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Julie’s gadget diary – It’s time to find an alternative to Nest


I’m in the process of a tech downsizing. I’ve already physically downsized my phone from a larger Nexus 6P to a smaller LG G6 which just arrived yesterday. And now I want to downsize the amount of data I upload to the cloud by finding an alternative to Nest cams.

Why do I care how much data I’m uploading to the Nest cloud? Because I’m also trying to find an alternative to my insanely expensive T1 line. If you don’t know what a T1 line is, it’s my broadband connection. Where I live, I don’t have the options for connecting to the internet as people who live in larger cities or even smaller cities. I live in a rural area where I don’t even have access to cable TV.

I had a Hughesnet satellite dish over a decade ago, but it wasn’t a good experience so I went with a T1 line.

The best things about a T1 line are that it’s unlimited and that the line is managed and has 24/7 support if it goes down… which it does at least a few times a year.

But the bad thing about the T1 line beside the monthly price is that the speed is only 1.5Mbps down and 1.5Mbps up. Stop laughing, I know that’s slow. But it’s stable and it’s been my only option for the past 10 years until now.

The speed really hasn’t been a big issue when it comes to day to day surfing and even Netflix streaming. But if Jeanne and I are both surfing and one of us tries to watch a Youtube video, the other one knows about it because surfing comes to a crawl.

Now I’m going to try a wireless solution for my internet which comes with its own set of pros and cons. The pros are lower cost and faster speed, but the con is that it’s not unlimited data. It’s only 32GB a month. That might sound like a lot, but it’s not if you have home security cameras like the Nest cam which can upload from 60GB – 160GB a month per camera if you subscribe to Nest Aware which saves your video on the Nest servers.

I have 2 Nest cams in my home which means I am currently uploading as much as 320GBs a month which is 100 times my monthly limit. Yikes, that madness has to stop.

So it’s time for me to find a good home security camera system that has these features:

  • Notifications sent to my phone when motion is detected
  • 24/7 video saved to a local drive
  • Easy access locally saved video even when I’m away from home
  • Software that works with a Mac (although I could build a cheap PC or use a Windows laptop if needed)

If you want to help me brainstorm possible solutions, leave a comment.

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Julie’s gadget diary – It’s time to find an alternative to Nest originally appeared on on June 15, 2017 at 6:07 pm.

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Turtle Beach Elite Pro Tournament Gaming Headset and Elite Pro Tactical Audio Controller review


I’ve been lucky enough to review several gaming items recently, but one thing I have never upgraded since I purchased them years ago is my gaming headphones. Turtle Beach must have heard this, and quickly offered their Elite Pro Tournament Gaming Headset and Elite Pro Tactical Audio Controller. I was eager to try out what the professionals use and see if it would help up my game any.

In the boxes you’ll find:

Headset:

– Elite Pro Headset
– Elite Pro Microphone
– Elite Pro 1.3m Audio Cable


Audio Controller:

– Tactical Audio Controller (TAC)
– Mini-USB Power Cable
– Digital Optical Cable
– AUX cable
– Micro-USB Programming Cable

So I had this brilliant idea; let’s try the headset without the TAC first, then add in the TAC later. Well, this was quickly defeated by the fact that you need an adapter cable in order to use the microphone part of the headset with the PC. Since I could not find the cable at my local Fry’s store, I decided to just use the TAC instead. With the PS4, however, I could just plug the headset into my controller and go.

I’ll start with the PS4 first. Setting it up was simple and the included instructions worked great. I plugged the headset in to the controller, went to my settings in the PS4 and changed the output to the headset (which was recognized immediately), and I was ready to go. The microphone sounded great when testing it, and I heard no background noise.

I also tried the PS4 using the TAC, and to do so, I had to plug in the headset to the TAC, plug the TAC in via USB on the PS4, and also use the included Optical cable. The TAC worked great, just as good as the PC, but I had cords strung from the PS4 to a shelf near me, and then into the headphones. It was so much easier to just plug in the headset via the PS4 controller. Unless you are a very hardcore gamer, if you are only using the PS4, I would recommend just getting the headset to start out with.

