Brian Fagioli

Kodi is an excellent open source media player that provides the user with an immersive experience. 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 Disney+ remain competitively priced, fewer folks are seeking pirated content nowadays.

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 some ARM devices like the Raspberry Pi 4. Following the release of Kodi 19 "Matrix," LibreELEC 10 BETA 1 finally becomes available for download. Sadly, support for the Raspberry Pi 0 and 1 is now discontinued.

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When you are a system builder, there are certain important aspects that can sometimes get overlooked. For instance, many builders will opt for a cheap power supply and then wonder why their system crashes or is unstable. I know a PSU isn't as exciting as a CPU, GPU, or RAM, but it is still an important component.

Another overlooked thing? Thermal paste -- that gooey stuff that sits between your processor and its cooler. True, some CPU coolers come with pre-applied thermal paste nowadays. And yes, that stuff is probably fine for most regular users. If you care about cooling, however, and you plan to overclock or game, you should wipe off that pre-applied junk and apply a better compound.

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If you love mini desktop computers like I do, you absolutely must check out Minisforum. This company produces unique NUC-like computers with beautiful designs and respectable performance. They can typically run both Windows 10 and Linux wonderfully. We recently tested out the Intel-powered Minisforum EliteMini H31G and came away very impressed.

As an AMD fan, however, I am extremely excited about the company's latest offering. Called "DESKMINI UM270," this miniature desktop computer is powered by a quad-core Ryzen 7 PRO processor and features Vega 10 graphics. While it comes with 16GB RAM standard, it will support up to 64GB. For storage, there are two capacities of NVMe SSDs -- 256GB and 512GB.

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System76 started its life as a Linux computer seller only. Essentially, the company would sell re-branded laptops with Ubuntu pre-installed. To provide a class-leading experience, however, System76 also provided top-notch customer service, helping Linux beginners get started with a little hand-holding when needed. This focus on service continues today, and it is largely responsible for the company's success and longevity.

Seeking to better control its own destiny, the company branched out from only being a computer-seller and transformed into a maker too. Its handcrafted Thelio desktops are powerful works of art, comprised of wood, metal, and good ol' fashioned American elbow grease. Yes, these Thelio machines are made in the USA -- Colorado, specifically.

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Earlier today, we told you about an all-new NVMe solid state drive from Lexar. That SSD looks quite nice, as it is both fast and affordable. Not to mention, the Lexar brand is synonymous with "high-quality." That company has been cranking out great memory products for many years.

Of course, Lexar is not the only trustworthy maker of SSDs. Along with more-known manufacturers like Samsung are lesser-known companies like Transcend. If you have shopped for storage products lately, you have probably come across Transcend, and yes, that brand can absolutely be trusted too. Today, Transcend launches its latest NVMe SSD. Called "MTE240S," it is designed for both content creators and gamers. With that said, it should be a solid choice for any computer user, really.

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There are many companies producing quality solid state drives these days in various capacities, speeds, and form factors. SATA variants are perfectly fine, but NVMe models are significantly faster. If your computer has an M.2 slot and supports NVMe, you should consider replacing your current SATA drive with one.

Today, Lexar releases a new solid state drive that looks to be pretty solid. Called "NM620," this M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3x4 NVMe SSD is not only fast, but rather affordable too.

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In an office setting, sometimes you can opt for an elegant desk layout, while other times, you can go the low-class route. For example, I once needed a monitor riser when working at a former employer, but there was no money in the budget for such things. What did I do? I used a ream of printer paper instead. Did it look nice? No, but it got the job done.

With all of that said, I’m a big believer in the benefits of having a classy workstation. Being proud of your work area can boost your confidence and lead to improved productivity. Today, StarTech.com launches a new height-adjustable monitor riser that is both beautiful and special. You see, not only can it increase the height of your computer monitor, but it has an integrated Qi wireless charger for your smartphone too. How cool is that?

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There are many companies producing quality solid state drives these days in various capacities, speeds, and form factors. SATA variants are perfectly fine, but NVMe models are significantly faster. With all brands considered, one company's offerings have stood out among the rest thanks to speed and reliability -- Samsung. Remarkably, the wildly popular company's storage drives are competitively priced too, making them an absolute no-brainer.

