Home 2019 April

No More Warnings: This Is a Real Phone Scam

The writers here at Make Tech Easier write often about scams and hacks. We report the news of the recent scams, show you how to keep yourself safe from being hacked, discuss products that can help protect your personal data, etc. We do a lot. And the reason is because we care and really want to prevent our readers from becoming victims. Background And that’s why I am telling this very personal story. I want to save this from happening to other people. Today I’m not writing the news of a new scam that was just discovered. This time I am writing about a very… Read more

Which Opera Browser Should You Use in Android?

If you’re part of the roughly two percent of the Internet that uses the Opera desktop browser (a perfectly respectable choice, to be sure), congratulations on being different! You may have also looked into getting your favorite browser for Android, only to find yourself confronted with three options, each bearing the Opera logo: Opera, Opera Mini, and Opera Touch. Each of these browsers is a legitimate Opera product, but they’re all designed for different audiences and use cases. Their other product on the Play store, “Opera News,” doesn’t do any web browsing at all, just news aggregation. As you might suspect, Opera is their standard… Read more

Naztech Power Hub4 charging station review

REVIEW – Even though our household only consists of my husband and myself, I always seem to have issues finding an available outlet on our kitchen bar to charge up a piece of tech.  We both own tablets and we both own phones.  Then there are the plethora of other gadgets like watches, bicycle computers, and other tech devices that need charging.  When the Naztech Power Hub4 came up for review I jumped on it to see if it could meet my family’s charging needs.  Let’s see how it worked out for us.

What is it?

The Naztech Power Hub4 is an adaptive fast charging power station that has slots and ports to charge up to four different devices all at the same time.

What’s in the box?

The following items came in the box:

  • The charging hub itself
  • The power cord
  • Five frosted plastic dividers
  • A fold out instruction book
  • A register now card
  • Another card with specific instructions on how to insert the plastic dividers

Hardware specs

The Power Hub4 can supply up to a full 35 watts of power.  All four ports can charge at the same time.  There is one USB-C slot that can rapid charge devices like the Galaxy S9.  The USB-C port is rated at 5 volts.   There is also an adaptive rapid charge USB port that will charge at 5 volts/3 amps, 9 volts/2 amps, or 12 volts/1.5 amps.  The two remaining USB ports share 5 volts/ 2.5 amps.

Design and features

The first picture above shows the back side of the device.  On the far right is where the power cord would plugin.  To the left of that is the on/off power button.  I like that you can actually turn this off when not in use.  A blue LED to the right of the power button will shine when it is turned on.  It is very bright and I would not recommend placing it in any room where you want complete darkness.

The next two pictures show the front and the side of the device opposite the ports.    You can see on the front picture how the plastic divider inserts into the device.  When this picture was taken, the divider was not pushed all the way down.  The small card that came in the box, said to specifically push down very hard until you hear a click.  I had to push pretty hard, but I did hear a click for each one.  The second picture shows the dividers fully inserted.  You can also see there are venting slots on that side of the device.

This last picture shows the device plugged in and the LED turned on.

Performance

The Power Hub4 is very sturdy.  I have a full-size IPad Pro with a pretty substantial cover on it.  As you can see from the pictures above it held the IPad just fine.  The dividers did not bend or show any kind of difficulty holding it in place.  The hub itself did not feel tippy and felt solid.

The next two pictures show the hub fully loaded.  I  have my IPad Pro and my husband’s newest model IPad.  I also have his IPhone X and my Samsung S9.   They were all charging just fine.  The Samsung would rapid charge on either the USB-C or the rapid charge USB port.  My only real complaint was the wad of cables  on the right side of the device.

What I like

  • It can charge up to 4 devices at the same time.
  • It has a rapid charge USB and rapid charge USB-C ports.
  • The rapid charge USB port is adaptive.

What needs to be improved

  • No cables come with the device.  I broke down and ordered some short versions of the cables we need.  My OCD just could not stand that tangled looking mess of cables on the side of the hub.

Final thoughts

All in all, I would recommend this hub to anyone looking for a way to charge multiple devices at the same time.  The fact that it can rapidly charge and be adaptive is a big plus.

Price: $69.99
Where to buy: Amazon or B&H Photo Video
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Naztech

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Naztech Power Hub4 charging station review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 14, 2019 at 1:53 pm.

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How to Change the Default Screenshot Save Location on Your Mac

Taking screenshots is quite easy on macOS, but to a new Mac user with Windows experience, it may seem a bit confusing. Screenshots are saved directly to the Desktop as opposed to Windows’ style of pasting them to the clipboard or being saved in the “Pictures” folder. You might be used to that on your previous Windows system and might want to change it on macOS. Here we show you how to do both: change where your Mac screenshots are save, and save screenshots to the clipboard. Related: Mastering macOS Mojave’s New Screenshot Tools How to change where screenshots are saved If you’re using macOS… Read more

Get totally immersive with Feelreal

CROWDFUNDING NEWS – Dive deeper into your gaming and movie experiences with Feelreal VR headset add-on.

The patented design attaches to your existing VR headset and can simulate smell, rain, wind, vibration, punches and more. Weighing in at only seven ounces, the unit magnetically attaches to your headset.  It can generate up to 255 different scents to enhance your gaming and movie experience.

Feelreal is compatible with a wide range of headsets.

Scents are generated by combining up to nine different aroma capsules. Heat and cold come from micro heating and cooling units. An ultrasonic ionizer produces mist and rain. Small vibration motors simulate bumps, punches, and general motion. It can run for up to four hours on a charge.

Beyond entertainment, the developers also have created operation modes for aromatherapy and meditation.

Several VR games are supported with more on the way.  YouTube VR is also supported. You can also edit your own movies, adding scent and sensory tracks on your own.

Funded in under an hour on Kickstarter, Feelreal is just shy of $100,000 on a $20,000 initial funding goal.  Funding ends on May 10 at 3am EDT with initial shipments slated for August 2019.  Packages start at $199. For more information, visit their campaign on Kickstarter.

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Get totally immersive with Feelreal originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 14, 2019 at 10:00 am.

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