3Tcubed's stats
- Review count215
- Helpfulness votes1,598
- First reviewJanuary 3, 2014
- Last reviewJuly 10, 2025
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- Average rating4.4
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- Answer count72
- Helpfulness votes46
- First answerJanuary 10, 2015
- Last answerJanuary 12, 2022
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Control and view your garage door from anywhere with Wyze Garage Door Controller. Whether you're letting someone in or trying to keep others out, you can remotely open and close your garage door with just a tap in the Wyze app. Get notified when your garage door is left open and close it quickly in the app or with Alexa and Google Assistant. There’s no need to replace your existing garage door opener, Wyze Garage Door Controller works with your existing equipment and installation is a breeze. Stream 1080p HD video in full color, even at night, with the award-winning Wyze Cam v3. Get notified when motion is detected, record 24/7 with local microSD storage, even set off a mini-siren to scare off intruders. Oher smart controllers use short-lived battery sensors. Wyze Garage Door Controller uses AI vision-sensing on the included Wyze Cam v3 to know whether your garage door is open or closed. No monthly battery changes needed.Schedule your garage door to close automatically if you accidentally left it open. Create automations to make life easier like: "turn on Wyze Floodlight when I open the garage door at night.”
Customer Rating
5
An interesting approach, that works!
on September 30, 2022
Posted by: 3Tcubed
I’ve used several garage door monitors/controllers. This Wyse Garage Door controller is by far the most flexible. It’s garage door opener agnostic (meaning it can also be used with most existing garage door openers, not just the one that is made by your Garage door opener manufacturer). I’ve also had garage door open/close monitors (tilt sensors that transmit), that have limited functionality. This Wyse garage door controller combines the smarts of a smart doorbell with the intelligence of a smart camera. The part I find interesting, is the camera monitors a QR code you adhere to the inside of your garage door (away from any windows). If this QR code moves it knows the garage door has opened. It also detects motion/sound from within the garage and can alert you of either/both. It has a micro sdcard slot to record events/photos locally (supports up to 128gb cards (must be FAT or exFat formatted). It can also send information to Wyse’s cloud (did limited testing of this as I was more interested in this as a door open/close monitor than I was for motion detection.
I ended up mounting my camera at the back end of my garage, and wired the controller function directly to my existing doorbell button, used to open/close my 2 garage openers (Chamberlin & Stanley). I could have mounted it on my ceiling but I wanted to have a wider view of my garage. This made placement of the QR code a little more tricky, but it still worked fine. The door controller opens and closes a dry contact that has the same effect as pushing a doorbell (closing the circuit). It also flashes a white light and emits a noise when the button has been triggered remotely (from the Wyse app). I was very pleased to see how many features the app has, to adjust motion/sound sensitivity, and to mask off camera areas for motion detection. Before I did this, every car that drove by caused reflected light to bounce in my garage windows causing false motion. By excluding the windows from the motion area the problem was solved. I initially had the sound monitoring sensitivity way up, passing school buses and big trucks triggered the sound detection, turning this down to 40% eliminated these false alerts. So in under an hour I was able to de-tune the camera/sound monitor so that it worked exactly as I wanted it to.
I was delivered notifications within a second or two, certainly faster than the garage door opens (~`15s). The quality of the HD images captured are pretty good (a little over exposed looking into bright sunlight), but the auto aperture adjustment does a good job of capturing a quality image (2 sent to me attached). The quality of the night vision is not as good, more of a grainy BW, but the camera has 4 IR leds (more red than true IR), which improves the near illumination (12’-15’). No worse than any of the smart doorbells I’ve used.
There are many additional features that really improve this device, there are multiple rules and interfaces to other devices/systems with the ability to relay T3 & T4 (smoke and CO2 alarms). You can share alerts with multiple users. I should mention it can only be used with a 2.4Ghz WiFi network (not 5Ghz). I encountered few problems getting it set up, and its working just fine. Now I can use my smart phone to tell me if my garage door is currently opened or closed. And I can now open or close the door from anywhere (if my home WiFi is working); and the camera capturing who goes in/out is big bonus. This Wyse garage door controller/camera combination is a great value that works exceptionally well.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Don’t let the battery of your device die as you work throughout the day. The Insignia NS-PW330C1W22 30W USB-C Compact Wall Charger for MacBook Air, iPad and More has a high, 30-watt output to quickly charge your MacBook Air, iPad, smartphone, tablet and more. Its compact and durable body with a foldable plug easily fits into a purse or pocket, ready for when you need it. A simple white design pairs well with your other accessories. Keep your MacBook Air working as hard as you do with this easy-to-carry charger.
Posted by: 3Tcubed
I was at my daughter’s house, where her two kids both have well protected iPads. I was pleased to see how well the kids treat the iPads. Their only frustration is when the get low batteries, and or they die. With the supplied apple charger (she has one 5w and one 10w, that came with the iPads). Some time the 5w charger won’t have fully charged the iPad in 8 hrs. Needless to say, the kids are impatient, and will use their iPads while charging, which means with a 5w charger it’s tough to catch up. The 10w is a bit better. Since Apple finally started shipping iPads with 12w chargers, to better compete with Samsung's faster power delivery system (USB-C). Now their newest ship with 20w, but they have been slow to supply better/faster chargers (and their faster chargers are much bigger). On the up side this is so easy to fix, with third party modern chargers like this Insignia 30w charger (they have others that are more powerful with multiple charging ports). The iPad air was the first apple product to ship with a USB-C charging port, but earlier products with lightning connectors can still take advantage of more powerful chargers.
