TITAM - Technical issues that affected me

Big fan of Seidio cases, but not that thrilled with the Surface for the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus.  I decided to try an Encased Rebel instead. Construction:  Both two part outer hard shells with one-part inner liners.  If you don't like this, tough - it seems it's the only option these days for the larger phones.  Seidio liner is a little thinner. Size:  Seidio is a little slimmer.  The holsters are not interchangeable due to the difference in thickness. Fit:  Seidio case halves slide on easily - so easily, in fact, that the bottom half has detached and started to come off the case five times already.  The Encased has more friction, making it more of a job to take on and off, but no risk it will spontaneously come apart. (Yes, the Seidio does have a "latch" to keep the case halves together.  It doesn't work well.  I was considering using double-sided tape to keep it from falling apart.) Appearance:  Seidio is "smooth" and "s...

I recently purchased 2 of these to secure items outdoors.  I was rather surprised at some things when they showed up, so I thought this info might be useful to somebody. I purchased the Anchor 14, and not the Anchor 10, because I was worried that the 10 might not fit my security chain.  My chain is 7/16" and I intend to put a sleeve over it, if I can.  I also wanted the 4-point mounting of the Anchor 14. (I read someplace that some consider the 10 to be superior because the baseplate resists prying attacks better.  I can't fathom how this might work, so I didn't care.) What I didn't appreciate from the product descriptions and photos was just how BIG this thing is!  It's HUGE!  In fact, it is so big I can stick my fist right through it!  I am admittedly a small guy, but still, that is impressive. One of the reasons is that the bracket proper is fixed to two 10mm metal standoffs, which raise the bar further off of the mounting surface.  I'm...

Source:  Amazon (Canada) Fit:  Fits stock L959 once rear axle hex nuts are removed. Pros:  Chrome finish.  Pre-glued.  Foam inserts.  Car rides on middle 2/3 of tire, not edges.  Much better rear-end grip, car actually steers rather than skids out, rears stick better than fronts.  Car no longer bottoms out.  Top speed is faster, acceleration better due to improved grip.  Jumps can be more interesting since fat rears lead to interesting takeoffs. Cons:  High-speed turns may be wider since rear end doesn't skid into turns any more and fronts tend to skid sooner, leading to understeer.  Car flips more easily since rear tires grip rather than slide.  Bigger diameter means motor works slightly harder and may not last as long.  Car doesn't handle curb jumping as well: big soft rear tires tend to bounce on takeoff, flipping car end for end.  Arguably not as much fun since it is extremely hard to slide th...

Available from:  eBay Canada (seller: fopower ) Fit:  Fit stock L959 setup. Pros:  Foam inserts.  Much better rear-end grip, car actually steers rather than skids out, rears stick better than fronts.  Car no longer bottoms out.  Top speed is faster, acceleration better due to improved grip.  Jumps can be more interesting since fat rears lead to interesting takeoffs.  Good pricing, you get four instead of two. Cons:  Not pre-glued, you need to glue them.  High-speed turns may be wider since rear end doesn't skid into turns any more and fronts tend to skid sooner, leading to understeer.  Car flips more easily since rear tires grip rather than slide, and without new rear spacers the rear wheels tend to sit a little too far in.  Huge diameter means motor works harder and may not last as long.  Car hesitates frequently due to thermal overload, especially on grass.  Car doesn't handle curb jumping as well: big soft ...

A media player is to your media library what a DVD player is to your DVD library - a way to transfer your media so you can watch it. This is basically what the X8-H Plus and other similar devices are supposed to do for you, and that's why I got it.  So this review is going to be all about that.  If you want to know how to take advantage of the secondary features (games, Plex, whatever) you can look at the other reviews. I tried the X8 out because it was one-third the cost of a barebones Brix PC.  Since it's a single-purpose device intended to only drive my home theater, I figured - why not?  Yeah, the PC can be upgraded (until parts go obsolete in 2 years) and could do additional things (like recording) at additional cost, but that's not what I need. So how does it do?  Pretty damn well, as it turns out.  In short, I haven't had a single issue with it so far, and it seems at least as good - if not superior - to a roll-your-own media cent...

In many ways, smartphones and tablets are struggling to meet their potential.  In my opinion, nowhere is this more evident than in the grocery shopping application. (Note I used to use ToMarket, then stopped using it because it was not handy any more.) --- Everyone thinks of shopping apps as a 'simple' application.  It is anything but simple.  It is, in fact, quite a problem in information management. The ideal shopping app would theoretically have all of the features below: -  Very quick app setup -  Enter large amounts of information quickly -  Create lists quickly, including remembering recurring/favorite items -  Track items by category, store, and location -  Determine total cost from a given list -  Guide you through the store quickly and efficiently -  Track coupons, discounts, and sales -  Sync shopping lists across multiple devices -  Add ingredients from recipies instantly To accomplish this, you n...

Title says most of it.  My old HP keyboard wore out, or at least the 'E' key was on the way out.  It was also generally getting sticky and harder to type on than I liked. Of course, I wanted a full mechanical keyboard as a replacement.  I can spend 10+ hours per day on the PC.  This is hardly unusual these days, I think. Also of course, I wanted a PS/2 keyboard that worked with my old Trendnet KVM - a TK-400, to be precise.  This is a circa 2001 unit that has been working fine for me for years, and since I have 3-4 PCs hooked up at any given time I really did want to keep it. Anyway, after much hunting and pondering of a Das Keyboard, I foud the Adesso MKB-135B .  This is a fully mechanical keyboard with Cherry Blue switches, n-key rollover, blah blah but more importantly, it's a PS/2 native unit.  It comes with a USB adapter, and has a built-in USB hub that needs a USB connection to work, but first and foremost it's a PS/2 keyboard. It's avail...

(OK, so this is not technically a technical issue.  So sue me.) I had the good fortune of going to Japan recently, with somebody else paying the bills.  As a Fortune 500, it was their policy to fly business class on any flight over 6 hours, and I was not going to complain. On a whim, I upgraded myself on the outbound flight to first class.  It was about $650 for the upgrade as a last-chance, while-you-are-checking-in sort of thing.  I figured that I'd never get another chance to fly first class for 12 hours for $700, so I took it. As it happened, the flight back was full so I was demoted to "only" business class.  As the two flights were five days apart, I can now say for sure what the differences are: Not much, but some. Both flights were Boeing 777-200s, with 8 first-class seats and 40 business class.  The following probably won't apply to other types of jets, unless they are of comparable class.  Certainly not the little Skywest commuters ...

So two years ago, my car got stuck in a snowdrift.  In my defense (and that of my car), more than half the city got stuck that day. Ironically, by 1:00 pm it had gotten so warm out that ALL the snow had melted.  If I'd known, I would have walked home and come back 3 hours later to drive the car away. (It also made those people who took a "snow day" and stayed home from work look a bit silly.) My car is equipped with the best snow tires money can buy, and had 100 lbs of sand in the rear, but they were no match for this snow.  It was heavy, wet, and deep.  The RWD just could not do it. Now, I hate being stuck.  Possibly more than some people, it is a recurring nightmare for me.  I used to own an AWD sports sedan that would not get stuck, period.  In bad weather, I could literally wait for a couple of 4x4s to lay ruts in the medians and follow right along.  I loved that about that car, and the RWD of my current vehicle is the only thing I dis...