Brian Fagioli

If you want a Windows gaming laptop, there are many from which to choose. If you want a thin Windows 10 gaming laptop, however, your options are much more limited.

One of the more popular maker of such svelte gaming laptops is Razer, and today, it upgrades the Blade Pro 17 with an eye-popping new feature -- a 17.3-inch 4K, 3840 x 2160 display with 400 nits brightness! Yes, seriously.

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Apple recently launched its Arcade service -- a monthly games subscription for iOS. For just $4.99 a month, you get access to a bunch of titles without advertisements or in-app purchases. The first month is free, so I have been testing it on my iPhone 8 Plus. You know what? It is just OK -- not great. Many of the games are garbage that I wouldn't have bought in the first place. In other words, while $5 a month seems like a good deal, you have to actually find value in the games for it to be worthwhile.

Today, Google launches its version of Apple Arcade, and it seems like a much better deal. While it carries the same $4.99 monthly cost, and it too includes games, it also provides access to something Arcade doesn't -- applications. Quite frankly, as an adult, a buffet of productivity apps is more interesting to me than a collection of mobile games. Having both, however, is really cool, though -- I hope Apple follows Google's lead.

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If you need external storage, you should always try to get a solid state drive -- if you can afford your needed capacity, of course. Not only is an SSD much faster than a mechanical hard disk drive, it can be more reliable too. You see, since an SSD doesn't have moving parts, it is less likely to become damaged from jostling. An HDD, by comparison, can become corrupted by bouncing around in your bag or luggage.

Another benefit of an external solid state drive over a hard disk drive is its physical size -- an SSD can be much smaller, which is superior for traveling. Today, ADATA launches a new USB-C SSD that is tiny and adorable. Called "SC680," it is thin, light, and pretty fast.

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Earlier today, Huawei unveiled five new phones as a part of the Mate 30 series -- the Mate 30, Mate 30 5G, Mate 30 Pro, Mate 30 Pro 5G, and the Porsche Design Mate 30 RS. They are absolutely gorgeous smartphones with high-end specifications. They are even running the latest and greatest Android 10 operating system. Quite frankly, the beautiful design shows how Apple should have laid out its rear cameras on the iPhone Pro. In fact, while the Mate 30 has a triple camera system like the iPhone 11 Pro, the Mate 30 Pro has four cameras! I guess we can really see which phone deserves its "Pro" moniker!

All models of Mate 30 have a notched display, with the notch being a bit bigger on the Pro and RS models. The Pro and RS models have a 6.53-inch screen (OLED FHD+ 2400 x 1176), while the regular Mate 30 is a bit bigger at 6.62-inch (OLED FHD+ 2340 x 1080). All are powered by the same octa-core processor (2 x Cortex-A76 Based 2.86 GHz + 2 x Cortex-A76 Based 2.36 GHz + 4 x Cortex-A55 1.95 GHz), 16-Core Mali-G76 GPU, and 8GB of RAM -- with the exception of the RS, which has 12GB of RAM. The Mate 30 comes with 128GB of storage, while the Mate 30 Pro has 256GB. The high-end RS gets an insane 512GB. And yes, they all feature an in-screen fingerprint reader!

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Earlier this month, Apple had a big product unveiling, where it showed off a new iPad, Apple Watch, and three new iPhone 11 models. You know what it didn't reveal? A new Apple TV. This was very surprising, as the company is planning to really push its upcoming Apple TV+ streaming service. You would think an upgraded device for Apple TV+ would make sense, but no, the company laid an egg in that regard.

Thankfully, Roku is happy to keep pushing the envelope and releasing new hardware. Following the previous announcement of the innovative Roku Soundbar, today, the company unveils upgrades to two of its most popular devices -- Roku Ultra and Roku Express. The Ultra is its top of the line device, while the Express is a budget offering for the masses.

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All Linux users are the same, right? Oh, hell no! Linux users are a diverse bunch, with differing opinions, tastes, and personalities. In fact, that is probably a contributing factor to the fragmentation of the Linux community. Linux users have lots of options between distributions, desktop environments, and more -- they are not stuck in a box like Windows 10 users.

To highlight how different Linux users can be, Canonical has released some data about the installation of snaps, categorized by distro. It chose six of the most popular Linux-based operating systems for its analysis -- Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, CentOS, Arch Linux, and Manjaro. It then shared the top five most popular snaps for each distribution.

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Want to know a secret? Most people probably don't need an unlimited data plan on their smartphone. And yet, many folks will happily overpay for the peace of mind -- worrying about data overages can be stressful. You know what? That's not so crazy. Look, I am all for saving money, but at the same time, I don't want to concern myself with anything other than consuming media and surfing the web when on my phone. So, yes, I crave unlimited even though I don't need it, and I am not alone.

