Brian Fagioli

Here in the good ol' USA, we take a lot of our blessings for granted. Sure, we aren't perfect-- there is poverty in all places -- but a large part of this country has access to things like clean water and internet access. Sadly, there are plenty of people globally without access to either of those aforementioned things. While water is obviously essential for life, internet access is crucial for knowledge -- especially in regions where access to formal education is limited.

Today, Facebook announces an open source wireless access platform called 'OpenCellular'. The goal of this project is to connect more citizens of the globe to the internet. According to the social network, there are still 4 billion folks that don't have access -- shocking. OpenCellular could contribute to lowering that number.

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Facebook is a social network that I use begrudgingly, but it sometimes does have value in my life. For instance, its "Memories" feature periodically shows me photos from the past on their anniversary of being uploaded. Sometimes a now-deceased relative pops up and it feels like a "hello" from heaven. It's a killer feature.

Unfortunately for Mark Zuckerberg and company, rival attention-thief Snapchat seems to be borrowing this feature a bit. Also called "Memories", it too aims to leverage photos -- plus videos -- as memories, but in a more robust way. Will millennial users want such a thing?

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Nowadays, everyone seems to be obsessed with cloud storage. While there is nothing wrong with utilizing the aforementioned storage option, it should never be your only method. In other words, redundancy is key -- a local backup of your files in addition is very wise.

When it comes to local backups, there are many directions to take, such as a mechanical hard drive. Unfortunately, hard drives have moving parts, are audible, and can be fairly large. Solid state drives are a great choice for storage, and today, we are giving away a USB 3.0 variant.

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The OnePlus 3 is reportedly a great smartphone -- reviews have been glowing. The big selling point, however, is the low price. The company's smartphones are viewed by many to be the antithesis of the high-priced offerings of the big-names; a revolution, if you will.

Unfortunately for those in the UK, the price won't be as low for very long. Due to the infamous Brexit -- the state's decision to leave the European Union -- the British pound has lost a lot of value. As a result of the currency's decline, OnePlus is raising the price of its latest smartphone in the UK.

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Katy Perry is one of my favorite pop artists. Why? Longevity. Many such singers have very short shelf lives. Having just one hit song is rarified air, but Perry keeps them coming. Her long string of hits is quite remarkable, actually.

Not only is she wildly popular with music sales and YouTube views, but social media too. You see, Katy Perry is the first ever person to achieve 90 million Twitter followers. In other words, her Tweets can reach more people than the entire population of the UK!

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If you are a die-hard Microsoft fan, there is one designation that would probably put you over the moon -- MVP. Yeah, many people want to be considered a most valuable person, but not everyone gets the nod.

Today, the new queen of the Windows Insider program, Dona Sarkar, makes an exciting announcement. You see, there is a new category that will focus specifically on Microsoft's operating system -- 'Windows Insider MVP Program'.

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Fourth of July is coming up this Monday, and tomorrow is Friday. This is significant in the business world, as many folks transform a three-day weekend into four by taking off the Friday before a holiday. In other words, it is a great way to get a mini-vacation while only sacrificing a single vacation day.

Apparently, Dona Sarkar and team are getting an early start on celebrating USA Independence. In anticipation of the extended weekend, she is setting off some fireworks -- figuratively speaking, that is. Today, Microsoft releases Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14379 for PC and Mobile to the fast ring.

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As we approach the Fourth of July weekend, I begin thinking about independence. I am very proud of my forefathers for defeating the British -- our now-ally -- and creating our great nation, the USA.

With that said, there are other things from which you can declare independence -- such as Windows 10. Look, I think Microsoft's desktop operating system is pretty good, although I understand that some folks are fearful of spying and forced-upgrade behavior. If you want to be free from Microsoft and Windows, I have good news -- today, Linux Mint 18 is finally available. Will you download it and declare your independence?

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For every successful business you see, there are many more that fail. In other words, having a long lasting company is not an easy feat -- the odds are stacked against business owners. To make matters worse, the economy has been truly horrific for a while now, making success even harder.

