Brian Fagioli

When it comes to product design, there are many paths to take. You can, of course, go for a basic and boring design, or opt for an elegant style. But what about fun? Playful and whimsical designs are not just for children -- adults can enjoy some funkiness too.

A great example of fun design comes from Logitech. Each year, it releases a collection of mobile wireless mice with playful exteriors. For 2020, the company is introducing the Design Collection for its M325C mouse. This year, the company has produced some truly colorful and fun styles of the non-Bluetooth and non-rechargeable wireless mouse.

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Between the pandemic and widespread police brutality, America is in deep trouble. As usual, however, the USA will ultimately survive and come out stronger as a result. Wisely, Sony decided to delay its big PlayStation 5 game-play reveal during the peak of protesting George Floyd's murder. Obviously, it would have been tone-deaf to discuss video games in the middle of a worldwide movement to fight against racial inequality and police brutality.

While the protests are still happening (racial inequality is arguably a forever-battle), Sony has decided enough time has passed, and it is time to reschedule the big PS5 event. Yes, we will finally get to witness some significant PlayStation 5 game footage later today at 4:00 PM Eastern Time. While not guaranteed to happen, many people are hoping Sony will also reveal the design of the PS5 console. Hey, we have already seen the revolutionary controller.

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When you think of gaming mice, your mind probably conjures images of brands such as Logitech G or HyperX, am I right? That is totally understandable. However, there are many other companies manufacturing these types of mice nowadays. Believe it or not, even ADATA is making gaming mice and keyboards under its XPG enthusiast brand.

Today, ADATA unveils its latest such pointing device. Called "XPG PRIMER," this optical gaming mouse is wired, so you don't have to worry about replacing batteries. And of course, as a gaming product, the XPG PRIMER has customizeable RGB lighting too.

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Graduation ceremonies and associated commencement speeches are generally very boring. Graduating students and their families sit through them out of obligation, but for the most part, no one really wants to be there. This year, because of COVID-19, these ceremonies are largely canceled across the USA. Even though people are acting upset about that, they are probably secretly happy — you know it is true.

With planned commencement speeches being scratched, many people are instead delivering them online to a wider audience — anyone that is willing to watch and/or listen. Today, Google CEO Sundar Pichai delivers a virtual commencement speech to the Class of 2020 on YouTube.

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Chromebooks are wonderful computers. In fact, the underlying Linux-based Chrome OS is arguably the most secure desktop operating system on the planet. Yes, it is more secure than Windows or macOS. If you have to access a website for banking information or other sensitive data, a Chromebook is probably the safest way to do so.

With all of that said, they aren't just good for surfing the web or education, but for fun stuff too. Not only can you enjoy streaming media on a Chromebook, but you can actually do some light gaming too -- thanks to Android support and the Google Play Store. Two classic games -- DOOM and DOOM II -- are on Play Store for $5 a piece, but if you own a Chromebook, you can get both for free!

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When you build a gaming PC (or any type of computer, really), there are often two ways you can go -- flashy or classy. Neither is wrong, but your decision probably says a lot about your personality and/or your age. For instance, if you choose a case that looks like an alien spaceship, and you fill it with RGB lighting, you are probably a teen or someone in their early 20s. Age aside, maybe you just like being ostentatious. If you prefer a more sophisticated-looking PC, you may be in your late 20s or older, or just prefer subtlety.

For those of you that prefer a more subdued and classy style, Fractal Design's cases are probably for you. Why? They are wonderfully boring -- and yes, I mean that in a good way. The company's no-nonsense cases are beautiful while also looking mature. In other words, a Fractal Design chassis tells the world you are sophisticated and not a clown. The company's latest case -- the Define 7 Compact -- is a diminutive version of the existing 7 Series chassis, but believe it or not, it can still accommodate up to a full-sized ATX motherboard! The Define 7 Compact has a very purposeful design -- no space is wasted.

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Lenovo makes some great Enterprise computers — both its desktops and notebooks can be found in use by many businesses. With that said, the company’s Windows laptops and Chromebooks are used in many homes too. Unfortunately, Lenovo’s consumer PCs have varying degrees of quality — some models are good, while others are downright bad.

Today, Lenovo announces amazing news regarding some of its higher quality computers. You see, all of the company’s ThinkStation and ThinkPad P Series workstations are now certified for Linux, including Ubuntu LTS and RHEL. This is in addition to Lenovo’s previously announced plan to pre-install Fedora on some machines.

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Nowadays, many new laptops come with very few ports. In fact, some computers, such as Apple MacBook laptops, have no traditional USB-A ports, instead relying on USB-C exclusively. Sure, it looks clean and nice, but it limits functionality.

Thankfully, adding the needed connectivity to one of these USB-C only computers is just a dongle away. Today, Plugable releases a new line of USB-C adapters. This line is comprised of four dongles, three of which are for video out -- DisplayPort, HDMI, and VGA. The fourth is a Gigabit Ethernet adapter. They all feature flat cables and sleek bodies.