Chargers with higher wattages can deliver more power faster, USB-C chargers all also offer power delivery/fast charging, where the charging product can request that the charger send a higher voltage than the default 5v (7.5,10,15,20v…) these higher voltages allow the charging device to charge much more quickly (up to 4-5x faster) especially with smart batteries that charge the first 80% as fast as possible, and then trickle charge the last 20%, which helps preserve battery life and prevents over charging. Smart lithium-ion batteries are a far cry from the nicad batteries from the 90’s. These new batteries in combination with smart chargers like this 30w Insignia charger are not only faster, but they are batter for the batteries than dumb constant voltage chargers.
As an experiment I completely de-charged my iPad and my iPad Air to see how long it would take each to reach 80% with this charger. The iPad took 95 minutes, but my iPad Air only took 52 minutes (I know the iPad Air uses later/better higher power charging (and has a larger battery). Both took over 60 minutes to get to a full 100%. I de-charged the iPad and repeated the test with apples 12w charger, and it took 280 minutes to get to 80%, almost 3 times longer, and 100 more to get to 100%.
You need to think of the wire from the charger as being a straw, if the charger has a lower wattage the straw is smaller, you can only get so much thought. A smarter charger with more wattage provides a bigger straw that can expand as requested by the device to be charged to get wider, to charge faster (a combination of Ohm’s law and Watts law if you are really interested in why).
In any case this higher wattage fast charges will charge you smart devices faster and more efficiently. And it smaller and lighter than most others with a fold in plug as a nice safer bonus. An all-around winner (hope the grand kids appreciate it).
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The G705 Wireless Optical Gaming Mouse from The Aurora Collection is a compact wireless mouse designed to put the power of play in your hands with a contoured fit, soft RGB lighting, and gaming-grade tech. The sculpted design of the G705 makes the perfect companion for all-day, all-out play. This small wireless mouse is purpose-built for smaller hands and welcomes the palm, claw grip and fingertips of all kinds of players. Logitech Wireless Gaming Mouse lets you escape to anywhere, from everywhere, with a USB-C rechargeable, 40-hr battery life (while gaming with full lighting), LIGHTSPEED wireless, and Bluetooth connectivity.
Posted by: 3Tcubed
The Logitech G705 is a nice wireless gaming mouse, that you can also use as a wired mouse, but Logitech does not promote it this way. Like many new Logitech products, it pairs and gets configured with the Logitech G Hub. Having used several other G products, I already had the G Hub installed. I used the USB-C connector on the supplied cable to connect the mouse to my notebook. It was immediately recognized as a G705 mouse and a driver was installed. The G Hub indicated the mouse was 48% charged. It also indicated that the firmware was up to date.
I proceeded to let charge to 100%, and used the hub to change some of the color setting and the 3 preset DPI setting (up to 8200 DPI), that can be selected from the button behind the scroll wheel. The two buttons on the side of the mouse can also be set to key combinations or shortcuts for your ‘gaming’ needs.
The primary claim to fame of the G705 is it’s RGB lighting. This lighting is only visible from the rear of the mouse. The bottom of the mouse is solid with 2 oversized ‘Teflon’ pads (don’t try to remove these, they look like white shiny stickers) and an on/off with and a button for BT pairing. The G705 can be pair wirelessly via Bluetooth or the Logitech “Lightspeed” USB wireless adapter. I tried both, and both were nearly as quick and accurate as the wired connection. But I find the wire gets in the way at the worst times, I’ve got to blame my losses on something. Well using either wireless connection I’ve lost an excuse. The White Mist mouse looks very nice, it only weighs 3oz (85g) and is supposed to get 40h of battery life from a single charge. The charge time is underwhelming, keep the charging cable handy. Logitech bills the mouse as small compact gaming mouse.
I wish it was a bigger with longer battery life. I think the light weight, and small size makes it a bit small for my everyday use. For my XL hands have used the M650 and M510 which I find are a better all day fit. And for gaming the G502/Hero has better specs, but no BT or RGB lighting. Its gaming performance is excellent I tried it with Rainbow 6 Siege and Minecraft and found no lag, the mechanical mouse clicking was very satisfactory.
I wish it was a bigger with longer battery life. I think the light weight, and small size makes it a bit small for my everyday use. For my XL hands have used the M650 and M510 which I find are a better all day fit. And for gaming the G502/Hero has better specs, but no BT or RGB lighting. Its gaming performance is excellent I tried it with Rainbow 6 Siege and Minecraft and found no lag, the mechanical mouse clicking was very satisfactory.
I could easily use the G705 as a gaming travel mouse, but it’s small size, will likely find me reaching for another for daily use. I like the RGB effects, it a great looking mouse, with some compromises due to its small size.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The Homedics 21" drift sandscape elevates your space and mind, leaving you free to daydream, focus, and create. The metal sphere takes your eyes on a soothing journey through hundreds of ever changing patterns and colors. Customize your ambience with mesmerizing LED mood-lights that you can control from the app. The shifting sands allow you to drift whenever and wherever, to increase relaxation, inspire creativity, boost your mood, and enhance focus. Start to drift in 4 easy steps. After a quick and easy assembly, power up your sandscape by plugging it into an outlet near a desk or side table. Download the app and follow the simple setup instructions, then turn on your sandscape to drift and invite calm in.
