When Apple announced its latest MacBook last year, I was initially in love. After all, who doesn't want a thin laptop with a cutting-edge USB 3.1 Type-C connection? Sadly, that was where the magic ended. The Core M processor was anemic. The USB Type-C connection? The only such port -- making simultaneous charging and use of a USB device impossible without a clunky dongle.

Today, HP announces a laptop that mirrors the beauty of Apple's laptop -- surpassing it, even -- plus destroying it from a performance standpoint by utilizing an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor -- not Core M trash. Called simply the "HP Spectre Notebook", it is as close to portable nirvana as any machine before it. The premium laptop is so special, that it is being used to launch a brand-new HP logo.

While some folks may think icons are nothing more than fluff, they actually have huge significance. Your brain uses them for recall purposes, enabling you to quickly access your favorite apps. This is why I am not a fan of Microsoft's Live Tiles -- they are counter-intuitive, but I digress.

Today, Google announces new icons for all of its Play apps. Curiously, they are all triangular -- somebody in Mountain View, CA suddenly has a huge love for the three-sided shape.

Virtual reality is definitely a legit thing now. For a while, it felt a bit like a gimmick the tech industry was trying to jam down consumers' throats. While not a new concept, it is finally affordable and offers what should be a satisfying experience. Sure, it is not yet perfect, but devices like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are certainly ushering in a new era.

All of this awesome new VR technology requires a powerful Windows PC. Sorry folks, that Chromebook or MacBook you covet is useless here. Heck, even most computers running Microsoft's ubiquitous desktop OS can't handle it. Today, MSI unveils a Quadro M5500-powered laptop that can handle both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. The unimaginatively named WT72 mobile workstation is VR-focused and can be configured with top specs. It can even be configured with a Xeon processor! Of course, it is also very expensive.

While many people use the old cliché that nothing in life is free, that isn't always true. Are there often strings attached? Absolutely. With Gmail, Google combs through your communications for targeted advertising. Microsoft's Windows 10 is a free upgrade for many, but it has more strings than a gross of violins -- from a privacy standpoint, that is.

In the world of open source, however, free sometimes really means free. Today, Red Hat -- fresh from celebrating a historic $2 billion in annual revenue -- releases a developer-focused gift to the world. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux Developer Suite is totally free, including a RHEL license and valuable developer tools, like the JBoss Middleware portfolio. This is through the Red Hat Developer Program.

As a tech enthusiast, I dread the stupid April Fool's Day every year. What should probably be a fun day for children to pull safe and respectful pranks, has evolved into a day when companies announce fake products. Is it all in good fun? Yes, but some of these companies are publicly traded and worth billions of dollars. It's time to grow up. Some of us are interested in legit news.

One such company, Google, provides services to billions of people -- including some for business use. And so it has a responsibility to its users, and shareholders, to not cause harm with goofy jokes. Today, the search giant does exactly that, however, with a prank called "Mic Drop". In fact, the prank was so misguided, that Google has since pulled it.

While many people view Chrome OS as nothing more than a basic operating system for home users, it is actually much more. In fact, the Linux-based machines can work beautifully for businesses too -- depending on needs, of course. As more and more solutions become web-based, a traditional Windows/Office solution from Microsoft becomes less of a necessity.

One way that Chrome OS shines in business environments, is videoconferencing and collaboration with Hangouts. Google's 'Chromebox for meetings' has proven to be a great option in this regard for some companies, thanks to low cost and ease of use. Today, business decision-makers that prefer all-in-one solutions to diminutive desktops gain a new option -- Acer's Chromebase for meetings. With an integrated display, this all-in-one is inexpensive, attractive, and extremely easy to setup and deploy.

Gaming headsets are a strange thing. On the one hand, they can provide a more immersive experience, allowing you to better hear in-game audio and communicate with other respectful players. On the other, it can cause you to communicate with disrespectful gamers too. Racist, sexist and threatening voices can really ruin what should be a fun game.

Ultimately, the pros outweigh the cons, as there should be -- hopefully -- more nice people participating in in-game chat than the evil and angry ones. HyperX is already known for its quality hardware -- including its well-respected headsets -- and now it introduces a new one, called Cloud Revolver. This gaming headset should work brilliantly for movies and music too. Not to mention, it looks totally bad-ass!

Many times in life, we must make decisions. Often, there can be two paths -- both with pros and cons. Ultimately, we must make a choice, potentially making a sacrifice.

