Cool Tech You’ll LOVE!
Prime Day is forthcoming which means a barrage of sponsored videos filled with crappy products nobody cares about from lame YouTubers—NOT THIS ONE THOUGH! Well, I'm lame, but the products are cool! I’ve got 20 that you've never heard of but will love—and only 1 of them is sponsored. I dunno if there's deals on this stuff—some of these products aren't even available on Amazon—this is basically just like... things I like—that I want to talk about. So, sit down and shut up, okay? Look, I’ve never been a Bluetooth speaker guy. I’ve tried tons—at all price points—but I’ve never found anything I think sounds good while keeping a small footprint and price. That has changed with the new BIGGIE from well-known HiFi brand Morel. Remove the magnetic grille and you’ll find both a 4” front-ported woofer and 1” soft-dome tweeter powered by a surprisingly punchy 60W amplifier. The built-in DSP utilizes both drivers well—with the woofer putting out
a remarkable amount of bass, and the tweeter sinking down into the upper-mids for vocals. I won’t bore you with the details, but you can use on-device EQ to kinda make this sound however you want—it’s really versatile. And with BT 5.3 support it’s pretty well future-proofed affording multi-device pairing and incredible range; however, Morel hasn’t forgotten the staples: it comes with a line-in port—and you can both charge or power the speaker entirely over USB-C. They’re promising a lot more for the future: stereo support if you’ve got two, in addition to a smartphone app for tuning. Whether Morel will actually deliver on this is anyone’s guess, and at $300, it’s not cheap, but it sounds better than any other battery-powered, portable speaker I’ve listened to, and I really like it—especially all the lacquered wood color options.
Smart Home temperature and humidity sensors suck—they’re poorly calibrated, slow to recognize a change from delta, unreliable, and expensive. Nothing works as well as those old AcuRite sensors that grandpa had hooked up to his weather station in the 90s. So why not USE grandpa’s AcuRite sensors from the 90s? These radio-based plastic-fantastics are crazy accurate, update every 16 seconds, last nearly a year on a pair of AAA batteries, and cost just $16. The problem? They’re not designed for smart home use—at all. But open-source software
knows no bounds and with an inexpensive USB radio receiver, you can use MQTT and Home Assistnat to—add these old-school sensors to any smart home environment and automate accordingly. It’s very simple and there are great guides to get started that I’ll link below. This is one of those things where once you try it, you’ll wonder why you ever considered doing it the “proper” way.
Today’s sponsor is a product I’ve been using twice daily for over 6 months—the Laifen electronic toothbrush. Look, here’s the deal: I moved to soft-bristled Philips ultrasonic toothbrushes a decade ago due to receding gum lines. Their brush head prices are insane, so I tried to move to other “ultrasonic” brushes but they all sucked with weak vibration and lousy battery. That is, until this one. Not only does it ultrasonically vibrate as well or better than the Sonicare stuff, but the head even oscillates which I thought may have been a BS feature until my dentist at my most recent checkup just a few weeks ago told me he could tell I’ve been flossing due to low tartar levels and to keep it up. Psst—I suck at flossing—so it must have been this brush. Beyond the cleaning capabilities, it looks fantastic, coming in ABS, aluminum (my favorite),
or stainless steel. Battery lasts for months and it charges via a MagSafe style USB-C connector. You won’t collect pud underneath the brush head like other brushes, and the heads themselves are shockingly affordable—only $9.99 for a 3 pack. It’s rare that I don’t have a single complaint or criticism about a product—but I truly don’t. Even the app is well done but you also don’t have
to use it if you don’t want by saving cleaning profiles to the brush itself. I bought one for my wife and have recommended it to friends and family. If it’s time for a new toothbrush, this is the one to get. Save up to 20%, the best deal since it launched, using the link below.
