This has been an interesting week for Linux Mint. The team released the official beta for the Cinnamon and Mate versions of "Sonya," signaling a final release should be here soon. While that is good news, there was some bad news too. While technically not a Linux Mint issue, it was discovered that the MintBox 2 had a bios vulnerability. Luckily, there is already a patch for the diminutive computer.

Today, we can get back to the positive news, as there are two new Linux Mint releases. You can immediately download Linux Mint 18.2 'Sonya' Beta ISO images with the KDE or Xfce desktop environments. True, the Mint experience is usually all about Cinnamon and Mate, but the team offers a choice to those that dislike the standard environments.

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Today is a historic day for gaming, as earlier, Microsoft revealed its newest video game console -- Xbox One X. The latest variant of Xbox is smaller and more powerful than any model before it. It is backwards compatible with all Xbox One titles, and it also works with Microsoft's "Game Pass" subscription service, which offers over 100 downloadable games.

Regardless of which version of the console you have -- Xbox One, Xbox One S, or Xbox One X -- there is a good chance you might fill the internal hard drive. While 500GB or 1TB seems like a lot, it can fill quickly -- especially with the aforementioned subscription service. Today, Seagate announces a special USB hard drive for Xbox One. Called "Game Drive Hub," it features a 3.5-inch 8TB drive and a front-facing two-port USB hub.

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After a long time of hearing the code name "Project Scorpio" for Microsoft's next console, we finally have an official product name -- Xbox One X. The 4K/60-focused gaming system launches on November 7, just in time for the 2017 holiday shopping season. Parents will appreciate the backwards compatibility -- it can run all Xbox One games and works with all existing accessories too. In other words, you don't need to start the library anew.

The Xbox One X has an AMD-designed octa-core CPU clocked at 2.3GHz, a 6-teraflop Radeon GPU, and 12GB of GDDR5 memory with an impressive 326GB/sec memory bandwidth. For storage, it will come with a 1TB hard drive -- no more 500GB. It once again features a 4K Blu-ray drive too. This new console easily beats the PlayStation 4 Pro, which should give Sony some concern. While the PS4 has many great exclusives, so too will the Xbox One/S/X -- Microsoft announces 22 such games being shown at E3.

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G.SKILL makes excellent memory -- affordable and dependable. When someone asks me for advice on RAM, it is among the few brands I recommend first. Many in-the-know system builders will echo my feelings.

To highlight how good the RAM can be, G.SKILL announces that its DDR4 memory is now a record-holder. You see, a user has successfully overclocked some of its sticks to 5.5GHz! This trounces the previous record of 5GHz.

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PC gaming is exploding in popularity. Not only are people playing games, but they are watching other people play on services like Twitch. Heck, even eSports is being more accepted as a legitimate spectator sport -- you can watch such competitions on television. Crazy times, eh?

With PC gaming growing, so too are the number of products -- mice, keyboard, headsets and more. One of the most important things a gamer can buy is a quality monitor. Today, Samsung unveils two new displays (CHG70 and CHG90) with jaw-dropping features. Both models feature QLED Quantum Dot technology and the all-new Radeon FreeSync 2, which is AMD's solution for reducing screen-tearing. The 49-inch CHG90 is the most exciting of the bunch, however, as it features a neat resolution of 3840x1080. It is like putting two 1080p monitors side-by-side! The 27- and 31.5-inch CHG70 monitors have a resolution of 2560x1440.

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It used to be that laptops were pretty much just for portability. If you wanted, say, tons of storage, a desktop tower was the way to go. Thanks to faster external options using USB and Thunderbolt, it can be easy to add 3.5-inch hard drives with large capacities to a notebook setup. For instance, you can keep an enclosure on your desk, and when you get home or to the office, you can connect it for access.

USB 3.1 Generation 2 is the fastest such USB connection, and it will allow a very seamless experience when connecting an external storage device. True, when using mechanical hard drives, you won't be saturating the 3.1 gen 2 interface, but it can't hurt to have. Today, Startech launches a new such product -- the USB 3.1 Dual 3.5-inch SATA HDD Enclosure with RAID. It can accommodate two 3.5-inch mechanical hard drives. As the "Raid" in the name implies, it can do RAID 0, RAID 1, SPAN(BIG) and JBOD. It even includes both Type-A and Type-C cables depending on your connection needs.

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When it comes to product design, there are many paths to take. You can, of course, go for a basic and boring design, or opt for an elegant style. But what about fun? Playful and whimsical designs are not just for children -- adults can enjoy some funkiness too.

A great example of fun design comes from Logitech. Each year, it releases a collection of mobile wireless mice with playful exteriors. For 2017, the company is introducing the Doodle Collection for its M325C and M317C wireless mice. Believe it or not, this is the ninth such edition! This year, the company has gone extreme, as the doodles are really weird.

