Brian Fagioli

The United States is undoubtedly the best country in the world, but how did it get that way? Our military. Look, these brave men and women put their lives on the line so civilians can enjoy their many freedoms. After all, the Constitution of the United States is merely pieces of paper if we don't have soldiers willing to fight to defend it. And so, every year, we celebrate Veterans Day to show our love and support for their sacrifices.

All holidays get commercialized, however, and Veterans Day is no different. Companies use it as a way to give shopping discounts -- and sometimes free stuff -- to members of the military. You know what? Even if it is fueled by marketing departments looking for positive press, I still really like it. Soldiers can get free meals and other cool stuff on Veterans Day -- they deserve it. Quite frankly, it is the least corporate America can do. This year, Amazon is getting in on the action with a HUGE discount on Prime. Just how significant is it? A massive $40 off!

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As you may know, I am a big proponent of Linux on the desktop. I prefer Fedora to both Windows 10 and macOS, and I use the operating system regularly to get work done. Over the years, I went from being a minority as a desktop Linux user, to... well... OK, fine, we desktop Linux users are still a minority. But hey, we are getting more respect every year, and people are increasingly turning to Chromebooks, which run the Linux-based Chrome OS. More and more developers, including Microsoft, are releasing software for Linux too.

With all of that said, I probably should be excited that Microsoft is bringing its Chromium-based Edge to Linux. After all, it is another indicator that Linux is gaining mainstream support. Not to mention, who can be mad at having just another web browser option? Me, that's who. You see, Microsoft's Edge browser will NEVER be installed on my Linux computer.

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Facebook might be a total privacy dumpster fire that the Russians used as a tool to help elect Donald Trump as President of The United States (allegedly), but it is forever a part of pop culture. Its blue color scheme and lowercase "f" are undeniably iconic. And so, despite all of Facebook's privacy failures over the years, hundreds of millions of people continue to use it daily -- even though those users may not trust it. For instance, I despise the social network, but continue to check it daily to keep in touch with family -- I am deeply ashamed of myself.

In an attempt to rejuvenate its tainted image, Facebook is changing its corporate logo -- not the app icons, apparently. Since the company literally has billions of dollars at its disposal, you are probably thinking the new design is a timeless work of art. Sadly, you would be very wrong, as it is one of the laziest and most unimaginative designs in the history of corporate branding. Seriously, folks, it looks like no effort was put into it. It is literally just "FACEBOOK" in all caps.

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While 4K monitors are finally affordable these days, it is important to remember that they are not all created equally. There are varying specifications and features, plus different levels of quality. Ultimately, you should buy the 4K display that best meets your needs. If you are simply using it for computing and consuming media, you can probably get by with an inexpensive and basic monitor. Professionals, however, will need to focus on something more high-end.

Today, Dell announces an insane monitor for professionals that should make both photographers and videographers giddy. Called "UP2720Q," this 27-inch UltraSharp 4K display features Dell's 10-bit PremierColor technology and Thunderbolt 3 connectivity -- the latter can charge a laptop (up to 90 watts) over TB3 too.

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Well, folks, the rumors were true -- Google will be buying Fitbit. The search giant will be spending more than $2 billion on the acquisition -- a substantial amount of money even for a company as big as Google. The deal should be finalized next year. The question, of course, is why does Google want to buy Fitbit? I mean, look, Fitbit wearables are cool, but they are very basic. For some, the simplicity is a benefit, as more full-featured smartwatches can be too complicated to use. With that said, Google can easily create a basic wearable on its own -- it does not need Fitbit designers for that.

This is purely speculation, but I am guessing Google wanted to keep Fitbit from being acquired by one of its own competitors, such as Microsoft or Apple. There is value in Fitbit's name too, so I can foresee Wear OS devices being touted as "powered by Fitbit" when it comes to the fitness aspect of Google's watch-based OS. There are likely patents owned by Fitbit that Google is happy to add to its portfolio too.

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The upcoming version of Linux Mint will be named Tricia. Why is this? Well, the developers always name the releases after women. For major version-number updates, such as going from 18 to 19, they even change the first letter of the woman's name. For instance, version 18 had "S" names, such as Sonya and Sylvia, while 19 has had "T" names, such as Tara, Tessa, and Tina. And now, we have Tricia.

Beyond the name, there is not a ton to know, but the Linux Mint developers have shared a bit. For instance, there will be three available desktop environments -- Cinnamon, Mate, and Xfce. This is not surprising, as that trio of DEs is typical for Mint. What is fairly shocking, however, is that Linux Mint is sticking with 32-bit. As other Linux distributions kick the outdated 32-bit to the curb and go all-in on 64-bit, Mint keeps supporting those obsolete chips.

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Google's latest smartphone, the Pixel 4, is an excellent device. As per my review (found here), I absolutely recommend it to Android users.

While the $799 starting price for the Pixel 4 series of smartphones isn’t as high as some other flagships, let’s be honest -- it is still a lot of money. It is for this reason that you should definitely put it in a protective case. Urban Armor Gear has two such rugged options for you -- the Monarch and Plasma. Not only will they keep your Pixel 4 or 4XL safe, but they look very attractive too.

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If you need a Windows laptop, there are plenty of great brands from which to choose. Unfortunately, one brand is no longer available -- Toshiba. Thankfully, its notebook computers live on under a new company name -- Dynabook. You know what? As that Shakespeare dude once wrote, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." And yeah, the same can be said about Dynabook. Name aside, these are the same computers that many consumers have loved.

