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Videos by Andy Slye

Category: Accessories (Page 4 of 11)

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google-wifi-review-setup

Google Wifi Review & Setup!

December 16, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Google Wifi (Amazon) is not your typical wireless router. It’s a sleek, easy-to-use device that’s designed to be the simplest and most future proof way of filling your home with WiFi. It comes in a 1-pack for $129 or a 3-pack for $299. So you can get just one if you want to replace your current WiFi router in an area up to 1500 sq ft. But one of the main features of Google Wifi is the expandable mesh network which lets you have multiple Google Wifi points that work seamlessly together to fill up an area up to 4500 sq ft with no dead spots. It has a quad-core ARM CPU, blazing fast AC1200 Wi-Fi standard, simultaneous dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4/5 GHz) with Network Assist Technology, and it’s backwards-compatible with your current devices (supporting 802.11a/b/g/n/ac)

In the box you have the Google Wifi point with two gigabit Ethernet ports, a quick start guide, a 6.5 ft Ethernet cable, and the power cable. To set up Google Wifi you’ll need: a free Google account, an Android or iOS device, high speed internet, and a modem. First connect your power cable to the Google Wifi point then connect the Ethernet cable from your modem into the globe icon port on the Wifi point, then connect the power adapter to an outlet. Next, install the free Google Wifi app on your smartphone or tablet and make sure Bluetooth is turned on as well.

When the app finds your Wifi point it will ask you to scan the QR code that’s on the base of the device or you can type the code manually. Select the location of your Wifi point so you can identify it later. The next steps will ask you to name your Wifi network and create a Wifi password. Google Wifi uses WPA2-PSK security if you were wondering. The app will proceed to create and finalize your network. Tell it how many Wifi points you have then click next and it most likely will start to install available updates. That’s another good thing about Google Wifi, it has automatic security updates. When you see that your Wifi is ready you can go to your WiFi settings and connect to the new Wifi network that you just created.

One of the best features of Google Wifi is the app which not only walks you through the entire setup like we just did, but it’s also the one-stop shop to easily manage your wifi network. Some of the things you can do include network checks which tests your internet download and upload speeds and keeps a history of the speeds for you to compare. You can also test the speed of the Wifi to your device to make sure you have a good base connection.

You can set up Guest Wifi that creates a totally separate wifi network for guests with its own separate name and password. You can enable a feature called Family WiFi Pause which is good for parents who want to turn off Wifi access to their kids devices at certain times. You can also see all the devices that are currently connected to your network along with a list of devices that have connected in the past. You can give priority to a device for a certain period of time. You can see your network data usage. In the settings area you can change various settings of your wifi point, reset it, do some advanced tasks like setting IP reservations, UPnP, port forwarding, or changing DNS servers.

One of the biggest concerns of owning a router made by Google is wondering if Google is spying on your data. Well here’s the clause from the Wifi app. It states in bold: “Google Wifi app and your Wifi points do not track the websites you visit or collect the content of any traffic on your network.”

So I’m not too worried about Google spying on my data traffic. However some of the things I don’t particularly like about Google Wifi is the lack of ethernet ports. Most routers have at least 4 ethernet ports while Google Wifi only has 2. And for $129, it seems like it should definitely have 4 ports. I also wish they offered a 2-pack, instead of just a 1 and 3 pack.

Having said that, I still think Google Wifi is one of the best wireless routers you can get right now because of the automatic updates, the simplicity of setup and management using the free app, the sleek white design, and especially the super fast expandable mesh network for future proofing. I bought it to replace my old wireless router and i’m definitely keeping it.

My question for you is: what router do you have right now and will you be replacing it with Google Wifi? Leave a comment and let me know!

spigen-ultra-hybrid-iphone-7

Best $10 iPhone 7 Case? Spigen Ultra Hybrid Review

October 21, 2016 / / 0 Comments

As much as I’d love to keep my iPhone 7 naked, it’s just not a smart thing to do. Since I want to keep my iPhone in mint condition to sell later, I need a case.

The Spigen Ultra Hybrid has been my primary case for the past four iPhone models because it’s everything I want in a case: good protection, low price, minimal, and clear.

