Brian Fagioli

When playing video games online, a headset can really enhance the experience. True, a lot of it is unfortunately having trolls insult you while using foul language, but overall, voice communication is a positive experience that can make online gaming more fun. Not to mention, the headset allows you to hear in-game audio without annoying other members of your home. Hell, wearing headphones can arguably give you an edge over speakers, as you should be able to better hear enemy movements, for instance.

Today, HyperX announces a pair of new premium headsets -- the Cloud Orbit and the Cloud Orbit S. Both are quite similar, except the latter utilizes Waves Nx technology, which tracks the gamer's head movements for a more immersive audio experience. With that exception, the hardware and specs are identical.

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Many home consumers don't really need Windows anymore. With so many things being web-based nowadays, it is much wiser to opt for the more secure Linux-based Chrome OS. Not satisfied with only using web-based solutions? Chromebooks can now run Android apps too, giving the user a huge library of quality apps. In addition, Google is currently testing the ability to run traditional Linux programs on Chrome OS. Even though the feature is technically in beta, it works wonderfully -- I have successfully installed and used GIMP, for instance.

Since more and more consumers are choosing Chrome OS, computer manufacturers are increasingly offering quality Chromebooks. In other words, these laptops are no longer just meant to be low cost. With that said, there is no reason a great Chromebook can't be affordable, and today, Acer unveils a beautiful such product. Called "Chromebook 315," the 15.6-inch laptop is powered by AMD's excellent APUs (a combination CPU and GPU). So yes, this is a Chromebook with Radeon graphics! There are three display options from which to choose, with one of them offering touch -- a nice option for Android apps. The top-firing speakers should make it great for consuming media too.

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USB-C is the greatest thing since sliced bread. The connector is reversible, meaning there is no wrong way to insert it. USB-A, conversely, was hugely annoying in this regard -- for many years, computer users had to suffer through the madness. Not to mention, since the USB-C connector is much smaller, it can be utilized by smartphones and tablets in addition to desktop computers, and laptops.

Of course, there are times when you may need to connect a device that doesn't use USB-C, such as an Ethernet cable, computer monitor, or USB-A flash drive. For this, you can purchase individual dongles, but it is more convenient to simply get a multiport adapter instead. Today, StarTech launches two new such models -- the DK30C2HAGPD and DK30C2DAGPD. They are very much the same, except the former uses HDMI while the latter is compatible with DisplayPort.

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Many people use ARRIS products without really thinking about it. How can that be? Well, its excellent cable modems are quite ubiquitous in the USA. When a cable internet provider gives the user a modem, it is often ARRIS. They are stable modems that just work well. Of course, you can also buy the company's modems from retailers like Amazon -- a great way to save money if your ISP charges you a monthly rental fee for theirs.

Today, ARRIS unveils a new network product for both home and business consumers, but it is not a cable modem. Instead, it is a beautiful new mesh Wi-Fi system. In other words, it is a router that pairs with at least one other access point to blanket your home or office in wireless internet. What makes this new product so intriguing is its inclusion of Wi-Fi 6 -- also known as 802.11ax.

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Chrome OS has slowly become one of the most promising operating systems. What began life as a "glorified web browser" has grown to also run Android apps and traditional Linux programs. At the same time, Windows 10 has declined in quality, causing many users to lose faith in Microsoft's operating system. For education in particular, school districts are increasingly turning to Google's Chromebooks rather than devices running Windows 10.

Today, ASUS unveils four new Chrome OS devices for the education market. Three of them (C403, C204, and Flip C214) are laptops, with one of them (the Flip) being a convertible -- meaning it can fold into a tablet. In addition, there is a traditional tablet (CT100). While Chrome OS tablets are fairly unproven, the ability to run Android apps makes them quite useful.

