While enthusiasts move away from SATA-based solid state drives for faster (and more expensive) options, most consumers are perfectly fine with the standard option for now. In fact, it is a great time to be in the market for SATA SSDs, as larger capacity drives are becoming more affordable.

I just reviewed the SATA Samsung 850 EVO; a drive I like very much. While I appreciate Samsung's optional (and apparently, controversial) rapid mode and conservative design, there are people who are not fans of either. Kingston is a company known for quality, and its HyperX division is no exception. Today, that company releases the sexily-named Savage -- a traditional SATA SSD with an awe-inspiring and ostentatious design. If you like bling, the red aluminum will certainly get your motor running.

Another day, another Linux distribution. While many distros are yawn-worthy, Debian demands attention. The wildly popular operating system is used by many people, and it is used as a base for many projects. Most notably of late, Raspbian, the often-used operating system for the Raspberry Pi, is based on Debian.

Today, after a long wait, the operating system finally reaches 8.0 with a code name of "Jessie". This gender-neutral named Linux distribution has as ton of changes, with ISOs available featuring multiple desktop environments such as GNOME, KDE and Xfce to name a few. Will you try it?

De La Soul is one of the most important rap groups in the history of Hip-Hop. When they debuted in the 1980s, many other rappers were acting phony and embellishing their lives of crime. Conversely, the Long Island trio kept it real by rapping about everyday life and not fantasy. Unfortunately, many took their realness and honesty for a weakness, dubbing them 'positive' rappers; a label that followed them their entire careers. While many other rap groups have come and gone -- formed and broken up -- De La Soul is still here. In fact, they are planning a new album called "And the Anonymous Nobody".

Rather than go the traditional route of signing with a record label, the group has turned to Kickstarter to fund the project. Yes, these aging rappers have turned to the Internet, crowd-funding and social media, to make the album happen and it has been a huge success. They met their goal of $110,000 in one day, and as of today, are over $500,000 with close to 10,000 backers. In other words, you can teach an old dog new tricks, and sometimes the old dogs outfox the young pups. I talked with David Jude Jolicoeur, aka, Dave, aka Trugoy, from De La Soul about the campaign.

The absolute best upgrade for any computer that's operating system is running from a hard disk drive, is a solid state drive. Why? The performance increase is significant, while SSD prices are decreasing. In other words, you can speed up your PC without hurting your wallet.

The problem, however, is deciding which SSD to buy. While affordability and speed are important qualities, I tend to put a premium on reliability. Of course I want the drive to be fast, but the contents of the drive -- important documents and family photos -- trump anything else. Luckily, Samung's offerings have proven to be both reliable and fast, while also being reasonably priced. Today, I am taking a look at the latest and greatest SATA variant; the 850 EVO.

Many people -- let's call them 'haters' -- like to make fun of Microsoft's mobile market share with Windows Phone. True, the platform is a failure in this regard, but many users of the OS like it. Quite frankly, besides the lack of apps, Windows Phone is a rather smart and well-designed operating system.

If you choose to laugh at Microsoft over its mobile presence, feel free, but please know that Microsoft is laughing too; all the way to the bank. What you may not know is, Microsoft makes money from Android handset sales thanks to its patent portfolio. In fact, it also collects money from Chromebooks too. In other words, Microsoft is profiting from Linux, since both operating systems are based on the kernel. Today, Microsoft increases its number of patent licensing agreements, by making a deal with Qisda Corp.

When building a computer, there are areas where you should try to save money, and others where you shouldn't. A budget power supply? Probably a bad idea. Generic no-name RAM? Just say no. A case? Bingo. When looking to save money, the case, for the most part, will not affect performance or stability. You can find an inexpensive ugly or cheaply-made case with decent cooling.

Today, X2 announces a full-tower PC case that is not only affordable, but sexy as hell too. Seriously, the design is very futuristic, giving a premium look at a fairly budget price.

Acer held a massive press conference today in Manhattan to unveil its new product lineup. BetaNews was there, live, at 4 World Trade Center. The views from the 60-something-th floor were magnificent, but even more awe-inspiring to a tech nerd like me, were the Acer products.

Acer is one of my favorite manufacturers because it focuses on value. Not only are the company's computers beautiful and powerful, but affordable too. While the company kept its focus on the affordable segment with Windows, Chromebooks and Android products, it also introduced its new Predator gaming computers. The star of the show? A small gaming-tablet running Google's mobile OS.

The virtual reality hype is real. In years past, promised virtual reality systems were expensive and did not meet expectations. Ultimately, it never really took off in the mainstream. Low-cost electronics have birthed a renewed interest, however, as seen from Facebook's Ocluus Rift and Samsung's Gear VR.

