hightechdad

[hightechdad]

I truly haven’t had hands-on time with a Windows laptop in quite a few years. My wife is the one Windows user in my family, and while I have tried to keep my skills tuned to understand Windows, I’m a bit behind the times. But as I write this review, I’m doing it on the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 laptop, and I honestly have to say, I’m impressed. But this review is not about Windows (although the Yoga 9i is running Windows 11 Home); it is more about the hardware that has been engineered to take advantage of the latest version of Windows. And I’m having fun fine-tuning my Windows skills! (*Disclosure below.) Being a tech writer evaluating all types of hardware specifically focused on Family Tech as well as helping others solve technology problems, I need to be sure that I’m technically ambidextrous – being able to talk both Windows and Mac. I have even played around with Chromebooks a bit, and many years ago, I went through a period of installing various flavors of Linux on a variety of devices. But this review is about the Lenovo Yoga 9i hardware that wraps the Windows experience in physical technology. I’m actually writing this review using the Yoga 9i after spending several days ditching my usual laptop and exploring the Yoga. And I have come up with ten things that I like about the design, the hardware decisions, and how it all works together. 1 – Compact Formfactor and Design Let’s start right with the design of the Lenovo Yoga 9i. This is a lightweight, easy-to-carry laptop. There are different versions of the Yoga 9i, including an optional leather-clad version (Shadow Black). The version I received for review was the more traditional, silver version. The base has a slightly tapered body, thinner in the section closer to the trackpad. But what impressed me was how thing the entire Lenovo Yoga 9i was. It is a mere 0.6″ high and is 12.57″ wide by 8.51″ deep. This makes it highly portable yet can house a full-sized keyboard. To add to the portability of the Yoga 9i design is the fact that it only weighs about 3.02 pounds. At that weight, it is easy to throw into a backpack or bag and barely notice that it is there. 2 – Quick Dive into the Spec I always go to the specific specs listings of any device to really understand what you get (and what you don’t). So while there is a lot to dive into, I have pulled out the items that I think to be the most important and relevant about the Yoga 9i. Specs below are from my review model. Processor: Intel Evo i7 – 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1195G7 @ 2.90GHz  2.92 GHzRAM: 16.0 GB (15.6 GB usable) – note, this is not upgradable and the RAM is soldered inHarddrive: 512 GB hard drivePorts:One USB-A port 3.2 Gen2 portTwo USB-C / Thunderbolt 4Headphone/Mic jackWiFi: 802.11AX (2 x 2) Bluetooth 5.1Speakers: Stereo speakers, 2W x4 (2x woofers, 2x tweeters), optimized with Dolby AtmosBattery: Integrated Li-Polymer 60Wh battery, supports Rapid Charge ExpressPower Adapter: 65W USB-C (3-pin) AC adapter A quick note on some of the items above. If upgrade options are available, I would recommend getting the maximum RAM possible (in this case, 16GB). RAM options are 8GB, 12GB, and 16GB. Also, the available hard drive configurations are 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. I would not go lower than 512GB for storage. 3 – Multiple Working Possiblities This Lenovo laptop is aptly named the Yoga. This name implies that it is flexible and can support multiple positions. While it is listed as a 2-in-1, there are actually three core positions that the Lenovo Yoga 9i supports: laptop, tent, stand, and tablet. As I am a writer, I prefer using the laptop mode most of the time. I like having a tactile experience for typing, and on-screen keyboards simply don’t provide that. You can fully open the Yoga to have the bottom case touching the top/screen, meaning it folds open to put it into tablet mode. When fully open in tablet mode, the physical keyboard is disabled, and all of your interaction takes place on the screen. The screen automatically adjusts as you rotate the display (landscape or portrait). (And you can use the built-in pen for interaction on the screen if you want). Honestly, while this is an interesting mode to use, it is not something that I want to use much. I feel a bit odd grabbing a keyboard, and the entire tablet feels a bit too large in full tablet mode. While my preferred mode is laptop, I do like the tent mode a lot. You basically bend the Yoga in half and prop it. This mode is ideal for watching movies or videos (or even using the built-in Alexa mode). When in tent mode, all of the interaction is done via touch or pen. There is also a stand mode where the keyboard acts as a stand. This is similar to tent mode. All of these “yoga positions” are made possible by the unique 360° hinge. 4 – Display and Touchscreen One thing that I am not accustomed to but actually do quite enjoy is the fact that the Lenovo Yoga 9i is a touch-screen device. I always yell at my kids when they touch the screen of their Macs (there is no reason to touch a Mac screen other than to smudge it up). But, with the Lenovo Yoga, you should touch the screen. I’m just not used to it. Being able to interact with content or websites or just not use the trackpad all of the time is refreshing for me. The Yoga has a 14″ display. There are two options available for the display: FHD (1920×1080) or UHD (3840×2160). The model I tested was the FHD IPS display. The FHD is slightly dimmer 400 nits of brightness compared to the UHD at 500 nits. FHD support Dolby Vision and the UHD does HDR 400. Depending on the size of your fingers, you may want to decrease the screen resolution to be able to interact with objects on the screen. Otherwise, you can also use the built-in pen for precision or those very small buttons. 5 – Pen Included Built into the body of the Yoga 9i is a battery-powered pen that can be used to interact with the screen, sign documents (avoiding having to attempt to scrawl something on the trackpad), or use any of the drawing or illustration applications available. The Lenovo Integrated Pen has a built-in rechargeable battery, 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity and is stored (and charged) in the back portion of the Lenovo Yoga 9i. While it is a bit tricky to pull out because it is housed in the back, it is great to have it integrated into the body. I’m not an artist by any means. But just spending a few minutes exploring Microsoft Paint almost made me inspired to put the Yoga in tent or stand mode to try to make what I call very “abstract art.” The pen is pressure-sensitive, and the pen nub’s movements are tracked even when the pen is not touching the screen. 6 – Good Battery Life One thing that plagued higher-end or even mid-range laptops was poor battery life. There is nothing worse than working on an article or project, only to have to go and search for a plug to recharge the laptop. Luckily, battery technology is improving, and processors consume a lot less power for the same amount (or more) of processing power. The Lenovo Yoga 9i has an integrated Li-Polymer 60Wh battery that supports Rapid Charge Express. That means, according to Lenovo, that you can get 3 hours of runtime with just a 15-minute charge. Battery life does vary by the Yoga 9i model that you get and how you are using the device. For example, if you are doing some processor-heavy work, the battery duration will be a lot less than with lighter work like word processing or web browsing. According to Lenovo, the maximum battery life is pretty darn long: FHD model:MobileMark® 2014: 17 hrLocal video (1080p) playback@150nits: 18 hrUHD model:MobileMark 2014: 10 hrLocal video (1080p) playback@150nits: 11 hr These numbers are pretty respectable. I, for example, have been writing this review over several hours of active work and idle time. The battery has only drained to about 50%. Looking at the Windows Power & Battery panel shows that I have about 3.5 hours remaining, but I know that I haven’t truly trained the battery yet. 7 – Dolby Atmos Soundbar Pivot Another innovative design that the Lenovo engineers did with the Yoga 9i (and a few other models) is to integrate the speakers into the hinge between the screen and keyboard. This hinge is called the rotating soundbar. By placing speakers within the hinge, you are ensured that sound is facing outward, regardless of what mode you have the Yoga in. In traditional laptop mode, the speakers are forward-facing, ensuring you get immersive sound. I found the speaker playback to be crisp and not muddy. Bass performance was fairly good but not thunderous. Built into the soundbar are two subwoofer speakers and two tweeters which ensures a good balance between highs and lows. 8 – Windows 11 Home I know I said that this review is primarily about hardware and not software. But, using the Lenovo Yoga 9i was my first experience with Windows 11. I have worked with previous generations of Windows in the past, and once I started interacting with Windows 11, I found myself reverting settings back to things that were more familiar to me. For example, I put the Windows menu back to the left bottom corner instead of in the bottom middle of the screen that I believe it defaulted to. Much of the underlying core of Windows is still quite familiar, but the “window dressing” has changed and improved dramatically. I did also install Office 365 as I have a few family licenses. All of the Office products seem to be quite cleanly integrated into Windows (as they should). The Windows 11 experience on the Lenovo Yoga 9i is tight and clean. I only wish that there was less bloatware to uninstall at the beginning. 9 – Solid Keyboard This article is about 2000 words, all of which I have written using the Yoga 9i keyboard. I did have to retrain my muscle memory a bit to use the CTRL key versus the ALT key, but that was fine after just a little bit of practice. In fact, the keyboard is soft touch and quiet. There isn’t too much play as you press the keys, which allows you to be quite fast when typing. Other nice things about the keyboard: Backlit – there is nothing nicer than having a backlit keyboard when typing at night. Using the FN key and the spacebar, you can manually adjust the backlight strengthFull-sized – while the Yoga is compact, the keyboard is full-sized which is great for larger hands like mineTop Function Row – I quite enjoy the built-in and dedicated function keys for things like volume, screen brightness, mic control, airplane mode, screen locking, Alt-tab, calculator, Lenovo smart key, snipping, and more On the model that I tested, there is also a fingerprint reader that works with Windows Hello. I love being able to quickly log in without having to remember passwords. 10 – Webcam is Fine I did have to put the webcam into my list of things that I like. Although, what I like is less about the camera (which is the bare minimum, in my opinion) and more about the built-in privacy control slider, which I almost didn’t see until I was taking close-up photos. The webcam itself is just a 720p 1.0-megapixel RGB with a fixed focus. Unfortunately, it does NOT support facial recognition login using Windows Hello. But, the feature that I discovered quite accidentally was the privacy switch. There is a tiny little notch that allows you to slide a physical cover over the webcam. No more need of taping a post-it note over the camera! Bonus – Add a Lenovo Monitor for the Perfect Home Office Laptops are great for their portability and flexibility. But, if you are like me, having more than just your laptop screen is a huge bonus. I also hooked up a Lenovo Q24iL monitor as part of my testing. This is a basic, non-4K FHD monitor. It is 23.8″ diagonal, which provides more than enough additional screen real estate. The refresh rate is 75 Hz. The full resolution of this FHD monitor is 1920 x 1080, which makes it fine for a secondary screen. I personally wish and prefer having a 4K monitor for that extra resolution. Since the Yoga does not have an HDMI port, I used one of many USB-C hubs in my possession to connect to the Q24iL monitor (as well as charge the Lenovo Yoga). If you use the Yoga and the Q24iL monitor together and don’t use a side-by-side setup, I do recommend getting a laptop riser. I liked how the Q24iL is designed with the holding stand arm off to the side. This allows you to place items directly under the monitor and has a unique look. It is practically without a bezel and, more importantly, reduced eye strain due to lower blue light emissions. The built-in speakers are a bit too tinny and without much bass, so it is better to use the Dolby Atmos speakers of the Yoga 9i instead. Make sure that when you connect the Q24iL, you switch the audio playback back to the Yoga! Perfect for the Home Office – Lenovo Yoga 9i plus the Lenovo Q24iL The Yoga 9i is one of those all-around functional laptops that is great for work, school, or entertainment. Its multi-position capabilities (hence the Yoga name) allow you to work on an article or research paper, pivot it to watch movies or create a drawing, or carry around in tablet mode to have that “room cleaning” checklist you can use against your kids. The Yoga 9i has many different configuration options. I recommend getting the 16GB of RAM, and at least 500GB for the SSD hard drive. On the Lenovo site, the Yoga 9i starts at about $1,104.99. The model I have been testing retails for about $1,474.99 (see the specs earlier). You can configure the Yoga 9i to your liking. On Amazon, a similarly configured Yoga 9i (but with the black leather) is currently listed for $1,697. And if you want to add the same monitor shown in this review, you can get the Lenovo Q24iL 24″ FHD monitor on the Lenovo site for $229.99. You can get the same monitor on Amazon currently for $229.95. Buy on HighTechDad The product shown below (and related products that have been reviewed on HighTechDad) is available within the HighTechDad Shop. This review has all of the details about this particular product and you can order it directly by clicking on the Buy button or clicking on the image/title to view more. Be sure to review other products available in the HighTechDad Shop. Lenovo Q24iL FHD 24″ Monitor $229.95 Buy on Amazon Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Laptop $1,697.00 Buy on Amazon For someone who regularly does NOT use a Windows laptop, I really enjoyed using the Lenovo Yoga 9i. It is more than capable for a wide variety of tasks from writing to streaming media to crafting illustrations to basic work or school tasks. Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page. HTD says: If you are looking for a lightweight, good performing, multi-function laptop with a good battery life that can contort to 4 different display modes, you should take a look at the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 laptop. And, the Lenovo Q24iL monitor complements it perfectly! To read the full article on HighTechDad.com, please visit: 10 Things to Love about the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Laptop – Review To read other articles like this one, please visit: HighTechDad™

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[hightechdad]

