Depending on your home, Wi-Fi could be brilliant or torturous. In a small house or apartment, there is a good chance your signal will be strong throughout. In a large house with many floors, however, you may face the dreaded dead zones -- rooms that either don't get Wi-Fi, or experience degraded connectivity. Sorry to be crude, but that totally sucks, and is understandably frustrating.

A good alternative is powerline adapters. If you aren't familiar, this technology transmits an internet connection through your home's electrical wiring. Unfortunately, they work best for stationary machines -- not smartphones or tablets. Today, NETGEAR announces a product that blends both technologies in an incredibly smart way. Say goodbye to dead spots -- the PowerLINE WiFi 1000 can render them nonexistent.

Portable external storage is hardly newsworthy nowadays. If you go on Amazon or Newegg, you will find countless products that should meet your needs. The problem, however, is that not all drives are created equally. There are differences in capacity, reliability, and durability. If you are putting important files on the drive, you want to stick to a reputable brand known for quality.

One such trustworthy company is Samsung, and today, it announces the new Portable SSD T3. This fast external SSD features USB 3.1 Type C, meaning it is compatible with the newest such connector. Don't have a Type C connector yet? Don't worry, you can totally leverage an adapter so it can work on an older machine too.

Windows 10 Mobile is a curious thing. While the underlying operating system is fine, the lack of apps is just a massive deal-breaker for some. Look, I am not rooting against it -- the more platforms the merrier -- but consumers spend real money on these smartphones and it just isn't the best experience for their buck right now. With that said, the number of quality apps has been increasing, so for some consumers, it could be a valid option.

Today, Acer officially announces a really beautiful Windows 10 Mobile smartphone -- the Liquid Jade Primo. Believe it or not, this is a premium offering, unlike the horrendously cheap Liquid M220. Actually, it is extremely beautiful, with impressive specs too. Has Acer outdone Microsoft? Is it the new top Windows 10 Mobile smartphone?

Acer is a company that historically makes value-focused computers and accessories. What does this mean? Well, its products offer acceptable performance at affordable prices. While some manufacturers put the emphasis on chassis materials or elegance, Acer often opts for cheap-feeling plastic. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad thing -- it gives consumers a choice as to how they spend their money.

Today, however, Acer announces a premium Skylake Core M-powered Windows 10 laptop -- the Aspire Switch 12 S. On this 2-in-1 notebook, Acer is opting for an anodized aluminum chassis, with integrated 2x2 MU-MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi antenna. Even the hinge has been updated from prior "Switch" models, with a more aesthetically pleasing design and zinc-alloy charging connectors. Beauty is more than skin deep here, however, as Acer has packed a whole bunch of awesomeness inside too.

Welcome to 2016, dear BetaNews readers. Another year is here, and some trends will continue as before. The most intriguing being Google's push into both education and home with its wonderful Chrome OS. While a bit limited, devices with Google's Linux-based desktop operating system are perfection for many; especially as more and more time is spent in the browser.

Today, Acer announces some new Chrome OS devices that look really impressive. Its new Chromebook 11 and Chromebase 24 should meet the needs for many, and in typical Acer fashion, shouldn't break the bank. The Chromebase is particularly newsworthy, as it is the first-ever such all-in-one "base" device with an Intel Core processor. Quite frankly, it should make an absolutely glorious family PC.

As 2015 comes to a close, we must again face the reality that Linux is a failure on the desktop -- its share of the pie is almost nonexistent. While the kernel is wildly popular on smartphones and servers, Windows is still the dominant force on home and business workstations. You know what? That's fine. Regardless of popularity, or lack thereof, desktop operating systems based on the Linux kernel aren't going anywhere. We Linux users aren't going anywhere.

Today, a beautiful  operating system from China, deepin, hits version 15. No longer based on Ubuntu -- the project has switched to a Debian base -- it is gorgeous and has an intuitive HTML5-based environment. And yes, it is available in English. Happy New Year, fellow Linux users!

According to man-made calendars, today is New Year's Eve. Tomorrow is the first day of 2016, which in the grand scheme of things is inconsequential. Still, it is fun to reflect on the last year and choose the tech that I enjoyed the most.

Yeah, I'm like Oprah or Ellen. Here are my favorite things -- tech related, of course -- for 2015; laptops, smartphones, tablets, and more. While there are many products on my list, there are two products that stand out to me as being rather exceptional -- the crème de la crème, if you will.

Whenever you access the internet, you are under attack. There are tons of evildoers out there just waiting to hack or scam you. Between malware and social engineering, it can feel like the wild west on the web. In other words, bad guys are everywhere -- be cautious.