Today, Google Fi launches an unlimited plan for the first time ever. This is significant, as Google's service (which utilizes T-Mobile, Sprint, and U.S. Cellular networks for enhanced coverage) was historically marketed as a way to save money by only paying for the data you use. With that said, this new unlimited plan is surprisingly very affordable -- I find myself quite intrigued. As an extra bonus, until September 18, Google will give 50 percent off a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3XL. Yes, I know, the Pixel 4's release is imminent, but if you don't need the latest and greatest, this could be a great way to save some money.

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When amateurs decide they want to create music, vlogs, podcasts, or some other form of media, there is often a product they buy first -- a Blue Yeti microphone. Creators tend to gravitate towards the professional-grade Yeti, and it is not hard to see why -- it is well made, performs well, and looks super cool. Even game streamers on services like Twitch use Yeti microphones. Hell, I have seen them in business conference rooms.

Today, Blue -- a Logitech company -- launches its latest and greatest USB microphone. Called "Yeti X," it is designed for vlogging, gaming, podcasting, music creation, and more. While Blue says this microphone is for professionals, it can, of course, be used by amateurs too.

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Fedora may not be the flashiest or most exciting Linux distribution, but it is very reliable. You can always depend on the operating system to be rock solid and very modern. Best of all, it focuses on true open source ideology -- there are no non-free packages by default. I tend to "distro hop" out of curiosity, but no matter what, I always find my way back to Fedora.

Fedora 31 is due later this year, but first, there needs to be some beta testing. And so, today, Fedora 31 Beta is made available for download. Unfortunately, details surrounding version 31 are a bit sparse. With that said, one big change involves Fedora users with ARM 64-based single board computers, such as a Raspberry Pi. Those folks will get access to an additional desktop spin -- the lightweight Xfce.

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Do you play those hardcore massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG) like World of Warcraft? If so, you have probably encountered those wild-looking mice with multiple thumb buttons. These types of mice are great, because you can customize the many buttons to perform various functions of the game. This can be used for any game, really, including, say, a first person shooter -- you can program macros or key-presses into the buttons, essentially giving you an edge.

Today, Logitech unveils its latest such mouse, and it is a beast. Called "G604," we have been testing it in the BetaNews labs with great success. It has both Bluetooth and LIGHTSPEED for connectivity, with the latter utilizing a USB-A dongle. You can then switch between the two by pressing a button -- helpful for working with two computers or operating systems.

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Huawei makes some of the best laptops around -- the company actually puts Apple's design team to shame. This focus on elegance cannot be said for many other Windows PC manufacturers, as they often just set their sights on cutting corners to keep prices down.

And that is why Donald Trump's xenophobic attacks on Huawei are so tragic. Huawei's computers and smartphones are wonderful, but with uncertainty about access to Windows and proper Android (with Google apps), consumers are correct to be a bit concerned.

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There are many Linux desktop environments from which to choose -- some are good, others are bad, but only one can be best -- GNOME. Whether you choose Ubuntu, Fedora, Manjaro, or some other different Linux distribution, GNOME will provide you with a superior user experience. Not only is it ideal for productivity, but GNOME is quite pretty too. And yes, there are plenty of customization options. Not to mention, the excellent stock GNOME apps create a very cohesive experience overall.

Today, GNOME 3.34 is finally released. Code-named "Thessaloniki," the newest version of the desktop environment is chock full of new features, bug fixes, visual improvements, and updated apps. One of the most apparent changes to users will be the ability to group icons into folders using drag-and-drop within the application overview -- very cool.

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Pandora is a popular music streaming service that aims to function as sort of a personalized radio station for the listener. There are different tiers of service, including a free option -- a big reason for its popularity. There are also paid tiers, starting at just $4.99.

Today, Pandora releases a new desktop app for Windows 10. This follows the release of the app for Apple macOS, which has been available since May of 2019. This new app for Windows is being offered exclusively from the Microsoft Store, so Windows 7 users, for example, cannot experience it fully. Pandora specifically says it is a Windows 10-only affair. Of course, all platforms can access Pandora thanks to the web player -- something Apple Music is currently beta testing.

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Manjaro may have lofty goals of becoming a successful company, but let's be honest -- users of the Linux-based operating system don't really care about that. Don't get me wrong, I am sure most members of the Linux community are rooting for the newly-formed company's success, but they are probably more interested in the excellent operating system itself.

Today, Manjaro Linux 18.1.0 "Juhraya" finally becomes available for download, and it isn't without some controversy. You see, rather than just offer up LibreOffice like most distributions, Juhraya offers an alternative choice at installation -- FreeOffice.

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There are essentially two types of overclocks -- one is where it is done for actual performance gains, while the other is just for bragging rights. While the former is obviously more useful, insane overclocks that exist just to prove it is possible are still very fun.

Today, G.SKILL announces an insane DDR4 memory overclock that reaches a major milestone -- greater than 6GHz speed! To be more specific, a famous overclocker and MSI engineer named "Toppc" was able to successfully boot into Windows with RAM running at 6016.8MHz! This shatters the previous record of 5902MHz set by HyperX.

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