I truly haven’t had hands-on time with a Windows laptop in quite a few years. My wife is the one Windows user in my family, and while I have tried to keep my skills tuned to understand Windows, I’m a bit behind the times. But as I write this review, I’m doing it on the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 laptop, and I honestly have to say, I’m impressed. But this review is not about Windows (although the Yoga 9i is running Windows 11 Home); it is more about the hardware that has been engineered to take advantage of the latest version of Windows. And I’m having fun fine-tuning my Windows skills! (*Disclosure below.) Being a tech writer evaluating all types of hardware specifically focused on Family Tech as well as helping others solve technology problems, I need to be sure that I’m technically ambidextrous – being able to talk both Windows and Mac. I have even played around with Chromebooks a bit, and many years ago, I went through a period of installing various flavors of Linux on a variety of devices. But this review is about the Lenovo Yoga 9i hardware that wraps the Windows experience in physical technology. I’m actually writing this review using the Yoga 9i after spending several days ditching my usual laptop and exploring the Yoga. And I have come up with ten things that I like about the design, the hardware decisions, and how it all works together. 1 – Compact Formfactor and Design Let’s start right with the design of the Lenovo Yoga 9i. This is a lightweight, easy-to-carry laptop. There are different versions of the Yoga 9i, including an optional leather-clad version (Shadow Black). The version I received for review was the more traditional, silver version. The base has a slightly tapered body, thinner in the section closer to the trackpad. But what impressed me was how thing the entire Lenovo Yoga 9i was. It is a mere 0.6″ high and is 12.57″ wide by 8.51″ deep. This makes it highly portable yet can house a full-sized keyboard. To add to the portability of the Yoga 9i design is the fact that it only weighs about 3.02 pounds. At that weight, it is easy to throw into a backpack or bag and barely notice that it is there. 2 – Quick Dive into the Spec I always go to the specific specs listings of any device to really understand what you get (and what you don’t). So while there is a lot to dive into, I have pulled out the items that I think to be the most important and relevant about the Yoga 9i. Specs below are from my review model. Processor: Intel Evo i7 – 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1195G7 @ 2.90GHz  2.92 GHzRAM: 16.0 GB (15.6 GB usable) – note, this is not upgradable and the RAM is soldered inHarddrive: 512 GB hard drivePorts:One USB-A port 3.2 Gen2 portTwo USB-C / Thunderbolt 4Headphone/Mic jackWiFi: 802.11AX (2 x 2) Bluetooth 5.1Speakers: Stereo speakers, 2W x4 (2x woofers, 2x tweeters), optimized with Dolby AtmosBattery: Integrated Li-Polymer 60Wh battery, supports Rapid Charge ExpressPower Adapter: 65W USB-C (3-pin) AC adapter A quick note on some of the items above. If upgrade options are available, I would recommend getting the maximum RAM possible (in this case, 16GB). RAM options are 8GB, 12GB, and 16GB. Also, the available hard drive configurations are 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. I would not go lower than 512GB for storage. 3 – Multiple Working Possiblities This Lenovo laptop is aptly named the Yoga. This name implies that it is flexible and can support multiple positions. While it is listed as a 2-in-1, there are actually three core positions that the Lenovo Yoga 9i supports: laptop, tent, stand, and tablet. As I am a writer, I prefer using the laptop mode most of the time. I like having a tactile experience for typing, and on-screen keyboards simply don’t provide that. You can fully open the Yoga to have the bottom case touching the top/screen, meaning it folds open to put it into tablet mode. When fully open in tablet mode, the physical keyboard is disabled, and all of your interaction takes place on the screen. The screen automatically adjusts as you rotate the display (landscape or portrait). (And you can use the built-in pen for interaction on the screen if you want). Honestly, while this is an interesting mode to use, it is not something that I want to use much. I feel a bit odd grabbing a keyboard, and the entire tablet feels a bit too large in full tablet mode. While my preferred mode is laptop, I do like the tent mode a lot. You basically bend the Yoga in half and prop it. This mode is ideal for watching movies or videos (or even using the built-in Alexa mode). When in tent mode, all of the interaction is done via touch or pen. There is also a stand mode where the keyboard acts as a stand. This is similar to tent mode. All of these “yoga positions” are made possible by the unique 360° hinge. 4 – Display and Touchscreen One thing that I am not accustomed to but actually do quite enjoy is the fact that the Lenovo Yoga 9i is a touch-screen device. I always yell at my kids when they touch the screen of their Macs (there is no reason to touch a Mac screen other than to smudge it up). But, with the Lenovo Yoga, you should touch the screen. I’m just not used to it. Being able to interact with content or websites or just not use the trackpad all of the time is refreshing for me. The Yoga has a 14″ display. There are two options available for the display: FHD (1920×1080) or UHD (3840×2160). The model I tested was the FHD IPS display. The FHD is slightly dimmer 400 nits of brightness compared to the UHD at 500 nits. FHD support Dolby Vision and the UHD does HDR 400. Depending on the size of your fingers, you may want to decrease the screen resolution to be able to interact with objects on the screen. Otherwise, you can also use the built-in pen for precision or those very small buttons. 5 – Pen Included Built into the body of the Yoga 9i is a battery-powered pen that can be used to interact with the screen, sign documents (avoiding having to attempt to scrawl something on the trackpad), or use any of the drawing or illustration applications available. The Lenovo Integrated Pen has a built-in rechargeable battery, 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity and is stored (and charged) in the back portion of the Lenovo Yoga 9i. While it is a bit tricky to pull out because it is housed in the back, it is great to have it integrated into the body. I’m not an artist by any means. But just spending a few minutes exploring Microsoft Paint almost made me inspired to put the Yoga in tent or stand mode to try to make what I call very “abstract art.” The pen is pressure-sensitive, and the pen nub’s movements are tracked even when the pen is not touching the screen. 6 – Good Battery Life One thing that plagued higher-end or even mid-range laptops was poor battery life. There is nothing worse than working on an article or project, only to have to go and search for a plug to recharge the laptop. Luckily, battery technology is improving, and processors consume a lot less power for the same amount (or more) of processing power. The Lenovo Yoga 9i has an integrated Li-Polymer 60Wh battery that supports Rapid Charge Express. That means, according to Lenovo, that you can get 3 hours of runtime with just a 15-minute charge. Battery life does vary by the Yoga 9i model that you get and how you are using the device. For example, if you are doing some processor-heavy work, the battery duration will be a lot less than with lighter work like word processing or web browsing. According to Lenovo, the maximum battery life is pretty darn long: FHD model:MobileMark® 2014: 17 hrLocal video (1080p) playback@150nits: 18 hrUHD model:MobileMark 2014: 10 hrLocal video (1080p) playback@150nits: 11 hr These numbers are pretty respectable. I, for example, have been writing this review over several hours of active work and idle time. The battery has only drained to about 50%. Looking at the Windows Power & Battery panel shows that I have about 3.5 hours remaining, but I know that I haven’t truly trained the battery yet. 7 – Dolby Atmos Soundbar Pivot Another innovative design that the Lenovo engineers did with the Yoga 9i (and a few other models) is to integrate the speakers into the hinge between the screen and keyboard. This hinge is called the rotating soundbar. By placing speakers within the hinge, you are ensured that sound is facing outward, regardless of what mode you have the Yoga in. In traditional laptop mode, the speakers are forward-facing, ensuring you get immersive sound. I found the speaker playback to be crisp and not muddy. Bass performance was fairly good but not thunderous. Built into the soundbar are two subwoofer speakers and two tweeters which ensures a good balance between highs and lows. 8 – Windows 11 Home I know I said that this review is primarily about hardware and not software. But, using the Lenovo Yoga 9i was my first experience with Windows 11. I have worked with previous generations of Windows in the past, and once I started interacting with Windows 11, I found myself reverting settings back to things that were more familiar to me. For example, I put the Windows menu back to the left bottom corner instead of in the bottom middle of the screen that I believe it defaulted to. Much of the underlying core of Windows is still quite familiar, but the “window dressing” has changed and improved dramatically. I did also install Office 365 as I have a few family licenses. All of the Office products seem to be quite cleanly integrated into Windows (as they should). The Windows 11 experience on the Lenovo Yoga 9i is tight and clean. I only wish that there was less bloatware to uninstall at the beginning. 9 – Solid Keyboard This article is about 2000 words, all of which I have written using the Yoga 9i keyboard. I did have to retrain my muscle memory a bit to use the CTRL key versus the ALT key, but that was fine after just a little bit of practice. In fact, the keyboard is soft touch and quiet. There isn’t too much play as you press the keys, which allows you to be quite fast when typing. Other nice things about the keyboard: Backlit – there is nothing nicer than having a backlit keyboard when typing at night. Using the FN key and the spacebar, you can manually adjust the backlight strengthFull-sized – while the Yoga is compact, the keyboard is full-sized which is great for larger hands like mineTop Function Row – I quite enjoy the built-in and dedicated function keys for things like volume, screen brightness, mic control, airplane mode, screen locking, Alt-tab, calculator, Lenovo smart key, snipping, and more On the model that I tested, there is also a fingerprint reader that works with Windows Hello. I love being able to quickly log in without having to remember passwords. 10 – Webcam is Fine I did have to put the webcam into my list of things that I like. Although, what I like is less about the camera (which is the bare minimum, in my opinion) and more about the built-in privacy control slider, which I almost didn’t see until I was taking close-up photos. The webcam itself is just a 720p 1.0-megapixel RGB with a fixed focus. Unfortunately, it does NOT support facial recognition login using Windows Hello. But, the feature that I discovered quite accidentally was the privacy switch. There is a tiny little notch that allows you to slide a physical cover over the webcam. No more need of taping a post-it note over the camera! Bonus – Add a Lenovo Monitor for the Perfect Home Office Laptops are great for their portability and flexibility. But, if you are like me, having more than just your laptop screen is a huge bonus. I also hooked up a Lenovo Q24iL monitor as part of my testing. This is a basic, non-4K FHD monitor. It is 23.8″ diagonal, which provides more than enough additional screen real estate. The refresh rate is 75 Hz. The full resolution of this FHD monitor is 1920 x 1080, which makes it fine for a secondary screen. I personally wish and prefer having a 4K monitor for that extra resolution. Since the Yoga does not have an HDMI port, I used one of many USB-C hubs in my possession to connect to the Q24iL monitor (as well as charge the Lenovo Yoga). If you use the Yoga and the Q24iL monitor together and don’t use a side-by-side setup, I do recommend getting a laptop riser. I liked how the Q24iL is designed with the holding stand arm off to the side. This allows you to place items directly under the monitor and has a unique look. It is practically without a bezel and, more importantly, reduced eye strain due to lower blue light emissions. The built-in speakers are a bit too tinny and without much bass, so it is better to use the Dolby Atmos speakers of the Yoga 9i instead. Make sure that when you connect the Q24iL, you switch the audio playback back to the Yoga! Perfect for the Home Office – Lenovo Yoga 9i plus the Lenovo Q24iL The Yoga 9i is one of those all-around functional laptops that is great for work, school, or entertainment. Its multi-position capabilities (hence the Yoga name) allow you to work on an article or research paper, pivot it to watch movies or create a drawing, or carry around in tablet mode to have that “room cleaning” checklist you can use against your kids. The Yoga 9i has many different configuration options. I recommend getting the 16GB of RAM, and at least 500GB for the SSD hard drive. On the Lenovo site, the Yoga 9i starts at about $1,104.99. The model I have been testing retails for about $1,474.99 (see the specs earlier). You can configure the Yoga 9i to your liking. On Amazon, a similarly configured Yoga 9i (but with the black leather) is currently listed for $1,697. And if you want to add the same monitor shown in this review, you can get the Lenovo Q24iL 24″ FHD monitor on the Lenovo site for $229.99. You can get the same monitor on Amazon currently for $229.95. Buy on HighTechDad The product shown below (and related products that have been reviewed on HighTechDad) is available within the HighTechDad Shop. This review has all of the details about this particular product and you can order it directly by clicking on the Buy button or clicking on the image/title to view more. Be sure to review other products available in the HighTechDad Shop. Lenovo Q24iL FHD 24″ Monitor $229.95 Buy on Amazon Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Laptop $1,697.00 Buy on Amazon For someone who regularly does NOT use a Windows laptop, I really enjoyed using the Lenovo Yoga 9i. It is more than capable for a wide variety of tasks from writing to streaming media to crafting illustrations to basic work or school tasks. Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page. HTD says: If you are looking for a lightweight, good performing, multi-function laptop with a good battery life that can contort to 4 different display modes, you should take a look at the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 laptop. And, the Lenovo Q24iL monitor complements it perfectly! To read the full article on HighTechDad.com, please visit: 10 Things to Love about the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Laptop – Review To read other articles like this one, please visit: HighTechDad™

https://www.hightechdad.com/2022/01/01/10-things-to-love-about-the-lenovo-yoga-9i-2-in-1-laptop-review/

[hightechdad]

Fighting for space on a surge protector is never fun. And with so many devices (smartphones, tablets, and laptops) requiring charge time, it’s a wonder that we don’t have surge protectors with 20-30 plugs built-in. But that would be silly, right? What is more efficient is to have a charging hub that can take the space of 4 plugs, and that is precisely what the 65W and 120W Kovol GaN Charging Mate Chargers do. With two wattage outputs to choose from, Kovol allows you to power up to four devices at once, using just a single plug. (*Disclosure below.) GaN chargers and Power Delivery hubs are upping the game of getting your devices juiced up. GaN (gallium nitride) technology is not that new anymore. In fact, with Apple’s latest 16″ MacBook Pro sporting M1 Apple Silicon, the “brick” (power supply) that they provide uses GaN technology. Because of the magic of engineering and new materials, power supplies using GaN technology can be not only smaller, they produce less heat. This heat dispersion allows these PD delivery systems to be more compact and, in the case of the Kovol chargers, will enable you to have four ports for various charging solutions. Kovol recently introduced two GaN chargers, one that provides 65W of power and one producing 120W. Each of these PD chargers has two sets of ports, two for USB-C and two for USB-A. That means that based on the types of devices and their power requirements, you can potentially have up to four devices powered and charging simultaneously. But, bear in mind that you do need to review the power requirements of all devices, and the order you plug them in does matter. Kovol 120W Charging Mate GaN Desktop Charger I’m starting this article with the more powerful Kovol GaN Charging Mate desktop chargers, the 120W version. While a bit more expensive, I believe this offers the most flexibility to people on the go who may have a variety of devices they need to charge. Here are some high-level specs: 100W maximum USB-C PD output – great for charging up a laptop like a MacBook Pro (although the 16″ MBP would love a bit more power output – but it is fine with 100W)Dual & simultaneous 60W PD output – if you are in a shared workspace, you can share the two USB-C PD ports with lower-powered devices like a MacBook Air or Chromebook, charging and powering both at the same time with 60W output at the same time.Intelligent allocation of optimal power – based on the devices that are plugged in, the Kovol GaN Charging Mate will provide the proper power to the specific device2 USB-C ports – use Power Delivery and PPS Fast Charging2 USB-A ports – use Quick Charge (QC) 3.0 Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Kovol shows one possible charging scenario below: In my case, I would use the 120W to power/charge a MacBook Pro, an iPhone, and an Apple Watch and still have an extra port available, especially since iPhones can use either USB-C or USB-A. With the intelligent power distribution, the connected devices get the appropriate power to charge them up. There is an important thing to remember when using the Kovol (or other GaN) chargers. You will want to connect the device requiring the most power first to “set the stage” for power distribution. So, if you are charging a MBP, plug that one in first to ensure proper power delivery. The nice thing is, both Kovol GaN Charging Mate desktop chargers have built-in safety features. Because GaN technology allows for lower temperature output, it is a lot cooler to the touch. But also built into the design are other features to prevent overcharging and short-circuiting. Kovol 65W Charging Mate GaN Desktop Charger But what if you don’t have a device requiring as much power delivery as the 120W version? Kovol also has a 65W GaN desktop charger for those lower-consumption devices. I view this version as the perfect charging companion for families who need to charge a couple of smartphones or tablets. And again, with this charging solution, you only take up one plug in the wall or surge protector. Here are the high-level specs for the 65W PD charger: 65W maximum USB-C PD output – great for charging up a laptop or a Chromebook that doesn’t require as much power as a MacBook Pro (however, you can charge a MBP but just a bit more slowly). You can fast-charge an iPhone 13 from 0-50% capacity in about 30 minutes.Dual & simultaneous 65W PD output – while the 120W version can output 60W simultaneously, the 65W also puts out 65W but distributed as 45W (for laptops) and 20W (for smartphones)Intelligent allocation of optimal power – based on the devices that are plugged in, the Kovol GaN Charging Mate will provide the proper power to the specific device2 USB-C ports – use Power Delivery and PPS Fast Charging (25W)2 USB-A ports – use Quick Charge (QC) 3.0 Here is another scenario that Kovol provides to help you better picture their charging solution: With the case of the Kovol 65W GaN Charging Mate, you have a variety of possible power distributions. As Kovol outlines: Use 1 USB-C port: PD 65WUse 1 USB-A port: QC 3.0 18WUse 2 USB-C ports: USB-C – PD 45W/ USB-C – PD 20WUse 2 USB-A ports: USB-A+USB-A=15WUse 1 USB-C + 2 USB-A ports: USB-C – PD 45W/ USB-A+USB-A=15WUse 2 USB-C + 1 USB-A ports: USB-C – PD 30W/ USB-C – PD 20W/ USB-A – QC 3.0 15WWhen connected to all ports: USB-C – PD 30W/ USB-C – PD 20W/ USB-A+USB-A=15W To explain this a bit more simply, just plug in your devices in order of power consumption (like the 120W), and the Kovol GaN Charging Mate will intelligently decide what power to supply to which device and will automatically allocate the power as devices become fully charged. Pricing, Dimensions, and an Added Bonus So, remember how I referenced the surge protector at the beginning of this review? There is a nice added bonus to the design of both of these Kovol GaN Charging Mate desktop chargers. With other GaN chargers I have reviewed, those have plugs built into the charger’s body. The Kovol is a bit different in that it also includes a 4.9′ AC input cable. What does that mean? Well, you don’t need an extension cord, for starters. And, if you are using a surge protector, the plug isn’t obscured by the GaN charger itself, which can happen when you plug directly into a surge protector directly. Just don’t lose the AC input cable! These two GaN PD chargers are quite compact, especially when you compare them with similar wattage non-GaN chargers. They are small enough to just throw in your bag and be ready to charge four devices quickly. Here are the dimensions: Kovol 120W – 1.8″ x 1.8″ x 3.35″Kovol 65W – 1.61″ x 1.61″ x 2.99″ And, the 120W weighs about 1 pound and the 65W slightly less at about 10.5 ounces. So, in a bag, the additional weight is negligible. Finally, what are the costs of these two GaN PD chargers? Kovol 120W GaN Charging Mate – $99.99 on Kovol site & $99.99 on AmazonKovol 65W GaN Charging Mate – $49.99 on Kovol site & $49.99 on Amazon As this is a relatively new product, I do expect the Amazon price to come down slightly in the coming months, so be sure to check back on it. Buy on HighTechDad.com The product shown below (and related products that have been reviewed on HighTechDad) is available within the HighTechDad Shop. This review has all of the details about this particular product and you can order it directly by clicking on the Buy button or clicking on the image/title to view more. Be sure to review other products available in the HighTechDad Shop. Kovol 65W Charging Mate GaN Desktop Charger $49.99 Buy on Amazon Kovol 120W Charging Mate GaN Desktop Charger $99.99 Buy on Amazon Having a compact charging hub is a necessity, in my opinion. And, if it supports a variety of devices (up to four), you are instantly saving space on a wall plug or surge protector. The Kovol 65W and 120W GaN Sprint 4-port charging stations provide you with various Power Delivery and charging solutions, all within one compact device. Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page. HTD says: Whether you are looking to charge up several smaller devices like smartphones, tablets, or Chromebooks, or want to power laptops like a MacBook Pro, the Kovol GaN Charging Mate desktop chargers, available in 65W and 120W, are important accessories to add to your tech supplies!

https://www.hightechdad.com/2021/12/12/1-plug-better-than-4-65w-120w-kovol-gan-charging-mate-chargers-review/

[hightechdad]

I always recommend upgrading to the latest and greatest Operating System whenever possible. From new features to enhanced security to bug fixes, an OS upgrade is typically a smart choice…until it isn’t. I recently upgraded two MacBook Pros I use (one for work and one for home) to macOS Monterey (12.0.1). I love many of the new features. But I started noticing something strange after a while – macOS Monterey slow upload speeds. Initially, I didn’t realize that the problem was isolated to Monterey. But, after some research and my own testing and troubleshooting, I realized I wasn’t the only one experiencing this AND that it probably was a “Monterey slow upload speed” bug. As more of us get used to working (or studying) from home, having fast broadband Internet access is crucial. It’s especially important when having to stream video (classes or calls). But an important factor to remember is, it’s not just your download speed but also your upload speed that should be fast. When you are on a conference call, you are uploading your video stream. At the beginning of the pandemic and the shelter-at-home initiative, I did an article and video talking about the importance of upload speeds, particularly when it comes to video conferencing. And this is part of the reason why I continue to pay for the top fiber tier from my provider (1Gbps download and 1Gbps upload). My macOS Monterey slow upload speeds troubleshooting journey Well, recently, I suddenly started noticing that my Webex calls were not as good as they used to be, and I was getting warnings from the software that there were network issues. I thought it was general network congestion until I ran some network speed tests. And then I noticed something very odd. The speed tests showed fast download speeds but not so fast upload speeds (907 down & 187 up). I started to think that perhaps I was having a network issue within my house. My laptop was hard-wired into the Ethernet network. I was not using WiFi to ensure I had the fastest network connection possible. I decided to do another speed test using my non-work MacBook Pro. And, while it too was hard-wired (both using USB-C hubs with Ethernet ports), my upload speeds were quite slow as well. So, I started thinking I should rewire my home network. But then I tested my wife’s Windows desktop. Hers is hard-wired as well. And she had blazing-fast download AND upload speeds. Hmmm… Again, I was back to something being wrong in my home office. I restarted computers, replugged in switches, unplugged non-essential devices, and changed some Ethernet cables in my office. Nothing helped. Then I restarted my Nest WiFi Router and did a test. Same slow upload speed issue. I restarted my fiber modem. No change. I prioritized one of my MacBook Pros using the Nest WiFi interface. Any change was barely perceptible. And, I ran a speed test on my Nest WiFi Router. It showed things being pretty darn quick (748 down & 802 up). I ran a similar test on my ISP Fiber Modem. Same result – fast upload and download speeds (999 down and 915 up). So, the modem was fast, and the main network router was fast. Something else was going on. I started thinking about my wife’s PC working just fine, so I plugged a Windows laptop into the same USB-C hub (with the Ethernet port) that I was having issues with on my MBP. Interestingly, it had fast upload speeds (852 down & 802 up). I then decided I probably didn’t have to rewire my under-the-house Ethernet. So, through the process of elimination, I found a common denominator. Upload speeds were fast on Windows but slow on Macs. But was it all Macs? I had tested on a 2019 MacBook Pro and a 2021 MacBook Pro M1. Then I decided to try my daughter’s MacBook Pro (a 2020). First, I did a WiFi test. Both upload and download speeds were quick (for WiFi) and equal. Then I tried plugging her MBP into my USB-C hub with the networking. She had fast upload and download speeds (840 down & 723 up). I was on to something. Only my macOS Monterey Macs running 12.0.1 were affected by what I’m now calling the Monterey Slow Upload Speed bug. Long story short, I did some more testing. I plugged my Monterey MBP into my fiber modem router directly and still had slow upload speeds. And I did some quick online research and found a few threads on Apple Support Forums and Reddit talking about these slow speeds (but everyone had different theories from it being a hardware issue to a problem with their ISP). With all of this testing and research completed, I decided to reach out to Apple Support on Twitter. I’m convinced that there is a #networking #bug in #macOS #Monterey. Very slow upload speeds. Wifi & even more apparent w/wired connection. Tested w/ Big Sur & not there. Tested same wired connection w/ Windows & no issue. Hope @apple addresses soon! @AppleSupport— Michael Sheehan (@HighTechDad) December 8, 2021 And, I will cut to the chase here. I had a great Twitter exchange with the awesome Apple Support folks who walked me through various things to test and try. I have outlined below a few things you can also try as they may help with other network slowdown issues. They couldn’t resolve the issue, so they escalated it to a more senior Apple support person who I worked with to provide all sorts of diagnostics compiled and sent over for the Apple networking engineers to review. But…the bottom line…my macOS Monterey slow upload speeds bug still exists as of this writing! I’m sure this issue will be resolved shortly (and by the time you read this, it might already be fixed). BUT, if you are encountering these same issues, contact Apple Support! That is what they recommend. The more people who report this, the faster it will become resolved! Have networking issues like the Monterey slow upload speed bug? Try these possible fixes I don’t like describing issues without offering some possible solution. (See my How-To and Fix-It content.) So, if you are encountering networking issues like what I described here with macOS Monterey having very slow upload speeds, or just slow networking in general, here are a few tips or ideas you can try to potentially fix. Some of these are Mac-specific, while others are just general best practices. Restart your computer – this is the first thing I tell anyone having computer issues to do. Just do it! Reboot your WiFi router – routers are like computers, they need to be rebooted occasionally as well. I would do this every couple of months regardless of whether you are having issues or not.Reboot your cable/DSL/fiber modem – for the exact same reason as the previous two points, restart your modem if you can.Use wired (Ethernet) connection instead of WiFi – wired connections will ALWAYS be faster than WiFi. If you can, go wired!Change your Ethernet cable – your cable may have gone bad, or the plug is not seated correctly – it’s always good to get a new (or different) cable to test with.Boot in Safe Mode to test (Mac) – booting your Mac in Safe Mode allows you to eliminate 3rd parter applications and processes from interfering with the core OS. Here’s how to do it on a Mac. (You can do this on a PC as well.)Review Apple’s “Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points” – most of these settings are generic and not Mac-specific.Reinstall the macOS (ugh) – this is a second to last resort, but sometimes it is a good thing to do to “refresh” your macOS install.Roll back to a previous macOS version (double ugh – but I believe that will fix it) – I didn’t try this. I really didn’t want to go backwards. But, I’m almost 100% convinced that if you go back to Big Sur, this slow upload speed bug will go away. Those are just a few quick ideas on how you might be able to resolve some networking and other issues. Unfortunately, it didn’t help with my Monterey slow upload speed bug. I’m probably going to just wait it out (I even decided against installing the Developer Beta or the Public Beta). But I want to know! Are YOU experiencing slow upload speeds on macOS Monterey? What version are you on? 12.0.0 or 12.0.1? Are you having this issue with a different macOS version? PLEASE leave a comment! HTD says: Every new version of macOS becomes increasingly complicated with new or refined features, bug fixes, and security updates. But sometimes, in the billions of lines of code, a critical bug slips through – this Monterey slow upload speeds bug is one of them!

