What are /r/gadgets' favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Rocksmith 2014 is the real way to go here. Its guitar hero but you use a real guitar/bass. No changes are made to the guitar, the game comes with a cord that you plug into the PC/PS3/PS4/Xbox 360/Xbox One. It comes with a bunch of mini games and whole bunch of pedals/amp effects that are just awesome.

If you are somewhat gaming inclined and are looking to pick up guitar/bass, that is my recommendation. I started playing bass with that three years ago and haven't looked back.

Edit: and it is half of the price (almost a quarter of the release price) of this thing. Amazon link for PC

Sadly, their webpage won't let me just read their fucking article without the video playing so here is the text from the page. Fuck you CNN.

It looks like seven is Samsung's lucky number. Consumer Reports just named the Samsung Galaxy S7 the best smartphone it has ever reviewed. The S7 Edge was named its second best.

Similar to our own experience with the phones, Consumer Reports found the devices to have great cameras, excellent battery life, super-fast processors, and very high resolution screens.

The expandable storage and water-resistance features also helped the phones gain their top ratings, partially because they make the other parts of the phone stand out even more.

For example, the phone can record video in 4K, or Ultra-HD. Those files are huge in size, which makes it important to have a microSD slot for memory cards.

Battery life lasted more than 24 hours of simulated talk time -- more than twice the iPhone 6S. The speakers on the S7 and S7 edge produce loud and crisp volume.

And because of the phones' high resolution displays, screens are easier to read in bright light.

Related: CNNMoney review -- Galaxy S7 Edge is as sexy as it is smart

"These new models aren't just Samsung's best smartphones, but, perhaps, the best smartphones," senior editor Mike Gikas wrote on Tuesday.

All this goes to show that even though smartphone makers continue to add niche features, getting the basics right -- battery life, camera -- is really the most important thing to do and what consumers care about the most.

Better yet, FUCK CNN. Read the source article from Consumer Reports.

http://www.consumerreports.org/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-s7-smartphones-top-consumer-reports-ratings/

Agreed. Anti-encryption people scare me. I also really hate that argument of "if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about". We use the Internet for SO MUCH SHIT. We store SO MUCH information on our computers, tablets, and phones. I like to protect my personal information. (Plus, I store all my passwords in LastPass so I can generate random 30-character passwords that I would NEVER be able to memorize. If they successfully weaken encryption--unlikely--my passwords are pretty fucked)

Everyone saying "or just use the fucking off switch" don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

This isn't so you can sleep with the TV on.

The product exists because there has been scientific research showing that the blue light may delay your ability to fall asleep for a period of time AFTER use.

For example, if you stay up late working on a paper on your pc or go to bed immediately after watching a late-night movie, you may find yourself unable to fall asleep easily once you go to bed.

An entire list of links to relevant studies can be found here: https://justgetflux.com/research.html

So I made you an android program using Unity3D, it's an apk file, and you can load it up on your android phone if you have one, push the button to turn it on/off, it vibrates your phone ever 5 seconds for about a second or maybe a little less. It's an 8 meg file, and the file host sucks but it was the first I found on short notice. http://www.filedropper.com/vibetime

If you don't know how to load up custom apk files on your phone, sorry man, not doing that legwork for ya :)

Edit: Sorry this doesn't really solve your problem. Sounds like it's going to be an electronics build.

If you have 200 dollars, and want easy to use no-bullshit decent bluetooth speakers, get these instead.

https://www.amazon.com/Edifier-R1850DB-Bookshelf-Speakers-Bluetooth/dp/B073W1R4XQ/

I have the slightly stepped down version of these (R1700BT) without the subwoofer line out, optical, and slightly lower bass response, and they are awesome for the price.

Another thing I think people need to know is that "deleting" these recordings is likely not removing them from the manufacturer's servers--it just hides them from you. That data is still out there, and it could become public in an instant due to data breach, data mishandling, a rogue employee, during police/govt. investigations, etc.

You can get these Nope Sound Blockers for times when you need to have a private conversation. They do break kinda easy if you're not gentle enough, but they work super well and the company has great customer support. I'm also unsure if they work with Google Home/Amazon Echo, but if they do, they could be good to have around.

The best option, though, is to not have one of these at home--or at least unplug them outside of planned use hours and toss them in a little faraday bag. That way they will be cut off from internet connection of any kind until you take it out and plug it back in.

Why use a keyboard?

I mean, it depends entirely on what you want to do on the screen, but there's no need to be reliant on a keyboard. I will admit I find it easier for certain tasks, but the keyboard for my HTPC lives in the entertainment unit and is rarely used.

You can use Kodi to watch media and control it using your phone and the Yatse app.

You can get a remote control like this, or you can use a game controller (Xbox, Playstation, Steam, whatever) to use with whichever software you want.

You can use VNC which basically lets you give keyboard/mouse input directly from your phone

There's lots of options depending on what you're looking for.

It's nowhere close to that expensive anymore. You can find them closer to $250 at various places online. The iPhone version of the Seek is $260 on Amazon right now.

You can also get other smart phone thermal cameras like the FLIR ONE for even less than the Seek.

Android One is a name for phones that have stock Android and since the manufacture is working with Google, they get fast security updates, all the while packed in an (most of the time) inexpensive phone. Correct me if I made a mistake or didn't elaborate enough.

https://www.android.com/one/

Engadget has talked about it, too:

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/18/99-concept-noteslate-tablet-does-electronic-ink-in-color-but-o/

If they make this and it's half as good as it looks in the renderings for the price they're saying it's going to be, I'll throw money at them so hard it will break their faces. BREAK. THEIR. FACES.

