Today, June 14, is Flag Day in the United States. While this is not an official federal holiday, it does honor our flag’s adoption in 1777 — so wave the "Stars and Stripes" proudly.

This day also marks the birthday of the U.S. Army, formed in 1775 by Congress as "the American continental army." In fact, on this 238th birthday, a campaign is well underway to build the National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir, Va. The concept is for a world-class facility to enlighten visitors about America’s oldest and largest military service, proponents say.

To learn more about the museum effort, go to https://armyhistory.org/.

Computer rivals face off at mall

What would Steve Jobs say? Perhaps his ghost will be wafting by the new Microsoft store at Ala Moana Center, which opened officially on Thursday. Who knows? Maybe Jobs’ old competitor, Bill Gates, will come for a live visit to his company’s new outlet.

As is typical with these retail debut events, Microsoft arrives to great fanfare. Hawaii shoppers are avid consumers, with several national chains boasting their biggest sales here. The location may be the most interesting thing about it. Not only does the new store look a lot like the Apple store, it’s just across the mall from it.

For all the concern about technological data-sharing, surveillance and the like, it’s funny that corporate spying between Microsoft and rival Apple requires no high-tech solutions, just a walk down the way and a peek inside.

It’s what tech geeks used to call "Sneakernet." And it works.