https://www.hightechdad.com/2021/12/10/macos-monterey-slow-upload-speeds-not-your-imagination/

[hightechdad]

Stop me if you have heard this one before. Your child has an essay due. It requires multiple pages to be printed out. Just the other month, you replaced all of the ink cartridges (setting you back about $100+) in preparation for a night like this. It’s getting close to midnight and your child is trying to print out the final version…but, the printer won’t print because it is out of ink (even though you recently changed the ink cartridges)! This scenario wouldn’t happen with the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 printer because this inkjet printer literally has a tank load of ink stored inside it – and not in some tiny little ink cartridges. (*Disclosure below.) I have been in that scenario I just described many, many times despite trying to buy cartridges ahead of time and having them stashed safely somewhere. There have been times where I had to race to the local office supply store right before the close just to buy ink cartridges and other times where I waited for a sale to stock up on supplies. I typically would get high-capacity cartridges (which are more expensive) so that they wouldn’t run out as quickly, but those can set you back almost $100 depending on the printer model. With the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 that panicked, last-minute buying of ink cartridges or hoarding of just-in-case stashes of ink pretty much becomes a thing of the past. And honestly, I LOVE the concept of the EcoTank. Oh, and by the way, this particular Epson printer (the ET-2850) is pretty darn practical and functional as well! Let’s talk EcoTank The EcoTank I feel is something long overdue. In the past, if you wanted to save money, people either bought knock-off ink cartridges or even tried to refill empty cartridges themselves. Both of these methods are actually pretty bad for your inkjet printer. They are fairly complex machines and if you put sub-standard ink into them, it can ruin the print heads, causing them to jam, produce not accurate colors, have lines and missing sections, or simply not print at all. Bottom line – don’t use knock-off or non-authentic ink cartridges. But why did we do that? Because ink cartridges were expensive and the ink didn’t seem to last very long. The EcoTank removes both of those barriers. Let’s look at two examples here – ink cartridges from another Epson printer and the EcoTank bottled ink. All of the data and pricing below is from the Epson site. Epson 202XL Black High-Capacity and Color Standard-Capacity 4 colors as part of this – C/M/Y/XLK Epson site price – $60.49Yield – Black: 550 pages and Color: 470 pages (based on printing with the Expression Home XP-5100)Epson T502 (Black) & T502 (Multi-color) Ink Bottles3 color bottles in the pack (CMY) and one larger black bottle (K)Epson site price – $19.99 for black and $38.95 for color for a total of $58.94Yield- Black: 7,500 pages and Color: 6,000 (based on printing with this printer, the Epson EcoTank ET-2850) Ok, did you actually READ the bullets above? For starters, to replace ALL of the ink in the EcoTank ET-2850 is actually about $1.50 less expensive. But the bigger difference that should really scream out at you is the fact that you get about 13 times the output…for the same price. Call me a cheapskate or incredibly smart (or both) but the EcoTank truly sounds like a winner. And honestly, from my initial days of testing, I think it is. Filling the individual color and black tanks is almost easier (and more fun) than replacing ink cartridges. And, according to Epson, you get up to 2 years of inks with just one ink bottle. Amazing! You open up the printer tank cover, open whichever tank color you want to fill, open the bottle (don’t shake it), put the bottle opening into the appropriate color slot, and let the bottle automatically empty into the ET-2850’s tank. Epson has designed the tank slots and bottles to only allow the proper color to be slid in, eliminating the mistakes of putting the wrong color into the wrong tank. The bottle will fill up the tank and magically stop when the tank is full. You can store extra ink for later if you want. And you just do that with all of the rest of the colors that need filling. On the front of the ET-2850 are physical tank level readers that let you actually see the levels of the ink stored in the printer (you can also get the ink level information from your computer or smartphone app if you want). Or you can use the tiny onboard screen to get the ink levels digitally. More setup and usage fun Getting the ink into the EcoTank is the first step of the setup. This happens even before you power on the Epson printer. Then you also have to let the Epson printer charge up the ink which happens once you turn the power on. This process will take a few minutes to complete. Once that is complete, I highly recommend you do some calibration of the printer heads. This may take a few minutes to complete, but trust me, if you don’t do it, the print quality won’t be as good compared to if you did. The printer will print out pages to test alignment, clean the ends to ensure there aren’t any gaps in ink dispersal and do some other fine-tuning. By doing all of this, you can be sure that when you do print, even edge-to-edge printing, things will look tight and crisp. Lastly, and importantly, you will want to connect the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 to your WiFi network. You can do WiFi Direct Mode that allows you to print directly to the Epson without the need of a WiFi router or access point, but by doing a true WiFi connection, you enable other great features, listed below: Epson Smart Panel App – available for iOS and Android, this is a great app to do anything with the printer directly from your smartphone. Print photos or documents, scan or capture documents, copy, easily print ID cards, and perform maintence all from this smartphone app.Apple AirPrint & Android Printing – I particularly like being able to connect my Mac to the Epson in just a few clicks and start printing. And with AirPrint, I can print directly from my smartphone as long as I’m on the same network.Epson Connect – use Email Print, Epson Remote Print, or Epson Scan to Cloud with your connected Epson printer from anywhere. While I haven’t set up the Epson Connect yet, I have tried both of the other items. I already mentioned AirPrint, but the Smart Panel App is a great suite of functions and features that I’m just starting to explore. As I write this, I’m testing out the printing of a coloring book based on a photo I imported into the app. Has your kid ever run out of graph paper? You can print a couple of sheets in an emergency. Or for those quick crafts projects, you can print out colored patterned paper directly from your smartphone. The Specs of the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 Obviously, you are going to want to read through the spec sheet on the Epson site to get all of the details, but I have selected a few things that I believe stand out about this handy printer. In no particular order: EcoTank – well this should be obvious!No more wasteful cartridges – again, obviously because of the EcoTankScanner & Copier – did I mention that it also has a scanner? Up to 2400 dpi via the hardware itself. No Automatic Document Feed for the scanner unfortunately – just one page at a time.Print resolution – 4800×1200Print speed – 10.5 pages per minute (black) and 5 ppm for color2-sided printing – since you are saving on ink cartridges, you should also save on paper and print on both sidesUSB-connection – print directly from your computer via USBWiFi – 802.11 b/g/nVoice-Activated Printing – if you have a Smart Home, you can configure the ET-2850 to work with Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant to print out things like graph or ruled paper or other items (I did not test this feature yet) In terms of the footprint on your table or desktop, the ET-2850 is fairly compact but will take up some space. It is 14.8″ wide. The depth and height vary by whether you have it in storage mode or printing mode. Printing mode has the paper feeder sticking out the back with paper in it and the printing tray that grabs the printed items out. I leave mine ready to go so the depth is 22.3″ and the height is 10.2″ By the way, I did find this ingenious slot in the base where you can store about 20-30 more sheets of paper. You just slide them out of the way and then hopefully nobody in the family will steal them. A perfect printer for a home office and/or family As I tested out the Epson EcoTank ET-2850, the more I realized how great this printer would be in either a home office or just as a family printer (or both, for that matter). It is incredibly easy to set up and the fact that you fill it up with gobs of ink that lasts several years means that you can use it for a long time and only worry about stocking it with paper. Also, it is quite budget-minded. The Epson site lists it at $299.99. It is also listed on Amazon for $299.99. On the Epson site, the ink has a range of options. The Black bottle is $19.99, the colors are $12.99, and the tri-color pack is $38.95. On Amazon, Black is $16.89, colors are $12.99 and tri-color is $34.99. There are a variety of EcoTank printers by Epson. The ET-2850 is pretty much the entry-level version, but the Epson ET-15000 is truly drool-worthy as it is a 4-in-1 device with touchscreen display, ethernet, large capacity paper tray, auto document feeder, and a large print format. The ET-15000 retails for $599.99. Also, I have reviewed other Epson printers in the past so be sure to check out those reviews (here, here, and here). Buy on HighTechDad The product shown below (and related products that have been reviewed on HighTechDad) is available within the HighTechDad Shop. This review has all of the details about this particular product and you can order it directly by clicking on the Buy button or clicking on the image/title to view more. Be sure to review other products available in the HighTechDad Shop. Epson EcoTank ET-2850 Printer $299.99 Buy on Amazon Having used the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 Printer for a few weeks now, I’m impressed with its functionality. Not only will it save you money when it comes to replacing ink (and the fact that it will definitely take a while before it actually runs out of ink), it also has the core features required for the home office or student. With double-sided printing, scanning, and copying, and the fact that you can easily connect and print from computers as well as tablets and laptops, it’s pretty much an essential tool for the modern household. Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to the editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page. HTD says: Save yourself some money and time and invest in the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 Printer. Once you fill up the dedicated ink tanks on this inkjet printer, you won’t have to for years! It’s a perfect workhorse for a family that is working or studying at home.

https://www.hightechdad.com/2021/12/08/a-supertanker-of-ink-inside-the-epson-ecotank-et-2850-printer-review/

[hightechdad]

I am a big fan of the Nixplay smart digital frames. Over the past few years, I have reviewed quite a number of them. And, one of their most recent new smart frames is a big leap forward. While much of the functionality remains the same, there is a new feature built into the frame itself that makes me quite happy. It’s the fact that the new Nixplay 10.1-inch Touch Screen Smart Photo Frame doesn’t actually include a remote control. Why is this a good thing? Because the frame is now entirely touch-enabled! (*Disclosure below.) While remote controls are great (trust me, I remember an age when my VCR – remember those? – had a CORDED remote control), it is quite easy to misplace them or get confused about which remote controls which device. And, as I have a variety of Nixplay remote controls scattered around the house, having one more remote control for the Nixplay smart photo frame would actually be a bit confusing. So, yes, you can control these Nixplay digital frames with the NixPlay app on your smartphone, but sometimes it is just nice to simply go up to the frame and control everything much the same way you would a tablet or smartphone. So, I’m pretty happy with this technology upgrade. The Nixplay touchscreen is easy to use and very intuitive, and setting up and controlling the Nixplay smart digital frame is a snap. But let’s also remember why digital frames are great. Sure, a picture on the wall is nice, but it is static and, honestly, a bit boring. With a smart digital frame, you can have different playlists and easily update or change what you are showcasing on the frame. Quick Things to Love about the Nixplay Smart Digital Frames Photos (and videos) are all about building conversation and bringing back memories. Much like opening a photo album, time not only stops, but rewinds to the past. One can spend quite a bit of time reliving an occasion by simply looking at one photo. And when you have hundreds or thousands of photos all stored digitally and available at the touch of a button, in the case of the Nixplay 10.1-inch Touch Screen Smart Photo Frame, you can literally spend hours just scrolling through photos and talking about each one. I have reviewed several Nixplay frames over the past few years. Each one has its own unique tech advances. Some have built-in digital speakers, others have different designs and styles, and others simply look great on a bookcase. My favorite thing about all of these Nixplay smart digital frames is that they connect to WiFi and can be controlled via the Nixplay app. Not only can you remotely control all of the settings via the Nixplay smartphone app (or via the Nixplay website), you can also upload photos directly from your smartphone, create albums, and set up playlists specific to each Nixplay frame. So, for example, if you have a frame in your bedroom, away from guests, you can set up a playlist that shows some of those “non-approved” photos of your kids. (My daughters are a bit picky about what images are seen by everybody and which ones should just be for family.) Another nice thing, which makes the Nixplay smart digital frames so great as gifts for the extended family, is that if you give a frame to the grandparents (which we did), you can regularly refresh the photos with the latest and greatest “approved” ones. And you can do that remotely via the application (or even via email). Setting up this 10.1-inch digital smart frame from Nixplay is incredibly easy, as all of their other frames. And with the touch screen, it is even easier. You plug the power cord in and then work through the screens that appear on the frame. Part of that process is connecting to your WiFi. In the past, with the Nixplay frames that came with remote controls, entering in the password for your WiFi network could take a couple of minutes. Now, with the touch-enabled screen, you literally type the password in using the keyboard that appears on the frame. And once you connect to your WiFi, you connect it to your Nixplay account within the smartphone app. It took me about three minutes to fully set it up. Taking the Nixplay Smart Digital Frame and making it Better So, how do you improve on a smart digital frame? As I said, Nixplay has already curated the experience to make it easy to control and update the frame remotely. Well, the key is in the word at the end of the previous sentence, with a bit of a twist. The new Nixplay 10.1-inch Touch Screen Smart Photo Frame does NOT include a remote control to manage the frame. Like all of the other frames, you can use the app, but this one has a full touch screen. For those interested in the specs of this new touch-enabled digital screen, here they are: Screen type: Touch screen LCD IPSResolution: 1280 x 800 (HD)Aspect ratio: 16:10Brightness: 400 cd/m2Contrast: 500:1Viewing angles(Left/Right/Top/Bottom): 80/80/80Sensors:Auto rotate (portait and landscape)Microphone Activity Sensor (non-recording)Auto on/off To double-click on a few of these items (or double-touch in the case of this frame since it is touch-enabled), the screen itself is HD. Of course, this depends on the quality of the photo (or video) that you upload. The file formats supported by the Nixplay frame are: Photos: JPG (.jpg – .jpeg) and PNG (.png) Videos: 15-second video clips via mobile app (60-seconds available); MP4, MOV, MPEG You can rotate the frame physically from portrait to landscape, and the photos will automatically adjust to support whichever viewing angle you have. And, there are built-in sensors (apart from the viewing angle sensor) that will automatically turn the Nixplay frame on or off based on motion or activity. For example, if you aren’t in the room where the Nixplay frame is, after a predetermined amount it time, it will go into power-saving mode. And, if you re-enter the room and the Nixplay frame picks up the motion, it will resume playback. You can set up the transitions, the amount of time you want a picture to show on the frame, adjust the volume for videos, shuffle the playback of photos, tell the frame how to handle non-standard sized images when to go to sleep, and a whole lot more either on the screen (using the touch interface) or directly on the Nixplay app. It’s super easy to control. The Price for On-Demand Memories Memories are priceless. And, as we create more and more digital content, it is important to ensure these images are available to be relived and enjoyed. A Nixplay smart digital frame puts these memories at your fingertips and allows you to quickly share and relive time passed. Remember, photo albums are fun to flip through, but most often, they simply sit on a bookshelf gathering dust until a moment to look at them pops up. A digital photo frame brings all of these memories out into the open and shares them with your loved ones around you. We have a Nixplay frame in our living room right next to the door. Often, even as we are rushing out the door, if there is a photo memory that pops up, the rushing stops, and conversation about the past starts. Reliving these memories is priceless, in my opinion. The Nixplay 10.1-inch Touch Screen Smart Photo Frame retails for $209.99 but as of this writing, it is on sale for $157.49 (it may go back up in price soon)! You can also get it on Amazon for $208.14. Buy Now on HighTechDad The product shown below (and related products that have been reviewed on HighTechDad) is available within the HighTechDad Shop. This review has all of the details about this particular product and you can order it directly by clicking on the Buy button or clicking on the image/title to view more. Be sure to review other products available in the HighTechDad Shop. Nixplay 10.1-inch Touch Screen Smart Photo Frame $208.14 Buy on Amazon The Nixplay smart digital frame, including this new touch-screen version, is a great gift to give during the holidays, for special occasions, or simply to gift yourself. It’s an increadibly easy way to relive memories and share experiences with those around you. And, it is much better than just sticking a photo away in a photo album. The act of viewing photos together even allows for new memories to be created. Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to the editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page. HTD says: Why keep your digital memories bottled up on your smartphone when you can easily showcase and relive those memories easily with a Nixplay smart digital frame. And the new 10.1-inch smart digital frame with the touch-screen interface makes displaying, managing, and navigating those memories even easier.