Posted by: 3Tcubed
Drift is a very interesting product. I got the larger 21” version, and it’s bigger than I expected, I’ve placed it on top of my wife’s baby grand piano, where due to it’s 6” height, it might be a little too high for those that are altitude challenged to see. I might need to find a shorter table so that it’s easier to observe. The whole point of drift is to provide relaxation. It was very easy to set up, pour the 2 bags of fine white sand into the round “sand field” which has a bit of texture to it. The unit comes with a card which has “teeth” in it to smooth the sand out. You don’t need to be very accurate, as once you run it for a few hours, the sand will find its own level. You then drop the ball bearing onto the sand and put the glass cover on top on (I suggested to my wife we leave the cover off and see what the cat does, she did not think that it was funny as this is pretty expensive to let the cat at it, for whatever purpose). There is a single power adapter that gets connected to it and there are two buttons on it that may never get used once you install the app. An on/off button and a switch which manually causes the color to change/turn off.
There is an iOS and Android app that you will use for control. First you have to pair it with Bluetooth, the name of my unit was not intuitive, something like: KS45673455, and any time I go back in the app I have to reselect the device (a bug they should fix, I notified them). They have over 120 patterns defined, you can select one at a time or set up a play list (which is limited to 20 patterns?) You can setup any number of named playlists, but only one can be current. Why it won’t just pick and play the favorites you’ve selected I don’t understand. You can schedule it to come on and off at a selected time on every day of the week. But you can’t define a playlist to be used each day.
The status screen will tell you what its doing, what color light is selected and what percentage of the drawing is done. You can set the speed that it draws, and the brightness of the surrounding LEDs. You can also define what how the LEDs change colors, from what to what… All easy to do.
Once you’ve selected a pattern it begins to draw, between drawings, it may “clean” surface. And you can have it pause after each drawing is complete. They say it is soothing to watch the ball move silently across the table, but in all honesty, you can hear this thing “quietly” moving the ball from across the room. Maybe the white noise it makes is soothing, but you can hear it.
Once you’ve selected a pattern it begins to draw, between drawings, it may “clean” surface. And you can have it pause after each drawing is complete. They say it is soothing to watch the ball move silently across the table, but in all honesty, you can hear this thing “quietly” moving the ball from across the room. Maybe the white noise it makes is soothing, but you can hear it.
It is definitely is interesting to watch, it does relax you. The patterns are pretty detailed, if you don’t know what to expect, you end up guessing what it might do next, like it has a mind of its own. Very quickly a couple of minutes go by, then a couple more, and it is doing it job. I found several other minor issues with the Drift app, I contacted their support email about each, I never got any responses.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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JBuds Air Pro are your DAILY DRIVER. Imagine you put in your earbuds in the morning and they go with you through your day without a thought. From work calls on your laptop, to listening to a podcast on your mobile, to walking the dog and watching a movie. You need headphones that are versatile as you. Who says you can’t you wear the same earbuds for both work and play?
Posted by: 3Tcubed
I think this is my ninth set of BT wireless earbuds. Only because they keep getting better. This is my 4 pair of JLabs, and each pair improves over the previous, in one or more ways. Jlabs positions themselves as a value brand, but boy their sound quality keeps improving. Jlabs claims each earbud will last +9h in a charge and the case can charge them 3 times giving a total of 36h battery life (9h+27h from charging case). I fully charged, and updated my firmware before trying them out. I had no problem pairing them with my iPhone 12 pro. I then ran them through JLabs burn in tool overnight (looks like they lasted ~8h 40m), just short of the 9h quoted lifespan, and then I recharged them. I already had the JLabs Sound app installed and my Air Pro Earbuds were immediately recognized, and my battery level showed 100% on each earbud. The software provides a 10 band equalizer, which is awesome. They have 3 predefined curves (Signature, Balanced and Base Boost that are good starting points to defined and save your own presets. You can easily move between defined curves to compare the variances. The Signature was the closest to my preference.
Now on to the important part, how do they sound and fit. I generally move to the next larger rubber earbud surround, but after testing I found the standard set worked just fine for me. JLab used to provide a blue foam spongy tip, it seems they no longer do. I had a pair from what I had previously, they they fit fine in the Air Pro's; I prefer them for longer listening, but the silicon that came with them were fine, they didn't feel loose and the sound seal seemed good. These earbuds are slightly smaller and lighter (with longer battery life) than the prior generation.
Now on to music, I started with Traffic's Live (On The Road), The Low Spark and High Heeled Boys, the instruments each sounded clear, the horns throught out were very airy, the earbuds presented a great multi-dimensional sound stage. Each instrument coming from it's own location. The voice being precisely center stage. The Bass was the only thing that seemed a bit lacking, but with this live performance the sound is much different than the original recording I'm more accustomed to.
I then went to Pink Floyd's beautiful DSOTM (Live from Immersion Edition). Speak to Me sounded great, the volume level was wonderful, opening up the subtle notes of the song. I had the volume at about 90% volume knowing they could be louder. The subtle tones were great, and as the song builds it had real presence. The highs in Time were tremendous, these earbuds provide an excellent sharp/crisp high end. Then Great Gig In the sky's ethereal voices, wisp around the soundstage with the bass just a little weak, but still a nice balance. Money plows in with a very real entry, I turned up the volume to 100% and it was still perfectly clear. But it was even better louder. Us and Them was most tremendous, it got me turning my head, like I could hear the different instruments right in front of me. As we ended with Eclipse I felt like the little voices in my head would persist, but they faded away, as usual.
