RichC | July 14, 2024
Our now 20 year old “corded” iRobot Verro pool vacuum has been outstanding and I’m hard pressed to give up on it by buying expensive bags and replacing more parts. Improvements have been made over the years to pool robots and I decided 2024 was the summer to replace it with one of the cordless […]
RichC | August 4, 2023
When trying to transfer photos and video from SD cards to a computer, you really need some kind of card reader. I have several that are USB readers, but none that are USB-C and will plug into my MacBook Air M2. So instead of a bulky dongle with extras, I opted for a small Anker […]
RichC | May 31, 2023
One would think after twenty some years of pool ownership, I would have invested in a cement sidewalk (pool decking) edger. Nope … it was not something familiar to me since we have never lived on a city lot or had sidewalks. Now after 40 years of homeownership, I’ve finally broken down and spent $79.20 […]
RichC | September 3, 2020
I shared a question to a few of my automotive friends on a Twitter a few weeks ago … prior to my WordPress post disappeared due to a mysql crash (grrr!) … A question for #Millennials: What is this automotive “thing” and how does it work? So much of what we remember from our youth […]
RichC | February 9, 2020
It has been a struggle to make a decision on updating my favorite tech gadget, but after the first generation Brydge Keyboard finally would not charge, I had to do something. I thought about going all out and moving to the iPad Pro series, but realized that all the functions that I appreciate are already […]
RichC | July 10, 2019
Oh for the good ol’ days when we read cereal boxes in the morning and just wanted the trinket inside or collected box tops while learning “delayed gratification.” Kids online: ”81% of the world’s children and 92% of US children now have an online presence before they turn 2. In the US, 95% of […]
RichC | March 22, 2019
There is isn’t anything wrong with my current 2014 Apple iPad, it is just getting older as far as technology goes, and is a little sluggish (or so it seems). It is still the single most used tech device that I have … and the reason I’ll likely replace it with another when the time […]
RichC | October 5, 2018
The Amazon Echo has been a fun gadget to use and have in our home since Katelyn and Drew gave it to us for Christmas. After having our granddaughter Annalyn with us for a few days last week, I realized we don’t always have the volume set appropriately especially when she is sleeping. Hm … […]
RichC | June 16, 2018
Frustration in tech land! Power out – now the cable modem or router won’t reboot properly! If you haven’t following along with my updating the progress on the Florida condo, I’ve been adding bits and pieces to “home automation” besides the normal “construction updates” to the kitchen (and eventually bathroom). Most of it has been […]
RichC | March 28, 2018
We have a couple of Canary cams in our home and they constantly trigger for one thing or the other. I’m still having problems with one of them sending “Person spotted in Away mode” which usually means my iPhone has not been detected as being “home.” I’ve tweaked the setting, played with masks, double and triple […]
RichC | March 13, 2018
A new Amazon Alexa Echo voice command improvement now makes it easier to string together a series of commands without repeating "Alexa" over and over again. The back-to-back commands will need to right after each other AND you must turn on (off by default) the Follow-Up Mode under settings in the Alexa app. After switching […]
RichC | March 2, 2018
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RichC | January 27, 2017
After a previous simple $20 relay component test, my friend Jeff and I realized that there were a few shortcomings in using it for a future project — enter the cheaper eBay $3.99 higher powered solid state relay module. This smallish sized relay component can be wired into a 40 amp circuit and switched with […]
RichC | March 2, 2016
Another long awaited Chinese reading or sunglasses strap arrived the other day … ordered a month or so ago. It was just a $2.00 buy with free shipping so instead of funky chains or a leather strap, I decided to give this a try. So far so good … as the rubber ends hold the […]
RichC | February 27, 2016
Read an independent review about this IXCC 4-port IXCC USB charger with what it claims as “plenty of power” … although one descriptions says 48W and the other 36W (both claim 9.6 amp) … we’ll see. The Amazon reviews were a very high 4-1/2 stars and since our new “older” car doesn’t have an abundance […]
RichC | January 4, 2016
This post is more to test a “borrowed” wireless keypad that is set up on the Raspberry Pi — I’m not fond of the Logitech K400r. The photo to the left is part of the ongoing roof project and continuing chimney repair. In order test the Raspberry Pi’s image serving ability, I uploaded it from […]
RichC | January 1, 2016
If you enjoy playing with inexpensive computer gadgets and perhaps getting them a LinuxOS Raspberry Pi … or maybe a PINE A64??? Check out the inexpensive Single board Super Computer … and under $100 computer set-up and top of the line smartphone might be all the tech many of us need? PINE A64 compared with […]
RichC | July 31, 2014
A couple of days ago I whined about my failed or failing charging/sync cables used on phones, tablets and electronic devices. I then started searching for the replacements but was discouraged with the delayed shipping for non-branded cables from China. Then after reading about the cheap quality, I revisited Amazon decide to find out if […]
RichC | March 19, 2013
Occasionally I make one of those spur-of-the-moment impulse purchases that doesn’t give me buyer’s remorse. I have been wanting a bluetooth speaker to improve the sound coming from my iPhone or iPad without resorting to plugging in the 3.5mm cable or using earbuds. I thought, “hmm, this will work great on the desk and even […]
RichC | January 4, 2013
Up and coming shoe technology that charges gadgets could be one of the more interesting inventions this year. I suspect we’ll see more wearable charging in the future. "This charger works using pressure, as you walk you generate pressure that in turn generates energy, once you have arrived where you were going you can now […]
RichC | June 19, 2006
Sony has been showing off its Reader at several of the consumer electronic events around the country and from the reviews looks to be a winner of a product. The small size, clear text, and long battery life as well storage capacity should make this a winner. The only thing holding it back might be […]