https://www.hightechdad.com/2021/11/26/family-memories-touch-nixplay-smart-digital-frame-touch-screen-review/

[hightechdad]

In my previous article, I provided recommendations for what type of iPhone upgrade you may want to follow. It is important to understand that each person has unique needs and may use their iPhone quite differently from others. For example, I do all of my product review photos and videos on my iPhone. Others may purely use it for browsing the web and email. So make sure you don’t over-buy on features. In this article, I also talk about over-buying, but specifically as it relates to Mac upgrades with the Apple iMac and the Apple MacBook Pro. If you are thinking about a new Mac altogether, you need to decide if you want a desktop or a laptop. The advantage of a desktop computer is that you get a much larger screen, while with a laptop, you get mobility and portability. I personally prefer laptops (MacBook Pro or MacBook Air), but I set up my home office environment with many monitors and have my laptop plugged into those. It’s a bit messy with cables and connections everywhere, but it is extremely productive for me. However, if you are a bit of a neat freak or just want computers to be elegantly displayed with practically no cords or cables and want a “big screen” experience, you will want to go the desktop route (iMac). With the launch of the new Apple M1 chip, the entire line of MacBooks and MacBook Pros has gotten quite interesting but also quite confusing to many, especially around the MacBook Air/MacBook Pro line. Again, I haven’t had hands-on with all of these but have researched and tested quite a few. These are my recommendations based on those tests and readings. HighTechDad’s Mac Upgrade Recommendations There is a lot to discuss when it comes to Macs, but I’m only going to focus on the iMac and the MacBook Pro since I have hands-on experience with both lines.  I have had lots of hands-on experience with various iterations of the MacBook Pro. But, every single MBP I have had was either supplied by my work or a “tech-me-down” from my stepmom as she upgraded hers. Only recently did I save up enough to get the new 16″ MBP M1 Max.  Let’s start with the iMac. The last iMac that I owned was the iMac DV SE which came out in 1999. I still have it stored away safely somewhere in my garage. It was one of the first Macs that I actually took apart to upgrade the hard drive or the DVD ROM (to make it recordable).  The new 24″ iMac with Apple’s M1 chip But both of my parents have had previous versions of the iMac as well, 2004’s, 2007’s, and Aluminum iMacs. But recently, both of my parents ran into issues where their iMacs were no longer supported on the current macOS operating system. My father, for example, could not access his banking sites because Safari was outdated. And, since Safari was baked into the macOS, you had to update macOS to get the current version. But, macOS Monterey was not supported on his iMac. Remember I mentioned how “Pro” is really becoming a differentiator with Apple products? There are rumors of an M1-based iMac Pro coming in 2022. So, if you are an artist, photographer, multimedia producer, or something similar, you may want to hold off on your upgrade until that iMac Pro is available. You can read more about the rumored iMac Pro here and here. And, once again, I’m recommending taking a look at Apple’s comparison page. This link shows the new iMac 24″ M1 versus the iMac 27″ Intel versus the iMac 21.5″ Intel.  13″, 14″ and 16″ MacBook Pros with the M1 chip and the MacBook Air Where things get a bit more complicated (unnecessarily) is when it comes to choosing a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. There are many options and configurations that can become quite confusing right from the beginning. But, in this case, you need to think about how you will be using the MacBook, and this will help you understand the best upgrade (or new purchase) path to take.  First, there are some similarities to other upgrades that you need to consider. For example, does the current operating system work on the Mac that you have? If yes, for how long. If not, then it is probably worth upgrading. Second, think about how you will be using it. If portability is important, you may want to consider the MacBook Air or the 13″ or 14″ MacBook Pro. Remember, all of these new MacBooks have Apple’s M1 chip in them, and the recently released MacBook Pros have the M1 Pro or M1 Max chip (the current Air and the 13″ MacBook Pro only have the M1 chip). Some quick thoughts on getting a lightweight/smaller MacBook. If you are a student, you probably want to have as long of a battery as possible. Luckily the M1 chip is optimized for that. If you want a lightweight yet quick MacBook, I would recommend the MacBook Air. If you want something slightly more robust with a couple of extra hours of battery, take a look at the 13″ MacBook Pro. But, if you really want something powerful that can really perform in a smaller form factor, you need to look at the 14″ MacBook Pro with either the M1 Pro or M1 Max chip (more about those chips in a second). Take a look at the comparison between these three MacBooks mentioned above. The two lower-end Macs (Air and 13″) are pretty similar, but the 14″ is extremely different and much more high-end (and DOUBLE the price).  A quick side note here. There are still some really great deals to be had on the Intel-based MacBook Pros. If you search around, you can probably save many 100’s of dollars or more by choosing an Intel-based MacBook Pro. But, if you go this route, remember that Apple is going all-in on their new Silicon (the M1) so those Intel Macs might not get as much attention and will eventually not be (as) supported as the M1’s.  Now let’s talk about the new MacBook Pros with the M1 Pro or M1 Max chips. This is where things can potentially get more confusing with all of the options available. But, as with other parts in this article, it depends on how you will be using your laptop.  First, let me start with which chip to get, the M1 Pro or M1 Max. This is, actually, pretty easy. Get the: M1 Max – if you are a videographer, photographer, illustrator, or someone that uses CPU and/or GPU-intensive tasksM1 Pro – this is the chip for everyone else, AND, it still is quite high-end and an extremely capable performer But actually, it ISN’T that easy as there are other configurations you can do, again, depending on how you will be using the Mac. For example, you can get a configuration that has the M1 Max chip but with either a 24-core GPU or a 32-core GPU. If you are a digital designer, videographer, graphic artist, and even a gamer, you will probably want to get the 32-core GPU. Similarly, the M1 Pro chip has options – a 14-core GPU or a 16-core GPU.  It’s pretty nuanced, and unless you really understand this stuff or have an unlimited budget, you probably don’t need all of the GPUs. Other decisions are a bit more straightforward. Size – 14″ or 16″. The size does affect the weight as well as the battery life. The smaller MacBook Pros weigh less because they have a smaller battery, and therefore the battery life is a bit less than the larger ones. Think about storage as well. These new MacBook Pros now can have vast amounts of internal storage – up to 8TB. The smallest size you can get is 512GB. Personally, I would recommend getting at least 1TB of internal SSD storage if you can. Unfortunately, there is NO easy way to upgrade the internal storage after your purchase, and you will have to carry around an external hard drive potentially. (I got my 16″ M1 Max with 1TB of HD space.) Next is memory. Apple has redesigned how memory is managed with the new MacBook Pros and the M1 Pro and Max chips. While it is more efficient, you do need to think about how much you want or need. Again, if you are a professional artist, you will probably want to max out on the RAM. You can get up to 32GB on the M1 Pro and 32GB or 64GB on the M1 Max). The base amount is 16GB which is probably sufficient for most people doing basic tasks. (Just remember to Quit your applications…not just close the open windows).  Here’s the comparison between the 14″ and 16″ MacBook Pros with the M1 chip against the Intel 16″ MacBook Pro.Ok, so what are my recommendations here for these higher-end MacBook Pros? Well, these are VERY subjective.  Entry Level (starting at $1,999 or $2,499) – limited budget, Students, writers, everyday portability –> 14″ MacBook Pro with M1 Pro chip with 16GB RAM, 512GB or 1TB SSD Storage. If you are an engineer or graphics major, get the one with 10-core CPU/16-Core GPU.Mid-Level (starting at $2,699) – ok budget, some graphics/video creation, wants power occasionally, less concerned about portability –> 16″ MacBook Pro with M1 Pro chip with 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD storage.High-End (starting at $3,499) – budget not really an issue, heavy graphic/video creation or intensive CPU tasks, lots of power on-demand –> 16″ MacBook Pro with M1 Max chip with 32GB RAM (or 64GB) and at least 1TB SSD storage. Confused yet? If you are, don’t worry, I’m still trying to figure it all out. But if you are or have questions, please leave a comment.  Other Quick Apple Upgrade Recommendations When it comes to the Apple Watch, many of the above recommendations apply. If you are behind a few versions (or have never purchased an Apple Watch), I recommend getting the latest version, currently the Apple Watch Series 7. I currently have the Series 6, which is fantastic. There are new health sensors that are regularly added with each new version. Screens are getting larger. Batteries last a bit longer. Water-resistance gets better.  Apple is currently only showcasing their most recent model (the Series 6) and less expensive models (SE and Series 3). You can see a comparison between those three versions here. However, you can often get previous models on other sites or stores. And, unless you have a compelling reason to have the latest version (e.g., you must be able to get your blood oxygen level or ECG), an earlier model might be better.  Sometimes, you can even get some crazy savings on specific models. For example, we were able to get my daughter a RED version of the Series 6 for $250 off the regular price! One last thing to think about when purchasing or upgrading an Apple Watch is whether you get GPS-only or GPS + Cellular. While I really like having the Cellular option, you will have to pay an additional monthly fee to your cellular carrier. And, many people simply have their Apple Watch paired with their iPhone, so you use the iPhone for connectivity. If you are a runner or someone who doesn’t always bring their iPhone with them, you may want to consider the GPS + Cellular option.  I won’t make any iPad recommendations simply because mine is ancient, and I haven’t tested any of the new ones. And, AirPods are very personal – it depends on how you use them, if you want over the ear (AirPod Max) or in the ear (AirPods & AirPods Pro). However, if you can afford it and you like having great sound and sound isolation/cancellation, I highly recommend the AirPod Pros without a doubt. Shopping for the iMac, MacBook Pro, Apple Watch, or AirPods My shopping recommendations for the iMac, MacBook Pro, Apple Watch, or AirPods do mirror that of what I wrote in Part 1. But, particularly with the Apple Watch and the AirPods, since these are practically wearable tech and something that you would potentially use many times a day, your choice will become highly personal in nature. That being said, always look for a sale! However, there are quite a few shopping options to consider with the MacBook Pro and the iMac. Below are my recommended configurations that I mentioned above (of those, my mom & dad’s iMacs, my stepmom’s MacBook Pro, and my MacBook Pro configurations are included). The prices and links go to Amazon (yes, they are affiliate links to help support my writing and website). 24″ iMac with M1 chip (16GB RAM/1TB SSD) – note: Amazon doesn’t have my recommended configuration available, only the 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD option for $1,69916″ MacBook Pro with M1 Pro chip (16GB RAM/1TB SSD) – $2,699.0016″ MacBook Pro with M1 Max chip (32GB RAM/1TB SSD) – $3,499.00MacBook Air with M1 chip (16GB RAM/512GB SSD) – note: Amazon doesn’t have my recommended configuration available, only the 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD option for $1,199.9913″ MacBook Pro with M1 chip (16GB RAM/512GB SSD) – note: Amazon doesn’t have my recommended configuration available, only the 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD option for $1,349.0014″ MacBook Pro with M1 Pro chip (16GB RAM/512GB SSD) – $1,999.99 My recommendations for the Apple Watch are a bit easier. If you have anything older than an Apple Watch Series 5, you might want to get the Series 7 (or save some money and get the Series 6). You do have to decide on the size of the watch face. That is a personal preference. Apple currently is pushing either the Series 7 or the budget version Apple Watch SE. As I mentioned, I like the Cellular versions, but many people elect not to go that route. And you have to think about the Case as well as the band you want. Here are the links directly to the particular series; you will have to go from there: Apple Watch Series 7 (GPS + Cellular) – $479-749Apple Watch SE (GPS + Cellular) – $329Apple Watch Series 6 (GPS + Cellular) – various prices and NOTE – many of these are “renewed” or “refurbished” It’s a bit easier with AirPods. There are only three options to consider (but my preference is the AirPod Pros). Again, on Amazon: AirPods (2nd Gen) – $109AirPods Pro – (not in stock as of this writing)AirPods Max – $439-479AirPods (new version) – (not in stock as of this writing) Whew! That is a lot of Apple products! I do hope that these two articles helped and didn’t confuse you more. There are many variations and models to think about. And sometimes, the one you really want will be outside of your budget, so you have to settle for the model lower or a previous generation (or a tech-me-down). Trust me; I live that reality all of the time! If you have any questions, be sure to leave a comment, and I will be happy to try to help and not confuse you more! HTD says: Shopping for an Apple Mac or Watch or AirPods can be overwhelming with color choices, features, models, and more. So definitely take some time to review your options, do some research, and ask your tech-savvy friends!  Images source: Apple.com PR

https://www.hightechdad.com/2021/11/23/what-mac-to-get-hightechdad-apple-2021-upgrade-recommendations-part-2/

[hightechdad]

In recent months, Apple has released a series of compelling products. And, whenever these new iPhones or Macs or iPads are available, I often get asked which ones I would recommend—the short answer – all of them (for the most part). However, most of us don’t have huge budgets or truckloads of cash to spend, so any upgrade or new purchase decisions must be made carefully and with a lot of thought. I figured, however, I would write some recommendations and questions to think about as you consider getting that new bright and shiny Apple product. It’s important to note that these are my personal opinions. I don’t know your situation, how much money you have saved for this purchase, how you will be using the device, or countless other variations. I can, however, offer some high-level advice to make your decision-making process a bit easier hopefully (or potentially more confusing if I offer too many other things to think about). Regardless, read through this article, and if you have any questions or your own opinion, do leave a comment.  Also, I won’t be covering every Apple product. There are far too many. And, I really haven’t had hands-on experience with everything. For example, I only have the original iPad Mini. I have never played with an iPad Air or iPad Pro. I don’t have the latest Apple Watch Series 7. And there are plenty of accessories that I haven’t touched (my wife won’t let me!). But, as Apple releases products, I do try to read reviews and watch videos. And I have had lots of experience testing each iPhone iteration and have had lots of time with various Macs (even repairing them—thanks, Apple, for allowing the Right to Repair!).  HighTechDad’s iPhone Upgrade Recommendations The latest iPhone is the iPhone 13. It comes in two main versions, the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro. And, within each version, there are other sub-models. Briefly: iPhone 13iPhone 13 miniiPhone 13iPhone 13 ProiPhone 13 ProiPhone 13 Pro Max Storage capacity ranges are: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB (the new 1TB option is only available on the Pro line.) I recommend getting as much storage as you can afford (unless you don’t take videos or photos). The “Pro” moniker is something that is recently become more refined by Apple. It applies to their iPhones, AirPods, and their MacBooks. And, within that Pro lineage, there is now the “Max” tag which is starting to signify the “top of the line” with everything “maxed out.” Max can signify a faster processor, highest-end components and features, or largest size. It does depend on the device. I do think a new iMac Pro will be coming soon. The Pro line is truly becoming aligned with Professional. And people often don’t realize this until they see the price. But, there are pretty significant differences and advantages to choosing the Pro line. For example, you get more camera lenses (Ultra Wide, Wide, and Telephoto versus just Ultra Wide and Wide in the non-Pro version). When it comes to which upgrade to follow for the iPhone, here are my quick recommendations based on the iPhone you currently have: iPhone 12 – unless you are an avid videographer or photographer that uses their iPhone as their primary image or movie capturing device, I would say hold off until the iPhone 14 comes out.iPhone 11 – following the same guidance for the iPhone 12, if you have the iPhone 11, you may want to hold off. But it is less of a strong case to do so. Things to think about:How is your battery health? You can get a battery replaced for a fee, but you could also apply that to the purchase of a new iPhoneHave you run out of storage? If so, with your next iPhone purchase, consider getting more storage (or, gasp, deleting some of those photos, videos, movies, or games)Do you want to take advantage of 5G? Starting with the iPhone 12, you can use 5G and not just 4G LTE.iPhone X/XR/XS/XS Max – at this point, I would seriously consider getting the iPhone 13 (or, if you get a good deal on a 12, go that route). The cameras continue to get better and better with each release. There are countless enhancements in speed and performance with newer iPhone. Night shot photos get much better with the newer versions. If you have the XS, you may want to think about the iPhone 12 or iPhone 13 (perhaps even in the mini version, but you probably don’t need the Pro)iPhone 8/8 Plus (or earlier iPhone model) – bottom line with any of these older iPhones, it’s time to upgrade! Turn your old iPhone into a sound machine or something! Another essential point to consider, Apple eventually stops supporting older models as they release new versions of iOS (the Operating System for iPhones). The current release of iOS as of this writing is iOS 15.1. However, unlike Macs, there still seems to be pretty good support for older devices. According to this Apple document, you can install iOS 15.1 all the way back to an iPhone 6s or iPhone SE (1st gen). But, I will guarantee that old iPhones running the latest and greatest iOS will run very slowly, and you will have a sub-par experience. But if you don’t mind your device being slow, it may be ok. When you do a single number upgrade (e.g., iPhone 11 to iPhone 12), it is often a bit difficult to see tremendous differences. Speeds are faster, cameras are better, and designs are refined, among other things. However, when you do a larger number upgrade (e.g., iPhone 10 to iPhone 13), you WILL notice a big difference, and often it is worth the price.  Apple has a great comparison tool that lets you put 2 or 3 iPhone models side-by-side so you can geek out on the specs and differences. I highly recommend that as you research your upgrade, that you use their comparison tool! There are a lot of technical terms on there, so be warned. A few last thoughts – while you can often use your old device as a trade-in to reduce your purchase price, there are plenty of reasons to simply keep that old iPhone. For example: Donate it to a charity – there are many organizations that will gladly take your old tech and put it to work with people who need themUse it as a “tech-me-down” (hand-me-down) for your kids to play with. This works with younger kids but good luck once they hit their teens!Save it as a backup – accidents happen and it is nice to be able to pop out the SIM card and put into your backup phone in an emergency.Take it apart – well, I wouldn’t recommend this too much unless you are like me and want to figure out how things work and how to repair them. (Be careful with batteries!)Make it a collectable – who knows, that original iPhone, even in pretty bad condition, might be worth a lot in the future! For full disclosure, I have not (yet) spent any time with the iPhone 13. I’m currently using the iPhone 12 Pro Max. However, I do hope to have some hands-on time with the iPhone 13 in the future. Shopping for the iPhone I do have a few recommendations when it comes to shopping for a new iPhone, specifically: Always look for sales (duh)Consider getting the previous version (“last year’s model” is typically pretty darn good for most and you will save some $$$)Consider the Apple Upgrade Program – you get the latest model, pay monthly instead of all up front, get Apple Care+, and after a year, can upgrade to the next model (which does require a new loan). You also own the phone after you pay it all off (and it is interest-free). I chose this path with my kids for a few years.Be flexible on the colors – there may be some good deals on less-popular models.Don’t do a trade-in – Unless you have a previous generation and can get some good $$$, I would recommend selling your old iPhone yourself instead of doing a trade-in. Trade-ins are easy, but you won’t get the full value (it’s just like trading in a car). Here are links to the latest iPhone 13 models on Amazon (yes, they are affiliate links – writing these articles takes time, so I appreciate your clicks!). I have chosen the 512 GB option because I think that is the best for people taking videos and photos. You will save money if you get a smaller capacity (but you might regret it later). Also, the color choice may affect the price (per my recommendation above) – if you don’t like a particular color, just get a case to cover it! iPhone 13iPhone 13 mini (512GB) – $1,029iPhone 13 (512GB) – $1,129iPhone 13 ProiPhone 13 Pro (512GB) – $1,299iPhone 13 Pro Max (512GB) – $1,399 Good luck with your iPhone upgrades! In part two of this article, I cover Mac upgrade recommendations, Apple Watch thoughts, and AirPods. Continue to Part 2. HTD says: Sometimes, the upgrade path for Mac products can be confusing. My iPhone upgrade recommendations keep things relatively simple, but remember, these are personal choices, and you need to match your use cases with the appropriate technology. Images source: Apple.com PR

https://www.hightechdad.com/2021/11/23/which-iphone-to-get-hightechdad-apple-2021-upgrade-recommendations-part-1/

