On a recent vacation, Julio Ojeda-Zapata pared down and simplified his travel tech. Notably, and for the first time ever, he didn’t take a Mac. Other adjustments made for a less complicated and more relaxing trip – but his downsizing remains a process. If you also overpack for your trips, read on for ideas on how to travel more lightly.

Microsoft is making a renewed push in education to compete with Apple and Google, which have done well in that market. The company announced a new student laptop, a simplified version of Windows, and an assortment of new software tools.

Apple’s new Clips app for iOS is a video-editing app like iMovie, but it’s loaded with emojis and other zany features like those in Snapchat and other social video apps. Clips is fun, but limited and opaque in some ways.

Keeping your personal collection of Apple devices charged can be a pain in the posterior, but a host of third-party accessories makes this chore more convenient. Some even solve several charging problems at once. Julio Ojeda-Zapata took a variety of these accessories for a spin.

With the W3 Stand for the Apple Watch, Elago has tapped into Apple nostalgia while solving a practical problem: a charging stand that looks like the classic 128K Mac. With a watch positioned sideways within the accessory in Nightstand Mode, users get a geeky bedside clock.

The iPad Pro is a decent laptop stand-in for productivity on the go, but it can’t realize its full potential without a physical keyboard. Julio Ojeda-Zapata tested the latest keyboard accessories for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. They’re all good, though none is perfect.

AirPods, Apple’s cordless versions of its iconic EarPods, are finally here. Julio Ojeda-Zapata spent time with the Bluetooth earbuds and found them to be worth the wait. Their audio quality is not spectacular, but voice calling works superbly, and wireless pairing with Macs and iOS devices is painless.

AT&T, via its DirecTV arm, joins the likes of PlayStation Vue and Sling TV with a TV streaming service that has cable-like offerings but is delivered entirely online. DirecTV Now works with the Apple TV, iOS devices, and the Mac, too.

Microsoft is trying to one-up Apple’s iMac with its first-ever desktop computer, called the Surface Studio. This Windows-based PC boasts a touchscreen that drops to a 20-degree angle for use as a drafting table of sorts… along with a stratospheric price tag. Could Apple draw inspiration from the Surface Studio for future iMacs?

The iOS app Feed Hawk helps RSS users subscribe to their favorite sites with ease. The app is far from indispensable, however, with the emergence of other RSS tools for the iPhone and iPad.

Yet again, a Google media event with a slew of product reveals follows hard on the heels of a similar Apple event. Although it might seem like a me-too exercise, the announcements showed that Google has an edge over Apple in certain ways with smartphone, Wi-Fi, virtual-reality, and streaming-video tech.

The photo-sharing service Instagram isn’t just for millennials and selfie-snapping celebs. Anyone who is serious about iPhone photography should take a look. Instagram also can be used to a large extent on the Mac, giving it surprisingly broad Apple appeal.

Apple has gone a long way toward addressing complaints about its original Apple Watch with a new Series 2 model that can go under water, provide GPS location without an iPhone present, and generally work in a more zippy fashion. It has a brighter display as well, but it isn’t any thinner or lighter.

Google is giving iPhone users a FaceTime alternative in Duo, a video chat app that also runs on Android phones. Such cross-platform compatibility is a big plus, but the minimalist Duo offers few other incentives to entice iPhone users to install it.

The Soulmen recently won an Apple Design Award for Ulysses, a writing app for the Mac. This got Julio Ojeda-Zapata curious about it and its iOS sibling. He liked the product’s blend of minimalism and raw power.