I have been using my iPad a ton lately, but the fingerprints I get on the display drive me mad—and because they use a different oleophobic coating to remain compatible with the Apple Pencil, grease is nearly impossible to wipe away—no shirt rub trick here. Thus, these little self-contained screen cleaners have been a savior. Basically, there’s a little spray bottle located inside a square microfiber case. Spray the fluid, use one side to spread it around, another to buff, and another to wipe dry! When you’re finished, you can put it back in its plastic sheath to stay clean. Even though they’re cheap, they’re resuable since you can refill the fluid and clean
the microfiber with a bit of dish soap, water, and 24 hours of dry time. I keep one in my laptop bag, one in my car, and one in my home office. They’re hyper-generic and available from tons of sellers so just get the best deal you can to enjoy a portable, all-in-one display cleaner! This upcoming Prime Day, you’re gonna see deep discounts on Kindles—we always do—but I have some more advanced E-Ink devices to recommend. First up, the Kobo Sage: my e-reader of choice. Its spacious 8” display with 300 ppi renders text superbly—not just those through the Kobo Store, but any file uploaded to Dropbox and Google Drive. Better yet, you can rent books for free directly on-device from your local library using OverDrive—I haven’t bought a book in a long time. Libraries are awesome. The device even supports pen input for notes and PDF markup. Next,
the Boox Palma. I’ve fallen in love with this thing. It’s basically an Android phone—without a phone or a typical display. The 300 ppi screen is best-in-class and in addition to the surprisingly good software that’s pre-loaded, you have full Play Store access to use whatever reader apps you want—even Kindle or Kobo! And because its Android, you can do a lot more—even watch YouTube videos quite miserably with its fast-refresh display.
I mean, for E-Ink, it really is pretty good. The price is up there at about $280, but I’ve found myself just putting this in my pocket. I read books and articles when I’m waiting in line, on the toilet, basically everywhere. It’s the anti-phone substitute device and it’s great.
Do you have a stinky, poopy butt? If you haven’t joined the rest of us civilized folk in the bidet revolution, you do. Washlets are a game-changer, but… and permit me to get a little bit, uh, well… it has turned my little anus into a pampered royal who expects nothing less than the gentlest of treatments. One wrong move, a couple days with single-ply toilet sandpaper, and it’s like my rump has been dragged across a cheese grater. Thus, I have purchased that which my wife pleaded I not—a portable ass blaster from Toto. The design is clever—you extend the weapon by cocking which creates a reservoir kept sealed by an internal o-ring. Fill it up with
some warm tap water, fold out the wand, select low-or-high pressure (you’ll want the latter), position it abroad as you would at home, and press the button. It works surprisingly well. No, it won’t give you the volume or pressure you’d expect from the real deal, but it gets you 90% of the way there requiring just one or two safety wipes using paper. The only complaint I have is that it is powered by a single AA battery like its 1994. Said battery is only good for about a dozen cleanses before the power starts to taper off quite aggressively. A USB-C model is long overdue, but Japan is famous for being both 20-years ahead and 30-years behind, so I wouldn’t count on it—just get this one on a deep discount instead and take it everywhere you travel. Inside your travel bag, you may also want a GENKI ConvertDock 2. You’ve probably heard of the
original—it allowed you to travel with a Nintendo Switch and play it at a hotel without the dock. USB-C would supply power to the device and HDMI out would supply video to the TV. Think that, but with the addition of a USB-A port. What is this for? Ah, USB in! So bear with me… 4K60 HDMI out,
USB-in, 45W USB-C PD for power and two-way data. This means you can plug in—not just your Switch, but also your Steam Deck or MacBook even iPhone to a TV while charging your device; and you can supply any USB input your heart can think of—a game pad, ethernet, external storage, keyboard, etc. Screw dongles… pack light and bring this one-device does all gem with you anywhere you go. It’s time to talk about another expensive audio gadget—sorry! These, are the Focal Bathys bluetooth headphones. OK, they’re $700, BUT they put every other Bluetooth headphone to shame and its not close. They have most of the features you’d expect from Bluetooth headphones
in this day and age—noise cancelling, transparency mode, multi-device support, a wired 3.5mm or USB-C lossless mode, a simple, but functional app, and a premium but lightweight, mostly-plastic build. Those features are not the staples—and frankly, they’re not even the strengths. The ANC is fine, not great, the passthrough is pretty lousy compared to Apple or Sony, the buttons are confusing, and battery life is… adequate. So what do they excel at? Comfort, and sound. These are without a doubt the comfiest wireless headphones I’ve worn—maybe the comfiest
