Brian Fagioli

Reading books is for nerds, right? Well, that depends on your definition of "nerd," I suppose. While I must confess to not being a regular reader, I greatly admire those that are. Reading is surely a better way to spend time than mindlessly watching sports on TV -- something I am quite guilty of doing.

So no, reading is not for nerds, nor is it nerdy -- it is quite the respected hobby, actually. And thanks to technology, many folks now read eBooks -- paper books are so last century. While Amazon is likely the most popular company for selling digital books via Kindle, it should not be forgotten that Google does this as well. In fact, Google Play Books (the search giant's book store), is celebrating a 10th Birthday this week. Time really flies, eh?

Video doorbells are friggin' awesome. For my home, I rely on the Arlo smart doorbell and I couldn't be happier with it. Arlo's offering was very easy to install, but more importantly, it lets me know when there is any activity at my front door, such as food delivery people, packages, the occasional nighttime raccoon, and more. For a few dollars a month, I can even save recordings to the cloud.

Of course, not all video doorbells are the same. For instance, you should avoid Amazon's Ring Doorbells as there are too many privacy red flags surrounding it. While Arlo is great, another respected company is getting into the doorbell game. You see, Logitech has launched the Circle View Doorbell, and it looks like a solid product. Unfortunately, it only works with Apple HomeKit, meaning Android users should look elsewhere.

Are you rich? Me neither. While I am not poor, I work hard for my money, and I am not about to waste it on frivolous things. So when I saw the price of Apple's new AirPods Max wireless headphones, I nearly fainted. Are you ready for this, folks? The company is asking $550! Seriously. Oh, Apple...

Don't get me wrong, they actually look like nice over-ear headphones. I really like the design; they look well-made and comfortable. And of course, Apple has all kinds of fancy technology to try and justify the asking price. But let's cut out the marketing for a moment and be honest -- you'd be a fool to spend so much money. Hell, these beautiful Audio-Techinca Bluetooth headphones can be had for less than a third of the price!

Believe it or not, you really can use just some Apple devices without buying into the ecosystem entirely. Using myself as an example, I own an iPhone and iPad, but I don't own a Mac -- I instead use Linux and Windows on the desktop. I also don't have an Apple Watch or AirPods. I do, however, own a couple of Apple TV boxes for media.

For smart home assistants, I chose Google rather than the Siri-enabled HomePod. The problem, however, is I am a hardcore Apple Music user, and while I can use that service on pretty much any platform, it has not been available on Google Assistant-enabled devices such as the Nest Audio or Nest Hub. This means I haven't been able to call upon Google with my voice to play my favorite tunes from Apple Music. Thankfully, this finally changes today!

With the iPhone 12 series of smartphones, Apple went all-in on magnets with its all-new MagSafe technology. I say "all-new" as it is not the same MagSafe used in older MacBook computers -- Apple is simply reusing the name. This new MagSafe is essentially a "wireless" charger (with a wire) that connects to the back of the iPhone magnetically. It's kind of weird, and sort of cool, but yeah, it requires an iPhone 12.

With all of that said, popular accessory-maker Satechi has its own MagSafe-compatible cable on the way. While it looks nicely made, I am not entirely sure why it exists. It is $10 less than Apple's version, which is appreciated, but it apparently maxes out at 7.5 watts -- half the potential wattage of Apple's model (I have reached out to the company to clarify). The Satechi Magnetic Wireless Charging Cable is about 2-feet longer, however.

Back in June, System76 launched its first-ever laptop powered by AMD processors. Called "Serval WS," that computer was a beastly portable workstation with desktop-class CPUs -- not AMD's highly praised Ryzen 4000 mobile processors which offer performance and impressive battery life.

But now, System76 is teasing exactly that. Called "Pangolin," this upcoming laptop from the company will have two Ryzen 4000 mobile processor options -- the Ryzen 5 4500U and AMD Ryzen 7 4700U. In other words, this should be the Linux laptop for which AMD fans (that are also road warriors) have been clamoring.

Manjaro is one of the most popular Linux-based operating systems these days, and it isn't hard to see why. It is based on the rock-solid Arch, but unlike that distro, Manjaro is very easy to install and use. In other words, it has all the benefits of Arch, but without the hassles and headaches. This makes it a great choice for both Linux experts and beginners.

Today, Manjaro 20.2 "Nibia," becomes available for download with a trio of desktop environment options -- Xfce (4.14), GNOME (3.38.2), and KDE Plasma (5.20.4). All three DEs are excellent, but Xfce is what the developers consider the "flagship." With that said, the official release announcement claims the GNOME variant has received a bulk of the changes in Nibia.