Then went to Boston's first album; More than a feeling was forward, and the bass felt very natural with airy highs. On Foreplay/Long time the fade in/out fade had great separation and was excellent. The subtle build up was nearly perfect. And the bass was better on this album; deep but not over done. Here I tried using equalizer, I loved having all the the options. The bass boost was nice but I quickly tired of it. I tapped the earbuds to advance the song, it work as I expected. The touch controls can be programmed as you desire (a great feature usually only found on more expensive products). The software can also control what Jlabs calls Be Aware, where some outside sounds are brought into the sound stream of the earbuds. You can set a percentage that "passes" thought. This was somewhat effective, but at louder music levels the effect diminishes. I went outside, with Be Aware set to 0%, and could not hear birds over the music, with Be Aware set to 90%, during quite passages I could hear the birds, but not when it was much louder. So I'm not sure how effective it is.
I'm very happy that Jlabs provides a burnin tool, I've used others to break earbuds, headphones and speakers before. I love that they provide a full graphic equalizer, it works superbly. This earbud version does not have Automatic Noise Cancelation, another model does if it's important to you (airplane travel is the only place I use it).
These exceptional earbuds for the price, I've recently tried others 4x the price that I would not say sounded any better. These are close to the best earbuds I've ever used; better highs, with some bass trade offs. After using them all day, I found them very comfortable, (I'd still prefer the blue memory form inserts). But after wearing them nearly all day I rarely thought about them (other than how nice they sounded).
Jlabs has built another great reasonable priced set of earbuds. I like the new case with the hidden charging cord. The case can't be charged wirelessly (that would be another step up). But for sounds quality alone these are excellent.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The Dell G 15 laptops are designed for entry-level to mainstream gamers, featuring the latest AMD processors, powerful NVIDIA GeForce discrete graphics, a range of storage and memory options, sharp high-resolution displays that can be viewed at any angle, and dual fans for cooling.
Posted by: 3Tcubed
I have a Dell G5, their first "entry level" gaming laptop (about 2 yrs old), this laptop is the latest in the G generation. The G series is a step down from their Alienware series of products. How much of a step down is getting more and more debatable. In general the innards of the G series can all be upgraded to have the same or similar performance as Alienware machines. The external case of the G series, does not have the same quality hallmarks of the lighter/stronger Alienware products, so similar products in the G series will weight a bit more (5.3-5.5 lbs). What you can't get is thunderbolt output, USB4, a touchscreen, fingerprint reader, high res camera or a 4K screen. If you can live without these keep reading. You can't order the G15 from Dell with more than 16GB (DDR5) memory or a 1TB m.2 SSD (but these are user upgradable, more on this later).
System setup went pretty smoothly. I believe G15s now ship with Windows 11 Home. You must have a registered account with Microsoft to install Win 11, previously this was not mandatory, it is not now. Windows 11 no longer requires Cortana to be installed by default, it's now optional. You must have internet access to complete the installation. If you have already have a MS account, you can optionally bring over numerous settings used on your previously machine (browser settings etc.), it brings over desktop icons even thought those applications are not installed (not sure how this is helpful). In any case part of Dell's windows installation includes checking for BIOS updates, and installing them with the first reboot (so do the installation with the system plugged in (not on battery alone)). After that I ran Windows Update, it requires a couple of reboots to complete all the updates. The full install/updates process took about 15 minutes.
My G15 display is Full HD (1920x1080), 120Hz which delivers a stable, clear output (much clearer with fast moving objects one the screen) and pretty good color resolution. The G15's ship with DDR5 (4800Mhz). I've been anxious to try a machine with DDR5, but beware DDR5 memory cost about twice as much as DDR4 sells for. When DDR5 was first released it was more like 3x, but it's been dropping in price. The 8GB machines ship with a single channel populated, the 16GB machines are dual channel (2x8GB SODIMMs). Dual channel memory access is by design faster than single channel access. Note this machine does not have a memory card reader (you can easily add one to one of the USB ports) don't understand this omission, but there are 4 USB ports (3 USB-A, 1 USB-C, two on back, two on right side). I ordered the smallest memory and disk that I could get with the intention of upgrading the memory and SSD myself. Before I did so I tried running Adobe Photoshop on the base 8GB memory with a 24mp raw image. First without the Nvidia card. It took 32s to get the cursor back. With the Nvidia card it took 26s to get the cursor back. Not bad, but on the slow side, as expected with 8GB memory. And having done this before, I knew I was going to clone the existing SSD. But Windows 11 comes with BitLocker (disk encryption) enabled. You can't directly clone a BitLocker encrypted drive and expect it to work. So disable encryption before cloning your drive. I cloned my 512MB ssd to a 1TB ADATA m.2 gen 3 SSD (2280 size).
