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How to Record System Audio While Recording Your Screen on Quicktime

The screen recording option in Quicktime is a useful feature for you to record a part of your screen or your entire screen in high quality for whatever purpose. Quicktime also allows you to record your audio through the built-in mic, thus you can record anything ranging from tutorials to simple videos explaining an issue you’re facing on your system. However, in the case you want to record an online video or clip, you’ll find that there’s no option to record your Mac’s audio output by default. You’re stuck recording the voice from your Mac’s built-in mic. To solve this problem, Matt Ingalls (GitHub) has… Read more

OLFA Professional 18mm Heavy-Duty Aluminum Utility Knife (MXP-AL) review

REVIEW – If you are like me, you are always looking for the utility knife that you just saw yesterday, and then when you find it, the knife blade is dull. Sometimes I end up just hunting down one of the snap-blade knives that I keep in my junk drawer for emergencies and half the time the plastic blade holder is structurally unsound, the latching mechanism doesn’t work, or the blade just isn’t strong enough to do the job at hand. The OLFA Professional MXP-AL Heavy Duty Aluminum Utility Knife can come to your rescue.  It has performed every task I’ve thrown at it in the past month, with one exception (see below).

What is it?

The OLFA Professional MXP-AL Heavy Duty Aluminum Utility Knife is the ultimate evolution of the snap-blade utility knife. It is made from die-cast / machined aluminum with non-slip inserts and uses generously-sized 18mm coated blades that cut smoothly through most materials with minimal friction.

What’s in the box?

I was sent one OLFA Professional Heavy Duty Aluminum Utility Knife (auto-lock version) and one spare pack (5) heavy-duty blades. The knife is packaged in vacuum-formed sleeve with a cardboard backing. The package is closed with staples. The blades arrived in a plastic box with lid. The box of blades was in a similar sleeve / card package.

Hardware specs

The knife is 165 mm long and 33 mm wide. The main body of the knife is 17 mm thick with the thumb-activated slider that extends / retracts the blade extending another 7 mm above the body. The knife weighs in at a study 123 grams, making it as heavy as many traditional utility knifes that use the single-edge trapezoidal blades.

Each of the replaceable blades has 8 sections with the first 7 being removable. Replacement blades come in a medium-duty plastic case that has a good latch and friction holding the lid on.

Both the knife and the blades are manufactured in Japan.

Design and features

Setup

The knife came preloaded with a blade so there was no set up needed, other than removing the knife from the package. However when it is time to reload the knife, it is simply a matter of sliding the thumb lever out the back of the knife and nesting a new blade on the stud and inserting the blade and lever back into the knife.

Performance

I put my test knife through a battery of real-world tests during the past month. I carried it in my day bag as a tool knife, I used it around the house and garage, and I even took it out to summer camp with my scout troop.

During these adventures, I did not test the knife on any of the substrates listed on the packaging (linoleum, carpet, or rubber), however I used the knife for a variety of other activities which included

  • opening boxes by cutting packing tape, fiber-embedded paper tape, fiber-embedded strapping tape, industrial plastic strapping, cutting through multi-layered cardboard
  • cutting industrial plastic pallet wrapping
  • cutting batt insulation
  • stripping Romex wire (not cutting the wire to length, though)
  • cutting vines
  • scraping liquid masking from the corners of window panes
  • sharpening carpenters’ pencils
  • cutting rope and paracord
  • cleaning up rough edges / beveling sawed PVC pipe
  • smoothing / beveling holes drilled through wood
  • cutting dispensing tips on glue and caulk
  • cutting and shaping saddle leather (cutting pieces from a full-thickness shoulder)–this was about as close as I came to cutting linoleum or carpet

The knife performed most of these tasks with ease.

As you might expect, many of these operations took a toll on the first and second exposed blade sections. I ended up using 6 of the 8 sections on the first blade. Cutting leather definitely required a new blade section.

Breaking off the worn section of the blade simply required the precision use of a pair of pliers (my Leatherman Free P2). Like most heavy snap-blade refills, you need to precise when lining up the edge of the pliers, otherwise the worn section may not come off cleanly, and you will need to make a second snap to remove the remainder of the old blade section. This is both a minor annoyance and a testament to the strength of the blades.

The only problems I had were when trying to bevel thick PVC pipes and wood. When beveling the PVC pipe, I felt that the amount of torsional force that I was applying to the blade was probably going to exceed the breaking strength of the score lines on the blade, so I did switch to a traditional single-piece blade utility knife. When beveling wood I hit a knot, and the blade embed itself in the knot and the blade broke off at the score line. This may have been due to the stress I put on the blade when attempting to bevel the PVC weakening the score line, or it may have simply been operator error (I’m going to go with the latter being the main culprit). This type of cutting is not something that snap-blade knives are designed to do, so it was really a torture test for the blade. I was wearing cut-resistant gloves and proper eye protections when performing these more adventurous cuts and the blade that broke did so cleanly and remained embedded in the wood. No catastrophic failure of the blade occurred.

