Category: hardware

The return of remotes without batteries

The first TV remotes in the 50s used a mechanical clicker to make a sound that the TV detected to do things.  No batteries.  And now, Phillips Hue lights have started using the power of you pushing buttons to create a short wireless signal without any batteries.  Neat idea.  We’ve now got RFID and NFC  running tiny chips without their own power.

repairing a cracked phone screen

I dropped my phone the other night.  There was a single rock on the porch and it hit that and cracked the screen.  I was figuring the entire phone was done for, but looked into it and it’s apparently a $5 pane of glass that usually breaks.  You buy the replacement on ebay and *voila, you’re good as gold.

* Voila may involve a panicky 3 hour experience where you place the glue strip backwards and have to redo it because the kit comes with no instructions and you have no idea what you’re doing.

cheap Android phones just aren't worth it

We finally got too tired of the crashing, freezing, and unresponsiveness of our LG Optimus Elites.  These were our 2nd cheapo Android phones.  We first had LG Optimus Vs, which were just as bad.  We got Samsung Galaxy S3s now, which are night-and-day difference, even though they’re a couple of generations behind.  Smooth experience and lots of features added from Android 2 to Android 4.