2019 – Page 21

Julie’s gadget diary – I am now a T-Mobile Home Internet pilot tester

ARTICLE – I came home yesterday afternoon to find a postcard in my mailbox inviting me to join T-Mobile’s new Home Internet pilot test which started rolling out back in March. I remembered reading about their invite-only service for existing T-Mobile customers but forgot all about it until yesterday.

For a little background, I live in a rural area of southern Indiana where my only option for broadband for years was satellite internet like HughesNet. I had HughesNet and hated it for a few years until I bit the bullet and had a T1 line run to my house. If you don’t know what a T1 line is, it might sound more exciting than what it really was. It was a guaranteed 1.5Mbps download / 1.5Mbps download internet connection which cost me a whopping $389 a month. No, I’m not kidding. All I can say is yay for business expense writeoffs.

I had the T1 line for 10 years until 2yrs ago when I switched to a wireless service from a company called 4G Antenna Shop that uses a wireless cellular router with a SIM from T-Mobile. My speed went from 1.5Mbps to 14-19Mbps which felt like light speed in comparison. At only $83/mo. I’ve been really happy with the 4GAS service but I have always been afraid that I would use too much data and they would kick me off their service because they really only offer 50GB per month and I tend to use well over 300GB each month with my weekend Netflix binge-a-thons, my Wyze cams, and my gadget research surf sessions.

So when the postcard from T-Mobile arrived yesterday, I didn’t hesitate before I called them and signed up for their $50/mo. totally unlimited home broadband service. I even opted for next day shipping and received the package with the wireless router and T-Mobile SIM today!

The postcard talked about 50Mbps speeds which is about 3 times faster than the speeds I get with the 4GAS service which also uses T-Mobile so I am excited to check that out.

I’m also a little worried about the fact that they told me that I can connect up to 10 devices to the router. The problem is that I have more than 10 devices (4 Wyze cams, 2 smartphones, 2 laptops, Nest thermostat, 2 Amazon Echo devices, LiftMaster WLED garage door opener, Jetstream Android TV, Vizio Smart TV, and I’m sure there are others I can’t think of right now.

I’ll post an update in a few days after I set up the new router, move all my devices to it, and get a chance to do a lot of surfing, streaming, speed tests, etc.

Filed in categories: Articles

Tagged: gadget diary, T-mobile

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Seven Coding Games to Help You Build Your Programming Chops

Coding is all about using the tools available to you to solve problems (and then solving the problems that resulted from your solution to the previous problems, of course). That also happens to be the basic idea behind most video games, so the two combine pretty naturally. Plus, playing around sure beats reading documentation! These coding games cover plenty of languages, age ranges, and skill levels, so whether you’re a complete beginner or looking for something on the next level, there’s a game out there to help you learn coding the best way: by doing it. Related: 10 Websites that Will Teach You Programming for… Read more

How to Reduce Video File Sizes Using FFMPEG from Linux Terminal

Saving videos on personal storage drives, cloud services or disks can prove tricky when space is limited. Reducing file sizes makes holding onto larger files and growing collections easier, but some ways of doing this are more effective than others. There are a lot of tools to choose from in the video-handling arena, capable of optimizing file sizes. However, many of these – including VLC, Cinelerra and Blender – share the same engine beneath their UI – a command-line utility entitled FFMPEG. Here we will show you how you can reduce video file sizes using FFMPEG from Linux terminal. Related: Useful FFMPEG Commands for Managing… Read more

Hydaway 25-Ounce Collapsible Water Bottle review

REVIEW – I’m a big fan of lightweight travel, but hate to “go without” or pay exorbitant prices for water. Hydaway’s collapsible bottles solve both issues with Gadgeteer style.

What is it?

Hydaway’s collapsible water bottle is a liquid-carrying vessel that has accordion-like bellows that enabling it to be compressed into a space-saving flat disk.

Hardware Specs

8 x 4 inches when expanded, 1 x 4 inches when compressed (1-1/4 inches using the carbon filter lid option)
25-ounce capacity
Weighs 6.2 ounces empty

What’s in the Box?