My upgrade has me adding 16GB DDR5 memory (Crucial) which should bring me to 24GB total memory. The bottom of the case has 8 small philips head screws (yea, easy to open), the two on the top, and two on the bottom remove completely, the 4 on the sides don't come out completely, the actually help you pop the case open. I have to applaud Dell for keeping this simple, with no special tools required, nothing glued or stuck down with special adhesives. Once opened I immediately saw the open SODIMM slot, readily accessible. I popped my 16GB SODIMM into the open slot, it clicked into place as expected (yea). I also saw the Dell m.2 SSD (2230 size, half the length of a 2280), on the bottom left of the motherboard. I expected to find a second SSD connector to the right side of the motherboard, but there was not a second connector. So I'll be using my cloned drive alone where the existing 2230 drive is connected. My last 2 images show the MB w/original ssd installed and lack of SSD connector on right side (but mounting hardware). Dell allows you to move the screw connector that holds the SSD in place, it requires a little effort to move it but you must do this if you move from the short 2230 m.2 SSD to a 2280 length. I'm not sure if the left and right SSD positions both support GEN4 m.2 SSDs. I contacted Dell and did not get a clear answer, as to why both SSD connectors were not present, and which supported GEN4 devices (BTW the Dell online service manual for the 5525 shows two SSD connectors). But the 512GB drive that was included in my machine was definitely a GEN3 SSD. So I chose to use the same in my upgrade. The Dell SSD has a heat spreader attached to it with another screw you need to remove. I added a thin copper/graphene heat sink (1.5mm) ontop of my new SSD, it fit with room to spare. I closed things up, and powered it back on. After a bit of a delay, the BIOS recognised the change in memory, which must be acknowledged, and I was back in business.
Back to Photoshop with the same image and 24GB memory (and a possibly faster SSD). Without the Nvidia card it took 20s to get the cursor back. With the Nvidia card it took 14s to get the cursor back. Close to twice as fast. Just what I wanted to see. I did some Mpeg video encoding, and this laptop is faster than my 2 year old desktop I use for video (with a video card that cost almost what this machine cost). Photoshop is now highly optimized to take advantage of multiple CPU cores, the Ryzen 5 has 6 CPUs with 12 cores. The performance of today's GPU and modern processors continues to advance rapidly. I tried a few steam games, and found each was smooth and the display looked pretty good (not as good as my OLED display) but for the money great. I finally got the laptop's fan to kick in, and it's noticeable. But it never kicked in until I ran some games for over 15 minutes (your mileage may very). The keyboard has a nice backlit orange with 3 levels of brightness (the color is not changeable on my G15, I believe there is a version that Dell offers with full RGB backlighting).
All told a very nice, upgradable machine, with good performance.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Twinkly Dots are designed with an innovative flat, matte head to reach impressive brightness levels and perfect color tones, while offering the versatility of classic LED light strings with a refined look and feel of premium decorative lighting. The light string measures 33 feet in length with 200 RGB LED lights. Getting started with Twinkly Dots is super easy, a quick and intuitive setup process configures your device in a matter of seconds. The Twinkly ecosystem uses a Bluetooth and Wi-Fi controller with a state-of-the-art smartphone application, bringing new levels of lighting design and creativity to customize your connected home. Like all Twinkly products, every single LED light can be controlled individually, allowing you to create and reproduce unique effects, gradients, and color animations. Twinkly Dots can be grouped together with other Twinkly devices to create larger, synchronized light installations and combined with Twinkly Music (sold separately), to offer a fully customizable light show for all occasions.
Customer Rating
4
Another great Twinkly product
on July 24, 2022
Posted by: 3Tcubed
This is my 11th Twinkly product, I now have 2,700 controlled lights. I'll start with my complaints, the diagram on the box makes it look like 1 string with 200 connected lights, when infact you get a controller in the middle of 2 sets of 100 lights (this makes placement much more difficult). Second I only received 45 adhesive dots for my 200 lights. I was going to place them pointing down under a long shelf, but with an adhesive dot every 4 dots, they drooped; not the effect I wanted. I still might do this with hot glue (pending wife approval). And the two strands complicate how I was going to hide the controller.
I've been using Twinkly products at Christmas, Halloween and 4th of July for 4 years. I really like the quality of their products and the special effects they offer out of the box (and continue to add online) and what can be programmed on your own. These dots are not really that new of a concept but the quality is seconds to none [but I do wish they were IP67 (waterproof) vs IP44 (splashproof)]. As I said I've not placed them where I'd planned to, but I wanted to show you how accurately light mapping works in some of my images.
I had no difficulty getting these dots hooked up to my wifi network, but I do have a dedicated SSID for my Twinkly lights, if you have a lot of lights this is strongly recommended. When I first went over 2,000 lights I contacted their TS to determine how to best support more lights than they "documented". They suggested grouping sets and a dedicated fast wi-fi network. When I set these DOTS up I did not have my other lights connected (what no xmas lights in July?).
Each dot is a little wider than 1/4" and about 1/8" thick, and there is 2" of wire between each dot, so each of the strand of 100 lights is 16' 3" long (first light to last), not exactly what I found documented. The dots have a nice glow to them, they are pretty bright, but with a soft glow. The light only comes out of one side, so mounting them consistently is important to get a clean effect. The supplied double stick adhesive dots do a good job on flat surfaces, but for course surface you have to find another method. I don't understand why they don't supply more adhesive dots than led lights, hopefully this is an oversight and will be corrected. I understand that the lights are available in sets of 50, 200 and 400 with transparent or black wires.
In the images I've showed how the mapping function can be used to identify where each light is located and then larger 2d images can also be used with these dots (not just line effects). I'm fan of Twinkly lights, there are some things they can correct with the 200 dots packaging.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The UAG Rugged Bluetooth Keyboard with Trackpad utilizes a rugged, non-slip exterior and other premium features that represent UAG’s commitment to protection. With Bluetooth connectivity, the rugged keyboard offers a superior laptop-style typing experience and tracking. Featuring a spill-resistant keyboard with comfortably spaced backlit keys. Extra-large multi-touch trackpad with gesture support so you can swipe, tap, pinch, and scroll. Laptop-like experience with the adjustable magnetic stand that offers four viewing modes that let you type, view, sketch, or read. A rechargeable long-lasting battery that allows up to 6 months of battery life (depending on usage). Premium tactical grip exterior provides secure handling. Apple Pencil storage so you can have your Pencil close and handy. Work from anywhere with the UAG Rugged Bluetooth keyboard and detachable case.