In addition to the standard and heavy-duty single-edge snap blades, a single piece serrated-edge knife refill is available. This blade is designed for cutting foam board and insulation. A second model of this knife is also available with a manual ratcheting lock, rather than the auto-locking thumb lever.

What I like

  • Robust-feeling knife
  • Feels good in your hand — good gripping surfaces
  • Blades are long lasting and snap away cleanly

What I’d change

  • It would be nice to have a dedicated blade snap off tool either on the knife or the blade case

Final thoughts

This OLFA Professional Heavy Duty Utility Knife has outperformed every snap-blade knife that I’ve ever owned. It has also outperformed many of the traditional utility knives that I’ve used over the years. It will take a lot of effort to wear out the blade holder and the blades have lasted longer than any other snap-knife blades that I have used. Just use the knife for the type of cutting that snap-blade knives are intended and don’t try carving wood.

Price: $ 16.49
Where to buy: OFLA Professional US retailers include Amazon (only one with the knives listed as in-stock), Fastenal, Home Depot, Lowes, Grainger, ULINE, and MSC Industrial Supply
Source: The sample of this product was provided by OLFA.

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OLFA Professional 18mm Heavy-Duty Aluminum Utility Knife (MXP-AL) review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 13, 2019 at 11:30 am.

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How to Share Videos and Screenshots on PS4

If you’ve recently purchased a PS4, you would have probably noticed the “Share” button on your controller. If you press it, you’ll come across a lot of options for sharing content. This can all be a little confusing, so let’s take some time to explore how to share videos and screenshots on PS4. How to Take Screenshots Taking screenshots is very easy on a PS4. If you tap the “Share” button on your controller, you’ll see a menu pop up on the left. You can then scroll down to “Save Screenshot” to take a… Read more

Technaxx TX-100 Car Alarm review

REVIEW – I recently moved to a city that has a very high incidence of vehicle break-ins, and while my 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser isn’t exactly showroom quality, I do worry about its well-being each night. I don’t worry so much that I’d be willing to spend very much money to address the situation though. Enter the very affordable, $49.99 Technaxx TX-100 Car Alarm.

What is it?

The Technaxx TX-100 Car Alarm is basically a two-port USB car charger that has a passive infrared (PIR) motion detector, 110dB siren, and rechargeable battery all built in. While you drive, the Technaxx charges itself via your car’s cigarette lighter and works as a standard USB car charger. Once your car is turned off though, the TX-100 is powered by an internal battery and you can activate its alarm functions with a paired remote control. Any motion within the car, such as a door opening or window breaking, triggers an ear-piercing siren.

The Technaxx TX-100 comes in a small box with details listed in both English and German. The box has a cutaway view so you can examine the unit, and the interior flap lists the device specs in four more languages.

What’s in the box?

  • 1 Technaxx TX-100 Car Alarm
  • 1 Remote control with CR2032 battery
  • 1 User manual

Hardware specs

  • Detection range: Car interior, 120° cone angle
  • Remote control distance: 8m (open areas)
  • Alarm time: 2 minutes maximum
  • Alarm loudness: 110dB
  • USB charging ports: 2 5V/1A ports
  • TX-100 battery: Built-in rechargeable 450mAh lithium polymer battery
  • Remote control battery: Included CR2032 battery
  • Charging time: 3–4 hours
  • Battery standby: 6 days
  • Input voltage: DC 12–24V (cigarette lighter socket)
  • Charging current: 65mA
  • Operating current: 26mA
  • Over current protection: 2.8A
  • Maximum transmission power: 20mW
  • Transmission frequency: 433,92 MHz
  • Dimensions:
    • TX-100: 1.25 in (L) x 1.25 in (W) x 4.52 in (H)
    • Remote control: 2 in (L) x 1.22 in (W) x .4 in (H)

Design and features

The TX-100 doesn’t have a very sturdy build quality, both the unit and the remote control feel very light and quite breakable. Both are made of lightweight ABS plastic and are gray in color.

One clear indication that this isn’t a normal everyday USB car charger is the large shiny plastic PIR dome on the end of the unit.

The other tip-off is the round siren slot located just below the 1A USB charging ports.

The only metal on the device is the charging tip which is inserted into your car’s cigarette lighter socket.

The remote for the TX-100 resembles a typical car alarm fob, just a bit smaller and lighter and with only one button.

The remote comes with a CR2032 battery already installed, to activate the battery you need to pull out a thin plastic tab.

The remote also has a small status indicator light at the top. The light blinks each time the remote button is pressed.

