Brian Fagioli

Is Linux Mint slow? Hell, no! The operating system is plenty fast. Speed is in the eye of the beholder, however, and the Mint developers apparently thought app-launching seemed slow when using the Cinnamon desktop environment. They didn't have any proof, but they felt that both Mate and Xfce were faster in this regard.

Well, rather than allow their feelings to remain unproven, the Mint devs decided to come up with a speed test to see if they were correct. Guess what? They were! Windows build time was four times slower with Cinnamon compared to Metacity, while recovery time was nearly four times slower too. So yes, app-launching on Cinnamon -- as of today -- is slow comparatively. The big benefit to pinpointing a problem, however, is that it is the first step in solving it. And so, Linux Mint 19 Cinnamon will be faster as a result.

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I am sick and tired of technology companies like Microsoft thinking they can impose their will on consumers. Just today, the company made a startling announcement -- it will now force links from the Windows Mail app to open in its own Edge web browser. In other words, whether you like it or not, even if Edge isn't your default browser, it will still be used for opening links from emails. This is unacceptable, and when combined with all of the other Windows 10 calamities, users should consider switching operating systems immediately.

Since macOS requires you to buy an entirely new computer from Apple, a Linux-based operating system is probably your best bet. By using Linux, you can finally reclaim your computer as your own -- not Microsoft's. Today, version 12.3 of Zorin OS is released, and it is the perfect OS to replace Windows 10. Hell, it can even run Windows programs (including Microsoft Office) with the help of the pre-installed and pre-configured Wine 3.

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Smartwatches are largely garbage. Whether Apple Watch or Android Wear, these wrist-worn nuisances don't do much beyond inducing anxiety by bombarding the wearer with notifications. If you are big into fitness, you might find some value, but for the most part, these devices are nothing more than a way for companies to grab cash from consumers as the smartphone market slows.

Apple Watch has seen significant success, although I suspect many buyers are simply getting them as status symbols -- not for an actual need. Android Wear, however, is a major disappointment -- both from a sales and satisfaction perspective. Just like Android smartphones, these watches face fragmentation and a lack of updates. Today, Google announces that it will try to polish the turd that is Android Wear by giving it a new name -- Wear OS.

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When you hear the name "ViewSonic," your mind probably thinks of monitors, and rightfully so. After all, that company has been making quality displays for many years.

But what if I told you ViewSonic is announcing an all-new Chromebox? It's true! The unimaginatively named "NMP660," as it is called, is a mini-desktop computer from the company that runs Google's Linux-based Chrome OS. You know what? It looks quite nice and is priced rather competitively. And yes, it has Google Play support for Android apps!

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If you want a convenient solution for playing media, Kodi should be at the top of your list. The free and open source media center is cross-platform, meaning it can run on most operating systems.

The best way to experience Kodi, however, is when it is the focus of a Linux-based operating system. For example, LibreELEC exists solely to run Kodi. Its lightweight nature allows it to run on fairly meager hardware, including Raspberry Pi. Today, a new version of LibreELEC is released. The main reason for this update is to add support for the newly released Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+.

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For Linux desktop users -- you know, people that just use a Linux-based operating system as a tool -- the desktop environment largely is the operating system. In other words, what's under the hood is sort of inconsequential. Hell, the distro might not even matter to the user as long as it is running their favorite DE. This is totally fine, as not everyone is a developer that is passionate about Linux or open source ideology.

For me -- and many others -- GNOME is the preferred desktop environment for Linux or BSD. It has an excellent support community, the most productive user interface, and comes with many useful native apps. Today, GNOME 3.28 becomes available, and it is full of improvements to make it the best version yet. It has the code-name 'Chongqing' because the 2017 Gnome.Asia conference was held in that Chinese city.

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Ultimate Ears Bluetooth speakers are just the tops. They are well built, sound great, and are reasonably priced. Its lowest cost offering, the WONDERBOOM, is a remarkable value at just $99. Heck, the little guy is waterproof and floats.

Today, the WONDERBOOM gets a makeover thanks to the all-new "Freestyle Collection." The internals remain the same (meaning it will still sound wonderful), but the outward design gets a fresh coat of paint with five new styles.

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One of the most important purchases a photographer can make is their memory card. Whether you are a professional or amateur photo-taker, you undoubtedly want to protect your images. This is why it is important to focus on reputable brands -- it isn't worth saving money by going with a lesser-known brand if your files get corrupted, right?

One company that has a great reputation is Kingston. It has long sold quality flash products. Today, the popular company unveils its new "Canvas" line of memory cards. They are available as both micro SD and SD, plus in various speeds and capacities. In other words, Kingston is aiming to meet the needs of many. There are three distinct Canvaas variants from which to choose -- Select, Go, and React.

