Brian Fagioli

There is no shortage of great memory modules these days, with many manufacturers catering to both gamers and enthusiasts. Prices are quite reasonable too, meaning it is possible to build a budget machine with 16GB or 32GB of RAM -- 8GB no longer needs to be the baseline for low-cost gaming machines.

ADATA is definitely a trusted company when it comes to RAM, and its XPG brand is well respected by in-the-know system builders. That manufacturer is giving consumers yet another option when shopping for memory -- its all-new XPG Hunter line of DDR4 RAM modules. Not only capacities ranging from 8GB to 32GB, but there are both U-DIMM and SO-DIMM options, so both desktop and laptop users can get in on the action. Not to mention, they are quite classy-looking too -- the design is attractive without being over-the-top.

Continue reading →

The Apple Watch is undoubtedly the best smartwatch on the market, but that isn't saying very much. Wearables are often nothing more than a fashion statement masquerading as an essential piece of technology. Consumers have these grand ideas about being more productive and healthy by buying a smartwatch, only to discover the wearable becomes both a notification nuisance and yet another thing you have to charge. Hey, at least it can double as a Roku remote these days...

With all of that said, Apple Watch has many fans, and while the device's battery life has gotten better, it still only lasts a mere day at best -- certainly not weeks. And so, if you are a road warrior, you will need to carry a charger for it in your bag. But what if I told you there was an innovative new Apple Watch charger that makes the official charger look like crap? It's true. Today, popular accessory-maker Satechi releases the very clever USB-C Magnetic Charging Dock for Apple Watch.

Continue reading →

Back in May of 2019, Peppermint 10 was released. The Ubuntu-based operating system is great for those switching from Windows, but also, it makes a fine operating system for Linux experts too. It may not be as popular as, say, Linux Mint, but it is still a solid option.

Today, fans of Peppermint -- and the entire Linux community, really -- have reason to celebrate. No, version 11 of the operating system is not released. However, Peppermint 10 Respin is now available for download!

Continue reading →

The Linux Mint developers vowed to release a new version of their operating system before Christmas, and today, they fulfill that promise. Yes, Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia is finally here, a full week before the big Christmas holiday -- a very welcome early gift.

Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia can be had with your choice of three excellent desktop environments -- Cinnamon (4.4), MATE (1.22), and Xfce (4.14). I highly recommend users with modern computers try Cinnamon first -- it is the prettiest of the trio, while the other two DEs are designed for more meager PCs. With that said, even those with high-end machines sometimes opt for Xfce and Mate because they simply prefer them.

Continue reading →

SiriusXM, the satellite radio juggernaut (and now-owner of Pandora), has millions of daily listeners. These days, the company doesn't only provide its popular satellite radio channels in automobiles, but essentially everywhere thanks to its mobile apps for Android and iPhone. Hell, you can listen to SiriusXM though Alexa and Google Assistant hardware these days too. Evert morning, I listen to Howard Stern on my Nest Mini by simply saying "Hey Google, Play Sirius 100." It is quite remarkable.

Obviously, such a large company has lots of employees working around the world. Enabling all these workers to easily communicate  and collaborate is essential. And so, SiriusXM chose Microsoft Teams for this, right? Actually, no. As a huge blow to Microsoft, SiriusXM instead chose Slack.

Continue reading →

There are many music streaming services these days, such as Spotify, Pandora, and Apple Music to name a few. Believe it or not, Google has two such services -- Play Music and YouTube Music.  It is very confusing to have one company offering two competing options, but they will eventually be merged into one under the YouTube Music brand.

The problem? As of today, YouTube Music simply isn't up to par with any competitors -- it has a messy interface that can be confusing. While it is slowly getting better all the time, it simply cannot compete with Spotify or Apple Music -- the gold standards. Today, however, YouTube Music is gaining a pretty cool new feature -- personalized mixes.

Continue reading →

Christmas may technically be a religious holiday, but for many folks, it is more about enjoying family rather than worshiping. And you know what? That's fine. People have the right to celebrate however they want. Me? I like to do both of those things -- Celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, but also, spend time with the people I love. Heck, I even like gift-giving -- it is fun to make someone else happy with a present they really want. OK, fine, I like getting gifts too.

One of my favorite activities to do in December is watch Christmas movies. These holiday films really help me to get into the Christmas spirit. It's a great feeling to be wrapped up in a cozy blanket on a comfortable couch and enjoy some wholesome, family-friendly, Christmas movies. This year, popular streaming media platform, Roku, is sharing ts top 10 most searched Christmas movies. While the films on the list are rather predictable, the positions are a bit surprising.

Continue reading →

Microsoft has never been very good at naming things. Windows 10, for instance, isn't even the tenth version of Windows. The company plans to eventually release an operating system called Windows 10X -- since X is the Roman numeral for ten, is it technically "Windows 10 10" then? Sigh. The original Xbox was followed by the Xbox 360, which was then followed by Xbox One. In other words, the third Xbox is named "One" -- what kind of craziness is that? The company confused things even further by releasing Xbox One variants dubbed "S" and "X."

