Product review: ASUS ROG STRIX Arion Aluminum Alloy M.2 NVMe SSD External Portable Enclosure Case Adapter

 

 This is a good-quality aluminum enclosure. It looks and feels solid. Because the case is metal, it cools well. I use it to store a large SSD card as an external backup of my critical data. Since it stores critical files, I wanted to use a well-cooling case, and this enclosure fits the bill. It came with type-C to type-C cable, as well as type-C to type-A cable. It also comes with a bumper case and Velcro hook. The Velcro hook turned out to be very helpful, as I use it to hang it on the computer rack when I am making a backup.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Review of ASUS ROG STRIX Arion Aluminum Alloy M.2 NVMe SSD External Portable Enclosure Case

Product review: ZHIWHIS Portable AM FM Radio with video

 

The best feature of this radio is its small size and light weight:
3.3"L x 1.8"W x 0.5"D and weight of 1.6 oz

The worst feature of the radio, is the user interface. Almost every button has three functions. The instructions are sparse and incomplete. It was hard to figure out was how to preset stations. What the instructions do not say is that you need to press the memo button twice; otherwise, it does not save the setting. Do not press that button for too long because that will delete the preset. The interface is the worst part of the radio. It is too complex for my elderly mother.

When the radio can tune the station, it sounds clear. Tuning can be improved by moving around the earbuds cord, which serves as an antenna. Overall, I thought tuning capabilities were acceptable, even though not outstanding.

The radio runs on a built-in rechargeable battery. You cannot remove the battery; you have to recharge the battery in the radio case. A built-in battery is slightly less convenient than having the radio run on a standard AAA or AA battery, which can be switched as soon as it runs out of juice.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆ 

  You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Review of ZHIWHIS Portable AM FM Radio

Product review: SKYBESS Monitor Light Bar

 

 This is my second monitor light bar, so I have a base for comparison. I have used a monitor light bar for about six years, and I love it. I now work remotely and have many more computers at home, so I decided to get another light. Skybess light disappointed me for two reasons.

1. I have four monitors, Skybess light bar can be clipped only to two of them. It is not universal! The two larger monitors are too thick, and the clip slips off and cannot stay on the monitor.
2. On the two monitors where the clip works, the angle of the light is bad. It beams into my eyes; I am not able to change the angle enough the way I can control the BenQ bar.  The swivel does not have enough rotation.

If Skybess were my first light bar, I would never want another one. Very disappointed.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★☆☆☆

Product review: Mostorlit LED Desk Lamps with Clamp, Double Head, Multiple light levels

 

 I bought this lamp because it has a clamp mount and two heads that can be aimed separately.  This helps me to provide lighting for a dual monitor and oddly shaped desk.  The lamp has several brightness levels and a flexible neck that can be shaped as I need.
Excellent light. No negatives.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Tuffinix Digital Alarm Clock with Backlight

 

This clock size is 3" tall and 1.25" front to back. It can be a clock or a timer. It does not work exactly as I hoped. It runs either plugged in (using a proprietary USB cable which is 42") or on three AAA batteries. When it runs on the batteries, the time is not visible all the time. The clock turns off the display after a few seconds, and the clock's face is black until you touch the snooze button. The snooze button turns on the display for a few seconds, and it is off again. When plugged in, it shows the time clearly, but the USB cable is only 42" and cannot be replaced by a longer cable because it is not a standard cable.

When the clock has no power, it forgets the time setting. Leaving it plugged in the car all the time drains the car battery. If I decide to use it plugged in, I would need to remember to disconnect it when I step out of the car so I don't get stuck with a dead car battery.

My main reason for getting this clock was to get a clock I could see all the time in my car because my Honda had that clock bug that was in the news earlier this year. It resets every time you start the car. Several car clocks I have tried don't have the backlight function. This clock is very visible when the display is on, but unfortunately, the display does not stay on.

Note that this clock does not have a flat bottom, so I cannot easily Velcro it to the dashboard.

Finally, a note about controls. The clock is hard to set, and documentation is not good. The instructions for setting the time did not work. I had to hold down both the clock and the un-named button next to it at the same time to put it into clock setting mode. Instructions said I needed a long hold only on the clock button. That did not work; doing so changed the display's brightness, not the time.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆
 

Product review: VoluAlarm Digital Alarm Clock with Backlight

 

This alarm clock size is 3" x 2.7" x 1.3".  It runs on two AAA batteries.  My main reason for getting it is the backlight option to see the clock in the dark, and its backlight function works well.  The backlight goes on when you press the snooze bar.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: RII Mouse Mover Mouse Jiggler with Random movement

 

