Microsoft's HoloLens,

Microsoft's HoloLens, a headset that floats 3D images in front of your eyes and overlays them on top of real-world environments, was the show-stealer of the company's Build developer conference this week. That's despite Microsoft having shared virtually zero new information since the January unveiling regarding how HoloLens works and when it may arrive fully formed.

Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3

THE GOOD The mega-affordable Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 has a large screen and takes nice outdoor photos. It wins bonus points for loud external speakers and a useful mode to use the OS upside-down as well as right-side-up.

THE BAD Its performance is a little sluggish, its low-light photography is poor and the OS lacks a few useful shortcuts common to other Android phones.

THE BOTTOM LINE Delivering midrange features at an entry-level price, the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 is the company's best smartphone to date -- and a great deal for the money.

Apples New Laptop

Apple has already been growing faster than the rest of the personal-computer industry, but it needs to keep enticing customers to its Mac laptops and desktops to draw revenue from more areas than just its blockbuster iPhone business. The new device could help it do just that by bringing together many features that have long been on peoples' wish lists for the MacBook line, especially by offering more laptops with higher-resolution displays.The new MacBook includes a 12-inch Retina Display, with just over 3.3 million pixels. It's also the first MacBook without a fan, and it uses Intel's new low-power Core M processor, which allows for longer battery life and a thinner design than past generations of similar Intel chips.

Google's Android Wear software will let you leave your phone at home (if there's Wi-Fi)

Google wants to make smartwatches less dependent on smartphones.

For now, to use most smartwatches, you need to connect the device to your smartphone and keep your phone nearby. That's no longer going to be necessary for wrist-worn devices powered by Google's Android Wear software, the company said Monday. Instead, the devices will let you connect your watch to a Wi-Fi network and receive updates about emails and upcoming calendar appointments directly over the Internet.

You'll still need to allow your watch to pull information from your phone -- and have your phone connected to a cellular or Wi-Fi network but then you'll be able to receive notifications, send messages and use apps on your watch. That's no matter where your phone is  and your phone and watch don't have to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

http://www.cnet.com/news/googles-android-wear-watch-software-lets-you-leave-your-phone-at-home-as-long-as-theres-wi-fi/ 

Samsung Galaxy S6

THE GOOD The upscale Samsung Galaxy S6's smooth glass-and-matte-metal body, improved fingerprint reader, and convenient new camera shortcut key make the phone a stunner. Samsung's decluttered take on Android 5.0 brings the beauty inside, too.

THE BAD Longtime fans will bristle at the Galaxy S6's nonremovable battery and absent expandable storage. The phone has an intensely reflective backing and looks embarrassingly like the iPhone 6. Battery life, while good, falls short of last year's Galaxy.

THE BOTTOM LINE Worldly looks and top-notch specs make the impressive, metal Samsung Galaxy S6 the Android phone to beat for 2015

WhatsApp Messenger adds free VoIP calling

WhatsApp Messenger, the popular cross-platform chatting service, released a major update to its iPhone app today introducing some long-rumored features and new ways to share content with friends and family.The latest version of WhatsApp for iPhone adds a new voice calling feature that allows you to talk to any WhatsApp user around the world for free. Similar to Skype or FaceTime Audio, WhatsApp Calling uses an Internet connection (VoIP) rather than cellular phone service to make calls. The feature has been expected to come to the app

LinkedIn to acquire online training site Lynda.com for $1.5 billion

LinkedIn to acquire online training site Lynda.com for $1.5 billion

Lynda.com was founded in 1995 and originally produced high quality video courses on topics like Photoshop, web design, photography, and other digital design skills to consumers. As the brand become well known to consumers, people brought Lynda into their businesses (this is now a typical strategy for most online learning companies). So Lynda built out more corporate learning features and more business topics.

The deal, for around $1.5 billion with approximately 52 percent in cash and 48 percent in stock, would be the professional network's largest acquisition to date
The acquisition will let LinkedIn's 350 million users access the platform for skill-building and education