Brian Fagioli

When I first saw the Kanguru Defender Bio-Elite30 flash drive, I was immediately intrigued. Having the ability to decrypt an encrypted flash drive with the touch of a finger was immensely convenient. And yes, convenience matters, as making encryption easy increases the likelihood that the user will actually use it. If encrypting files becomes too cumbersome, the user may not bother, leading to poor security practices.

Also cool was Kanguru's promise that it was operating system agnostic, meaning it would work with any OS, such as Windows, macOS, and desktop Linux distributions. I'd later find out that was only partially true, but more on that in a moment. It is even well-built -- the housing is a solid piece of aluminum that not only looks beautiful, but should lend to increased durability.

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Chrissy Teigen is an absolute delight. She is wildly popular, not only from her modeling, but from her wonderful social media accounts too. Apparently, her husband is rather famous as well. Teigen's spouse, named John Legend, is a notable singer and pianist.

Likely thanks to his marriage to Chrissy Teigen, Legend scored a pretty cool partnership with Google, lending his voice to Google Assistant. In other words, when summoning Google Assistant, you can be greeted by Chrissy Teigen's husband's voice. Sadly, this is coming to an end, as the search giant announces the partnership concludes later this month.

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Microsoft's Windows 10 is hardly a new operating system anymore. In fact, it has been available to the public for damn near five years now. And yet, despite existing half a decade, it still feels very incomplete. The Control Panel still hasn't been merged with Settings, for instance, and the user interface still feels like a work in progress. Hey, at least those terrible Live Tiles are seemingly on their way out. Ultimately, using Windows 10 feels like you are in a constant state of beta. It shouldn't be this way -- Microsoft's operating system should be much better than it is. After all, the company essentially has unlimited resources.

Thankfully, Linux is here to save the day. Yes, thanks to Linux distributions, computer users can experience a sane operating system -- one that actually makes sense. There are countless great Linux-based operating systems, such as MX Linux 19.1, Netrunner 20.01, elementary OS 5.1.2, and Manjaro 19.0. One of my favorite Linux distros -- particularly for those switching from Windows -- is the excellent Zorin OS. Why? Well, it is very secure, looks great, offers a familiar user experience, and comes with some great free software. Today, a new version of that operating system -- Zorin OS 15.2 -- becomes available for download, and it looks awesome.

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Are foldable smartphones the future? Maybe. With that said, they certainly are not the present. True, you can currently buy a smartphone with a flexible display from companies like Huawei, Samsung, and Motorola, but they are still very much early-adopter products. In other words, they are not only very expensive, but also, they are rather fragile and full of compromises. And so, most consumers would be wise to wait a couple years until flexible display products start to mature a bit.

Many companies are planning foldable smartphones for the future -- including Apple, I'd predict. An iPhone that unfolds into an iPad would be quite the impressive device. For now, Apple is mum on that. Today, however, one company -- TCL -- is making its plans quite apparent by unveiling two new concept phones. One is a trifold variant with two hinges, while the other is even crazier -- it is rollable! Yes, TCL has designed a phone that gets larger by utilizing a flexible display that rolls and unrolls -- it looks to be quite genius, actually.

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Android and iOS are both great mobile operating systems, but Apple's hardware is considered by many to be second to none. And so, for many years, it has been the dream of many to run Android on an iPhone. Obviously this isn't everybody -- I'd guess the majority of iPhone owners would never want to sully their precious device with a Google-made operating system. Then again, many of them run Chrome, Google Maps, Gmail and YouTube apps on their iPhone, so maybe the search giant's mobile OS wouldn't be looked down upon after all.

Well, regardless of your feeling on the subject, the bottom line is, you can now run Android on your iPhone -- as long as you have a compatible model that is. In fact, you may even be able to run Android on an iPod Touch. Best of all, this is not some old version of Google's mobile OS, but the latest and greatest Android 10! This is all thanks to a new hack called "Project Sandcastle" by Corellium -- a company Apple is already suing. And you'd better believe Steve Jobs (RIP) is rolling in his grave.

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System76 as an organization is a hero to the Linux community. For many years, the company has sold computers running Ubuntu, lending a legitimacy to the idea of Linux on the desktop. System76 even evolved beyond just selling computers — it now makes them too. Best of all, the computers are made in the USA. The company even maintains its own Linux distribution called “POP!_OS.”

Today, the company announces a cool new configuration choice for its homemade Thelio desktop computers. No, it isn’t anything that will impact performance, but still, it is very exciting — thee new color options!

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Nowadays, it feels like everyone wants to be a content creator. You know what, though? It is totally understandable. I mean, who wouldn't want to get paid for making YouTube videos or playing video games on Twitch? The sad reality is, not everyone can be an internet celebrity. For every Justine "iJustine" Ezarik or Ethan "h3h3" Klein getting rich on YouTube, there are thousands upon thousands of unknown people making no money. The bottom line is, not only must you have a great personality and something interesting to offer, but these days, you need quality recording equipment too.

If you think you have what it takes to be the next online content creator celebrity, or you just want to have fun -- money be damned -- JOBY has a new line of products that may interest you. This line offers many products that focus on lighting, audio, and more. These offerings should help you create better quality content.

