Brian Fagioli

For some software, major version numbers are handed out all willy-nilly. For instance, as of today, the Google Chrome web browser sits at version 81, while Mozilla Firefox is at 75. Meanwhile, the Linux kernel is at version 5.x after 29 years! Ultimately, version numbers are determined by the developers and have different levels of meaning -- there are no definitive rules.

Of course, there is one version number that is universally regarded as one of the most important -- 1.0. It is this number that typically (but not always) tells the world that software has left pre-release status and is ready for prime-time. Well, today, Inkscape 1.0 is released for Linux, Windows and macOS. Hilariously, this number is being designated more than 16 years after the initial release of the vector graphics editor! Despite its sub-one version for more than a decade-and-a-half, the open source software has become a trusted and essential tool for people all over the world.

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Video games may be more popular than ever these days, but the truth is, they simply aren’t as fun as they used to be. Sadly, game developers focus too heavily on graphics and in-game purchases than actual gameplay. And so, in 2020, a true gamer is better served by playing video game ROMs from yesteryear, from systems like NES, SNES, Genesis, and N64.

Thankfully, there’s no shortage of ways to play classic video game ROMs nowadays. You can even use inexpensive hardware like the Raspberry Pi line of computers to easily get them onto your TV screen. If you have the latest such device, the Raspberry Pi 4, I have some great news — you can finally use the Linux-based RetroPie for your classic gaming fun.

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Hamburgers are wonderful, but there is something even better -- cheeseburgers. Yes, by simply putting a piece of cheese onto a hamburger, you create something different and better. In the Linux world, Ubuntu is a hamburger, System76 is a slice of American cheese, and Pop!_OS is the cheeseburger. Jeez Louise, I am hungry now... but I digress. In other words, Pop!_OS is based on Ubuntu, and System76 (the Pop!_OS developer) essentially makes Ubuntu better by adding tweaks and other improvements.

Today, Pop!_OS 20.04 LTS becomes available for download. This is only a week removed from the official Ubuntu 20.04 release, but System76 has obviously been working on it for much longer. It features some really cool new features, such as "Auto-tiling" which arranges and organizes all of your open app windows to best maximize your screen real estate. There is even improved graphics options plus Flatpak support being baked into the Pop!_Shop.

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If you are into digital photography, picking a camera is only part of the equation -- you also need to buy a storage card. Nowadays, this is most likely going to be an SD card, but there are cameras that use other types, such as microSD and CompactFlash. If your computer doesn't have an integrated card reader, you may need to get a USB variant -- that is probably the easiest and fastest way to transfer the photos.

Over on Amazon, there are lots of USB card reader models to be had, but many of them are by unknown brands with questionable quality. Trust me, you don't want to corrupt or damage your card because you bought a cheap reader -- your photos are worth more than that. Instead, you should stick to a reputable brand. Today, one such brand, Lexar, unveils two new readers -- one is a 2-in-1 model, while the other is 3-in-1. Neither are revolutionary, but they look to be well-designed and are reasonably priced.

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RGB makes everything better, right? Keyboards, mice, RAM, and more — all are improved by the beautiful lighting effects. As far as I’m concerned, RGB lighting should be in everything. Hell, I’d be happy to have an RGB toilet bowl!

And now, RGB fans have yet another product to gush over — a USB flash drive. Yes, TEAMGROUP has managed to cram RGB into a thumb drive, and it is actually more than just cosmetic. Called “T-FORCE SPARK RGB,” the drive’s lighting color changes to tell the user the available storage capacity. For instance, the light will be blue when the drive is less than 81% full. When storage is between 81% and 92%, the color changes to yellow, and when 93% and above, it turns red. Cool, huh?

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The Fedora operating system may be named after a hat, but I consider it more similar to an old, worn-in, pair of sneakers. It may not be the trendiest or  flashiest Linux distro, but it is comfortable as hell. Sure, Manjaro and MX Linux may be what the "cool kids" are using these days, but Fedora remains the reliable Linux distribution that is always there for you -- fast, stable, and focused on open source. An old comfortable shoe.

Today, Fedora 32 becomes available for download. It comes with GNOME 3.36 which you can read more about here. If you don't like GNOME, it isn't the end of the world -- you can instead choose KDE Plasma, Cinnamon, MATE, and more. There is even a special ARM variant of Fedora 32 that will work with Raspberry Pi devices.

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There are some really great things happening in the solid state storage market lately. For instance, OWC just launched a 4TB M.2 drive, while Silicon Power released a very thin external SSD. KINGMAX even announced a super-fast NVMe PCIe Gen4x4 SSD. What a time to be alive!

Today, Kingston unveils a solid state drive that isn’t revolutionary, but it is still quite cool. Called “KC2500,” it is an M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe Gen3x4 SSD. Best of all, it is quite affordable, with pricing starting below $74.

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Other World Computing (also known as OWC) is a very Apple-centric company. Its products are typically designed for Mac computers, such as the iMac, Mac Pro, and MacBook to name a few. Hell, the company's website is MacSales.com -- what does that tell you? Despite primarily focusing on Apple products, its offerings aren't exclusive to Mac. Many of its storage, memory, and docking products are compatible with Windows and Linux computers too.