• download linux desktop
• install on USB drive using universal usb installer
• download SNES roms (1gb for every game ever including fan games)
• open up terminal and type: sudo apt-get install zsnes
• buy 8 dollar usb controller off of amazon

you now have a what you want.

want it portable? buy an raspberry pi and an hdmi chord.

Apple has a lot of agendas.

For example, they don't allow any GPLv3 open source software, because Apple's "absolutely no sideloading" policy is incompatible with GPLv3. They don't allow emulators, who knows why. They tried to ban Steam in-home streaming app. Their developer licenses cost enough to discourage anyone from releasing completely free and ad-free apps, and as a result, high quality free apps are a rarity in iOS store. Try finding something like this free calculator app in iOS store, and you'll see it.

None of that would be an issue if users were free to load their own apps, but they aren't.

Except third parties have figured out how to recreate Magsafe: https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Charger-Magsafe-Charging-Breaksafe/dp/B075M2VV25

They could have also gone with a magnetic breakaway moved a bit further down the cable.

The Magsafe connector itself may have needed to go for understandable reasons but it's inexcusable that they completely abandoned the idea of a magnetic breakaway cable.

>'how do I make my own'

I think that section is fine. If it were $50, yeah some people who would have otherwise bought it might go through the trouble of making it on there own. At $5, however, it's so cheap that the vast majority of people would rather pay you than DIY it.

I would definitely use the DIY angle as a marketing tool. Make a page on http://www.instructables.com/ and other DIY sites and then tell people were they can buy it if they'd rather not take the time to make it.

Put it up on Pinterest, sell some on Etsy.

>The battery in this article provides 20V/5A (100W), which will power most laptops, even those with a quad-core and discrete graphics like the 15" MBP. This is not common, and worthy of an article IMO.

Maybe not "common", as in not everyone has them but I've had one of them for over a year now and it will recharge my 15" MBP twice. Cost me like $300 a year ago on Amazon. Looks like it's $50 cheaper now.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Lizone-50000mAH-External-Battery-Charger/dp/B0197PCOZW/

I feel this. Just bought a $1300 dell that runs circles around MBP. 4k screen, GTX 1060 6gb, 16gb ram, 256gb ssd + 1tb hdd. I play VR, run CFD sims, and render ultra high poly models on the regular and it takes everything I can throw at it in stride while maintaining sub 70°C temps.

Edit: this laptop with a 256gb nvme drive.

> 8bitdo mini

The Zero?

Yeah those are pretty nifty and it's fun seeing peoples reactions to such atiny gamepad. Ive got 2 of them. Makes playing emulators on my phone so much more bearable. The connection is spotty though, for whatever reason, sometimes the controller disconnects in the middle of a game and i have to run the stupid 8bitdo app to reconnect. Also it's a pain in the ass getting 2 of them connected at once. Another negative is that you cant use them wired. Id actually prefer to hook mine up via otg cable and play that way and not deal with input lag/disconnections but alas you can't.

As a home security system. I have a webcam attached to it, and a python program which periodically gets images from the webcam and does background subtraction in order to calculate the differences in pixel intensities. If the result of the background subtraction surpasses a threshold value, this triggers the Pi to take photos more frequently and if there are several instances where the value goes over the threshold, an intruder is detected. It begins storing photos and also uploads them to dropbox. It sends an alert to my iPhone via HTTP to an app called PushOver, which contains a message with a link to the picture on dropbox, and also a link to flag as a false positive detection, and resets the program.

It's an easy enough fix no soldering needed.

https://www.amazon.com/Veanic-2-Pack-Replacement-Joystick-Controller/dp/B07MRJ12HX/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=nintendo+switch+replacement+joystick&qid=1562768080&s=gateway&sprefix=nintendo+switch+repl&sr=8-3

Yeah I was hoping that since computing performance has doubled since the release of the switch that they would announce oled 1080p screen with ~ 1 Tflop undocked instead of ~500 glop undocked.

The Lan port is nice since I use MoCA adapter with Ethernet switches all over my house and essentially have wired gigabit everywhere, but I believe you can already do that with a usb c Ethernet injector

I haven’t tried the Ethernet injector though.

Cable Matters USB C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter with 100W Charging - Up to 480Mbps Wired Ethernet Speed for Chromecast with Google TV (Google TV Chromecast 2020 Version), Laptops, and More https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08NXS46DN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_5M1PJX4756384T83K077

Sandisk and Samsung already make real 256GB cards. Samsung gave them away with Galaxy Note 7 (and also S7 I think) preorders. Sandisk lists a 256GB one on their website and you can buy it sold by Amazon.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.opentouchgaming.deltatouch buy this, get a copy of Doom2.wad and go to DoomWorld/ModDB for hundreds of highely polished mods. This is literally thousands of hours of playable content. Thousands custom maps that you can combine with any 'game' you want. Feeling like playing Doom 2 with Quake 1 weapons/monsters on maps based on Hexen? No problem. Duke 3D weapons with Shadow Warrior enemies? No problem. This needs to come to mobile VR, and we'll be set for many years to come.

Obligatory link to the Instructable on how to make Oogoo, a Sugru substitute, with materials readily available in your local area. It's a silicon clay, people.

I think the thing I'm most annoyed by about this article is that they used a pic from Goldfinger, with Bond strapped to the laser table, instead of what was obviously being referenced, Bond's laser watch from Goldeneye.