One such company that is thriving is SteelSeries. In fact, next month, the gaming-focused accessory maker will celebrate a 15th birthday. While tradition dictates that SteelSeries should receive gifts for its birthday, it is instead flipping the script. You see, the company is giving away $40,000 in prizes to mark the occasion -- including a trip to Valve HQ and a hardcore gaming laptop! Want to enter? Keep reading, y'all...

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When Amazon launched its Kindle 'with offers', some folks likely groaned at the prospect of getting a discount on the device in exchange for advertisements. Me? I loved it. Seeing advertisements doesn't bother me, and I find a lower cost for the hardware to be a reasonable trade-off.

Today, Amazon announces that it is expanding the program beyond its own hardware. Prime members exclusively can now buy unlocked Android phones with ads on the lock screen. If you are OK with this, you can score some extreme discounts -- up to 50 percent off! Initially, there are just two devices being offered, the Moto G (2016) and BLU R1 HD.

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Micro SD cards are small enough -- any smaller and it would be downright ridiculous. Think about it, folks, they are already too easy to lose. A better way to push the envelope with these miniature storage cards is speed and capacity.

Today, Western Digital announces the SanDisk Extreme 256GB microSDXC UHS-I, which it claims to be the world's fastest such card. Whether you are recording 4K video on a GoPro, or accessing files on your smartphone, the storage media can never be too fast, am I right? In addition to the aforementioned card, the company also announces the less-expensive and slightly slower 256GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-I card, Premium Edition.

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The golden rule of password security is never use the same credentials on multiple sites. The idea is if one site suffers a breach, hackers can try the now-stolen credentials on other sites. This makes sense, yet many people still do it. You know what? I don't blame them. It can be impossible to remember all of the unique passwords, and writing them down is frowned upon too. What can be done to fix this?

Enter biometrics. Rather than use a password, a user's face or fingerprint can be used. More and more smartphones, tablets, and laptops are offering biometics, but sadly, the web is lacking. Consumers are understandably frustrated, and according to a new survey, more than half of them would prefer biometrics to passwords for daily use.

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Windows 10 is a great desktop operating system, and for the most part, OEMs have manufactured some solid hardware to showcase it. Respectable companies like HP and Dell have done Microsoft proud with some truly satisfying touch-friendly laptops. Unfortunately, Microsoft has been a bit deficient with its Surface line. Don't get me wrong, the Pro 4 and Book are pretty good choices, but there have been many known bugs, and they are quite expensive.

There's a new player in the Windows world, however, and its looking to outdo Microsoft at its own Surface game. Huawei -- a well-known company in China -- is looking to make a name for itself in the USA. Its all-new affordable MateBook Windows 10 tablet/laptop hybrid is the company's biggest move yet. In such a crowded Windows 10 device world, is this computer worth your money?

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When Google Earth was first released, it was life-changing. While people take it for granted now, seeing aerial views of the entire planet -- including something as mundane as your neighbor's roof -- was something many folks never thought possible. This satellite imagery is now used in other mapping solutions, such as the ubiquitous Google Maps, giving us the ability to see the world from the comfort of our homes.

Google's satellite imagery looks great, but as those in the tech world know, there is no such thing as "good enough". Better is always just around the corner, and today, the search giant announces that its imagery has been improved.

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Chromebooks are wonderful computers for many reasons. Besides often being affordable, they are based on the Linux kernel, which creates a rock-solid foundation. They feature a largely malware free experience thanks to its focus on the web rather than local storage. With that said, Google's delivery of the Play Store and locally-installed Android apps to the web-based platform is going to change everything -- maybe for the better. From a security perspective, it could be for the worse.

Today, HP announces the Chromebook 11 G5. This all-new Chrome OS laptop is extremely affordable, starting at less than $200. The real news, however, is that this low-cost machine can be equipped with an optional touchscreen, which HP is offering as a way to future-proof for eventual Android app usage.

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