Brian Fagioli

Ubuntu 17.10 is almost here, and many Linux users are excited. Canonical's operating system is already excellent, but it will soon be even better thanks to a new default desktop environment -- GNOME. What this means for the Ubuntu-based Linux Mint's usage remains to be seen. You see, many people choose Mint because they do not like the Unity DE. Now that Ubuntu has ditched Unity, the reasons to opt for a distro based on Ubuntu rather than using "The Real McCoy" are dwindling.

But OK, if you are still a diehard Linux Mint user for some reason, I have some interesting news. Version 18.3 is coming soon, and we now know the official code name. As is typical with the Mint operating system, a woman's name is being used. This time, "Sylvia" has been selected. Besides the name, we know some other interesting tidbits -- the distro will be getting a secondary default backup tool (Timeshift), and Xreader is being significantly improved.

Continue reading →

Kodi is quite possibly the best media center software of all time. If you are looking to watch videos or listen to music, the open source solution provides an excellent overall experience. Thanks to its support for "addons," it has the potential to become better all the time. You see, developers can easily add new functionality by writing an addon for the platform. And yes, some addons can be used for piracy, but not all of them are. These addons, such as Exodus and Covenant, are normally added using a repository, which hosts them.

Unfortunately, there can apparently be security issues with repositories when they shut down. For example, when the metalkettle repo ended, the developer deleted its entry on GitHub. This in itself is not a cause for concern, but unfortunately, GitHub's allowance of project names to be recycled is. You see, someone re-registered the metalkettle name, making it possible for nefarious people to potentially serve up malware to Kodi users.

Continue reading →

If you are like me, your laptop doubles as a desktop. With notebooks being so powerful nowadays, it is often wasteful to have a dedicated desktop too. Yeah, if you are a gamer or have some hardcore video editing needs, for instance, a tower may serve you well. For everyone else, however, a laptop connected to a monitor is probably more than enough.

With a quality docking station or dock, such as the excellent OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock for Apple MacBook Pro, a single cable can charge your laptop and connect all of your accessories. Unfortunately, with this type of a solution, there is nowhere to put the laptop. In other words, the laptop just sits on the desk, taking up room, while also being vulnerable to spills. A stand can solve these issues, and today, Satechi unveils an all-new absolutely beautiful vertical variant.

Continue reading →

Auto-playing videos on websites. Is there anything worse? Sigh. They have caused me a lot of grief over the years. For instance, I am sitting alone quietly browsing the web at night, when all of a sudden, a loud autoplay video starts, awakening the other people in my home. Quite frankly, once I learn that a website uses this type of media, I try to avoid the site going forward -- if possible.

Today, Google announces that it will be empowering Chrome users to fight back against these annoying videos. Starting with version 63 of the web browser, users will be given the option to permanently mute audio on specific websites. Taking it a step further, version 64 will automatically block all autoplay videos with sound by default, unless the user specifically whitelists that site.

Continue reading →

Virtual reality is hardly new, but the technology is finally getting to a point where it is fairly affordable and easy to use. It still has a long way to go before it can truly be considered mainstream, as for now, it is largely just for enthusiasts and gamers. There will need to be some truly great non-gaming uses to propel VR to the next level.

Google Earth VR is the type of application that could get people excited about virtual reality, and today, it gains an amazing new feature -- Street View. Yes, with the help of either an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, you can experience Street View in a more immersive way.

Continue reading →

In the United States, there are four major cell carriers -- Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint. They are not the only game in town, however, as there are regional carriers too. Not to mention, there are many MVNO offerings that piggyback off of the towers belonging to the aforementioned "big four."

One interesting new player in the MVNO space is Comcast with its affordable and unlimited "Xfinity Mobile" offering. Limited to subscribers of Xfinity home service, it uses a combination of Verizon's excellent LTE network plus Xfinity's 18 million hotspots to maximize coverage. Today, Comcast announces that the the budget-friendly service will soon be getting Apple iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus.

Continue reading →

There are two very important technologies changing the computer landscape nowadays -- solid state drives and USB-C. SSDs are flash-based storage devices, meaning they are faster than traditional hard disk drives, while having no moving parts either. USB-C is just a connection type, but its reversible nature makes it an absolute dream for users -- Type-A connectors were a hassle as you had a 50-percent chance of inserting it incorrectly.

When these two things come together, you get a fast portable drive that can easily connect to the newest computers, such as the Apple MacBook Pro. I have been testing a very intriguing such external SSD lately from renowned company ADATA. This manufacturer is known for its high-quality memory products, such as RAM, flash drives, and solid state drives. The 512GB SSD I am testing, called "SE730H," is extremely small, very fast, and quite durable. It uses the USB 3.1 generation 2 interface.

Continue reading →

When people think of Linux-based operating systems, they often imagine people typing in a terminal or coding in a basement while drinking Mountain Dew -- yeah, those stupid old stereotypes still exist, sadly. While that is surely part of the user base, other users choose an open source operating system for nothing more than using their computer as a tool. In other words, some folks use Ubuntu, Fedora, or other distros just to get normal stuff done -- word processing, web surfing, and more. No terminal. No coding. No religious-like experiences.