I didn't realize these physical keys were getting this small and fancy. Based on that article, I may pick up their recommended NFC version: https://www.amazon.com/Yubico-YubiKey-USB-Authentication-Security/dp/B07HBD71HL

That's them. Mine aren't from Hammacher though. You can get them cheaper on Amazon. link

Not sure where mine are from, got them for christmas, some local store of some sort. They are a novelty though, neat at first, but I prefer the toque I have instead.

I also have a bluetooth toque that has speakers in it as well as a mic.

German here, who previously lived in the US and got acquainted with the different attitudes toward data privacy. I think what currently happens should in the US should teach Americans to rethink their negligence when it comes to data protection: Imagine the big tech companies were not trying to turn their opposition towards the Trump administration into profit, but instead would collaborate with Trump. With the data and technology it would be an easy thing for them to create huge data bases about who opposes trump and who has strong dissenting attitudes towards him.

The history of Germany (Gestapo in the 3rd Reich and Stasi in the GDR) has made many of us more aware of the dangers of carelessly letting other people allot lots of data about them.

EDIT: For some easy steps towards more privacy (easier maybe than to delete your account), consider installing Ghostery which prevents Facebook and Google to track you while browsing on sites that e.g. use Google Analytics or Facebook Like Buttons. Offer friends to send you PGP encrypted mails: Not even NSA can crack mails that are encrypted with 4096 bits. I found this introduction quite helpful. Installing gnupg and enigmail is easy!

EDIT2: As /u/Audiovore pointed out, Disconnect or Blur might better alternatives to Ghostery.

Notches are dumb, if you want more screen get a bigger phone.

Edit: Wow this blew up in the comments. Here's the reasoning why I don't think the notch is a good idea.The notch is just a never ending fight for more screen real estate. I don't mind that at all, until this fight comes to inhibit other functions with the phone. Hence, the notch. It's stupid. It's just another thing to shove off while we fight for the most screen possible, meanwhile other phones are doing this way better, like the Oppo Find X, but then again, it's not the iPhone, so who cares?

When I got my Pixel 2, I was slightly disappointed that it came with no headphone jack, and with a dongle, but I honestly didn't really care because I use Bluetooth for everything on that phone, and the tech has advanced so far to where I can bypass having a headphone jack. If you still use wired headphones, you can easily get by having no headphone jack with buying a Bluetooth audio adapter for headphones, like the one here.

However when more screen gets in the way of vital phone functions, ones that you cannot easily bypass, it becomes an issue. I have seen other phones that were able to get most of the stuff either on the back of the phone or built into the screen, but the one thing companies can't figure out is the camera. So, they leave a noticeable cutout on the screen, making the notch ugly as sin.

This is where I say, if you need a bigger screen, just go out and get a larger device. Whether it be a cheap Fire Tablet, or a TV to cast content on, just do that. Yeah, its not in your pocket, so what? I'd be more down to trying to push other aspects of the phone, such as power and other useful functions (just look at the ROG Phone for inspiration).

Rant over.

Joystick drift?

I'll describe it like this: In Breath of the Wild when I am not holding the controller Link will subtly move forward. In the game I would be standing at the edge of a precipice and he would tip-toe off of the edge.

If you go into the calibration settings where you can see what the joycon's joystick is inputting you will see that the signal it is receiving is "dancing" around center just slightly (when it should be perfectly stationary).

This is a known issue. It's due to a design/engineering flaw. With use over time all joycons will eventually suffer from it. There was a guy here on reddit that finally broke it all down with pictures and showed exactly why it happens.

You can buy yourself some time by using Electronics cleaner underneath the joystick, but it's a band-aid at best. Thankfully there is a cheap kit that you can buy online (I purchased mine on Amazon) that allows you to replace the joystick, if you are not afraid to open it up yourself. It comes with all the tools you will need.

768GB DDR5 is never going to be cheap, because by the time manufacturing improves that much we won't be using DDR5 any more.

A 32GB DDR4 stick might be able to cost just $100, but a 32GB DDR2 stick still costs a ridiculous amount of money.

Plex Media Server you download the server to your computer. You tell it the directory you want and what type of media, and like Windows Media Player of the old days and music, Plex finds a dvd cover artwork, along with all sorts of information including a short synopsis, and attaches it to the individual file. If you set it as a tv show it will find the theme music for the show and play it as you browse the selection. It will also take individual jumbled folders and organize them into series for you. Than, all you need to do is download Plex for Android($4.99 but worth it)and login and boom, there's all your content just waiting to be streamed.

Edit: TLDR; turns your downloaded videos into a Netflix type experience.

> security professional

?

> Use a trusted VPN. This is probably the best first defense. Your traffic is encrypted and your real information hidden. NordVPN has an excellent reputation from what I understand.

(TL;DW no you do not need a VPN, it's a fucking scam for 99% of you people) , not to mention NordVPN is a fucking terrible suggestion, there's leaks of the accounts registered there, I have seen a post on a site of 7k people with full info leaked because of NordVPN.

> Use a good end-to-end encrypted messaging system. Telegram is a good choice for this. "Private" chats are end-to-end encrypted while "Cloud" chats are client-server-client encrypted.

Telegram isn't E2EE by default, you can't use it in group chats, experts have also said the Telegram E2EE is crap.

Signal is a much better option than Telegram.

I'm doubting that you're a security professional.

