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OnePlus has a decent track recording of supporting its handsets for longer than most other companies, pushing out security updates and even operating system upgrades long beyond the point at which other manufacturers have let their handsets fall by the wayside.

Having already rolled out Android Pie to the OnePlus 5 and 5T, it wasn't long before we learned that the company hadn’t forgotten about owners of older handsets. Now you can sign up to take part in a beta program to test Android Pie on your OnePlus 3 or 3T ahead of the impending launch of the Pie-based OxygenOS 9.

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I crave juice. No, not apple, orange, or any other fruit drink -- I am addicted to electricity. Look, we are all hopelessly dependent on our mobile devices these days. Between laptops, smartphones, and tablets, there is hardly a moment in the day when I'm not staring at a screen. Even when I am watching TV (yet another display), I have my iPad in hand for a second screen experience -- I play a lot of Words With Friends while watching The Big Bang Theory reruns.

All of this heavy device usage at home is fine, because there are many power outlets available when batteries get low. When I am on the go, however, it is a very different story. All joking aside, I get anxiety if I'm out of the house and my iPhone battery dies. What if I get lost? What if I need to call 911?  What if I need to snap a quick photograph? A nightmare! Thankfully, USB power packs/banks can solve this dilemma. If you aren't familiar, it is simply a battery with a USB port (or ports) that can charge your devices.

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Does size matter? Well, that depends on what we are talking about. Regarding computers, gaming variants used to be massive towers loaded up with several fans and a full-sized ATX motherboard. Nowadays, small is in fashion -- many system builders opt for Micro ATX or Mini-ITX boards. It can be fun to see how much performance can be crammed into a tiny system.

ZOTAC is a company that likes to focus on the diminutive, and today, it launches an all-new such gaming PC. Called "MEK MINI," it's not as small as some of its other computers, but this one is designed for playing games, so it needs to be larger to accommodate the higher-end components. The beautiful chassis features an easy-open side panel, allowing you to more easily access the internals. Despite the small size, the specs are actually quite impressive -- it has a six-core Intel i7-8700 and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 8GB GDDR6 GPU. Windows 10 Home comes pre-installed -- not Pro, sadly. And yes, since this is a gaming product, it has RGB lighting.

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Just when you think things couldn't get any worse with Facebook, something else comes along to lower your opinion of the social network even further. The latest security slip-up relates to passwords: it turns out that for up to six years, millions of user passwords were stored in plain text.

As well as being stored in plain text, passwords were searchable by thousands of Facebook employees. An investigation by Facebook suggests that somewhere between 200 million and 600 million user accounts were affected, some as far back as 2012.

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Although the Windows 10 October 2018 Update did arrive in October 2018, it came with lots of problems, and Microsoft was forced to pull it, reissuing a slightly less buggy version in November.

Despite this, the actual phased rollout didn’t start in January, and even so uptake was very slow. Yesterday, however, Microsoft finally flipped the switch to begin automatic updates, but there are still some users who won’t be offered it.

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Vulnerabilities in open source code represent a risk for businesses, but the process of reporting them is cumbersome and that can leave software open to risk.

Without a standard for responsible disclosure, even those who want to disclose vulnerabilities responsibly can get frustrated with the process and turn to public lists or social media, where bad actors can easily find the details before fixes are created.

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Back in September last year Microsoft announced the launch of its Virtual Desktop to allow Windows to be run in the cloud.

At the time, however, it was only a private preview. Today the public preview launches, so anyone with an Azure subscription can try out the service.

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In February, Microsoft announced Microsoft Threat Experts, a new service within Microsoft 365 Security designed to better protect businesses.

Today, the software giant extends its endpoint protection platform to Mac, and in keeping with that move renames the Windows Defender ATP platform to Microsoft Defender ATP.

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Satechi is a very popular accessory maker. While the company's offerings often focus on complementing Apple devices (such iPhone, iMac, iPad, and MacBook), they usually work fine with other devices too, such as ones that run Android or Windows, for example.

Today, the company releases two new USB-C accessories, both of which focus on power delivery. The more interesting of the pair is the Type-C Headphone Jack Adapter. As the name suggests, it converts USB-C to a 3.5mm headphone jack, but in addition, it allows pass-thru charging. In other words, if you only have one USB-C port, you can still charge your device despite listening to music with wired headphones. The other product, called "USB-C 100W Charging Cable," is (you guessed it) a cable. That charges. Yeah... Not super exciting, but the build quality looks exceptional, and the 2 meter wire can transfer data too.

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Well, folks, it's happening -- Windows 7 will soon be unsupported. Yes, the last Microsoft operating system to truly be loved by users will soon be dead. Microsoft would love for these users to switch to Windows 10, but understandably, not everyone wants to. After all, the user interface is a mess, and there are spying concerns with overly aggressive telemetry.

If you are still on Windows 7, Microsoft will soon begin warning you that support is ending. I actually don't hate Microsoft for nagging these users -- quite the opposite. The company informing users that the Windows 7 operating system will soon be dangerous to use should be celebrated. Thankfully, Windows 10 is not the only path -- Linux is a great option these days. In fact, one of my favorite distributions for Windows switchers, Zorin OS, has a new Beta out today. You should definitely give it a go.

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Yesterday, Microsoft rolled out Windows 10 19H1 Build 18361 to the Fast ring, and today it follows that up with Build 18362 which fixes a couple of problems.

In addition, the software giant has released Build 18860 for the 20H1 branch of Windows 10, which is planned for release early next year.

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Back in November 2018, we shared with you that NETGEAR was planning to sell some premium Wi-Fi 6 routers. This was very exciting, as the addition of this bleeding-edge technology signaled that 802.11ax had truly arrived. Many die-hard NETGEAR fans were waiting for the Nighthawk line in particular to become equipped with this new standard.

Now, NETGEAR announces yet another Wi-Fi 6 router, and this one looks incredible too. Called "Nighthawk RAX200," it retains the same stingray design of the previously announced RAX120, which I find to be quite attractive. It even has one of my favorite security features for a router -- automatic firmware updates. In other words, NETGEAR will keep the RAX200 router up to date without any effort from the owner.

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Opera has added a free VPN service to the Android version of its mobile web browser. Opera 51's newly-added VPN is not only free from charges, it is also free from limitations.

The feature has been added as the Norwegian software developer seeks to improve the security and privacy of web browsing for its users. The company says that it "marks a new standard for privacy and security in mobile browsing".

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Amazon has announced its new entry-level Kindle, introducing a couple of changes. While the price remains below $100, there has been a $10 hike, taking the price up to $89.99.

This extra $10 buys you an e-reader with only one notable change -- a new adjustable front light to allow for reading in the dark.

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Researchers have uncovered a vulnerability in the SoftNAS Cloud data storage platform that could be used to gain access to the webadmin interface without valid user credentials.

Security technology company Digital Defense found the previously undisclosed vulnerability which arises if customers have not followed SoftNAS deployment best practices and have openly exposed SoftNAS StorageCenter ports directly to the internet.

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