planet snewpy gadget

Synology RT6600ax Router

2024-02-02 16:48:40 -

Looking back on my posts from the last few years, you might get the impression that I am hard on routers, since I seem to go through them pretty quickly. But the truth is, I'm just picky, and there are certain things a router must do, of which most of them are incapable. Also, I don't really have the time to immerse myself in the whole WRT scene and spend my days endlessly upgrading and tweaking custom router software. I want something that meets all of my demands and does it right out-of-the-box. In short, I want perfection. I don't think that is too much to ask, either. Given that the internet has been around 50+ years at this point and consumer routers have been commonplace for at least 20 of those.

Sleep Science Memory Foam Mattress

2023-09-16 09:58:43 -

We were kind of worried about the durability of our first memory foam mattress, because it was still a relatively new technology and there weren't a lot of reviews available online yet. But I can say now that we certainly got our money's worth out of that one, since we only paid $500 for it and used it for about 14 years. When it was new, it was easily the best night's sleep I had ever had, and it's only been in the last six months or so that I've noticed consistent issues with sleep quality or waking up stiff. So if you're considering taking the plunge and going the memory foam route, I can vouch for the quality and durability of the technology. And there's about a million online mattress companies now, so there are myriad choices and plenty of reviews to satisfy your curiosity.

Husqvarna Automower 415X

2022-08-27 14:15:41 -

Our old Troy-Bilt riding mower shot craps in May with a flat tire and something else wrong with the transmission, so it was time to do some shopping for an alternative. We seriously considered a couple of Babydoll sheep as a replacement, but in the end, I was looking for less work, not more. For about the same price as a brand new riding mower, the top robotic mowers mean less impact to the environment and lower long-term operating costs (I can replace a lot of batteries for what I'm currently paying for gasoline). So it made sense to make the move, and the Husqvarna name weighed heavily on the decision-making process, especially after I watched this documentary about the history of the Automower.

Alienware Aurora R13

2022-03-11 16:28:40 -

With Windows 11, Microsoft has forced the obsolescence of probably millions of computers around the world. Mine was one of them. But, I bought my last computer in Dec 2011, so it had a good run. But since I've gotten back into gaming with the kids, it was time for an upgrade. This one should last me at least another decade, assuming Microsoft doesn't intervene.

Borosilicate Plate

2021-02-07 15:20:09 -

It's been over four years since I got my 3D printer, and while I've had some success producing the parts that I've needed, it hasn't always been a consistent process. I count myself lucky that I haven't had the myriad problems with getting prints to stick to the print bed that I hear about from so many others. I have had good luck with the blue QIDI stickers - perhaps too good, because if I've had adherence problems, it's at the other end of the spectrum. That is, removing a finished print is always an adventure, especially if it's one with a large surface area. Several times, I've had to remove the print bed from the printer and use the tools in my shop (i.e. hammers and chisels) to remove a part. This is neither a pleasant nor fulfilling experience.

Sweet Dreams

2021-01-23 14:40:42 -

Let me start by saying that bed warmers always seemed like a unnecessary luxury to me. That was until we got one 10 years ago and started using it in the winter to pre-heat our bed before we retired for the evening. Once you become accustomed to sliding into warm flannel sheets, it's hard to do without. I'll also say that we were in the habit of turning it off before we laid down to sleep, but recently I've discovered if I leave it on the lowest level, I sleep a lot more soundly. It has been a big benefit, but this post isn't about improving your sleep. This is about eliminating the chore of turning on your bed warmer every night through the magic of home automation.

Synology DiskStation DS920+

2020-12-21 16:10:00 -

After six years of storing files on my DS412+, it wasn't even half full, and Synology hasn't yet pulled the trick I now expect from all hardware manufacturers - forced obsolescence through software updates. The old Intel processor is from 2012, but it still runs the latest DSM. We'll see how long that lasts.

reMarkable 2 Tablet

2020-11-25 15:45:00 -

It's been almost exactly a year since I bought my original reMarkable tablet used off of eBay. It served me well, but it had a few undesirable quirks that I couldn't get past. Chief among these was its pitiful battery life (usually only a day or two before it had to be charged again, whether you were using it or not), but I also grew to dislike the buttons at the bottom of the bezel because I found myself resting my hand on them by accident and advancing the page while I was writing.

