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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28 January 2020 | Do-It-Yourself, Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video |
There are quite a few smartphone cases, Faraday bags, and other little gizmos out there that claim to protect you from the phones RF waves.
A common method that people use is to line one (or both) sides of their phone case with good old aluminum foil.
So, the question is: Does tin foiling your phone really work? How much? And where exactly should you put the foil?
Watch to find out!
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31 December 2019 | Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Networking, Video |
There’s a new flavor of Wi-Fi in town: Wi-Fi 6!
In case you’re confused, I’m talking about IEEE 802.11ax, the successor to 802.11ac (which is now called Wi-Fi 5).
Are you confused yet?
While I’m not a terribly big fan of wireless stuff, Wi-Fi 6 does include several improvements that increase capacity and speed for more connected users.
The question is: does Wi-Fi 6 go far enough, or is wired still better?
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3 December 2019 | Computers, Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video |
A lot of people these days are talking about protecting their online privacy.
We have hearings going on, threats of breaking up Facebook and other Big Tech companies, data leaks, and so on.
Many people are going so far as to boycott Google (which is easier said than done).
But so far, no one – except Mozilla – is talking about the biggest threat to online privacy: Browser Fingerprints.
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12 November 2019 | Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video |
This one’s a double header!
First, I quickly review the new Nokia 2720 Flip 4G dumbphone.
Then, I talk a bit more about exactly why dumbphones that run KaiOS are really NOT smartphones.
Did I mention that the 2720’s HUGE buttons are an absolute joy to use?
Or that it’s the first phone (of any kind) that I’ve had in years that actually fits in my pocket?
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1 October 2019 | Energy, Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video |
You all know I’m not a big fan of wireless due to the health risks.
I’ve also said before that resources should be devoted to making these wireless technologies safe – so that we don’t have to just ditch it all!
But then, the question is: Is EMF ever safe?
Better yet, are there examples of EMF / radio frequency energy being used to possibly even HEAL people?
It turns out, there are! And it’s all pretty interesting…
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24 September 2019 | Gizmos, How Does it Work? |
Last week, I published a video entitled 4G Dumbphones: Get one with KaiOS!
In that vid, I talked about why KaiOS is a great OS to have on a 4G dumbphone.
Quite a few people asked various questions, like:
But hang on, isn’t that just a smartphone disguised as a dumbphone? But if it has Google, how is that different from an Android smartphone?
And so on.
So this week, I want to dig into some of the details of KaiOS and why it is NOT your daddy’s smartphone.
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17 September 2019 | Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video |
One year ago, I advised against getting a 4G dumbphone with KaiOS. I am officially reversing that recommendation!
After purchasing a Nokia 8110 4G and playing with it for 1 month, I’m actually pretty speechless, and that IS rare.
Despite Google’s investment of $22 million in KaiOS over 1 year ago, Google’s services remain “add-ons”. IOW, KaiOS has NOT become Android Lite.
KaiOS is KaiOS, and there’s some Googley stuff on the phone that you can either use, or not. Better yet, you can block the Google apps from doing much of anything.
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6 August 2019 | Do-It-Yourself, Gizmos, How Does it Work?, Video |
They’re known as power bricks, wall warts, AC Adapters, AC-DC Converters, and probably 10 other names – and they power many of the gizmos you use every day.
But what happens when a gizmo stops working right?
You may think it’s the gizmo itself, but very often it’s the power brick.
It may look complicated, but it’s actually pretty straightforward to get a universal power brick and set it up to breathe new life into your techie toy.
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I’ve been using dumbphones for awhile now, but I started to miss some smartphone features.
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