Brian Fagioli

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.

Continue reading →

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.

Continue reading →

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.

Continue reading →

Nowadays, video game consoles aren't just for gaming -- they also serve as media boxes, allowing owners to download or stream TV shows, movies, music, and more. This definitely increases their value, making them important devices for the entire family -- even for those that don't game.

With all of that said, Sony has decided to do something quite shocking, which is likely to upset many owners of both the PlayStation 5 and older PS4. You see, the company is discontinuing the ability to both rent and buy videos from the PlayStation Store. Wow.

Continue reading →

Back in January, we told you about Samsung's Galaxy Chromebook 2, including its specifications. This successor to the original is notable for being much more affordable while still being elegant and beautiful. And yes, Fiesta Red is still available as a color option -- along with the less-fun Mercury Gray.

Today, this Chrome OS convertible laptop with a 13.3-inch QLED touchscreen display finally becomes available for purchase. Pricing starts at just $549, and for a limited time, you will also get a $30 gift card to use on a future purchase, such as a laptop bag, mouse, or other accessory.

Continue reading →

We recently shared some very shocking news about Linux Mint users. Sadly, it turned out that users of that operating system were extremely irresponsible regarding updates. You see, Linux Mint developers spilled the beans on this upsetting trend -- many of its users weren't just a little behind in installing updates, but were running unsupported versions for more than a year!

This shows that not all Linux users are responsible, nor are they necessarily more knowledgeable than Windows users regarding computer maintenance. It also highlighted that the Linux Mint developers were doing a poor job in convincing users to update. And now, it seems the Linux Mint developers are taking a page out of Microsoft's playbook by planning to force some updates on its users. Yes, folks, Linux Mint is becoming more like Windows 10.

Continue reading →

Windows 7 and Windows 10 aren't terrible operating systems. In fact, they are both very good. With that said, the newest version of Windows 10 has many bugs. Unfortunately, since Windows 7 is no longer supported, its users are stuck in a conundrum. They have to decide whether to use an unsupported Windows 7 or upgrade to Windows 10 that is full of telemetry and other "spying" that passes their information to Microsoft's servers. That is a very difficult decision.

Thankfully, there is a better option -- just switch to Linux! Yes, modern Linux-based operating systems will be supported (unlike the now-obsolete Windows 7) and most will run great on aging hardware (unlike Windows 10). Linux Lite is one of the best Linux distributions for Windows-switchers, as it is lightweight, modern, and familiar.

Continue reading →

I've never seen a kangaroo in person, but I know they exist because I have seen them on the internet. The same goes for Mageia users. Never in my travels have I encountered someone that regularly uses that Linux-based operating system. True, meeting any fellow desktop Linux user in public is rare in and of itself, but when I have, they typically use something more common, such as Ubuntu or Fedora. I have only witnessed Mageia users on the internet.

So, yeah, Mageia is hardly the most popular Linux distribution, but it is fairly well-known -- by people in the Linux community, at least. For fans of that operating system, I have what should be very exciting news; following a fairly lengthy development period, and several pre-release versions, the stable Mageia 8 is finally ready for download!

Continue reading →

Do you ever get tired of the flashy designs that many gaming products have these days? I know I am personally fatigued by it sometimes. Look, I enjoy RGB lighting and computers that look like alien spaceships as much as the next guy, but sometimes I crave a more conservative design style.

And that is why I am very intrigued by Corsair's newest gaming mouse. Called "KATAR PRO XT," the device has a no-nonsense design that makes it appropriate for an executive's desk without being entirely boring. Best of all, it is very affordable -- you will be shocked by the low price.

Continue reading →

There are a lot of great desktop environments for Linux, such as Cinnamon, KDE Plasma, and Xfce to name a few. With that said, only one can be the best, and that is GNOME. If you prefer a different environment, you are simply wrong or ignorant on the subject. You know what? That's fine. As they say, ignorance is bliss, so if you are happy not using GNOME, more power to you.

For those of us superior Linux users that prefer GNOME, it is time to get excited. You see, the GNOME 40 beta is finally here. Yes, the next version of the desktop environment will be forty thanks to a new confusing naming scheme. This version of the DE is most notable for a series of UI changes, such as a horizontal workspace switcher and the movement of the Dash (favorites launcher) to the bottom of he screen (like the dock on macOS).

Continue reading →

It used to be, when you bought a computer, you could upgrade or repair parts when needed. Running out of storage? Upgrade the hard disk or solid state drive. Not enough memory? Add some RAM. Laptop battery no longer holding a charge? Just replace it. Over time, however, manufacturers have increasingly turned to soldering in components, making them virtually impossible to upgrade or replace.

Of course, we largely have Apple to blame for this trend, but other manufacturers are guilty too. We also must take a look at ourselves for enabling this customer unfriendly behavior. Hell, I bought a Mac mini recently that can't be upgraded at all. If the SSD, RAM, or other component fails, I will pretty much have to toss it in the trash. So, yes, I am personally guilty of this landfill-filling behavior.

Continue reading →

Kingston is a legendary company in the computing market, providing quality memory products for many years. Over time, it branched into the gaming business with its "HyperX" branding, expanding into products like mice, keyboards, headsets, and more. You know what? Gamers liked what HyperX was putting out, and it became a successful part of Kingston's business.

Fast forward to 2021, however, and Kingston is apparently ready to cash in on that success. You see, the company has agreed to sell HyperX to HP for $425M. Kingston seems to have won this deal, as HP will not get any of Kingston’s memory business, such as RAM and SSDs. In other words, HP spent damn near a half billion dollars on a gaming accessories business, while Kingston retains its longtime bread and butter.

Continue reading →

PC gamers usually come to a fork in the road when needing a new gaming rig -- build one or buy one. While building a PC can be rewarding, sometimes there are pre-built machines that are worth considering instead -- particularly when they are beyond what you can reasonably do yourself.

As an example, today, MSI launches the MEG Aegis Ti5 gaming desktop and it takes things to another level. It is powered by either an Intel Core i7-10700K or i9-10900K CPU and either a GeForce RTX 3070 or 3080 graphics card. What makes this computer unique, however, is its gorgeous chassis -- it looks futuristic. The case even has a special LED dial on the front for quick and easy tweaks.

Continue reading →

Here at BetaNews, we report on many Linux distribution releases, because, well, there are a lot of them. Not all of these operating systems are great, and only a handful are legitimate replacements for Windows 10. With that said, Microsoft's operating system is very good, so if you are happy with Windows, you should probably just stick with it. Don't switch for the sake of change, folks.

Unfortunately, some people strongly dislike Windows 10, and they are eager to move onto a Linux-based alternative. If that is you, I have some great news. One of the best Windows alternatives, Netrunner, has a new version. The Debian-based operating system, which uses the excellent KDE Plasma desktop environment, now sits at version 21.01 and carries the moniker "XOXO."

Continue reading →

Linux users are more knowledgeable regarding computer maintenance than Windows users, right? Maybe. That is certainty up for debate. With that said, Linux user may not be very responsible computer users. Well, Linux Mint users, at least.

You see, in a stunning development, it turns out Linux Mint users are often very behind in installing both operating system and application updates. In other words, Linux Mint users are often running outdated software, which could be no longer supported, or even worse, it could contain exploitable vulnerabilities. For example, a surprisingly high number of these users are running Linux Mint 17.x, which is unsupported since 2019!

Continue reading →