Brian Fagioli

There is absolutely nothing wrong with loving technology. If you are delighted and excited by computers, smartphones, and other devices, that is perfectly normal. Heck, I am guilty of this myself -- my desktop computer is one of my most prized possessions. After all, I built it piece by piece -- it is almost like my child. Almost...

Let's be honest though -- computers are just things that can be replaced. OK, true, maybe the data on the machine is irreplaceable, but even then, your life is worth more than anything stored on the computer’s drive. And that is why I am heartbroken today. You see, I stumbled across an article from CBS San Francisco about an adult man that died tragically -- trying to recover his laptop from thieves.

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With cloud storage gaining in popularity, flash drives have fallen out of favor with many consumers. Maybe that's not such a bad thing, as USB flash drives are easy to lose and are susceptible to failure -- the cloud is arguably more safe and secure. With that said, there will always be a need for local storage, as sometimes you can't trust, say, company secrets, to the cloud. Hell, I used a USB flash drive for an operating system installation just yesterday -- they absolutely still have value.

It is hard to get excited about USB flash drives though, right? I mean, aren't they all the same? Actually, no! They can vary on things like build quality and performance. That's why the new Transcend JetFlash 910 USB flash drive piqued my interest. Not only are both read and write speeds very impressive, but the build quality looks great too -- it features an elegant aluminum body.

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Linux Mint is a great operating system, but with the most recent version (19.3 "Tricia"), there was some shocking news -- GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) was being removed! Crazy, right? I mean, of all of the great software available for Linux, GIMP is one of the best. It is an essential image editing tool that rivals Adobe Photoshop.

So, why did Linux Mint remove it as a pre-installed program? The developers thought the software was too advanced for newer Linux users. While I think that is a bit of nonsense, I can understand why the Mint developers would want to cater to beginners. Thankfully, it is totally easy to install GIMP on a new Linux Mint 19.3 installation.

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With 2019 almost over, we turn our sights to a new decade with 2020. Soon we will celebrate the new year by partying, eating good food, and watching the Times Square Ball drop on TV. Sadly, Dick Clark is dead, but his legacy lives on through Ryan Seacrest.

But what if you want to celebrate 2020 in a more... nerdier way? Well, I have some good news. Calculate Linux 20 is now available for download! Yes, the Gentoo-based operating system is ready to be installed on your computer. Since it is version 20, that makes it perfect for ringing in 2020.

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Well, folks, Christmas 2019 is now in the rear view mirror. Hopefully you and your family had a wonderful holiday. Following Christmas, there is one big important tradition -- Amazon's bragging! Yes, every year, the online retailer loves to brag about its successful holiday shopping sales. They are always the best ever, of course, and this year, things are no different.

Yup, Amazon is claiming that it had record-breaking sales during the 2019 holiday shopping season. While the company doesn't share actual sales numbers, I actually don't doubt its claims. This year, when I went to brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday (and the days after), the stores were clearly experiencing a huge drop in foot traffic. In other words, Amazon has seemingly continued its trend of cannibalizing traditional retailers, but this year, it seemed much more dramatic. Hell, I ended up doing 90 percent of my own Christmas shopping on Amazon and I don't even have Prime!

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Santa Claus is absolutely real; he lives in the hearts and minds of all true believers of Christmas. Is it possible for one man to deliver gifts to every house in the world in one night? Under normal circumstances no, but Santa Claus is magic -- you must throw all logic and science out the window.

Need proof that Santa Claus is real? Every year, Google provides a way to track the jolly fat man as he makes his journey around the world. Yes, Google's official Santa Tracker is an annual tradition, and in 2019, it continues. As usual, the search giant delivers activities beyond mere tracking, such as an interactive Santa Village. This year, there is a holiday-themed bedtime story for kids called "Ollie Under the Sea." There is even a very cool augmented reality Santa Claus you can summon by searching for "Santa Search" on mobile and clicking the "3D" button.

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There is no shortage of great memory modules these days, with many manufacturers catering to both gamers and enthusiasts. Prices are quite reasonable too, meaning it is possible to build a budget machine with 16GB or 32GB of RAM -- 8GB no longer needs to be the baseline for low-cost gaming machines.

ADATA is definitely a trusted company when it comes to RAM, and its XPG brand is well respected by in-the-know system builders. That manufacturer is giving consumers yet another option when shopping for memory -- its all-new XPG Hunter line of DDR4 RAM modules. Not only capacities ranging from 8GB to 32GB, but there are both U-DIMM and SO-DIMM options, so both desktop and laptop users can get in on the action. Not to mention, they are quite classy-looking too -- the design is attractive without being over-the-top.

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The Apple Watch is undoubtedly the best smartwatch on the market, but that isn't saying very much. Wearables are often nothing more than a fashion statement masquerading as an essential piece of technology. Consumers have these grand ideas about being more productive and healthy by buying a smartwatch, only to discover the wearable becomes both a notification nuisance and yet another thing you have to charge. Hey, at least it can double as a Roku remote these days...