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Windows 10 is hardly a perfect operating system, but it is undeniably the best option for business users -- especially when paired with the excellent Microsoft Office. True, some professional users can get by with a traditional Linux workstation and LibreOffice (or a Chromebook with web-based productivity apps), but if business success is your goal in 2019 -- computing ideology be damned -- you can't go wrong with Windows.

Acer has a new business laptop that is sure to delight professionals. The "TravelMate X3410," as it is called, is svelte and beautiful while having all the ports a pro will need, such as USB-A, USB-C, Ethernet, HDMI, and VGA. While home users may no longer need VGA, it is handy to have for business users -- many offices still utilize VGA-only projectors, for instance. Best of all, it offers incredible battery life while having an affordable starting price.

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Tomorrow is New Year's Eve in America (and other countries that use the Gregorian calendar), meaning many people will be out partying with friends and family. Me? I like to stay in and watch Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on TV while eating some tasty snacks and drinking Perrier. True, the television broadcast is not as good since Mr. Clark died, and Ryan Seacrest is insufferable, but I am a creature of habit, I suppose.

In China and other parts of the world, the Lunar New Year is followed instead, with the holiday often happening in January or February. The Chinese assign an animal to represent the year, and on February 5 2019, it will officially start "The Year of the Pig." Microsoft has created a new Windows 10 theme to commemorate the upcoming occasion. In other words, the company is using a pig theme to try and put lipstick on the "oinker" that is its terrible operating system.

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As 2018 comes to a close, I find myself doing much reflecting. Linux consumes much of my thinking, and sadly, this was not the year that it overtakes Windows on the desktop. You know what, though? Windows 10 was an absolute disaster this year, while the Linux-based Chrome OS has slowly become more and more mature. Other desktop Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, Mint and Fedora, continue to get better, and Android remains the undisputed king of mobile. As we all know, Linux powers many servers around the globe too. So yeah, maybe it isn't the year of the Linux desktop, but the open source kernel still had a superb 2018 -- I raise my glass to it.

One of the most refreshing aspects of Linux in 2018 was the popularity of Snaps. Canonical revealed that the containerized packages have been a smashing success. Today, the Ubuntu-maker highlights what it feels are the top 10 Snaps of 2018. No, it is not based on popularity or voting, but seemingly, just Canonical's opinion.

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Shopping at physical retail stores is insufferable these days. Have you been to a Walmart lately? Not only is it a soul-crushing experience all year, but during the holidays in November and December, it becomes particularly hell-like. Kids running around screaming, people sneezing and coughing without covering their mouths, plus generally dirty and disorganized aisles and shelves. It's gross. It gets better at stores like Target and Kohl's, but still, being around fellow humans can be an exercise in frustration. Thank goodness for online shopping.

As is typical, many people around the world turned to the web to buy Christmas and Hanukkah gifts this year. No retailer is more used than Amazon in this regard -- the undisputed king of online shopping. Once again, the company proclaims (brags) it has broken records this year -- without sharing exact numbers, of course. Ultimately, we can be confident that, records aside, Amazon sold a ton of stuff.

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Kodi is an excellent open source media player, allowing the user to have an immersive experience with both music and video. While the software gets a bad reputation due to people using it for piracy, many folks only use it for legal media consumption. As more and more illegal Kodi add-on maintainers face legal trouble, and streaming services like Netflix and Hulu remain competitively priced, fewer folks may seek pirated content. In fact, the LibreELEC developers claim the "Kodi piracy scene continues to decline."

Not familiar with LibreELEC? Please know it is a Linux distribution that exists solely to run Kodi. It supports many hardware configurations, including traditional x86_64 for PC and ARM for devices like Raspberry Pi and WeTek. Following the release of Kodi 18 'Leia' RC3, LibreELEC 9.0 (8.95.1) Beta 1 becomes available for download. Its most significant change is a clever way to handle Kodi start up crashes due to buggy add-ons. After five consecutive crashes, the OS will boot without any Kodi add-ons, allowing the user to at least have a usable device.

