Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Amazon has become the one-stop online shop for just about anything you might want. Now the retail giant is adding another string to its bow: handmade, artisan products. At the moment, anyone looking to sell things they have made themselves has a few outlets to choose from, but Etsy and eBay are the two most likely contenders.

Now there is Handemade by Amazon, a new branch of the online store "featuring genuinely handmade items crafted and sold directly from artisans". This is where Amazon is looking to differentiate itself from Etsy -- everything must be handmade as this is an entirely "factory-free" experience.

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With the release of Marshmallow (Android 6.0) the usual question rears its head. It's the eternal question that Android users ask themselves every time Google releases a new version of its mobile operating system: will my phone get the upgrade? If you have a Nexus device, you are probably in luck -- unless it's really old, of course -- but what about everyone else?

Unlike Apple's iPhone, which has a very long support lifecycle when it comes to iOS upgrades, Android is famous for its fragmentation. Marshmallow may have been released, but it's down to individual handset manufacturers and carriers to push out the updates. So... is your handset in line for the upgrade? Here's what we know so far.

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Google today announced a project which has the aim of speeding up the web for mobile users -- Accelerated Mobile Pages, or AMP. While there are clearly benefits for users in speeding up the web, Google is pushing the benefits that advertisers could reap: if a page takes too long to load, visitors may give up and not see any ads at all.

The AMP project is an open source initiative that gives publishers the ability to optimize their site code for mobiles so it will "load instantly everywhere". The aim is to be as platform independent as possible, allowing for optimize-once workflow. The result of a collaboration between Google, Twitter, WordPress, LinkedIn and others, a new open framework called AMP HTML has been put together from existing web technologies.

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Launching a new web browser was always going to be a risk. Microsoft used Windows 10 as a launch pad for Edge, shedding the shackles of Internet Explorer in a bid to take on the likes of Chrome and Firefox.

Sadly for Microsoft, new figures show that Edge is failing to make inroads into Google's and Mozilla's market shares. Analysis performed by Quantcast shows that in the US just 12 percent of Windows 10 users are using Edge, while Chrome is sitting pretty with a greater than 70 percent share.

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The next phase of the Windows 10 rollout will happen in December. We already know that the latest version of Microsoft's operating system is installed on millions of desktops and laptops, but the mobile version has been dragging its heels.

With the announcement of the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL which have Windows 10 Mobile pre-installed, owners of other devices have been left wondering when the upgrade will make it to their handset. Originally slated for a November launch, Microsoft has revealed on Facebook that the rollout will start in December.

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The newly-announced Surface Book feels like it's something I should love. I'm a big Surface Pro fan and I still use my first gen Pro as my daily driver. But there's just something about the Surface Book that grates. The price is not in any way attractive, but there's something else that's rather ugly: the hinge.

The Surface Book's hinge is something that Microsoft seems quite pleased with. Proud of, even. Microsoft calls it a 'dynamic fulcrum hinge', but it looks like a cross between a caterpillar track and a rubberized bendy drinking straw. For what is described as a 'meticulously crafted' device and 'the ultimate laptop', it's not a good look -- and it could be a serious problem.

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At today's event in New York, Microsoft put on an impressive show. We were -- ironically -- expecting some surprises, and the announcement of the Surface Book meant we weren't disappointed; this is, after all, "the ultimate laptop". The looks are striking. The specs are impressive. The price tag is... eye-watering.

In a way, we should have expected some expensive hardware to be revealed today. With its Surface Pro range, Microsoft showed that it is not afraid to push up the price, but the Surface Book takes things a step further. $1,499 is the starting price. Make a few tweaks to the specs and you could find yourself relieved of a buttock-clenching $2,699. Is there any way to justify this price?

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If you're a Twitter user, you undoubtedly love it. If you're not, you probably either hate it, or find it confusing. Today Twitter launches Moments in a bid to make itself more appealing to beginners by helping to provide a gentle step up into the crazy world of tweets, and by bringing context to timelines.