M.2 NVMe solid state drives are much faster than 2.5-inch SATA versions -- the former is clearly the future. And yet, companies continue to manufacture new models of the latter. But why? It is quite simple -- many computers don't have M.2 ports, so those types of drives are of no use to people with older computers. Not to mention, SATA SSDs are still fast enough, making them great drop-in upgrades.

With all of that said, today, Lexar launches a new 2.5-inch SATA SSD. Called "NQ100," it is rather unremarkable, making it just another SATA drive on the market. However, its affordable $36.99 starting price should make it attractive for those on a budget -- especially consumers upgrading from a mechanical hard drive.

If you're like me, almost nothing is as exciting as building a new PC. Picking out the perfect components from stores like Amazon and Newegg can feel like being a kid in a candy shop. It is just so much fun to select a processor, motherboard, RAM, power supply, and more.

Over time, computer components get better and faster, and next year, we are apparently going to see a huge upgrade to RAM. You see, the PC memory market has been a bit stale, as we have been using DDR4 for quite a while now. Well, in 2021, company TEAMGROUP is promising to deliver next-generation DDR5 RAM sticks!

YouTube TV is the best streaming TV service, but it is not perfect. For instance, over the years, prices have gone up significantly. While Google has added some great channels, the search giant has lost some too -- including some regional sports channels. As a Knicks fan, I am still waiting for MSG to be added, but since the team is so bad, I am OK missing those basketball games.

While I am not a fan of tennis, I know many people are. Sadly, I received an email from YouTube TV tonight that is sure to anger fans of that sport. You see, YouTube TV has lost the Tennis Channel.

Today is Cyber Monday! Woo hoo! It is one of the best shopping days of the year. There are deals to be had on many tech products, and like every year, video game consoles are in high demand. In 2020, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 are all the rage, but there is one big problem with those game systems -- they don't have Mario, Luigi, or other Nintendo mascots!

If you are a Nintendo fan like me, it doesn't matter that the Switch is less powerful than the newest Xbox or PlayStation consoles, as it has game titles you can't get anywhere else. If you need to buy a Nintendo Switch console for the holidays, I have some incredible news -- there is a new special-edition Fortnite version that is available starting today. This Nintendo Switch Fortnite Wildcat Bundle will be highly sought after, so you need to act fast.

As we start to approach the end of 2020, and we reflect on the year, AMD stands out as one of the biggest success stories. The company's desktop and laptop processors absolutely destroyed Intel, disrupting the CPU market entirely. It was once thought that Intel was unbeatable, but if 2020 taught us anything, it's that nothing (good or bad) is impossible.

For those of you that love both AMD processors and mini desktop computers, I have some very exciting news. You see, ASRock has launched a mini PC that it claims is the world's thinnest AMD desktop. Called "Mars 4000U Series," its chassis is less than a liter! It is a bare-bones system, meaning you need to add your own RAM and storage.

Is LibreOffice better than Microsoft Office? No, and it's not even close. Say what you want about Microsoft, but Office is in a league of its own -- the best productivity software on the market.

Why would anyone not use Microsoft Office? Well, for one, it costs money -- potentially hundreds of dollars. Secondly, it is not available on all operating systems. Linux users, for instance, simply can't use Microsoft Office (except the web version). Not to mention, Microsoft Office is closed-source software, and some folks only want to use open source options.

TCL is on a come-up in a big way. The company's televisions are wildly popular thanks to their low prices and excellent features, and its smartphones are disrupting the industry. For instance, the wonderful TCL 10 5G UW can be had for a song -- a mere $120 when you sign up for a Verizon Unlimited plan. That's definitely the best early Black Friday deal I have seen.

TCL is not only about smartphones and televisions, however. For instance, the company makes tablets too. Today, it launches new wireless earbuds that rival Apple AirPods at a fraction of the price. Called "MOVEAUDIO S150," these Bluetooth 5.0 earbuds are chock-full of cool features -- they are waterproof, have touch controls, and the charging case uses USB-C.

We here at BetaNews are huge fans of the Raspberry Pi line of computers. These little devices have many uses, such as tinkering, education, and more. Heck, you can even turn them into excellent media boxes or video game emulation systems.

With Raspberry Pi 4, however, the tiny computer became a viable desktop computer -- particularly the model with 8GB of RAM. You can install Ubuntu, for instance, and have a full desktop experience. Best of all, the 8GB variant can be had for just $75.