 Since my company switched to a remote mode of work for everyone, they reduced the screen saver time out to 10 minutes and removed our ability to change that value.  I work on two computers and use one of them as a reference to display the information I need without typing on that computer. It has been annoying to type in my password every 10 minutes or remember to touch the mouse frequently to keep it awake.  With RII mouse jiggler, I have a solution that takes of this for me.  I am using it on a win10 laptop. Since all my ports on the laptop are taken, I am using it with a small USB hub.  I have a laptop cooler, a keyboard, and the RII mouse jiggler plugged into this hub.  The jiggler works both plugged in directly into the laptop and plugged into the hub. My win10 immediately recognized the new device and configured it as a regular HID-compliant  mouse.  The jiggler does not interfere with using my mouse; the real mouse takes control of the cursor.  The jiggler has an on/off button so that you can turn it on.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★  

Product review: Esorun Wireless Charger Stand,15W Fast Charging Pad for Qi Device,Compact Phone Charger Stand

 

I am using this wireless charger for Pixel 6 Pro.  This charger works well with it in both horizontal and vertical orientation. The charger is slim and light, just under 3 oz.

Pixel is a large phone 6.5 inches in height, 3.0 inches in width, 0.4 in thick.  I wish the lip of the hold were a bit wider, so I don't have to be so careful when placing the phone on the charger.  The charger has an anti-slip pad, and it feels sturdy when the phone is on it.

Wireless charging, of course, is significantly slower than a wired charger. But slow charging is good for battery life, and wireless chargers are very convenient.

The measured the speed of charging with the Charge Master app.  There is a significant difference in charging depending on whether you use a light or dark theme.  In the light mode with the screen turned on, the charger cannot keep up with the power consumption (discharging at a -91 mAh rate).  In the dark mode, the charger can charge at a reasonable speed (charging at a 1271 mAh rate).  When the screen is off, the charging speed is also reasonable.  For comparison, the phone discharges at a 532 mAh rate when not on the charger in white mode.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

 

Product review: GOLABS Portable Power Station R300, 299Wh LiFePO4 Battery Backup, PD 60W Type-C Quick Charge, 300W Pure Sine Wave AC Outlet

 

 My favorite feature of GOLABS Powerstation is its portability.  The GOLABS box comes in a case with a handle, it weighs 8 pounds and 11.5 oz, and its size is 8.5"L x 7"W x 7.5"H.

There are three ways to charge the power station: a supplied AC charger that takes about 6 hours from being fully discharged, a 12-volt car charger, and solar with a supplied DC5521 cable.

The power station supports pass-through charging (i.e., you can use it while charging).  The display shows you the information about usage and charging, and if you are doing both, it shows the net watts.


I tested the station by taking out the battery from my laptop, setting the power options to never go into sleep mode, and not to shut down the screen and measure how long it could run.  The laptop ran for slightly under 6 hours.  This is the best-case power usage scenario as I was not running any programs on the laptop other than the idle mode of the operating system. If the computer were doing more intense work, the power consumption would be higher, and the battery would last less time. I thought this was an impressive performance.

Once I exhausted the battery in my laptop experiment, I timed how long it took to recharge the GOLABS battery fully. Using the charger that comes with it charges @35watts/hr.  It is possible to charge it faster by buying a 100-watt USB-c charger.

I have done this full discharge to the automatic shut-off point (2%) followed by full charge without interruption (100%) for the first cycle (only once) based on a comment in QA on the product from the QLABS rep.


To determine how long any devices will run on this battery, you need to divide 299 watts_hours by the amount of power a device draws.  A watt is a current multiplied by voltage.  For example, if I measure my USB fan with a current monitor, I get 0.40A and 5.05V, which is 2.02 watts.  This means this fan should run for approximately 148 hours (6 days) before this USB is exhausted.

Using a laptop, expected 6 hours of use and 42W.

Using a personal heater, expected 15 hours of use and 11W.

Using a bluetooth MP3 speaker player, expected 99 hours of use at 1W.


I like that the display shows the level of power left in the battery.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Ulanzi VL49 RGB Video Photo Light in use with Pixel 6 Pro Cell Phone

 

This light is compact and provides a decent amount of light. The color temperature is 2500-9000K, and the RGB color is 0-359.  My video includes several examples to illustrate the light in action.

The light has three cold shoes and one 1/4" screw, so it has multiple options for mounting and combining lights. It attaches to small tripods and selfie sticks using a 1/4" screw. I am using the light with Shinewee cell phone holder.

It has a USB-C port for charging the light.  The charger and cable are not included.  Using fast charger and C-type to C-type cable from depleted to fully charged on my fast charger takes 2 hours.  The light can be used while it is charging.

The new light lasts 4 hours on 50% brightness.  If you see 50% that does not change when you charge it, check if the display shows the brightness rather than battery level. My light came set at 50% brightness level, and I saw that level shown as I was charging.  