Times they are a-changing at Twitter with Jack Dorsey now the fulltime CEO, and the prospect of curated content from reputable sources could be what is needed to take things to the next level. Part of the problem with Twitter is the sheer volume of content that is out there -- and it is generated very quickly; for newbies, it can be completely overwhelming. Moments is an attempt to cut through the crap and present news and stories in a meaningful and accessible way.

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Microsoft appears to have learned from its mistakes. Its first wearable, the Microsoft Band was a cheap and cheerful affair -- although there wasn’t really all that much to be cheerful about in all honesty. Today the company unveiled the second edition of the Band, and the look is in line with the leaked images from a couple of weeks ago.

With the latest version of the Band, Microsoft has gone back to the drawing board and come up with a design that is sleek and stylish, and features a curved screen. The health and fitness tracker is nicely rounded, and the curved display is strengthened with Gorilla Glass 3. There are now no fewer than 11 built in sensors, including a new barometer for measuring altitude.

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The European Court of Justice has ruled that the Safe Harbor agreement that is in place between technology companies is invalid. The agreement covers the sharing of data between the EU and the US but the court said there are insufficient privacy and data protection checks in place.

European law dictates that data should only be shared with and transferred to countries that offer a comparable level of data protection to the EU. The Safe Harbor agreement has been in operation for around 15 years, but after concerns that European data could be shared with the likes of the NSA it means that companies such as Facebook, Google, and Apple could be sharing data illegally.

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Facebook has come under heavy criticism for its real names (or 'authentic identities' as they are known to the social network) policy. Over the last year, all manner of rights groups and advocates have tried to convince Facebook to allow users to drop their real name in favor of a pseudonym if they want.

Now the Electronic Frontier Foundation is part of the 74-member strong Nameless Coalition and has written to Facebook demanding a rethink on the ground of safety, privacy, and equality. This is far from being the first time Facebook has been called on to allow the use of 'fake names', and the latest letter is signed by LGBT groups, freedom advocates, privacy supporters, and feminist organizations.

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In an interview with BBC Panorama, Edward Snowden made further revelations about the capabilities of government agencies. Having blown the whistle on the NSA, Snowden has also shed light on the activities of the UK equivalent, GCHQ.

In tonight's interview, the former NSA contractor spoke of the agency's "Smurf Suite" -- a collection of tools that can be used to intercept and control smartphones, even if they're turned off. Named after the blue cartoon characters, the Smurf tools can be deployed via encrypted text message without alerting the handset owner.

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Currently in exile in Russia, Edward Snowden recently joined Twitter to give him a public platform to communication with the world. With global interest in surveillance and privacy, the NSA whistleblower still conducts TV and newspaper interviews, and in a BBC interview he reveals that he would be willing to serve prison time.

He has even offered his freedom to the US government... but no one has responded to him. Praised and vilified in just about equal measure, Snowden faces prosecution under the Espionage Act for leaking documents about the activities of the NSA.

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He has been interim CEO for some time now, but today Jack Dorsey has been officially appointed as CEO of Twitter. Three months after Dick Costolo stepped down from the role, Dorsey is now the head of not only Square, but also Twitter, bringing to an end months of rumor and speculation.

As one of the founders of the company, Dorsey has an unrivalled knowledge of where Twitter comes from, what is at its heart, and where it should be heading. The board of Twitter is due for an overhaul, and one of the first announcements is the appointment of Adam Bain as COO, but there are almost certainly more exciting announcements on the horizon.

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The update process in Windows 10 has proved controversial. There was upset at the fact that updates are not optional, and this in turn led to driver updates breaking people's computers.

We have already looked at the steps you can take to stop Windows 10 installing automatic updates, but what about if you want to keep Windows 10 up to date while retaining manual control of when drivers are updated? Read on to find out how to stop Windows 10 messing up your drivers.

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