I got it for about $10 on Amazon. This is the Crystal Clear version, but it also comes in other bumper colors. It’s made of thermoplastic polyurethane so it’s not a hard plastic, but instead it’s firm and flexible. It covers the back, the top and bottom, and the sides of the iPhone 7. It has all the precise cutouts for the lightning port, speakers, new grill, and new camera.

It’s very easy to put on, just insert the iPhone 7 top first and then snap it in at all four corners. One of the good things about the Spigen Ultra Hybrid is that it has a slightly raised lip on the front to protect the iPhone 7 display when it lays face-down on a surface. It also has the same type of small lips on the back of the case at each four corners so that the case doesn’t get easily scratched when it’s moved around.

The iPhone 7 power and volume buttons have protection with this case and I’ve always appreciated the Ultra Hybrid’s ease of pushing the buttons and the tactile feedback that it gives.

The Air Cushion technology on all 4 corners of the case absorbs most of the impact during small-to-medium drops. I’ve never experienced any damage to my iPhones during the past 3 years when using this case. I do try to be very careful with my phone so it starts there, but I do drop it from time to time when getting out of my car or when I’m pulling my iPhone out of my pocket so it does handle drops up to 4 feet very well.

The biggest question that comes up is “Does the case turn yellow over time?”

Well, this is my old Spigen Ultra Hybrid iPhone 6s case on the left compared to the new Ultra Hybrid iPhone 7 case on the right. You can see that, yes, the case did change color ever so slightly over time. The change mostly occurred on the bumper part of the case.

The 6s case on the left was used for a year and that’s what you can expect the color to look like after a year’s worth of use without any washing or cleaning. It’s not extremely discolored. The slight yellowing over time never really bothered me because as you can see when it’s on the phone it’s not a huge problem, at least for me anyway.

I think for $10 the Spigen Ultra Hybrid iPhone 7 case is great, and if you’re looking for an affordable minimal clear case that offers decent protection I think you’ll love it.

anova-precision-cooker

Anova Precision WiFi Cooker Review

October 12, 2016 / / 0 Comments

I don’t like to waste time cooking because frankly I’m not that great at it and cooking takes away my valuable productivity time.

That’s why the Anova Precision Cooker seems to be the perfect solution for the typical millennial geek like myself. When I first saw this I did not think twice about getting it. I bought it, and I love it.

The Anova Precision Cooker is a tool for a cooking method called sous vide which uses a water bath to evenly cook food at a controlled temperature to retain moisture without overcooking. So it literally gets the perfect cook every time. Sous vide is popular among professional chefs, but the Anova is super simple for us regular people, and it even has a free app for Android and iOS that lets you cook from anywhere over WiFi. Magic? Well, here’s how it works.

First you need some type of pot. I actually bought this 12-quart container on Amazon for $16 and it works really well.

Fill your container up with water (or ice water if you plan to remotely start your cooking later in the day via WiFi)

Clamp the Anova cooker to the side of the container and plug it in. Use the Anova app to find out what temperature you need to set for the type of food you’re cooking. You can cook all kinds of stuff sous vide (chicken, pork chops, ribs, vegetables, hamburger, steak, and more).

f you’re using WiFi to start the cooker remotely, open the Anova app and pair your Anova to your WiFi connection then set the temperature and timer and proceed to the next step to place your food in the ice water and start the timer later in the day. To cook it right now like I’ll be doing, you can use the scroll wheel on the cooker itself to set the temperature, then click the Red button to start heating the water.

Next, get your food ready. I have a steak with some salt and pepper, along with some butter and rosemary. Put your food in a vacuum sealed bag or just use a regular Zip-lock plastic bag. Once your desired temperature has been met, slowly lower your plastic bags into the container until the food has been fully immersed, making sure it’s not blocking the Anova intake, then clip the top of the bags to the side of the container.

Let your food cook for the allotted time. You can see all the temperatures and times for the most popular types of food using the free Anova Culinary app which has a ton of recipes on it that you can follow.

Once the timer is up, remove the food. If it’s a piece of meat like this steak you can choose to sear it and add a dark and crispy outer layer to give it the ultimate finish. I usually sear it on high heat for about 90 seconds on each side.