[hightechdad]

Laptops are rapidly becoming pure replacements for desktop computers (unless you are a full-on gamer or developer or someone who requires a big box under your desk with lots of power and ports). Take the new MacBook Pro sporting the M1 Pro or Max chipset. You can literally do what previously required a MacPro desktop or other high-end computer, but without the requirements of always being tethered to power or a big monitor or a hard drive array. And while these new MacBook Pros now have ports other than USB-C, if you truly want to be mobile, you have to be able to get up and go, throw your hard drives into a bag, and head off. I highly recommend having a USB-C hub or dock handy in your bag when you do hit the road, and the OWC USB-C Travel Dock has those core connectivity ports at your disposal. (*Disclosure below.) The OWC USB-C Travel Dock is basic but has been designed to be compact while providing essential connectivity. If you have a previous-generation MacBook Pro, the one that only has the USB-C ports, or even a newer M1, you are going to want to take a hard look at how you connect your peripherals when mobile. In previous reviews of USB-C dock, adapters, and dongles, I mentioned that you want to stay away from having too many things just hanging off of your laptop. It’s a pain trying to find them and your laptop looks like a digital octopus. In my opinion, it’s much better to have all connectivity contained within one device, and that’s where the OWC USB-C Travel Dock excels. The OWC Travel Dock has five ports that will satisfy most of your needs (with a few exceptions). So, when evaluating USB-C docks, be sure you fully understand your use cases and what you will need when you are on the road. There are some things that are essential and others that you can probably survive without. 5 Core Ports on the OWC Travel Dock OWC has kept things fairly straightforward when it comes to the design of its hub. They wanted to provide the essentials while maintaining a compact design that could be easily thrown into a bag. These are the core ports: USB 3.1 Type-A – there are two of these ports. These are Gen 1 which are perfect for connecting external, portable hard drives, charging your tablet or smartphone, or connecting other peripherals.SD Card Reader (UHS-II) – there is one SD card reader. This is ideal for photographers who want to quickly download photos taken on their DSLR camera by just popping in the SD card. This SD Card reader is compatible with SD, SDHC, SDXC, and SDUC cards. And, the SD card reader is compatible with UHS-I, UHS-II, UHS-III (Ultra High Speed) and SD Express cards. Remember, the full transfer speed does depend on the type of the card you are using.HDMI – there is one HDMI v2.0 port which makes this travel dock ideal for those laptops or devices that do not have a built-in HDMI port. The HDMI port supports 4K resolution, up to 4096 x 2160 @ 30Hz.USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C pass-through power port – lastly, there is one USB-C port. This is where you will probably want to plug in your USB-C power supply. This port supports up to 100W of passthrough charge (a little less as 1.5W of power is used by the OWC Travel Dock itself). Also, the dock draws between 5W and 15W of power, depending on the devices connected. Physically attached to the OWC USB-C Travel Dock is a USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 cable that can connect directly to a compatible device (laptop, Chromebook, tablet, or smartphone). Using the 100W passthrough power, you can connect your power supply to the OWC Travel Dock and plug the Travel Dock USB-C cable into your laptop to power it AND connect your peripherals. And only use one port on your laptop in the process. This USB-C cable (which is only 5.9″ in length) coils up and can be stored in the bottom of the travel dock, making it truly a compact, little hub. Why this Travel Dock is actually Great for Travel When you go on the road, you probably will be concerned with both weight and space. Depending on the size of your laptop, the laptop itself and its power supply may add a few pounds of weight and take up a significant amount of space. OWC designed their USB-C Travel Dock to reduce that worry of weight and size. The Dock is shaped like a flat cube, measuring 4.4″ in width and length, and is only 2″ high. It’s quite compact. Added to the small dimensions is the fact that it only weighs 6.1 ounces. In comparison, an Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max weighs 8.5 ounces. An iPhone Pro Mini weighs 4.97 ounces, so the OWC USB-C Travel Dock falls right in between those two smartphones. Also, the OWC Travel Dock is ambidextrous when it comes to the types of devices it can support: Mac CompatibilityOS X 10.10 or latermacOS 10.12 or lateriOS 12 or later (for any iOS device that has a USB-C connector)PC: Windows 10 or laterAndroid, Chrome, and Linux versions with USB Type-C support – Hardware There is no driver required to run this OWC Travel Dock. However, OWC does provide software to make managing connected hard drives a lot easier. Using the OWC Dock Ejector software, you can safely eject all connected hard drives with one click. In addition, it ensures that all data has been written to the drive, eliminating those pesky errors of “your hard drive was not ejected properly.” The Price of Portable Connectivity How much will this 5-port OWC USB-C Travel Dock set you back? It’s pretty reasonably priced given what you get especially if you added up each of the connectors independently. OWC has the Travel Dock currently listed at $54.99 which is right on the mark in my opinion, given the compact design and portability. One port that I do wish that it had was Ethernet. I know that WiFi speeds have gotten a lot faster so you probably can be just fine without hard-wiring in your Internet connection, but that would have been a great additional port. You can currently pick up the OWC USB-C Travel Dock on Amazon for $54.99 as well but you may see it drop in price as we get closer to the holidays. Buy on HighTechDad.com The product shown below (and related products that have been reviewed on HighTechDad) is available within the HighTechDad Shop. This review has all of the details about this particular product and you can order it directly by clicking on the Buy button or clicking on the image/title to view more. Be sure to review other products available in the HighTechDad Shop. OWC USB-C Travel Dock $54.99 Buy on Amazon The bottom line here is if you are mobile with a laptop, you will want to get some sort of a USB-C hub in the near future. OWC does have larger versions of their USB-C hub with more port options (including Ethernet). For example, you can get the Travel Dock E which does add a gigabit Ethernet port for just $10 more at $64.99. And there are other options available as well. Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to the editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page. HTD says: Whether you are always on the road for business travel or just moving around your work or home office to different seating environments, having a small, lightweight, and portable USB-C hub like the OWC USB-C Travel Dock is one gadget you don’t want to be without.

https://www.hightechdad.com/2021/11/17/mobile-warrior-pack-owc-usb-c-travel-dock-review/

[hightechdad]

Honestly, I find it increasingly difficult to work with just a single monitor. Whether it is just the built-in screen on a laptop or a desktop computer with just one monitor attached, I immediately feel a bit claustrophobic. When in that type of situation, I often will scale the resolution of the single display to be able to show the most real-estate possible and have two windows side-by-side. But that is less than ideal. Whenever possible, I will attach an additional monitor (or multiple monitors) to allow me to have some breathing room. So when Mobile Pixels asked me if I wanted to review their DUEX Lite secondary screen, I was quite excited to agree. And, for many use cases, the Mobile Pixels DUEX Lite fulfills that need for additional screen space. (*Disclosure below.) Whenever I show people my desk setup, the one comment I always get is, “wow, that is a lot of screens!” And my response is always, “I still need more!” However, there is something to be said about dedicating a monitor to a single task, especially when focusing on a specific thing. For example, as I do research when writing a review, I like to have the product page on a dedicated screen to review tech specs or feature lists. Or, when I’m working, having a secondary screen specific to email or instant messaging helps me maintain focus on the primary task yet still be able to glance at other items when needed. But when you are “on the go” or working with just a laptop or Chromebook or even a tablet, it can be a bit difficult to have that secondary screen. And that is where the Mobile Pixels DUEX Lite monitor is a perfect companion for the road warrior, student, or business traveler. It is a small, portable, and compact 1080p monitor that can give you that extra screen real-estate in a plug-and-play manner. What makes the Mobile Pixels DUEX Lite unique I have reviewed other portable monitors in the past, but what makes the Mobile Pixels DUEX Lite unique is the fact that it is both portable but also on-demand. Let me explain a bit about the on-demand nature of it. Other secondary monitors are typically more of a large, permanent setup. You have them sitting on your desk, and when you bring your laptop over, you plug them in. You can’t typically move them around the house with you. Or, if you do have a more portable solution, it is a secondary device that you do have to find a way to store and carry. This is not the case with the Mobile Pixels DUEX Lite secondary screen. If you have a laptop, and it could be a Mac or a PC or a Chromebook, the DUEX Lite could be the perfect solution for you because of how it is designed. It is made to physically attach to the back of your laptop’s screen lid. And, it is hidden away when you don’t need it but can be slid out and connected when you do. Note: I do want to preface this part of the review with a bit of a disclosure. I recently got a new laptop. While I do appreciate the ingenuity of the design in terms of attaching the DUEX Lite to the screen lid, I decided I didn’t want to do that physical attachment because my laptop is so new. I do explain how the attachment is performed as well as some alternate ways of using the DUEX Lite in this review. But you won’t see any photos of mine with the DUEX Lite attached to the lid. The Mobile Pixels DUEX Lite can be physically attached to the lid of your laptop. The installation process, from my reading through of the instructions, seems relatively easy to do. Four magnets hold the screen to the lid. These four magnets have a sticky backing that holds them to the lid. Then, the magnets attach to the DUEX Lite into four magnet slots on the screen itself. So, if you want to remove the DUEX lite, you detach the screen held in place by the magnets. And, all that is left on your laptop are four circular magnets. There is a lightweight frame that holds the screen itself. You can slide the screen out to have it facing you, so you have that extra space for another application, or you can have it facing out from the back of your laptop’s screen. This second scenario is great for business presentations or even co-watching content. You could, for example, mirror your screen so what is displayed on your laptop’s primary screen is also shown simultaneously on the DUEX lite. And you achieve all of this by just sliding the DUEX Lite in and out of the protective frame that it is attached to. And, there is a third option which is the one that I am using as I write this review. Portrait Mode is ideal for writers If you are like me, and you don’t want to physically attach the DUEX Lite to your laptop’s lid (or if you want to easily allow others to share this portable monitor), you will want to use Portrait Mode. With this configuration, you use the protective frame as the base and then prop the monitor up. Portrait Mode is ideal for writers, as I mentioned. For example, you can get pretty much a full-page displayed on the DUEX Lite if you are working in Word. Or, it is ideal for viewing a long web page. To enable this, once you have your DUEX Lite physically propped up, you will need to adjust the screen rotation. By default, the screen will show in landscape mode. If you are on a Mac, you will want to go into your Displays preferences and change the rotation. (While you are in there, you may want to change the resolution.) But what if you don’t want to either attach the DUEX Lite to your laptop screen, and you don’t want to have the stand-alone display in portrait mode? Mobile Pixels does have an accessory called the Origami Kickstand. This nifty little contraption unfolds to allow you to hold the DUEX Lite in landscape mode and place it next to your computer without the need for having it attached to the back of your laptop screen. What about the specs? Let’s geek out on the specs for a little bit. It is always important to fully understand what you are getting and what you aren’t. For example, there is a cable included with the DUEX Lite. There is a USB-C connector at a right angle on one end – this connects directly to the DUEX Lite screen. On the other end, there is a USB-C plug as well as a USB-A adapter. The beauty of USB is that it can pass power. Unfortunately, when I tried connecting via USB-A to an older MacBook Pro (that doesn’t have USB-C), it didn’t work. At least, not initially. I found that once I went through installing drivers on the Mac, rebooting, and then applying the necessary security settings, it was able to work on an older MacBook Pro. My daughter is now happily able to edit her Spanish homework on a second screen. Here are the top-level specifications for the DUEX Lite monitor: 12.5″ diagonal600 grams/1.3 lbs. weight0.3″ thicknessFHD 1920x1080P IPS screen16:9 aspect ratio60 hertz refresh rate12.4 x 8.45 x 0.39 inches full dimensions Yes, you do get a 1080p resolution with this monitor, which is great when you are perhaps watching a show while doing some work (wait, you probably shouldn’t be doing that – haha). The monitor is relatively lightweight. But despite that, I am still a bit reluctant to have it physically attached to my laptop lid as I don’t want to have extra weight potentially causing issues with the working of the lid (and this is the reason why I am recommending using the DUEX Lite as a stand-alone monitor either in portrait mode or using the Origami Kickstand for landscape mode). The Mobile Pixels DUET Lite retails currently for $359.99, but it is on sale as of this writing for $269.99. And, it is currently available on Amazon for $251.99. Shop on HighTechDad.com The product shown below (and related products that have been reviewed on HighTechDad) is available within the HighTechDad Shop. This review has all of the details about this particular product and you can order it directly by clicking on the Buy button or clicking on the image/title to view more. Be sure to review other products available in the HighTechDad Shop. Mobile Pixels DUEX Lite portable monitor $251.99 Buy on Amazon! I believe that having an additional screen is essential. Of course, not everyone will share my opinion, but I hazard to guess that it will be hard to go back once you try out multiple screens. The Mobile Pixels DUEX Lite easily adds that capability. Not only that, it is portable and lightweight, making it quite hard to be against it. Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to the editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page. HTD says: The Mobile Pixels DUEX Lite portable monitor makes working on a laptop twice as good as it extends (or mirrors) your desktop, can be easily attached to a laptop screen lid, and when not in use, slides away. Or, simply use it as a secondary monitor without any need for mounting.

https://www.hightechdad.com/2021/11/13/second-monitor-is-essential-mobile-pixels-duex-lite-review/

[hightechdad]

