Brian Fagioli

If you want to store your data externally, you can always go with a mechanical hard disk drive. That makes sense, as HDDs are typically a more cost effective option when compared to solid state drives. With that said, SSDs have dropped in price a lot lately, and are getting larger storage capacities all the time. For instance, both Sabrent and Samsung recently showed off 8TB SSDs. Not to mention, solid state drives are faster and have no moving parts, making them worth the premium for some consumers.

Lexar recently announced a new portable SSD that uses USB-C for connectivity, and it is rather affordable. Called "SL200," it appears to use a SATA drive internally, so it isn't the fastest option on the market. With that said, it is still significantly faster than a USB hard disk drive. Your PC doesn't have USB-C? Don't worry. The attractive drive comes with both a USB-C to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-A cable in the box.

Continue reading →

People are starting to care more about privacy these days, and rightfully so. It feels like we are constantly hearing about data breaches and software vulnerabilities that can lead to spying. While Windows 10 is a great operating system, it does have some intense telemetry that can pass your activity to Microsoft's servers. That is part of the reason so many people are switching to Linux these days.

If you are switching to Linux for privacy reasons, you have to check out Purism. That company sells computers running a Debian-based Linux distro called "PureOS". These machines have hardware kill-switches for the webcam, microphone, and wireless radios. Today, the company announces the 14-inch Librem 14 Linux laptop. It has a 1080p display and is powered by the hexacore Intel Core i7-10710U processor. It can be configured with up to 32GB of RAM.

Continue reading →

Mageia isn't one of the most popular Linux-based operating systems, but it has its share of fans. The operating system is primarily a KDE affair, although GNOME and Xfce are available desktop environments too. It is a quality distro that you should check out if interested.

The last major release of Mageia was version 7, which came out nearly a year ago. Today, Mageia 8 Alpha 1 becomes available for download. Despite many Linux distributions stopping development of 32-bit variants, Mageia is apparently not giving up -- you can download a special 32-bit ISO that uses the Xfce desktop environment.

Continue reading →

Intel's diminutive NUC bare-bones computers are quite a bit of fun. Not only are they cute and tiny, but once you add RAM and storage, they can run both Windows 10 and Linux brilliantly. Hell, I am currently running macOS on one as a "Hackintosh" (Shh! Don't tell Apple). The only knock on the NUC is that you can't really upgrade the GPU. Unless your NUC has Thunderbolt 3 and you add a pricey eGPU, you are essentially stuck with Intel's ho-hum onboard graphics.

With the unveiling of the "Ghost Canyon" Intel NUC 9, however, this changed. While obviously bigger than earlier NUC models, this unit can accommodate a proper gaming card from AMD or NVIDIA (if you choose to add one). You can even eventually upgrade the CPU with what Intel calls replaceable "compute elements." And now, if you have some money to spare, you can finally buy the top model of Ghost Canyon -- the drool-worthy Intel NUC 9 Extreme is available today!

Continue reading →

We have had 64-bit processors in the mainstream for many years now, but for some reason, developers have continued to maintain 32-bit versions of operating systems. This includes Microsoft, who still supports 32-bit Windows 10 in 2020 (although the company plans to wind that down). Thankfully, many Linux distributions such as Fedora, Tails, and Linux Mint have killed off their 32-bit versions, choosing to instead focus on 64-bit.

And now, another major Linux distribution follows suit. You see, as of today, Manjaro Linux 32-bit is dead. This is a very wise move, as 32-bit computers are obsolete and maintaining a 32-bit variant of an OS is a waste of resources. Anyone that disagrees is very wrong.

Continue reading →

When I first cut the cord and switched my television service to YouTube TV, the price was a very manageable $35 per month. Then the monthly charge went to up $40 and ultimately landed at $50. When it hit the $50 mark I became nervous, as it was approaching cable TV pricing. Sadly, today, the price jumps once again, this time to $65. Uh oh.

At this new price, YouTube TV is definitely more expensive than cable TV would be for me. In fact, if I was to switch back to cable TV, I wouldn't only save money, but I would get more channels too. So I will be switching back to cable TV, right? Surprisingly, no. I will be sticking with YouTube TV.

Continue reading →

M.2 PCIe solid state drives are definitely preferable to 2.5-inch SATA variants, but there is a big problem -- the majority of active computers in the world don't have M.2 slots! In other words, even though M.2 PCIe drives are faster, if they aren't compatible with a user's computer, it is a moot point. Ultimately, 2.5-inch SATA SSDs are here to stay for many years.

Thankfully, there is no shortage of manufacturers willing to produce SATA solid state drives. One of the most notable is Samsung. Its drives are well respected by enthusiasts and regular computer users thanks to reliability, speed, and reasonable pricing. Today, Samsung releases its latest 2.5-inch SATA SSD and it looks like another winner. Called " 870 QVO," this QLC SATA solid state drive comes in capacities ranging from 1TB all the way to an impressive 8TB!

Continue reading →

The transition to PCIe 4.0 is in full effect, with more and more new motherboards having the new standard. You can thank AMD for that, by the way, as Intel is dragging its feet and still embracing the older PCIe 3.0. Oh well. That really shouldn't come as a surprise, as AMD is the leader these days.

One of the best aspects of PCIe 4.0 is faster solid state drives. For instance, today, TEAMGROUP unveils a new M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. Called "CARDEA Ceramic C440," this speedy gaming-focused SSD features a ceramic heatsink -- a very unique cooling option for a drive. Not only should the ceramic heatsink help with performance, but it looks very pretty too.

Continue reading →

If your laptop has Thunderbolt 3, a compatible dock can transform it into a desktop. With only one cable connecting the notebook to the dock, you can then connect multiple peripherals, displays, and storage solutions, such as USB mice, keyboards, and external hard drives -- all while charging. While they tend to be pricier than normal USB docks, they are totally worth it.

