The shifts and the shuffles in the World of Tech

CEBU, Philippines -  From an iconic PC brand born anew, to the discontinuation of one of the world's longest running operating systems, following are some of the changes that have so far happened in the world of tech in 2014.

Vaio without Sony

Early this year, Sony announced its plans of leaving the PC arena, citing that it was selling its PC business to the investment firm Japan Industrial Partners.

In July the new Vaio Corporation - sans the Sony brand - launched a new set of laptops in Japan, marking a new refreshed start for the iconic Vaio line. Based on a message posted on its Japanese language website, the new company aims to maintain the Vaio's DNA of stellar product quality and versatile functionality.

It is not clear if or when the new Vaio units by the Vaio Corporation will be available outside of its home country, but one thing is for sure - the brand is still up and about, with its latest products currently in circulation in the Land of the Rising Sun.

The discontinuation of the Nokia X platform

In February this year, the Nokia X platform (a modified version of Android) and the Nokia X smartphone series made their debuts during the 2014 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where the then-novel lineup was announced as a mid-tier class smartphone offering aimed for emerging markets.

Last month, the powers-that-be of the series announced that it would discontinue its support for the Nokia X platform, but the company will still offer support for Nokia X units that are already in the market.

The Lumia line - running on Microsoft's Windows Phone mobile OS - will continue to lead Nokia's premium-rated smart device offerings to electronic consumers.

Microsoft's Windows XP

Launched commercially in 2001, Microsoft's Windows XP finally retired from active service in April this year, after years of running on an "extended support" mode which followed after its official "mainstream discontinuation" in 2009.

As one of Microsoft's longest running operating systems for personal computers, Windows XP has weathered through the many shifts and advances that have happened in the information technology arena since its release - affording electronic consumers with a trusty operating system that simply got things done.

Though the OS is officially on its "end of life" status, this state does not necessarily mean that users who prefer to use the OS can no longer do so.

However, as a discontinued product, regular patches/fixes for bugs, security updates, and other updates along this vein are no longer available for Windows XP end-users - which could prove to be a problem, given the security risks and dangers posed by the current generation of viruses and malware threats. (FREEMAN)