We all love dongles, right? Probably not, I’m guessing. When Apple introduced the USB-C MacBook Pro, the market for adapters and dongles pretty much exploded. As a result, many people’s Macs looked like digital octopi with all sorts of connections hanging off the sides. Then came the hubs, consolidating many of these adapters and dongles into a singular device. And, if you have a MacBook or MacBook Pro with one or more USB-C ports, you will want to pick up an EZQuest 8-port USB-C Multimedia Hub. And I have good reasons as to why! (*Disclosure below.) I do love USB-C though (or, as Apple calls it, Thunderbolt – remember, there are multiple types of both USB-C and Thunderbolt with different capabilities). The ports and plugs are smaller; you can plug them in upside down or right-side up, they can be daisy-chained, they can pass power and data, all through one cable and port. This is one of the main reasons why I’m recommending dumping those dongles and adapters and simply getting the EZQuest 8-Port hub instead. But there are other reasons as well. When Apple did come out with the USB-C MacBooks and MacBook Pros a few years ago, while they had 2-4 USB-C ports, they removed many other ports that did appear in previous Macs. So despite users actually liking, wanting, and needing them, things like Ethernet, card readers, DV, HDMI, and USB-A were dropped by the wayside. The EZQuest USB-C hub brings all of these helpful connectivity ports back in a single device. And, you only use up one USB-C port on your Mac. So, if you do need to connect other items (yeah, via dongle or adapter), you do have at least one more port available to do so (depending on the Mac model). So, let’s take a look at what the EZQuest hub port functionality is. Connecting the EZQuest 8-Port Hub One quick thing I should also mention, the EZQuest works with both USB-C Macs and PCs alike. You can also connect it to a Chromebook or a USB-C-capable smartphone. And, there are no drivers or software you need to install. The hub is true plug-and-play. As my environment is pretty much all Apple products, this review focus on that side of the equation. The hub itself has the main body, which has all of the various ports, and then has a dedicated and attached USB-C cable. So to use it, just plug the EZQuest Hub into your computer. Another nice thing is you don’t have to supply power to the hub to make it run, even if you have every port on the EZQuest hub connected to another device. It draws its power from your USB-C device. You can, however, connect your Mac’s power supply directly to the EZQuest hub since it has PD (Power Delivery) 3.0 built-in. 100 Watts of power can be transferred via the USB-C cable. Eight Ports of Goodness As the name of the hub suggests, it has eight different ports, all of which are quite useful for different use cases. Specifically: USB-C / USB Type-C cable – Use this to connect to your Mac, PC, Chromebook, tablet, or smartphoneHDMI – 4K 30Hz HDMI output for connecting to monitors or TVsUSB-C PD 3.0 – you can plug in your power supply for you Mac into this port; 1 X 100 Watts USB-C with Power Delivery 3.0 + 5Gbs data. Note: it is Thunderbolt 3 compatibleEthernet: I always believe that hard-wired connections are better if you can do them; 1 X RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet with LED indicatorSDHC card reader – large format card reader to easily get photos from your DSLR camera Micro SDHC reader – micro format card reader for action cameras, drones, and the likeUSB-A – three 5Gbs USB 3.0 ports with one BC 1.2 capable; BC stands for Battery Charging – this port should be the preferred port for charging battery-powered devices Personally, I love the fact that there is an Ethernet port built into the EZQuest USB-C hub. While many Windows laptops may still have built-in Ethernet ports, MacBooks, MacBook Airs, and MacBook Pros haven’t had them either ever or in many, many years. Additionally, there are LED indicators to show the presence of network activity. While I didn’t test the two card readers, you can use them simultaneously according to the specifications. You can do that with the USB-A connections as well. The HDMI port allows you, on the Mac, to either do Screen Mirroring or extend your desktop (the option that I always choose). Small and Compact Design The EZQuest 8-port USB-C Hub is a great device to have as a business traveler as well as for personal travels. For example, when we were recently in Hawaii, one of our family members rented a camera for underwater diving, and they were given the SD card afterward. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the EZQuest hub, so we couldn’t look at any of the photos until returning to the mainland. The hub is very lightweight – it only weighs 3 ounces. It’s barely noticeable in a bag. It measures 7.63 inches long by 2.25 inches wide by 0.25 inches thick. I’m honestly pretty amazed they can pack all of that tech into such a tiny space. It is has a precision-engineered anodized aluminum design. One thing to note, this little hub does heat up quite a lot as it runs. While it won’t burn you, the heat is quite significant. I haven’t seen any degradation in performance due to extended use due to the heat, but I would recommend not covering up the hub and letting it stay in the open to cool. What’s not to like? I will continue to do more extensive testing over the coming weeks and months of the EZQuest 8-port USB-C Multimedia Hub as I’m curious about how it performs over time. The only thing I would like would be an additional USB-C port. EZQuest does have a version with 13 ports. This 13-port version adds another USB-C port, a VGA port, a 3.5 mm audio port, additional USB-A ports, and another HDMI port. The 8-port version (the one that I’m testing) retails for $69.99 and is available on Amazon for $69.99 as well. The 13-port version retails for $129.99 and is also available on Amazon for $99.99. Note, the 13-port version is a bit larger and slightly heavier. But it does have just about every port you might want or need. I haven’t tested the 13-port version. Buy on HighTechDad.com The product shown below (and related products that have been reviewed on HighTechDad) is available within the HighTechDad Shop. This review has all of the details about this particular product and you can order it directly by clicking on the Buy button or clicking on the image/title to view more. Be sure to review other products available in the HighTechDad Shop. EZQuest 8-Port USB-C Multimedia Hub $69.99 Buy on Amazon Bottom line, I do recommend getting rid of all of those dongles and adapters, especially when you have a product as useful as the EZQuest 8-port USB-C Multimedia hub. It is extremely small and portable, yet it lets you connect numerous devices. I use it both as a portable solution as well as a desktop docking stations. Since its footprint is quite small, it doesn’t take up a lot of real estate on your desk. And it almost becomes an “emergency device” that you should always have in your bag. Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to the editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page. HTD says: I recommend picking up a USB-C multi-port hub if you have a USB-C Mac or PC. The EZQuest 8-port USB-C Multimedia Hub is an essential addition to any home or business environment and particularly useful for people who are always on the go.

https://www.hightechdad.com/2021/11/06/have-a-usb-c-mac-you-need-the-ezquest-8-port-usb-c-multimedia-hub-review/

[hightechdad]

I honestly love jackets. I have quite a collection I have amassed over the years, and there is practically one for every type of occasion. And, obviously, I love tech. When there is a melding of the two, I get quite intrigued, so when I was asked if I wanted to review the Fieldsheer Adventure Heated Jacket, I could hardly contain my excitement. In fact, after using the Fieldsheer heated jacket for a while, I now have a nickname for it. It’s now my “Ironman Jacket.” (*Disclosure below.) So while this heated jacket is not keeping my heart beating, nor is it powered by some seemingly unending power source, it does have a little button that glows based on the level of heating being provided to the front and back of the jacket. And you can control it via an app on your smartphone. While I received the Fieldsheer heated jacket a few months ago, California was in the midst of an extreme heatwave, with temperatures regularly pushing over 100 degrees daily. So, I wasn’t about to 1) put on a jacket nor 2) fire up the heating elements within the heated jacket. But, now that the weather has changed to more autumn temperatures, I’ve had a little bit of time to test out the Fieldsheer. And, the more I use it, the more I’m really liking it. A jacket first (with some Tech woven in) The primary function of a jacket is to keep you warm and potentially protect you from the elements like snow, rain, drizzle, and the like. Yes, jackets need to look good as well, otherwise, they become purely utilitarian, and there is a good possibility that you won’t wear them regularly. The Fieldsheer Adventure Heated Jacket checks those requirement boxes off quite easily. So, let me start with just the jacket part of the equation and then move on to the tech a bit later. For starters, this jacket is truly designed (even without the heating element) to keep you warm and comfy. It comes in only one color currently – Heather Grey. It’s not truly a solid gray but rather a textured type of gray with specks of white throughout the fabric. Those specks of white actually do serve a purpose, I believe, as one of the tags attached to the jacked touted a technology called Phoslite. Phoslite essentially embeds tiny reflective lenses throughout the fabric. This means that in certain lowlight or dark environments, in the proper conditions, light is reflected back. This means that if you are walking at night or dusk or dawn, you probably can forgo using a reflective belt or vest because the Fieldsheer does that for you. Also of big importance to me is having a jacket that is rainproof or at least water-resistant. I have actually had to teach my family the importance of having a true raincoat that does not let water penetrate in. Too many times I have seen my kids head out the door intro with a puffy jacket only to come back with waterlogged looking like a wet dog. The Fieldsheer is built with Rainguard – a polyurethane coating that allows for perspiration to escape while preventing water from entering the jacket. In fact, to add to the water resistance of the jacket, the seams are also sealed with thermoplastic tape, adding to the prevention of water getting in. Yet this water resistance does not make the jacket feel rigid or immobile. On the contrary, the fabric is quite flexible. But more importantly is the fact that I don’t think I would feel too comfortable having a bunch of electricity or batteries in a jacket when I went out in the rain. Electricity and water aren’t exactly the best of friends. It also has something called Wind-Shark as part of the clothing “tech.” If you are braving the elements of rain, snow, wind, and more, you don’t want the wind cutting through into the area where you are trying to stay warm. And losing body heat is definitely something you want to avoid, with or without a battery powering additional heating. It is all about clothing efficiency! Core Fieldsheer Heated Jacket features To complement the exterior shells, there is also a mesh liner. This has two functions, I found. For starters, it provides the ability to wick away moisture from the inside (like when you REALLY get heated up and start to sweat). This is important because if you get wet with perspiration, it is much harder to warm up as the dampness brings your temperature down – part of the reason why when you are sleeping in a sleeping bag, you want to wear as few clothes as possible. The mesh also has heating elements directly behind it in parts of the Fieldsheer Adventure Heated Jacket, as I will go into a bit later. Let me talk a bit more about the jacket. It does have a hood. If you are going out in the rain or snow, you need to have a hood. And the hood should be adjustable so that you can wear it loose or tighten it up. The hood is nicely outfitted with a lip on the top, almost like a visor. And it has a variety of drawstrings to tighten it around your head, including one in the back for additional tightness. In talking about drawstrings and ways to seal out the wind and elements, the wrists have Velcro closures to ensure no gaps around the wrists. And, two drawstrings around the waist prevent the wind and rain from blowing up into the Fieldsheer jacket. One thing that I have personally not encountered in a jacket was that for each wrist area, there is a thumb-holder-glove type of thing (I honestly don’t know the proper name for it). When I first put the jacket on, I was surprised that I had to put my thumb through an opening which then secured the sleeves to my arm, preventing the sleeves from riding up my arm in any way. It was a great additional feature I wasn’t expecting. There are three waterproof, zippered pockets on the front, two for your hands (and one has a compartment for the battery), and then one higher up on the chest line for your phone or glasses. While it would have been amazing to have a larger cargo pocket in the back, unfortunately, the Fieldsheet Adventure Heated Jacket does not. But no matter, there is plenty of storage for your gloves and phone. Lastly, I have to mention the front zipper. Extra attention was made to the design of this front section. The zipper is truly “inside” the jacket, and there is a robust, Velcro-sealed flap that completely covers it, making it pretty impervious to any elements entering through the front. It’s an additional layer of protection. So yes, the Fieldsheer Heated Jacket is a great jacket in itself even before any tech was even added to it. Bringing Ironman into the fold As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I have nicknamed this Fieldsheer Adventure Heated Jacket my “Ironman Jacket.” And this is because there is a little glowing button on the front controls the heating elements within the jacket itself. Fieldsheer calls this their Mobile Warming Technology and I must say, it does work…quite well actually. This heating technology is a line of clothing products that you can get with Fieldsheer. From jackets to vests to gloves to socks (men’s and women’s clothing alike), you can find all types of articles of clothing to keep your body toasty warm. If you or any member of your family suffers from always being cold, you may want to check out some of the options available. For the Mobilesheer Adventure Heated Jacket, this battery and warming pad technology simply supplements an already nice and warm jacket. But it supplements it a lot, moving it from a warm jacket to something quite hot. You can raise the temperature inside the jacket to an incredible 135º (which is almost too hot for where I live – if there were snow around, that might be a different story). The warming of this Fieldsheer jacket occurs in four places within the jacket lining itself. There are two heating pads in the front and two in the back. This ensures that your core body gets heat as needed. The pads themselves are visible through the mesh liner but are also very flexible, so you won’t notice that they are there (until they are hot). The pads are connected via thin physical wires that run to a hidden pocket where the battery is stored. The battery is a 7.4-volt rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery (4000mAh) which uses a micro-USB connection to charge it up. A great advantage of having a removable battery built into your jacket is that it has dual purposes. You can obviously use it to heat the jacket, but in a pinch, you can use it to charge your smartphone as well. Because of the jacket’s fabric, any heat generated through the ultra-fine fiber elements is reflected back to your body. So while the outside of the jacket is warm to the touch, it is much warmer inside the jacket. The temperature of the heating elements can be controlled in two ways. First, you obviously have to charge the battery fully. Then you place it into a hidden compartment within one of the pockets. Within that pocket is a cord that connects the battery to the wires going to the heating elements. Do note: the connector is somewhat non-standard. I would have actually liked it to have been a USB of some type so that other batteries could have been used as an alternative. Once you connect the battery, you simply power it on by pressing the button on the battery itself. You know that the battery is on when the “Ironman” button on the front shows a red light. You can manually control the temperature (there are 4 settings) by pressing this button. And the color displayed by the button indicates what setting: Red – 100% – 135º F (3.2 hours)Orange – 75% – 120º F (4.3 hours)Green – 50% – 105º F (6.5 hours)Blue – 25% – 90º F (13 hours) Indicated above are how much battery power is used for heating, the temperature it will hit, and how long the battery will last at that power. So while you can physically control the heating level with the button on the front, the battery can also be controlled via a smartphone app called MW Connect. First, you have to connect the battery to the app via Bluetooth. You have to press and hold the button, then pair it to the app (after you download it). Once paired, you can control the temperature settings directly from the app as well as see how much battery is left. The only tricky thing that I found was figuring out how long to press the button on the battery to turn it on. Press it too long, and you go into pairing mode. So my recommendation is to just test it out. You will know that the battery is on by the light on the button on the front of the jacket. Then, you can check the app to see if you are connected via Bluetooth. Press and hold the battery button to turn it off. And you can see the battery level (and its power state) by looking at the four lights on the battery. The Fieldsheer Warming Jacket is hot! I hope it has become painfully obvious that I really like this Fieldsheer jacket both as a piece of clothing but also as clothing with some useful technology built inside it. It’s comfortable to wear and is quite well manufactured with a lot of attention to detail. It’s quite clear that a lot of thought has gone into ensuring that the jacket is well insulated and quite resistant to the elements (rain, wind, snow, cold). I also found that in comparison to other jackets I have as well as reviewed, it is fairly reasonably priced. It retails for $229.99 on the Fieldsheer site and is also available on Amazon for $229.99. That is a good price for simply the jacket alone. But when you add in the Mobile Warming Technology, complete with a rechargeable battery, the price is even better. Shop on HighTechDad The product shown below (and related products that have been reviewed on HighTechDad) is available within the HighTechDad Shop. This review has all of the details about this particular product and you can order it directly by clicking on the Buy button or clicking on the image/title to view more. Be sure to review other products available in the HighTechDad Shop. Fieldsheer Adventure Heated Jacket $229.99 Buy on Amazon So if you know someone who always runs cold or is always out in cold environments, I would highly recommend taking a look at this jacket or some of the other heated clothing items on the Fieldsheer site. There is quite a good variety available. Bottom line – this jacket WILL keep you warm (and look good in the process)! Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to the editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page. HTD says: If you are looking for a stylish, well-designed, weather and waterproof jacket, the Fieldsheer Adventure Warming Jacket is a winner. But wait! It’s more than just a jacket; it has battery-powered warming elements to make it a “hot” article of clothing!

https://www.hightechdad.com/2021/10/30/with-button-touch-the-fieldsheer-adventure-heated-jacket-warms-up-review/

[hightechdad]

We are in a day and age when ensuring that you are breathing clean air is critical. We all have seen those dystopian and apocalyptic movies of how the Earth’s atmosphere is practically unbreathable and humankind is struggling to adapt and survive. While we aren’t there (yet), we do have a lot of work to reverse the damage we are doing to our planet. In the meantime, wildfires, winds, pollution, bacteria, and viruses are present in the air we are breathing at home. To ensure we breathe healthier air, many people, including my family, are turning toward in-home or in-room air filters and purifiers to help. The Cleantech UV-C air purifier is one of those devices I recommend families use – even beyond the home, as I will explain. (*Disclosure below.) In recent years, the air quality outside has gotten worse, particularly in California, where I live. We have had monstrous wildfires that are pushing vast volumes of smoke into the atmosphere. And the wind currents are spreading that smoke throughout the state and even the country and world. As a result, we have frequently been getting Air Quality Index (AQI) alerts warning us of unsafe levels of pollutants and particulate matter in the air we breathe outside, forcing us to close windows and ensure better air quality indoors. Unfortunately, that is only a stop-gap measure as the quality indoors can get bad if there isn’t any type of air circulation, filtration, or purification in place at home when the windows are closed. So what can you do? Well, if you have a central HVAC system, be sure you replace your primary system’s air filter regularly and use one that is the best quality possible. But that is only part of the solution. While HEPA filters are good at removing contaminants and particulate matter that is larger in size – things like dust, smoke, pollen, dander, allergens from the fur of cats or dogs. Those particles can get trapped in a good-quality HEPA air filter. What happens to smaller (and potentially more dangerous) particles like viruses and bacteria? Because of their size, those pass through the filter. You need to have a better way to destroy those viruses and bacteria. This is where a special type of Ultra Violet light called UV-C comes into play. UV-C light is a special part of the UV spectrum that can obliterate viruses and bacteria, making them harmless. Hospitals use massive UV-C lights to sterilize hospital rooms, but these are not good things to have at home. UV-C is harmful to your skin and eyes with prolonged exposure. So the solution is good, but for use in the home, you need something safer and more practical. This is where the Cleantech Air Purifier is the perfect solution. As I will explain, this compact air purifier does both the HEPA filtration AND the UV-C zapping of viruses and bacteria. Cleantech Air Purifier – a simple yet powerful design If you look at other air filters and purifiers on the market, you will find that many of them have many functions like Smart Home connectivity, WiFi, fancy displays, and other potentially non-needed features. The Cleantech UV-C air purifier truly keeps things straightforward. Cleantech uses a simple process – pull the air in from the bottom using a fan, run the air through the easily replaceable HEPA air filter, and then passing a mirrored cylindrical chamber that has a large UV-C bulb that “zaps” bacteria and viruses and then pumping the air out through the top of the device. That’s it! The HEPA filter does need to be changed every few months. This does depend on the usage and what level you have the fan running at. Luckily, replacing the filter is simply a matter of turning the Cleantech upside down, removing the four “feet” (which are actually screws) from the base, and taking the plastic cover off. From there, you will see the cylindrical HEPA air filter, and you just take it off and replace it. A replacement filter costs around $25 and is available directly from the Cleantech site or on Amazon. But I believe the real purification magic is above that HEPA filter. When you have the HEPA filter off, you can peer up into the main body of the Cleantech UV-C air purifier and see a large, long UV-C light bulb that pretty much extends the full height of the air purifier. A mirrored surface surrounds the UV-C bulb, which allows the UV-C light to bounce the powerful bacteria and virus-zapping light much more effectively. While I don’t recommend doing this, I did take the HEPA filter out and turn on the Cleantech to see the UV-C light in action (note: I only did this to take photos and videos for a very short period of time – and I wore UV-blocking sunglasses just as an added precaution). The usage-life of the UV-C bulb is about two years running the air purifier all of the time. As I mentioned, the Cleantech UV-C air purifier has only the core functionality needed for effective air purification. On the top of the air purifier is a small button (it is a physical button and not a soft-touch button). Press it once to turn it on and run the fan and purifier at high speed for 2 hours. Press it again, and it will run for 24 hours at a lower speed. The fan noise is relatively low, actually. You will definitely hear the Cleantech when running on the high-speed setting, but it is much quieter when you put it into the low-speed mode. If you use a sound machine or white-noise generator, the Cleantech is a perfect replacement for that, so it is potentially great in a child’s room. A dorm or apartment use case I wanted to share an important use case and a good reason to get a Cleantech UV-C Air Purifier. One of my daughters is finally off to college after doing her first year entirely at home. We are definitely excited to experience on-campus activities, but that also means potential exposure to COVID-19. She is in an apartment and has three other suitemates. Unfortunately, only a couple of weeks into the start of school, one of her suite-mate got Covid. Honestly, my wife and I weren’t really surprised that this happened. There are many in-person activities, classes, and general person-to-person interactions now happening. Long story short, her suite-mate had a mild case (probably thanks to vaccinations) and has fully recovered. But it got me thinking…having an air purifier that effectively removes airborne viruses and bacteria should probably now be considered a dorm room or apartment essential. While it is pretty much impossible to remove all viruses and bacteria from the air, reducing the potential viral load of something like COVID-19 is definitely an excellent defense to have. So, I happily gave my daughter the Cleantech UV-C air purifier for her apartment room. And I told her to run it on high when people come to visit. And then to put it on low the rest of the time, like when she is alone studying or sleeping. What’s not to like? Obviously, there are many, many air purifiers available on the market today. What I like about the Cleantech air purifier is both its simplicity but also its simplicity. Yes, I wrote simplicity twice. The Cleantech is easy to use. Press the button to turn it on and press it again to lower the fan. That’s easy. Replacing the HEPA filter requires no tools. Just unscrew the bottom and replace it. I’m pretty sure just about anyone can do it. And lastly, there is simplicity in the design. There is a fan that pulls in the air. That air passes through the HEPA filter, which eliminates VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). And then, it is pulled through a mirrored chamber that has a large UV-C bulb, and the purified air comes out the top. Very simple. On the Cleantech site, this medical-grade UVC air purifier has a retail price of $599 but is currently listed at $239. I think the reduced price, given the size of the purifier, is the proper market price for this air purifier. So, be sure to shop around when looking for this filter. Amazon has this filter currently listed at $239 (originally priced at $499). The replacement HEPA filter price at $25 is quite reasonable, in my opinion. Shop on HighTechDad The product shown below (and related products that have been reviewed on HighTechDad) is available within the HighTechDad Shop. This review has all of the details about this particular product and you can order it directly by clicking on the Buy button or clicking on the image/title to view more. Be sure to review other products available in the HighTechDad Shop. Cleantech UV-C Air Purifier $239.00 Buy on Amazon Regardless, can you truly put a price on breathing clean, purified, and potentially virus-free air? I feel a bit better about my daughter in college, knowing that she has purer air circulated throughout her apartment. And, the Cleantech UV-C air purifier is the one doing it! Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to the editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page. HTD says: It’s important to breathe clean air for a healthy life. But with airborne pollutants, particles, contaminants, viruses, and bacteria pervasive in any environment, you need to seriously consider a good quality air purifier. The Cleantech UV-C air purifier not only removes contaminants via a HEPA filter, it also destroys airborne viruses and bacteria via Ultraviolet-C.