Today, Samsung launches its latest solid state drive. The "980 NVMe SSD" as it is called, is notable for not having added DRAM. Wait, isn't that normally a bad thing? For most drives, yes, but in this case, no. You see, the 980's use of Host Memory Buffer technology will make sure this drive has the performance consumers have come to expect from Samsung -- along with reliability and affordability too.

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Microsoft famously lost out on the mobile market when consumers largely rejected its Windows phones and embraced Apple and Google's offerings instead. This is a shame, as smartphones running Microsoft's Windows 10 Mobile were actually quite good -- they just lacked apps and third-party developer support. And so, Microsoft abandoned its mobile plans, ultimately embracing the Linux-based Android for the Surface Duo.

Following smartphones, the next big thing was voice assistants, and sadly, Microsoft lost there too, getting beat out by Amazon and Google. This is also unfortunate, as Microsoft's assistant, Cortana, was pretty great. Once again, however, consumers rejected it. And so, like Windows 10 Mobile, Cortana has been largely canceled, as the company slowly phases it/her out.

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TikTok is where all the cool people spend their time online nowadays. If you haven't tried the app before, I highly suggest that you do. The service is extremely addictive, and you can easily waste hours scrolling through the short videos.

The TikTok service is relevant for all age groups and caters to many interests. Best of all, over time, the algorithm will learn your behaviors and more frequently present you with content you are likely to enjoy.

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Do you remember Google Glass? It was the search giant's attempt at smart glasses, but it failed spectacularly. Why? Well, they were ugly, overly ambitious, and had a camera that made people nervous. So, yeah, consumers really weren't ready to have a computer on their face.

Razer has some new smart glasses that consumers may actually want, however. Called "Anzu," they feature Bluetooth audio, eye protection, and the ability to summon a smart assistant. Best of all, they resemble regular glasses, so you won't look like a giant nerd -- the way Google Glass made its users appear. Anzu even comes with swappable sunglass lenses, so they can protect your eyes from the sun -- not just a computer monitor.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has made life harder for pretty much everyone. People have lost jobs, businesses have closed, and worst of all, countless people have lost their lives. Thanks to the hard work of scientists, however, we finally have vaccines rolling out and normalcy is on the horizon.

Medical research surrounding COVID-19 isn't over though, as scientists still have plenty of work to do. Olek Wojnar, a developer of the Linux-based Debian operating system, has been working to help these scientists by packaging some software for easy installation on Linux. One of those packages was Google's build software Bazel. Upon finding out about Wojnar's efforts, Google offered to help with the process.

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There are a ton of portable USB-C docks on the market these days, and for the most part, they all do pretty much the same thing -- they turn one USB-C port into several other ports. Of course, the ports offered can vary from product to product, as can the design and overall quality. In fact, a low-quality dock can actually damage your computer -- Apple had to issue a macOS patch recently to protect against that very thing.

Satechi products are always high-quality, so if you are in the market for a dock, you can definitely trust its offerings. Today, that company launches its latest portable USB-C dock, and it looks great. The "USB-C On-the-Go Multiport Adapter," as it is called, offers a lot of expandability, including both VGA and HDMI for video. It even comes with two removable cables -- one of which is very short and can be stored inside the dock for ultimate portability.

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Every once in a while, storage card manufacturers will release cards that are branded for gaming. People often wonder if there is anything different about these cards that can actually benefit gamers. The answer is largely no. A storage card that is designed for gaming is really just marketing hype. With that said, there is nothing wrong with these cards, although they can carry a premium price.

Today, Lexar launches the PLAY microSDXC UHS-I Card for Nintendo Switch and mobile gaming devices such as Android phones and tablets. It should be a great choice for a Raspberry Pi too. This card has a beautiful red color and comes in capacities up to 1TB. Believe it or not, despite its gaming branding it really isn't overpriced. In fact, you can score one of these cards for less than $22.

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While solid state drives make wonderful internal boot drives for computers, they are also great options for external storage. Not only are they smaller than mechanical hard disk drives, but they use less power, and are much faster too. Quite frankly, if you are someone that needs to transport data on a portable drive, you'd be insane to still use HDD in 2021.

If you want a diminutive external solid state drive, you cant go wrong with Micron's Crucial X6 Portable SSD. Not only is the drive fast, durable, and small, but it utilizes USB-C too. Not to mention, its design is so cute -- I absolutely adore the square body and its rounded corners.

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