How the Playstation 4 dynamically regulates its streaming bitrate
I’ve been having some trouble with my internet connection lately. Up until two weeks ago I had an upload speed of about 20-25 Mbps, but since then it tanked down to an unstable and unpredictable 1-4 Mbps. I have my best technicians working on it (i.e. my internet provider). Needless to say, this put a damper on streaming at a constant bitrate of 5 Mbps like I usually do. I couldn’t even get OBS to deliver a stable 1Mbps connection. My wife however was quite happily streaming FORTNITE directly from her PS4, and aside from a bit of...
read moreMAHDI M9 Plus – MP3 player Review
It’s hard to believe, but there’s a regular no-frills non-WiFI MP3 player available in this day and age! Can you believe it? When I read about this I wanted to take a closer look at the MAHDI M9 Plus MP3 player gadget. Here are my thoughts on this thing. It’s very small and lightweight, about the size of an iPod Nano, which has been discontinued since 2017. If you’ve been looking for a replacement for yours, or always wanted one, then this device might be a good fit for you. When it comes to smart devices, the M9 Plus is a very...
read moreHow to open bookmarks in new tabs in Firefox
I don’t often use Bookmarks in Firefox, but when I do, I’m used to those opening in new tabs rather than get rid of what I’m currently browsing. Perhaps that worked in the nineties, but I wanted a different default behaviour. Turns out we can make that happen! Let me show you how to do it. In the Firefox browser bar, type about:config. This will let us fiddle with scary internal values, which is why Firefox brings up this warning message: Hit “Accept the Risk” button and… see a white screen with a search...
read moreJelly Comb Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard Review
If you’re like me and do a lot of writing on the move, you’ve probably often wished for a super compact travel keyboard that can go anywhere with you. While I’ve tried many, they’re often just toys and not real keyboards. Using those is often less efficient than just using an on-creep keyboard. Then I discovered this Jelly Comb Travel Keyboard. It folds in half in the centre, it’s super small when folded, has a rugged leather feel to the outside and it’s extremely light. When folded out, it reveals a full-sized QUERTY keyboard with all...
read moreYemo YM-11 USB-C Hub Adapter Dock Review
I bough this little device for my wife’s Acer Chromebook. It’s her work laptop, and she uses it with an external monitor. The Chromebook only has one USB 3 port and she frequently needs more than that, for anything from memory card readers to other external devices. She has to connect and disconnect about three cables to the Chromebook every day. This is tiresome and those laptop ports only last so long before they fail when used too often. I was interested in a tidy solution to the whole mess of cables and found this neat Yemo...
read moreBammax BMBM01 Security Smart Camera Review
My friend Jason bought this camera for his apartment, to keep an eye on his dog Benny when he’s at work in the office. It was so impressive I had to have one myself: it’s the Bammax BMBM01 Smart Camera. This thing is way more than a security camera. It’s a two-way walkie talkie, great as a baby or pet monitor for real time interaction, or to see what’s in your kitchen cupboard. Here are my impressions. The BAMMAX Smart Camera weighs less than half a pound and is somewhat of a web cam that’s connected to the...
read moreShoosh, Jetpack!
I wrote a new plugin based on code by Matt Medeiro that I’ve mentioned in a previous article. This is a super quick solution to get rid of any and all Jetpack Nags at the top of your Admin Interface. I was working on a site that didn’t have a Child Theme, so it wasn’t easy for me to add that one-liner anywhere. The easiest way was indeed to wrap this up in its own little plugin, so now it’s as simple as downloading the repo from GitHubuploading the ZIP to the website in question and activating the plugin That’s...
read moreHow to redirect a URL in NGINX
I’m a fan of easy to remember URLs, rather than long cryptic ones. For things I give our verbally or in chat I sometimes setup redirects using one of my domains and NGINX directives. So when I’d like to point users to my 3D Shenanigans channel, I can tell them to go to https://3ds.wpguru.tv rather than https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmBV6fLZMzCaIEXzF1SSJuQ/ (because which human in their right mind could possibly remember the latter). Thing is, I can never remember what the exact syntax is, so I thought I’d write myself a...
read morePhicool iPhone Storage USB Stick Review
My friend Sven told me about these types of devices that can interchange data with your mobile device and essentially extend storage. He teaches music and has a large sheet music library that does not comfortably fit into his iPad Mini. These things used to be so expensive. I wanted to try one for my own needs and found this Phicool model and thought an additional 128GB would come in handy. I’m glad I tried it. The device is size of a wide memory stick, about the size of a mini BIC lighter. There’s a small slider in the middle of...
read moreLanniu HS910 Neck Speaker Review
I saw Techmoan review several of these neck speakers a while ago. Up until then I had never heard of this type of listening device, but as he explained what they were all about, I was intrigued to try one out. I like the idea of listening to music without having earbuds in my ears, while not annoying those around me too much. Usually such devices easily cost over $100 and more. This LANNIU HS910 seemed to tick all the boxes without breaking the bank at under $50. The sound quality of the speakers is OK, and the volume is remarkable when worn...
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