The brightness can be changed in 1% increments.  The color also changes by one.  These changes have to be done manually, and it does take a bit of time if you are trying to go from one end of the scale to the other.  There is a shortcut to get to white. If you hold down the third button from the left (the button before the power toggle), it switches between RGB and Cool/Warm White. Then use the arrow buttons on the left to tune the colors.

The light is not waterproof, but I can still use it by putting a plastic zip lock bag over the light.

I initially was considering ULANZI VL49 RGB's previous version, which was $10 cheaper. Then on Black Friday, the price for both units was the same, and I got this "upgraded" version.  Here are the major differences between the two:
1. The upgraded version has brighter lights and higher color rendering
2. The charging port changed from Micro USB to C-type, so it charges faster

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Anteam Digital Camera FHD 1080P 36MP Vlogging Camera for Kids with 16X Digital Zoom

 

This is an inexpensive camera, and thus we cannot compare it to Canons, Nikons, or cameras in high-end iPhones and Pixel phones.  I thought it did a reasonable job for what it is.  To illustrate my review, I am attaching photos and videos taken under different conditions.

You can see that the camera did very well in bright sun conditions with the sun at my back.  In the dusk, the images are smudged, making them look a bit like modern art rather than crisp photographs.

The camera has an easy user interface.  The display on the back of the camera is easy to see unless the screen is in the sun.

To move the pictures from the camera to my computer, I can either take the SC card and mount it in the card reader or plug the cable into a USB slot, and I will see the camera as a mounted disk.

The package includes:
◆ The camera.
◆ Two batteries.
◆ The camera leash.
◆ A charging cable and a charger.
◆ A bag as a substitute for the camera case.

The SD card is not included.  One of the photos shows everything in the packages.

The product title refers to it as a camera for kids, and I think this is a good description.  The camera has limitations, but for the price, it would give some children a lot of fun.

You can find this camera on Amazon for under $50 by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆
 

Product review: Review of Amazon Basics Cordless Phone Replacement AT&T Battery - Replaces BT183342, BT283342, BT166342, BT266342, BT162342, BT262342

 

I bought this battery for AT&T EL51203 DECT 6.0 Phone with Caller ID/Call Waiting, with Cordless Handsets (ASIN B00N22M0XS).

The battery fits the phone, but it was not a seamless fit because the wires are coming out of the opposite side of the battery, and therefore it was hard to position the wires in a way that allowed the battery cover to close firmly.  This is because the phone case allowed room for the wires in a different location from how the Amazon battery was wired.

The connector plugs into the case very firmly. To unplug the old battery, I had to use needle nose pliers to pull the plug up without damaging it. You don't need to squeeze anything; just pull straight up.  The wire plug is keyed, it only goes in one way.

The batteries arrived charged. My old battery still has enough juice to operate, so I plugged the new batteries to test that they fit and fully charge them for storage, waiting for when the original battery reaches the end of life.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: JAVABERRY Laptop Cooling Pad, Portable Ultra-Slim Quiet Laptop Stand with Cooling Fan

 

I own a lot of computers and a lot of cooling pads. JAVABERRY Laptop Cooling Pad cooling pad is below average.
1. It has only one small fan (3.5" cage) in the center of the pad; if this fan does not line up with the vents on the bottom of your laptop, too bad.
2. It has a very short USB cord. Some of my computers don't have enough USB outlets for everything I need to attach to them, so I plug in cooling pads into another power source.  This cord is too short to reach anything but the computer that sits on it.
3. It has no adjustments whats-so-ever: no on/off button, no fan speed control.
4. It can only be used at one angle because it has no adjustable feet. I would have preferred if it was flat and leveled or gave me options to adjust the angle.
5. On the positive side, the fan is very quiet.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆
 

Product review: Mercase USB Condenser Microphone in use with Win10 and Linux

 

I use Mercase microphone with  Windows 10 and Fedora Linux. Both operating systems recognized the microphone immediately. I did not need to reboot either of the machines.  

On Windows 10, I needed to give the application permission to connect. On Linux, I had to select this microphone from Hardware preferences/Sound/Input.  The microphone also is recognized as a sound output device by default (the microphone has an audio plug for a headset).  If you want to use your computer speakers, you will need to disable the microphone as the output device.  If you can't hear the other side on your web conference call, it is because the sound is going to the microphone, not your speakers.  This step tripped me up the first time I started using the microphone, and I wanted to mention it.

How does it work?  

+ I like the stand that comes with the microphone. It has a heavy base and is very sturdy.  At the same time, the stand and the mic are both fairly compact.
 

+ I like the controls on the microphone. For example, I can mute the mic and see a big red light rather than the green light, which indicates the microphone is turned on and people can hear me.
 