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As Windows 10 continues its trend of being a bloated and confusing mess (tighten it up, Microsoft!), Linux-based operating systems continue to be an excellent alternative. There are no shortage of great Linux distributions from which to choose either -- Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint -- you can’t go wrong.

For those converting from Windows, one great choice is Netrunner. This is a Debian-based operating system that leverages the KDE Plasma desktop environment. It is very reminiscent of the much-loved Windows 7. The OS comes pre-loaded with a lot of useful software, and Linux beginners will really benefit from that. Today, a new version of the distro becomes available for download -- Netrunner 18.03 Idolon.

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It is hard to get excited about a desk lamp. I mean, let's be honest -- they supply light and that's the end of the story, right? Well, no. Not necessarily. Actually, thanks to LED technology, there have been big advancements in both design and lighting capability.

Believe it or not, I am excited about a desk lamp, and there are many reasons why. It is from a company called TaoTronics and the product name is "LED Desk Lamp with Wireless Charger" (model number TT-DL036). As the name implies, it can wirelessly charge your compatible smartphones, such as the Galaxy S8 or iPhone 8. Actually, any device with Qi charging capabilities can be charged just by being placed on the lamp's base.

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As a big fan of the GNOME desktop environment, I have long been a Fedora user. After all, that operating system uses GNOME as its primary environment. Since Canonical killed Unity and moved its focus to GNOME, I have a renewed interest in Ubuntu and Ubuntu-based distributions, such as System76's wonderful Pop!_OS. I suspect I am not alone in my feelings.

Today, Ubuntu Linux 18.04 'Bionic Beaver' Beta 1 becomes available for download. Ubuntu 18.04 is significant, as it will be an LTS (Long Term Support) version. As was the case when Unity was the primary DE, GNOME is not available in this beta stage. Instead, there are other flavors from which to choose, such as Kubuntu with KDE Plasma and Xubuntu, which uses Xfce.

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My first-ever console was Atari 2600. My favorite game for it was Mario Bros. -- it was before the brothers became super on Nintendo Entertainment System. It was Super Mario Brothers on NES that made me -- and countless others -- huge video game fans, however. My love for Mario, Luigi, and the rest of the Nintendo world, remains strong to this day.

To celebrate Mario, an annual holiday has been established -- MAR10 Day. Get it? It is on March 10, as the abbreviation looks like the word "Mario." Well, Google is apparently getting in on the Mario love, as it is bringing the plumber to its Maps service for a limited time.

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If you like to travel internationally, you know that language differences can be a huge pain point. English speakers are lucky, as that language is often spoken as a second language. That isn't always the case, however, so communication can be a huge barrier. This isn't just an issue for those that travel for pleasure, but for business travelers too.

Luckily, technology has minimized this pain. Software allows convenient translation, making both communication and the consumption of foreign language media much easier. Microsoft translator is one such great solution, and today, it gets six new text-to-speech languages -- Bulgarian, Croatian, Malay, Slovenian, Tamil, and Vietnamese.

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HyperX makes lots of great products -- including top-notch RAM -- but many gamers have gone gaga over its headsets. This is for good reason, as the company's Cloud Revolver gaming headset, for instance, is one of the best.

Today, HyperX launches the Cloud Revolver gaming headset in a beautiful Gunmetal color -- this is in addition to black. This is apparently the first time that color is available for the standard Revolver -- it was previously only available for the more expensive Revolver "S" package. If you haven't yet picked up a Cloud Revolver, and you are in need of a gaming headset, you should definitely take a look. Hell, PC Gamer named it headset of the year for 2017. True, Gunmetal is merely a new color, but oh my goodness, it is gorgeous!

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Personally, I am not a fan of running Linux distributions on Windows 10 -- WSL, virtual machine, or otherwise. While I appreciate Microsoft's focus on Linux lately, I am of the opinion that if you want to run an operating system based on that open source kernel, then you should just do so natively -- not on top of Windows. While there is no proof that anything nefarious is afoot, it does feel like maybe the Windows-maker is hijacking the Linux movement a bit by serving distros in its store. I pray there is no "embrace, extend, and extinguish" shenanigans going on.

Just yesterday, we reported that Kali Linux was in the Microsoft Store for Windows 10. That was big news, but it was not particularly significant in the grand scheme, as Kali is not very well known. Today, there is some undeniably huge news -- Debian is joining SUSE, Ubuntu, and Kali in the Microsoft Store. Should the Linux community be worried?

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