Brian Fagioli

The world is changing; whether for the better or worse is debatable. When it comes to entertainment, the dinosaur media such as network television is in massive trouble. Why? Many people are turning to the web for videos nowadays, from services like YouTube and Twitch.

Guess what? Many online personalities are getting paid, and paid well, and becoming genuine celebrities. Vloggers (video bloggers) such as iJustine and Shane Dawson have millions of followers and make their livings from these videos. Hell, PewDiePie is a millionaire from playing video games online. Do you think you can be the next big vlogger, but don't know where to start? Don't worry. Cannon's Video Creator Kits will start you down the path of Internet stardom.

While many home consumers are turning to the cloud for their storage needs, this is not feasible for many businesses. If you are a game developer or movie editor, for example, you will need a lot of local storage. As we trend towards 4K video, this need is amplified.

Today, Buffalo Americas announces the DriveStation Ultra -- a direct attached storage (DAS) solution with capacities of either 40 or 80TB -- yes, terabytes! While Thunderbolt 2 is the primary connection type, it also features USB 3.0 an eSATA. The company promises write speeds up to 1243 MB/s using RAID 0.

Google is everywhere, you cannot run and you cannot hide. Well, maybe I am being a bit dramatic, but if you use Android or any of Google's services, it is compiling data to track your actions and behaviors. The search giant may know your favorite restaurants, sexual tastes, plus home and work locations too.

If you use Google Maps and location services, the search giant is even tracking your movements. While that can lead to powering some useful solutions, it is also creepy as hell. Today, Google announces "Your Timeline", which is a tool for Android and desktop that shows you all the places you have been. While it is sort of cool, it is also a reminder that Google is watching you.

Many consumers buy iPads or other tablets and then run out to buy super-rugged cases. Buying a case is a good idea, as it protects the tablet from drops. With that said, many of these cases are overkill. Doubling or tripling the weight of your tablet when you don't even take it out of the house is silly -- a lesser case will probably be enough to survive a spill from the couch.

With all of that said, there are people that truly need rugged tablets. These are men and women working in harsh conditions -- hot temperatures, mud, snow, etc. Today, Dell announces a tablet for these people, the Latitude 12 Rugged Tablet. It is hardcore to the max!

The Surface line of computers are amazing machines. Whether you choose the less-powerful (yet more compact) Surface 3 or more powerful and larger Surface Pro 3, you are sure to be happy with your decision. They are truly the best way to experience Windows on the go.

Unfortunately, they require Wi-Fi for internet connectivity. While some people can share their smartphone's connection with the Surface, not everyone has that ability. Plus, tethering can quickly drain the phone's battery too. An LTE- enabled model would be ideal. Well, that is soon to become a reality. The long-promised Surface 3 LTE is coming to AT&T on July 24th. In just a few days you can buy the portable machine of your dreams.

Windows 10 will be available on July 29th, meaning it is just a bit more than a week until the world can start buying computers running the operating system. While Windows 10 will run fine on older hardware, a new version of Microsoft's OS can be a great time to upgrade your computer. System builders in particular may want to improve their build.

Understandably, you may be hesitant to spend money on new hardware; the economy is still bad for many. Don't worry, AMD has you covered. Today, the company launches the A8-7670K APU. Not only is it Windows 10-ready with DirectX 12 support, but it is insanely affordable too at a shockingly low $117.99. In other words, you may pay less than that at retailers.

Microsoft Office is the best office suite on the planet. Nothing annoys me more than when someone suggests that LibreOffice is a comparable solution. If you are a home user, sure, you can get by with a limited word processor and spreadsheet offering. If you are a business owner, however, you are crazy to use anything other than Microsoft Office.

Today, GE -- one of the world's most respected companies -- announces that it chose Microsoft Office 365 for its 300,000+ employees. Not only is GE's decision very wise, but it is a huge win for Microsoft too.

The hard disk is not going away any time soon, but make no mistake -- it is on death row. Solid state drives, or SSDs, are becoming more reliable, getting less expensive, and gaining larger storage capacities. It is only a matter of time before mechanical spinning drives get the heave-ho.

While consumers will be the first to shun hard drives, data centers will likely be the holdouts. Why? Cost and capacity. Right now, gigabyte per dollar is far less expensive compared to SSD. More importantly, however, SSDs just don't have comparable capacities -- yet. Today, Samsung announces the PM863 and SM863 data center SSDs. The latter features a top capacity of 1.9TB, while the former maxes out at a mind-blowing 3.8TB!

