Gadgets [Edited] · 11:12pm Oct 28th, 2020
Yep, warning for y'all, this is non-pony blog, you have been warned.
Ok, one thing that's never changed is that I like my gadgets, which is a bit of a bad habit because I've been poor most of my life, and this habit has a habit of making me poorer. I suppose I have gotten a bit better about buying only when I can afford it, or now that's to the ubiquitous of Chinese tech, buying low priced or no-brand products.
So, with that said, we've a bunch of new gadgets either received or on order, some of which are because my were got un-furloughed.
First up are a pair of BTMagic Bluetooth Transmitter Receivers. These are rather cool, I'm sure you've see the little rechargeable bluetooth receivers that let you add bluetooth to anything that has a microphone or aux jack, right? Well, these add a switch that allows you to use it as a transmitter instead if you prefer, which means if you have a headphone jack, optical audio out jack or basic RCA speaker jacks, you can get a set of bluetooth headphones to it. Yes, anything you own can have bluetooth, and for just $24.99, although I scored a better deal when I got them. Really I haven't found a need for them, but the price was too good to refuse, and I can easily imagine finding a use for them.
PicTek TKL Mechanical Gamin Keyboard. Mechanical yes, gaming... I doubt it, but then I don't game, so what do I know? What I do know is that it's an 80% keyboard... That's the right term for a keyboard that is missing only the numeric keypad, right? Any how, yeah, missing the keypad which I'm used to having, but at $27.99, it's a hard to beat price, and I actually got it a little cheaper than that, so I had to try it. I'm liking it a lot. Sure, I never learned to type using the number row, so numbers are a bit of a problem, but I don't use numbers too much usually, so we'll see how it goes.
UGreen USB audio adapter and USB Switch selector. Admittedly both of these are silly, and prolly pointless, but since I have both my old and new computers sitting on my desk, I thought I'd get these and reduce the clutter. The audio adaptor allows me to plug a set of headphones or speakers into a USB port, in this case one of the ones on the switch. Also plugged in there is my keyboard, and the receiver for my trackball. Now, with the push of one button, I can switch my keyboard, trackball and speakers between my computers. Sure it's silly, and something I'll likely never use, but less gear on my desk, and it's neat... though prolly a waste of the nearly $40 I spent.
DOREshop T45 vintage Edison Light Bulbs. A lot dimmer than I thought they would be, but still, looks wise, exactly what I wanted for my bathroom. There's four bulbs over the mirror, and it used the round bulbs. I wanted something more interesting, so I got these bulbs, and they work perfect, they just don't throw a lot of light. Still, $14 isn't much to spend, and there is enough light in the room, just not as much as I want.
UKUI. Now this is a special one, this isn't a device, but a Linux desktop environment. Ok, a little explanation, a DE is basically what you interact with, Finder if you use an Apple Macintosh computer, Windows Explorer on Windows... I think, but I'm not real versed in Windows. Any how, UKUI is one odd beastie, made odder by the fact that I run an Arch based system rather than an Ubuntu based system, as UKUI stands for Ubuntu Kylin User Interface. It's definitely not quite mature enough to use everday, and there's still a few glitches, but it mostly works, almost enough for all of my needs which are Discord, Telegram, music playing (from drive not streaming) and basic web stuff. Also it's very, very pretty, I'm not trying the dark theme since I can do some customization now that I've sorted out one issue. If you give it a go, I'd suggest you install a flavor of LXQt on Arch (Endeavour OS is my flavor of choice), and then use Pacman to install UKUI for the best experience.
Oh, one last one, one which I not only haven't gotten yet, but my shipment isn't even put together yet, but a Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab. It's a 10in Android tablet with Google assistant. Not sure I'll use Google assistant, but the tablet itself looks like a nice upgrade for my 7in Lenovo tablet. This one is definitely a luxury purchase, but yet again, it's me being frugal. One review I read from back in April had a few minor complaints, and the device's $280 price was the biggest one, but it still score 4 stars out of 5. These days Lenovo is offering it for $250 regular price, and right now on sale for $160, so I guess their biggest complaint isn't a factor. I really like the form factor, as my current tablet doesn't offer much grip space, and then there's the speakers which will definitely be an improvement, and the built in stand/hood. Yeah, really don't need it, but this one is definitely a want. Honestly I've got the savings for it, so why not? With my were working again, I don't need to hold onto my savings as emergency emergency money.
So, that's where I am gadget wise, feel free to make any suggestions for how I can better enjoy these, or things I might enjoy, or just tell me about your latest gadgets.