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A couple days ago, we told you about a new version of a wonderful Linux distribution called Linux Lite. As great as that operating system is -- especially for those switching from Windows -- it isn't the only Linux distribution that is lightweight and easy to use. In fact, the Linux community probably has too many distributions from which to choose, but I digress.

Today, yet another great Linux-based operating system gets updated to a new version, this time it is MX Linux 19.2. It uses the lightweight -- yet pretty -- Xfce 4.14 for its desktop environment and MESA 18.3.6. It comes loaded with some great software, such as LibreOffice 6.1.5, Thunderbird 68.6.1, Firefox 76, GIMP 2.10.12, VLC 3.0.10, and Clementine 1.3.1.

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Windows 7 and Windows 10 aren't bad operating systems. In fact, they are both quite good. With that said, the newest version of Windows 10 has many bugs. Unfortunately, since Windows 7 is no longer supported, some of its users are stuck in a conundrum. They have to decide whether to use an unsupported Windows 7 or upgrade to Windows 10 that is full of telemetry and other "spying" that passes their information to Microsoft's servers.

Thankfully, there is another option -- switch to Linux. Yes, modern Linux-based operating systems will be supported (unlike the now-obsolete Windows 7) and most will run great on aging hardware (unlike Windows 10). Linux Lite is one of the best Linux distributions for Windows-switchers, as it is lightweight, modern, and familiar.

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Imagine being a fancy lad — a sophisticated man about town that draws attention and respect from everyone around you. Women want to be with you. Men want to be you. You have style, class, and a bank account that holds much money. Your car is foreign and your clothes are expensive. You of course use an iPhone, because that’s what high-class people own. Android is for peasants!

When you need to charge your iPhone, you don’t use the cable it came with, do you? Oh, of course not — that would be so pedestrian. If you are truly a fancy man, you will instead use Anker’s new 24K gold USB-C to Lightning cable. After all, it's probably what Queen Elizabeth II uses to top off her Apple devices. Best of all, it only costs a mere $100 — peanuts.

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Now is a wonderful time to be in the market for a laptop. There are many great models powered by the latest Intel and AMD processors. Companies like HP and Dell, for instance, have some very compelling computers out right now, while Microsoft recently released some new Surface devices. If you live on the web, a Chromebook may meet your needs. Heck, even Apple notebooks should be considered, as its entire MacBook line finally has "good" keyboards again. Whether your budget is a few hundred bucks -- or a few thousand -- there is a quality laptop out there for you.

The problem with having such a crowded laptop market, is manufacturers can have a hard time standing out among the competition. Well, Samsung has managed to do exactly that. You see, today, the company announces that its existing 13.3-inch Galaxy Book S is the first-ever computer to get Intel's revolutionary Lakefield CPU as an option. This fanless (woo-hoo!) Intel Core processor with Intel Hybrid Technology (Core i5-L16G7) enables very long standby battery life, making it an intriguing machine for road-warriors. The Galaxy Book S can be an "always-connected" computer thanks to its Wi-Fi 6 and LTE radios. You also get 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM and up to 512GB of SSD storage. Best of all, unlike the neutered ARM model of the Galaxy Book S, this Intel variant can run all Windows programs -- including 64-bit software!

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It is never fun to buy the same game over and over again as it gets repeatedly re-released for newer and newer consoles. So naturally, backwards compatibility is a good thing. Microsoft seems to be hoping the ability to play old games will make the terribly named Xbox Series X attractive to consumers.

In fact, the company isn't just promising backwards compatibility, but the ability to make some old games look and run better on the newer hardware. You will even be able to use Quick Resume -- the ability to start playing exactly where you left off -- with these previous-gen games. While this is all undoubtedly cool, it is not the way to advertise a next-generation console. If Sony's upcoming PlayStation 5 ends up being superior for next-gen titles -- absolutely a  possibility -- the Xbox Series X's enhanced backwards compatibility won't really matter.

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If you don’t use a number pad, having one on your keyboard is a huge waste of desk real estate. It just hangs off the right side of your keyboard, mocking you. Alternatively, a tenkeyless model removes the number pad, and as a result, it will save space on your desk. Not to mention, it can allow your keyboard hand to be closer to your mouse hand while gaming — a potential benefit for comfort.

Last year, we told you about the Logitech G915 LIGHTSPEED low-profile mechanical gaming keyboard — a wireless model with RGB lighting. Today, the company unveils the G915 TKL, which is essentially the same model with the number pad removed. Number pad aside, it also loses some of the customizable buttons found on the regular G915 — a small price to pay to have more space on your desk.

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Seagate is today releasing a gaming SSD, and I’m sure you’re wondering if that is just a marketing gimmick. The answer, dear reader, is yes it is. Nothing really makes a drive better for gaming. But while it is just marketing speak, the truth is Seagate is a trusted name in storage, so you should consider it for gaming and other uses too.

The "FireCuda 120," as it is called, isn’t even remarkably fast -- it is a SATA SSD and not the faster PCIe type. But that is fine, particularly for gaming, as impact between SATA and PCIe with gameplay would be negligible. With a capacity up to 4TB, however, you will have plenty of room to store your PC games.

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