Brian Fagioli

Apple makes great hardware and operating systems, but when it comes to applications, the company has plenty of room for improvement. For productivity, Microsoft still reigns supreme. Apple's iWork, for instance, is passable, but it is largely garbage compared to Microsoft Office. Pages, Numbers, and Keynote may look great, but smart professionals will invest in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint -- they are far more powerful. Even the totally free LibreOffice bests Apple's iWork.

With all of that said, macOS users should be very happy that Microsoft supports Apple's operating system. Quite frankly, without Microsoft's excellent productivity software -- such as Office and OneNote -- Mac computers would be far less attractive to power users and professionals. Today, Microsoft brings another fine app to the macOS platform -- To-Do. It is chock-full of useful features, including the ability to add tags/hashtags by simply typing a #.

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Today, there is some great news for the Linux community -- OpenMandriva Lx 4.0 is now available! This KDE-focused distribution should have you very excited.

The default web browser browser has been changed in 4.0 -- it is now the Chromium-based Falkon, which promises better KDE integration. Don't worry, you can install Firefox or Chrome if needed.

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Today is Thursday, which is one of the worst days of the week. I mean, I suppose it is better than Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but it can't hold a candle to Friday, Saturday, or Sunday -- otherwise known as the weekend. So, yeah, Thursday is typically not something to get excited about.

With all of that said, today is a pretty special Thursday for the Linux community. Why? Well, the System76 Gazelle laptop is finally available! This is a laptop we reported on last month, and at the time, System76 only promised it would be available in June 2019. Well, June 13 of 2019 is apparently the exact day it goes on sale, as you can get it now.

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When it comes to Linux, I prefer my distributions to be no-nonsense -- Fedora is my favorite distro, for instance. Is Fedora boring? Yes, I suppose. But that is sort of why I like it. Look, I just want the damn operating system to take a backseat to my actual work. Fedora with GNOME allows me to focus on my tasks without getting in the way.

Understandably though, some Linux users like to "distro hop" where they are constantly moving between distributions, always wondering if the grass is greener on the other side. And yeah, I get that -- new is fun. People want excitement.

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Most iPhone users do not own a Mac. If they did, Apple's desktop market share wouldn't be so low compared to Windows. That's historically not a big deal for Apple, since its Mac business was never really about volume -- the company make a fortune off the marked up machines as it is.

The problem, however, is the company is increasingly focusing on services. And as great as iCloud is, the Windows experience has been abysmal. Yes, iCloud on Windows is functional, but it is not even close to the elegance of macOS. So when an iOS user needed to use Windows 10 for iCloud, it made the OS seem sort of... terrible. While Microsoft's desktop OS has lots of problems, and some consider it to be quite bad, the iCloud deficiencies (slow, buggy, etc.) were not really the fault of the OS -- that was Apple's failure. Well, except that one time.

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They say when something isn’t broken you shouldn't fix it, and that is largely good advice. I mean, just look at how Microsoft "improved" Windows 7 with the abomination that was Windows 8. Or even more infamous, Coca-Cola and it’s "New Coke."

With that said, sometimes you can truly add to a product that seems to not need fixing and end up with something much better. Today, Logitech does exactly that. It has taken a trio of mice that consumers already loved and simply upgraded them with the excellent HERO 16K sensor. This is the same treatment given to the G502 in May and the MX518 in February.

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If you are a gamer, you know a monitor with a high refresh rate is very desirable. These days, however, it is also important to have anti-tear technology, such as NVIDIA's G-SYNC or AMD's FreeSync. Believe it or not, gamers do not necessarily want a display with a high resolution. Sure, 4K looks great for video and images, but for gaming, it can lead to lower frames. This is why many hardcore game players still use FHD (1080p).

Today, Samsung announces a new monitor called "CRG5" that ticks all the right boxes for gamers. It is a 27-inch 1080p display with NVIDIA G-SYNC and an impressive 240Hz refresh rate. In other words, this monitor should be silky smooth. There is one more cool aspect, however -- it is curved. While I am not a huge fans of televisions with a curve, I do see value in a curved monitor as you sit closer to it.

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Donald Trump may have a bug up his ass over Huawei, but anti-Chinese propaganda aside, consumers around the world love the company's devices. Huawei's laptops, smartphones, and tablets are well-received by both professional reviewers and consumers. There should be no mystery how Huawei achieves such praise -- its products are elegant, well built, and not overly priced. The P30 Pro might be the best Android smartphone on the market.

With Android in particular, Huawei is not only providing an excellent customer experience through hardware, but with OS updates too. In fact, the company is celebrating an impressive milestone -- more than 80 million Huawei device users are now on Android 9.0 Pie. Technically, it is EMUI 9, which is Android plus Huawei's improvements. This puts many other device makers, such as Samsung and LG to shame.