Hubitat Elevation

2020-08-16 15:47:10 -

In 2013, I received a SmartThings hub (1st Generation) as a gift for Christmas. Several months later I made the decision to begin the transition from my ancient X10 home automation devices to the "new hotness" of Z-Wave and Zigbee (I still have a tote full of over $1000 of X10 stuff - if you're interested, let me know.)

Wolverine 8mm Film Scanner

2020-03-14 10:31:01 -

I am part of the generation that spanned the digital revolution which means I have dozens of reels full of my parents' Super 8mm film going back to the mid-60s. I have made one previous attempt to convert these old home movies to DVD, with moderate success. The quality of video made by simply recording the image from a movie projector suffers from hot spots, mismatched frame rates, and other artifacts. A much better method is a frame-by-frame transfer using a film scanner. I recently bought the Wolverine MovieMaker Pro from Amazon and have been very pleased with the quality of the MP4 videos that it produces. They are 1440x1080 at 20fps and I would say that the color is very good. It claims to be able to handle up to 9" reels, but I only have 7" reels, so I haven't been able to test that.

reMarkable Paper Tablet

2019-11-12 20:12:11 -

I have been intrigued with this gadget for over a year now when I first learned of it. It certainly seemed too good to be true, and for that reason alone I shied away from it. The retail price made it even easier to avoid any serious consideration. But because I find myself carrying multiple notebooks now - for work and for personal use - it seemed like a reasonable alternative. If you do your research you will learn that the company really has created something remarkable - the reviews are unanimous - this technology is the closest you can come to real paper. The tactile experience is everything you would expect.

Linksys MR8300 Mesh Router

2019-03-27 16:17:58 -

I wasn't completely happy with the Netgear X4S router - it was missing a few essential features - but then I really wasn't happy when it started factory resetting itself in the middle of the night. Luckily, it happened within 30 days of purchase, so Amazon took it back.

Netgear Nighthawk X4S

2019-02-24 11:19:59 -

The time had come to upgrade my old router (D-Link DIR-825). It had been a good performer, with excellent stability, but it didn't have quite the necessary range (since I keep it in the basement) for our house. I also wanted to add some parental controls, and the D-Link firmware does not include that option.

Ring Video Doorbell

2017-01-08 14:53:20 -

I received the Ring video doorbell as a Christmas gift this year. Overall, I like it. However, I have a few reservations about recommending it to others.

FlashForge Creator Pro 3D Printer

2016-12-23 06:38:27 -

Santa was kind to me this year and brought me a new 3D printer, so I've been learning how to use it. If you spend any time researching these you quickly learn the importance of leveling the build platform. It took me several failed print jobs to fully appreciate this. If you don't have the distance between the extruder nozzle and the bed set to about the thickness of a piece of paper, you will wind up with a mess of stringy blobs of molten plastic. The temperature of the build platform is important too. But there are plenty of tutorial videos and forum posts out there to help the uninitiated, so I won't bother duplicating that information here. I'll just say you would do well to watch/read all of that stuff before your printer arrives.

Acu-Rite Weather Station

2016-07-12 16:03:54 -

For my birthday, I had this weather station on my wishlist. It's one of those items I would probably never buy for myself, because it's definitely a want, not a need. But my wife got it for me and I installed it on the roof this weekend. The installation of the sensor is the hardest part, and I'm still not sure that it's in an ideal location. The manual suggests you put it at the top of a 30-foot pole in the middle of your yard, away from anything that might reflect heat. Yeah, right. I'll get right on that. Seriously, does anyone actually follow that recommendation?

Synology DiskStation DS412+

2014-03-29 12:40:28 -

I think I've solved my storage problems once and for all. It's taken me a while to pull the trigger on this purchase, but my previous NAS and its 2TB drive was almost full. The Synology unit is obviously way more expensive, but it does so much more, it's not even fair to call it a NAS. It really is a full-blown linux server, and when you consider all of the software that comes pre-installed, and all of the software packages developed by members of the Synology community, there is really no comparison to any other product available. This particular model may not be for everyone, but if you are like me and have a lot of media (and are planning to have a lot more in the future), and have a number of devices you want to play it on, you can't go wrong with Synology. Also, a 4-bay unit does a good job of future-proofing.

CCD Barcode Scanner

2012-09-09 16:26:08 -

Are you tired of spending hours manually entering book titles into your own personal database? (Well, okay, if you're not a home-schooler, maybe you're not, but work with me here.) If you're like us, you spend a lot of time going to the library to pick out books for your kids, and, let's say for the purposes of this discussion, you also spend a lot of time keeping track of the books they read in some sort of database. What if you could just scan the books, like they do in the library, and have them magically appear in your own database? Well now you can!