27" 1080p 144hz g-sync monitor was 500$ 3.5 years ago. Its now 600$. https://www.amazon.com/Acer-XB270H-Abprz-27-inch-Widescreen/dp/B00NUCRBCU

Anyone interested in or already using this should also consider using programs like flux for PC. It changes the color of your monitor in turn with the sunset/sunrise so you're not staring into a bright screen before bed. There's similar apps for Android, but I don't know if you can get one for iOS without jailbreaking.

https://searchcode.com/?q=if%28version%2Cstartswith%28%22windows+9%22%29

Plenty of horribly written software checks for "Windows 9" in osName string to detect Windows 95 and Windows 98. When run, they would act as if "Windows 9" was one of those..

Software: The operating system is a matter of preference. Most people use Windows. Some people like Macs. Linux is for savvy users. For actual programs, just use Ninite. Grab a browser, a doc editor, and some security. And put an ad blocker on your browser for god's sake!

Brands: HP makes good business computers and shitty consumer-grade ones. Lenovo makes quality, durable laptops (ThinkPads especially), but they come with spyware. Apple computers are good but overpriced. Best support. Acer is pretty good and very affordable. Asus is good and appropriately priced. Looks nice. Dell is shit except the XPS line. By and large, you get what you pay for.

Hardware: How much space do you use right now? Increase that by half and get a hard drive with at least that much space. Get an SSD if you want a laptop that boots quickly. Get at least 6 GB of RAM. 8 is preferred, and 16 is for editing large photos or messing with big datasets. CPUs come from Intel or AMD. Intel is usually much better (get anything that says i5 or i7), but recent AMD chips are quite good. Go to an actual store to look at laptop formats. Do you want a 2-in-1 (convertible tablet)? How big of a laptop do you want? Does it need to be below a certain weight?

Find a laptop search engine and figure out how much a laptop with these specs is going to cost. Search speciality sites and look at special offers (Costco, manufacturer sites, etc). Settle on a few choices and read online reviews. Pick one and order it.

Not covered: Bare-bones laptops and Chromebooks, serious gaming laptops.

Edit: These are just one man's impressions based on a few years of buying and recommending. If you have better info or corrections, PM me and I'll add it.

I mean you can get a Phantom 2V+ on amazon for $389 now. It was one of my first (I bought it when they still cost $900+), and to this day I still fly it for fun, and I have quads that can fly laps around it. GoPro's great with cameras, but I wouldn't trust anyone's "fresh to the market" quad over DJI, seems like there's a new "kickstarter" drone every week that fizzles out a year later because it just didn't work.

edit: Phantom 2V+ for those intersted

Sure, but I think the point is for less money you can get one of God knows how many handhelds on Amazon, eBay and Aliexpress, etc. that will emulate um... ALL of the retro games from the golden era of handhelds - and the golden era of consoles too.

I mean look at this thing, $115 and it will emulate everything from the 2600 up to Playstation 1 and you can carry ALL the games on a 256GB card in it at the same time.

Here's a review of it.

I've already got a 16 thread laptop. Thanks AMD. I guess it only turbos up to 4.3, though,but no throttling at all. In fact it is the only laptop I have ever been comfortable gaming with without a laptop cooler. Literally right on my lap. Of course weight is "much" and battery is "no", but it fits my use case well enough.

Watch the reliability ratings. The big problem with the Model S has been very spotty reliability. Consumer Reports no longer recommends it as a result of worse than expected reliability issues, notably the drive train, power equipment and charging equipment.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cars/tesla-reliability-doesnt-match-its-high-performance/

~~Just Google lexar 128gb usb 3.0, first result is Amazon with the product. For some dumb ass reason Amazon doesn't have anyway to share links from within their store app, otherwise I would link it.~~

Here : Lexar JumpDrive S75 128GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive - LJDS75-128ABNL (Black) https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00S5V5PJC/

Also if you want faster and smaller get a really fast micro SD card: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B012PKPU5W/

Thunderbolt 3 is basically direct access to 4 lanes of PCI Express, something like 40Gbps. One of the main things you can do is take a device that has a decent processor but doesn't have enough cooling ability to also have a decent graphics card (like an ultrabook or Surface) and connect an external graphics card to it while you're at home. That way you don't have to have a separate machine for gaming.

That means you can also have an external solid state drive that you can access as fast as your built in solid state drive, and even boot from if you want. But it's more general than that, since USB is pretty good about actually being universal you can have adapters and hubs that do just about anything, at the same time. This also includes high definition video (if you have the graphics power), I believe multiple 4K monitors can be daisy-chained on the same connection. Each connection carries up to 100W of power for charging. So it also takes the place of all of those various proprietary docking station connections.

EDIT: https://youtu.be/cv-zdFK2MLM

a resistor and a pin can drive an analog meter. can add buttons, rotary encoders, can drive a $4 lcd. switch things on/off with a mosfet/relay. detect the sun or dark, control $2 servos. i use my microntrollers to make meters and datalogging for rf.

edit:

Most of the crap I build, I don't even need to get out of my chair to get the parts for. A resistor and capacitor pack at radio shack and a misc assortment of common items and you're pretty much set. Buy a bin like this, organize your caps/resistors into it, throw some transistors, buttons, connectors in and you're set.. Majority of my time building is spent finding the right sized resistor fwiw.