Posted by: 3Tcubed
This is the third keyboard case I've acquired for my 10.2" iPad since Apple officially added track pad support. I first tried the Logitech Combo Touch, then the Brydge Max+ and now the UAG. I moved quickly from the Logitech to the Brydge, as it had a better backlighting, a better keyboard, offered better screen positioning. I'd say they both offered about the same protection of the tablet, although the Logitech was an once or so lighter. All keyboard/case combinations I've tried weight more than the iPad tablet does, but all will protect from a 4+ foot fall, something the iPad won't do on it's own. As a content creator, I need a decent keyboard if the iPad is going to be used to create content. On screen typing might be fine when responding to a text or email, but not for writing a multi-page document.
All three cases protect the iPad by enclosing it a "bumpered" surround. The Logitech surround is the heaviest, being all rubber, the Brydge is the lightest providing the least drop protection, and the UAG it a tad larger with better corner protection and a little more lip protection. The UAGs is the easiest to separate the iPad from the keyboard, and it supports BT 5.2 (which pairs slightly faster than BT 5.1). Both the Brydge and the UAGs keyboards offer about 6 months life on a singe charge, which is somewhat longer than the Logitech. The back lighting on the Brydge and the UAG are both brighter than the Logitech, however the UAG supports supports 7 different colors of backlighting, while the Bydge is only white. However the UAGs keyboard can connect and switch between to 2 different devices. I tried this with my iPhone and IPad at the same time and found it to be a pretty nice experience, better than I'd expected. A feature I didn't think much about until I tried it. It's very easy to switch back an forth.
The keyboards on the UAG and the Brydge are both excellent, far better than the Logitech, better key travel, a better feel. The Brydge and the UAG have exactly the same size trackpad, both work very well, the Brydges trackpad is somewhat indented, the UAGs is more smooth, but still some texture difference. The clicking motion of the UAG requires less effort, I prefer it. The bottom left hand key on the Brydge is the "Siri" microphone, this is a Fn key on the UAG. I don't know how many times I've accidentally hit this button on the Brydge, a clear win for the UAG. The Brydge has 2 "iPad" grippers to hold the iPad in place at the bottom and to allow you to adjust the screen, but it's harder to remove if you want to use the iPad alone. The infinite angles of the Brydge is an advantage over the UAG and easier to use on an airplane. But for pure flexibility the UAG may have an advantage, I'll call it a toss-up. In actual keyboard use the UAG keys are smoother and maybe a little larger (less separation between the keys). This will probably be a personal preference issue, again a toss-up. The Brydge and UAG both have a MIL STD 810G 516.6 drop rating, the Bridge claims it will survive a 4' drop, while UAG claims it will survive a 8' drop. There is no doubt the UAG has better surround protection, and it had a magnetic lock to keep it closed. But the UAGs weight is about 8oz greater (22.5oz vs 30.4oz (iPad 17.1oz)). The UAG case is easier to grasp, with some ridges, the Brydge is hard and smooth. Both the Brydge and the UAG have anti-microbial materials, ans spill proof keyboards. For comparison a MacBook Air weights 56.4oz which is more than the UAG+iPad weighs at 47.5oz.
The dual connectivity I can see being an nice advantage, having lugged the Brydge around for almost a year, I can't say it's weight has bothered me, given the flexibility it brought to the party. I feel safer with the UAG, except for use on the tiny tray of a airplane, I'd say I prefer the UAG. The quick disconnect of the UAG is another advantage, considering how I use my iPad. I'd say the UAG has a real winner considering its somewhat less expensive.
The dual connectivity I can see being an nice advantage, having lugged the Brydge around for almost a year, I can't say it's weight has bothered me, given the flexibility it brought to the party. I feel safer with the UAG, except for use on the tiny tray of a airplane, I'd say I prefer the UAG. The quick disconnect of the UAG is another advantage, considering how I use my iPad. I'd say the UAG has a real winner considering its somewhat less expensive.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Get super-portable sound to go. The XG300 wireless speaker plays as hard as you do, with up to 25 hours of battery life and IP67 waterproof and dustproof. Its rich full sound and booming bass are perfect for when you want quality audio that goes wherever you go.
