Brian Fagioli

There has been much in the news lately about Facebook letting its users down. The most egregious abuse is the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where the social network allowed that third party company to collect private user data. It has led many to join the #DeleteFacebook movement, where angry users have terminated their accounts. Facebook has since apologized using full-page newspaper advertisements.

Unfortunately, there is yet another Facebook outrage happening at the same time -- it has been discovered that the company has been logging phone call and SMS information from Android users. Today, Facebook admits to the behavior, but it claims the blame is with users. In other words, Facebook is taking no responsibility.

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While replacing Windows 10 with a Linux-based operating system is a fairly easy exercise, it shouldn’t be necessary. Look, if you want a computer running Linux, you should be able to buy that. Thankfully you can, as companies like System76 and Dell sell laptops and desktops with Ubuntu or Ubuntu-based operating systems.

Another option? Buy a Mintbox! This is a diminutive desktop running Linux Mint — an Ubuntu-based OS. Today, the newest such variant — The Mintbox Mini 2 — makes an appearance. While the new model has several new aspects, the most significant is that the Linux Mint Team has switched from AMD to Intel (the original Mini used an A4-Micro 6400T).

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If you own a laptop with USB-C ports, and you like to sometimes connect to a monitor when working, I highly recommend investing in a home docking station. This will allow you to easily connect multiple accessories to your computer with a single cable. This is especially beneficial if your laptop supports charging over USB-C.

If you don’t do a lot of work with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, a pricey home dock might be overkill. Instead, an affordable portable multi-port adapter/dongle could be a better option. This can be an essential purchase if your laptop only has USB-C ports. Today, Satechi unveils its latest such adapter, and it looks incredible.

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Facebook is a pretty terrible experience. Yeah, as a social network, I guess it does its job of connecting friends, family, and colleagues, but its non-chronological interface makes it damn-near impossible to make sense of things. Not to mention, it is a privacy nightmare, expecting users to opt-out of data-slurping features using confusing settings. Don't even get me started on its spread of fake news. Ultimately, it is not user-friendly, and the company seems content with letting it remain that way.

The Cambridge Analytica scandal merely highlights things "conspiracy theorists" have long screamed about -- with Facebook, you are the product. While people were fairly accepting of trading their details for advertising, nobody expected that their Facebook use could impact the outcome of a presidential election! Hell, Donald Trump was arguably handed the election by a combination of Russian meddling and this Cambridge Analytica data misuse. After days of deafening silence, today, billionaire Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg finally admits his company's failures. Taking it a step further, he will face a public shaming tonight on CNN.

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Quality Android tablets are becoming increasingly rare on the consumer market. Why? There are many reasons, such as the adoption of large-screen smartphones. When your phone has a 6-inch screen, a 7- or 8-inch tablet can feel redundant. Not to mention, despite an arguably stronger economy, there are still many consumers that don’t have much disposable income.

Where Android tablets still have a fairly bright future is in the enterprise. For many jobs, sitting down with a laptop is not possible. Instead, being active with a tablet can be preferable. Today, Samsung unveils the Galaxy Tab Active2 -- a rugged Android 7.1 business tablet with integrated LTE (carrier unlocked). It is very rugged (MIL-STD 810G certified) making it great for dirty jobs -- even the S-Pen is rugged. And yes, it has USB-C.

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When buying RAM, I cannot stress enough just how important it is to buy a quality brand. Performance aside, troubleshooting bad memory sticks can be an exercise in frustration. When you do discover a defective stick (or sticks) of RAM, the RMA process can leave you without a working computer -- unacceptable. True, defective RAM can come from any company, but they are more likely from budget brands. That is why I urge you to please stick with quality companies, such as G.SKILL and HyperX (the gaming/enthusiast brand of Kingston).

Speaking of HyperX, today, the company announces that its popular FURY and Impact DDR4 memory kits are getting even faster. The former, which is for desktops, will now feature frequencies up to 3,466 MHz. The latter, which is designed for laptops and all-in-one systems, will now be available in speeds up to 3,200MHz.

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If you use Linux on the desktop, there is no shortage of great web browsers from which to choose. For instance, popular options like Firefox, Chrome, and Opera are all available. Thankfully, Microsoft Edge is nowhere to be found!

Firefox is probably the most appropriate web browser to use on Linux. Why? Well, Mozilla’s open source focus is largely aligned with the Linux community. Today, Firefox Quantum becomes even more attractive to Linux users as it is now available as a Snap.

