6 October 2020 | Computers, Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Uncategorized |
Just how fast is USB 3?
There seems to be a bit of confusion out there about how fast USB 3.x devices can actually go – as well as how to actually obtain those blistering-fast transfer rates.
That’s not surprising since what should be a pretty simple topic is actually quite convoluted…
You may recall my earlier video, Slow copy speeds with USB 3? No problem! 🎞
I was recently informed by one viewer that 400 MB/s is completely impossible for USB 3, so I guess it’s time for a review!
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29 September 2020 | Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video |
The latest news about 5G isn’t exactly flattering.
After dealing with nothing but hyped-up descriptions of the Technological Wonderland that awaited us, now even mainstream techie news seems to be all about bashing 5G instead of promoting it.
What happened??
In short, reality sunk in.
I suspect we’ll see some rather substantial evolutionary changes in wireless service instead of the revolutionary changes we’ve been promised – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing!
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25 August 2020 | Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video |
We often hear lately about nefarious plans involving injectable tracking devices… But is such a thing even possible?
Given the current state of technology, would such a thing even work?
Better yet, HOW would it work?
After all, it’s a long way from contactless payment cards to tracking chips floating inside inside millions of people who are constantly on the move.
The answers to these questions surprised me – and they may surprise you, too!
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11 August 2020 | Energy, Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video |
Wireless charging is all the rage these days.
Unfortunately, it’s not quite up to par.
It turns out that most chargers are actually wasting tons of electricity – and they’re not exactly easy to use, either.
Join for me for a look at yet another wireless technology that leaves a lot to be desired…
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19 May 2020 | Computers, Gizmos, Video |
For awhile now, we’ve been hearing rumors of anti-trust actions against the four main Big Tech companies.
Recently, the word is that actual charges will be brought starting in June of this year.
When you put all the recent stories together – along with some other interesting events involving Big Tech – it DOES look like something is finally about to happen.
But will any of it actually change anything?
It’s easy to be cynical, but I do see an opportunity here to make a difference…
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21 April 2020 | Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video |
As regular readers know, I’m not a big fan of the traditional smartphone craze.
Sure, they’re really handy gizmos, but the amount of data being hoovered up and shipped off to large service providers is a bit frustrating.
As if things aren’t bad enough on that front, it gets better! It turns out that even individual APPS running on your phone are spying on you – specifically, they’re tracking your location (among other things).
What’s more, your location data can be easily linked to you as a private individual. To top it all off, this data is bought and sold to anyone who will pay – and all in the blink of an eye!
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31 March 2020 | Gizmos, How Does it Work? |
A recent study about smart speakers revealed that they are, in a word, crap.
The study, entitled, WHEN SPEAKERS ARE ALL EARS: Understanding when smart speakers mistakenly record conversations, revealed that these smart gizmos are very often activated by words and phrases that have little to do with anything.
Of course, that means they are recording and sending audio clips when they really shouldn’t be.
Not to worry, though – we are reassured by the researchers that it’s no big deal!
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24 March 2020 | Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video |
Quick charging is all the rage these days.
We all want our smartphones and tablets to charge REALLY quickly via plain old USB cables.
But how do quick chargers actually work?
After all, USB itself is limited in terms of the power that it can provide…
Tune in and discover the magic of USB quick charging!
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10 March 2020 | Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video |
I’ve been using dumbphones for awhile now, but I started to miss some smartphone features.
Then a friend of mine mentioned LineageOS again. I decided to take the plunge… And I’m glad I did!
It IS possible to have a relatively private smartphone without all the Googley madness – even in this day and age.
But it does take a bit of time, patience, and some technical know-how.
Note that I don’t walk through the entire installation process here since it’s particular to your specific phone…
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4 February 2020 | Computers, Gizmos |
So, you buy a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for your puter.
You hook it up.
Then, a power outage or brownout hits…
POOF! Your puter reboots.
“Hang on”, you think, “Wasn’t my battery backup supposed to prevent this?”
Yes, it was… But there are a few things you need to check to make things work nicely…
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