activities

Wearing an activity tracker such as the Fitbit Flex is an efficient way to increase your activity. Counting steps motivates some users, while the number of calories burned or total distance traveled may be bigger motivation for others. The Fitbit Flex tracks all of these categories, but the indicator lights when you double-tap the tracker only indicate progress towards your daily steps goal. And without a small screen (like the Fitbit One is equipped with) you can't quickly scroll through your progress for your other goals. Sure, you can just launch the app on your phone, but being able … Read more

Fitbit recently launched the Flex, the company's first wrist-worn activity monitor that syncs with your smartphone. The Flex uses Bluetooth 4.0 to sync with compatible smartphones (more on this in a minute), keeping your current activity stats updated.

When you first get the Flex, you'll need to do some work to get it set up, but don't worry -- it won't take you any longer than it does to wait in line at Starbucks.

Upon opening the Flex, you'll notice the actual tracker is inserted into the large wristband. Remove the tracker and use … Read more

iActivity Monitor Free is a utility app that puts vital information regarding your iPhone right at your fingertips, including CPU usage, RAM and battery levels. And it does so in an attractive, easy-to-read interface.

iActivity Monitor Free gets right to work and opens with your iPhone's information on full display. At the top of the screen, the RAM information is displayed in a pie graph, and broken down into Free, Wired, Active, Inactive and Total amounts. Likewise, the CPU readings shows User, System, Idle, and Total usage. The battery level is shown as a percentage, and shows if your … Read more

Microsoft began rolling out substantial updates to some core Windows 8 and Windows RT applications tonight. And while users of the Mail, People, and Calendar apps will see a laundry list of new features, they will also reportedly lose some functionality.

Users of Mail, Calendar, and Contact apps have lost sync support via Google's Exchange ActiveSync, according to a report in The Verge.

"We can't connect...because Google no longer supports Exchange ActiveSync," reads a message suggesting users try to reconnect their accounts to the Mail, Calendar, and People apps in Windows 8.

The move shouldn'… Read more

Slacker Radio (free) This is a great option for listening to streaming radio, with an intuitive interface that makes it easy to find what you want quickly. To use Slacker you must sign up for an account or log in with your Facebook credentials.

You can search for artists using a field at the top; check out the Music Guide curated by Slacker; or search by genres, stations you've previously listened to, specialty stations, or news, talk, and sports stations. Each selection on the first screen leads to another list where you can swipe to browse selections to find … Read more

If a mobile character gets popular, you can expect a running game with it to not be far behind. Angry Gran RadioActive Run drops mobile favorite Angry Gran into a side-scroller, trying to dodge radioactive elements. The game is a decent time-waster and a little addictive, but the out-of-control ads and difficulty suck the limited amount of fun out of it.

Accidental ads taps abound in this app, as ads are almost always bigger on the screen than the actual buttons you want to hit. The only place this isn't true is when you're actually playing the running … Read more

Editors' note This review has been updated with new features added in version 3.0.

Songza is a popular streaming-music app that offers a different take on the type of programmed radio experience that Pandora initially made popular. Rather than generate playlists based on specific songs or artists, this app tries to offer up the right selection of tunes for specific activities you might be engaged in. In version 3.0, new features make the app less cluttered and help you start listening to music faster and with fewer steps.

While other streaming-radio apps typically start you off with a … Read more

Facebook is taking preventative measures to make sure parents don't get up in arms about their children's privacy when Graph Search is rolled out to the public.

The social network said today in a blog post that it implemented specific Graph Search rules for teenagers. These rules dictate that if an adult does a search that could display a minor's location or age, the only results that will be returned are that person's friends. If a minor is searching, only friends and friends of friends also between the ages of 13 and 17 will be shown.… Read more