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AuthorAdam Owen

Apple MacBook users – don’t update to El Capitan 10.11.2!

January 16, 2016 / / 0 Comments

So I was happily using El Capitan after updating from Mavericks last year, saw there was a stable update from El Capitan 10.11.0 to 10.11.2, updated, and ever since I’ve had an issue with WiFi connectivity.

Every 10 minutes or so, my WiFi seems to disconnect/reset, disturbing any downloads, Dropbox syncing etc I’m running.

Unable to access the network

Quite frustrating.

After doing a quick Google search, I found a few threads including (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7378542).

Since I didn’t have any backups (I’ve learned my lesson now – I’m now running Time Machine backups), after seeing they’d released a 10.11.4 beta version yesterday, I figured I’d update to the latest beta to see if that helped.

I enrolled in their Apple Beta Software Program, which allowed me to download the latest 10.11.4 beta, but that didn’t fix it either… so until Apple get their act together, I’ve got a USB to Ethernet adaptor on order.
On a side note, I’ve learned my lesson to make regular Time Machine backups!

China is Still Winning the Price War

January 14, 2016 / / 0 Comments

A couple of years ago, I backed the Pocket Monkey Kickstarter campaign. Basically a multi-tool that’s the size of a credit card and so fits easily in your wallet. Quite handy I thought, so I backed them, getting one for myself and one as a gift.

While browsing the net recently, I came across a Chinese supplier selling what looked to be exactly the same product, though priced at $2 rather than $10.

Out of curiousity, I ordered one in December, and it arrived last week. Here’s a comparison of them, with the original at the top and the copy below:

Pocket Monkey multi tool

Without a doubt, the quality of the American-produced version is much better; the edges are rounded (and not sharp!), the text printing is more accurate, and it generally feels like a more crafted product.

When you’re competing with $1/hr labour, it’s hard to win. So I guess US companies just have to keep producing high quality goods in the hope consumers appreciate the value.

Moving House? Get Organised with this App!

January 12, 2016 / / 0 Comments

We’re probably moving house at some point this year, hopefully in the Summer.

I have a lot of ‘stuff’ that I need for some reason or other, but likely won’t need often before the move. So I’ve started packing stuff into an array of boxes, plastic trays and other containers.

In my usual geeky style, simply writing the contents of the box in black marker on the side isn’t good enough. So I hunted for some sort of platform or app that could keep track – similar to an inventory management system for a warehouse.

I eventually discovered the free BoxMeUp app. I can login to their platform on my laptop or mobile to add a container, find an item etc, or scan a printed QR code.

BoxMeUp app printed QR code

I have a mixture of boxes – open top types, and rigid plastic trays and some free FedEx/UPS boxes. In some cases, I’ve got the trays stacked 6 high, so it’s convenient to be able to simply add a barcoded label to each. I have an old Dymo LabelWriter 450 I use for this.

The main features include:

  • Create virtual ‘containers’ on their website (desktop or mobile)
  • Assign a location for each ‘container’. Simply scan the barcode and the app will tell you where it should be.
  • Print off a barcoded label to attach to each box
  • Search for the location of a specific item
  • Scan the using their Android app to get a list of the items inside
  • Export full list of items as CSV, with locations, quantity etc

They don’t have an app for iOS (only Android), so I needed to dig out my old Galaxy S3 for this purpose. That said, their website is mobile-friendly, you just can’t use the barcode scanning function without the app.

Having a list of items and locations is also useful for reviewing for things to sell on eBay.

I Bought a 3D Printer Kit!

December 30, 2015 / / 0 Comments

For the past week, I’ve been patiently awaiting a FedEx delivery from Hong Kong.
It cleared customs on Monday night, but I guess didn’t make the trailer to my local depot, so arrived today.

 

I’ll take a look over the weekend and post more photos! Also waiting my customs bill – hopefully it isn’t too much!

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