When you’re done you will be left with the perfect cook every time. This steak was cooked medium-rare, but of course you can adjust the temperature for medium or medium well or however you like it. Just use the app and it will tell you exactly what temperature to cook it at for your desired doneness.

Bottom line, the Anova Precision Cooker is an awesome gadget. It’s made cooking more fun and less stressful. The cleanup is a breeze because there’s practically none at all. Just dump out the water. What will you be cooking with your new Anova Precision Cooker? Leave a comment and let me know!

bose-soundtouch-130-home-theater

Bose SoundTouch 130 Home Theater System Review

August 12, 2016 / / 1,591 Comments

Bose SoundTouch 130 Home Theater System Review

Buy on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2aZ5hlQ

Bose was kind enough to sponsor this video, and in this video I’ll be reviewing the Bose SoundTouch 130 Home Theater system. If you’re like me and you love movies AND music, this is a perfect addition to your HDTV.

The Bose SoundTouch 130 Home Theater system’s main hardware consists of a 37” soundbar, a wireless acoustimass module, a SoundTouch wireless adapter, and a control console. It also comes with a universal remote control, HDMI cable, speaker cable, USB cable, power cords, and an ADAPTiQ headset. A common question for a system like this with many components is how hard is it to set up? Well it comes with an easy to follow guide and I was able to set up everything in about 20 minutes which is pretty good. Part of the setup process includes connecting the included ADAPTiQ headset which is an audio calibration device that will optimize the SoundTouch 130 home theater system for your specific room layout which was a really fun and interesting experience.

Let’s start off with the king of this home theater system, the soundbar. It’s one of Bose’s best performing soundbars delivering a lifelike surround sound that will blow your mind when you’re watching movies. When I watched Mad Max with this, I was getting freaked out because I was hearing voices coming from the left and right of me. Not gonna lie I was a little scared at first, I thought there was an old woman whispering in my kitchen. But it was actually a result of how good this soundbar is and how detailed the TrueSpace multi-channel technology sounds. Inside it there are six drivers and two PhaseGuide sound radiators which makes it possible for it to easily fill a room with surround sound. What’s also great about this soundbar is that it’s only about 5 inches wide and 2.5” deep weighing only 7.8 pounds so it’s not a huge monstrous bar which simplifies the setup when you first get it. It also has Bose FlexMount technology that senses whether the speaker has been placed horizontally on a surface or mounted vertically on a wall. So you can install it either way, and it will automatically adjust the sound to make it the most natural which is pretty awesome.

The control console is a small box with all the inputs you need for high quality audio. Mainly it has an HDMI output to your TV and 4 HDMI inputs for your various different sources such as gaming consoles, Blu-Ray players, and even streaming sticks like a Google Chromecast which is what I use on it and it works great. So not only is this the control center for your theater system but it’s essentially like adding a hub of HDMI and audio ports for your TV which is great if your TV is like mine and has hard to reach HDMI ports.

The Acoustimass module is a wireless subwoofer that only requires a power outlet. It connects to the SoundTouch 130 wirelessly and has a range of up to 30 feet so it can be placed just about anywhere in the room, and it provides a pretty powerful bass. It’s not overbearing. The lows it produces are very tolerable, but you will notice how strong it is with certain audio.

Last but not least, the SoundTouch wireless adapter turns this home theater system into a music lover’s dream. Not only can you play audio from any Bluetooth device, but with the free SoundTouch app for Android and iOS devices you can wirelessly stream music to the SoundTouch 130 system from your favorite music services like Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Prime music, and even your own music library. The app walks you through the setup of adding the home theater system to your WiFi network and from there you just use the app to play your music. You can also set up to 6 different presets with the app. For example preset 1 can be your favorite Pandora station, Preset 2 can be your favorite Spotify artist, and so on. The universal remote or the app allows you to start playing any of the presets with the touch of a button.

Since it’s part of the Bose SoundTouch family, if you have other SoundTouch speakers in your home you can play music from all speakers at the same time. As a music lover, that is one of my favorite features of this system because I can easily fill up my entire apartment with music. Apologies to my neighbors.

