How can I keep track of news about technology?
Q >> I like to keep track of what’s happening in the computer and tech industry but am overwhelmed by the options. What sites, apps and email newsletters do you recommend, so I can stay on top of both news and troubleshooting info for Windows, smartphones and every other modern device?
A >> That is a really big ask. In fact, as you suspect, there is no single answer, because, depending on how much you want to track, there’s a massive amount of information coming out on a daily basis. Why? Because we’re in the Information Age, an era clearly characterized by an endless tsunami of new data.
It’s estimated that 4 million new books are now published each year. That’s without taking into account all the Ai-created content that’s an additional wave of new titles. While there are no definitive numbers, it’s safe to assume that the number of books published in 1923 was closer to 40,000 than 4 million!
In addition to lots of news and tech support sources, we also have lots of aggregators that themselves publish content from multiple sites.
With all that in mind, here are my favorite sources for both tech news and tech support.
Askdavetaylor
I am going to start with a plug for my email newsletter. I publish fun and easy to understand tech support tutorials for Windows, Mac, Android, social media. and much more. Once a week, I email a summary of all the new content. Sign up at askdavetaylor.com/subscribe.
Google News
While it gets very little buzz compared to other Google tools, Google News — at news.google. com — offers a great aggregator that lets you keep on top of the industry news. Click on “Technology” to narrow down the category, then simply bookmark the resultant page.
Techmeme
Another news aggregator, Techmeme is more of a tech industry insider source, so it’s not for everyone. I find it helpful to scan on a daily basis; it often leads me to interesting articles and research reports. Find it at techmeme.com.
Msn.com
Your web browser already has a news aggregator that appears on every blank page, and you might have been ignoring it all this time. The way to make these “home page” news sources useful is to spend the time to customize your categories of interest. Switch from “Discover” to “Following” view on MSN. com to get the best results.
Apple News
In a very similar vein, Apple’s news aggregator (the app’s simply called “News” on your iphone or ipad) can be customized to offer a good mix of tech news and support discussions. At: news.apple.com.
Microsoft Learn
One more: learn.microsoft. com is a great place to find tutorials, help pages and the latest news about the Windows platform. Worth a bookmark.
With AI tools and services coming online at a breakneck pace, it’s worth keeping an eye out for new Ai-powered aggregator services, too. It won’t be long before you’ll be able to create a custom page that shows exactly the news and tech support Q&A you want and nothing else. Or … perhaps you’ll create it for the rest of us?
Dave Taylor has been involved with the online world since the beginning of the Internet. He runs the popular Askdavetaylor.com tech Q&A site and you can find his entertaining gadget reviews on Youtube. Chat with him on Twitter as @Davetaylor.