Humble Book Bundle: Open Source Bookshelf

This book bundle is the perfect one for you if you’re interested in diving more deeply into the open-source developing space. If you’re a starving developer, this could help even more, as you will pay very little when you buy the Humble Book Bundle: Open Source Bookshelf by Bleeding Edge Press. You’ll pay as little as $1 for books that explain creating interfaces with Bulma, chatbots for eCommerce, practical gRPC, and more. You’ll get instruction and hands-on training in several areas. Buy the bundle and receive only the books you really need to dive deeper into open-source developing. When… Read more

Posted by / July 3, 2019 / Posted in Linux

TaoTronics Sound Liberty 53 TWS earbuds review

REVIEW – There are not enough hours in the day to talk about all the new TWS earbuds on the market these days. Not to worry though, I made some time to review the TaoTronics Sound Liberty 53 TWS earbuds. Let’s check them out.

What is it?

The TaoTronics Sound Liberty 53 TWS earbuds are Bluetooth earbuds that store in their own battery charging case.

Hardware specs

6mm dynamic speaker
Bluetooth 5.0 technology
33ft connecting range
5 hr playtime on one charge
40 hr playtime with the charging case

What’s in the box?

  • TaoTronics TWS earbuds
  • Charging case
  • 3 sets of eartips
  • micro USB charging cable
  • Instructions

Design and features

The TaoTronics TWS earbuds have an Apple Airpod-like design and are only available in matte black.

There are 2 electrical contacts on the inside of the hanging portion of the earbud. These contacts match up with the contacts inside the battery charging case which is included with the earbuds.

The outer edge of the earbuds don’t have any control buttons because these earbuds use touch controls, but they do have a small LED which provides a visible status for pairing.

Pairing and functionality

Pairing the earbuds with my Huawei P30 Pro was quick and easy. When you first take the earbuds out of the charging case for the first time, they are ready to connect. From there I just chose “TaoTronics TT-BH053” from Bluetooth devices list and paired them.

I often only use one earbud when I’m at work so that I can be aware when someone comes up to my desk to talk to me.  My preference is to just use the left earbud.  With the TaoTronics earbuds, I can do that without having to take both earbuds out of the charging case because the left earbud is the master earbud. But, that also means that I can’t just take out the right earbud by itself and use it. To only use the right earbud, I’d have to take out both earbuds and then leave the left earbud out of the case. Placing the left earbud back in the charging case immediately kills the Bluetooth connection. That’s just something to keep in mind.

Fit and comfort

Everyone’s ears aren’t identical, so I can’t say how the TaoTronics earbuds will fit yours. I can only comment on how they fit my ears and I was very happy that they fit both of my ears perfectly using the default ear tips. I didn’t have any issues with them falling out of my ears as I have with other earbuds. Even while working out and moving around, they stayed in place and were comfortable to wear for an hour or two at a time.

Touch controls

As I mentioned earlier in the review, the TaoTronics Sound Liberty 53 TWS earbuds do not have any physical control buttons. They use touch controls. The controls require that you remember what single, double, triple, and touch hold gestures do for each earbud. For example, a single tap on the left earbud is volume down. The same thing on the right earbud is volume up. A triple tap on the left earbud goes to the previous track, and the same thing on the right earbud goes to the next track. A double tap on either earbud toggles pause/play. You get the idea.

Battery life

With the battery charging case, it feels like these earbuds never need to be recharged with a USB cable. With daily listening, I end up charging them about once a week but they really don’t need it, it’s just a habit to top them off.

Sound quality for music, video, and calls

I tested the TaoTronics Sound Liberty 53 TWS earbuds with my Huawei P30 Pro smartphone, and with a Dell laptop at my day job. I tested by using Amazon Prime streaming music, Spotify, YouTube, and Netflix. I tried and I was happy with the sound quality of the music that I like to listen to. Bass was nicely thumpy, mids were warm, and highs were clear in songs like Desperado by Rhianna, Lo/Hi by Black Keys, Girl by Maren Morris, and Sunflower by Post Malone & Swae Lee.

I am also happy to say that I could use these earbuds while watching streaming video on YouTube and Netflix. The audio and video synced very well with no noticeable delay which is something I can’t say about all earbuds I have tested.

For calls, I could clearly hear the person on the other end of the call and they could ear me as well. Like most earbuds, they fit tightly in your ears, you will hear yourself talking in your head which may or may not bother you.

What I like

  • Sound quality
  • Touch controls
  • Comfortable fit
  • Good price

What I’d change

  • Nothing

Final thoughts

With so many TWS earbuds to choose from, it can be difficult to figure out which ones to buy. I’m happy to say that the TaoTronics Sound Liberty 53 TWS earbuds fit well, sound good, have touch controls, and are affordable. I have no problem recommending these earbuds based on their features and price.

Price: $44.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by TaoTronics.

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TaoTronics Sound Liberty 53 TWS earbuds review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 3, 2019 at 11:59 am.