The Tecra line of business-class laptops has long been admired by in-the-know consumers, and now, Dynabook has refreshed one of the models. The new 14-inch (1080p) Tecra A40 is still beautiful and powerful, but now it is even thinner and lighter. It is just 19.9 mm thin, and weighs in at only 3.24 pounds. Despite the svelte chassis, the internal battery can last up to 13 hours -- impressive.  While it does have a single USB-C port (plus two USB-A ports), there is no Thunderbolt 3 to be found, sadly.

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I recently converted my home from Amazon Alexa to Google Assistant. Why did I do this? Well, after comparing them both, I found Google's results were better. Not to mention, there are many nuances that make me prefer the search giant's offering. For instance, if I ask for a baseball score, it also shares the sound of a crowd cheering and the crack of the bat hitting a ball. I even prefer the confirmation sounds it makes. When I ask Google to turn off my lamp, for instance, it responds with a more pleasant tone than Alexa does. And so, my Echo devices were replaced with Nest speakers.

Sadly, there was a huge hole left in my life by ditching Amazon for Google -- SiriusXM. You see, with Alexa, you can ask her to play a SiriusXM channel and she does (as long as your account is linked, of course). This convenient feature simply wasn't possible on Google Assistant. Today, however, this changes -- Howard Stern and the rest of SiriusXM are finally coming to Google's Nest speakers! There are even plans to eventually bring video to some Nest devices.

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Google recently launched its latest home Wi-Fi product -- Nest Wifi. It looks like a great networking solution for those that want to utilize mesh to extend coverage in their home. Hell, it even has Google Assistant built in! You know what it doesn't have though? Wi-Fi 6.

What exactly is Wi-Fi 6? It is the official name for 802.11ax -- the latest and greatest wireless networking standard. Despite Wi-Fi 6 devices being fairly rare, it is still strange that the search giant chose to not include it. Oh well. Google isn't the only game in town. TP-Link, for instance, recently announced some affordable 802.11ax routers. If you want both Wi-Fi 6 and mesh, however, today, you have a new option -- the Linksys MX10 Velop. Before you get too excited, please know the price is rather high.

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Is Fedora popular? Well, is any desktop Linux distribution truly popular in the grand scheme of things? I mean, look, Windows holds an insurmountable lead in the desktop operating system space -- it cannot be denied. Amongst Linux distributions, however, yes, Fedora is very popular comparatively. Why do people choose it over other distros, such as Ubuntu, MX Linux, or Manjaro? It's simple -- Fedora is a no-nonsense operating system with a genuine focus on free and open source software. Not to mention, it is fairly bleeding edge while remaining stable.

So, yeah, Fedora is wonderful. Today, however, the Linux distribution gets even better. You see, following the beta period, Fedora 31 is now available for download. Is it an exciting release? No, not really. Sure, enthusiasts will find themselves thrilled withe inclusion of the GNOME 3.34 desktop environment (with Qt Wayland by default), Linux 5.3 kernel, and Mesa 9.2, but otherwise, it is fairly boring. You know what? That's not a bad thing. In 2019, Fedora is simply a mature and stable operating system that only needs to follow an evolutionary path at this time -- not revolutionary. It stands alone as the world's best desktop Linux distribution.

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Most people love their children, but hey, I guess there are some folks that don't. If you hate your young child, I have some great news -- Microsoft has a new Surface Go Kids Bundle that is perfect for you. You know how most kids want an iPad for all of the great apps? Well, rather than buy them what they actually want, you can instead get them an under-powered Windows 10 tablet.

Yeah, Microsoft has decided to push the Surface Go to children for some reason by dressing it up in a clown suit. You see, the Surface Go Kids Bundle is just the tablet in a colorful case plus some colorful headphones. Truth be told, the Gumdrop FoamTech Case does look very durable, but it is hilariously over-the-top in its design. I suppose the colors will appeal to young children, but beyond that, what little kid is clamoring for Windows?

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Despite being wildly popular (largely for fashion purposes) Apple AirPods are a terrible product. Yeah, they have some nice technology inside, and they sound pretty good, but holy cow, they are extremely uncomfortable. Seriously, how can a company worth many billions of dollars not come up with a better design than a rock-hard piece of plastic that you shove in your ears?

Well, today, Apple announces that it has finally fixed the AirPods. No, it is not revising the product, but instead, it is launching a more comfortable version. Called "AirPods Pro," these new wireless earbuds are apparently designed for professional music listeners. Nah, I am being facetious -- they are designed for all users -- but the "Pro" branding is absurd. But thankfully, they do have replaceable ear tips, allowing the user to find the best fit. In other words, the one-size-fits-all approach taken with regular AirPods was, in fact, stupid. AirPods Pro offer more than just increased comfort, however -- noise cancellation is the real selling point here.

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Kingston Technology's gaming brand, HyperX, is mostly known for catering to PC gamers. Today, however, the company is launching a new product for console gamers. To be more specific, the new wireless headset, called "CloudX Flight," is designed for the Xbox One.

Truth be told, it is not an entirely new product. It is simply an Xbox version of the existing Cloud Flight headset -- notice the lack of "X" after Cloud? But hey, it is still cool. You get the same specs and 30 hours of battery life, but this time, it has a stylish green paint job.

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New is good. It is nice to have the newest technology with modern designs. But that doesn’t mean old is bad. In other words, sometimes a retro design can be appreciated too. In some cases, retro and modern can be merged into a single product. This often happens with automobiles. Hey, people love nostalgia. It sells.

TP-Link has some new smart light bulbs that fit into that modern/retro hybrid category. The KL50 and KL60, as they are called, are Wi-Fi enabled, don’t require a hub, and can connect to voice assistants like Alexa and Google. Despite being LED, they are made to appear vintage with a filament look. In addition, TP-Link is also launching a new multi-color light strip.

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