Samsung's solution is rather genius, as it utilizes a users exiting smartphone to cut costs and reduce redundancy. Unfortunately, creating a one-size-fits-all mask for smartphones can be problematic, as the sizes and dimensions can change with every upgrade cycle. If you are the owner of a Galaxy S6 or S6 edge, however, you are in luck; Samsung today announces a refreshed Gear VR for you, with the "Innovator Edition" moniker.

While Windows 8 was a very polarizing operating system, Windows 10 is much less so. In fact, many users testing the operating system under the Technical Preview program find it to be wonderful. Quite frankly, I think when the dust settles, it will be the best version of Windows ever.

Today, Microsoft releases yet another Windows 10 build under the preview program -- 10061. While the foundation and style is very much the same, there are some new features and apps to be found. Unfortunately, this release also has some significant bugs. Still, if you are committed to the preview program, you should not hesitate to jump head-first into 10061.

Today is Wednesday, aka "Hump Day". The middle of the work week can be quite the miserable day. If you are stuck in a soul-sucking corporate job, it means you still have a long way to go before the weekend brings sweet release.

Don't worry, people, I have good news; this is a very special Wednesday. Why? One of the world's best Linux-based operating systems, Ubuntu, sees a stable and final release of 15.04, codenamed Vivid Vervet (it's a type of monkey). At the end of today's work day, you can hopefully go home and try out the latest version of the popular Linux distribution -- once the download links go live, that is.

When Google announced changes to its mobile search rankings, the industry gave it the nickname of "Mobilegeddon". A play on the word Armageddon, this moniker signaled the end of the world for websites that did not have a mobile-optimized site. While that is an extreme exaggeration, some websites did risk losing traffic as a result. Many webmasters found themselves in a panic.

Google, however, wants you to know that this concern is misplaced. Rather than it being a bad thing, it is a good thing, called "Mobiletopia". Even if Google's intention was to create a utopia for mobile devices, some argue that this demonstrates the search-giant is too strong and has too much control over the web. What do you think?

If you own a Windows Phone, I feel sorry for you. Why? Microsoft is showing a lot of love to Android and iOS lately, while neglecting its own mobile operating system. Hell, the company even seems to be embracing Apple Watch very strongly! True, Microsoft did release Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10051 for the phones, but it was only for certain devices, and worse than that, it is an absolute train wreck. While it is a fun look to the future, it isn't something to be used as a daily driver.

If you did choose to install Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10051 on your only smartphone, you may be regretting it. Before you move back to Windows Phone 8.1, you should try out the all-new Build 10052, which was released today. It is a bug-fix release that may solve your woes. Other than fixes, it appears to be a rather ho-hum affair.

Some people on the Internet are really sick. No, I do not mean physically, but mentally deranged. A normal-looking sane person can become a hate-spewing monster once they are anonymous online. Hell, some people are abusive bullies even with their real identities! Sadly, social media is a place where bullying runs rampant -- if you are fat, gay, handicapped or in any way different, people will remind you of this with nasty tweets. Women are subject to sexually-charged harassment too.

Luckily, one such social media site, Twitter, has been putting a strong focus on curtailing bullying and offensive tweets. Today, the company is stepping up its efforts, but it seems to be going too far. What can only be described as heavy-handed censorship, Twitter will be deciding what is offensive and even forcing users to delete tweets. In other words, the company is attempting to unring a bell, by making users erase language that has already been communicated.

Fedora is an awesome Linux distribution. Not only is this my distro of choice, and the favorite of many other users, but more importantly, it is the operating system that Linus Torvalds uses. Yes, the father of Linux and overall open source champion uses Fedora. The OS is notable for being the foundation and testing grounds of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) too. No matter how you slice it, Fedora is both important and popular.

Today is finally the day, fellow Fedora lovers; after a long wait, the first beta of version 22 is here. Not only does this signal that the final release is getting closer, but it means we get to play with the latest beta too. So what are you waiting for? It's time to download!

A visit to the Microsoft Store can be a very fun experience. If you're like me, playing with laptops, tablets and Xbox is like going to an amusement park. Unfortunately, the closest Microsoft store to my home is about an hour away at a mall. This means I cannot go as often as I want. If you think an hour commute is bad, however, imagine the poor people of Australia -- they have to board an airplane to visit one!

Luckily for the Australian people, this will soon change. You see, a Microsoft Store is opening in Australia for the first time ever. In other words, Microsoft is going Down Under.