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Is Linux Mint slow? Hell, no! The operating system is plenty fast. Speed is in the eye of the beholder, however, and the Mint developers apparently thought app-launching seemed slow when using the Cinnamon desktop environment. They didn't have any proof, but they felt that both Mate and Xfce were faster in this regard.

Well, rather than allow their feelings to remain unproven, the Mint devs decided to come up with a speed test to see if they were correct. Guess what? They were! Windows build time was four times slower with Cinnamon compared to Metacity, while recovery time was nearly four times slower too. So yes, app-launching on Cinnamon -- as of today -- is slow comparatively. The big benefit to pinpointing a problem, however, is that it is the first step in solving it. And so, Linux Mint 19 Cinnamon will be faster as a result.

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I am sick and tired of technology companies like Microsoft thinking they can impose their will on consumers. Just today, the company made a startling announcement -- it will now force links from the Windows Mail app to open in its own Edge web browser. In other words, whether you like it or not, even if Edge isn't your default browser, it will still be used for opening links from emails. This is unacceptable, and when combined with all of the other Windows 10 calamities, users should consider switching operating systems immediately.

Since macOS requires you to buy an entirely new computer from Apple, a Linux-based operating system is probably your best bet. By using Linux, you can finally reclaim your computer as your own -- not Microsoft's. Today, version 12.3 of Zorin OS is released, and it is the perfect OS to replace Windows 10. Hell, it can even run Windows programs (including Microsoft Office) with the help of the pre-installed and pre-configured Wine 3.

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Smartwatches are largely garbage. Whether Apple Watch or Android Wear, these wrist-worn nuisances don't do much beyond inducing anxiety by bombarding the wearer with notifications. If you are big into fitness, you might find some value, but for the most part, these devices are nothing more than a way for companies to grab cash from consumers as the smartphone market slows.

Apple Watch has seen significant success, although I suspect many buyers are simply getting them as status symbols -- not for an actual need. Android Wear, however, is a major disappointment -- both from a sales and satisfaction perspective. Just like Android smartphones, these watches face fragmentation and a lack of updates. Today, Google announces that it will try to polish the turd that is Android Wear by giving it a new name -- Wear OS.

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When you hear the name "ViewSonic," your mind probably thinks of monitors, and rightfully so. After all, that company has been making quality displays for many years.

But what if I told you ViewSonic is announcing an all-new Chromebox? It's true! The unimaginatively named "NMP660," as it is called, is a mini-desktop computer from the company that runs Google's Linux-based Chrome OS. You know what? It looks quite nice and is priced rather competitively. And yes, it has Google Play support for Android apps!

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If you want a convenient solution for playing media, Kodi should be at the top of your list. The free and open source media center is cross-platform, meaning it can run on most operating systems.

The best way to experience Kodi, however, is when it is the focus of a Linux-based operating system. For example, LibreELEC exists solely to run Kodi. Its lightweight nature allows it to run on fairly meager hardware, including Raspberry Pi. Today, a new version of LibreELEC is released. The main reason for this update is to add support for the newly released Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+.

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For Linux desktop users -- you know, people that just use a Linux-based operating system as a tool -- the desktop environment largely is the operating system. In other words, what's under the hood is sort of inconsequential. Hell, the distro might not even matter to the user as long as it is running their favorite DE. This is totally fine, as not everyone is a developer that is passionate about Linux or open source ideology.

For me -- and many others -- GNOME is the preferred desktop environment for Linux or BSD. It has an excellent support community, the most productive user interface, and comes with many useful native apps. Today, GNOME 3.28 becomes available, and it is full of improvements to make it the best version yet. It has the code-name 'Chongqing' because the 2017 Gnome.Asia conference was held in that Chinese city.

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Ultimate Ears Bluetooth speakers are just the tops. They are well built, sound great, and are reasonably priced. Its lowest cost offering, the WONDERBOOM, is a remarkable value at just $99. Heck, the little guy is waterproof and floats.

Today, the WONDERBOOM gets a makeover thanks to the all-new "Freestyle Collection." The internals remain the same (meaning it will still sound wonderful), but the outward design gets a fresh coat of paint with five new styles.

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One of the most important purchases a photographer can make is their memory card. Whether you are a professional or amateur photo-taker, you undoubtedly want to protect your images. This is why it is important to focus on reputable brands -- it isn't worth saving money by going with a lesser-known brand if your files get corrupted, right?

One company that has a great reputation is Kingston. It has long sold quality flash products. Today, the popular company unveils its new "Canvas" line of memory cards. They are available as both micro SD and SD, plus in various speeds and capacities. In other words, Kingston is aiming to meet the needs of many. There are three distinct Canvaas variants from which to choose -- Select, Go, and React.

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