Category: Power

Incoming Gadget – Raspberry Pi

A quick heads up for tonight. I have had my eyes on an interesting credit card sized computer called the Raspberry Pi. It’s an ARM-based computer (similar to the CPUs found in phones and tablets these days) and is designed to run Linux. It’s also low cost as well with Model A costing around AU$30 …

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Workaround Windows Terminating HDMI Audio Playback When Sleeping Monitors

A quick tip for tonight. One disappointing “feature” in Windows 7 is when you are playing back audio to a television over HDMI and the power saving feature kicks in to turn off connected screens it also stops audio from being transmitted over HDMI. This can be annoying when you are relaying sound to a …

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OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 and Sleep Modes

Here’s an observation that I have come across when using the OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 solid state drive and my experiences with putting my computer into sleep mode. There have been numerous reports that the solid state drive doesn’t like to be put into the S3 sleep mode which can result in a blue screen …

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Sometimes There’s Never Enough Signal to Go Around

Just wanted to share an observation I had tonight while attending a show Kathy Griffin was putting on this evening (and yes, she was hilariously inappropriate). In venues such as the Sydney Opera House which probably doesn’t have cell sites in the building you might find that as more people gather in the area the …

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How to Thoughtfully Dispose of Batteries

I’ve covered batteries a bit lately including how to look after lithium ion batteries as well as how to replace a battery in a MacBook Pro but I haven’t covered how to thoughtfully dispose of batteries. It can be tempting and convenient to throw batteries in the general garbage or try to rationalise that they …

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Why You Shouldn’t Leave Your Computer Unplugged (For Too Long)

Here’s a tip that might help you prevent your computer become suddenly slow and groggy. If you leave your computer (be it a desktop or laptop with a depleted battery) unplugged for too long it can  forget about the current time and date. Usually, there is a tiny battery inside the computer that keeps this …

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Look After Your Lithium Ion Batteries

These days, nearly all of our portable devices like mobile phones, tablets, laptops and music players contain a lithium ion or lithium polymer battery which have largely superseded the old NiCad (nickel cadmium) or NiMH (nickel metal hydroxide) batteries. If you can remember back far enough, NiCad batteries suffered from “memory effect” which occurred as …

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Check a Power Supply Unit’s Efficiency

Here’s a tip for people looking to build a new computer or upgrade their existing one. Most things inside the computer will require power measured in “watts”. To put it simply, this measures the rate at which electricity moves through a circuit. One watt (1W) is equal to one joule of energy consumed in one …

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Current Cost EnviR Real-Time Home Electricity Monitor Unboxing

It’s a bit unusual to have back to back unboxings but I am not one to complain! Today, I unbox the Current Cost EnviR real-time home electricity monitor which I bought from SmartNow (fantastic customer service and highly recommended). I covered this device at a high level in a prior article. This device is designed to …

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Door to Door Sales in a Digital World

It might seem a bit odd that companies still employ the use of door to door salespeople  in an age where people can research and purchase a wide range of goods and services online without actually having to speak to anyone. However, if you do need to speak to someone you can do that online …

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