Brian Fagioli

In a surprising announcement, a new Raspberry Pi model appears! With little fanfare, the "Raspberry Pi Zero WH," as it is called, becomes an official variant of the diminutive Zero W.

While it is technically not entirely new, it is still an exciting new model nonetheless. You see, the "H" seems to indicate "header" as this is a Raspberry Pi Zero W with a GPIO header soldered on. If you have a need for a Zero W with these pins, but don't have soldering skills (or don't have the time to do it yourself), this could be the ideal Pi for you.

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The PC market has been in bad shape for several years. While the why is up for debate, it certainly wasn't helped by two disappointing versions of Windows in a row -- 8.x and 10. Not to mention, hardware lasts much longer these days, as performance has long surpassed the needs of many consumers -- the concept of needing to upgrade a PC every two or three years is dead. Hell, many consumers can get by with just their smartphones and tablets -- a traditional PC just isn't as necessary as it once was.

Shockingly, according to IDC, the PC market could finally be on the road to recovery. While the market is still very unhealthy overall, there is one stat that signals something special could be on the horizon. You see, for the first time in six years, the worldwide PC market saw a Q4 increase year over year. In other words, Q4 2017 outperformed Q4 2016. This is particularly significant, as both Christmas and the holiday shopping season are in these months.

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Linux is very much mainstream nowadays. What was once viewed as a hobby and niche project, is transforming the world. Many of the world's servers are running Linux-based operating systems. Hell, the most popular mobile operating system on the planet, Android, is Linux-based. Even closed-source champion Microsoft is embracing Linux by integrating it into Windows 10 and offering it on its Azure platform.

Please know, Linux will only get more popular; gaining more knowledge about it is vital for your career in information technology. If you want to further your education, The Linux Foundation has your back. You see, the organization is launching a new training course called "Administering Linux on Azure."

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I love my MacBook Pro for many reasons, but one in particular is the Thunderbolt 3 ports. If you aren't familiar, Thunderbolt 3 is insanely fast at 40Gbps, but also, it is very versatile. It can transmit video and data, for instance, but also, it is compatible with USB-C devices too. By connecting a single Thunderbolt 3 cable to my Mac, I can simultaneously charge it and transform it into a desktop thanks to a docking station. Seriously, folks, TB3 is amazing.

The company Patriot is leveraging Thunderbolt 3 for data storage, and its new EVLVR (pronounced "evolver") Portable SSD is blazing fast as a result. Not only is it very speedy, but it is physically small too -- a big win for portability. Despite being diminutive, it has big capacity -- up to 1TB of storage. Wow!

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Nowadays, consumers have multiple devices that need to be charged -- smartphones, tablets, wearables, and more. This can be a pain point, as it can be hard to find multiple outlets. To make matters worse, if your family members and/or friends also need to charge their devices at the same time, it can lead to fighting and disappointment. Having this issue while traveling is even worse -- getting an open outlet at the airport, for instance, can be a hardship.

Today, Satechi launches a solution for these charging woes. Its new multiport charger offers 75 total watts to keep your devices full of juice. It offers both USB-A (x3) and USB-C (x1), plus it is compatible with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0. While this product is intended for travel, it can, of course, be used at home too.

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With everything going on in the world these days, it can feel like you are naked when using your computer. If you previously felt safe and secure, these last several years have probably eroded all of your confidence. Between Edward Snowden's revelations and the many vulnerabilities constantly hitting the news, it is tempting to just live in the woods without electricity.

Before you sell your house, buy a tent, and become a nomad, you should consider a Linux distribution that helps you fight back against evil governments, nefarious hackers, and other bad people. Called "Tails," this Linux-based operating system is designed to be run from a live environment, such as on a DVD or flash drive, so you can hide your tracks and enjoy your God-given right to privacy. Today, version 3.4 becomes available and if you are already a Tails user, you should upgrade immediately. Why? Because it includes kernel 4.14.12 which offers fixes for Meltdown and Spectre (partially).

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When you think of elegant computers and devices, your mind probably goes to Apple, and rightfully so. After all, the iPhone-maker has long pioneered the concept of technology being more than just function. With Apple, exterior design is equally as important as the internals. The first iMac, for instance, showed that a computer could be more than a beige tower.

Nowadays, there are many other companies that focus on external beauty, but one in particular really shines in this regard -- Huawei. That manufacturer sells elegant phones, tablets, computers, and more. Its previously announced Mate 10 Pro had many people drooling (including yours truly), but tragically, it was not available in the USA. Today, however, Huawei announces that the much anticipated smartphone is finally coming to the country sandwiched between Mexico and Canada.

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Solid state drives are ideal for portable storage. Why? They are small, fast, and have no moving parts. Unfortunately, SSDs are also a bit expensive per gigabyte compared to mechanical hard drives.

If you need external storage that won’t break the bank, and speed is not a major factor, a mechanical USB hard drive is still a great choice. Over the years, I’ve had great experiences with Toshiba CANVIO drives. Today, the company unveils three new models -- CANVIO BASICS, ADVANCE, and PREMIUM.

