Brian Fagioli

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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Kodi -- the software previously known as XBMC -- is a cross-platform media center solution that many people enjoy daily. Quite frankly, its not hard to see why it has become so ubiquitous -- it has tons of features, a great user interface, and the ability to gain new functionality with addons.

While the program is 64-bit on macOS, Android, and Linux desktop operating systems, Windows has remained a 32-bit affair. According to the developers, the transition to 64-bit on Windows was not seen as a priority. Finally, however, after many years of users requesting a 64-bit Windows program, it is here. Well, technically, it is still a nightly development release, but users can download that immediately and begin using it. A stable release will be here soon, with a UWP version much further out.

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If you are looking for a dedicated media box for your living room or bedroom, the first thing you should consider is Kodi. This is a media center software package that delivers a very focused consumption experience. It can even be customized with "addons," although some of them can be used for piracy -- something we do not condone.

Unfortunately, Kodi is not its own operating system, meaning it has to be run on top of an OS. Sure, you could use Windows 10, but that is overkill if you only want to run Kodi. Instead, a lightweight Linux distribution that only serves to run the media center is preferable. One of the most popular such distros is OpenELEC. It can run on traditional PC hardware, but also Raspberry Pi, and, my favorite -- WeTek boxes. Today, version 8.0.4 achieves stable release. It is a fairly ho-hum update, focusing mostly on fixes and stability.

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When you need a Bluetooth speaker, there is no shortage of options. With that said, many of those options sound terrible. Quite often, these wireless speakers are designed more for portability and convenience -- sound quality be damned. I've heard many a Bluetooth speaker with such muddy sound that it was preferable to just use a phone's integrated speaker.

Luckily, not all Bluetooth speakers are bad. In fact, some are damn good. One such brand that always delivers in this regard is Ultimate Ears. Regardless of price point, you can count on its products for an excellent music-listening experience. Two of the company's top Bluetooth speakers -- the BOOM 2 and MEGABOOM are getting limited-edition makeovers. There are eight new styles from which to choose, and Ultimate Ears calls this collection "Second Street." Best of all, pricing remains the same -- there is no limited-edition premium.

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On June 18, Father's Day will finally be here. This is a holiday that aims to highlight the importance of dads. If your father is still living, not only should you get the man a gift, but spend time with him too. Sometimes memories are the best gifts of all.

If your dad is particularly exceptional, you could totally get him a new man cave setup, but understandably, that is probably too expensive. Well, thanks to Logitech, you still may be able to get your dad the 'Ultimate Man Cave'. The company is giving one winner a Sony X900E 4K television and a Harmony remote. A TV and a remote alone do not make a man cave, however, so Logitech is including a lot more too.

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Earlier today, Microsoft officially launched its Xbox Game Pass service for all users. If you aren't familiar, please know that it is essentially an all-you-can-eat-styled video game service. For a mere $9.99 per month, you can download and play 100+ Xbox One and 360 titles. It is insanely cool and a great value.

The problem? The games you download will take up a lot of space on your Xbox One's internal hard drive. Luckily, Microsoft makes it easy to expand the console's storage capacity -- just plug in a USB HDD or SSD. Today, Seagate announces an external mechanical hard drive that is designed for the console. The Game Drive for Xbox Game Pass Special Edition, as it is insanely called, can be had in either 2TB or 4TB. To sweeten the deal, you will get a complimentary Game Pass subscription!

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