Setup

The initial setup instructions require you to charge the TX-100 fully before its first use, and this was my biggest problem with the unit.

See, the TX-100 take 3-4 hours to fully charge and the ONLY way to charge the unit is via your car’s cigarette lighter or an external cigarette lighter power adapter. And since I, like most people, don’t have an external cigarette lighter adapter, it took me about five days of commuting with the TX-100 plugged in before it was fully charged and ready to use.

There’s no reason why this unit couldn’t be designed with a micro USB charging port or the ability to take a charge via one of the USB ports. It was extremely frustrating to have the TX-100 plugged in and glowing red, indicating that it was still charging, for close to a week before I was able to properly test it. I have about a 35 minute commute to work each way, so depending on the length of your daily commute, the TX-100 will charge faster or slower.

Once the TX-100 is finally fully charged, the red light will shut off and the first thing to do is pair the remote. Pairing is only possible in the first five seconds after you plug the fully charged TX-100 into the cigarette lighter socket. Press and hold the button on the remote until you hear four beeps. The light will blink blue and after you hear the beeps, the remote will be paired with your car alarm. If you want to, you can pair one remote control with more than one TX-100.

Performance

In my testing, the two USB 1A charging ports proved pretty inefficient for charging iPhones or Android Pixels. I’m not sure if this was because newer phones require more than 1A to charge effectively or if charging the internal battery of the TX-100 simultaneously affected the ports’ ability to provide power.

The TX-100 did work great as a car alarm though. Granted, there were no attempts to break into my car during my testing, as far as I know, but each time I opened my car door while the TX-100 was activated, the siren was triggered immediately. I was worried that the TX-100 might get triggered by movement outside of the car windows, but despite my best efforts, I couldn’t trip it without opening the car doors.

It was also easy to activate the alarm once I left my car because the TX-100 provides an audible confirmation beep and a five second activation window. I did occasionally forget to deactivate the alarm before I got into my car each morning because I’m used to just using the car’s key fob to unlock it and having to remember to then hit the car alarm fob as well was too much for my sleep deprived brain to handle.

When the TX-100 is armed, the blue light flashes every five seconds. If activity is detected, blue light flashes quickly and the siren sounds continuously for about two minutes. In theory, a thief could immediately snatch a triggered, screaming TX-100 from the cigarette lighter socket, throw it to the ground, and smash it pretty quickly. But for the price point, that’s a chance you need to be willing to take.

Since the unit runs off the internal battery while the car is off, the battery needs to recharge. My daily commute time proved just enough to top the battery off each day for it to be able work overnight. To conserve battery power or to store, it is possible to completely shut the unit off by pressing and holding the remote button for four seconds.

What I like

  • Affordable alarm for late model cars
  • Easy to operate
  • Works reliably

What I’d change

  • Takes way too long to charge initially via cigarette lighter, should be able to charge with a USB cable as well
  • Poor build quality
  • Charging ports are low-powered and inefficient

Final thoughts

The Technaxx TX-100 Car Alarm is an ingenious, affordable, and reliable way to secure your car and possibly prevent theft. Although, the small size of the unit and the fact that can be easily spotted and removed has me questioning its ultimate practicality. An additional charging option would be useful and the construction of the unit is a bit lacking. But, at $49.99 this item might be a good preventative measure for those who have late model cars and live in areas where car break-ins are common.

Price: $49.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Technaxx.

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Technaxx TX-100 Car Alarm review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 13, 2019 at 10:30 am.

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RHA adds personal Bluetooth to older aircraft … and more

NEWS – Here’s the scenario: You’re going on a business trip and have brought along your trusty noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones. You’re situated in your seat and realize you forgot your charger and your smartphone’s battery won’t last the length of the trip. Plus, you’re in an older aircraft that only has those proprietary dual-jack headphone ports and has no wi-fi. Ugh! Now what? RHA may have a solution: the RHA Wireless Flight Adapter.

The Wireless Flight Adapter is a Bluetooth device that plugs into those outdated in-flight entertainment system ports. You can pair (Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX) to your headphones and enjoy whatever the airline is offering via its entertainment system. 16 hour battery life with USB-C charging ensures that you’re covered for those long-haul flights as long as your headphone batteries hold out. It will also broadcast to two headphones simultaneously.

The small, easy-to-hold adapter has stereo mini plugs set on rotating pins, allowing them to sit in an optimal position for any airline seat or device, while folding away easily for safe storage. The Wireless Flight Adapter can also be used with any device with a single 3.5 mm audio port, mono or stereo, which means that it will work with portable gaming consoles.

The RHA Wireless Flight Adapter sells for $49.95 US with a 3-year warranty and is available now. Visit RHA and Amazon for more information.

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RHA adds personal Bluetooth to older aircraft … and more originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 13, 2019 at 9:30 am.

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