Brian Fagioli

X-Doria is most well known for its excellent phone cases, but in recent years, it has also been cranking out some premium mobile accessories too. For instance, late last year, the company released a really cool Qi phone charging mount for the car.

Today, the company launches two new mobile accessories -- the Defense Vertical Charger and the Defense Trek. The former is a premium USB-C Qi fast charger for iPhone and Android that props up your phone, while the latter is a durable case for your AirPods that comes with a handy carabiner (clip).

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You know what perplexes me? That in 2019, laptop-makers are still putting low-quality webcams in their computers. Sure, even a poor webcam is passable for a quick chat, but consumers should demand more. For business professionals and content creators, a high-quality cam is a must. Thankfully, a USB webcam can be had for a superior experience.

Today, AVerMedia launches a new webcam for laptops and desktops. The "Live Streamer CAM 313," as it is called, features a beautiful cylindrical design, 1080p video, dual microphones, and my favorite feature -- a physical privacy cover. Yes, if you want to make sure you aren't being spied on via the camera lens, and you don't want to continually unplug the camera from your computer, you can simply slide the cover over -- how cool is that? The base also has tripod threading, so it can be mounted on that rather than on top of a display.

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Slack may be ubiquitous, but it is hardly exceptional. Look, the chat program is certainly functional, but let's be honest -- it isn't much more than a glorified clone of IRC. Don't get me wrong, I rather like Slack -- we here at BetaNews use it daily to communicate with each other -- but its runaway success is arguably undeserved. And maybe the luster is starting to dull -- Microsoft's Teams has apparently surpassed Slack in popularity.

Over the years, Slack has become a bit slow and bloated -- something very apparent on meager desktop computers with little RAM. Well, hot on the heels of a data breach, Slack apparently wants to make some positive news. You see, Slack announces its desktop app should now be much faster and far less of a resource hog. Rejoice!

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I recently watched the Freddie Mercury (R.I.P.) and Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" on HBO. The film was enjoyable, but not particularly good. It lacked depth and emotion, feeling more like a caricature of the band. Ultimately, it did a pretty good job of educating younger folks about the group, and highlighting their many great songs, so I suppose that is a good thing. While Mercury is a fascinating man, it would have been nice to have the other members of the band get more attention.

Queen's most popular song (and their best) is the film's namesake -- "Bohemian Rhapsody." The song and the band were before my time, so I first encountered the song when watching the movie "Wayne's World" as a child. I immediately recognized the brilliance of the music despite it being used as a prop in an iconic movie scene -- it also saw a resurgence on the radio at the time because of the Mike Myers movie. And now, the song "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen has achieved 1 billion views on YouTube. To mark the milestone, there is a new remastered version of the video (embedded below).

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deepin is the most beautiful desktop operating system on the planet, besting both macOS, and Windows. Hell, it is even prettier than all other Linux distributions too. And yes, that matters. While an operating system shouldn't impede productivity or behave obnoxiously, it should inspire the user. deepin does this.

Today, the Debian-based deepin 15.11 becomes available, and it looks like another winner. While not radically different from deepin 15.10, it has enough bug fixes and additions to make it worthwhile. For instance, even though optical discs (CD, DVD, Blu-ray, etc.) are dramatically declining in popularity (near obsolete), the deepin devs have intergrated disc-burning into the distro's file manager. More exciting, however, is cloud sync for Control Center, which will make it easier to restore settings on a fresh installation or when logging into a shared machine.

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Satechi makes great products -- in-the-know consumers are aware of this. The company's docks, dongles, and other accessories are both elegantly designed and affordable. While most of its USB-C products will absolutely work with Windows, the designs are clearly inspired by Apple.

Today, Satechi launches a new portable dock called "USB-C Multiport Pro Adapter," and it is being sold exclusively at Apple.com and brick-and-mortar Apple Stores. The dongle is only being offered in space gray color at this time.

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It is amazing to see just how inexpensive -- and unremarkable -- SATA solid state drives have become. With NVMe SSDs far exceeding the performance of SATA variants, consumers are no longer excited by SATA drives. And that's a shame. Look, everyone wants the best performance, but most don't need it. In real world usage, most consumers won't see a difference between SATA and NVMe SSDs, so why shouldn't they save some money and go with the former?

Today, Patriot launches the affordable and boring P200 SATA SSD. It isn't the fastest, it isn't the best looking, and it even hilariously says "standard performance" on the body, letting you know not to get excited. But you know what? It is good enough for most folks, and pricing starts at just $31.99. Not everything has to be top of the line and flashy. If you want to upgrade from a mechanical hard drive, why not the 7mm 2.5-inch P200?

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Emojis have proven to be one of the greatest additions to the written language. Regardless of which language in which you read/write, your communications can be greatly enhanced and improved with the use of these wonderful emojis. You see, since the written word lacks body language and general sense of emotion, it is easy for there to be a miscommunication. For instance, emails and text messages can be misinterpreted by the recipient, as they may incorrectly assume the emotion by the sender is negative. The addition of a smiling face emoji, for example, can make all the difference. Hopefully even proper books will incorporate emojis in the future.

