Brian Fagioli

While camping is all about getting in touch with nature, technology certainly has a place. For instance, you could build a fire by rubbing some sticks together, but matches or a lighter will make things far easier. Navigating by the stars or with a compass are legitimate ways to get around, but GPS can be much better.

For many, music is a necessary part of the camping experience -- playing their favorite tunes while sitting by the fire. Many Bluetooth speakers will meet that need, but today, ECOXGEAR announces an impressive durable model made for the outdoors. Called the "EcoSlate," it also serves as a 200 lumen lantern and USB battery pack. It charges using micro USB and it features a 3.5mm audio jack for devices without Bluetooth.

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Firefox is a wonderful open source web browser. As a result, it comes pre-loaded on many Linux-based operating systems, such as Ubuntu and Fedora. Yeah, some people choose to install Chromium or Chrome instead, but Mozilla's offering remains a staple in the Linux community.

Unfortunately, it has been revealed that the Firefox web browser will no longer be compatible with some computers running a Linux-based operating system. You see, Mozilla has dropped support for certain Intel and AMD processors.

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The MacBook Pro is a wonderful laptop, but its lack of ports is a hardship for some. While you can leverage dongles and adapters, that is hardly elegant. Luckily, since Apple's laptop supports Thunderbolt 3, a compatible single-cable dock can transform it into a quality desktop experience.

Today, LaCie announces an absolutely genius such solution, called "2big Dock." This Neil Poulton-designed docking station offers DisplayPort for connecting a monitor (resolutions up to 4K UHD), plus the ability to charge the laptop using the same cable used for connectivity. It also has a USB Type-A port, Type-C port, plus full-sized SD and Compact Flash slots. The real magic is that it also doubles as a storage drive, offering large capacities of 12TB, 16TB or 20TB!

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With the launch of AMD's Polaris-based Radeon 400 series of graphics cards, the company did something amazing -- it targeted the average consumer (the "every man"). While NVIDIA often targets the expensive high end, AMD instead opted to cater to realistic budgets. The company's focus paid off, as many budget and mid-range gamers had positive experiences from the cards.

Now, the company is back with the newer Radeon 500 series -- the second generation of Polaris. While the performance increase from 400 to 500 series will be modest, pricing remains virtually identical. In other words, owners of, say, an RX 480, will probably not want to bother upgrading to an RX 580. For owners of older cards, however, these new 500 series cards will offer solid performance at very affordable prices. With these cards, AMD is also introducing a new feature called "Radeon Chill" which allows the user to decrease performance for lower temperatures.

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While I am a huge fan of mechanical keyboards, I am not a fan of all mechanical keyboards. What I mean to say is, not all of them are created equally. In fact, many of these keyboards can be downright terrible -- even from some so called reputable brands. You see, it is not uncommon for a company to simply slap its name on a low-quality offering. With that said, some lesser-known brands sometimes make really good keyboards -- it can be a crapshoot.

All of these variables can make it difficult for consumers to make a good choice -- especially when they are looking at low-priced budget models. Logitech is looking to change this, however, with the all-new G413 Mechanical Backlit Gaming Keyboard. Priced at a very low $89.99, you get the company's legendary quality and much-respected Romer-G switches. I have been testing this keyboard and have come away very impressed.

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Solid state drives are new and "sexy" nowadays, so understandably, mechanical hard disk drives aren't exactly exciting. With that said, SSDs cannot touch HDDs from a capacity standpoint, so they are still very much relevant -- not only for large businesses and data centers, but for home users and small businesses too.

Today, Toshiba launches a new mechanical HDD that offers capacities up to 8TB. The company says the 3.5 inch drive is primarily for networked attached storage, but it can, of course, also be used inside PCs or with USB enclosures. The consumer-focused drive is designed to last, as Toshiba calls it "High-Reliability."

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When buying a computer monitor nowadays, there are a lot of factors to consider. Price is very important, as it will determine what type of features and specifications you can get. Of course, cost aside, you must determine what you need and want. Yeah, a high resolution is great, but can your computer handle, say, a 4K display? Gamers, for instance, need to decide if they want to take a performance hit for a higher resolution.

Toady, AOC unveils a beautiful new 4K UHD display. This curved monitor features 10-bit color, making it a good choice for professionals. Its thin bezels and elegant overall design will make it attractive in any type of setting.

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We live in a wonderful world where you can do hardcore PC gaming literally anywhere. Thanks to powerful laptops, you can play modern PC games in such places as a park, at a kitchen table, or coffee shop. Unfortunately, many of these gaming laptops are hardly portable -- they can be quite heavy and bulky. Luckily, there are thinner and lighter models nowadays.