Now, on to using the headset and TAC with the PC. Like I mentioned above, I was unable to test just the headset with the PC due to not having an adapter for the headset. The TAC was very easy to set up; you just plug in the USB to the computer, plug in the headset on the front, and you are set.

The difference between my old Turtle Beach headset and this one was night and day. The sound came in clear and explosions boomed nicely in my ears. On team chat, everyone’s voice came in great, and with the TAC, I was able to customize my own microphone levels based off of what voice chat client I was using. Overwatch voice chat picked up the microphone very well and everyone said my quality was great, but when on Teamspeak 3, I had to turn up the mic boost so they could hear me as well as in Overwatch.


Surround mode on the TAC was my favorite part of these headphones. Being able to tell exactly what direction sounds were coming from made me so much more aware of my surroundings in the game. When I turned off the surround mode, it was just terrible. I don’t think I can go back to playing with a standard headset after using the headset and TAC for a few weeks. Gaming with these headphones and the TAC has been an incredible experience.

The TAC has 12 different presets grouped into four categories: Game mode, movie mode, music mode, and surround off. Each mode has Turtle Beach’s “Signature Sound” as the first option, but there are other options as well as you go through the presets. The user guide tells about every option available. I generally stuck with “Surround Off/Bass & Treble Booster” for my everyday music and YouTube video watching. For my gaming, it really depended on the situation. In the Game Mode preset, “Footstep Focus” really did let you hear footsteps coming, but the Signature Sound was best for an overall, rounded experience. Of course, with the push of a button, you could change from hearing those footsteps and back to the overall sound easily.

So, the sound is great, gaming is incredible, but what about comfort? Well, these headphones are super comfortable, with not only the ability to adjust the height of the ear cuffs but also how tight they fit on your head. I have easily worn these for hours at a time and my ears did not sweat, nor did they feel fatigued or uncomfortable. For those of you with glasses; they also have the option to modify the ear pads to keep them from pressing against your glasses.


Overall, this has been one of the most enjoyable reviews I have written for well over a year. The sound and build quality of the Turtle Beach Elite Pro gaming headset is top notch, while the Elite Pro Tactical Audio Controller added another dimension to gaming that I had never experienced before. If you want to improve your gaming experience, take a look at the Turtle Beach Elite Pro gaming headset, and if you want to take it further, check out the Tactical Audio Controller. They may be pricey, but they are worth looking into.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Turtle Beach. Please visit their site for more information and Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price: Headset: $199.95 – TAC: $149.95
Manufacturer: Turtle Beach
Retailer: Amazon
Pros:
  • – Incredible comfortable headphones
  • – Great all around sound quality
  • – Able to be used on most gaming platforms (PC/PS4/XB1)
  • – Solidly built
Cons:
  • – Pricey
  • – Needs adapter for PC if you have separate mic/speaker ports

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Turtle Beach Elite Pro Tournament Gaming Headset and Elite Pro Tactical Audio Controller review originally appeared on on June 15, 2017 at 1:46 pm.

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Listen to your favorite tunes while you trot, gallop, and canter


I’ve seen Bluetooth speakers designed to attach to your bicycle, but this is the first speaker I’ve found that has been designed to attach to your horse! Ok, not the horse itself, but the saddle. The i Rock N Ride is a small half-circle shaped Bluetooth speaker that has been designed for all types of equestrians and their saddles.

The i Rock N Ride has a built-in rechargeable battery and has speaker phone features so you can take calls while riding off into the sunset.

The speaker is available in aqua, coral, ebony, and sable brown for $99.00. Head over to www.irocknride.com for more info and to order one.

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Listen to your favorite tunes while you trot, gallop, and canter originally appeared on on June 15, 2017 at 12:48 pm.