This java electronic simulator {there's a java warning} is a valuable tool for testing out ideas on what to hook up to your GPIO. It's not full fledged like SPICE which is ridiculously complicated and time consuming to do anything, but it's a good compromise and especially easy to use to build some circuits (SPICE simulates wire gauge, distance to other wires, etc, which is good for high frequency stuff but we'll use low frequency or short-connections to avoid having to worry about this). The examples cover most things...

Actually, there is this one game....

Normally people will say "Anything you can imagine!", "Media Server!", or give an example of a random project someone does that isn't really useful, it's just cool and interesting or using it for the sake of using it.

I once saw someone say they hooked up their Raspberry Pi to automatically open their blinds in the mornings - now THAT is a cool use. I'd love to see more things like that.

I found this article, which for the most part is guilty of what I mentioned above. There are a couple of cool uses though, namely the weather station and home automation (which conveniently enough links to a 404...).

The iPod Nano is the only iPod that has ever had a built in FM radio, and they still have this in the current generation Nano with the abilty to pause, play, and rewind up to 15 minutes*

*^must ^listen ^to ^station ^for ^15 ^minutes ^to ^be ^able ^to ^use ^this ^feature.

I can give you the basics:

A 6" inline EM driven fan (quiet compared to standard inline fans, and about 3x the price)

https://www.amazon.com/AC-Infinity-CLOUDLINE-S6-Controller/dp/B07FPFVZTZ/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=6+inch+inline+fan&qid=1628089359&sr=8-6

2' of 6" straight duct.

A 14" inline filter box.

https://www.hvacquick.com/products/residential/Filter-Boxes/Inline-Filter-Boxes/HVACQuick-CFB-Series-MERV-13-Inline-Filter-Boxes

Cabinet from Ikea with some slots cut into it.

Mount everything using a small piece of rubber (in the cabinet) to further reduce vibration and noise.

Not just that. They're attacking the lack of ports - most new MacBook users either don't care or have bought the accessories they need at this point. They're also complaining about airdrop, which is something that is beyond proven and embedded into most Apple users' daily life. Whatever their alternative is, it probably won't even make them take a second look at. Finally, there's the security aspect - they're pitching Fast Pass and ExpressVPN. Those aren't forever. They're a better version of the annoying McAfee demo that comes preinstalled in every Windows laptop. And they're comparing it to the T2, which is a dedicated processor for security and background processes... you know, those pesky resource hoggers that HP bloatware is infamous for. I'm not hating on Windows nor on MacBook competitors. I'm ripping on HP for their continuous BS.

Read the entire quote. > For PS4 that means X will be your confirm and O your cancel and so forth.

If you want more info, here's the review for reference.

By the way for Australian people who want it, none of those sellers above seem to deliver to us but surprisingly the AU Amazon seems to stock it here.

>According to the company, the new sensor can capture 40 million light rays (Lytro doesn’t list megapixels)

Why don't they cut the crap. How many megapixels is the resulting image?

Edit: Mashable cut the crap.

>The spec translates to images of about 4 megapixels, once they're flattened out.

You can set it up to use the "old keys before the touchbar" already.

Better touch tool was the only program I needed to install. It took a little tinkering but left to right I have my escape button (in neon blue now), a pair of shortcuts to documents I use daily, a Spotify widget that plays music when I touch it plus displays the track information, a date/time widget which shows my local time (I'm out of the country for work), a second date/time widget which shows the time back home, plus your standard make screen go brighter and make screen go darker buttons, plus your volume controls. On the far right is where I put my "relax" button, which starts the screensaver. Except for the far right and far left buttons, each button is blacked out so all you see is the icon. No light gray for button definition. It looks way sleeker that way to me with the OLED.

I also have a second touchbar which comes up when I hit control...that touch bar has less-used items, like emojis for when I'm talking to my wife on iMessage, plus a "Goodnight" button which turns off the screen, mutes the speakers, and puts the computer in rest mode.

The possibilities are pretty endless with this thing. I did the 30 day trial and after that I spent the $7 for a license because I seriously think it's worth it. It finally made the touchbar "useful".

Better touch tool

I like the Bixby button, not for Bixby, but for remapping. Currently mine is configured as:

Single press: Google Voice control assistant

Hold single press: Google now news page with search bar along top

Double press: torch

Hold double press: Reddit

So personally I like it.

EDIT: since someone asked I used this https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jamworks.bxactions and paid for the pro version for a few more features and then made a few alterations on my pc

Saw a 64GB on Slickdeals the other day for $10. $20 seems to be the normal sale price these days for 64GB.

EDIT: Samsung 64GB 100MB/s microSD card is availabile currently for $11. That $35 number is way off.

i have a x264 1080p20fps wifi 2.4ghz webcam; it's live broadcast effective range is 50' but
it can also record to an internal microSD card that i can offload videos from wirelessly later.

btw anyone impressed with OP's idea can simulate it's effect for about $50
buy any wifi based webcam, and any light socket power outlet adapter
https://www.annkesecurity.com/wireless-security-camera.html
https://www.amazon.com/GE-54180-Socket-Adapter-Control/dp/B002DN2OIS

one last bit of practical advice about this idea;
it's often a bad idea to angle the webcam from the light source.
optimally you want the webcam nearly eye level with the subject
most lighting is either above or at a 45° angle from the subject.

For the lazy: kickstarter link

£99 = ~$168USD

I backed the Dash for $199USD which seems like a better deal with the extra features (assuming both kickstarters actually deliver as promised).