OWC's latest storage product is sure to be cross-platform, as it is merely a solid state drive. The SSD is a very fast M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe variant, but that isn't what makes it so exciting. Actually, it is the capacity -- an insane 4TB! And yes, as you can expect, the 4TB Aura P12 M.2 NVMe SSD (S3DN3P2T40) is quite expensive.

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Ubuntu 20.04 was released this past Friday, and Linux fans around the world were understandably excited. However, "when it rains, it pours," as they say, because not only is Fedora 32 right around the corner, but today, yet another top-tier distribution gets a new release. This time, it is the Arch Linux-based Manjaro 20, which is code-named "Lysia."

The newest version of the wildly popular operating system can be had with your choice of three desktop environments -- Xfce, GNOME, and KDE Plasma. All three are great, but Xfce is the default for Manjaro. In version 20 of the OS, Xfce gets bumped up to 4.14. Manjaro 20 "Lysis" also gets Linux kernel 5.6 and a new ZFS installation option in Architect. Pamac 9.4 package manager gets support for both flatpaks and snaps by default -- very cool.

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Bluetooth headphones are no longer the future of portable audio — they are the present. Since Apple courageously killed the 3.5mm audio jack on the iPhone, and many Android manufacturers followed suit, wireless headphones have exploded in popularity. And yes, Apple AirPods are leading the trend.

The thing is, while AirPods are very popular, they aren’t necessarily the best. In fact, if you are an Android user, you should absolutely look elsewhere. Today, Audio-Technica launches its newest in-ear Bluetooth headphones, and they put Apple AirPods to shame. Called “QuietPoint ATH-ANC300TW,” they feature 4.5 hours of listening time, but the USB-C charging case adds 13.5 more. You even get replaceable tips so you can find the most comfortable fit.

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Apple Music and Spotify are both great streaming music services, but the former is just a bit better than the latter. Apple’s offering has a much more intuitive user interface, and its curated playlists are second to none. Apple Music is now available on most platforms too, such as iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux — thanks to the new web client.

Starting today, Apple Music is now available on many newer Samsung smart televisions as well. This is quite remarkable, as Apple and Samsung are fierce competitors in the smartphone market. As Apple becomes more and more focused on services, however, the company is apparently becoming more open to working with former “enemies.”

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There are many desktop Linux distributions these days, but only a handful are significant enough to cause widespread excitement. None have the mainstream attention that Ubuntu does, however -- it is undoubtedly the most popular desktop Linux-based operating system on the planet. Hell, what other distro got mentioned on the wildly popular TV show The Big Bang Theory?

But why is Ubuntu so popular? Despite what some critics may say, Ubuntu's popularity and admiration are absolutely warranted -- there's a reason the distro has been trusted by so many people over the years. Not only is the operating system beautiful, easy to use, and very stable, but there are countless packages and repos available for it, making it a wise choice for both beginners and experts alike. Not to mention, it has a very large online community, making it is easy to find help if needed. Plus, these days, it uses the overall best desktop environment -- GNOME.

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Back in the day, external storage drives were great for portability, but were typically very slow compared to internal storage drives. Nowadays, however, thanks to PCIe solid state drives that interface with either USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3, the convenience of external storage doesn’t mean having to sacrifice performance. There are some very fast portable SSDs out there, and they are typically quite small too.

Today, Patriot launches its latest external SSD, and it is a fast little beast. It is essentially an internal M.2 PCIe NVMe drive housed in a sleek enclosure. The diminutive drive connects via USB-C and provides both read and write performance up to 1,000MB/s. Its aluminum body doesn't just look good, but should lend to extra durability too. It even comes with both USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to USB-A cables in the box.

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Windows 7 and Windows 10 aren't bad operating systems. In fact, they are both quite good. Unfortunately, since Windows 7 is no longer supported, some of 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.

Well, I am happy to say there is another option -- switch to Linux. Yes, modern Linux-based operating systems will be supported (unlike 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. Today, the first release candidate of Linux Lite 5.0 becomes available, and it is based on the bleeding-edge Ubuntu 20.04. It even comes with modern software, such as Linux kernel 5.4.0, Gimp 2.10.18, Thunderbird 68.7.0, Firefox 75.0, and VLC 3.0.9.

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Dynabook's Portégé X-Series laptop line is one of my favorites. While they are primarily aimed at business users, they make superb consumer notebooks too. The elegant magnesium alloy bodies feel premium -- it is very pleasing to touch. They also have great keyboards with well-spaced keys, accurate trackpads, beautiful touch screens, and they can be configured with some very cutting-edge specifications too. They even have that classic pointing nub that some folks really love.

Today, the company announces a trio of new models of its thin and light Portégé X-Series Windows 10 laptops that come with bleeding-edge 10th Gen Comet Lake Intel Core processors -- i5-10210U or i7-10510U, depending on configuration. CPU aside, you also get Thunderbolt 3 and Wi-Fi 6 -- two very modern features. In addition, you can choose between 8GB or 16GB of RAM and either a 256GB or 512GB SSD for storage. Best of all, all three laptops are certified as "Secured-core PCs" by Microsoft, meaning they feature enhanced security.

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