Stories by Tony Bradley

As we’ve become a more mobile society - working from virtually anywhere on our smartphones and tablets - we’ve also embraced various cloud storage and file sharing tools, so we can access and collaborate on our data. Younity has an entirely different approach, and it could make cloud storage obsolete.

Microsoft has confirmed that smaller Windows 8 tablets will come to market in the near future. These will fill a gap in the Windows ecosystem and boost demand for Windows 8 by addressing key downsides to the early Surface tablets.

Companies make bad decisions all the time. Some of those decisions do irreparable harm, but others--like forcing users to boot to the new Modern interface in Windows 8, and taking away the Start button--can be reversed. Microsoft needs to ask whether it makes sense to backpedal.

The one-year countdown to the end of support for Windows XP began ticking down yesterday. If you're still using the ancient, legacy version of Windows, it's time to consider your next move.

Since the dawn of personal computers there have been predictions of an all-digital future where paper was little but a distant memory. Decades later, it seems like we've made progress toward the "paperless office," but the Utopian vision is still a long way off.

Google shook things up last week when it dusted off its old Notebook service and relaunched it as Keep. Google's new software muscles in on the space currently dominated by Microsoft OneNote and Evernote, two note-taking apps that save your text, Web links, photos, audio recordings, and more, helping to keep your life organized.

There never will be a perfect computer or network defense. Computer security is a constantly elevating game of cat-and-mouse. As quickly as you address the latest threat, attackers have already developed a new technique to access your network and compromise your PCs. But if you focus on the fundamentals, you can minimize your risk and defend against most attacks.

Microsoft has heard the uproar from customers over the draconian Office 2013 licensing limitations, and it has relented. Today, Microsoft announced an update to Office 2013 retail licensing agreement that should quell the uprising and force customers to put away the torches and pitchforks.

Rumors have abounded this month that Apple is designing a smart watch--maybe even a flexible-glass, slap-bracelet type of device. As cool as that sounds, an "iWatch" needs to be equal parts form and function for working adults to take it seriously.

Dell is in the process of buying back its shares to become a privately held company once again. Microsoft helped facilitate Dell's $24.4 billion deal, with a $2 billion investment that makes the two tech giants partners of sorts. This is either the last gasp of desperation for PCs as we know it, or a sign that Dell and Microsoft still have innovative tricks up their proverbial sleeves.

Rumors have been floating around for some time that Microsoft is hard at work developing Microsoft Office apps for iOS--or more specifically for the Apple iPad. Speculation about Office for iOS has grown following the launch of Office 2013 and the new Office 365, but Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer appears to have squashed that dream for the time being.

Malware attacks have taken on new meaning over the last few years. Businesses and consumers are more or less used to the day-in and day-out of Trojans, phishing scams and such, but a new breed of much more complex and sophisticated threats has changed the game.

A business idea starts simply enough: You identify a need, and then you fill it. It seems that a number of innovative entrepreneurs have identified the need to access data from mobile devices no matter where it's stored, and we're seeing an explosion of solutions designed to address that need.

You're probably familiar with Lenovo and EMC, both more or less household names in the tech industry. Well, now the two have joined forces to form a joint venture, LenovoEMC.

This is it: 2013 is the year that tablets surpass notebooks in sales and assume their rightful place atop the mobile computing gadget throne. Don't start playing "Taps" for the notebooks just yet, though--they're not really going anywhere.