https://www.hightechdad.com/2021/09/27/high-powered-way-to-destroy-viruses-and-remove-pollutants-cleantech-uv-c-air-purifier-review/

[hightechdad]

Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. When else can you dress up in scary or funny costume, decorate your house with ghouls, ghosts, and goblins in an effort to scare people from coming to your home, but then try to bribe parents and children with sugary rewards if they dare to come up your steps, braving all that is scary! Each year I try to do something a bit different in terms of my decorations, but I always have a few things that I always include. And this year, I have a new addition that I think will truly add to the fun – the Jabberin’ Jack talking, singing, and joking animated pumpkin. (*Disclosure below) I understand that there is some tradition in picking out the truly perfect pumpkin for carving. And while it is a lot of fun scooping out the guts and carving that perfect scary, odd, or funny face, it is quite a project, one that I still do highly recommend doing with your kids. But after a certain point, as kids get older, it becomes a chore to find the pumpkin and the time to carve that perfect jack-o-lantern. As most of my kids have flown the coop, so to speak, or are deep in the college application process coupled with the last year of high school, unfortunately, that time of carving has moved on like a ghost. I now have to rely on easier methods of pumpkin-carving, or just not do it at all. When the folks at Mindscope Products asked me if I wanted to review their animated, singing, joking, and talking pumpkin – Jabberin’ Jack – (that didn’t require a huge carving process and had no clean-up), I jumped at the opportunity. And I did even ask my daughters if they thought having this talking pumpkin would be “cool” or not, I was met with a resounding “YES!” So, my pumpkin carving and display have evolved. It now has Jabberin’ Jack as the centerpiece. And, from my understanding, this animated pumpkin SOLD OUT extremely quickly last year. A quick warning – because of Jabberin’ Jack’s popularity, there have been many copycats and knockoffs produced, and those have been quite disappointing, to say the least, so only get yours from the proper places! What is Jabberin’ Jack? Jabberin’ Jack is a full-sized, talking, singing, joking animated pumpkin. How is that even possible? The guts of this pumpkin are not seeds and stringy matter. Instead, there is a small, short-throw projector and built-in speakers that provide the entertainment – sound and animation. From a size perspective, Jabberin’ Jack is about the size of a normal-sized jack-o-lantern. It is 11 inches high by 9 inches in diameter. It even has a green stem at the top, which, it turns out, is the ONLY assembly that is required for the entire pumpkin. Jack’s shell is a hard plastic that I feel will be able to withstand the trials of time. However, I do recommend saving the box for storage during the off-season (although with the stem attached, it doesn’t fit back into the box perfectly). And, while the shell is protective, you should only use it inside or under a covered porch – it isn’t weather resistant. Remember, water and electricity are not friends. Jabberin’ Jack does require a power source (more about that in a second). When Jabberin’ Jack is off, he actually does have a blank look on his face. That is to say, there is nothing displayed. From a distance, he looks basically like an uncarved pumpkin. But once you turn him on, he comes to life! On the back are an on-off switch and a micro-USB port. Jabberin’ Jack does come with a cable (I wish it was a bit longer) as well as a 5V-2.1A power adapter. For some reason, I thought that there were rechargeable batteries built-in, so I plugged it in for several hours to charge it up, only to later realize there were NO batteries. You just plug it in and turn it on. On Jack’s top are three buttons – volume up, volume down, and skip. But what exactly are you controlling with these buttons? Bringing Jabberin’ Jack to life! The real power and fun about Jabberin’ Jack happens when you plug him in and turn him on. The built-in mini projector displays an animated face on the front. This animated face is in the form of a pumpkin cut-out and not just one style of cut-out either. It can display scary, funny, and silly faces, depending on which character theme you choose. The carved-out faces do look like a traditional jack-o-lantern. There is a “candle” in the back, which cast a jumpy and jittery light on the “carved out” faces. But, these carvings animate as a joke is told, or a song is sung, making it look like Jabberin’ Jack is truly alive! There are three character themes – Spooky, Traditional, and Funny. And with each character theme, there are three built-in songs as well as over forty lines of Halloween-themed jokes and phrases. I have to admit, much of this recorded content is geared towards a young audience which means that you are safe to have Jabberin’ Jack displayed in homes with younger kids. Some things may be a bit scary for toddlers, but hey, this is Halloween, right? You can use the Skip button for cycling through all of the themes, songs, and animations to quickly find what you want. But I felt it was more fun to just let it play through all of the cycles as you get a little bit of everything without repeating anything for at least 70 minutes. Also, as my daughter and I were testing out some power supply options (see below), we did turn the volume all of the way down so that there was no talking, joking, or singing, just the animated jack-o-lantern faces being displayed and cycling through. So without sound, Jack is a great Halloween decoration piece. And it runs for 2 hours (or more) before it automatically shuts off for safety purposes. After running it for a couple of hours, Jack was still quite cool to the touch. You could barely detect any type of heat coming from the projector, even after an extended run-time. And when the projector is running, you really can’t hear it (especially when you have the volume all the way down). While the projector is bright enough to see the animated face during the day, I highly recommend using Jack at night, as he definitely does appear like a real pumpkin from a distance. Power ideas for Jabberin’ Jack As I mentioned, Jabberin’ Jack does come with a power supply (a 5V-2.1A adapter) as well as a fairly short, micro-USB cable. And remember, I thought that it had rechargeable batteries, thinking that I could charge it up and put it just about anywhere. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have batteries, and you do need to have a plug nearby. Sometimes this isn’t ideal for Halloween decorations as many displays require plugs and extension cords. So I got to thinking. You can either purchase a very long micro-USB cable which would allow you to place Jabberin’ Jack in more locations. Or, you could do what I tested out. Use a portable battery! I happened to have a high-capacity portable battery with a 20,000 mAh rating, good for many smartphone and tablet charges. One of the USB-A ports is rated for 5W. So, not being an electrical engineer, I figured I would test to see if 1) the portable battery could power Jabberin’ Jack and 2) how long could Jabberin’ Jack run off of this type of power supply. The short, non-scientific results were: yes, I could power Jabberin’ Jack just fine – complete with sound and projector, and the 20,000 mAh capacity battery could power Jabberin’ Jack for several hours (more than a Halloween night). In fact, we kept Jack running for more than 2 hours, and the battery barely dropped one bar in capacity. Using a portable battery essentially untethers Jack from the cord and plug. Again, however, be sure you use this solution in an indoor or covered location. Use a reputable rechargeable battery. And test it out with adult supervision. Batteries are NOT toys! Where can you get Jabberin’ Jack? As I mentioned, Jabberin’ Jack was a HOT item last year and sold out very quickly. So be sure you purchase from a reliable and reputable source. The retail price is $59.99. Here are some buying options: Direct from Mindscope – $59.99Amazon (note – there are 3rd party sellers so check them out carefully) – $59.99Walmart – $59.99Target – $50.00 Jabberin’ Jack is one of those Halloween decorations that I feel should be used and reused each and every Halloween. There is no carving mess, no need to go pumpkin shopping, no pumpkins rotting on your porch or being eaten by animals, and no hassle whatsoever. Yes, it does take away from those fun, traditional pumpkin-carving projects, so if you do that with your friends and family, keep doing that! This just adds a different level of pumpkin to your spooky display! Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to the editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page. HTD says: Jabberin’ Jack is a fun and exciting way to add “life” to your ghouly, creepy, and “dead” Halloween decorations using sound and animation to project funny or scary carved pumpkin faces within a jack-o-lantern display.

https://www.hightechdad.com/2021/09/20/talking-singing-animated-pumpkin-jabberin-jack-review/

[hightechdad]

While I love the portability of my Apple MacBook Pro (MBP), the fact that I spend most of my time NOT moving around now and working at my desk means that I want it to be more like a desktop. And, the MBP is physically limited to four USB-C ports. That’s it. Other MacBooks have even fewer USB-C ports. But I want to connect to many more peripherals like monitors and hard drives and have a hard-wired ethernet connection. To achieve this without a hub would mean I would have hundreds of port connectors and dongles plugged in. That’s messy. So, for the past few months, I have been testing out the HyperDrive 12-Port USB-C Docking Station, and I must say, it is now my favorite hub for multiple functions. (*Disclosure below.) USB Type-C is a pretty magical type of port. More and more devices are adopting it as THE standard for ports. Not only does it plug in upside down or right side up (I hated that about previous versions of USB – Type A, Micro, Mini, etc.), it also has many other capabilities which will make it the standard moving forward for all types of devices (laptops, desktops, monitors, peripherals, smartphones, and more). USB-C handles the USB 3.1 (and higher) standards and, importantly, can deliver power to your devices, known as USB power delivery (USB PD). A quick side note here – when shopping for USB-C cables, the USB PD-capable cables will cost a bit more, but you can then use them to power and charge your devices. And, USB-C can handle other “modes” that are used by monitors and displays, which were previously covered by HDMI, DisplayPort, and VGA, to name just a few. USB-C can handle all of these. So, why is this important to a USB-C docking station like the HyperDrive 12-Port USB-C hub? With this device, you have a single USB-C connection plugged into the MacBook, and this handles pretty much everything (including power). This is what drives my XX reasons why the HyperDrive is my favorite USB-C docking station. Reason #1 – Uses only one USB-C port on my MacBook Pro While the MBP that I have has four USB-C ports, it’s nice to not take them all up with different connections, especially if you want to have the easy ability to unplug and get on the go easily. With this single USB-C port plugged into the HyperDrive 12-Port USB-C Docking Station, I have everything connected that I need to have and still have three other ports available should I need to connect more devices. The 12-port version of this USB-C hub has a short, built-in USB-C cable that you plug into your Mac (or PC). This cable is the USB PD (Power Delivery) type, so not only will it charge your MBP, but it also provides all of the connectivity to the other ports contained within the hub. This built-in upstream USB-C cable can transfer 100W of power to charge and power your computer. And it supports Display Port (DP) 1.4 alt mode. Reason #2 – It has built-in Ethernet While WiFi continues to get faster, it’s still WiFi which means that you will encounter dead spots or potential WiFi congestion if you have many devices connected to WiFi. And WiFi is not as fast (yet) as a hard-wired connection like Ethernet. When I moved into my home, I ran ethernet cabling to every corner of the house so that I would have the ability to have hard-wired connections everywhere. Unfortunately, if you put your WiFi router in the center of your home when you go to the corners, the transmission speed is not as fast as when you are close to the WiFi router. So, I have an ethernet switch for my office, and connected to the switch is the HyperDrive 12-Port hub. There is a jack on the hub for the ethernet cable. This Ethernet port supports 10Mbps/100Mbps/1Gbps connections at either half or full-duplex connection. Reason #3 – Connect multiple monitors I honestly cannot work without having multiple screens. As I write this review, I have a 27″ 4K monitor, my laptop screen, and a portable USB-C display. If my desk could hold more displays, I would connect them (but I haven’t as of yet). Before having the HyperDrive docking station, I had a USB-C to HDMI adapter (and yes, that took up a USB-C port on my MBP – as did another adapter I used for USB-C to Ethernet). That meant that three of my four USB-C ports on my MBP were used up (display, ethernet, and power). What is great about the HyperDrive USB-C Docking Station is that it has the ability to connect up to three monitors. Built into the hub are two HDMI 4K (60Hz) HDR ports and one 4K (60Hz) DisplayPort. While I have seen some hubs that will only support mirroring of displays unless you install some kind of driver, these three ports are independent, and you can do mirroring OR have three extended displays. A quick note here – and this is not something that I have tested – but on macOS, while you CAN connect multiple monitors, the (up to 3) monitors will all be mirrored. So you could have four displays (including your Mac) showing the same screen, or you can have the three connected monitors showing the same (extended) screen and a different screen showing on your Mac itself. With Windows, you can do mirror mode (the same display on all screens) or do extended mode with different monitors showing different extended displays. See this FAQ for more details. I currently have my 27″ monitor as an extended display. Unfortunately, since the 12-port HyperDrive only has one extra USB-C port, which is used to connect the power supply from my laptop, I do have to plug that third display of mine directly into my MBP. But, this setup does allow me to have three distinct displays showing simultaneously. But again, the important thing to remember here is that for the Mac, there are no drivers or additional software you need to install to have this hub support multiple displays. You just plug it in, and it simply works! Reason #4 – It has the old USB-A ports as well Unfortunately, we are not going to escape from USB Type-A for a while. There are many, many devices and peripherals that still use this older standard. And luckily, the HyperDrive 12-port hub supports them. I actually have two USB external hard drives, a microphone, a webcam, and some other devices connected through the hub. Wait, you say! Those are more than four USB-A devices. Yes, I cheated a bit. I actually have a powered USB-A hub that I plug into the HyperDrive as well in order to support even more devices than the HyperDrive can handle. However, for the two external USB drives, I do plug them directly into the HyperDrive to get faster data transfer. The HyperDrive has four USB-A ports – two are the older (and slower) USB-A version 2.0, and two are the newer (and faster) USB-A 3.0. The USB-A 2.0 ports share 480Mbps bandwidth and have a 500mA power output. The USB-A 3.0 ports share 10Gbps bandwidth and have a 1.5A power output. Reason #5 – Support for SD cards Those of you who are digital photographers (and who don’t just use their smartphones as I do) will be happy to see the inclusion of Secure Digital (SD) cards. There is a slot for MicroSD and one for SD. These ports support the UHS-II SD 4.0 specification, and they are backward compatible. These slots support a maximum read/write speed of 312 MB/s and can handle SD cards up to 2TB in size. And, you can use both the SD and MicroSD slots to read/write simultaneously. So, if you use a DSLR or have a drone capturing 4K video and need to easily connect to your computer to download video or images, having these two SD slots within the HyperDrive hub is a huge blessing! Reason #6 – A (gasp) 3.5mm audio port Yes, the 3.5mm audio port still lives despite it being removed from modern smartphones. And while there IS still a 3.5mm audio port on my MBP, I’m wondering how long that port will continue to live in future generations. But one of the nice things is, using the 3.5mm audio jack allows you to connect speakers to the HyperDrive dock and leave the 3.5mm audio jack on your laptop to be for headphones. The port is a 4-pole (TRRS) stereo (384Khz, 32-bit max sampling rate) which also supports a 384Khz 32-bit microphone. This is a true stereo headphone and microphone port. Reason #7 – It’s “cool” – literally! One thing that I have noticed about various types of hubs is that they tend to heat up. This really isn’t surprising because there is a lot of information, data, and signals being transmitted through various distinct chips within these hubs. Add power to the hub, and there is a tendency for the hubs to carry a lot of heat. The HyperDrive 12-port USB-C docking station, to my surprise, actually is only mildly warm to the touch. Yes, there is heat, but it’s not something you can fry an egg on (like some other ports I have tested). This is due to the design of the hub itself. It has heat-dissipating ridges built into its design, and the metal used seems to disperse heat nicely. Lucky 7 makes the HyperDrive Gen2 12-Port USB-C docking station a winner! I’m sure I could have come up with more than seven reasons why this USB-C hub and docking station is my go-to favorite currently. However, the thing that I truly like best is that it simply works. You plug it in, connect your devices, and everything connects! No need for drivers or other utilities. One problem though is the limited availability of the 12-port docking station. I guess with everybody working from you, there is high demand for hub solutions like these. The 12-port version is listed on the HyperShop site for $169.99. Unfortunately, it is currently not available on Amazon. However, the version that I really wanted to have, which is a bit pricier, IS available on Amazon (as well as on the HyperShop site). It is the 18-port solution. To the 12-port, the 18-port adds: VGA – to connect those really old monitorsOptical Taslink Audio – if you want digital audio connectionsDigital Coaxial Audio – another audio optionUSB-C ports – it’s nice to have additional USB-C portsDC Power Port – you can get an optional power supply to power the entire hub and then don’t nee to plug in a USB-C PD The HyperDrive GEN2 USB-C 18-Port docking station is available on Amazon for $199.99. Note: this does NOT include the optional power supply – you have to purchase that separately at $99.99. Shop on HighTechDad The product shown below (and related products that have been reviewed on HighTechDad) is available within the HighTechDad Shop. This review has all of the details about this particular product and you can order it directly by clicking on the Buy button or clicking on the image/title to view more. Be sure to review other products available in the HighTechDad Shop. HyperDrive 12-Port USB-C Docking Station and Hub $199.99 Buy on Amazon HyperDrive Pro 8-in-2 Hub $99.99 Buy on Amazon Lastly, if you are looking for a great portable hub solution, be sure to read my review of the HyperDrive Pro 8-in-2 Hub! The bottom line here is, if you are looking for a high-quality USB-C docking station that handles a variety of different connectivity scenarios, you will want to avoid getting a bunch of single-purpose adapters and opt for a multi-function hub. The HyperShop 12-port USB-C Docking Station gives you the flexibility to connect multiple devices easily without any worry. Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to the editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page. HTD says: I honestly don’t think I could survive without the HyperShop 12-port USB-C Docking Station as it helps me connect monitors, hard drives, Ethernet, audio, and more while only using a single USB-C port on my MacBook Pro.

