Brian Fagioli

Last month, Apple unveiled new MacBook Pro laptops. While the machines were undoubtedly great, their prices were very high -- even for Apple. Despite the cost, they are apparently flying off virtual shelves, as shipping dates are now in late December. In other words, price be damned, people will buy what they want, and they are willing to splurge on quality. The old adage of "you get what you pay for" is sometimes quite true.

Today, Apple announces a hardcover book called "Designed by Apple in California". It is a paper book comprised of high-quality photographs of the company's products. There are two sizes being offered, with the smaller (10.20" x 12.75") costing $200 and the larger (13" x 16.25") costing $300. Are those prices high? Yes. Is Apple crazy to ask that much? Nope. In fact, the company is wise to set a high price, as it sets the value and desirability at a high level.

Yesterday, I reviewed the LG V20 -- one of the more recent Android flagship smartphones. While I really like that device, it suffers from a disappointing integrated speaker -- a problem on many phones. Luckily, a Bluetooth speaker can always be paired to improve sound quality and offer louder volume.

The problem, however, is there are too many similar Bluetooth speakers nowadays; so much choice can confuse consumers. Today, SCOSCHE unveils a new wireless speaker, called BoomBUOY, that stands out from many others. What makes it so unique? It floats! While there have been floating speakers released before, this one is rugged and affordably priced too.

Android is in a weird place. The latest version, 7.0 Nougat, is on very few devices, which highlights the operating system's biggest issue -- fragmentation. True, most apps will work fine on slightly older versions of the OS, but the true problem is security -- not compatibility. Once a manufacturer stops supporting a smartphone or tablet, the user is at risk of future vulnerabilities.

With OS upgrade concerns in mind, I decided to test Android Nougat on a new Verizon smartphone -- the highly anticipated LG V20. This is the followup to the sleeper-hit V10. The new device retains the famed "second screen", but improves upon its predecessor in every way. Is it worth your money, however?

The folks over at Microsoft seem to be very committed to doing "good". Not only does the company produce products that make the world better (Windows, Skype, and Office to name a few), but through its noble Winsiders4Good initiative, Dona Sarkar and other Microsoft employees are aiming to improve people's lives using technology.

Today, Microsoft announces yet another way that it is helping humanity. The Windows-maker makes its "largest ever" purchase of wind energy -- 237 megawatts. In other words, the company will be using less fossil fuels, and reducing its overall carbon footprint.

While many people covet powerful current-generation consoles like Xbox One and PlayStation 4, others are more excited for something far less modern. Tomorrow, nostalgia takes front stage as Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic will hit store shelves.

Planning to buy one? Ha! Good luck. This refreshed 1980's console is expected to be both extremely popular and limited. Quite frankly, it will be virtually impossible to get. After all, it comes pre-loaded with 30 classic games. There will be many sad nerds this year when they find out there is no NES Classic under the Christmas Tree. Don't panic, however, as BetaNews has some tips for you.

Many people use Google Chrome, and rightfully so. The cross-platform web browser works brilliantly, and is super-fast. Plus, the search-giant's browser is very secure too, right? Not so fast...

Today, Sophos drops a bombshell by revealing that scammers are actively targeting Chrome users by leveraging a bug. These bad guys pose as Microsoft tech support and display an in-browser message that says the user's computer is infected with "Virus Trojan.worm! 055BCCAC9FEC". To make matters worse, Google has apparently known about the exploit for more than two years and simply failed to patch it.

Open source software and ideology is critical to the future of technology. As more and more people demand transparency in the programs and applications they use, companies will have to take notice.

To keep the open source movement going, it must be handed down to incoming developers. In other words, the children are our future, and education is key. Google's "Code-In" contest is a great program that invites teen students to directly contribute to quality open source projects. Now, the search giant finally announces the projects that will be participating as "mentors".

Buying a computer display nowadays is both easy and hard. It is easy as it is difficult to go wrong, but it is also hard as there are so many good choices. Ultimately, your budget and needs will guide you to the best option.

