Reviews

Category page of all the different Reviews on the web site for products / services.

Google Pixel Watch 3 Review: Bigger Screen, Battery

Google Pixel Watch 3 Review

It had been quite a while since I first reviewed the original Google Pixel Watch and I ended up using that watch daily for much longer than I expected. It was one of those devices that once you got used to having it, it became hard to go without it.

Since then Google has had a couple more generations to refine the experience and I recently upgraded to the Google Pixel Watch 3. I’ve now been using it for several months and this will be a long-term usage review much like my original review.

The short version is that Google fixed nearly every complaint I had with the original watch. The battery life is dramatically better and the larger 45mm size is a huge upgrade.

In this review I’ll cover the good, the bad and the ugly about the Google Pixel Watch 3.

Let’s begin!

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EGO ST1623T Review: Smartest String Trimmer You Can Buy?

One day I was wrestling with my old trimmer having to manually wind the spool. Most of the time I would end up winding it backwards somehow even though every time I tried to reverse it (from what I thought it should be) so it wouldn’t be backwards and it would anyway every single time. That’s when I decided to try something different.

If you’ve ever wrestled with tangled trimmer line or struggled to reload a spool, the EGO ST1623T might feel like a game-changer. Built with innovative “LINE IQ” auto-feed technology and the brand’s signature “POWERLOAD” system, this cordless trimmer is designed to eliminate some of the most frustrating parts of yard work.

It’s powerful, efficient, and packed with smart features. However, like any tool, it has a few quirks worth mentioning.

EGO ST1623T Review: Smartest String Trimmer You Can Buy? Read More »

Command and Conquer Red Alert Remastered Review – A Nostalgic Return Done Right

Command and Conquer Red Alert Remastered Review

Command & Conquer: Red Alert was one of the earliest computer games I ever played.

That alone probably tells you a lot about how I feel going into this review.

The remastered version gave me a chance to go back and experience it again (not through fuzzy childhood memories, but as it actually exists today). The surprising part is just how much of it still holds up… and how much of it absolutely doesn’t.

Let’s get into it!

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Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 Review – A Worthy Upgrade

Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 Review

I’ve been using the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 for a little while now after spending a long time with both the original Pixel Buds and the first Pixel Buds Pro series. Since I already reviewed the original Pro series, I wanted to specifically talk about what has improved with the second generation and whether it feels like a meaningful upgrade.

The short version is yes. It absolutely does.

Google didn’t completely reinvent the wheel here, which is probably a good thing because the first Pixel Buds Pro were already excellent. Instead, they focused on improving the small everyday details that actually matter when you use headphones constantly: comfort, charging speed, battery life, and little quality-of-life features that make the experience feel polished.

Let’s get started!

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EGO Power+ LM2156SP Review: A Powerful, Quiet (Mostly) Electric Mower

EGO Electric Lawn Mower Review

If you’re looking to ditch gas without sacrificing performance, the EGO LM2156SP self-propelled electric lawn mower is one of the most compelling options on the market today. With impressive torque, long battery life, and user-friendly features, it’s built for homeowners who want a premium mowing experience (without the fumes, maintenance, or noise of traditional gas mowers).

That said, no mower is perfect. While this one gets a lot right, there are a few quirks worth knowing about before you buy.

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Google Pixel Watch (the original) Review

Google Pixel Watch

It had been a while since I had given using a wearable device a try. I had not used one since the original Apple Watch all the way back in 2015. I had switched away from Apple many years ago though to Android phones. Since then I had not seen any reason to try a wearable again although I heard the Samsung Android ones had been improving.

I’d been using a Google Pixel phone for the past several generations as I really like the Google out-of-box experience of having all of the native apps be proper Google apps. It was a clean experience that felt a lot more like Apple. Other Android phones I’d used such as Samsung pushed their own suite of apps which usually were not as good as the native Google apps.

As a fan of the clean first-party OS/application experience I was pretty excited to give the Google Pixel Watch a try. I’ve now had it for 3 months so this will be a 3 month usage review. In this review I’ll cover the good, the bad and the ugly about the Google Pixel Watch.

Let’s begin!

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Radxa Rock 3 Compute Module Review

Radxa CM3 - Top View

I’ve reviewed the Pine64 SOQuartz compute module alternative in the past. While it works great Pine64 is working toward mainline support and doesn’t have very many choices available for a well-supported image as mainline kernel support for that board is not quite complete yet.

The Radxa Rock 3 Compute Module (CM3) is Radxa’s current production alternative to a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4. They promise that “Radxa CM3, CM3 SODIMM will remain in production until at least Sep 2029” meaning that they have made a very long term commitment to support this board.

In this review I’m going to be taking a look at the Radxa Rock 3 compute module and see how it stacks up against the Pine64 SOQuartz as well as the Raspberry Pi CM4. Let’s begin!

Radxa Rock 3 Compute Module Review Read More »

Minoston Z-wave Smart Plugs w/ Home Assistant Review

Minoston Z-Wave Smart Plug - Installed

I’ve been covering integrating my entire home into Home Assistant here on the site. I want to have the capability to monitor everything going on in my home and control it with an open-source system such as Home Assistant.