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We are living in very scary times, and I'm only referring to technology. Concerns about nuclear war and unstable world leaders aside, our computers and devices are like Swiss cheese nowadays thanks to Spectre and Meltdown. Hell, there are hardcoded backdoors in consumer devices! What a sad state of affairs...

If you want to help keep your home network safe, a quality router is always a smart purchase. Not only do you want something that is reliable, but it should be from a reputable manufacturer that issues regular updates. One such company is D-Link, and today, it unveils a new 802.11ac wireless router that leverages the McAfee Secure Home Platform to keep you safe. Called "DIR-2680," it features an absolutely gorgeous industrial design that, quite frankly, makes it appear as something other than a router entirely.

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I must be honest -- I am starting to become fatigued by all of the vulnerabilities and security failures in technology nowadays. Quite frankly, between Spectre and Meltdown, I don't even want to use my computer or devices anymore -- I feel exposed.

Today, yet another security blunder becomes publicized, and it is really bad. You see, many Western Digital My Cloud NAS drives have a hardcoded backdoor, meaning anyone can access them -- your files could be at risk. It isn't even hard to take advantage of it -- the username is "mydlinkBRionyg" and the password is "abc12345cba" (without quotes). To make matters worse, it was disclosed to Western Digital six months ago and the company apparently did nothing until November 2017. Let's be realistic -- not everyone stays on top of updates, and a backdoor never should have existed in the first place.

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Many people diss Chromebooks because they simply don't understand them. No, Chrome OS -- the operating system that powers these laptops -- is not just a glorified web browser. Actually, the OS is a full Linux distribution that is both extremely secure and easy to use. True, they can be deficient for some tasks, such as video editing and hardcore gaming, but let's be honest -- not everyone has those needs. If everything you do is in a browser -- email, web surfing, social media, YouTube, Netflix, etc. -- there is no reason to run Windows and open yourself up to malware and other bad things. Hell, Chromebooks even have Microsoft Office support these days!

Today, Acer unveils its latest Chromebook 11, and it is absolutely beautiful. The 11.6-inch Chrome OS laptop comes with 4GB of RAM by default, plus your choice of either 16GB or 32GB of onboard storage. There is even an optional touch-screen variant, which will come in handy for its Google Play Android app support. Road warriors will appreciate the impressive 10-hour battery life. The Celeron processor is passively cooled, meaning there are no fans to bother you with noise.

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If you want a computer pre-loaded with a Linux-based operating system, you can never go wrong with System76. After all, that company focuses entirely on Linux -- it does not sell Windows machines at all. Hell, System76 even maintains its own Ubuntu-based operating system called Pop!_OS. By supporting that company, you are also supporting the overall Linux community.

System76 is not the only company selling Linux-powered computers, however. Despite being a major Microsoft partner with Windows, Dell also sells desktops and laptops pre-loaded with Ubuntu. One of the company's most impressive computers is the svelte XPS 13 laptop. Dell sells a version with Ubuntu that it dubs "Developer Edition," but non-developers can, of course, use it too. Today, the company announces the the 7th-generation version of this notebook. The 9370, as it is called, can be purchased immediately.

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One of the fun aspects of Android is that you get to choose from many different devices. Unlike Apple iOS, where you are fairly limited, Google's operating system can be had on many phones and tablets, from companies like LG, Samsung, HTC and more. Unfortunately, unless you buy a Pixel or Nexus device, you often don't get a "pure" Android experience. Not to mention, community support can be limited due to locked bootloaders and other nonsense.

That's why the OnePlus devices have been such a breath of fresh air. These phones are no-nonsense, with purposeful design, and a fairly pure Android OS experience. Best of all, there is a wonderful community for support. Not to mention, they are affordable too. Today, the company announces that its latest flagship, the OnePlus 5T, will soon be available in a very limited edition color -- Sandstone White. Despite having the same specifications and just being a new color, the company says the phone "is the most complex device we have ever built."

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When it comes to computer building, yes, looks do matter. It sort of annoys me when people say a PC's appearance is meaningless. The same could be said about cars, clothes and houses -- why bother having different colors? They should all be gray! True, they would essentially function the same, but it would be rather boring too, right? So no, there is nothing wrong with taking pride and having fun with your computer's appearance -- both inside and out.

To drive that point home, G.SKILL launches new DDR4 RAM sticks under the "Sniper X" branding. This memory stands out because of its appearance. You see, the company has given it really cool camouflage-inspired heatsinks. Appearance aside, kits can be had in capacities up to 128GB with speeds up to 3600MHz -- it is not form over function!

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Earlier today, we reported on some shocking news -- there is a serious vulnerability that affects Intel processors. To make matters worse, patching that vulnerability -- now known as "Meltdown" -- would cause an up-to 30 percent performance degradation. Yikes!

If you have an AMD processor, you are safe, right? Yes, but not really. You see, yet another vulnerability has been revealed that impacts all modern processors, such as those from Intel, AMD, and yeah, even ARM chips. This vulnerability is called "Spectre," and it has the potential to put the entire technology industry into a tailspin. Seriously, folks, this is very bad -- it is like the computing apocalypse. What's the worst that could happen? Well, your data and passwords could leak and you are almost powerless to stop it.

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