Photocredit: Milandr
If you’re a fan of technology, then you may be wondering what the best sources are for excellent, current technology news. The Internet is replete with rumors and falsehoods. If you hear about your tech news on Facebook, you’d better be prepared to back it up with a visit to Snopes, because there’s more horsefeathers than fact at Mark Zuckerberg’s estate.
Wired is the go-to magazine for lovers of gadgets. It’s a venerable site, available as a website, a paper magazine, or a tablet subscription. (Paper? For technology? Is that technically irony or an oxymoron?) The site offers many blogs, how-to sections, news, reviews, and much more. It’s owned by publishing megastar Condé-Nast (which also owns Reddit). It’s fun and colorful and entertaining to read.
TechCrunch is more oriented towards tech business insiders. Its top navigation menu has “Startups” right there, demonstrating its commitment to the business of technology. Owned by AOL, TechCrunch gives you the latest on industry events, business news, new gadgets, and much more. Its indispensable for the tech pro, but the presentation is on the ugly side. If you’re looking for a pretty site, TechCrunch doesn’t satisfy.
CNet is another giant. The huge advantage of CNet is really its reviews, which are unbeatable from a tech perspective: Detailed, quantified, measurable results presented like the technology really matters. The news is also valuable, because of the smart columnists, because of the diverse categories (including Mobile, Startups, Cutting Edge, Security, Business Tech, Gaming & Culture, and more), and because of the smart presentation. CNet is owned by another media giant: CBS.
ZDnet is a CNet branded site designed for the professional. It has fewer buttons and bows: It goes straight for the clean, uncluttered reporting of news and information that a professional is likely to favor, whereas CNet is more colorful. The news page is a flood of information that is immediately useful and up to the minute. ZDnet will never be mistaken for some hot young kid’s “fun” tech site, and that’s all to the better.