Today, MSI launches some new fairly svelte gaming notebooks -- the GP62X and GP72X Leopard Pro Series. These machines feature modern specifications, such as Kaby Lake processors, DDR4, and NVMe storage drives. Not to mention, they are very attractive -- the RGB backlit keyboard looks quite lovely.

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By now you undoubtedly have seen news coverage of the so-called "Facebook Murder." While the social network was not responsible for the killing, the suspect did upload a video of the murder to Facebook. The video upload aspect of the killing has lead to reflections on society's reliance on social networks, but it is important to remember that there is a real victim here -- a 74-year old grandfather named Robert Godwin. His justice and remembrance is more important than blaming Facebook for not removing the video fast enough.

Of course, Facebook still has a responsibility to issue a statement on the situation, and today, Justin Osofsky, VP Global Operations, has done so. Osofsky explains that the murder "goes against our policies and everything we stand for."

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When you think of YouTube stars, you likely picture people like Casey Neistat, iJustine, and Leafyishere. Of course, we cannot forget Felix Kjellberg, also known as "PewDiePie" -- probably the most popular person on the video service. Despite some recent controversies, he has more than 54 million subscribers!

According to Google, PewDiePie apparently has some competition, but it is not by a human. Actually, the newest YouTube star is a zoo animal -- April the Giraffe. She gained notoriety due to a very long pregnancy which had people all over the world tuning in to see her calf being born. The baby was finally birthed this past Saturday, and now YouTube is sharing some impressive engagement numbers.

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Smartwatches haven't taken off as many manufacturers had hoped, and that is probably due to one big issue -- they largely duplicate smartphone functionality while also needing the phone to properly function. In other words, spending money so you don't have to pull your smartphone from your pocket isn't exactly a smart investment. For fitness, however, wearables have definitely found a market.

Luckily, smartwatches with integrated 4G LTE -- so you do not need to carry a smartphone -- may save the day, and Verizon has an attractive model on the way. The previously announced "Wear24" Android 2.0 smartwatch finally has official pricing and a release date, and you won't have to wait too long to buy it. You can use it to make and receive calls or listen to music without needing your phone nearby. How cool is that?

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Today at 3pm Eastern Time, the 2017 NBA Playoffs will begin. All of the playoff series are best of seven, meaning the first team to win four games in each is victorious and moves on. This happens for both the Eastern and Western conferences, until the best of both meet each other for the Finals.

This year, Microsoft -- through its "Bing Predicts" service -- says that Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors of the West will beat LeBron James and the the Cleveland Cavaliers of the East to become NBA Champions.

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Say what you want about Microsoft, but the company stays on top of security. Yeah, it may issue more patches and fixes for Windows compared to some other operating systems, but that doesn't necessarily mean the OS is less secure -- it could mean that the company is simply more proactive and transparent than others. Quite frankly, I'd rather get many patches than be lulled into a false sense of security.

When hacking group "Shadow Brokers" started leaking NSA-discovered exploits, many people were understandably worried. While the leaks would enable operating system makers to issue patches -- thereby making the OS more secure -- it also meant that before the fixes were issued, many computers would be at an increased risk. Luckily, when it comes to the recently leaked Windows exploits, Microsoft was already prepared -- currently supported versions of the operating system are not impacted.

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Now that AMD has embraced DDR4 with Ryzen and AM4, as Intel already had with its processors and platforms, it is time to wave goodbye to DDR3. For legacy systems, it could make sense to buy the increasingly more expensive DDR3 for an upgrade, but in 2017, most new builds will probably be using DDR4.

If you do need to buy some memory, there are plenty of quality manufacturers nowadays, such as HyperX, Crucial, and Corsair. G.SKILL is another respected RAM maker, and the company is constantly pushing the envelope. Today, it announces a new DDR4-4333MHz 16GB Memory Kit (2x8GB) -- the first ever. While that alone is very cool, the company is bragging about what it accomplished with it -- an overclock that hit 4500MHz using an Intel Core i5-7600K processor paired with an ASUS ROG Maximus IX Apex motherboard.

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Now that the weather is getting better, many people will start spending more time in their backyard. One of the most rewarding spring or summer activities is having a barbecue with friends and family -- food can really bring people together. One aspect of a successful outdoor party is good music. If you don't have some decent sounding audio equipment, your guests may not have a good time.

Today, Bose announces some new speakers that are well-designed for outdoor parties, relaxing near the pool, or trips to the beach. The SoundLink Revolve and Revolve+ Bluetooth speakers feature 360 degree sound, so you do not have to worry about the position to satisfy all of your guests. The larger plus model even has a really cool built-in carry handle. While they are a bit pricey, the cost is surprisingly reasonable given the Bose branding.

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