There is a common misconception that iPhone is for wealthy people, while Android is for folks with smaller budgets. While this isn't necessarily true, it is fair to say that Apple does not cater to the super low-end market. For those that don't have a lot of money to spend on a smartphone, Android is absolutely where it's at.

While there are many affordable Android devices, not all of them are of acceptable quality -- some can be horrible. If you want a good balance of power, features, and cost, Lenovo's Moto devices have historically been a smart bet. Today, the company announces two new such phones -- the Moto C and Moto C Plus. Each of them runs Android Nougat.

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Apple's macOS Sierra is a solid operating system. It is very mature and beautiful, not to mention, it is chock-full of user-focused features. Quite frankly, from a user experience perspective, it is probably the best OS by far. Still, there are other quality operating systems too, including Microsoft's excellent and always-improving Windows 10.

As great as macOS Sierra is, it is not perfect, meaning Apple is constantly looking to make it better. Today, the company releases the newest such version, 10.12.5. While not a revolutionary update by any means, it offers some important bug fixes and enhancements. The most interesting aspect of macOS Sierra 10.12.5 is improved Windows 10 Creators Update support for Boot Camp.

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The "WannaCrypt" ransomware has proven to be a disaster globally. This malware will encrypt a user's files and then demand some Bitcoin ransom to decrypt them. While the amount being demanded is relatively low at $300 or $600, the scam can be modified for even larger amounts. Heck, even after the ransom is paid, there is no guarantee that the bad guys will follow through with the decryption, making it quite the gamble. As the ransomware has disrupted government agencies, medical services, and other critical computers, the ransom is being paid by some, as it can literally be the the difference between life and death -- surgeries and other procedures have been delayed.

While there are many directions in which you can point the finger of blame, Microsoft should absolutely not shoulder any of the responsibility. After all, the vulnerability that led to the disaster was patched back in March. It never even affected the most recent version of the operating system, Windows 10. The company has even since patched the archaic Windows XP! So who is to blame? Users and administrators that failed to keep their systems up to date are partially at fault. The biggest blame belongs to an unlikely party -- the US Government! You see, an agency of our own government -- the NSA -- knew about the exploit, and rather than alert Microsoft, it chose to stockpile it for intelligence purposes. Sadly, the exploit itself got leaked, and as a result, it landed into the hands of evildoers.

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GNOME is not just a desktop environment, but a collection of apps too. Some are useful, while others... not so much. Case in point, GNOME has a new program called "Recipes." It is quite literally a searchable database of cooking recipes. While there is nothing really wrong with creating such an app, it sort of duplicates the functionality of a search engine, like Google or Bing. If resources were unlimited, I'd say more power to the developers. The open source project largely relies on donations, however, and it could be argued that Recipes is a bit unnecessary.

There is one particularly interesting aspect of Recipes -- it is available for macOS. You see, the developers have successfully ported the app to Apple's desktop operating system. While I'm dubious that Mac users will actually want the app, it is still rather cool.

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The MacBook Pro is a great laptop, but its lack of ports can be frustrating -- it only has Thunderbolt 3/USB-C. As the owner of Apple's latest computer, I have experienced situations where I didn't have a dongle and was left quite annoyed. Because of this, I have decided that I need some sort of dongle for these occasions.

Today, Satechi announces its latest such dongle, and it looks great. The Aluminum Thunderbolt 3 Type-C Pro Hub Adapter for MacBook Pro (13- and 15-inch) is designed to be the perfect dongle -- the only one you'll need to buy. While it meets many needs, it does fall short of perfection.

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When Microsoft brought Ubuntu to Windows 10, it was monumental. No, Microsoft wasn't abandoning its own operating system for Linux, but the company was showing developers that it was open-minded towards such things.

Today, Microsoft is taking its embrace of Linux a step further. With Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, the company is delivering versions of three popular Linux distributions to its Windows Store. Yes, folks, Linux on Microsoft's app store -- shocking! For now, it will be limited to Fedora, Ubuntu, and SUSE.

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Windows 10 is an absolute success -- it can not be disputed any longer. After all, the operating system is running on over 500 million active devices! Think about that, folks. A half billion devices running an OS in under two years. The latest version of Windows 10 in particular -- the Creators Update -- has proven to be very refined and chock full of useful features.

Today, Microsoft announces that is is taking "creation" a step further with the next version of Windows 10. This time, it is called the "Fall Creators Update." Why is it called this? For two reasons. For one, it is a continuation on the current Creators Update, with a focus on creation. Secondly, it will be released in the Fall.