- I was told the other side could hear me, but the sound was not as loud and crisp as my old microphone.  However, the old microphone stand is a little tripod that keeps falling over, so I was hoping to replace it.
I hope I will be able to improve the Mercase mic's loudness by fidgeting with the setting in the configuration.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

You can find it on Amazon by following this link. 

 

Product review: Laptop Power Bank, RYOKO 27000mAh Portable Power Charger with AC 85W Output

Ryoko battery has a large capacity of 27000 mAh in a very compact form. Its size is Size 6.2" x 4.8" x 1.3" and weighs 26 oz.

The battery can be recharged either by AC power or by USB C power.  The AC input 26 Watts (13V x 2Am), the USB max capacity is higher at 45W, however it depends on whether you have an adapter capable of 45W  and I don't.  So for me, using AC is the fastest way to recharge this battery. Note that the AC adapter is included in the package.

The power pack has two USB outputs (I use it for my camera), one USB-C Output (I use it for my phone), and one AC output (I use it for my laptop).  The front of the battery has a button to switch from AC power to DC power (used by USB). Plugging in a device into USB port immediately turns on DC power. However, in order to activate the AC port, you need to press the AC button and hold it down for a few seconds. AC port is active when you see a green light next to the AC outlet.  You can see how this works in my video.

I try to never discharge the battery fully so preserve its longevity, yet I still I can recharge my laptop twice and my phone six times.

This is a good capacity external battery and it is very helpful when I lose power or travel.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Adjustable Height Cell Phone Standby, foldable, by licheers

The first I noticed about this stand is how well it is made.  The stand expansion mechanism works very smoothly. The stand feels sturdy and is well balanced in every configuration.  The cradle has 90 degrees of freedom moving, and the stem has three settings (4.9" high, 6.9" high, and 9" high).  The thickness of the lip is 0.59”, I was able to use my tablet with the case on as you see in the video.

I am using the stand with three devices:  5.5" cell phone, 9.25" tablet, and 10.5" tablet.  The cell phone works well in both horizontal and vertical orientation.  The tablets worked best in a horizontal orientation.

When not in use the cradle folds into its stand.  This is handy for travel, it the folded configuration nothing sticks out, so nothing can break off.  The stand comes with a cloth carrying case.

I am very pleased with this purchase.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: AirArtDeco 6 Inch USB Portable Desk Fan

AirArtDeco fan is 6" across and made out of plastic. It looks well made, the button and controls operate smoothly. The fan has two speeds, they both provide good air movement. It can be tilted 90 degrees, including pointing up. It comes with a built-in non-removable USB cord.  The cord is 5 feet long.

The best feature of the fan that it is very quiet, with no rattles on either setting.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: USB C Hub 5-in-1 Type C Adapter USB 3.0, SD/Micro SD Card Reader Slots, HDMI

Kuyia hub is a solid feeling hub with two USB ports, one HDMI port, and two card reader slots.  I am using the reader slots and the USB slots with my phone.  The port has a Type-C USB port on a short cable to plug into the phone's Type-C port.  So every media  I tried worked and the media was recognized by the phone.  I like that the hub is relatively small (see the video in this post where it is shown on 1/2 inch grid for size reference), and when I take along, it does not take much space and does not weight too much (10.4 oz on my digital scale).

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Prodcut review: MOSFiATA Mini Portable Air Cooler Conditioner

This air cooler is a fan that blows water through a wet filter, so the air that comes out of it is slightly cooler than the room temperature air.  I put a regular fan next to it to compare, and the air from the air cooler makes me feel cooler on a hot day.  This unit is not an air conditioner. It does not make the room temperature cooler. You need to be sitting directly in the airflow of the unit (3 feet to 5 feet works well for me) to get the benefit of the cooler air.

The unit is surprisingly light - it is only 1 pound 8.8 oz (before water is added). The cooler fan works best if you soak the filter before using it.  I found that I need to add water every couple of hours. If you don't add water, the unit becomes a regular fan.

The airflow can be directed by adjusting the movable levers on the front of the unit.  The cooler has three speeds; I usually run it on the lowest fan speed.  At that speed, it is very quiet and gives me the right amount of airflow at 3-5 feet distance.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Logitech Trackman Marble Trackball Mouse – Wired USB Ergonomic Mouse for Computers

I have been the entire day in front of the computer for many years and recently developed shoulder problems from excessive mousing.  I had to get a mouse that lets me vary the position of my hand and the stress on the shoulder.  This mouse does that because  you move the pointer with your fingers rather then moving your hand.  However, learning how to use has a steep learning curve as it is so different from a standard mouse. It took me a number of days to feel more or less comfortable doing everything I need to do. Scrolling and clicking and moving the pointer is very easy. However, highlighting a chunk of text and doing copy and paste takes more work then an old mouse.   These days I have two mice in front of the computer and I switch. I still use the old mouse for copy and paste.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