I do not mind Linux, but if I am completely honest Windows is more my thing. It is just more comfortable. So generally when there is a Windows option I go for it, instead of spinning up a Linux VM. Usually this pays off in setup time, but occasionally has the pain where I later have to figure out how […]
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Having recently moved into a new[ish] house, the process of installing some “smart” gadgets has begun. The list is long, but with a couple decidedly unsmart thermostats present it was important to get that sorted ASAP. There are a few smart thermostats available; each with their own plus/minus. For me the most important feature was a strong multi-sensor approach to […]
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I have never been a big fan of Seth MacFarlane. When I heard about him starring in a Star Trek-like TV show, it was no surprise that I immediately set my phasers to stunned. However, after watching a trailer for the show, my interest was slightly piqued by the possibilities. The visuals looked fairly impressive and the comedic slant could […]
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The DVD was unleashed on the Japanese public all the way back in 1996 and the Blu-ray format has been around for 11 years already, meaning we were absolutely due for another shakeup. That transition began with the introduction of the Ultra High Definition (UHD) Blu-ray format and the first movie releases in early 2016. A year and a half […]
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I like the recent trend to make higher-end Wi-Fi routers look interesting. Stepping away from the old-school canister or plain shell with antenna is especially pleasing. No one has embraced this more fully than D-Link, with the DIR-855L/R being one of the latest crop of performance routers. Sporting a dual-core 1.4GHz Broadcom BCM4709C0 SoC, this 4×4 stream AC3150 (1000Mbps […]
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Like an increasing number of people my mobile uses a USB-C connector, so my FLIR ONE won’t work without an adapter. Having tired of pulling my old phone out of storage everytime I want to use the thermal camera, I contacted FLIR ONE support this week. Unfortunately, they were no help at all. Seemingly unaware that the world has moved […]
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I recently installed ha-bridge to expose my custom switches and those from my Harmony and Vera systems to the Amazon Echo. One of the challenges I ran across was that the Linux (VM) system that I want to host the app on is Ubuntu, and the installation instructions didn’t cover that. Now, this isn’t a complex task, but there was […]
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I’m not sure exactly why my wife came home with a cheap (£10-15) set of 433MHz remote controlled switches. While I gave her some grief initially, I’m glad she did. Because for a few £ more we now have four “smart” IP switches that can be controlled from a home automation controller (HAC). And since we have an Amazon Echo, […]
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I typically rely on my manual 35mm SLR to take higher quality pictures. I have in the past only used my camera phone for casual picture taking. I recently switched to an Apple iPhone 6s plus and acquired an Olloclip Active lens at the same time to see if I could get photos with the two that would replace my […]
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Let me start by saying, I am not much of a gamer. So while the NVIDIA Shield Android TV box has been out for a while, offering 4K UHD support for native playback and over-the-top (OTT) services like Netflix, the value proposition really did not speak to me given its $200/£150 (16GB) $300/£220 (500GB “PRO”) price tag. The landscape for […]
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