Brian Fagioli

Last month, the Linux community was rocked by a critical OpenSSL vulnerability. Because of the severity of the vulnerability, Fedora 37 was delayed by its developers. While Fedora users were disappointed by the delay, it was obviously the right move.

At the time, the developers said they were targeting November 15 for the official Fedora 37 release. Well, folks, that date is today and Fedora 37 is here. While this version of the operating system is chock full of changes and improvements (such as the GNOME 43 desktop environment), the most exciting aspect is Raspberry Pi 4 support. Full release notes can be found here.

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Earlier today, TP-Link unveiled its upcoming Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) products -- you can watch a video of the event below. Featuring theoretical maximum speeds of 30Gbps, Wi-Fi 6E no longer feels fresh and new.

Before you throw away your current wireless networking gear, however, please know that these new TP-Link offerings are not available yet. In fact, the company will not begin taking pre-orders until the final day of the year -- December 31. These Wi-Fi 7 products won't actually hit stores until Q1 of 2023.

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Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion, and he's been doing a terrible job of running things. He made the verification status confusing and nonsensical, but worst of all, he quickly fired thousands of workers. And so, many Twitter users have been abandoning the platform and switching to alternatives. You can find yours truly on Mastodon, for instance.

The folks over at Raspberry Pi are not abandoning Twitter (yet), but they are very alarmed by Musk's erratic behavior. As a result, they have created an account on the Mastodon social network in case they do decide to jump ship. Actually, they took things a step further and have begun running their own Mastodon server (also known as an "instance") at raspberrypi.social.

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Christmas is on the horizon -- it is literally next month! In other words, you had better start your shopping soon. If you have a techie in your life you need to get a gift for, you might be thinking of wireless headphones, such as Apple AirPods. While that is a nice gift idea, maybe you should think outside the box instead and go for bone conduction headphones...

If you aren't familiar, bone conduction headphones don't go in or over your ear canals, but instead, they sort of transmit audio through your skull. It sounds crazy, I know, but it is a really cool technology that allows you to hear your surroundings. These types of headphones are ideal for those that exercise, bike, or walk in the street while listening to music.

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Back in the day, it was common for laptops to have a dedicated video output port, such as VGA or HDMI. These days? Not so much. Instead, computer makers rely heavily on USB-C, hoping you will invest in dongles for your video needs. And so, a USB-C to HDMI adapter, for instance, is a pretty common accessory.

What is not typical, however, is a USB-C dongle that offers four HDMI ports. The all-new Plugable Quad HDMI Adapter is exactly that. This dongle plugs into the USB-C port on your Windows or Mac computer and turns it into four HDMI outputs. And yes, the adapter is fully compatible with M1 and M2 Mac computers -- with the help of included software. If your computer doesn't have USB-C, there is no need to worry; a USB-A dongle is included.

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Believe it or not, some desktop Linux users need to run Microsoft Teams for work. While I am sure Microsoft would prefer these users switch to Windows 11, that isn't always possible. And so, the company is throwing Linux users a bone.

Today, the Microsoft Teams progressive web app officially comes to Linux. This PWA is in addition to the normal version of the app -- it does not replace it (yet). Before you get too excited, however, there is a pretty big caveat -- you must be using either Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge web browsers. Firefox users are apparently out of luck.

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In the USA, the COVID-19 pandemic is pretty much over. You no longer need to wear masks everywhere, and life has largely gone back to normal. In China, however, the virus is still wreaking havoc -- residents of that communist country still face regular lockdowns.

Unfortunately, according to Apple, the ongoing COVID-19 situation in China has negatively impacted the production of both the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Sadly, this will lead to delays. While this is bad news for Apple and its shareholders, it is also tragic for those that were hoping to buy one of these phones for the upcoming holiday season. In other words, Little Johnny may not get the phone he wants under the tree this year.

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All the 4K webcams I have ever used have been 30 FPS max. To get the preferred 60 FPS, you typically need to set the quality to 720p or 1080p. As far as I know, there are no 4K60 (2160p60) webcams on the market.