While some of these hackers are merely amateurs looking to wreak havoc or profit monetarily, there is something far more devious. State-sponsored hackers and terrorists could be targeting you with more sophisticated techniques. This could be for political reasons, such as espionage, or even stealing corporate secrets. Starting today, if Microsoft suspects sate-sponsored attacks on your Microsoft Account, it will let you know. This includes both Outlook.com email and OneDrive cloud storage.

As a Long Islander, I regularly make trips to NYC. While many people in the world dream of visiting the famed city, it is something I probably take for granted. Truth be told, Manhattan is a rather magical place -- usually.

When a destination in NYC is too far for walking, I will splurge on a taxi -- the subway can be a headache. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be hard to hail a cab; especially in the rain. It is for this reason that Uber has been a godsend. You can use your smartphone to request a ride without the stress. Today, that company announces it has now delivered over 1 billion rides. This is a monumental milestone, and the trendy company is celebrating by donating some of its loot to charity.

Windows 10 is a pretty good desktop operating system. Unfortunately, that OS is very far from perfect. The most glaring issue, of course, is the confusing privacy settings. Plus, let us not forget the arguably shady tactics Microsoft is employing to get users to upgrade to the operating system. While Windows 10 is more focused than its predecessor, there is still a lack of consistency, such as having a Settings Menu and separate Control Panel menu.

Meanwhile, in the land of Linux, Ubuntu hit 15.10; an evolutionary upgrade, which is a joy to use. While not perfect, the totally free Unity desktop-based Ubuntu gives Windows 10 a run for its money. Does this mean I think Linux will soon rule the desktop? Absolutely not. Windows will still be dominant in number of installs for the foreseeable future. With that said, more does not always mean better. Here are 5 ways Ubuntu bests Windows 10.

Lawsuits in the technology world are so friggin' tiring. Yes, patents and copyrights are generally a positive, as it protects inventors from having their ideas and intellectual property stolen. Sadly nowadays, trolls have largely ruined the sanctity of the original intent. I'm not calling Oracle a troll per se, but suing Google over the use of Java APIs in Android seemed a bit silly to me. A jury and a judge agreed with my feeling on the matter, but their stances were later reversed. Ultimately, Oracle beat Google using the judicial system.

Today, Google announces that it will embrace OpenJDK in future Android releases. While this should avoid infringement against Oracle technologies, it is not clear if that is the motivator here. In other words, this could have been planned prior to the judgement against the search giant, or it could be related.

When you think of a gaming PC, two things probably come to mind -- Microsoft Windows and desktop computers. In other words, gamers don't typically target laptops for playing their favorite games, and even when some do, they will likely aim for Windows 7, 8, or 10. Thanks to Steam, however, Linux-based operating systems are a legitimate option for gaming.

If you want a Linux-based gaming laptop, your choices are slim. Yes, you can buy a Windows laptop and replace the operating system with Ubuntu or another OS, but that isn't the best experience. Ideally, you want a machine that was designed and sold with Linux in mind. Enter the Ubuntu-powered System76 Oryx Pro. This beast of a gaming laptop can be configured with some jaw-dropping specs. The one I have been testing features an Intel Skylake Core i7 processor, 32GB of DDR4 RAM, NVMe SSD and NVIDIA graphics, including G-SYNC. Are you salivating yet? Read on for more specs and my impressions.

As far as I'm concerned, Apple won 2015 -- feel free to disagree. According to yours truly, the privacy-focused company holds the crowns for best smartphone (iPhone 6s Plus), best tablets (iPad mini 4, Air 2, Pro), best smartwatch (Apple Watch) and, of course, the best streaming media box of the year. Yes, I am talking about the amazing 4th gen Apple TV.

Did Santa bring you one for Christmas this year? Well, you must have been good, because it is a wonderful steaming media box. Actually, it is much more than that; it is also an incredible gaming console -- the Siri remote doubles as a passable gamepad. Ready to use the Apple TV? Here is what you need to do first.

Santa Claus is a cool dude. Not only does he live at the North Pole with a bunch of elves, but he has a magically massive sack too. Santa's sack can hold an infinite number of toys and presents. It's kind of like Dr. Who's Tardis -- it looks like a normal sack, but the inside is much bigger than the outside.

Today, Santa is emptying his sack all over the Linux community, by delivering Manjaro Linux 15.12. Sure, Christmas is not for a couple of more days, but if you are a fan of the Arch-based operating system, you can begin celebrating early.

When I go to a hotel, there are plenty of things I worry about. Are there bed bugs? Was the prior guest disgusting? Dear God, is there room service? For the most part, I have satisfying hotel stays, as I check online reviews beforehand. Any mention of cigarette smells, high noise levels, or yellow stains on the sheets, and I move along.

Sadly, there is yet another thing to worry about -- malware. Yes, today, Hyatt Hotels announces that its payment processing was breached by malware. Sigh. This type of news is becoming too commonplace nowadays, and quite frankly, I am getting fed up.