With all of that said, Apple Watch has many fans, and while the device's battery life has gotten better, it still only lasts a mere day at best -- certainly not weeks. And so, if you are a road warrior, you will need to carry a charger for it in your bag. But what if I told you there was an innovative new Apple Watch charger that makes the official charger look like crap? It's true. Today, popular accessory-maker Satechi releases the very clever USB-C Magnetic Charging Dock for Apple Watch.

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Back in May of 2019, Peppermint 10 was released. The Ubuntu-based operating system is great for those switching from Windows, but also, it makes a fine operating system for Linux experts too. It may not be as popular as, say, Linux Mint, but it is still a solid option.

Today, fans of Peppermint -- and the entire Linux community, really -- have reason to celebrate. No, version 11 of the operating system is not released. However, Peppermint 10 Respin is now available for download!

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The Linux Mint developers vowed to release a new version of their operating system before Christmas, and today, they fulfill that promise. Yes, Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia is finally here, a full week before the big Christmas holiday -- a very welcome early gift.

Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia can be had with your choice of three excellent desktop environments -- Cinnamon (4.4), MATE (1.22), and Xfce (4.14). I highly recommend users with modern computers try Cinnamon first -- it is the prettiest of the trio, while the other two DEs are designed for more meager PCs. With that said, even those with high-end machines sometimes opt for Xfce and Mate because they simply prefer them.

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SiriusXM, the satellite radio juggernaut (and now-owner of Pandora), has millions of daily listeners. These days, the company doesn't only provide its popular satellite radio channels in automobiles, but essentially everywhere thanks to its mobile apps for Android and iPhone. Hell, you can listen to SiriusXM though Alexa and Google Assistant hardware these days too. Evert morning, I listen to Howard Stern on my Nest Mini by simply saying "Hey Google, Play Sirius 100." It is quite remarkable.

Obviously, such a large company has lots of employees working around the world. Enabling all these workers to easily communicate  and collaborate is essential. And so, SiriusXM chose Microsoft Teams for this, right? Actually, no. As a huge blow to Microsoft, SiriusXM instead chose Slack.

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There are many music streaming services these days, such as Spotify, Pandora, and Apple Music to name a few. Believe it or not, Google has two such services -- Play Music and YouTube Music.  It is very confusing to have one company offering two competing options, but they will eventually be merged into one under the YouTube Music brand.

The problem? As of today, YouTube Music simply isn't up to par with any competitors -- it has a messy interface that can be confusing. While it is slowly getting better all the time, it simply cannot compete with Spotify or Apple Music -- the gold standards. Today, however, YouTube Music is gaining a pretty cool new feature -- personalized mixes.

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Christmas may technically be a religious holiday, but for many folks, it is more about enjoying family rather than worshiping. And you know what? That's fine. People have the right to celebrate however they want. Me? I like to do both of those things -- Celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, but also, spend time with the people I love. Heck, I even like gift-giving -- it is fun to make someone else happy with a present they really want. OK, fine, I like getting gifts too.

One of my favorite activities to do in December is watch Christmas movies. These holiday films really help me to get into the Christmas spirit. It's a great feeling to be wrapped up in a cozy blanket on a comfortable couch and enjoy some wholesome, family-friendly, Christmas movies. This year, popular streaming media platform, Roku, is sharing ts top 10 most searched Christmas movies. While the films on the list are rather predictable, the positions are a bit surprising.

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Microsoft has never been very good at naming things. Windows 10, for instance, isn't even the tenth version of Windows. The company plans to eventually release an operating system called Windows 10X -- since X is the Roman numeral for ten, is it technically "Windows 10 10" then? Sigh. The original Xbox was followed by the Xbox 360, which was then followed by Xbox One. In other words, the third Xbox is named "One" -- what kind of craziness is that? The company confused things even further by releasing Xbox One variants dubbed "S" and "X."

And now, Microsoft has unveiled its next generation Xbox, and following tradition, it has a terrible name! What has the company named it? Xbox Series X. Yup, that's the real name. Its name is way too close to "Xbox One X," and shows Microsoft is apparently devoid of any creativity in the branding department. Name aside, however, it does look really cool -- it is a vertical tower that can be positioned horizontally if you prefer. Thankfully, it appears to have an optical drive, so physical games disks will live on for at least one more generation of game console.

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Windows 7's death is imminent -- support for the popular operating system ends next month on January 14, making it extremely dangerous to use from a security standpoint after that date. This is very unfortunate for the millions of computer users that don't want to switch to the much-maligned Windows 10. Thankfully, in 2019, you don't have to run Windows anymore -- Linux is a totally legitimate option for both business and home use these days. Hell, even the Windows-maker sees the writing on the wall -- the company recently released its wildly popular Office 365 program, Microsoft Teams, for Linux.

If you are ready to ditch the soon-to-be-unsupported Windows 7 for a more secure Linux-based operating system, you have plenty of great options. One of the best choices, however, is Zorin OS -- a Linux distribution that specifically targets people switching from Windows. Today, the latest version of that operating system, Zorin OS 15.1, is released to the world.

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