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While USB-C is certainly the future, there is one big issue with the connection type -- we live in the present. In other words, yeah, having Type-C connections on a computer is great for future-proofing, but most consumer devices still use the Type-A connector. If you buy a computer that only has USB-C, such as the newest MacBook Pro, you are going to need dongles for your existing peripherals and accessories.

Luckily, there is no shortage of dongles and adapters on the market nowadays. If you spend some money, you can get something that will meet your needs. Today, StarTech releases four new USB-C hubs, all with unique functionality. What they all share, however, is the ability to do power delivery. This means you can connect your USB-C charger to the hub, which then connects to the computer, so that a single port can both charge and handle data.

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Today at Build 2017, Microsoft unveiled many cool new technologies, but there was one particular announcement that truly touched the hearts of many in attendance. Called "Emma," it is a wrist wearable that can help people suffering with Parkinson's disease.

The device is named after the Parkinson's sufferer that helped Haiyan Zhang, Innovation Director at Microsoft Research, create the device. What exactly does it do? Well, the incurable disease causes body tremors in those inflicted, and as a result, Emma has very shaky hands. This disease makes it impossible for her to draw straight lines or write legibly. With the wearable on her wrist, however, normal writing and drawing is possible. Remarkably, how it works isn't 100 percent known.

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Mechanical keyboards are excellent for many tasks, but for some reason, they have recently become largely associated with gaming only. This is a shame, as typists can benefit greatly from a quality mechanical keyboard. There is no reason that office workers should be made to suffer through using low-quality keyboards.

Apparently, Logitech wasn't happy with these keyboards only being designed for, and marketed to, gamers. Today, the company unveils a new conservatively designed mechanical keyboard for office use. The K840, as it is called, is devoid of flashy lights and colors, making it more appropriate for a business setting.

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Microsoft has faced a lot of criticism regarding privacy in Windows 10, and rightfully so. Look, even if the company has good intentions for its use of telemetry, users are wise to question how their data is being used. Make no mistake, it is the user's data that is being transmitted to Microsoft's servers.

Today, however, at the 2017 Build developer conference, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella makes a shocking statement -- he is fearful of technology taking humanity down a dangerous path. He even mentions George Orwell's classic novel 1984 where "big brother" is always watching.

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A laptop can make it easier to get work done on the go, but there are limitations compared to a desktop. One of the biggest pain points is that you are forced to use a single display when away from home. A dual-monitor setup can be very beneficial for productivity, and being limited to one can be frustrating.

Luckily, there are portable external monitors designed for laptops. Yes, you can use a dual display system at, say, a Starbucks for added productivity. Today, AOC announces its latest such offering for both macOS and Windows. The 16-inch (15.6-inch viewable) display (model number I1659FWUX) uses USB 3.0 for both video and power, meaning you can easily pack it into your backpack or other laptop bag when needed -- there is no additional bulky power cable to remember.

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Fedora is a wonderful Linux distribution, as it is both stable and modern. One of the biggest selling points of the operating system is that is relies on truly free open source software. This means it won't have patented or closed-source non-free packages by default. Of course, in-the-know Fedora users often added these needed packages after the fact by using third-party repositories, such as RPM Fusion.

Over the years, one of the biggest pain points for Fedora was a lack of MP3 playback due to its FOSS focus. For someone switching from Windows or Mac, it could be very surprising and upsetting that they couldn't do something as simple as play a song, or rip/convert a CD to MP3. This will soon become a thing of the past, as both MP3 decoding and encoding are coming to the operating system by default. Unfortunately, this is a case of "too little too late," as the concept of storing music locally is becoming obsolete.

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Augmented reality is an impressive technology with a big future. While there are many demos surrounding AR and mixed reality, and despite some limited real-world use, it is still largely a promise at this point. In other words, the maturing technology is hardly in the mainstream, and many of its current uses are arguably inconsequential.

Today, however, augmented reality is being shown to potentially have a significant impact on the medical community. You see, a company called "Scopis" has developed a surgery solution that leverages Microsoft HoloLens. By wearing the mixed reality glasses, the surgeon sees an overlay, allowing him/her to achieve better accuracy. This, in turn, can improve the success rate of certain surgical procedures. In this case, the focus is largely on the spine, but it could be made to work with any type of surgery.

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Earlier this week, Microsoft made huge news by announcing both a new operating system (Windows 10 S) and computer (Surface Laptop) for education. Next week, the company will hold its annual Build 2017 developer conference. Surely the company will relax a bit for the rest of the month, right?

Nope. Today, Microsoft shocks the technology community by unveiling yet another event for the month of May. Not only is the timing a surprise, but so too is the location. You see, the company will be making a big Surface announcement in Shanghai! Microsoft says it will "show the world what's next."

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