Posted by: 3Tcubed
When I read the specs, I thought I'd found the perfect outdoor party speaker. 2 Tweeters, 2 mid-range X-balanced drivers and 2 passive radiators. It is a reasonable package, weighting in at 6.96 lbs. Don't get me wrong this speaker sounds great, turned all the way up the sound is crisp, un-muddled and decent bass; even without Mega bass. As soon as I got it I took it out to my pool. And played Boston's first album. The sound I was expecting to hear was there, but not like I was hoping for. There was no perceivable stereo separation. I was expecting to hear sounds from the right and left. The sounds were full and crisp with some low end presence, considering I was in a large outdoor space. I moved from left to right while the speaker was playing and I heard good consistent sound but not stereo. I moved to the other side of the pool, about 20' from the speaker, which was on a table about 2' off the ground. The sound was very good, turned up all the way there was no distortion, good. I engaged the mega bass and it did more than kick-up the bass, it modified the mid-range so the more booming bass was.... smoother; but honestly outdoors I don't think it "helped" the sound. I'm pretty sure in a enclosed space it would have a better effect (more on this later). Except for now realizing this speaker had dual drivers, but was a mono speaker, I did more listening. Foreplay-Long Time breezed in but the L/R separation had the initial low vocals getting somewhat lost. As the beat built, it was pleasant, easy to listen to, but at the transition to Long time I was again struggling to hear some of the subtleties. I attribute this to the complex R/L stereo mix of this track/album. The more I listened, and looked at the Sony Music Center app, the more I hoped to find the missing "Stereo" option. After further reading the only way to get Stereo is to connect 2 X-Series speakers. They also have a mode called Party-Connect that allows up to 100 X-Series speakers to be synchronized together - sounds interesting, if these Sony Speakers REALLY catch on (but in Party mode you again loose Stereo functionality).
This speaker looks like a roll of paper towels that's been squeezed in the middle. Passive radiators are on each end of the speaker with LED lights surrounding the passive radiators. Even at night the led lights are pretty dim, not really illuminating anything. There are many programmable light flashing programs, none are "highly visible". This speaker claims to over 25 hours of playing time, it's chargeable via a USB-C connector, and you can add 7 hours of play time with only a 10 minute charge (and it can play while it's being charged). It also has a USB-A connector that can be used to charge your phone or other devices from the batteries inside the XG-300 (no specifications on the battery size, or amp size). One other neat feature it has is a microphone with echo-cancelation so you can take an incoming call on your phone and talk hands free (music is muted, when the call is answered). This worked very well, I could hear my caller clearly and they said I sounded very clear, they could not tell I was outside (well when the birds were quite)).
I took the speaker inside to my family room (16x30). I listened to Pink Floyd Animals, the speaker had filled the room fairly well once it was off the floor. I again prefered the Mega-bass disabled, with Clear Audio enabled (there is also a Custom EQ, that allows you to set Bass, Mid and High emphasis) - I thought the Clear Audio did a good job on it's own. There are DJ effect settings and Bluetooth Quality connection setting in the Music Center App. The music center app allows you to access may popular streaming apps from it's control panel (a nice shortcut, but it missing SiriusXM, but Sirius can still output to the connected BT speaker). And you can set battery optimization options.
There is another app called Fiestable than can customise sound or be used by multiple people/phones. The speaker does not have a USB input port to support a USB stick/disk as the previous version of this speaker had, but I'm sure that this has to do with the IP67 rating for water and dust resistance.
I have to say I like this speaker, BUT it does not have all the functionality that my 80's boom box had, I really think it's too bad that it does not support stereo output on it's own. I think they missed a real opportunity. I can understand two small speakers needing to be paired for stereo output, but this speaker is plenty large (with multiple drivers) to have decent stereo separation. I have smaller smart speakers that support stereo output.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The Dell 27” FHD monitor is beautifully designed to sit easily into any space ready for your everyday lifestyle. Built-in dual HDMI ports keep your devices always plugged in. The three-sided ultrathin bezel design lets you enjoy superb screen clarity in 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution. Smooth, tear-free experience with AMD FreeSync technology, featuring up to 75Hz refresh rate. This TÜV-certified monitor has a flicker-free screen with ComfortView, a feature that reduces harmful blue light emissions.
Posted by: 3Tcubed
I have several +24" monitors, some FHD, QHD others 4K. I've always felt that 24" monitors don't really benefit from QHD or 4K, that until you over 24" there is little advantage. However with faster refresh rates, I'm starting to see benefits of higher resolutions on smaller screens (even 15-17" laptop screens). Faster refresh rates help with modern video games and HD Video (BluRay/4K, HD streaming). This monitor supports 60mHz (progressive, every line updated each pass) and a 75mHz refresh rates. When running games the 75mHz refresh rate provides a smoother response. With fast moving video scenes 75mHz looks cleaner. However it's still a FHD (1920x1080) display, from a foot away, you can still make out the individual pixels, and the screen has about 1/8" black border inside the displays tiny bezel. I have other monitors I use side by side that have no "pixel" border adjacent to the bezel. So if your considering using this monitor with another side by side, there will be more separation that you might expect (don't measure the bezel alone). But the viewing angle of this IPS monitor is 178H/178V, which is excellent. The brightness is 300cd/m2 which is pretty average, but it's is brightness is very consistent edge to edge. The color output (RGB, contrast, saturation) can be adjusted pretty significantly. The minimum response time is 4ms which is fairly good. The screen is anti-glare, it has a matte coating, it's coating works very well. On the provided screen stand the monitor does not rotate, but it does have 100mm VESA mounting holes.
In comparing to my other monitors, this one's colors are not as vibrant as the best of the others, it's resolution is nominal. For a 27" monitor I'd suggest at least a QHD display, but if cost is an issue this is a nice display. The black border makes it less than ideal for use in a multi-monitor configuration. But if it's just used to extend a FHD notebooks screen it just fine. Most notebooks have a similar brightness, and as a second monitor it's matte finish makes it easy to use in a bright environment. The many color/brightness controls make it easy to match up to a notebook (which I find important).
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Harness the productivity of the Intel Core m3 processor with this Microsoft Surface Pro 4. Its 12.3-inch touch screen and 2736 x 1824 resolution are ideal for streaming your favorite movies and shows. This Microsoft Surface Pro 4 has 128GB of internal storage and a microSD slot for your music, photos and videos.