Hydaway bottle
Cardboard display and information “card”

Optional:

Carbon filter flip-type spout lid
Three carbon filters
Instructions

Design and Features

I previously reviewed Hydaway’s original bottle and 18-ounce bottles and have been sufficiently pleased with them to make them go-to travel companions. Easy to clean, top-rack dishwasher safe and expertly crafted, I was thrilled to give their largest size 25-ounce bottle a test ride.

The bottle arrived in a sturdy box with plenty of biodegradable packing material.

Included was the carbon filter lid pack in a separate box.

The bottle is sold with just an informational cardboard display.

Hydaway’s 25-ounce bottle is virtually identical in function to the previous version. Accordion folds in the rubbery body allow the bottle to be compressed into a very compact form.

The lid is wide enough to fill the bottle with ice cubes, or alternatively, crackers or snacks, however, Hydaway states the bottle is not designed for hot beverages. The wide-mouth opening makes cleaning easy.

Not being insulated, cold drinks will cause the bottle to form condensation on the outer surfaces.

The standard lid has an integrated handle, making it easy to carry, but like the previous versions, a good jolt would separate the handle from the lid so use caution.

I appreciated the inclusion of the carbon filter lid pack. The lift-up spout is easier to drink from and much more secure than the standard lid.

Carbon filters fit into the underside of the lid. They help eliminate funky tastes and odors from water for up to three months. I sometimes travel to exotic locations with questionable water and would be thrilled if Hydaway would offer a bacteria and virus filter option!

The standard lid has no spout so the lid needs to be loosened or removed to let air in and out to expand or collapse the bottle. For this reason, plus spill prevention, I wholeheartedly recommend the pop-up spout lid.

On one occasion, my fast-food soft drink cup was defective, dripping soda as I walked. I was able to transfer my cola into the Hydaway bottle and carry it onboard my flight with no additional mess! If I didn’t have the Hydaway bottle with me, I would have needed to discard my beverage.

What I Like

Small size
Eliminates the need for disposable bottles
Easy to clean

What I Would Change

Include the pop-up spout as standard equipment
A purification filter would be outstanding!

Final Thoughts

I’ve included a Hydaway bottle in my backpack since my first review in October 2017 and have probably saved hundreds of dollars. It’s no secret I’m a big fan of Hydaway bottles, particularly the new 25-ounce size. The design is innovative, well-constructed and ideally suited for travel.

Price: Starts at $30
Where to buy: Hydaway Bottle and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Hydaway Bottle.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Water Bottle

Hydaway 25-Ounce Collapsible Water Bottle review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 27, 2019 at 11:00 am.

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Dine in style with Enso Essential pure titanium cutlery

CROWDFUNDING NEWS – Single-use plastics are in the news a lot lately for their non-environmentally friendly status. What is a responsible person that loves eating fast food or Asian take-out to do? Hop on over to Kickstarter and take a look at the Enso Essential pure titanium cutlery set.

Titanium offers several benefits. First, it is naturally antimicrobial – much more so that the typical stainless steel used for cutlery. Titanium is completely tasteless, non-corrosive and hypoallergenic.

The full set includes a fork, knife, tablespoon, teaspoon, plus chopsticks and a straw. A single set plus a carrying case starts at $52. Chopsticks alone are $12.

They also offer four-piece place settings in two, four or six counts for home use. Since they reached some stretch goals already, they offer full sets in stealth black and gold along with the standard titanium color. Six place settings in the custom colors (24 pieces total) with a custom bamboo case run $369.

For more information, visit their campaign on Kickstarter. Funding ends Tuesday, September 24, 2019, 11:59 PM EDT. They have already blown past their $10,000 funding goal with $136,272 pledged as of this writing. If they hit a $200,000 stretch goal, they plan to add a rose gold set. Shipments to backers are targeted for October 2019.

If you are looking for a travel cutlery set or are looking for a really contemporary set with all the benefits titanium brings to the table (yes, I just did that), Enso Essentials might just make the cut (and that).

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: Crowdfunded, Cutlery

Dine in style with Enso Essential pure titanium cutlery originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 27, 2019 at 10:00 am.

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