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How to Use the Linux Terminal as a Calculator

Do you prefer the simplicity of the Linux terminal over a fancy GUI? If you need to quickly do some math, you don’t have to use a calculator app. You can perform your calculations using the terminal, using tools that you’ll (probably) have installed already. Let’s run through how you can use the Linux terminal as a calculator, no matter your distro. Calculations with GNU bc The bc element of GNU bc stands for “basic calculator.” The bc program itself originated on Unix, based in the 1970s. GNU bc is a more modern, enhanced version,… Read more

Fonesalesman QiStone 2 wireless charging power bank review

REVIEW – There are a lot of portable and easy to carry external batteries you can use to charge your phone or other devices like a laptop or tablet.  However, there are not that many that advertise themselves as wireless.  I love the idea of not having to carry an extra cable around to keep my phone charged up if I don’t have access to an outlet.  Let’s see how the new QiStone 2 Wireless Charging Power Bank works out.

What is it?

The QiStone 2 is a portable charging power bank that will let you charge Qi-enabled devices wirelessly.  It also has ports that will let you charge devices via a USB cable or a USB Type C cable.

What’s in the box?

  • 1 x Wireless Charging Power Bank
  • 1 x Micro USB Cable
  • 1 x User’s Manual

Hardware specs

  • 8000mAh Polymer Li-ion battery
  • USB Input: DC 5V/2A
  • Wireless Charging Output: DC4V/1A
  • USB Output: DC5V/2.1A Max
  • Dimensions: 105 x 72 x 20mm
  • Net Weight: 135g

Setup

Setup for this device was pretty simple.  It actually came showing two of the four power level LED indicators on.   To see the amount of battery left, you simply press the single button on the bottom of the device and look for the blue LEDs to light up.  There are a total of four, showing power levels from 25% up to 100%.  To play it safe, I did plug in the micro USB cable into the device and plugged the USB end of the cable into an available USB outlet that I have in my kitchen overnight.

The above picture shows you the ports available on the device.  The type C port on the left can work as input or output.  If you use it as output to your phone it will rapid charge.  The same goes for the USB 3.0 port on the far right.   You can charge up the power bank by using the type C and the micro USB port in the middle.  The included cable works with the port in the middle.

Performance

After leaving the device plugged in overnight, I now have all four LED lights lit up at the bottom of the device.  The LED at the top of the device is red to indicate that it is not currently charging any device.  In order to charge a device, you must first press the button on the bottom of the QiStone 2.  Just placing your phone on the power bank will not activate charging.

I placed my husband’s iPhone X Plus on the charger sideways so you could see the top LED turn green to indicate that it is charging.  It is just a standard charge when you wirelessly charge either Android or Apple devices.  You will not get rapid charge times when charging wirelessly.   When I used the USB C port on my Galaxy S9 or the USB 3 port on my S9 or the iPhone, I did get rapid charging indicators.

This last picture shows the iPhone charging vertically.  You do have to be careful about placement on the power bank.  Make sure you see that your phone is actively charging.  In the case of the iPhone above, you have to look closely at the battery indicator on the phone itself because it covers the entire power bank.  I do want to mention that you can charge multiple devices at once.  I had my S9 charging via the USB 3.0 port and a Note 9 wirelessly charging at the same time.

What I like

I love that I do not need to bring along an extra cable to keep my device charged.  I simply place my phone on it, wait for the green LED and know that it is charging.  I also like that it does support rapid wired charging if I wish.  That comes in handy if I need to charge it while it is in a bag or where the bank and device could not sit on top of each other.  The large 8000mAh battery is also a huge plus for the device in my mind.  My S9 is a 3000mAh battery and could be charged up almost 3 times from zero percent with this charger.  It allows me to share it with others if need be.   I also love that I can wirelessly charge one device and charge another via the USB port.

What I’d change

It was a bit disconcerting to have the charger simply stop charging my device before it was completely charged a couple of times.   I am not exactly sure why it did that and I have not been able to repeat the situation since then.   It may have been that my phone moved ever so slightly and lost the proper Qi connection on the device.  The other thing that would be very helpful is if this device supported quick wireless charging.  Placing your depleted phone on this device means waiting easily over an hour to get a full charge again if you are anywhere below 75% charge.

Final thoughts

There are a ton of power banks out there to choose from.  If you are looking for one that does wireless charging, then I would not hesitate to recommend this device.  Please note that the link below on Amazon is the proper link to order the device.  The pictures on Amazon, however, do not match what my device has.  I believe they are still showing pictures of the original QiStone in the QiStone 2 product listing.

Price: $79.99
Where to buyAmazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Fonesalesman.

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Fonesalesman QiStone 2 wireless charging power bank review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 3, 2019 at 11:07 am.

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Deal – Save $100 off a Drones by US drone

DEAL NEWS – If you aren’t familiar with the Drones by US brand, be sure and check out my review from a couple of months ago for their DBUS2 drone. I really liked that little folding drone and found it to be very easy to fly. Right now Drones by US are doing a $100 off deal to celebrate the 4th of July for orders that include a Remote controller, a DBUS1 or a DBUS2 drone. The promo code to use at checkout is “JULY4” and this code is good until July 9th. They also offer free shipping and a 45-day money back guarantee. Visit dronesbyus.com to shop.

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Deal – Save $100 off a Drones by US drone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 3, 2019 at 10:00 am.

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