Category: hardware
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Using USB SSD on 2014 MacMini
Best Buy dropped the Mac Mini price by $100. Open-box versions got an additional 10% off. So the low-end MGEM2LL/A version was as low as $355. I had a $40 gift card, so I figured why not. I needed an Apple desktop at home anyway to replace a broken one from 2007 MB138LL/A. This Mac…
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Anker SoundBuds Bluetooth Earbuds
I got tired of waiting for the Apple Airbuds to become available. On top of that, they are $160. It’s no surprise, it is an Apple product and I am looking forward to using the W1 chip for easy hand-off between Apple products. I’ve been without a bluetooth headset since losing my old LG HBS-730.…
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Expanding Storage on Synology DS1815+
I still have about half of my storage available on my Synology DS1815+ NAS and I’m only using 5 of the 8 bays. But I no longer needed my Synology DS212J. This was using 2x 4TB HGST Coolspin hard drives. I had it configured for a RAID0 to back up data off the DS1815+. I…
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Western Digital Elements WDBU6Y0020EESN
Staples recently had Western Digital Elements 2TB on sale for $60. I just got a new 2016 Macbook Pro, I figured I need an external drive for backups (Time Machine) as well as a storage drive. Now $60 for a 2TB portable drive is a very good price. I jumped on it and received it…
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Surprise! 2016 MacBook Pro MLH42LL – first thoughts
I’ve been on MacOS since 2003. It’s a great platform to use and develop on. I’ve had three Macbook Pros (2006, 2009, 2011). The 2006 still runs but runs very slow and is no longer supported. I gave the 13″ 2009 to my wife. My 2011 died late 2015. Now I’m without a Mac to…
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Surface Pro 4 Review
I recently traded in my old 2011 MacBook Pro at the Microsoft Store for a gift card. I then used it to put towards a Surface Pro. Here is some background before I proceed. I am a web developer that works on PHP and some .Net stuff as well as use databases. I was primarily…
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Upgrading from iPhone 6 Plus to iPhone 7 Plus
It’s been two long years since I got a new iPhone. It’s been a year since I bought a new cell phone (Nexus 6P). I’ve been bouncing back and forth between iOS and Android and now I’ll be committing to the Apple ecosystem – well mostly. What’s new? The antenna line on the back, below…
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Synology DS1815+
For many years I’ve been toying with different platforms to solve my local storage needs. I’ve used Windows Home Server and Freenas. Both have great features and drawbacks. I wanted to focus on the following features that I feel neither Windows or Freenas do a good job on. Support for users on different operating systems and…
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Vanwalk 15-in-1 GoPro Accessory Kit
I recently got a good deal on a GoPro Hero+ so I decided to pick one up. It’s my first GoPro so I don’t have much plans for it yet. I wanted to use it as a HD webcam but to my surprise, you can’t. At least not without a lot of setting up and…
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The Nexus 6P Is Near Perfect
My experience with the Samsung S6 has been a shaky one. I went through 3 different ones before nearly switching back to iOS. I tried out the S6 Edge for a few weeks then I returned it. It took great photos but battery life and the device got a bit warm for my taste. Not…