A good example of this is USB hard drives. "Laptop" variants, at 2.5 inch, can be powered by USB bus, while "desktop" models, at 3.5 inch, need a dedicated power cable. When it comes to capacity, however, the desktop variants offer more. Ultimately, you must choose which is more important -- more storage or less wires. Today, this changes, as Seagate unveils the Innov8 -- the world's first USB-powered desktop hard drive.

When Microsoft signed a deal with the NFL, I was pretty surprised. While it isn't surprising that the football league took Microsoft's money to promote the Surface Pro, I was surprised that Apple let it happen. After all, the NFL is big business -- I would have expected Tim Cook to step in with his company's ubiquitous iPad instead.

Today, Apple essentially smashes the Surface Pro with a baseball bat, arguably outdoing Microsoft's deal with the NFL. You see, Major League Baseball will now be using iPad Pro tablets in the dugout. While it is debatable as to which sport will have a bigger impact on sales, one thing is undeniable -- there are many more MLB games played than there are NFL, though the NFL remains more popular attendance-wise.

Many PC enthusiasts spend a lot of time researching two things -- games and hardware. While playing the actual games is the ultimate goal, sometimes it can be even more fun building computers and reading about all the cool new hardware. Even after your machine is built, you still can spend time finding the right mouse, keyboard, and monitor to name a few.

What if you didn't connect your tower to a monitor though? Am I talking about headless gaming? No, that would be silly. Obviously you need to see what you are doing! What I mean to say is, what about a gaming projector? Today, Acer's Predator Z850 projector -- which was announced at CES 2016 -- becomes available for purchase. It allows you to project a monstrous 120-inch screen!

Well folks, today we witness history. For the longest time, Microsoft and the Linux community have been like Ford and Chevy, or Coke and Pepsi -- bitter rivals. Users have often chosen a side, and then hated the other. Of course, Windows has many more followers on the desktop -- Linux is largely insignificant in that regard. Mobile and servers are a different story, but I digress.

Today, pigs must be flying, as Microsoft does the unthinkable, and brings Ubuntu binaries and Bash Shell to Windows 10. Steve Ballmer would be rolling in his grave -- if he were dead, that is.

Google has its tentacles wrapped around many things. Not only does it dominate search, and provide the most popular mobile operating system with Android, but it is also an ISP with Fiber and a cellular provider with Project Fi. If it involves the movement, collection, or analysis of data, the search giant seems interested.

With so many people owning smartphones nowadays, you'd expect landline service to be going the way of the dodo bird, but there are many reasons to have it, such as dependability in an emergency. Today, Google is surprisingly entering the landline business with the VoIP-powered Fiber Phone. No, it is not an early April Fool's Day joke, folks -- it is the real McCoy.

If you are a big GNOME fan -- like me -- then there is one distribution you must try -- Fedora. The Linux-based operating system -- the same that Linus Torvalds uses -- is a great way to have a vanilla GNOME experience. Desktop environment aside, it is also both stable and fairly cutting-edge, offering modern packages and kernels.

Today, Fedora 24 reaches public Alpha -- you can download it now. While using an Alpha operating system on your main computer is probably not a great idea, there is one specific thing that makes such an early version very attractive -- GNOME 3.20. While the ISO does not contain the final version of 3.20, you can update to final immediately after installation by using either Software or DNF in terminal. Huzzah!

When it comes time to name a device, a marketing team usually gets involved. Many monikers are thrown about, often with a number designation that signals screen size, generation, or something else altogether. The Nexus 6 is based on screen size, iPad naming is sometimes based on generation, and the Xbox One -- well, who knows what Microsoft was thinking with its third console!

Today, Acer announces its newest Chrome OS laptop, the Chromebook 14. I know what you are thinking -- 14 inch screen, right? You would be correct -- that is the size of the display. While that is the obvious inspiration for the name, the number 14 is significant in another way too. You see, the Acer Chromebook 14 features up to 14 hours of battery life. While that is impressive, Acer has one more trick up its sleeve too.

Most smartphones can double as Wi-Fi hotspots nowadays -- depending on your cellular plan, of course. For instance, I have an unlimited data plan from Verizon that prevents me from using the hotspot functionality of my iPhone. In order to get that feature working, I'd have to move to a tiered plan -- they'd have to pry my unlimited plan from my cold, dead hands. A dedicated hotspot device is my best option.

Even if you can use the hotspot feature on your phone, you may still want to opt for a dedicated device. Why? It won't drain your phone's battery and might offer better performance. Today, AT&T announces a hardcore and rugged hotspot called the Unite Explore. It even doubles as a battery pack to charge your devices!