I've been wearing the amazefit bip for 2 months now. I've loved it. Always on display, 26 days of batter life, notifications, and customizable faces. Also its only $80 which was huge for me. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CRSK5DM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_0iuADbVR78BJQ

Still vaporware until I can hold it in my hand, sorry.

I know you people love it, but I've seen this happen before. Either it will take too long and will be obsolete or disappointing on arrival (e.g. openpandora or notion ink adam) or will simply never release (e.g. Touch Book, MS Courier, Gizmondo, the Foleo, Duke Nukem Forever, etc)

God, that is one sexy tablet. Unfortunately, it comes with the expected Wacom price tag, this one being $1600 USD. Yeesh.

I still recommend Anker Soundbuds Slim. 25$ for a pair of decent sounding BT in ear buds. Also IPX7 rated. 10 hours. BT 5. They have a great built quality.

I have had the old version with 7 hour battery, IPX5 rating and BT 4.1 since 2017. Still working great. Be aware what version you buy and get. Not because the older ones are that much different, but just make sure you get what you pay for.

And no I dont really care about them not being “True wireless”. I dont understand the want to pay for such a small difference.

Not affiliate: https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Headphones-Lightweight-Connection-Sweatproof/dp/B01N6DC2ZE/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=anker+soundbuds+slim&qid=1600442378&sprefix=anker+soundbuds&sr=8-4

Get ready for prices to go up. This of course won't be blocked by antitrust because Obama wants nationwide wireless, and AT&T is clearly targetting that in their slides. The reasoning by AT&T is that this is the only way they can get more wireless spectrum for LTE to enable rural coverage (.. which they already mostly have by 2g). Spectrum is a commodity made scarce... mostly by the government. They reserve large chunks for stupid things and then sell small chunks for billions of dollars. VZW wins, AT&T wins, government wins, you lose.

It's a pedometer, tracks steps, distance and estimates your daily calorie ~~consumption~~ expenditure. Also tracks sleep, specifically sleep cycles, and wakes you up when you are in the light stage of sleep (it can figure this out easily with a motion sensor- in deep sleep your muscles are paralysed and you don't move at all.) Syncs all this up to an app on your phone where you can track your progress.

Sounds pretty identical to the Fitbit Flex but much much cheaper.

I'd be far more inclined to do this rather than the OP's link. Maybe not as part of a Leatherman, but just the portion the keys are in.

It's here. I got to play with a kit over thanksgiving through an Oculus employee. The Bullet Train game blew my mind grinning ear to ear saying "no fucking way!" The whole time.

https://www.unrealengine.com/blog/introducing-bullet-train-new-vr-experience

Edited for clarification

Reversible ~~mirco~~ micro-USB was just introduced last year, IIRC, and they're not terribly expensive - I found one on amazon that's rated 4/5 stars and is only $6.99.

Meanwhile, the first USB-C phones started coming out last year as well, so the timing's a bit iffy. I kinda wish we'd just go full-on USB-C at this point. It's like ripping off a band-aid; sure it's gonna suck at first since we have to get new cables, but the longer we wait, the worse the eventual switch is going to be. Plus, when USB-C becomes mainstream, it'll get less expensive and more common, and manufacturers will get to work on developing and using it to its full extent, and that pushes the industry forward.

Huh, I don't know if it's just the pictures they used, but that tiny drone looks a hell of a lot like this one, which can already be purchased...

edit: Going from the company's page, looks like its exactly the same thing, but without the "FX-10" logo on it.

I loved this phone, and snake, back in 1998.

The problem is Nokia's target market is still emerging market users of this same phone. Smartphones usage is growing at a 60% a year clip, and lots of other companies can make cheap brick phones. They have made absolutely no progress over the past 10 years into smartphones, yet they have 100,000 employees. HTC has 10,000 employees. Google gives Android away for free to gain marketshare. Now they are betting their future on a collaboration with the stale and stagnant MSFT?

Don't take my word for it, read it directly from their new CEO. It'll take a herculean effort to save this burning platform.

and the HP 12c is also an Amazon best seller:

http://www.amazon.com/HP-HP12C-12C-Financial-Calculator/dp/B00000JBLH/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409749146&sr=8-1&keywords=HP+12c

This calculator has been mandatory in any accredited MBA program for decades, and it's proudly displayed on the desks of finance gurus (and wannabes) to show that you're versed in Reverse Polish Notation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_Polish_notation

Yes, I'm aware that he's talking about the gyro within a mobile phone. I found this article which mentions 72% accuracy but only on 10key. If someone found a way to get 80% accuracy on qwerty I'd be interested to read about it.

I think the thing I'm most annoyed by about this comment is that they used a pic from Goldeneye64, with Bond's laser watch from Goldeneye64, instead of what was obviously being referenced, Bond's laser watch from the Goldeneye movie

No phone is secure. Every phone can be backdoored trivially (c.f. using a stingray device.)

Quoting this (old) comment: http://hackaday.com/2014/08/27/defcon-blackphone/#comment-1759512

>A device driver has full access to the hardware and nobody but whom has its sources (Google) can control it. This means it reads your text, copies your photos, reads your storage memory and listens to your communications before they are being encrypted no strong algorithm or long password would help. Also, every sniffer/debugger that comes as an app runs at a lower privilege and will likely never see its traffic, so no way to block it, not even be aware of its existence.