The tablet market has felt a bit stale lately. Apple's iPads are in need of a refresh, while the Android options have been yawn-worthy too. Other than the Nexus 9, there really hasn't been anything to fire up the Android community.

Today, Samsung hopes to change this with the all new Galaxy Tab S2 tablets. Consumers can choose between a 9.7 inch screen or an 8 inch variant. In other words, Samsung is offering options with its tablets -- much like Apple with the Air and mini -- which is rather smart. After all, one size does not fit all when it comes to tablets.

Nowadays, most people don't buy physical media; they pay their little $10 a month for Spotify premium, or similar service, to support the music industry. Apple's exclusivity approach, however, won't just disrupt the streaming market, it will severely harm consumers and lead to piracy. Hell, it could kill streaming music altogether.

Piracy is a really heinous crime. It causes artists to lose money, and make no mistake, it is stealing. With that said, more people will be doing it because of Apple Music. Exclusives from Dr. Dre, Pharell and Taylor Swift may lead to increased torrent downloads. Sadly, the artists have no one to blame but themselves.

The video game console wars are in full effect, with both Sony and Microsoft selling many consoles and games. Besides gaming, however, both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are media boxes too. Microsoft's console, however, has a very clear advantage by running Windows; it is arguably more "future proof".

Since Xbox One runs Windows, it makes it easy to interface with PCs running Windows 10. In fact, the upcoming operating system will feature an improved Xbox app offering amazing features like game streaming. Microsoft wants to be sure that users realize the potential of this app, so it is offering a 'Day One Experience' for new Windows 10 installations. Also good news? Game streaming is exiting preview. Sony should be worried.

If you don't have a solid state drive in your computer, you are crazy. Prices have decreased dramatically, making it affordable for most consumers. Money is tight? Cut out the Starbucks for a few weeks and drop a Benjamin on the upgrade -- it is worth it.

There are many brands to choose from, with comparable speeds, so you want to target reliability. Two of my favorite brands are Samsung and Kingston, but there are solid lesser-known brands too. ADATA is such a brand that targets value, but has a history of dependability too. That company is launching a new SSD, called the XPG SX930, which is aimed at gamers and offers a 5 year warranty. Is a gaming-grade SSD just marketing speak, or should gamers take notice?

Whether you are a beginner or expert, Linux Mint is a great distribution. Not only is it very easy to use, but beautiful too. It is quite apparent that the developers care for the operating system.

The two default desktop environments for Linux Mint -- MATE and Cinnamon -- are both wonderful, but I prefer the latter. A short period after the launch of a new version of the OS -- this time 17.2 Rafaela -- the Mint Team also releases KDE and Xfce editions as alternatives. Today, the release candidates for those environments become available, with Xfce updated to 4.12, and KDE brought to 4.14.2.

It is a cliche, but the three most important things to look for when buying a house are location, location and location. In other words, no matter how beautiful the house, if the location sucks, so too will the living experience. For example, if the house is in a city with a high-crime rate, next to the railroad tracks, or near an airport, you just wasted your money (unless, of course, you can't afford anywhere better). If you have children, you ideally need to find a neighborhood with a good school district too.

With all of that said, if you are looking for a new home, you have your work cut out for you. Quite frankly, what should be a fun experience ends up being a stressful chore. Don't worry, however, as Microsoft has your back. Bing is now updated to make this easier for you.

Is Windows RT a failure? Obviously it is. With that said, failing is not always a bad thing. Taking risks and trying new things is essential to a company's survival. Microsoft was smart to make a version of Windows for ARM processors. The problem, of course, is that ARM processors cannot run x86 software. Software availability and compatibility are Windows' greatest strengths -- consumers did not like losing this. Hell, many consumers did not even realize this when buying an RT machine, leading to returns and poor experiences.

Windows RT is not dead yet, however. Earlier today, Windows guru Gabe Aul dropped a bombshell on Twitter -- Windows 8.1 RT Update 3 will be available in September. Oh my. We knew some type of RT update was coming, but it is so exciting to get an approximate ETA. As the owner of a Surface 2 -- which I still love -- I am overwhelming elated. The problem? Aul did not share any details. Here are 5 things I am praying to get in the update. Do you think my wants are reasonable and probable?