Is the power pack included in the Surface Pro 4 ?
A AC/DC power adapter is included; about 2' to wall about 6' from adapter to tablet (with quick release magnetic connector) prevents kicking cord and pulling tablet to floor accidentally (a nice feature).
8 years, 7 months ago
by
3Tcubed
Harness the productivity of the Intel Core m3 processor with this Microsoft Surface Pro 4. Its 12.3-inch touch screen and 2736 x 1824 resolution are ideal for streaming your favorite movies and shows. This Microsoft Surface Pro 4 has 128GB of internal storage and a microSD slot for your music, photos and videos.
Is there an option to increase to 256Gb?
You can increase storage with Micro SD card, but this is not exactly the same as increasing on board SSD, which you cannot (reasonably) do.
On the other hand you can add a 128GB Micro SD card for about $50, 200GB for about $70 and 256GB for $150 (w/prices dropping every month).
You could also use a external SSD drive like the Samsung T3, and add 250GB for ~$100 or 500Gb for <$175 or 1TB for ~$350 this is a little bulkier but offers higher performance and greater reliability - it would be my choice if your interested in durability (and you can easily share it/take it to anther machine).
On the other hand you can add a 128GB Micro SD card for about $50, 200GB for about $70 and 256GB for $150 (w/prices dropping every month).
You could also use a external SSD drive like the Samsung T3, and add 250GB for ~$100 or 500Gb for <$175 or 1TB for ~$350 this is a little bulkier but offers higher performance and greater reliability - it would be my choice if your interested in durability (and you can easily share it/take it to anther machine).
8 years, 7 months ago
by
3Tcubed
Harness the productivity of the Intel Core m3 processor with this Microsoft Surface Pro 4. Its 12.3-inch touch screen and 2736 x 1824 resolution are ideal for streaming your favorite movies and shows. This Microsoft Surface Pro 4 has 128GB of internal storage and a microSD slot for your music, photos and videos.
does this come with the microsoft office already?
Harness the productivity of the Intel Core m3 processor with this Microsoft Surface Pro 4. Its 12.3-inch touch screen and 2736 x 1824 resolution are ideal for streaming your favorite movies and shows. This Microsoft Surface Pro 4 has 128GB of internal storage and a microSD slot for your music, photos and videos.
Does this come with Windows 10?
Harness the productivity of the Intel Core m3 processor with this Microsoft Surface Pro 4. Its 12.3-inch touch screen and 2736 x 1824 resolution are ideal for streaming your favorite movies and shows. This Microsoft Surface Pro 4 has 128GB of internal storage and a microSD slot for your music, photos and videos.
Does it come with any bloatware? Stuff other than a clean windows install that you don't need?
Very little, not like buying an ACER - additional apps include the "Inking" aps that not part of Std Win 10 release, but you appreciate having it.
8 years, 7 months ago
by
3Tcubed
Simplify your everyday life with the Google Home, a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. Use voice commands to enjoy music, get answers from Google and manage everyday tasks. Google Home is compatible with Android and iOS operating systems, and can control compatible smart devices such as Chromecast or Nest."
IS Philips - hue White LED Starter Kit required in order for the speaker to work?
No you don't have to a Philips Hue light for the speaker on the Google Home to work
8 years, 8 months ago
by
3Tcubed
Simplify your everyday life with the Google Home, a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. Use voice commands to enjoy music, get answers from Google and manage everyday tasks. Google Home is compatible with Android and iOS operating systems, and can control compatible smart devices such as Chromecast or Nest."
Can I play music from my network drive?
Simplify your everyday life with the Google Home, a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. Use voice commands to enjoy music, get answers from Google and manage everyday tasks. Google Home is compatible with Android and iOS operating systems, and can control compatible smart devices such as Chromecast or Nest."
is it ac and dc
It requires 16.5V (2A) in input voltage; a DC -> AC Wall adapter is included
8 years, 8 months ago
by
3Tcubed
Simplify your everyday life with the Google Home, a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. Use voice commands to enjoy music, get answers from Google and manage everyday tasks. Google Home is compatible with Android and iOS operating systems, and can control compatible smart devices such as Chromecast or Nest."
Can i use this device as Bluetooth speaker?
No, but you can "cast" to it, if allears as a Chroma Cast device, so from a browser, with the chrome cast extension you could send it audio.
But to answer you specific question, it does not "speak" /"understand" bluetooth
But to answer you specific question, it does not "speak" /"understand" bluetooth
8 years, 8 months ago
by
3Tcubed
what is the best and fastest processor out there for and android tablet?
I want to buy an android tablet with the best processor thats offered yet, and dual camera would be nice but if not then definitely rear cam., has to have adobe flash, has to be upgrade-able to whenever the newest OS is available like right now is icecream sandwich, has to have a great responsive touch interface like the ipad, has to have the "Play Store" for apps, and it'd be nice if it had the external SD or mirco SD storage slot for expandable memory because I will probably buy the 16gb of whatever tablet has all these specifications, so help me please!! because I know theres a few tablets out there with all this specifications that I need in a tablet but which one has all these AND the best processor available???
Look for new Intel 5th generation CPU's to be hitting market very soon (Just announced at CES, Jan 2015); this new 5th generation of their i3,i5,i7 processors is specifically designed for higher performance, longer battery life tablets.
10 years, 6 months ago
by
3Tcubed
Phoenix.AZ