Today, Apple announces 59 new emojis are coming to the upcoming iOS 13, iPadOS 13, watchOS 6, and macOS 10.15! There are many fun new additions, such as a flamingo, yo-yo, and waffle to new a few. Since Apple is such a progressive company, it is also using emojis as a platform to further its message of equality. Emojis showing people holding hands can now be customized with various genders and skin tones. Equally important from a social perspective is the focus on differently-abled people -- there is a guide dog and robotic/prosthetic arm too.

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Linux Mint is an operating system based on the wildly popular Ubuntu. It comes with some interesting tweaks that many users appreciate, making it a popular choice in the Linux community for both beginners and experts alike. It is stable, easy to use, and has a well-designed Update Manager that puts many other distros to shame.

Today, Linux Mint 19.2 BETA is finally released. Codenamed "Tina," it will be supported until 2023 -- long after Windows 7 support ends in January of 2020. In other words, when it achieves stable status, Linux Mint 19.2 should make a great replacement for Windows 7.

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When you think of USB hubs, docks, adapters, and dongles, Sony probably isn't the first company that comes to mind. For instance, the minds of consumers are more likely to conjure images of StarTech.com, Satechi, Plugable, and VisionTek. And yet, Sony has announced new SD card reader and USB hub that it calls the "world's fastest." Whether that claim is true is debatable. One thing is for sure -- it looks quite beautiful.

Called "MRW-S3," it is actually much more than a hub and card reader as Sony humbly calls it. Sure, it has an SD card reader, micro SD card slot, and two USB 3.1 gen 2 ports (1x USB-A and 1x USB-C), but also, it has USB-C power delivery and HDMI video. In other words, MRW-S3 is really a full-fledged USB-C docking station -- for both home and mobile. Weighing just 95 grams, you won't even know it is in your bag.

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Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C use the same connector, but the interfaces are not identical. Thunderbolt 3 is much faster than both USB 3.1 gen 1 and gen 2, for instance. And while all USB-C devices are compatible with Thunderbolt 3 computer ports, TB3 devices are not compatible with USB-only ports. Confusing, right? If you are a BetaNews reader maybe not, but think about the average consumer -- this can be very frustrating.

Shopping for docking stations in particular can be overwhelming. What if your home or business has users that want to use the same docking station at different times, but some machines are USB-C only and others are Thunderbolt 3. Sure, a USB-C dock would work, but then the TB3 machines wouldn't be reaching their full potential. Well, the folks over at StarTech.com have essentially solved this dilemma with a new product. The "TB3CDK2DP," as it is called, is a hybrid Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C dock!

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Google may be a publicly traded company worth hundreds of billions, but it still knows how to have fun. In other words, sometimes Google acts like a start up, even though that ship sailed a long time ago. Every once in a while, the company will hide an Easter Egg or other secret thing in its services. For instance, did you know that doing a Google search for the word "askew" without quotes will make the page tilt? It's true -- go try it! It is silly and fun.

Continuing with silly antics, Google has hidden a secret tennis game in its search engine. Believe it or not, it is actually very fun to play. Accessing it couldn't be simpler either.

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One of the coolest things about Nintendo's Switch console is that it is both a home and portable video game system. You can use it when on the move with the integrated screen, or if you prefer, connect it to a TV. And so, taking away one of the biggest selling points of the Switch would be foolish, right? Well, yes and no.

Today, Nintendo announces a new variant of the console called Switch Lite. It is smaller, less expensive, and comes in three colors -- turquoise, yellow, and gray. All good news! Except... it cannot connect to a TV like the normal Switch. The controllers are permanently affixed too -- there is no kickstand either. In other words, you cannot play with a friend simultaneously with one console. While many folks will pass on Switch Lite because of these new limitations, others may welcome it.

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Raspberry Pi computers are pretty damn great. Not only are they small and inexpensive, but they are ideal for tinkering and learning. And yes, they can serve as excellent media boxes thanks to the Linux-based LibreELEC. With the Raspberry Pi 4, however, it is finally powerful enough to serve as a true desktop computer -- prior models were capable, but offered woefully slow desktop experiences.

With all of that said, surely the Raspberry Pi 4 is highly recommended, right? Actually no. Sadly, we must warn you not to buy this seemingly solid piece of hardware. Unfortunately, it has one massive faulty aspect, meaning you should probably pass on it.

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A few months back, we shared with you some very, very good news -- Amazon and Google were burying the hatchet. You see, the two giant companies were at odds, keeping their respective video apps from each other's hardware platforms. Then in April, the two companies announced that the feud was over -- YouTube was coming back to Amazon Fire TV, while Prime Video would come to Chromecast.

Wow! Great news, right? Well, yes and no. While it was undoubtedly positive, it was not immediate -- consumers would have to wait months for this to happen, sadly. Well, folks, today it finally becomes a reality!

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