A chimpanzee and two trainees could run her!
As regular viewers know, I’m a huge fan of LED flashlights and headlamps.
They’re bright, energy efficient, and just really cool.
Since my last review of LED lights is almost 2 years old, it’s time for an update.
You won’t believe how bright these things have become!
Well, I did it again: I read a book.
This time, it was the story of China’s recent technological revolution.
If you’re wondering what’s going on over in the East in the techie arena, it’s a great read.
In short, it appears that smartphones + crazy-fast innovation have turned China into the New Silicon Valley.
And that has interesting implications for the future of AI…
These days, WiFi is everywhere. Even your washing machine probably has it. 😉
I typically don’t recommend using WiFi due to the huge amount of evidence indicating that it’s probably not the best thing for your health.
But there’s another reason to go back to cables…
WiFi is quite often WAAAY slower than most people think. In fact, it’s very rare that you will get anywhere near the maximum speeds advertised when you buy a WiFi access point or router.
What to do, what to do?
Everyone has a home router, whether they know it or not.
For most of us, our router is the DSL / Cable / Fiber “box” given to us by our ISP.
You can, of course, add your own home router in between your home network and your ISP’s box. This provides an extra level of safety – among other things.
Those of us who are a bit more techie (and crazy) like to roll our own router. There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is security.
Unfortunately, not all routers are created equal, even when they’re “created” by you!
These days, everyone just uses their smartphone for GPS navigation.
GPS is also present in most cars.
In the olden days, we had dedicated GPS gizmos for navigating. You can still grab a GPS-only device these days – and for fewer bucks than you might think.
But is it worth it to have a dedicated GPS?
It turns that yes, it is… For quite a few reasons, actually, not the least of which is simple privacy.
We hear a lot these days about China and the E-vils of their techie toys.
Obviously, there is also a lot of political nonsense going on here given China’s economic rise on the world stage. But how bad are Chinese toys – really?
I mean, everything is Made in China anyway, right?
Join Cletus and I for a fascinating look behind the tech curtain! Iron curtain? Red curtain? Some kind of curtain!
Bluetooth speakers are pretty popular these days. Unfortunately, I don’t carry a smartphone around with me.
That means my “wireless speaker” is actually an Anker SoundCube Mini – complete with microSD card for storing and playing all my MP3 files. No smartphone or Bluetooth required!
There’s just one problem: portable speakers like the SoundCube Mini don’t have a shuffle mode. They just read the music files off the SD card, and play them in order.
That means I have to shuffle the files myself, which is easier said than done… Until now!
Many people have asked me how to use ethernet instead of WiFi with their tablet or smartphone.
While the idea is simple enough, getting ethernet to actually work with your gizmo can be anything but easy…
Some devices simply won’t work with certain USB-Ethernet dongles, and other devices won’t work at all with any dongle – period.
So, the short answer is: it’s complicated!
Read more…
Ever since I made my Stylish Smartphone Faraday Box videos, countless people have told me to just use a microwave oven, or just use an empty potato chip bag.
Well, no… And yes! It depends.
The truth is that Faraday cages don’t block signals – they attenuate (or weaken) them.
That means that depending on the situation – the phone itself, the signal strength, the microwave oven itself, and so on – it may or may not work.
Read more…
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard CletusAir flight 353 with non-stop service to Mos Eisley.”
“Please return your seatbacks and tray tables to their upright position, fasten your seatbelts, turn off and stow all portable electronic devices, or put them in airplane mode for the duration of the flight.”
Eh… Why airplane mode?
Most of us think it’s to prevent interference with the airplane’s electronics.
It turns out that’s not quite correct…
Read more…