Apple’s MagSafe 2 connectors and are probably the best thing we have going for laptops right now. Your dog can trip over the cable, get run over by the vaccum, or yanked out by kids running around the house, and the cord just magically detaches itself from the MacBook without sending the machine to the floor. Which is great — that’s exactly what we want.

Unlike their first generation counterparts, the redesigned MagSafe connectors are not very forgiving when charging a laptop in your lap, on the bed, or on the sofa. In attempt to better balance the strength of the MagSafe connector, Tetrio has developed the Snuglet, a small ring that tightens the MagSafe connector just enough so that it stays in place when we’re using it, but is still supposed to come out of the laptop when it accidentally gets pulled. It pops into the charging port on your MacBook and is later removed with a removal tool (it looks kinda like a SIM tray ejector tool).

I won’t lie. I’m admittedly super skeptical of this particular KickStater because if it fails to prevent a falling MacBook then it’s really not that useful. I would love to see a proper demo video showing that the MagSafe 2 still works to save your MacBook’s skin when the cord is tripped on, especially with a laptop as light as the MacBook Air.

Tetrio are asking for $9,000 for their campaign, raising $2,977 so far. The first 250 backers can pre-order a pair of Snuglets for $12, while the second batch of 250 can pre-order it for $15. Everyone else can pledge $19 for their very own pair of Snuglets. Learn more about this Kickstarter and back the Snuglet here.

Apple’s ‘Back to School’ promotion is live in the United States for the 2013 school year, offering incentives in the form of App Store gift cards to students who purchase a Mac, iPad, or iPhone. In addition to an education discout for qualifying Macs, students who purchase a Mac will receive a $100 gift card, and students who purchase an iPad, iPad mini, or iPhone will receive a $50 gift card. You can use these gift cards for iTunes purchases, to buy things like text books in the iBookstore, or to purchase apps from the App Store.

The promotion is open to any student, parent or staff member or a K-12 or higher education school with any purchase made between July 2nd and September 6th, 2013. If you order online, Apple is offering free shipping on orders over $50. Apple is also suggesting various back to school accessories like backpacks and cases on the ‘Back to School’ promotional page.

If I had to choose two alternatives to Google Reader, I’d pick Feedly or Digg Reader for most people. Moving to either service takes seconds since you sign into these services with your existing Google account credentials, after which they import your existing feeds with little fuss. Neither Feedly or Digg Reader require you to pay a subscription fee, making them good choices for casual readers and those who won’t get the value out of an alternative with pro features.

Google Reader will no longer be active after July 1st, and you’ll have until July 15th to export your existing feeds. I recommend following this guide by Katie Floyd if you want to back up your current subscriptions.

Why Feedly

Feedly is my reader of choice. Feedly has a solid web app that works in all major browsers from Google Chrome to Opera, plus they have great Android and iOS apps, making it one of the few alternatives that’s already available on most devices. It’s integrated with IFTTT, and there’s an open API so you can still use your favorite apps like Reeder. There will be a subscription for people who want more features down the road.

Feedly’s mobile apps are put together like a magazine, but they’re not as deliberate as an app like Flipboard. Folders are eschewed for colorful headers, and the endless feed of articles is replaced by covers and article groupings that can be flicked away like turning a page. It’s an app made for skimming, for picking and choosing, and the result is something that feels fresh and not boring.

You can share articles to Pocket or Instapaper, to Twitter or Facebook or Google+, to Buffer or your device’s clipboard so you can paste a link into a chat app like I sometimes do. There’s a section that only shows you the most popular stuff from your feeds for the day, and then there’s a section for browsing everything all at once. You can search for sites you like and subscribe to them, or browse general categories for things like technology and games to discover something new. There’s lots of swooshing and swiping gestures throughout the app; when browsing articles, swiping left and right advances to the next or previous article, and pulling up closes them so you can continue perusing. If you’re reading in the dark, you can change the theme from white to black.

My favorite feature is the giant button at the end of each section that lets you mark everything as read. It’s super clever.

You can download Feedly for iOS here.

Why Digg Reader

Digg Reader is a new feed reader that closely resembles Google Reader. There’s no Android app right now, but there is an iOS app. You won’t be able to plug Digg Reader into your favorite apps just yet, but an API is planned.

Betaworks, the company behind Digg Reader, has a history of working with products that track things on the web or help you discover the most popular stories. Bit.ly is a company of betaworks, as is recently acquired Instapaper. Betaworks created News.me, an iOS app that highlighted the best articles and videos your friends shared on Twitter. Today, News.me has stuck around as a service that delivers the day’s best stuff to your inbox. Betaworks also revived Digg, turning it into a handcrafted site that presents the web’s top stories.

Digg Reader is a modern take on Google Reader, integrating betaworks’ intimate knowledge of what’s popular from Digg into its core. Thus, the best feature is the popular view, which presents a list of the most popular unread articles from your feeds. The layout is very clean and simple, the reading experience being a prime focus for both the web and mobile apps. Digg Reader is much friendlier to look at and use on a daily basis than other alternatives.

The web app is currently the most robust and is very friendly to those who are accustomed to Google Reader’s keyboard shortcuts. You can share articles to Facebook or Twitter, and choose to save articles to apps like Instapaper, Pocket, and Readability. The things you Digg can also be publicly shared through a user specific URL. Like Feedly, Digg Reader lets you search for sites and discover something new in a variety of categories. The iOS app currently lacks the popular view, but it does have a darker theme for evening reading.

I recommend Digg Reader over Feedly if you read on your computer more often than your tablet or phone.

Digg on iOS has Digg Reader built-in. Download it here.

The Kreyos Meteor is the latest wearable gadget to make its appearance on a crowd-funding platform, this time on Indiegogo. Claiming to be the only smartwatch with both voice and gesture controls, the Kreyos Meteor connects over Bluetooth to your iPhone, Android, or Windows 8 phone. With an iPhone, you can engage Siri through the watch, or use motion-based gestures like a wave of the hand to skip tracks, answer calls, or to have the watch read you a text message without pressing a button. The watch will even help you locate your misplaced phone.

More impressive are the litany of features that are built in for monitoring personal health. The watch could replace devices like the Fitbit or Jawbone UP, tracking overall activity and more with built-in heart rate and cycling monitors. And the Kreyos Meteor isn’t just limited to being a watch - it can be taken out of its watchband to fit into a lanyard or belt clip. It’s also waterproof, making it a great choice for swimmers who want to analyze their performance or for trail runners exposed to the elements.

Targeted at people who want a better way to receive notifications and individuals who are looking for an all in one sensor to track their performance, the Kreyos Meteor wants to keep the phone in your pocket. Just like the Pebble, the Kreyos Meteor will also give developers an opportunity to create new apps and gestures. Already exceeding its goal of $100,000, a contribution of $119 lets you pre-order you the watch in black, expected to ship this November. For an additional $10 you can pick your own color. You can learn more fund the campaign here.