And now, Microsoft has unveiled its next generation Xbox, and following tradition, it has a terrible name! What has the company named it? Xbox Series X. Yup, that's the real name. Its name is way too close to "Xbox One X," and shows Microsoft is apparently devoid of any creativity in the branding department. Name aside, however, it does look really cool -- it is a vertical tower that can be positioned horizontally if you prefer. Thankfully, it appears to have an optical drive, so physical games disks will live on for at least one more generation of game console.

Continue reading →

Windows 7's death is imminent -- support for the popular operating system ends next month on January 14, making it extremely dangerous to use from a security standpoint after that date. This is very unfortunate for the millions of computer users that don't want to switch to the much-maligned Windows 10. Thankfully, in 2019, you don't have to run Windows anymore -- Linux is a totally legitimate option for both business and home use these days. Hell, even the Windows-maker sees the writing on the wall -- the company recently released its wildly popular Office 365 program, Microsoft Teams, for Linux.

If you are ready to ditch the soon-to-be-unsupported Windows 7 for a more secure Linux-based operating system, you have plenty of great options. One of the best choices, however, is Zorin OS -- a Linux distribution that specifically targets people switching from Windows. Today, the latest version of that operating system, Zorin OS 15.1, is released to the world.

Continue reading →

Not everyone can afford the top of the line graphics card, and that's fine. If you are a PC gamer on a budget, there are plenty of options these days that will allow you to play the latest and greatest games, albeit with the resolution and other settings turned down a bit. For instance 4K is all the rage these days, but if you are OK with 1080p gaming, you can actually get by with some affordable gear.

Today, AMD shows some major respect for the 1080p gamers of the world with the all-new Radeon RX 5500 XT. While not the most powerful card, it should be able to play all of the newest games at 1080p. It should be positioned a bit higher than the excellent, yet aging, RX 580. Best of all, the starting price is significantly below $200.

Continue reading →

Remote work is all the rage these days. After all, some jobs can be done from home -- why waste gas and time commuting to a shared office just to sit alone in a cubicle all day? Of course, for remote working to be successful, you must have useful communication tools -- both software and hardware. For instance, Microsoft Teams and Slack are great ways to stay in touch, but what about when you need to make audio or visual calls for collaboration? For that, high-quality hardware can make all the difference.

Apparently, Logitech sees great value in combining audio and visual communication in one package. The company has launched two new hardware packages which it calls "Personal Collaboration Kits." What exactly are these kits? Quite simply, a combo consisting of a high-end headset and webcam. There are two options from which to choose, with one being given the "Pro" designation. The truth is, however, both kits would be good for either professional or home use.

Continue reading →

Apple's newest Mac Pro computer, configured with the top specifications, costs over $50,000 (yes, really). The starting price for the Apple Pro Display XDR with the official Pro Stand is $5,998. And yet, despite these outrageous prices, you don't even get a webcam! Seriously, folks, Apple's latest and greatest premium display doesn't even have an integrated camera! Sigh.

Thankfully, Logitech is here to save the day with its all new 4K Pro Magnetic Webcam. As the name implies, it features a resolution of up to 4K, and it connects to the top of the Apple Pro Display XDR with a magnet. While this new webcam it is a bit expensive, it isn't obscenely so like Apple's new hardware. And while it is only designed for the Apple Pro Display XDR and macOS, I wouldn't be surprised to see it rest comfortably atop other monitors or maybe even work with Windows 10 too.

Continue reading →

Modern Linux users have it pretty good. In 2019, there are many major players supporting desktop operating systems running the open source kernel. Years ago, it felt like Linux on the desktop was a second class citizen -- switching from Windows was not as easy as it is today. These days, it is totally possible to forgo Microsoft's desktop operating system and still have a high quality computing experience with top-notch software, including video editing and PC gaming.

To show just how far we've come, Microsoft today brings an essential Office 365 program to Linux. No, it isn't Word, Excel, or PowerPoint -- that would be a true miracle. Actually, it is one of the newer Office applications that is seeing a surge in popularity -- Microsoft Teams. This is a top-notch communication and collaboration service. Depending on who you believe, Teams actually has more users than Slack -- a very impressive feat. Now, Microsoft Teams joins Slack on the Linux desktop!

Continue reading →

Western Digital is a name often associated with quality hard disk drives, but the company's solid state drives are quite excellent too. They are reliable and fast, making them a good choice amongst other trusted brands of SSD, such as Samsung and Intel.

Today, Western Digital unveils its latest solid state drive. Called "WD Blue SN550," it is an M.2 2280 NVMe SSD with read speeds up to 2,400 MB/s. As a sign of the company's confidence in the drive's reliability, it comes with a respectable 5-year warranty.

Continue reading →

When Apple Maps first launched, it was laughably bad. Even Apple's most hardcore fans had to admit that Google Maps was far superior. To this day, Apple Maps has a reputation for offering a subpar experience, even though that is no longer true. In fact, Apple Maps is actually quite good, with many iPhone users using it regularly with great success. With that said, Google Maps is still better, although the gap is slowly shrinking.

What make Google Maps best? Besides its very accurate navigation, it is chock-full of useful features. It is a very robust and mature app, and it is continually improving. Case in point, today, Google Maps for iPhone is getting even better. You see, the search giant is adding a privacy-friendly called "Incognito Mode." While this is already available on the Android version, it is still a welcome addition to iOS.

Continue reading →