Brian Fagioli

There is this stereotype that Linux is not conducive to creativity, and I want you to know it is totally false. True, some photographers, videographers, and other types of artists may opt for a Mac or Windows machine, but they can be just as creative with open source and Linux. Not to mention, if you are a maker, engineer, or other type of creator, Linux is probably your best option.

The folks over at System76 have been preaching about the benefits of Linux and open source for many years, and its excellent Linux-powered computers are used by many creative professionals -- including Pixar. This year, however, the computer seller decided to take things a step further by creating its own Ubuntu-based operating system. Called "Pop!_OS," it aims to inspire its users. The company wants to get more people using the distro, so today, it announces a really cool new contest. By simply trying the operating system and sharing your experience with System76, you could win some sweet prizes, including a trip to the company's headquarters in Denver, CO!

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Holiday shopping is here, which means many consumers are visiting popular retailers like Walmart, Kohl’s, and Target. True, more and more shoppers are opting for an online experience from websites like Amazon, but the brick-and-mortar sellers are still wildly popular. Yeah, waiting in line stinks, but it can sometimes be more rewarding to see products in person. Shoes and clothing in particular can be tried on before buying.

Regarding those long lines that shoppers despise, Target has found a way to make them move a bit quicker. You see, starting today, the Target app for Android and iOS gains a new Wallet feature that makes the act of paying even faster. Better yet, it makes it easier to manage and use coupons.

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Linux Mint is a great operating system that I recommend highly. It is based on the rock-solid Ubuntu 16.04, meaning it is stable and compatible with many packages. For Windows converts in particular, Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop environment can be a very inviting first-time distribution that should offer a positive experience. The Mate DE variant is a solid choice too -- if your hardware is a bit anemic, that is.

Two desktop environments are probably the most that a Linux operating system should officially offer. Why? Too much choice can sometimes be bad, as it fragments the user experience and strains developer resources. Thankfully, the Linux Mint team seems to be seeing the light on this, as it will soon be ending the KDE version of the OS. There is still one final version of Mint that will offer KDE, however, and that is 18.3 Sylvia. Today, the beta version featuring that environment sees release.

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Apple's macOS is a great operating system. Not only is it stable and beautifully designed, but it is very secure too. Well, usually it is. Unless you live under a rock, you definitely heard about the macOS High Sierra security bug that made the news over the last couple of days. In case you somehow are unaware, the bug essentially made it so anyone could log into any Mac running the latest version of the operating system.

Luckily, Apple has already patched the bug, and some people -- like me -- have forgiven the company. Understandably, not everyone will be as forgiving as me. Undoubtedly, there are Mac users that are ready to jump ship as a result of the embarrassing bug. While that is probably an overreaction, if you are set on trying an alternative operating system, you should not go with Windows 10. Instead, you should embrace Linux. In fact, rather serendipitously, a Linux distribution with a UI reminiscent of macOS gets a new version today. Called "deepin," version 15.5 of the distro is now ready to download.

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While the MacBook Pro doesn’t have a dedicated video port, that really doesn’t matter. Thanks to its versatile USB-C ports, any port can output video with the correct cable or dongle. In other words, a USB-C to HDMI, VGA, or DisplayPort cable can allow you to easily connect a computer to a monitor or television.

Most USB-C to DisplayPort cables claim 4K support at the most, but there is a new cable that takes things up a notch. You see, a new product from a company called "Moshi" can apparently do 5K at 60Hz. The company claims this is the first-ever USB-C cable to be certified by VESA for that resolution. It can even do 4:4:4 chroma subsampling. While it is designed for MacBook and MacBook Pro, it should work fine with Windows and Linux computers too.

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For computer enthusiasts, we are living in a very exciting time. Hardware is faster than ever, while prices for parts are quite reasonable. You can build a very capable PC without breaking the bank.

One of my favorite components is the solid state drive. Not only are they much faster than traditional mechanical hard disk drives, but they can reduce power usage too -- a big win for battery life on laptops and tablets. Today, Toshiba unveils its latest such drive and it looks amazing. The 2TB XG5-P is NVMe based, meaning it will be blazing fast.

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I am not a rich man. With that said, when I bought my first-ever Mac computer last year -- a 2016 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar -- parting with that much cash was a very big deal for me. I spent more on this laptop than my first car! Why did I buy it? After being impressed by iOS and liking the way the two operating systems worked together, I decided to use Mac OS X (now macOS) in addition to my favorite Linux distributions. To be honest, I feel more safe on Apple's desktop operating system than on Windows 10. I also like how Tim Cook and company stand up for privacy. In other words, I trusted Apple.

And then yesterday happened. It was revealed that macOS High Sierra had one of the worst security bugs ever. By entering "root" as the username, followed by a blank password, anybody could access any Mac running macOS 10.13.1. As soon as I read about this embarrassing vulnerability, my heart sank. I gave Apple thousands of my hard earned dollars because I valued security and privacy, and I was rewarded with incompetence. Well, I am happy to say that my head is much cooler today, and Apple has regained my trust. Why? Because the company has already patched the bug.

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This holiday season, many consumers are buying 4K televisions -- and rightly so. Look, UHD offers significant improvements over 1080p, while prices for these displays are at all-time lows. If you need a television, it would be foolish not to get a 4K variant at this time.

What if I told you that 4K was old news? It’s true. While UHD is hardly obsolete -- it will be around for a very long time -- the future is starting to emerge.  You see, today, the HDMI Forum releases the next standard -- HDMI 2.1. This will not only allow 10K video content, but 8K @ 60Hz and 4K @ 120Hz. This won’t just benefit movie playback either -- gamers will be big winners once hardware catches up.