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When shopping for mechanical keyboards, there is probably something you focus on -- key switch colors. If you aren't familiar, the color indicates how the switch will perform. Historically, these switches were designed by Cherry, but over time, keyboard manufacturers started creating their own variants. HyperX, for instance, has its own called HyperX Red (linear) and HyperX Aqua (tactile). They have slightly less travel distance (1.8mm) than some Cherry keys, but are rated to have a much longer lifespan.

Today, HyperX launches two new Alloy Origins Mechanical Gaming Keyboards that use its in-house Aqua switches. One is a full keyboard with a number pad, while the "Core" model is tenkeyless (no number pad). These keyboards are designed for gaming, but of course, they should be great for general use too. These new models feature a braided detachable USB-C to USB-A cable, but you can also use a USB-C to USB-C cable (such as this one) if you prefer. Both variants also have customizable RGB lighting, three on-board profiles, and three angle positions.

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Microsoft loves to release special editions of its Xbox One controllers, and consumers seem to really enjoy buying them. After all, if the controllers weren't selling well, it is doubtful Microsoft would bother. In other words, yes, these "special" controllers are just money-grabs, but hey, if people enjoy them, so be it.

Today, Microsoft announces two new special edition Xbox One controllers --  Phantom Magenta Special Edition and Arctic Camo Special Edition. The former is purple while the latter is a white/gray camouflage.

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A couple days ago, we shared some pretty great news with you -- Manjaro Linux 19.0 "Kyria" was finally available for download. This Arch-based operating system has exploded in popularity lately, so people were obviously excited to get the new version.

While Manjaro 19.0 initially came with three desktop environment options (GNOME, KDE, and Xfce) that obviously wasn't enough to please everyone. After all, this is the Linux community we are talking about here -- many users treat distros and desktop environments like tribalism. And so, MATE fans were sadly left out of the party. Today this changes, thankfully, as Manjaro MATE 19.0 is now available.

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YouTube TV is without a doubt the best streaming television service, but it is about to lose a lot of subscribers. You see, the TV service has lost the New York Yankees! As a New York Mets fan, this doesn't really bother me, but there are many hardcore Yankees fans in NY, and not watching their games is a huge deal breaker.

Sadly, YouTube TV sent out an email alert to its impacted subscribers in the New York area to tell them that at the end of this month, they are losing the Yes Network -- the channel that broadcasts the majority of Yankees games. In addition, FOX Regional Sports Networks will be dropped as well.

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The Raspberry Pi line has provided great little Linux computers to nerds -- its low price and small size makes it ideal for tinkering and doing projects. But also, the device has proven to be a solid media device, wonderful for watching videos and emulating classic video games. In other words, it has been a very versatile computer, serving as many things to many people.

With the release of the Raspberry Pi 4, however, it finally became powerful enough to serve as a true desktop computer. By installing a Linux distribution, some people can use it for day-to-day computer use, such as web browsing, playing media, and word processing. Unfortunately, the $35 base model came with a paltry 1GB of RAM. Today, this changes, as the company has dropped the price of the 2GB version to $35, effectively doubling the memory for the base model.

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There are so many Android phones on the market these days, that it can be hard to get excited. Look, Samsung recently released its Galaxy S20 devices, and for the most part, the world shrugged. Don't get me wrong, I am sure the S20 line is great and all, but overall, the phones have hardly got consumers excited. Not to mention, there are many budget Android smartphones coming out of China nowadays that are actually quite good -- many consumers are starting to wonder why they should continue shelling out the big bucks for the name-brand phones if they are just going to be incremental upgrades every year. Overall, the state of Android has been a bit... well... boring.

And so, today, LG announces its latest flagship, and I am sure you are wondering -- is it another boring Android phone? Actually. No. The "LG V60 ThinQ 5G," as it is called, is actually something that should get your heart beating faster. On the surface, it looks like a standard smartphone -- and it is -- but the beauty is all of the amazing specifications that the company crammed in here. LG is finally bringing some excitement back to the stagnant world of Android!

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Things would be much easier if everyone in the world spoke the same language, but sadly, we do not. Inconvenience aside, I suppose there is beauty in each and every language — it might be boring to only have one.

Thankfully, thanks to translation technology, it is much easier to communicate with people that speak a different language nowadays. Google Translate, for instance, is a great service that can help people around the world speak with each other. Today, the service gets even better, as the search giant adds five new languages.

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If you are a Linux user, you are undoubtedly in heaven right now. Recently, there have been updates to some truly excellent distributions, such as MX Linux 19.1, Netrunner 20.01, elementary OS 5.1.2, and OpenMandriva Lx 4.1. While I suppose having to choose from so many distros can be seen as a negative for some, I say it's a damn good problem to have!

Guess what? Things are getting a bit more crowded! Today, one of the most popular Linux distributions gets a new version. Yes, Manjaro Linux 19.0 is finally here! Named "Kyria," it can be had with your choice of three desktop environments -- Xfce 4.14, KDE Plasma 5.17, and GNOME 3.34. While Xfce is highlighted by the developers, the others two DEs are arguably superior.

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