Tech Approaches to Offsetting the Ecological Disaster of Deforestation

Watching Brazil's rain forest burn is causing a lot of us to freak out a bit. Referring to it as "the world's lungs" may be an overstatement, but the rain forest is a critical global resource, and its destruction undoubtedly will worsen global warming. Given that the U.S. government has dismantled many environmental protection rules, companies are beginning to step up to work on offsets. One of the firms doing this is HP, which has announced a major initiative to focus the tech industry on renewable resources and to protect old-growth forests.

Manjaro 18.1: Goes Arch One Better

Manjaro Linux 18.1, released on Sept. 12, is one of the most complete Linux OSes you will find. It is a powerhouse distro that offers a better Arch Linux computing platform, and it is the de facto standard for comparing Arch family options. After six months of development, the latest series is a fast, user-friendly, desktop-oriented operating system based on Arch Linux -- but its independent nature makes this distro a hallmark of out-of-the-box computing. Arch Linux itself is renowned for being exceptionally fast, powerful and lightweight.

Fitness: The Sweet Spot for Smartwatches

Smartwatches outsold traditional watches in the fourth quarter of 2018. The category saw a 51 percent increase in dollar sales for last year, along with a 61 percent increase in unit sales, according to recent data from NPD Group. One in four Americans aged 18 to 34 now own a smartwatch, and that is likely to increase. Traditional watches did regain the majority of the market in Q1 2019, suggesting that not all consumers are ready to have a mini-computer on their wrists just yet.

Facebook's New Portals: More Ways to Follow

Facebook has announced three additions to the Portal family: a new Portal, Portal Mini and Portal TV. The devices let users make calls using Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. The Portal has a new design that resembles a picture frame. The Portal Mini is similar but smaller. The Portal TV looks like a set-top box and comes with its own controller. The Portal TV blends the functionality of a set-top box with social media and video conferencing, observed Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

iPhone 11: To Upgrade or Not, That's the Question

Early reviews on the new iPhone models are appearing, and for owners of older versions of Apple's flagship mobile, an upgrade may be in order. Reviewers had plenty of praise for Apple's more expensive iPhone models -- the 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max. However, it was the baseline iPhone 11 that came out the clear winner in the kudos game. Although the iPhone 11 is the lowest-priced of the three new models, Apple didn't skimp on the device. Reviewers found the 11's camera to be a solid performer. They also praised the iPhone 11 line's video prowess.

Pine64 Teases $25 Linux Smartwatch

While open source enthusiasts still await the year of the Linux desktop, hardware developer Pine64 is advancing the cause of a $25 Linux-powered smartwatch, dubbed "PineTime." The Pine64 community has invited FreeRTOS or ArmMbed developers with an interest in smartwatches to join in its efforts to bring the product to market. Pine64 makes inexpensive Linux-based single board ARM computers that cost $15 to $20. It also makes an $89 Linux laptop called "Pinebook," which runs on the Pine A64 board. A few Linux distributions run on Pine A64.

Wi-Fi 6 Is Ready for Prime Time

The Wi-Fi Alliance has released certification standards for Wi-Fi 6 devices, signaling that the technology is ready for prime time. The certification program assures buyers that products carrying the Wi-Fi Certified 6 label will deliver the best user experience with devices supporting IEEE 802.11ax. Wi-Fi 6 includes innovations to create faster network performance and to decrease the latency that can result from adding devices to a network. "Wi-Fi Certified 6 is ushering in a new era of WiFi," said Wi-Fi Alliance CEO Edgar Figueroa.