>The above can be applied to every operating system out there, including those on home PCs, notebooks, tablets etc. You choose strong passwords and encrypt all your disks, then a small binary blob required to make a card work intercepts all your passwords while you type them, reads all your storage and does whatever it’s progammed to. We’re talking about a device driver: full access to the hardware, full privileges and zero control by the user; if there’s a place to hide spyware code, there it is. Being 100% secure requires a 100% trustworthy platform, that unfortunately is not possible if a closed source driver can contain code that does the above. So we need to push to obtain open hardware and open drivers. Today this is 100% impossible, most hardware is closed, but spreading the awareness of the importance of being open at hardware level can help to change things tomorrow either by pushing manufacturers into opening their hardware or by building a critical mass of developers and backers for commercial availability of open hardware solutions in that field.

>Until that day, I’m sorry but no phone is secure.

Wow, this story is from 2009, I wrote it up here:

http://techcrunch.com/2009/09/02/life-imitates-sci-fi-as-contact-lens-displays-inch-closer-to-reality/

It's possible that these people were inspired by this more recent news:

http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/22/researchers-see-retina-display-raise-them-a-cornea-display/

And, to answer an earlier commenter, the researchers used a fresnel lens system (not many details) to put the LED into focus on the eye. I had similar concerns but naturally it's just one of the engineering challenges. (edit: formatting)

Powerwatch 2 is amazing watch for amazing people. However we understand some end user aren't amazing like powerwatch 2. For those people who are not able to sustain charging we recommend this watch. As the one and only review from end user suggests, it is also a failure and has no back so will have to stay dry, just like none powerwatch 2 user who cannot charge watch.

>Describing Android as an iOS clone is quite the stretch.

Not really. Early builds of Android show it, very clearly, as a Windows Mobile / Blackberry esque device and OS. Early Android was not designed, in any way, to be a touch based device.

Considering that the prototype didn't even use touch technology, I think it's very fair to say that Android, as a multi-touch smartphone OS, is inherently a copy of the iPhone.

Whether or not the iPhone formfactor copies something else is another debate for another time, but I think people can agree that Apple's iOS is the OS that popularized multitouch, mobile OSs.

And whether or not you agree, Android certainly got a complete redo in response to Apple's offering. It took Google a while to develop the featureset to compete with iOS, adding multitouch, etc, and today they've surpassed Apple in pure feature counts, but saying that Android owes it's beginnings heavily to the formula that Apple perfected is not a stretch.

ooo, have you ever seen the OpenCat project ?

Looks pretty cool with similar stabilization and personality tech. Personally out of my price range but I’d love to make one some day.

Firefox on Android lets you install add-ons so you can use Adblock Plus or uBlock Origin.

Firefox on iOS doesn't let you install add-ons (because of Apple).

Edit: I should have noted there are ways to block ads on iOS and that iOS 9 added support for content blockers. Here's how you can do it with Adblock Plus.

Oh really?

IOGEAR 2 Computer 4-Port USB 2.0 Peripheral Sharing Switch, GUS402 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BD8I2OY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_HXArCbH2KZEA5

This is available in the US for $30.67. They also make a USB 3.0 version as well.

The exact one I got is currently unavailable. There are similar models on amazon, but they do not seem to have the PD function which is what lets the Switch charge faster.

Because the company appears to be run by temps. So there's no institutional knowledge about long-term problems.

Would love to hear a refutation of that claim if someone knows otherwise, though.

MenuetOS has a GUI and the entire OS is 1.44MB, less than your desktop background and just enough to fit on a single floppy disk.

To achieve this incredibly small size, the entire OS is written by hand in assembly, including the kernel which is not Linux.

I have flashed a fork of this OS called kolibriOS which is also 1.44MB onto the BIOS chip of my computer as a coreboot payload, allowing the computer to be booted directly from the BIOS chip without any other storage.

http://www.menuetos.net/

The construction of the laptop is more due to the designed thickness, or more accurately its thinness.

Everything in the laptop is not designed to be replaced or upgraded, ever. Ram is directly soldered to the main board, the SSD is a new proprietary drive, and the entire top lid (the screen) is one, complete piece. The battery then, to save every millimeter possible, is glued in, probably to save space that would otherwise be taken up by screws and other mounting hardware that a removable battery would require.

EDIT: Here is the source behind my statements. iFixIt did a tear down of the Retina MacBook, and ultimately gave it a 1 out of 10 in terms of repairability.

EDIT X2: The link I provided above was actually an updated tear down, one that focused solely on the Retina Display of the new MacBook. Here is the original tear down of the main body.

Maybe you already know about this, but this might be the solution for you:

http://osxdaily.com/2017/02/20/remap-hardware-escape-key-mac/

It seems like he is probably using these: http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Warm-white-high-quality-best-price_864670119.html?spm=a2700.7724857.29.64.3gK79Z They do seem to be some chinese brand I haven't heard of. He might be able to get more efficiency from CREE LEDs or another more experienced brand, But i seriously doubt he is getting 9000 lumens out the front as it is. He is using focusing optics instead of reflectors, so light emitted towards the sides of the LEDs is just being wasted. Furthermore I seriously doubt that the LEDs make the rated output, and I don't know if his battery source is up to the current draw.

The previous person mentioned Plex, but without enough detail to answer your question. Plex is free software that runs on your pc and lets you stream to the Roku. It is a very nice addition.

https://plex.tv/

You can use this cable to get a decent mic instead of just the audio cable provided to connect it to your PC or PS4 controller

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X4JZQ3H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_axo3FbR9VTF8N

I'm telling you, the XM4s are the best wireless noise cancelling headphones right now. Just get it.

Dell has a decent computer recycling program though. And Greenpeace thinks Apple is the worst company in the world, environmentally.