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Free the natural beauty of your iPhone with Utomic Edge


I don’t know about you, but I struggle with putting a bulky case on my beloved iPhone because she’s just too beautiful to keep covered up.  To me it would be like putting on a fresh face full of makeup, then putting a bag over your head when you leave the house. What’s the point of having such a masterpiece, when it’s only covered up to protect the very beauty that is never even seen? Enter the Utomic Edge.  

This minimalist corner protection system, made in the USA, uses four individual corner pieces that employ impact dissipating technology to give your phone ultimate protection while letting the true beauty of the phone shine.  I like the idea of being able to connect my charger without having to take off a case, or having a case interfere with the sound of the phone’s speakers.

Upon visiting the Utomic website for the first time, they ask for your email and you are then awarded a coupon code which drops the price of the Edge to $29.75 from $34.99, but it still seems a bit pricey to me.  However, I guess when you figure in the cost of buying a new phone because you didn’t have the proper protection it’s really not that bad.

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Free the natural beauty of your iPhone with Utomic Edge originally appeared on on June 15, 2017 at 9:30 am.

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Tacklife IT-T05 Dual Laser Infrared Thermometer review


I used to have one of these infrared thermometers, but it’s since gone missing.  I suspect it was stolen in the Great Garage Robbery of 2015.  I recently had a chance to test out another infrared thermometer, but with not one laser, but two!  Let’s check out this laser-y goodness.

Specifications :

● Temperature: -50°C~550°C （-58°F~1022°F)
● Accuracy Resolution: ≥100°C±2% / ≤100°C±2°C
● Response Time: ≤0.5S
● Emissivity: Adjustable (0.1-1.0)
● Distance to Spot Ratio: 12: 1
● Storage Temperature: -20 to 50°C （-4 to 122°F）
● Operating Temperature: 0 to 50°C（32 to 122°F）
● Power/ Power Life: 9V / about 12 hours

Included In The Package:

1 X Tacklife T05 Pro infrared thermometer
1 X 9V battery
1 X User Manual
1 X Carrying Case
1 X 24 Months Warranty

To be honest, this looks similar to every other infrared thermometer you’d find on Amazon.  I suspect a handful are made by a few companies, then rebranded across many, many different names.

The model T05 comes with a carrying case and a 9V battery.

What I did not expect was a belt loop in the back.  Not bad!

Look familiar?  If you’ve ever owned an inexpensive infrared thermometer, there’s not a whole lot of difference other than cosmetics.

It’s feeding time!  The T-05 takes a single 9 V battery (included).

One thing about the T-05 that stands out:  Dual laser pointer.  The space between the two dots indicates the approximate “circle” you’re measuring.  To me, this is a must-have feature.

Don’t forget to peel off the plastic film!  The LCD display can be backlit.  There are four buttons that let you toggle the backlight or laser on or off, set degrees C or F, and change emissivity (0.1 to 1.0).  The default emissivity is 0.95 out of the box.

Let’s go measure things! This block of reusable “ice” measured a frosty 7.6°F  Note the two laser dots.

For something warm, I measured a cup of warm water.  (The red laser dot on the edge of the cup is actually a reflection).  Both the T-05 and my trusted Thermoworks Thermapen Mk4  measured about the same at the surface of the water.  Of course, one thing the infrared thermometer can’t do is measure temperatures BELOW the surface.

Is the Tacklife IT-T05 useful?  Sure it is.  Keep in mind that I consider this a strictly non-scientific instrument that’s really only good for “how much hotter/colder is this thing vs. ___?”   However, the addition of two laser “dots” indicating the area measured makes this a far more useful thermometer than those without.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Tacklife. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price: MSRP $49.99 ($24.97 at the time of this review)
Manufacturer: Tacklife
Retailer: Amazon
Requirements:
  • 9V battery (included)
Pros:
  • Dual laser pointers makes remote measuring a snap
  • Carry case and batteries included
Cons:
  • Only takes surface measurements

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Tacklife IT-T05 Dual Laser Infrared Thermometer review originally appeared on on June 15, 2017 at 7:32 am.

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