https://www.hightechdad.com/2021/09/06/7-reasons-why-the-hyperdrive-12-port-usb-c-hub-is-my-favorite-docking-station/

[hightechdad]

I have a fairly large, rectangular pool. It measures about 14 feet by 42 feet with has deep and shallow ends. It requires quite a bit of work in terms of cleaning as trees are surrounding it in our backyard. As a consequence, it does get quite a bit of debris throughout the year. From leaves to bark to insects, it tends to accumulate a lot of stuff along the bottom. And you know what that means…cleaning! I have a manual brush and leaf scoop, but honestly, I’m a bit lazy and only occasionally skim the leaves off the surface. For the most part, I barely touch the bottom of the pool. That is until I got my hands on a robot that would do it for me, specifically the Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 robotic pool cleaner! (*Disclosure below.) Despite my laziness, I do realize it is important to keep your pool clean. From scrubbing the walls to remove build-up to getting the submerged leaves off of the bottom to prevent stains that are pretty much impossible to remove, having a regular cleaning schedule is pretty important. But, the other thing you should consider is your own time. Do you have half an hour a couple of times a week to scrub the walls and bottom of your pool? Do you have a long pole with a net to get those stubborn leaves on the bottom of the pool? I’m going to guess if you are anything like me, probably not. Yes, I do have the net and leaf scoop. But I don’t really have a couple of hours a week to regularly follow a maintenance schedule. So, I’m all in with a robot that can do ALL of this work for me and probably do a better job in the process. This is where I happily handed over this responsibility to the Aiper Smart 1500 robotic pool cleaner. I had some questions that I wanted to answer from my testing: How good of a job did the Aiper Smart do? Is it easy to use?Did it pick up debris from the bottom? How did it actually climb up a wall to clean? Is it truly smart?Will all of our jobs be replaced with robots? Well, there is no better way to get the answers to these questions than to just “dive right in” and see if the Aiper Smart robotic pool cleaner would “sink or swim” with the task of cleaning my pool (sorry about the pool metaphors, well, not really). What is the Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 robotic pool cleaner? The name, robotic pool cleaner, pretty much tells it all. This is a battery-powered device that crawls along the bottom and walls of your pool, cleaning, and scrubbing as it goes. It has quite a large pair of cylindrical brushes on the front, which are used to clean the walls and sweep debris off the bottom into the pool cleaner itself. Inside a door on the top is a screen mesh basket that captures pretty much anything it encounters. There are limitations though, it won’t pull in branches or large, heavy items like rocks or acorns, for example (actually, it was able to suck up a few acorns to my surprise). But, the mesh basket I found to do quite a good job at grabbing the debris and holding quite a lot. And, to my surprise, when I took the mesh basket out, I did find significant amounts of sediment, grit, and small debris. This is actually quite important. Many pool sweeps that may be plumbed into your pool either don’t have the power to pick up sediment (think particles the size of sand or even smaller) or, their debris bags have mesh that is too porous, and the segment simply passes through. Not with the Aiper Smart robotic pool cleaner. It seems to have the capability of getting all of that “stuff” off of the bottom of your pool. You just have to be sure that you fully clean the mesh basket once the Aiper Smart is done cleaning. I recommend taking the large stuff out by hand and then washing it out well with a garden hose. Also on the top is a switch to turn it on and off and a place that has a rubber, waterproof plug that plugs up where you connect the Aiper Smart to power to charge up the battery. Four rubberized wheels move it along the bottom of the pool and pull it up the sides of a pool. And there is a water vent at the top. I was actually quite surprised at how much water actually flowed through the Aiper Smart cleaner. The motor sucks the water from the bottom of the cleaner into the mesh basket, where all of the debris is captured, and then it is pushed out the top. So in shallow water, it produces quite a disturbance on the surface as it pumps. Why is the Aiper Smart called “smart?” When I think of something being called “smart,” I think it has to have some sort of intelligence and is somehow connected to your Smart Home via the internet or other connections. Only part of this is actually true, and honestly, it makes sense. The intelligence is built into the cleaner itself for the mapping of the pool and how it cleans both the walls and the bottom. However, the Aiper Smart robotic pool cleaner does NOT connect to anything whatsoever. So, you aren’t notified if the battery is low or if the cleaning is done. Before I go into the actual intelligence of the cleaning process, let me touch on how you know if the battery is charged or low and know when the process is done (as they are related). On the front of this robotic pool cleaner is an LED light which is visible even from the deep end of the pool. When the light is blue and blinking, it means that it is running. And, you can get an idea of how much battery is remaining by how many blue bars you can see. When the battery runs out, this LED light turns yellow. The AIPURY1500 is supposed to head close to a wall of your pool when the battery is about to die. That seems to occur most of the time. Included in the package, along with the charging cable, is a hook that you attach to the end of your pool cleaner rod. The hook easily grabs onto the handle on the top of the Aiper Smart so that you can retrieve it from the bottom of the pool. Once retrieved, you can clean the mesh basket and then let it dry out for a while. This is critical before you plug in the Aiper Smart to charge it up for the next cleaning session. Remember, water and electricity are NOT friends and can be dangerous, so be sure the AIPURY1500 is dry before you plug it in! I’m pretty sure the main reason you cannot connect the AIPURY1500 to an app via Bluetooth or WiFi is because those signals really don’t travel well underwater (if at all). So when you do a cleaning cycle, you basically turn it on and put it in the water and then come back a few hours later to see if it is finished. I recommend checking on it from time to time to ensure it isn’t stuck on a ledge or the stairs. I also found that it was better to run it when your pool equipment is off. Sometimes, the drains at the bottom of the pool can have a significant amount of suction that will trap the AIPURY1500 on top of the drain. This didn’t happen to me though. How does the AIPURY1500 clean? I already mentioned that this robotic pool cleaner has a couple of stages to its “smarts.” When it is fully charged, I recommend taking it to the shallow end of your pool (which can be an in-ground one or an above-ground one), turn it on, and then put it somewhat in the middle of the side. You have a few seconds of time before the wheels start moving and it starts sucking up the water. Once you drop it in, the “smarts” begin to kick in. From my observations of a couple of cleaning cycles, it seems to want to first map the length of the pool, and then it stops somewhat mid-way, and it measures the width. I truly don’t know if it uses internal measuring or sonar or radar or magic to figure everything out. Still, once it does somewhat figure out the size of the pool, it then begins an up-and-down process of climbing the walls all the way to the surface (and even partially out of the water) and then dropping back down to the bottom to start another cleaning climb. Again through my observations, the Aiper Smart robotic pool cleaner will NOT clean every inch of your wall. But through the law of averages, you will “eventually” get all of the wall surfaces if you run it regularly. Honestly, it may take a bit of time, just from what I observed. Once the wall cleaning is completed, the Aiper Smart will begin working on the bottom of the pool. Starting in the “center” of the pool (it doesn’t seem to be super precise), it will then begin cleaning the bottom in a bunch of diagonal lines (like an asterisk – *). The 3-axis motor will slightly pivot the direction by 15º each time. This process will continue until the battery runs out. One thing to keep in mind, the larger the pool, the longer it will take to clean. As I mentioned, I have a fairly large pool, so I don’t think that I am completely getting the entire pool bottom and walls swept in a single cleaning session. I do feel that the Aiper Smart robotic pool cleaner is a better fit for smaller pools. The battery is a high-capacity, 8600mAh one. I found that fully charged, it was able to run more than one hour (and maybe hit two hours). Obviously, over time, the battery capacity will be reduced, so keep that in mind. The AIPURY1500 does obviously come with a wall charger. And it does take several hours to charge up fully. An LED light on the plug itself tells you if the battery is low and charging (it shows red) and then when it is fully charged (it shows green). I do wish that the charging cable was more “outdoor-ready.” That is to say, I charge the robotic pool cleaner outside, and I don’t think the charging cable and plug could be left plugged in. It seems to be more of an indoor type. The AIPURY1500 made quite a “splash” in my opinion While I was a bit skeptical initially about a robot cleaning my pool, after watching the Aiper smart AIPURY1500 robotic pool cleaner in action, I was actually quite impressed. It DID climb walls and scrub them all the way to the surface. It DID navigate around my pool and pick up debris from the bottom. It DID successfully navigate onto steps and ledges (and only got stuck a couple of times). And it DID vacuum up sediment from the bottom, something that simple brushing could NOT do. So, how much does the AIPURY1500 robotic pool cleaner cost? Well, it honestly isn’t cheap. But you do have to think about the amount of time it would take you to do the same task. Or to pay someone else to do it. And do that cleaning process regularly. The AIPURY1500 retails for $1099.99, but on the site, it is on sale for $599.99 (which I think is a bit more realistic). It is also available on Amazon for $599.99. The nice thing is, there aren’t any parts that you have to continue purchasing later (unless you get a hole in the basket – I don’t know if or how you can replace the batteries later either). Buy on HighTechDad The product shown below (and related products that have been reviewed on HighTechDad) is available within the HighTechDad Shop. This review has all of the details about this particular product and you can order it directly by clicking on the Buy button or clicking on the image/title to view more. Be sure to review other products available in the HighTechDad Shop. Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 Robotic Pool Cleaner Review $599.99 Buy on Amazon Overall, adding the Aiper Smart robotic pool cleaner to your pool’s maintenance is probably a good thing. You will keep the walls and bottom clean of algae (assuming your chemical are balanced), remove sediment and other debris from the bottom, and regularly brush the sides, which is an important task to regularly do (and something that this lazy pool owner doesn’t really do…until now with the Aiper Smart)! Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to review the product and write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item after my review period. All opinions within this article are my own and are typically not subject to the editorial review from any 3rd party. Also, some of the links in the post above may be “affiliate” or “advertising” links. These may be automatically created or placed by me manually. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item (sometimes but not necessarily the product or service being reviewed), I will receive a small affiliate or advertising commission. More information can be found on my About page. HTD says: Yes, many of the mundane but essential tasks we do can be replaced by robots. Sweeping the walls and cleaning the bottom of my pool is something that I have gladly handed off to the Aiper Smart AIPURY1500 robotic pool cleaner.

https://www.hightechdad.com/2021/09/05/dont-hand-scrub-your-pool-use-a-robot-instead-aiper-smart-aipury1500-pool-cleaner-review/

[hightechdad]

I love the simplicity of using Apple’s Time Machine for doing backups. You plug in an external hard drive, and magically it will create backups and snapshots in the background. That is until you get a cryptic error like “An error has occurred while copying files.” Huh?! Ok, tell me more, Time Machine! But, part of “keeping things simple” means hiding away the details of what is causing a Time Machine error. After some digging around, I found the easy fix to this Time Machine error, and it hasn’t occurred since I corrected the problem. It turns out, in my case, Microsoft OneDrive and Apple Time Machine were not playing nicely together. I’m actually not a stranger to Time Machine errors. Back in 2019, I was getting Error Type 11 issues with my backup. There are some good troubleshooting tips in that Fix-It article, so if what you find in this article doesn’t help, I encourage you to look at that one as it has more general approaches to fixing Time Machine errors. This How-To article is a bit more specific. But it took a while to figure out what was exactly causing it. This Fix-It article tells you how to find the logs that may be showing the specific error and then use that information to correct it. There may be some other Time Machine errors that you encounter in the process that you can identify and fix as well. (Hint: if you don’t care about how I figured this out and just want the fix, skip to the end of the article.) The Time Machine Error & Getting Details On It Here’s what happened. For quite a while, Time Machine was just chugging along, doing its thing. Then, I started getting alerts saying that the Time Machine backup had failed. When I went to the Time Machine preference pane within the System Preferences, there was the usual red circle information icon. Clicking on the red information icon launched an “amazingly informative” description of the error. It said: “Time Machine couldn’t complete the back to ‘Time Machine Backup'” (obviously, if you encounter this error, instead of “Time Machine Backup,” it would be the name you gave your backup drive). But then came the super-informative Time Machine error message: “An error occurred while copying files.” That’s it. As some quick troubleshooting, I did some of the tips I mentioned in my other repair article, including the Disk Utility to analyze and repair the backup drive. And actually also completely reformatting the backup drive and starting the Time Machine process from scratch. I did this a few times. But the error would keep coming back. Not after the first few backups, but a while later. It was extremely odd. And, I couldn’t get any information on it because, as I said, Apple likes to hide the error details away. I realized I needed to look at the log files to see exactly what Time Machine was complaining about. But Time Machine doesn’t have easy to access log. I checked in the Console utility app, but there was too much information to go through; it wasn’t an efficient way to do this. This is where a Terminal command actually helped me tremendously. Because macOS is essentially Apple’s version of Linux (sort of), using the Terminal app can be extremely powerful, useful, and helpful. Linux commands can be executed from within the Terminal app, giving you superpowers you didn’t know you had. First, let me say I am NOT a Linux expert. Nor do I pretend to know much if anything about working with the command line. What I do know is that there are lots of really smart people who do Linux commands all of the time – these people are geek gods in my mind! I have, however, run enough Linux commands to have a decent understanding of them. And to truly appreciate their power. I digress. Let me share the Linux command that helped me figure out this particular issue with Time Machine (and how I came to learn that Microsoft OneDrive was the culprit). Using Terminal to get Time Machine Errors I needed the details. What was causing this error? After searching around for an easy way to get detailed Time Machine logs, I stumbled across the Terminal command that would allow me to do this. Here it is: printf '\e[3J' && log show --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.TimeMachine"' --info --last 6h | grep -F 'eMac' | grep -Fv 'etat' | awk -F']' '{print substr($0,1,19), $NF}' I can’t tell you exactly what all of this translates to. It says to look into the “com.apple.TimeMachine” log and look at the past 6 hours (note, you can change that number). It will also look for the phrases “eMac” and “etat” and then print it all to the screen. You just run that command using the Terminal app which is found in the Utilities folder. It turns out this was exactly what I needed. I did decide to reformat my backup drive one more time and then let the backup run overnight without me using my Mac – I wanted to run the command right after the error appeared. So I did just that, and voila, the error popped up again. I ran the command. I was a bit shocked by the result. The log file was huge. I saved the results as a text file, and that file was 72 MBs in size!!! Ummm…that’s a lot of errors. (By the way, after doing the fix that I note later in this article, I reran the same command. The resulting file size was only 41 KB! So something did, obviously, work.) So, I started digging through the errors and started to notice a common thing. Almost 100% of the “Failed to copy” errors were for files that resided on my local machine’s OneDrive! The Culprit: Microsoft OneDrive When I started to think about it, that made absolute sense. Microsoft OneDrive is a complicated beast. And, there is a feature that I love and use within OneDrive that I am guessing may have been confusing Apple’s Time Machine. Within OneDrive, you can make some files on-demand to save space on your laptop. The file name exists, but the file is essentially just a pointer to something stored in the cloud. I wrote about on-demand and select-sync, two extremely useful OneDrive features. If, for example, you have an image that is marked as on-demand and you want to preview it by tapping on the space bar, you won’t get a preview. You will need to store the file locally to be able to do that. I hypothesize that Time Machine was getting confused with these virtual or pointer files. It was trying to back up these files but not being able to because they weren’t really there to back up. So that is why it said an error had occurred. You could, I guess, allow Time Machine to have the permission to download the files in the OneDrive drive automatically. Still, I think that would completely defeat the purpose of using the on-demand aspect of OneDrive because Time Machine would automatically keep copies locally. The whole point of the on-demand feature of OneDrive is to keep things in the cloud and save space on your hard drive. Then I started to think…if everything within my OneDrive directory is already synced within the cloud, why the heck do I need to take a Time Machine backup of that entire directory? At that point, I had two reasons why I really didn’t need OneDrive to be backed up by Time Machine: it was causing errors because of the on-demand feature, I believe, and it was already backed up to the cloud. The Fix: Exclude OneDrive from the Time Machine Backup Long story short (TL;DR version), the way that I fixed this was to simply exclude my Microsoft OneDrive directory from the Apple Time Machine Backup. Honestly, you don’t need to do it since that directory is already in the cloud and backed up there. To exclude a directory from Time Machine, simply open the Time Machine System Preferences pane. Then click on the Options… button. Next, click on the + button to add a directory (or file) to the exclude list. Another window will open when you do that, allowing you to navigate to the directory you want to exclude. In this case, I selected my personal OneDrive account (I do have a Business one as well). And once you click on the Exclude button, OneDrive will show up within the “Exclude these items from backups” list. Just click Save and you are done. Now, all that you have to do is let Time Machine work its magic! So I let it run a few days before I declared victory. And to be sure, I ran the Terminal command I listed earlier multiple times a few hours and days apart. And as I mentioned before, the Time Machine error disappeared (the log file went from 72 MB to 41 KB, and there was no sign of any file copying errors within the error log). Also, interestingly, because I had put my personal OneDrive directory into the exclusion list, when I tried to put my Business OneDrive directory into the same list, it was greyed out and couldn’t be selected. But that was the easy fix! I just had to figure out what was causing the generic Time Machine error; that was the hard part. (Removing the OneDrive directory actually has sped up my backup as there are fewer files to process.) Do leave a comment if this fix helped you or if you encountered another type of error that couldn’t be resolved like this. HTD says: The lesson I learned from troubleshooting a Time Machine backup error of not being able to copy a file was that perhaps some things don’t even need to be backed up in the first place! Especially if it is OneDrive which is already backing things up in the cloud.

https://www.hightechdad.com/2021/06/20/onedriv-time-machine-how-to-fix-one-annoying-error-in-time-machine-easily/