Give the best Mother’s Day gift of all: tech support

In August 2013, we reviewed the best services for storing your photos in the cloud. Nearly two years later, much has changed. Everpix, our pick for average users, went out of business. Picturelife, our choice for power users, sold itself to StreamNation. And Google+ remains a worthy free choice, even if Google’s plans for photos are very much up in the air.

Early on in any relationship, your app will make one simple request: “I would like to send you notifications.” Sure, it makes sense for a breaking news, banking, or even a weather app, but what does Temple Run really need to tell me when I’m not in the middle of a run? Or any number of other games and random apps for that matter.

Maybe you’ve hit OK thinking, “Yeah, I’ll change that later,” or “I don’t know what it would actually send me, but I don’t want to feel left out.” Maybe it didn’t bother you as much when the phone was in your pocket or sitting on your desk / nightstand / couch — but what about when it’s on your wrist? When each notification is both unavoidable and potentially visible to the world around you?

So! You have successfully purchased an Apple Watch, or you’re interested in how the setup process works. Either way, you are to be congratulated for your initiative and willingness to take a risk on a brand new platform, one that lives on your wrist and makes your wrist part of how you live. Also, it has a really great Mickey Mouse watch face.

We’re here to help. This article explains the major steps you will need to go through to set up and understand your new Apple Watch. It is virtually identical for all versions of the watch, from the least-expensive Sport on up to the Edition. Be warned that this workflow isn’t 100 percent comprehensive — these are the main things you’ll need to know to have a deep and fulfilling relationship with the new technology resting just above your hand.

Apple has the best smartphone ecosystem, the best tablet ecosystem, and as of today, the best smartwatch ecosystem when it comes to apps. But the app story is dramatically different on the Watch in a way that you won't quite understand until you start to use one. Where on the iPhone and iPad, apps are almost everything that you do, on the Apple Watch, apps really aren't something you want to play around with. In fact, you may often find yourself wondering why you'd use some of these apps at all.

That's because apps on the Apple Watch are, inherently, just extensions of the iPhone apps that they connect to. For now, they're basically fancy-looking widgets, and it becomes quickly apparent that not every app needs a widget. Instagram on an Apple Watch is reminiscent of clicking through your old flip phone's photo gallery. Djay offers a surprisingly capable way to mix music from your wrist, but it's hard to imagine when you'd open it up to do that.

If you're new to Snapchat, you likely need people to follow. If you've been on the platform for a while, you're probably tired of seeing the same few friends post snaps of their pets.

We recently asked our readers for their favorite Snapchat accounts. We received dozens of great recommendations. The following list isn't comprised of the best Snapchat accounts; instead, these are some of the strangest, funniest, and most controversial people and #brands on the platform. On Snapchat, these accounts are setting the tone.

Whether you're among the chosen to get a new computer for the holidays or are burdened with the responsibility of playing family tech support, we've got you covered with an essential pack of Mac apps, utilities, tools, and time-wasters. Grab another moose-shaped mug of eggnog and start downloading.

Android gets a bad rap for not having as many good games as iOS, and while it’s true that the platform hasn’t yet closed the gap, there are still plenty of great games to be had. But if you just want our favorites for this year — from a zenlike strategy game to monster-punch madness — we’ve collected them all right here.

This year we've picked out some of the very best apps, games, books, and downloads for your new devices. Dig into our top selections for Android apps, Android games, iPhone apps, iPad apps, iOS games, Windows Phone apps, Kindle books, console games, and for your Mac and PC.

“A Windows device” can mean any number of things. Maybe this year you unwrapped a 17-inch gaming behemoth — or maybe you’re holding an 8-inch tablet. Either way, there’s a lot more to Windows 8 than Office and Internet Explorer. Some of the best apps live in the Windows Store, while you’ll have to dig around the web to find others. But if you know what to look for, there’s absolutely nothing you can’t do. And once you’re firing on all cylinders, just fire up Steam and let Skyrim melt your holiday stress away.

This approach makes a certain amount of sense from a corporate perspective but is aggravating for consumers. Like the printer manufacturers that sell their machines at near cost in order to make a killing off the refills, Keurig is relying on customers not having the time or know-how to circumvent their system. Unfortunately for them, coffee-drinkers are nothing if not determined.

The first chink in the DRM armor was revealed back in August when a rival company introduced Keurig-compatible coffee pods, but this latest hack is far simpler and much more comprehensive. The video above demonstrates the method to the tune of Darth Vader’s theme from Star Wars, with our anonymous rebel simply cutting out the identifying tag from an official pod and taping it up inside the machine to fool the scanners. "It’s an older coffee pod," thinks the machine, "but it checks out."

As we leave our glowing multi-monitor gaming rigs behind on our journey home for the holidays, many of us will be recruited to fix a wide variety of gadgets and technology. It's the burden that we bear as the "technology gurus" of our families, and though it can be an irksome role, helping your loved ones cohabitate with their gear can be a rewarding and educational experience. You don't have to let your title as the de facto tech expert turn your holiday into a struggle with your family's gadgets. Instead, go for the simple fixes that make a big difference — most of them won't even cut into your post-dinner nap.

To help, we've collected a few tips and suggestions for your role as a bespoke technical support specialist. From home theater to networking, there are small interventions that can make life easier for everybody involved. We may not have asked for the job of technology overseer, but as long as we're doing it, we might as well strategically choose some areas that will offer the best bang for your holiday tech support buck.