(and I admit, they're not a great organization to be quoting, but still... worth noting.)

That's rapidly changing, though. The cost of SSDs has dropped dramatically over just a few years. Here's a 1TB Crucial SSD for $118.99. Samsung 1TB for $147. Just a few years ago, 1TB SSDs were easily $300+ even from the cheapest brand.

The base model Kindle ($79.99) doesn't have a light! That said, the Kindles with lights don't have *back*lights, they're *front*lights, in that the lights are pointed down onto the Kindle's screen rather than up into one's eyes; this is why Kindles (and other eReaders) generally don't cause eyestrain the way iPads/tablets can (or, at least, not to the same degree). Also, you can turn the light down almost all the way. It never technically turns off, but at in my dark bedroom at night I don't see any light if I turn it down to 1, and you're supposed to turn the light down in darker environments and up in brighter ones.

But yes, there is a model without a light at all.

Here is a video that kind of illustrates the basic concept. When I was in middle school we were just messing around, and covered the one in my bedroom with foil to see what would happen. We touched the foil, and it shocked us. We then decided to connect the wire to direct the current. It kind of works like a really weak taser. If you touch the top of your nail, it will instantly burn a hole the size of a pin through the nail... And make your house smell like death.

> If the big players aren't doing it, I'm guessing there's a really good reason.

3.5 mm jack. Oh look.

I use my Raspberry Pi 3 as a custom DNS server which blocks ads on my entire network. Very efficient and cheap.

It requires a bit of technological knowledge to set up. But in a world where every device show ads, it is such a nice thing to have.

It blocks, Ads on my Smart TV like youtube etc, blocks ads in my phones apps, browsers. All devices where you can't normally block ads without a lot of hassle.

Also called: https://pi-hole.net/

2.0 http://hackaday.com/2015/10/10/the-usb-killer-version-2-0/

He's even talking about making it where it would hold data like a regular USB and having a real and fake password (stated in comments). If someone took it from you and plugged it into their machine and then tried to get the password from you....you give them the fake password and it does its thing.

Received mine the other day and has been eagerly watching it close. It's a promising product.

They did run into some problems and made a few mistakes, but nothing seriously and nothing compared to other Kickstarters.

It's clear they are busy, as their site doesn't seem 100% ready for launch and are missing some more information and tricks.

I was missing some tips on the cartridges, like eg. remember to write the name of the plant on the white label, yes I know it seems obvious, but not the first time :)

Whats the price on refills and when will they be on the store.

Whats with the Activation code?

What about mint?

What are the grow time on the different types of plants? How long should you expect them to deliver usable harvest.

Can you use your own soil, if you are you are out of cartridges and is there anything you should be aware off?

What's with the different lamp position? Where should it be a start and should I move it underway.

When should you remove the small dome?

You aim this for people, who doesn't have lots of knowledge on gardening, but you fail to keep a high level of information, so you need on a proper FAQ / guide.

Also, do take the time to answer people on https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mattiaslepp/smart-herb-garden-by-click-and-grow/posts/788534?ref=dash and https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mattiaslepp/smart-herb-garden-by-click-and-grow/comments - People are getting frustrated by the lack of support. Focus on your current customers, before you start trying to pull new ones in. Happy customers can break or make a small company like yours.

Hi there! I have detected a mobile link in your comment.

Got a question or see an error? PM us.

http://theverge.com/2014/7/31/5954891/best-drone-you-can-buy

^Source ^Code

Look at the pictures, there are two lumps on the cord. One is the battery, one is the mic/buttons. They literally just soldered a bluetooth module onto regular PortaPros.

I'm not complaining though, these look fucking great. If they changed them a bunch I wouldn't be interested. Remember SportaPros? Yeah, neither does anybody else.

Uhm. Engadget?

Edit: I feel funny answering this. It's like someone came up to me, "I hate Pepsi, but I love the way the drink tastes. Are there any Pepsi alternatives?" Is this some kind of trick question?

>Google Airlines?

Google Flights remains the best way to book a flight that I have ever seen.

>Googlebank?

Google Wallet lets you store money with them ^(but there is no interest and the like, so it makes no sense to use it over a Credit Union)

Both of these are involvement in those markets, even if they aren't actually competing in full scale.

if you have an android phone, you can get an app to detect these things

https://github.com/SecUpwN/Android-IMSI-Catcher-Detector

No idea if other mobile os'es have a equivalent of it though.

also, if you wish to know more about what component is to blame for it on your phone, look no further but this link:

http://www.osnews.com/story/27416/The_second_operating_system_hiding_in_every_mobile_phone

its called a baseband processor and its basically satan.

I'm tweaking it now (just aesthetics like the physical frame and tablet placement) and planning on posting it to /r/diy and /r/Android.

It's pretty much a one way mirror with a tablet behind it that shows the time, weather, and your next calendar event in the next 24 hours.

Here's a picture of what it looks like now. I used shitty mirror film so the reflection is tinted. My buddy is currently redoing the glass to make it mirror reflective.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipM7h633NZKfa7DTkgfrzDAfRivVd-LMf9Wda7kZjXDjJZxlawD-SgNbPARnmeNSIQ/photo/AF1QipOB55VXsXFueH4vBVBFqfAyb-jrH_hBzxQNbuD5?key=ZGVPaTZLODY2QnY3RkJnN3hhR3ZVR1FvZm9KbHpB

Hopefully automoderator likes this link better.