headphones ever, and their sound? Oh, their sound is *muah*. Objectively, they’re pretty close to the Harman combined target curve. Subjectively, they’re so much more… when you get them it has you do a hearing test through the app that builds a user-specific EQ. Mine resulted in a punchy low-end, great mids, subdued but not overly dark trebles, and yeah… all
the stuff you’d expect from a high-end closed-back headphone: decent if not impressive soundstage, nice imaging, the works. It even supports Dolby Atmos via Apple Music if you’re into that. These headphones are nearing 2-years-old, so its possible a refresh is in the works—and look, I get it… they’re expensive. The average user won’t care about them, but if you’re an audio-chad, you’ll never want to carry around anything else after trying these—they’re brilliant. I am not known around my home for keeping very good track of things. I use AirTags for a lot of stuff, but my wallet is an important item I find myself misplacing often—especially now that I usually leave it at home thanks to NFC payments being accepted almost everywhere I go and Utah’s ugly Mobile ID app. The thing is… AirTag wallets are all garbage—nobody wants something that thick and inflexible on their rump. So, I converted to the new
Nomad Tracking Card. This thing is only $40, integrates seamlessly with the Find My network, has an integrated beeper for easy locating once you’re in range, and has a 5-month battery life. Unlike a lot of these things you’ve gotta chuck once the battery dies, this thing charges over MagSafe. It’s about the thickness of 2 credit cards, is flexible, water proof, and wonderful. Buy one—if they’re not already sold out. This next one is a little overpriced, and there are competing products that I’m sure do a fine job, but the Patagonia Black Hole duffel bag has my heart. This bag comes in a variety of sizes—I’ve got the smallest 40L—and what I love about it is that it basically doesn’t exist.
You see, the whole bag weighs just a little more than a t-shirt—there’s no organizers or dividers save for two amorphous pockets—you do get caribiner loops, a vertical grab handle, horizontal handle and optional shoulder straps, but that’s it. It’s almost featureless—and that is its feature. This thing is perfect as a carry-on for planes because it fits an insane amount of stuff thanks to the lack of rigid walls your gear has to conform to. What’s more, the TPU material is incredibly water resistant—I’ve been in heavy rain camping with this and had zero issues. When you’re all done, it folds up into its own self-contained pocket pouch. It’s my go-to weekender bag and will be for probably decades to come thanks to its insane stitching and material quality. This glossy variant is no longer available—Patagonia now uses matte,
recycled TPU, but everything else has remained the same and that’s a good thing. Like it or not, you deal with a lot of cardboard—and cardboard boxes are a pain. I admit, I have been pretty terrible at breaking them down as I’m instructed to by my local recycler, but that’s about to change with the Canary cardboard cutter. This tool, made in Japan, is astoundingly good and will put any utility knife to shame. Not only does it absolutely
shred through packing straps, shrink wrap, and tape (thanks to its non-stick coating), but the serrated safety-blade allows for excellent maneuverability when cutting cardboard—its so precise, you can even cut circles out of your boxes. Even better, the rounded chisel tip is perfect for peeling-off old labels and making shallow scour cuts to fold on when resizing boxes. It works on cardboard both thick and thin, stays sharp for a crazy long time and is inexpensive enough its worth getting a few to place around the house. The temperature delta between the surface of the sun and my back patio is only about 20 degrees during dinner-time when I need to grill. I’ve tried umbrellas, neck coolers, and more—nothing works and the miserable heat remains. I considered getting high-pressure mist, but those systems cost hundreds (even thousands of dollars), and on windless days, really only serve to make things MORE humid and muggy. I dunno if you’ve seen the
price of outdoor rated fans, but they’re insane; so, when I saw the Lasko Misto for $80 at Costco I thought it would be terrible. Turns out, I wasn’t wrong—I was simply mistaken—this thing is superb. Its an outdoor-rated fan that blows at 3 speeds and can optionally oscillate back and forth. But, hook it up to a hose bib and suddenly you’ve got 3 misting heads that spray fine water beadlets into the fan’s path, providing a remarkably good cooling effect. Now, it’s not perfect: this isn’t
pressurized mist—so stand within a few feet of the thing and you’ll get pretty wet. Furthermore, the mist volume isn’t variable—it’s on or off. That said, the fan’s throw is about 20-25 feet which means you can stay very cool (whilst remaining dry) being even remotely nearby. The 6-foot cable
is on the short side, but inline GFCI is nice and the build quality is so surpringly excellent, it feels 2-3x its price. If you’ve got a hot patio and you’re on a budget, this is the antidote. Ya like cheese?? Of course you do, you’re not a filthy communist. When we got married, we put the Wirecutter cheese-grater recommendation on our wedding registry.