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Linux Mint is a great operating system. For those that want an alternative to Windows 10, it is a wonderful choice for two specific reasons. For one, it has a superior user interface. Whether you opt for the Cinnamon desktop environment or instead choose Mate, you will have a more intuitive experience than the insanity that is Windows 10. Secondly and more importantly, however, you don't have to worry about a billion dollar company tracking all of your activity. While telemetry sometimes has its benefits, Microsoft seems to have forgotten that their operating system is a guest on your computer. Again, it is your computer -- not the Windows-maker's.

Today, after a short beta period, the latest version of Linux Mint becomes available for download. Version 18.3, which is named "Sylvia," should undoubtedly be the best version ever. It is an evolutionary release that builds on its solid Ubuntu 16.04 LTS foundation. In other words, Sylvia should be extremely stable and reliable. Best of all, it is supported until 2021 -- this is very impressive. You can confidently install this on your or a family member's computer without worry about dropped support. The release uses Linux kernel 4.10 and comes with native Flatpak support.

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Today is Cyber Monday, y’all! It’s basically Black Friday, but instead of shopping at brick and mortar retailers, you shop online instead. Oh yeah, it’s a Monday rather than a Friday too. For some people, today is the ultimate shopping day as you can score some amazing deals without leaving your house -- no savage fistfights at Walmart or Target.

Before you head over to Amazon or Newegg to score some new technology devices, can I make a suggestion? Consider a Linux-powered desktop or laptop from System76. These are computers that come with an Ubuntu-based operating system pre-installed. Today only, for Cyber Monday, the company is giving some rare discounts on most of its computers.

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When consumers buy RAM for their computers, they often look at the rated speed. That is a smart thing to do, although it is only part of the picture. Actually, CAS latency timings are just as important, if not sometimes more so. You see, it is sometimes possible to get better performance out of slower RAM with a lower CAS rating. In other words, throwing money at MHz and ignoring CAS is a big mistake. Here is a great video to learn more about RAM timings.

Today, G.SKILL announces a 32GB CL17 Trident Z RGB DDR4-4266MHz memory kit, which the company claims is the only RAM at that speed with a CAS latency of 17. In addition, there are CL17 Trident Z RGB kits at 4000MHz and 4133MHz too. To prove stability, G.SKILL has successfully tested the kits using an impressive machine -- an Intel Core i7-8700K CPU and ASUS ROG MAXIMUS X HERO motherboard running Windows 10. The memory easily ran at both claimed speeds and latency without errors using Intel XMP 2.0.

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If there is someone in your life that loves technology, and you want to get them a really great Christmas gift, look no further than the Microsoft Store. Seriously folks, if you want to delight someone special, just get them an Xbox One or Surface. If Microsoft's Surface-branded computers are too expensive, there are plenty of other Windows 10 devices from which to choose too.

Understandably, buying such extravagant gifts might be a hardship financially, so if you have been waiting for the best time to make that purchase, please know that now is when you should finally pull the trigger. You see, Microsoft's Black Friday 2017 has gone live a day early! Yes, you can score a great deal on Surface, Xbox, and Windows 10 devices right now. Here's the details, y'all.

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YouTube is an amazing place to consume media. There is great family-friendly content from people like iJustine and Rosanna Pansino, for instance. Unfortunately, there is another side of Google's video site, where people such as Pewdiepie and Leafy post racist and sexist content. For parents, it can be quite difficult to know which videos are appropriate for children. Sometimes adult content can even show up in the YouTube Kids app.

To make matters worse, some content creators have been disguising adult-themed videos as being family-friendly -- a wolf in sheep's clothing, if you will. For instance, what may appear to be a video about Spider-Man and Elsa from Disney's Frozen, can quickly morph into a video about feces and hypodermic needles. I kid you not -- there are some truly bizarre videos designed to exploit children on YouTube nowadays. It is being referred to by some as "Elsagate," and this excellent video does a great job of explaining the growing phenomenon. Sadly, these weird videos generate a lot of revenue too, leading to copycats. Thankfully, Google has apparently had enough, as it now vows to crack down on adult content that masquerades as being family friendly.

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The concept of taking a cab is hardly new. Any person in a major city can hold out their arm and hail a ride. In smaller communities, you simply call a cab company and schedule a car. You can pay cash for the trip and even be anonymous -- the driver doesn't have to know who you are. No private information to get stolen. Easy peasy.

But OK, many consumers got "app fever" over the last decade, and as a result Uber was born. If you aren't familiar, it is a ride-sharing service where you summon a car using your smartphone. Instead of professional drivers, however, you are transported by amateurs. Even worse, you can only pay digitally -- no privacy. The company has a horrible overall track record too -- negative workplace culture, sexual harassment, and a lack of respect for user privacy. Today, you can add another scandal to the list, as Uber pulls yet another boner. You see, last year -- in 2016 -- the company experienced a data breach and failed to disclose it -- until today, that is. Sigh. Maybe we should all go back to taking yellow cabs...

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If you work in an office, you have undoubtedly sat through a boring PowerPoint presentation. Yeah, it is easy to criticize the people doing the presenting for being deficient, but quite often, it isn’t their fault. After all, giving a successful presentation is a skill that must be learned. True, some folks are naturally social, but overall, you need to work on it. It is wrong to just thrust an employee into the fire without training.

Practice aside, hardware can help you better present too. A good remote/wireless presenter can improve your presentations dramatically. Not only will it give you the ability to move about the room, but a good model will add functionality too. For instance, the Logitech Spotlight remote can help you to focus on specific aspects of slides by highlighting only what you want. It can even vibrate at timed intervals so you can better keep track of how long you have been speaking. Starting today, the Spotlight gets a new red color option for the holidays.

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