To 
the handful of people who subscribe to email alerts to this blog:
As you can tell, I’ve been woefully lax in keeping things updated this month. For the next day or so, I’ll be catching up, which could mean an absurd number of updates coming your way. Sorry about that – and we’ll be back to normal posting next week. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
Google, 
hoping to win back some of the goodwill it has lost over the past year, is making it harder for spam sites to“game” the search engine, giving legitimate online businesses a better shot at reaching consumers.
Google’s Matt Cutts surprised attendees at a panel during this month’s South by Southwest conference by unveiling an update to the company’s search algorithms – which could impact the search results users see.
The 
rise of in-car entertainment may have put U.S. automakers and the federal government on a collision course.
In Detroit (and other car manufacturing hubs around the world), there’s a growing focus on in-vehicle entertainment systems, which are fast becoming more elaborate. The Transportation Dept. and National Transportation Safety Board, however, are raising a red flag about distracted driving.
While 
the green movement is ultimately about saving the planet, did you ever wonder what sort of impact your efforts have on your wallet? Green Genie shows how much money you’ve tucked away while being eco-aware – and offers over 100 tips and projects you can do to help the environment.
Never 
underestimate the power of an outraged fan base.
Bowing to pressure from a loud segment of players, Bioware has announced that changes are in the works for the controversial ending to role-playing smash Mass Effect 3. Details about those plans will be revealed next month.
Today’s 
launch of Angry Birds Space isn’t just the rollout of the fourth game in the wildly popular pig-smashing series. It’s a multimedia event.
NASA is celebrating alongside Angry Birds creator Rovio. Wal-Mart is selling a bazillion bits of Angry Birds merchandise. MTV is using the game to help fight online bullying. And in Seattle, they’re turning the Space Needle into a 300-foot tall slingshot. Seriously.
But all that sizzle means nothing without the steak. Is Angry Birds Space worth buying? Or is it just more of the same from a franchise that has, at this point, been emulated (or downright copied) by dozens of other app makers?
One of the annoying parts about being a grown up is that finding the time to learn new things can be a challenge. If you’re trying to take up a second language, the AccelaStudy app lets you do so on the go, with smartphone-based interactive quizzes and memorization tricks.
While it’s pretty easy to find the calorie and fat content in foods you buy at the grocery store, it’s less simple to know exactly how nutritious an item is.
Kids 
are stressful — and no one can testify to that better than a mother.
That tension has been a boon to countless spas and gyms in the past, but now it looks like the video game industry might be the latest beneficiary. A new survey from a leading Mommy blogger site finds that more and more moms are unwinding with a controller or iPad in their hands.
Airlines talk a lot about their on-time records, but even semi-frequent flyers know delays are commonplace. TripTracker gives real-time status updates on flights (including gate and baggage claim numbers) and pushes those alerts to you. It also tracks your hotel and rental car confirmation numbers – and it’s all done automatically, meaning you don’t have to enter all of those reservations by hand.
Chris Morris: Journalist 