Mac: When it comes to updating your Mac, there's never a good time. Besides the intrusive and constant annoyance that is the update reminder (which, thankfully, you can deactivate), it often feels like a slog instead of what should be a few minutes of processing and a restart. If you're sick of waiting for the App Store and its sluggish interface, here's how you can speed up the process.

Whether you've seen it in action or received more than a few intrusive notifications from Apple, you've probably been directed to install the company's new macOS High Sierra on more than one occasion. Features such as improved photo management and the Apple File System are definitely enticing, but, as with many of the company's upgrades, the operating system isn't exactly optimised to run on the Mac you acquired back in 2012.

If you're curious about whether or not you should upgrade your Mac, here are a few factors to consider (as well as a way to make using your updated Mac a bit more appealing.)

At long last Duolingo, the free language learning app on iOS, Android and the web, has launched its Chinese course for English speakers. Now you can try your hand at one of the most difficult languages for native English speakers to learn - for free.

Owners of Microsoft's Surface Laptop, released in June, have a little more time to upgrade from the included Windows 10 S to the full-featured Windows 10 Pro operating system.

Just when we thought life had become simple, with just one "version" of Windows to persist in perpetuity, Microsoft has announced that their half-yearly updates will be given different names depending on where you live. That's because someone in Redmond realised that the seasons are named differently in different parts of the world and that when it's Fall in the US, it's not Fall everywhere else.

With its Creators Update for Windows 10, Microsoft promised that users would have the option to postpone future updates for a limited period of time, and many rejoiced. But now that the update has started rolling out, it's become apparent that there are still some stability issues and performing a manual installation isn't recommended right now.

User interface design is hard, but we've been getting better at it over the years to the point where even a thermostat is easy to use. Automakers, however, seem to have their heads in the sand, taking their design inspiration for their infotainment consoles from old Winamp skins instead of any type of modern interface.

Last week, a group calling themselves the ShadowBrokers leaked malware that was used by the NSA to target computers running Windows. It was a striking data dump that potentially put millions of Windows users at risk. Luckily, Microsoft says they have already patched the vulnerabilities.

Mac: When Spark initially launched on Mac, it had enough features to get by, but it still needed to check off a few boxes to convince power users to give it a look. In an update today, they have added a few new tools for managing your email.

NASA has just released it's 2017-2018 software catalogue, which includes hundreds of free, royalty-free applications for a wide variety of uses.

Android/iOS: Instagram is introducing a new feature that will allow you to make galleries of up to 10 photos or videos in one post.

Overcast, our favourite podcast manager on iPhone, gets a few new features, including an improved interface, new lock screen widget, and more.

If you wanted to save a location in Google Maps, for years your only option was to add a little star icon. Google's improving this process now by letting you add places to custom lists.

Starting today, when you seek out recipes with Google Search, you'll be able to quickly narrow down your search with recommended categories, as well as be given suggestions for recipes.

Windows/Mac/Linux: LibreOffice, the open source, free alternative to Microsoft Office, just got a big update that adds in a ton of new features alongside a new cloud version you can install on your own server.

iOS: Airmail is the most customisable email app on the iPhone, and today they're adding to those customisation options with new Workflow integration and custom actions.

Earlier last week, it was revealed that a number of popular Netgear routers had exploitable security holes that made it possible for someone to take control of your network. Now, that hole has been patched up, but you'll need to update your firmware.

iPhone: Camera+, our favourite camera app on iPhone, gets an update today that adds in the ability to shoot and edit in RAW alongside support for the iPhone 7 Plus dual camera.

Dear Lifehacker,
Sierra is out today and some of the new features, like Siri, look pretty great. Of course, it seems like a small enough upgrade, but that doesn't mean things won't go bad. You've been using it, what do you think? Should I upgrade, or wait?