IOGEAR Wireless Keyboard

2011-07-16 13:26:37 -

Last year, I wrote about the Lenovo Keyboard I bought, and that I wasn't a fan. It has its good points, but overall the lack of backlighting is a deal breaker. But I've found a keyboard that I can definitely recommend for the Home Theater PC enthusiast.

Netopia 3347 DSL Modem/Router

2010-08-06 20:12:11 -

At the suggestion of an AT&T technician, I upgraded my old router and DSL modem to this Netopia 3347 combination unit, and I am very glad I did. He notified me that my old DSL modem, a Slipstream 4100 B that I purchased at Best Buy about a year ago, was actually two or three generations old already and that upgrading to this particular device had solved a connection problem for another customer he had helped.

Quest For A Good Antenna

2010-07-05 19:19:40 -

An integral part of my Home Theater PC build is the antenna, and when I first wrote about the hardware, I wasn't even aware how complicated things would become in this area. The RCA ANT1251, which is little more than a pair of glorified rabbit ears, did not perform well at all in my house. I quickly abandoned it for the Terk HDTVa, which I found delivered a decent signal from my attic, and I was satisfied for several weeks.

Lenovo Wireless Keyboard

2010-06-28 05:44:58 -

The Lenovo N5901 wireless keyboard is a small handheld remote with a full QWERTY keyboard and built-in trackball. It seems well suited for home theater (HTPC) applications, however, it has a number of drawbacks.

Memory Foam Mattress

2010-06-04 06:34:29 -

It's been about six months since we bought this memory foam mattress at Sam's. At the time, I read every single comment on the page, left by dozens (if not hundreds) of people who had purchased the same mattress. They all expressed the same apprehension about buying a mattress online, without ever having laid on it, but in the end, they all did it anyway, keeping their fingers crossed that they would not live to regret it. There were only a handful of truly negative comments about the mattress -- overwhelmingly the owners of this mattress were happy with it. I can now add myself to that list.

HTPC Hardware

2010-03-02 16:28:37 -

Let me start by saying that I did not compile this entire list of hardware through trial and error. Most of it came from Jay Taylor's excellent blog over at AMD, and a big thanks to him for starting me off in the right direction. I bought all the necessary parts for the base system following the links he provided. This includes the chassis, motherboard, memory, CPU, hard drive, and optical drive. Beyond that, I started experimenting. Buying my own tuner cards, remote controls, antennas, etc., and returning a lot of it until I found the right mix.

HTPC Install

2010-03-09 20:32:31 -

Once you've assembled the hardware, and collected the software, it is time to begin your install. You can expect this entire process to take between one and two hours to complete. Please follow these instructions:

HTPC Software

2010-03-07 13:10:20 -

I started out thinking this would be a Linux-based PC, but two things changed my mind. First, I've written before about my travails with Linux. I want to like Linux, I really do. But I can't. Mabye I'm just not geeky enough, or maybe I'm just lazy, but configuring the guts of an operating system is not enjoyable, and I will avoid it every chance I get. If that means I buy Windows, so be it. Second, and more importantly, at the time of this writing streaming Netflix movies to a Linux box was still not an option -- this was a deal-breaker.

Roku

2010-01-06 16:02:05 -

I've been a Netflix user for many years. I was intrigued when they began offering some of their movies in streaming format directly from their web site -- I think it's easy to see that this is the future of entertainment content distribution -- but I'm personally not a fan of sitting in front of my computer to watch long videos. One of these days I'll get around to either building my own HTPC, or upgrading our TiVo, but in the meantime, Santa brought a fancy new gadget that bridges the gap quite nicely.

DJ Hero

2009-12-26 18:18:59 -

Santa brought me DJ Hero for the Wii this year for Christmas, and I have to say it's the surprise hit of all of my new toys. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. In the ancient past, I spent time both in the club scene and as a DJ, so it has a certain appeal to me, but I'll concede that it's not for everyone. Having spent some time playing Rock Band at a friend's house, I can say that DJ Hero is quite a bit harder to learn (even at the easy level) than playing guitar -- from a technical standpoint, there's a lot more to "two turntables and microphone" than "a beat-up six-string." But the music is great -- top quality mixes, by big-name DJs -- and the game play is addictive as you try to master the higher levels. Oh yeah, and I got mad skillz!