Yeah, I didn't believe it either when I first read it, but Google Reader is riding into the sunset on July 1st. Google is abandoning the service to focus on other projects and technologies (all hands on deck for Google Glass?). Since Google Reader has millions of users - you might be reading this post from it - the impact and groan will undoubtedly be heard across the interwebs. Get ahead of the curve by trying out these RSS reader alternatives before the sun sets.

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I hate to be a Daniel Downer, but it's approximately a month away from that most detested day of the year: Federal taxes must be filed by Monday, April 15th. As someone who juggled W2s galore as a freelancer for years, I know all about the pain and procrastination of filing season. Here are a few helpful tools, both online, offline, and hardware to ease the burden of tackling all those forms.

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I'm still getting used to this "spring forward" deal, but alongside looking forward to more daylight and warmer weather, I'm setting aside time for spring cleaning tasks all around the house. The seasonal tradition of getting the house in order after winter should also include extend out to your life behind a computer, as there are plenty of spaces and "windows" to tidy up on your desktop... More

I printed a photo the other day. I needed a baby photo of myself for a baby shower game, but being without ink or photo paper at home, I actually took my digital photos to a drug store and ordered prints. It was a strange exercise in nostalgia, but I actually enjoyed having hardcopy prints to show and share for once. More

Transferring your entire CD collection to an iTunes library can be a time consuming project that you'll want to get right the first time. While iTunes provides some error correction, no validation is produced at the end of the importing process. The XLD software not only can import CDs into many different file types, but it also provides accuracy reports to certify that CD importing went through correctly. More

The "Sleep" function available to OS X users is a helpful preference to enable...you can walk away from your machine and know it will switch over to a screensaver or power down to standby mode. The Achille's heel is occasionally your machine will go beddy-bye when you're actually still there (while reading a long article, in the process of doing your taxes, etc). Should I Sleep, a  will cure your Mac's case of narcolepsy by keeping an eye out for you...

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I was amongst the last generation who grew up during the widespread era of newspapers, and one thing I miss besides the tactile quality of the daily paper is the easy legibility of printed monochrome ink, much easier on the eyes than staring and reading an illuminated screen. Grayscale Tool by Emanuel Malmquist is a Chrome extension that can bring a little bit of yesterday's newspaper aesthetic and legibility to your browser experience...

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This week's tablet app roundup focuses upon those of you out there expecting a baby (a few of the Apartment Therapy team included!). After a pregnant friend asked which apps would be useful as an expecting parent, I turned to a tech-loving mom of two for advice. She found three different types of apps useful: those for tracking pregnancy, baby name apps, and apps for baby activity logging in preparation for the new addition's arrival. Here are some of her favorites... More

Whether you like it or not, for most of us email inboxes are a critical part of our everyday lives. Many of us are connected nearly 24/7 with our smartphone devices, tablets, and laptops throughout the day. Naturally, the email app you use is essential because it's one of the most used apps on smart devices. Most people defer to the email app that comes with their smartphone, but email apps like the much ballyhooed Mailbox, can transform your experience reading and sorting your inbox. More

Working from home and being productive can be both rewarding and a challenge at the same time. There are many ways to help with productivity when you're faced with a desk or a comfy couch. Make things a little bit easier for yourself with these 3 free tools. They're so easy to integrate into your workflow that you'll be wondering what you did without them. And did we mention they're free? More