Thursday, March 30, 2023

Streamline Your Move: How Magicplan App Helps You Measure and Plan Your New Space


Moving into a new house is an exciting time, but it can also be a bit stressful. One of the biggest challenges is figuring out how to fit all your furniture into your new space. Fortunately, an Android app can help make this process a lot easier: Magicplan.

Magicplan is a user-friendly app that allows you to create floor plans and take measurements of a room using just your smartphone or tablet. With Magic Plan, you don't need any special equipment or a degree in architecture to create a floor plan that accurately represents your space.

Using Magic Plan is simple. All you have to do is point the camera around the room you want to measure. The app uses AR technology to measure the dimensions and create accurate 2D & 3D floor plans of the space. You can then add doors, windows, and other features to the floor plan, as well as add notes and measurements to help you remember important details.

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Secure and Connected On-The-Go: The TP-Link AC750 Wireless Portable Nano Travel Router


Staying connected while traveling can be a hassle, especially when relying on public Wi-Fi networks that are often slow and unreliable. However, the TP-Link AC750 is a game-changer in the world of travel routers. This compact device can fit in your pocket and offers a range of benefits that make it an essential travel companion.

First and foremost, the TP-Link AC750 provides a secure way to connect multiple devices to a public Wi-Fi network. With its encrypted Wi-Fi network, all data transmitted between your devices and the router is protected from potential security threats on public networks. Plus, this travel router can save you money on data usage fees, which can be exorbitant when traveling for an extended period.

But the benefits of the TP-Link AC750 don't stop there. It supports multiple modes, including access point mode, client mode, and repeater mode. This allows you to extend the range of an existing Wi-Fi network or connect it to an Ethernet cable to create a wireless network. Plus, the built-in USB port allows you to connect external hard drives or flash drives to share files between your devices, making it an excellent tool for work-related tasks.

Saturday, March 11, 2023

From Self-Hosted to Community-Driven: Why I Moved My Mastodon Account to Hachyderm.io


I've made the decision to move my Mastodon account from a self-hosted instance to one hosted on hachyderm.io. There are several reasons for this move that I will explain in this post.

Maintenance

When you host your own Mastodon instance, it becomes your responsibility to ensure that it is up to date. Recently, a new Mastodon version was released, and I needed to update my instance that was created with the Mastodon droplet from the Digital Ocean store. Although the initial installation was quite easy, upgrading to the latest version was not seamless. I had to log into the shell and manually go through the upgrade steps. Unfortunately, the upgrade did not go smoothly for me, and I needed to reboot the server in the middle of the process. I eventually got the upgrade to finish, but my instance doesn't seem to be working correctly. For example, I don't see as many recent posts as I do on a different account on a separate instance.

In a previous post, I mentioned trying Wildebeest, which is an open-source Mastodon-compatible server. One benefit of Wildebeest is that the project created an upgrade process, where you just synchronize the changes from the GitHub repository. I set up an instance of Wildebeest, but when I tried to migrate my Mastodon account to this new instance, I hit a roadblock. Even though Wildebeest is Mastodon-compatible, it doesn't support migrating accounts between Mastodon and Wildebeest.

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Robinhood: The Game-Changer in Easy and Commission-Free Investing


Robinhood is a platform that has shaken up the world of investing. It has become the go-to app for those looking to start investing in stocks and bonds. And for good reason too - it's commission-free, easy to use, and comes with some great features.

First off, let's talk about the app's interface. It's clean, sleek, and easy to navigate, making it simple for anyone to get started with investing. Even those with no prior experience can quickly get the hang of it. And that's not all - Robinhood offers a range of investment options, including stocks, ETFs, options, and even cryptocurrencies. So whether you're looking to invest in the latest tech companies or diversify your portfolio with a bit of Bitcoin, Robinhood has you covered.

One of the biggest advantages of using Robinhood is the fact that it's commission-free. This means that you can make trades without having to worry about any fees eating into your returns. It's a great option for those who want to make frequent trades or invest in small amounts.

Monday, March 6, 2023

Nifty Showcase: The Ultimate Android App for Managing and Displaying Your NFTs Across Multiple Blockchains


Nifty Showcase is the ultimate Android application for managing and displaying your NFTs, both still and animated. This app supports NFTs across multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, and Avalanche.

With its visually stunning and easy-to-use interface, Nifty Showcase provides a seamless browsing experience for your NFTs. The app also includes a sharing feature that enables users to share their NFT images through various Android applications, such as social media platforms.

Obviously, there are a lot of scam NFTs out there.  Nifty Showcase makes it easy to handle these items.  First of all, Nifty Showcase only reads the public information on the blockchain and doesn't have, or request, any permission to make changes to your wallet.  This gives you the confidence to look at the NFTs without fear that any changes will be made to your account.  In addition, Nifty Showcase lets you hide any collection that you don't want to see.  (Often these spam NFTs come from the same collection.) Once hidden, you won't see any subsequent NFTs that come from these collections.

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Secure Remote Access Made Simple: Explore the Benefits of Telebit.cloud


I am always interested in trying different services that I can run in our home.  For example, we have a VM running Minecraft server, and one running our Home Assistant instance.  One of the challenges is some of these services require ports to be forwarded in the router for the network.  This can add a maintenance cost, as it is important to remove unused port forwarding.  I looked into some alternative mechanisms for setting this up.

Telebit.cloud is a cloud-based solution that enables secure remote access to your devices, networks, and applications. This platform offers a reliable and secure way to connect to your resources from anywhere, at any time, and on any device. Let's take a closer look at what Telebit.cloud is, how it works, and some of the key benefits it offers.

Telebit.cloud is a remote access solution that provides secure connections between your device and the remote resources you want to access. The platform uses advanced encryption and authentication technologies to ensure that your data and connections are always protected. This makes it an excellent choice for individuals and businesses that require remote access to their resources for personal or work purposes.

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Upgrade Your TV Viewing Experience with ATSC 3.0 and HDHomeRun Flex 4K: The Future of Personalized and Immersive Entertainment


Looking for a revolutionary upgrade to your TV viewing experience? Look no further than the ATSC 3.0 standard, which is supported by the HDHomeRun Flex 4K device.

So, what is ATSC 3.0? It's the latest digital TV broadcasting standard in the US, and it offers higher-quality video and audio, including 4K Ultra High Definition video and High Dynamic Range content for a more immersive viewing experience. Additionally, it provides immersive audio for a more realistic sound experience.

But the benefits don't stop there. ATSC 3.0 also allows for personalized and interactive content, which means that broadcasters can deliver targeted advertising, interactive programming, and other personalized content to tailor the viewing experience to your preferences.

Unlocking Raspberry Pi Potential: Navigating Network Booting Challenges for Enhanced Performance and Reliability

I've set up several Raspberry Pis around our house for various projects, but one recurring challenge is the potential for SD card failur...