Today, Belkin unveils a new such product called "Dock Core" that it claims is "the world's first Thunderbolt-certified, dual-powered dock." What does that mean, exactly? This Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core is bus-powered, meaning that it can be powered by your laptop -- no additional power source needed. But also, the dock itself has a USB-C port for power delivery, meaning you can charge your computer through the dock while only taking up one TB3 port on the notebook. Very cool.

Continue reading →

Apple News is an interesting concept -- a news aggregation service that supplies a selection of human-curated articles to owners of Apple devices (such as iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro), for free. For a monthly fee, those same users can opt into Apple News+, which provides unlimited access to hundreds of publications, including newspapers and magazines.

While Apple News is obviously great for, well... Apple, it is also a big win for news readers, as they can discover interesting articles through the beautifully designed app. Unfortunately, Apple News isn't necessarily good for news publishers, as they lose the direct connection with readers. Nowadays, traditional newsrooms are struggling to compete with the internet, so providing their content to Apple for an online app doesn't really make sense.

Continue reading →

Earlier this month, we told you about Linux Mint 20 BETA . Code-named "Ulyana," it was a very controversial release, as the developers decided to cancel the 32-bit version. Unfortunately, the devs also shocked the world by revealing their intention to remove Snapd starting with version 20 of the operating system. Don't forget, all of this follows the unpopular decision by the developers to pull both GIMP and VLC from Mint too.

And now, Linux Mint 20 sheds its pre-release tag and becomes available for download. The newest version of the operating system comes with Linux kernel 5.4 and is based on Ubuntu 20.04. Linux Mint 20 is officially supported until the year 2025! Best of all, you can choose among three desktop environments -- Cinnamon (4.6), MATE (1.24), and Xfce (4.14). It even comes with a new program called "Warpinator."

Continue reading →

We recently told you that the thin and light Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition has finally started shipping with Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. While that is certainly cool, the reality is, Linux-focused companies like System76 were shipping out computers with the newest Ubuntu LTS  pre-installed way before that. In fact, System76 even offers the option of its own operating system that is based on Ubuntu 20.04. Called "Pop!_OS," the Linux distribution adds many beneficial tweaks and enhancements to improve the overall user experience.

Today, System76 refreshes its popular Oryx Pro laptop, and you can choose between Ubuntu 20.04 and Pop!_OS 20.04 (I would recommend the latter). The powerful notebook (with 15.6-inch or 17.3-inch display options) now comes with a cutting-edge 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10875H CPU which offers an impressive 8 cores and 16 threads. You also get an NVIDIA RTX 20-series GPU which can work in conjunction with the Intel graphics thanks to the smart graphic-switching capabilities baked into Pop!_OS.

Continue reading →

Not everyone can afford the latest and greatest components for their gaming PC, and depending on the titles the gamer plays, they may not even need hardcore specs. For those that prefer high frame rate to gigantic resolution, you can get by very comfortably without breaking the bank. Look, a 1080p screen is far more affordable than a 4K monitor.

Today, MSI launches a beautiful 1080p display that focuses on eSports titles and other games you might play in FHD. Called "Optix MAG273R," this 27-inch IPS gaming monitor isn't top-of-the-line, but does have has an impressive 144Hz refresh and 1ms response. It is even compatible with AMD's FreeSync. The monitor also features thin bezels and a fun design with colorful lighting on the rear -- something PC gamers should appreciate. Best of all, it is rather affordable.

Continue reading →

If you want a laptop that comes with Linux pre-installed nowadays, there are actually a lot of options. While it used to be hard to get a computer without Windows on it, it is now a pretty easy task. You can choose from popular Linux-friendly computer sellers like System76 or Tuxedo Computers, but there is another company that sometimes gets overlooked -- Dell. Yes, one of the biggest manufacturers of Windows computers also sells "Developer Editions" of its computers that come with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed. The company has sold these Linux computers for several years.

One of the most celebrated laptops in recent years is Dell's wildly popular XPS 13. This is a thin and light notebook that offers both elegance and impressive performance. Newer models are famous for their super-thin bezels. And yes, Dell does offer a Developer Edition of the XPS 13. Believe it or not, even though Ubuntu 20.04 LTS came out in April, Dell has been shipping the laptop with the older (yet still supported) 18.04 LTS. Well, folks, as of today this changes. Dell is finally shipping the XPS 13 Developer Edition with Ubuntu Linux 20.04!

Continue reading →

When a product is marketed to gamers, sometimes it means that it can help to improve the game experience. For instance, a gaming mouse or keyboard may provide more accurate controls. Other times, a "gaming" product is more about style -- having fancy RGB lighting or other cool "gaming" designs. Today, TEAMGROUP announces two new solid state drives that fall into the latter category. In a partnership with ASUS through the "TUF Gaming Alliance" program, T-FORCE shares the all-new TUF Gaming Alliance T-FORCE CARDEA II PCIe M.2 SSD and the TUF Gaming Alliance T-FORCE DELTA 2.5-inch RGB SATA SSD.

The T-FORCE CARDEA II uses PCIe 3.0 rather than the newer and faster PCIe 4.0, but in reality, that doesn't make any difference for gaming. Both the read and write speeds found on this drive are still quite impressive. It features an absolutely massive heatsink, making it imossible to fit inside a laptop. Hell, some desktops may have trouble accommodating it! The other drive -- the T-FORCE DELTA -- is a 2.5-inch SATA variant that has neat RGB lighting. If you have a window in your PC case, it will certainly look quite beautiful. If you don't have a case window, there is really no point in choosing it over any other SATA SSD.

Continue reading →