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Back in January, we reported on two new "Brilliance" monitors from Philips. What made these displays stand out were their integrated Windows Hello-compatible cameras. This would allow the user to log into Windows 10 using their face -- no need to enter a password or touch a fingerprint reader. One was a pricey 49-inch super-wide monitor (499P9H), while the other was a 32-inch 4K display (329P9H). The latter has an integrated USB-C docking station and KVM switch, which is insanely cool.

At the time, we shared that the 329P9H would hit stores in February. Well, it was apparently very late, as it is just now coming to market! Yes, today, Philips announces that the Brilliance 32-inch 4K monitor (32P9H) is finally officially available for purchase. And yes, it looks like it was worth the wait.

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Apple Watch is a very popular product despite its many flaws. I wore one for a while, but ended up getting rid of it due to many frustrations. The wearable has a terrible user interface -- very unlike most Apple products. Ultimately, I found it more convenient to simply pull my phone from my pocket.

With all of that said, I am probably not the best candidate for an Apple Watch. I'm a fairly sedentary fellow, working at computers and avoiding the outdoors. People that like hiking, running, and other forms of exercise will probably find a lot of value in Apple Watch. Today, popular company Urban Armor Gear (UAG) launches a watch strap that should delight consumers that are into being outdoors.

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While I’m a Linux fan and advocate, I'm not delusional. Switching from Windows to an operating system based on the Linux kernel is not for everyone. For some folks, Microsoft's desktop operating system is more appropriate, and for others, maybe Apple's macOS is better. Ultimately, people should pick whatever tool they enjoy. After all, a computer is a tool, not a religion.

With all of that said, Windows 10 has many detractors. In other words, it is not an operating system that is beloved by many. Even the people that don't necessarily hate it, probably tolerate it more than truly enjoy it. And that's sad. Thankfully, for those that want a way out of Microsoft's Windows, there are many alternatives. If you want to try Linux, there is a new version of a great distribution you should try -- the Ubuntu-based Zorin OS 15.

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Smartphones are way too expensive these days, with prices for some flagships hovering around $1,000. If you are wealthy and have a lot of disposable income, this probably doesn't bother you. For regular folks, however, this is simply too much to ask. Thankfully, Google heard the cries from its more meager customers and released the well-received Pixel 3a and 3a XL smartphones, starting at $399 and $479 respectively.

Even though these phones are more affordable, that doesn't mean consumers can afford to break them. A case is still a wise investment, even if your smartphone costs less than $500. With that said, popular case-maker Urban Armor Gear (UAG) has released new Scout Series cases for both the Pixel 3a and 3a XL. The case is very rugged and officially sanctioned as a "Made For Google" accessory.

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Technically, summer won’t begin until June 21, but with Memorial Day now behind us, many in the USA consider the season to already be here. For instance, here on Long Island, I have already made one trip to the beach and had a backyard barbecue. As far as I’m concerned, it’s summer.

When summer fun is being had, music is often a big part of the experience. Thankfully, long gone are the days of lugging around large "boom boxes" and replaceable batteries to enjoy your tunes outdoors. These days, a rechargeable Bluetooth speaker and a smartphone is all you need. Ultimate Ears has consistently been releasing excellent such speakers, and today it unveils the latest. Called "WONDERBOOM 2," it is, as you can guess, the second generation WONDERBOOM.

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So, like, here's the deal folks. macOS is a really great operating system, but it has gotten a bit stale in recent years. That isn't necessarily a bad thing -- the lack of excitement is largely due to the maturity of macOS. But also, it was because Apple wasn't paying as much attention to the desktop OS. And hey, I get it, iOS is the company's bread and butter. With that said, Mac users are a ferociously passionate bunch, so Apple made a big mistake by neglecting them -- especially as iPhone sales are slowing.

Thankfully, Apple has finally gotten the message from its loyal customers, and it has begun focusing on Mac again. The keyboard on its laptops are still a problem, but the iMac and even the Mac mini are now modern and well-received. Earlier today at WWDC, Apple even unveiled the upcoming redesigned Mac Pro, and it is a friggin' stunner! It is exactly what professional Mac users have wanted for years.

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Google is the best search engine; it is indisputable. Of course, the downside to Google is that it is a privacy nightmare, tracking you and logging your search history. While there are alternatives, such as DuckDuckGo and StartPage.com that focus on protecting your privacy, Google still provides the better search experience.

And then there is Bing -- the search engine people love to hate. Yes, it is fashionable to bash Microsoft's search engine, but the truth is, it's not that bad. In fact, it is fairly good. And that is the problem -- it is just mediocre, never really catching on with consumers. Google is just better. Despite Bing's lack of success, Microsoft has surprisingly stuck with it. As a result, today, Bing celebrates a 10th birthday -- a full decade of mediocrity. Huzzah!

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