It’s really sharp and it still sucks. Man invented the wheel 6,000 years ago—so why not use it? This cheapo grater uses the power of rotational leverage to absolutely churn through any cheese you throw at it and the crazy-strong suction base prevents it from moving so you can crank out that mozzarella like you’re 14 all over again. This next one isn’t for sale on Amazon—and I’m not even sure I should recommend it because its so niche, but I just think its the neatest thing ever… we recently re-did our landscaping—it looks great and we love it, but we have this tiny patch of grass at the back of the house we didn’t want to run a sprinkler zone to (we’d have needed to dig up the driveway), so I bought this: it’s called Oto and its basically a 3D printer for your yard. Using a variable valve and servo head it throws water exactly where and when you want. Using an app, you create a point cloud volume or single-point zone that it throws water on. You set it up just like a regular smart sprinkler timer—it can skip for weather or in high winds—and because it’s designed to work on more than just grass, you can, for example, perform deep root watering on nearby trees rather than having to run drip irrigation. The device itself is pretty reasonable because their
goal is to sell you solutions like fertilizer, mosquito control, and acid neutralizer for dog pee—solutions I think work pretty well so I’ve been suckered into buying them, but you totally don’t need to. You can use it for just watering. It’s a weird toy, but such a great one. Not everybody can finger a piece of protein like Gordon Ramsay and determine its cook temperature—thermometers never killed anybody. I use probes from Combustion Inc. and LOVE them. They have thermistors down the length of the whole probe so you just jam it in there and it finds the core temp so you don’t have to. There’s an app, but you can also use their nice, monochrome LCD; it accounts for your cook’s time of completion in real-time, and because it just spits out an unencrypted Bluetooth signal with open-source libraries available for anyone to use, tons of cooking apps, grills, and ranges support these probes natively. The only problem? They’re a tad pricey. For those on a budget, check out Chef iQ’s smart probes. They don’t have the cool TrueCore temperature functionality—there’s just a single internal and external thermistor; however, they do almost everything else the Combustion probes do. The app is well designed;
it even has step-by-step video instructions for a lot of recipes if you’re new to cooking and the speaker dock provides audible alerts. Last, a tool for huge grill nerds: this is the FireBoard 2. It’s a K-probe temperature controller, but also so much more. If you cook with charcoal on a Weber, Green Egg, Masterbuilt, etc., ditch the crappy built in controller and buy one of these. This
thing provides PWM control to your grill’s fan to stoke the flames and evenly soak the heat. You set a target temperature on device or in-app and just walk away—your grill will hold that exact temperature basically forever. If you understand what this does, you understand why you need one. And if you don’t understand, thank your wallet for your ignorance. VU meters are mankind’s greatest invention—watching boucing needles is a delight and the VU1 from PC casemaker Streacom taps into that analog nostalgia. These
are serial-addressable VU meters that have E-Ink displays—just like a Kindle. Plug them into your PC, install the local server app to your computer, and open your web browser to the configuration web portal. Here is where things start to, uh, fall apart. You see, Streacom didn’t want to make an app for these—they wanted to open source the software in hopes that third-parties would develop integrations for these dials. That uh, didn’t happen. These have been out since January and there are but single-digit post numbers on their community forums. If you’re smarter than me,
you may love the idea of a network addressable VU meter, but if you’re equal to or dumber than me in intelligence, hi. What can *we* do with them? Well, their “demo app” currently allows you to show system info using LibreHardwareMonitor libraries. So CPU and GPU load and temperatures, network usage, power draw, clock speeds, stuff like that. They’re not cheap, but they’re also not
that outrageously priced considering they’re built incredibly well using extruded aluminum and the $140 starter kit comes with 4 dials. It’s a cute, minimalist way to spruce up your PC setup—they work really well—if only they had a real community to develop more integrations. And for macOS too! And that’s all from me. Are you a smarty pants that already knew about all these gadgets? I doubt it. Let me know what your favorite was in a comment down below, but most importantly, and as always, stay snazzy.
2024-07-18 21:51