Until today, that is. You see, Elgato (a Corsair subsidiary), has launched what it claims to be "The World's First 4K60 Webcam." Called "Facecam Pro," the camera is designed to sit atop your computer monitor or laptop display, but it can be used with a tripod too. Facecam Pro connects using a removable USB-C cable.

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Last week, the Linux community was abuzz with excitement over the release of Zorin OS 16.2. That operating system is notable for being designed for Windows switchers. Today, yet another such distribution that focuses on former Windows users is released -- Linux Lite 6.2.

Linux Lite 6.2 is is based on the excellent Ubuntu 22.04.1. The distribution uses Linux kernel 5.15.0-52 and Xfce 4.16 desktop environment. It comes with some excellent software pre-installed, such as Google Chrome 107, GIMP 2.10.30, Thunderbird 202.2.2, VLC 3.0.16, and LibreOffice 7.3.6.2.

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Fedora 37 was due to be released before the end of October, but if you expected to have the Linux-based operating system by Halloween, you will be very disappointed. You see, due to a critical bug in OpenSSL, the Fedora developers are halting the release until November 15 at the earliest.

The patched version of OpenSSL will come out on November 1, so the developers are targeting November 15 as a realistic date to have Fedora 37 tested and ready to go. Of course, it could end up being even later than that.

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Want to know a secret? If you don't like Windows 11, then you don't have to use it. Look, in 2022, there are plenty of legitimate alternatives. For instance, you can buy a Mac or a Chromebook. If you want to use your existing computer, however, you can just install a traditional Linux distribution such as Ubuntu.

One of the best Linux-based operating systems for Windows-switchers these days is Zorin OS. This distribution is based on Ubuntu, but improves upon that distro by offering a more user-focused experience -- particularly for current Windows users. Today, Zorin OS 16.2 becomes available, and the newest version of the operating system makes it even easier to ditch Windows 11. You see, with Zorin OS 16.2, you can run Windows programs with ease.

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Does the perfect laptop docking station exist? Maybe for some consumers, but ultimately, no it does not. The reality is, consumers have differing needs and wants, so no single dock can truly please everyone. With that said, a new docking station from Plugable should prove to be a great option for most consumers.

Called "UD-ULTCDL," it technically is an update to an existing Plugable dock that carries the same name, but really, it is significantly different, meaning it should be considered an entirely new product. This second generation version features three HDMI ports as opposed to outdated DVI and VGA options. Not to mention, it now offers 100W charging (96W certified).

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Solid state drives are continually getting faster, with many computers now supporting the PCIe 4.0 standard. Heck, PCIe 5.0 computers are now available. If you have a PCIe 4.0-compatible PC, you will probably want to get such an SSD to maximize your performance. Is it largely for bragging rights and benchmarks? Arguably, yes, but if you can afford it, you might as well go for a PCIe 4.0 drive. After all, the price should not be much more than a PCIe 3.0 SSD.

Transcend has a new M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 solid state drive that is designed for both gamers and enthusiasts. Called "MTE250S," this SSD is extremely fast and comes with a thin graphene heatsink to help with cooling.

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Google Chrome is a great web browser for many reasons, including its cross-platform nature. You can run Ubuntu Linux, macOS, Windows, and Android, for instance, and use the same Chrome web browser on all of those operating systems. Thanks to cloud data syncing, you can have a seamless experience too.

With the upcoming Google Chrome 110, however, there will be two fewer operating systems supported. You see, early next year, Google will be dropping support for its web browser on both Windows 7 and 8.1. In other words, if you use Microsoft's desktop operating system, you will need to be on Windows 10 or 11.

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Nowadays, our computers often serve as our centralized media centers. We use laptops and desktops to both watch videos and listen to music. Long gone are the days of having big stereo receivers paired with independent media devices such as CD and DVD players. Streaming is superior.

Unfortunately, many consumers rely on the terrible speakers that are integrated into their laptops or the ones that came with their desktop. These people are missing out on what is truly possible from computer audio. By upgrading to higher quality speakers, a whole new world of audio can be experienced.

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