Although I have a strong WiFi network in my home there are some areas where using a wireless technology that is more energy efficient (such as Z-wave and Zigbee) makes a lot more sense. These especially include devices that need to run on a battery or are in awkward areas with poor WiFi coverage.

I decided to try the Minoston Z-wave mini plug to see how it integrated with my Home Assistant setup as it was very commonly recommended online. In this review we’ll take a look at this device and see if it’s worth using. Let’s begin!

Minoston Z-wave Smart Plugs w/ Home Assistant Review Read More »

Zooz 700 Z-Wave Door/Window Sensors w/ Home Assistant

Zooz 700 series door/window sensor - Review

I’ve been upgrading all of the devices in my home to work with Home Assistant and eliminate subscriptions to proprietary services. One of the last remaining subscription services I have in my home is the Ring door and window sensors. The Ring ones have honestly been fine but the subscription is not free. Since I know these sensors will be installed in my home for 10+ years it will save me money to switch to something else that has no subscription.

That is why I was excited to see that Zooz has released a new series of Z-Wave door and window sensors that are completely self-managed by either a Z-Wave hub or Home Assistant running as a Z-Wave hub. The advantage of Z-Wave and Zigbee devices is they use much less power than WiFi so it’s a much better suited technology for devices that run on battery power (such as wireless door and window sensors).

In this review I’ll cover the Zooz 700 Z-Wave door and window sensors and cover the upsides and downsides of the system. Let’s get started!

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Orange Pi 800 Computer Kit Review

Orange Pi 800 Computer Kit Review

I’m certainly not the first to review the Orange Pi 800 computer kit. It has been available for a while now. That’s exactly why I wanted to take a look at the Orange Pi 800 as a more mature product today.

In this review we’ll take a look at the packaging, build quality, specifications and test the performance of the Orange Pi 800 and see how well it has matured since it’s initial release.

Let’s begin!

Orange Pi 800 Computer Kit Review Read More »

Adafruit Re-programmable USB-C PD to Barrel Jack Cable

Adafruit Re-programmable USB-C PD Cable Review

I have been ordering a lot of gear from Adafruit lately to help build my Home Assistant sensor array for my home (as well as other projects I have going here on the site). I was very confused today when something showed up I didn’t recognize (and wasn’t even aware really existed).

It turns out to be a cable that you plug into a USB-C power adapter that supports PD (power delivery) and output a voltage you program in via a DC barrel jack. In other words this cable lets you turn a USB-PD capable power adapter into a programmable DC jack adapter that could theoretically work with almost anything!

This is a $19.50 cable I’m certain that I didn’t buy that I will return to Adafruit if they would like. Not before we review it first though. Let’s get started!

Adafruit Re-programmable USB-C PD to Barrel Jack Cable Read More »

Radxa Zero SBC Review

Radxa Zero SBC Review

The Radxa Zero has been extremely popular since release and is still pretty hard to find on many major retailers. After trying to get it from a couple of different places I finally received mine this week!

In this review we’ll dive into using the Radxa Zero including the available images, hardware capabilities and what kind of performance to expect. Will the Radxa Zero live up to how popular the board seems to be and how hard it is to get?

Let’s find out!

Radxa Zero SBC Review Read More »

Orange Pi 14 Inch 1080P Portable Monitor Review

Orange Pi Portable Monitor Review

I recently ordered many of the official Orange Pi accessories for review with my Orange Pi 800 order (also coming up for review). The first of these accessories to come was the Orange Pi 14″ 1080P portable monitor. This monitor is meant to be extremely portable and have a low footprint.

Today in this review we’ll take a close look at Orange Pi’s monitor offering and test it with several devices. We’ll examine the build quality, functionality and try to determine whether picking one of these up might be worth it for you and what situations they would be most appropriate for.

Let’s get started!

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Pine64 SOQuartz Blade Review

Pine64 SOQuartz Blade Review

I’ve previously reviewed the Pine64 SOQuartz here on the site and found that if you used Armbian it was a feasible alternative to the CM4. The compatibility with other IO boards varies wildly though. We’ve definitely seen mixed experiences using the CM4 Blade when using the SOQuartz for example.

I was curious if I got a hold of one of the official Pine64 SOQuartz Blade boards if the experience would be better. Today we will review the Pine64 SOQuartz Blade IO board and see how well things are working at time of writing.

Let’s begin!

Pine64 SOQuartz Blade Review Read More »

Elikliv 7″ LCD Digital Microscope Review

Elikliv 7" LCD Digital Microscope Review

Recently on the site I’ve been covering my journey exploring the world of microcontrollers. This has been a fun journey but it has required me to work with technology a lot smaller than what I’m used to working with. The boards I’m routinely working with now are so small I can barely see them and read the features on them.

This has exposed some gaps in my tool set such as my former very poor quality soldering iron which I recently replaced with the Pinecil. That was only about a $40 upgrade from Amazon including shipping.

Just today I received the Elikliv 7″ Digital Microscope. It’s one of the most popular selling digital microscopes on Amazon and it cost me less than $100. This was not something I wanted to spend a ton of money on. I just wanted a basic digital microscope to make it much easier to read and work with the smaller microcontrollers / PCBs.

In this review I’ll cover this digital microscope and tell you the pros / cons and whether it’s worth your money if you have a similar use case. Let’s get started!

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