Saturday, October 24, 2015

Stuff (being considered or obtained)

I don’t make a whole lot of “hardware” recommendations.

I don’t run ads or product click-through links on the blog that give me any benefit for your purchase.

So with that in mind, these are some recent purchases I’ve made that I have been very pleased with.

Or are links to hardware that I’m reviewing and considering picking up (for my reference).

Just passing them on in case you are interested.

Claus recommended gear:

  • MEKO™ 2Pcs [2 in 1 Precision Series] Disc Stylus/Styli - Amazon.com - As an iPad/iPhone user, there are some applications that my finger tip (or that darned soft-pad tip stylus) just won’t do for, sketching and note-taking apps for example. I found this two-pack for a fine-tip stylus for $10 that was too good not to try. I’m blow away!  The fine-point tip is a weird looking contraption but it works like a dream - even though my Spiegen screen protector.  I love this thing!  It is a dual-tip with the fine-point on one end and the large squishy capacitive fabric tip on the other. With several spare tips included. The only “complaint” I have is that it didn’t come with a pocket clip. I salvaged on off a drafting pen barrel (like the kind you got as a kid to attach to your pencil if you were a geek). That works fine enough on it for my needs.  Seriously, if you use a stylus for an iPad/iPhone, give this one a shot. It’s cheaper than most you can pick up in a store and super-high quality.
  • Kanguru FlashBlu30 (32GB) with Physical Write Protect Switch SuperSpeed USB3.0 Flash Drive ALK-FB30-32G - Amazon.com - My USB 2.0 16 GB Kanguru FlashBlu stick was showing it’s age. I’ve almost maxed out the capacity, lost the cap and broke the little plastic loop on the end. It still works but is battered and I need to check with Kangaru to see if they could send me a replacement clear cap and white loop end. Anyway, the 64 GB was what I really wanted but the price was pretty high for a budget dude like me. So I picked up the 32 GB version as a compromise. USB 3.0 with physical write-protect switch for when I am responding to an infected system. Can’t beat Kanguru brand!
  • Netac U335 USB 3.0 64G Write Protection Flash Drive - Amazon.com - or maybe you can?  This 64 GB write-protected USB 3.0 stick was a crazy $30! Compare that to the $40 32 GB version I bought above.  I picked it up on a whim for the extra capacity and have been very impressed with the quality and performance.  It won’t (quite yet) replace my trusty Kanguru USB’s with their (mostly) aluminum bodies. Only complaint so far was that it didn’t include a lanyard and is could be easy to misplace the cap/ That said, it was an awesome value!

Stuff I’m researching for future upgrades:

I’m still quite pleased with the performance of my D-Link DIR-655 router. Performance is good on our laptops and Apple devices. It has been rock-solid dependable and there are still very occasional firmware updates offered.

That said, I’ve had it so long I don’t know if I would actually be getting better performance on another “modern” device.

On top of that it just WILL NOT authenticate to my first gen Chromecast stick. Not at all. Period. I can see my network on the Chromecast, I can put in my authentication information, but it will NOT authenticate to the WiFi. Grrr.

To get my Chromecast connected to our network, I have to first connect my portable D-Link DAP-1350 Wireless N Pocket Router to my DIR-655 and then connect the Chromecast to that one. Seriously a headache and it prevents me from leaving my Chromecast connected all the time as I don’t leave the DAP-1350 online full time.

Anyway, there is the stuff and what I’m considering.

I’d love to hear your comments or recommendations as well!

Cheers.

--Claus Valca

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