So in summary, even though this is a pricey home theater system at over $1000, the highly detailed surround sound it produces when watching movies really turns your living room into its own mini movie theater. I don’t think I have a reason to even go out to the movies anymore because with a premium sound system like this one, with everything from the sound bar to the wireless bass module, the movie watching experience is just extremely satisfying. When you pair that with the ability to wirelessly stream music from any Bluetooth device along with the ability to play from the SoundTouch app and presets, the SoundTouch 130 home theater system is hard to beat. I would highly recommend it to music and movie lovers like myself. Thank you for watching. My name is Andy. I hope you enjoyed this review and I will talk to you in the next video.

By Andy Slye

bose-soundtouch-10-wireless-speaker

Bose SoundTouch 10 Wireless Music System Review

August 10, 2016 / / 1,587 Comments

Bose SoundTouch 10 Wireless Music System Review

Buy on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2b6EZ48

Bose was kind enough to sponsor this review of the Bose SoundTouch 10 Wireless Music System. If you love listening to music at home but hate dealing with messy wires, this could be for you.

The Bose SoundTouch 10 Wireless Music System comes in a black or white finish and it’s currently the smallest speaker out of the entire SoundTouch family. It has one goal in mind and that’s for you to easily stream music in your home without taking up a lot of space. Unlike the Bose SoundLink Color which is a portable Bluetooth speaker, the SoundTouch 10 wireless music system does not have a built-in battery. Instead it’s built to be used inside your home on an existing WiFi network or with Bluetooth devices such as your smartphone, tablet, or computer. However, it still provides an AUX port if you want to use it with a wired connection.

With it being the smallest SoundTouch speaker it can be placed just about anywhere in your home especially due to the fact that it has an included remote which is really convenient. If you find yourself listening to too much music in bed, just quickly move the speaker from your nightstand to your living room mantle. But don’t be deceived by its small footprint. It has some kick to it. I’m not an audiophile by any means, but I’ve used and reviewed enough speakers to notice good quality audio when I hear it, and the SoundTouch 10 provides a really nice fulfilling sound for most indoor rooms. It’s clear and rich. Similar to my experience with the SoundLink Color, the loudness of such a small speaker is pretty astonishing. I’m actually kind of scared to push the volume past 50% because I don’t want to disturb my neighbors. Danny Brown at 9am may be too much for them, especially on the SoundTouch 10.

But what’s really cool about this speaker, is that it not only plays audio from any app over Bluetooth, but it can connect to your WiFi network and play music via the free SoundTouch Controller app which is available for Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows. I’m usually not a fan of proprietary apps and I can understand why some people wouldn’t want to sign up for another online account and agree to another company’s privacy policy, but you can still use the system with Bluetooth if you don’t want to use the app. It’s not required, but if you don’t mind signing up for a free Bose account with your email address then you can take advantage of the WiFi playback and presets because that’s where this speaker really shines. With the SoundTouch Controller app you can connect the SoundTouch 10 system to your WiFi in a few simple steps. Once it’s connected you can connect your favorite music services such as Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, and a few other options and even your own music library. Unfortunately there’s currently no Podcasting services, and I would love to see an update in the future that allows connecting podcast apps to the SoundTouch Controller. But the best feature about connecting music services to the SoundTouch app is the ability to use presets. You can assign up to 6 presets with things like a certain Pandora station or a certain Spotify artist, album or playlist. Basically the SoundTouch app makes it super easy to instantly play your favorite music with the touch of a button.

So overall, the Bose SoundTouch 10 Wireless music system is perfect for people who are just starting to turn their home into a music streaming zone. Once you have the SoundTouch 10 system you can add more SoundTouch wireless systems from the SoundTouch family such as larger speakers and home theater systems, which I’ll also be reviewing in case you’re interested.

I would definitely recommend the SoundTouch 10 wireless music system under these conditions: if you already have a WiFi network and at least one Bluetooth device, and you want an attractive small wireless speaker that can easily be moved within your home but you don’t necessarily need a portable speaker to take outside of your home. You got that? Ok cool.

By Andy Slye

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