Today, Philips releases the all-new 'Crystalclear' 32-inch Quad HD display (model number BDM3270QP2). Not only does the beautiful monitor have a respectable resolution (2560x1440), but it is chock-full of features and connection options too.

For some millennials, YouTube stars are more important than popular pop musicians or famous Hollywood actors. Older folks may not understand this phenomenon, but it actually makes a lot of sense -- YouTube is a platform where many young people spend their time.

Today, Google announces that it is making YouTube even better. The service can already stream video in 4K, and is available on countless devices, but now the videos are gaining High Dynamic Range (HDR) support too. This means the content will be presented with better contrast and more vibrant colors. Of course, the benefits will only be relaized with displays that support HDR.

Neil Young is one of my favorite musicians. He is second only to Joni Mitchell for touching my heart and soul. Surprisingly, I haven't listened to his music for well over a year. Why? He pulled his tunes from streaming services, such as Spotify and Apple Music. He claimed that he did this because he was dissatisfied with the sound quality of these online platforms.

Quite frankly, I was very angry with Young for this move. True, he was totally within his rights to remove his music catalog, but many fans -- such as yours truly -- were perfectly happy with the sound quality. Now, after a long absence, Neil Young returns his music to services like Amazon Music Unlimited, Spotify and Apple Music.

While many people buy pre-assembled PC gaming machines nowadays -- including diminutive mini variants -- there is still much to be said for building your own computer. Selecting your processor, chassis, PSU, and memory can be extremely rewarding. You get the opportunity to create your vision, and sometimes it can be more cost-effective too.

Today, G.SKILL unveils some system RAM which should make PC builders absolutely giddy. The company's latest member of the Trident Z family is a four-module 64GB DDR4 kit. What makes it so special? It can run at an insanely fast 3600MHz!

Last month, Canonical released a beta of Ubuntu Core 16. This is not a typical Linux distribution, but instead, one that is focused on Internet of Things and the cloud. What makes the operating system particularly interesting is the use of "Snaps" -- an ingenious modular way of handling software. It combines applications and dependencies into one convenient package.

Today, Ubuntu Core 16 achieves final release status. You can download it immediately for free for PC, Raspberry Pi, and more. With all of the IoT-related botnet news nowadays, this is arriving at the perfect time.

While the Android smartphone market was starting to feel stale, there have been many great offerings lately, such as LG V20, Google Pixel, and the LeEco Le Pro3. In other words, it is a great time to be buying an Android handset.

Today, Huawei adds another remarkable-looking Android smartphone to the list -- the much-anticipated 'Mate 9'. The 5.9-inch 1080p screen should look great, and the company promises two days of use from the 4,000mAh battery -- plus fast-charging, of course. It even has 4GB of RAM standard, plus 64GB of storage. Will consumers embrace the premium dual-sim device?

It used to be that if you wanted a powerful gaming PC, you would need a monstrous tower with many loud fans. Nowadays, you can build a Mini-ITX system that offers impressive specifications in a tiny package.

What if you want something even smaller? Zotac has a new VR-Ready mini PC that is shockingly tiny. Inside the diminutive 'MAGNUS ERX480' barebones box is an Intel Skylake Core i5-6400T and an AMD Radeon RX480 (4GB GDDR5 256-bit). It supports DDR4 RAM (1866 or 2133) up to to 32GB and an M.2 connector for storage. For convenience, it can also be had with both RAM and storage installed from the factory. You can choose to have Windows 10 pre-installed too.

November 8, 2016 is Election Day, and I am excited. While neither of the two major presidential candidates are exceptional in my eyes, I have decided on one of them. It is my responsibility and duty as an American to vote, and when I cast my ballot for her/him, I will do so proudly -- not holding my nose as I pull the lever.

If you are still undecided about choosing a candidate, or simply don't know where to go to vote, I have good news. Twitter is making it all very easy. Simply direct message the @Gov account, and you can obtain useful information. You can also use the #Election2016 hashtag when tweeting about the election.