Karaoke may never be one of500 Startupsfounder Dave McClure’s strong suits, but when he howls along with Justin Bieber, as he did last night after Demo Day, he brings his troops to their feet. If anything, what McClure proves is his willingness not only to invest, but to get his hands dirty in order to help his portfolio companies. The singalong was powered bySINGBOARD, a web-based karaoke tool that is part of Class 001 of the 500 Startups Accelerator....

A study has found that fonts which are regarded as ‘hard to read’ may actually increase readers’ retention of information. Researchers from Indiana University and Princeton have described two experiments they conducted that appear to demonstrate that reading retention improves when a ‘hard to read’ font is used. The reason is that the extra concentration required means that readers remember more of what they read. Whilst fonts such as Arial and Times New Roman are often cited as the best options for content producers to use, this study suggests that ease-of-reading is only part of the solution....

It would not be a good day in the world of Microsoft if we did not bring you at least one Windows 8 leak, and the one that we have dredged up for today is a corker. If you are familiar with either Internet Explorer or Windows Live Messenger 2011, you might know of something called the ‘SmartScreen Filter.’ If not, it’s a tool that Microsoft has built to protect users against known malware and punk URLs, helping to keep the user safe and undamaged....

Here’s something straight from the set of Star Trek. A Silicon Valley startup has developed a device built on Google’s Android operating system that can be worn as a watch. According to areporton FT.com today,Wimm Labshas developed a 1.4-inch square touchscreen display for companies to develop into their own customized products, such as watches, health monitors or mountable displays for bicycles. Developers can also create micro apps for the device....

There is a pile of media news flooding the channels right now in regards to the Xbox 360 and the larger Xbox LIVE ecosystem, but hold tight on that for the moment, we have something fun for you. Coming soon is an application for your Windows Phone 7 handset called the ‘Xbox Companion App’ that will turn that phone into a media controller for your Xbox 360 console. This in addition to what the Kinect is allowing, and it appears that Microsoft doesn’t want to force non-gamers to learn the normal Xbox controller....