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System76 sells really great Ubuntu Linux laptops, but there has been one glaring issue -- the machines aren't exactly svelte. Don't get me wrong, the notebooks aren't ridiculously large or heavy, but compared to, say, a new MacBook Pro, there is a very big difference.

Many people have been anxiously awaiting a thin and light System76 laptop, and I am happy to say that it is finally here. The newest version of the Galago Pro notebook is very elegant, featuring an aluminum body and HiDPI display. But is the whole package worth your money?

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There is a belief that Linux-based computers are inherently secure, and yeah, there is some truth to that. With that said, no operating system, kernel, or hardware is infallible. All computers have vulnerabilities and can ultimately be hacked.

A good example of this is the Linux Mint-powered MintBox 2. While the diminutive PC is not built by the Linux Mint team (it is merely a rebranded Intense PC), it is supported by them. Today, it is revealed that the computer is suffering from a dangerous vulnerability that can impact the machine's BIOS. Luckily, a patch is available.

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If you are a hardcore user of Apple products and you need cloud storage, iCloud is your best bet. True, a solution like Dropbox offers better cross-platform support -- including for Linux desktop -- but if you have, for instance, a Mac, iPhone, and iPad, iCloud just works so smoothly. If you are all-in on Apple, choosing anything else will lead to a lesser experience.

Today, iCloud gets even better, as Apple lowers the 2TB monthly price to $9.99 -- what was previously the cost of the now-eliminated 1TB option. Best of all, if you are already signed up for the 1TB tier, you have been upgraded at no extra cost. In other words, Apple has automatically doubled your available storage without the need to jump through any hoops! How cool is that?

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With the future of Ubuntu uncertain, and with Canonical abandoning the Unity desktop environment, now is a great time to try Linux Mint. Since it has Ubuntu as a base, but instead uses Mate or Cinnamon -- environments with a future -- it should be an easy transition for users of Canonical's Linux-based operating system.

Today, the upcoming version of Linux Mint, 18.2 "Sonya," achieves BETA release. It is based on Ubuntu 16.04 and uses Linux kernel 4.8. You can download either the Mate or Cinnamon ISOs now. Yeah, its a pre-release operating system so you should proceed with caution, but historically, these BETA releases have proven quite stable -- you will probably be fine.

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Apple makes terrible mice, but boy, oh boy, the company makes a mean keyboard. The iPhone-maker understands how to create a quality typing experience -- including on its laptops. Its wireless Magic Keyboard is a personal favorite for both macOS and Windows.

Unfortunately, the company has made buying their keyboards a tough affair. You see, it produces both wired and wireless variants, but only the former has a numeric keypad. In other words, you had to choose between having a wireless keyboard and having a number pad. Today this changes, however, as Apple releases the Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad. The company released it quietly, which is understandable, as it made many announcements during WWDC today.

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Ever since the first iPad was released back in 2010, people have dreamed about replacing their laptop with the tablet. The big draw, of course, was not having to carry a heavy and bulky notebook. At the time, many such portable computers were quite thick and heavy, making them a chore to lug around. Even though there are much thinner and lighter notebooks nowadays, the dream of replacing them with an iPad remains; even more since the release of iPad Pro.

Earlier today, Apple announced new 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch Apple iPad Pro tablets. While the company makes its own keyboard case for these slates, that hasn't stopped third-party companies from making arguably superior offerings. Today, Logitech unveils its latest such keyboard cases for the newest iPad Pro models. Called "Slim Combo," it will protect your iPad Pro while also making it a powerful laptop -- it even has a place to hold the Apple Pencil. The keyboard is removable, so you can use the iPad as a traditional tablet without removing the tablet from the case. It even draws its power from the Smart Connector, meaning no need for batteries!

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When Amazon released the Echo hardware and Alexa voice assistant, no one knew for sure how successful it would be. Since the release, however, it has proven wildly popular -- not only with users, but with developers and hardware-makers too. There are many devices that work with Alexa, not to mention, countless skills.

Following Echo being a runaway success, Google copied it with its Home assistant. Curiously absent in this copying, however, was Apple. Since the company already has a voice assistant with Siri, it seemed like creating a hardware speaker would be a no-brainer. Sadly, one did not surface -- until now. Today, Apple announces the product for which many people were clamoring -- HomePod. Unfortunately for the company, the product will be a tough sell.

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When Apple unveiled the newest MacBook Pro laptops in October of 2016, some people were upset that they didn't come with 7th-generation Intel Kaby Lake processors. Instead, the company opted for the 6th-gen chips. One big issue with this is that the memory was limited to DDR3 rather than the newest DDR4. Despite these shortcomings, the machines sold well -- they were hard to come by for quite some time after launch.

Today, Apple finally refreshes the MacBook Pro machines with the latest such Intel processors. But that is not all. In addition to the Pro laptop, the company is delivering Kaby Lake to the newest MacBook (non-pro) and iMac computers too. Surprisingly, the MacBook Air gets a little speed bump to 1.8GHz.

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