5 Tech Blogs Worth Reading

Technology blogs that update, are accurate, and aren't mind-numbingly boring

Updates for our favourite technologies are zooming by on a daily basis. Having a favourite blog (or five) is pretty much a job requirement for anyone in IT. Finding one (or five) that are worthy of being 'favourites' is a completely different matter.

Luckily, you have us. We've checked out the best blogs on the web and will be bringing them to your attention. In the first five we've chosen blogs that have a bit of personality to them, setting them apart from those that are really just online industry magazines.

1. Gigaom.com [gigaom.com]. This easy to read blog is a nice mix of tech and cool. The blog is run by Om Malik, who is recognised as one of the best tech bloggers around. GigaOM is a place where you'll find headlines containing terms like 'infrastructure' and 'acquisition' right next to pieces about how to route mobile calls through landlines. In other words, it's thinly-veiled fun stuff you can get away with reading while you work. Nice example: 'Apple’s “warrant canary” disappears, suggesting new Patriot Act demands'
2. Elliot C. Back [elliottback.com]. If you're fine with your blog reads being light on words but heavy on information, Elliot C. Back's blog should be your first stop. This guy loves messing around with technology, and he loves breaking it down for others to enjoy. Nice example: 'The 2013 Mac Pro is Cheaper to Build as Windows PC' (No longer available)
3. Mike Masnick [www.techdirt.com]. Masnick writes a regular column for Techdirt which examines the ethical and social implications of the things we do with the net. Industry news also has a tendency to wend its way in at times. While Masnick is the blogger we're recommending here, Techdirt as a whole is also well worth looking at. Nice example: 'Jimmy Kimmel joins John Oliver in explaining net neutrality'
4. Rough Type [www.roughtype.com]. Want to really settle in for a read? Nick Carr's rambling blog entries provide biting analysis of all things related to tech, and some things that are completely unrelated as well. Carr is the kind of guy who looks at a new version of Windows and finds in it a philosophical comment on life in general. Read the blog, you'll see what we mean. Nice example: The unbearable unlightness of AI
5. The O'Reilly Radar [radar.oreilly.com]. Built as a marketing hub for O'Reilly Publishing, this blog covers just about everything tech that isn't gadgetry – open source, programming, Web 2.0 and intellectual property. There's even a bit of political debate thrown in there. Although it is US-centric, dropping in for a read every so often does give you a better idea of what's going on in the industry. Nice example: Nat Torkington's 'four short links' series, which doesn't really qualify as a read but will direct you to things that do.

Bonus:

Chris Trout on EnGadget. The Executive Editor of EnGadget allows himself quite a bit of leeway in his pieces, which always leads to some entertaining reads. A good choice for some Friday afternoon reading.