For these Linux users, and others, the desktop environment sort of is the operating system. It is how they interact with their computer and launch their apps -- what's under the hood doesn't necessarily matter. For many, GNOME 3 is their preferred environment, and for good reason -- it is beautiful, intuitive, and getting better all the time. Today, GNOME 3.26 codenamed 'Manchester' sees release. It is chock full of improvements, such as a much-needed refreshed settings menu, enhanced search, and color emoji! Yes, Linux users like using the silly symbols too!

Continue reading →

As many of you know, 2.5-inch notebook mechanical hard drives are largely obsolete. The larger 3.5-inch desktop variants have a lot of life left in them, however, as they offer much more capacity compared to a solid state drive. If you want the most storage from a single SATA drive, a desktop HDD is where it's at -- for now.

Today, Western Digital unveils a monstrous desktop HDD as a part of its Enterprise-class "WD Gold" line. This new 12TB SATA model (WD121KRYZ) has a large 256MB cache, 7200RPM disk speed, and an impressive five-year limited warranty. Of course, such a massive capacity comes with a rather high price tag.

Continue reading →

Every home should have a Wi-Fi security camera nowadays. They are convenient, easy to use, and very affordable. It used to be a rather expensive affair to have security cameras installed in a home. Now? Not so much. Not only do they let you monitor your home remotely for security reasons, but they can help you keep an eye on family members and pets too.

Today, popular network hardware manufacturer TP-Link releases an all-new Wi-Fi security camera, and it looks rather nice. Called "KC120 Kasa Cam," it is inexpensive, making it a product homeowners should consider. It even comes with free cloud storage. The camera has some nice features and specs, such as 1080p video, night vision, activity alerts, 2-way audio communication, and an adjustable magnetic base for easy placement.

Continue reading →

It has been two years since Apple announced its 4th-generation media box. While it hasn't been the most popular device for home media, it is certainly one of the most elegant. Quite frankly, to call it a media box is a bit of a misnomer. Actually, Apple TV is also a full-fledged video game console too.  You can use the innovative remote to control music and videos, but it can also serve as a game controller. Optionally, you can also pair a more traditional game pad if you prefer. Hell, it can even order pizza!

The biggest criticism of the 4th-gen Apple TV has been the lack of 4K support. Two years ago, Ultra HD televisions were fairly rare, so Apple was probably smart to focus on 1080p at the time. In 2017. however, 4K is much more prevalent. And so, today, the iPhone-maker unveils the all-new 5th-generation Apple TV with 4K support. Besides the improved resolution output, it also supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10 for HDR video. This will lend to sharper imagery.

Continue reading →

Look, mechanical hard disk drives are on their way out. The technology is quite outdated -- solid state storage is obviously the future. For the short term, however, these mechanical drives do have some value, mostly because they are inexpensive comparatively. With SSD storage capacities increasing, the need for a HDD -- especially the 2.5-inch form factor -- is entirely due to cost savings at this point.

Toshiba is happy to manufacture these HDDs as long as people and laptop makers are buying them, and today, the company unveils its latest offering. Called "MQ04," it is a 1TB 2.5-inch drive that is very slim at a mere 7mm. The small physical design is possible because internally, there is just a single spinning 1TB disk.

Continue reading →

When people think of contributing to either a closed or open source project, they often imagine needing the knowledge of coding. Actually, there are many ways to contribute besides programming, such as moderating a community for the project, spreading awareness, or helping to write documentation to name a few.

The documentation aspect of any project is very important, as it can help people to both understand it and track changes. Unfortunately, many developers aren't very interested in documentation aspect, so it often gets neglected. Luckily, if you want to maintain proper documentation and stay organized, today, Google is releasing its internal developer documentation style guide. This can quite literally guide your documentation, giving you a great starting point and keeping things consistent.

Continue reading →

When I decided to buy my first-ever Mac last year, I was beyond excited. Unfortunately, I hit a quick roadblock. You see, I spend half of my time using laptops as makeshift desktop computers; when I am home, I prefer to use a large monitor, keyboard, and mouse. For the best experience, I would need some sort of dock, and Apple just doesn't make one.

Luckily, Apple's wise use of Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C meant it would be easy to obtain a docking solution. I quickly learned, however, that many solutions on the market were terrible. USB-C based solutions caused the most issues, such as various sleep/wake errors and disconnecting USB storage drives. Even some Thunderbolt 3-based products had similar issues. Thankfully, I finally found a quality TB3 dock. Made by OWC, it features 13 "ports," allowing you to convert a MacBook Pro into a legitimate desktop alternative.

Continue reading →

If you are a resident of Florida, I hope you have evacuated by now. Remember folks, you can replace things, but not your life. Hurricane Irma is looking like a monster -- it will almost certainly cause severe destruction in the state. I pray that there are no further fatalities -- some people living in the Caribbean have already died as a result of Irma. It is heartbreaking. This storm follows Hurricane Harvey which left a path of sadness in Texas.

Thankfully, individuals and organizations have both big hearts and big wallets. There has been a huge outpouring of support for those impacted by these natural disasters. In fact, on September 12, there will be an hour-long, commercial-free, star-studded telethon called "Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Relief" which aims to raise money for folks affected by Irma and Harvey. Today, Apple pledges an impressive $5 million to the initiative.

Continue reading →