPS... on paper.

Zentyal Development Team today announced Zentyal Server 3.5, a new release of the Zentyal Linux small business server. Zentyal Server aims at offering small and medium businesses (SMBs) a native drop-in replacement for Windows® Small Business Server and Microsoft® Exchange Server, that can be set up in less than 30 minutes and is both easy-to-use and affordable.

XBMC is a powerful HTPC front end, but you never truly realize its potential until you start exploring ways of extending its functionality. Add-ons extend XBMC’s functionality bringing you new and incredible ways to enjoy your HTPC. Given the large number of add-ons out there… here is MY list of the top 5 for 2014 so far.

I recently went on a hunt to try and figure out a way to export all my worksheets in an Excel document to CSV. The need arose simply out of frustration. Instead of copying cells and pasting as values into a new workbook then saving as CSV, I wanted a simple and logical approach that could save me time and frustration.

At CE Week 2014 (Booth #169 in the iLounge), Mimoco, the Boston-based consumer electronics design studio, is proud to announce the Star Wars x MimoPowerBot™ line of backup batteries for smartphones, tablets, and other 5V USB-powered devices.

Despite their significantly higher market penetration in U.S. homes, consumer electronics (CE) now account for a lower percentage of electricity usage per household than they did three years ago, according to new research released today by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®. The study Energy Consumption of Consumer Electronics in U.S. Homes in 2013 says CE devices accounted for just 12 percent of residential electricity consumption in the U.S. last year, a nine percent drop from their energy consumption share in 2010 (13.2 percent).

If you are hunting around for your next NAS, you have plenty to pick from. With countless options, NAS makers are hard at work trying to ramp up their products and are jockeying for the number 1 spot on your short list. It seems like only yesterday that QNAP had introduced their X69(L) lineup and already we are being greeted by a more powerful X70 lineup. For the last few months, we have been putting QNAP's TS-470 to work in our office... the real question is, is it worth your dollar?