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When building a PC, people typically focus on the usual things -- CPU, RAM, PSU, and such. For whatever reason, builders often overlook a crucial component -- a surge protector. I mean, look, if you are going to drop a ton of money on a computer and monitor, shouldn’t you protect them with a reliable surge protector/power strip?

If you want a truly excellent such product, look no further than Tripp Lite. The company’s surge protectors are very well regarded for their durability and top build quality. Its "Isobar" models in particular are considered by many to be top of the line. Now they are getting even better, as two new models gain a much-desired feature -- USB charging ports.

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Every year, millions of Americans get together with family on Christmas. Many adult kids return to a single parent's home to celebrate -- or a house shared by both parents if they beat the odds and aren't divorced. While there, if you know about tech, you may get asked to fix your mom or dad's computer. Be it malware or something else, this can be quite the frustrating task. Look, I know you are happy to help them, but you just want to relax and enjoy the holiday, right? How can you get the nightmare of fixing their Windows-based PC to stop? This Christmas, you should give them the gift of a stable and secure operating system that doesn't spy on them. Enter Linux.

Yes, a Linux distribution can stop this woe, giving your family member a more secure platform that is less susceptible to malware (and less likely to need your fixing). If they live in the web browser anyway, Windows is just a liability these days. What if I told you that there was a Linux distribution that you could loosely tie into the holiday? Well, candy canes are traditionally peppermint flavored, and wouldn't you know it, there is a new version of the excellent Peppermint OS out now! Called "9 Respin," it is a refresh of the previously released Peppermint OS 9 -- this time with many improvements and changes.

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It is the year 2018, and 2019 is right around the corner -- 64-bit processors have been mainstream for a really long time. If you are still using a computer that is 32-bit only, it is time to toss it into a dumpster. No, I’m not being an elitist; it is simply time to move on. A much superior laptop can be had new for a few hundred bucks. Hell, you could probably buy a used 64-bit machine for under $100.

With all of that said, I am proud of all Linux-based operating system maintainers that have the courage to ditch 32-bit processor support. Some misguided Linux community members will decry this, claiming that the open source kernel can breathe new life into old hardware. That’s true, but it’s time for the world to raise the bar on what the bottom is -- all hardware can’t be supported forever. The latest major operating system to drop 32-bit support? Lubuntu.

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When you are an online gamer, your network connection matters -- the lower the latency the better. Nothing is more heartbreaking than losing a match due to a flaky Wi-Fi connection. True, gamers should try to use a hardwired connection when they can, but for many, this simply isn't possible. Renters, for instance, may not be able to run cable through walls. Instead, these gamers must choose their Wi-Fi gear wisely to get the most of their connection.

Unfortunately, choosing a gaming router can be quite the daunting task. There are so many of them on the market these days -- it is hard to tell what will truly help your gaming sessions versus what is mostly style over performance. In other words, manufacturers may try to entice shoppers with a "gaming" product that is nothing more than a design that is inspired by gaming culture. NVIDIA wants to make this experience easier, especially as its GeForce NOW game-streaming service will live and die by the stability and speed of users' internet connections. That's why today, NVIDIA launches the "GeForce NOW Recommended Routers" program.

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The mainstreaming of Linux is accelerating every day. Many servers use Linux distributions, while Android remains the undisputed king of mobile. True, adoption of operating systems based on the open source kernel are still virtually nonexistent on the desktop, but as Windows 10 gets worse and worse, more and more home users may turn to Ubuntu, Google Chrome OS, and others. Just yesterday, Dell updated two of its mobile workstations to the latest Ubuntu LTS version.

If you are tired of the Windows 10 nonsense, and want to try an alternative operating system, Linux Mint is a great starting point. Make no mistake, however, even though it is a good option for beginners, many experts use it too. Today, the newest version becomes available for download -- Linux Mint 19.1 "Tessa." This follows a fairly short beta period.

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