RUN TCP/IP | Morgan Lucas is Tech Blogging

I have always wanted smart lighting, but didn't want to essentially have a hackable hub with minimal controls regarding security (It has to have improved since 2018 , right? Right? ). So, seeing these lightbulbs that did not require a hub setup, an app, and only cost 5$ (On clearance, I got mine at my local Target, originally the GE LED+ Color Changing Light Bulbs are about 17$-25$!), it would have been stupid to leave them behind. This is not an affiliate link, you can find them here . The subjects for these will be a variety of dolls in colors ranging from almost pitch black to stark white and things in between to really show off the color scope. Set-Up: Screw the lightbulb in a port. The remote already has batteries, and you take out that plastic bit. That's it! The remote is flimsy. With stronger remotes, you can point at a wall and the waves still manage to be read by the technology, but I'm not a wave scientist.  Despite that, with 16 colors, 4 lighting strengths, wa...

  If there's an official website for Omni -- Not the hotel chain -- and this camera has a specs page, I'm not finding it. I did, however, find a person looking for a copy of the manual in 2011. I got you!  Wonder if they folded or if someone bought them out. Now, with 12 MP, we're not running the gamut on high-resolution photos here, but let's look at some context. Even when I sold phones in 2013, the Samsung Galaxy S4 had 13 MP for the rear camera. Why weren't leaps and bounds happening here?  That's a story for another author. The Omni 2 has a very plastic case. While I can't bend it greatly, I can still bend it, lending to a cheap feel.  There's a very chunky USB port that I recognize. I have another digital camera that's older than this and doesn't look nearly as outdated that also uses the cable. The slidey switch right above it (there's a blue line right beneath it) -- It may have originally been another focus feature, as there are ico...

There's no need to buy new technology just for the sake of having new technology, in my opinion. I will use things until they wear out to the ground. I held onto my LG phone a year after they stopped manufacturing phones entirely. I still use a laptop from 2019 that I got refurbished from Best Buy despite it literally having pieces falling off of it. And I do have other computers that I use (Thank you, you know who you are) but technically, that laptop still works so why not use it for personal stuff? Two, count 'em, two FitBits. This (Yellow one) is the Fitbit Inspire 3. I have the Fitbit Versa 2 (Blue one) from 2018 or so, which means it was probably made in 2017 and just sat on the shelf. I was a bit due for a wearable technology upgrade. It took a lot of thought to spend the 99$ to buy this watch, when my old one was, while failing, still doing the basics. I don't like to throw things out if they can still be used.  Maybe I'll put it on my dog. This recent FitBit w...

 Ergonomic wireless mice! They look funny, but allegedly they help your hand and wrist not hurt so much. I use this wireless mouse for my laptop since about 2021. They don't come in a nice variety of colors and patterns like tiny Logitech mice, but they also don't break when I drop them. My previous ergonomic mouse was a random shape with the company name Jelly Roll slapped on it. Now, the company name it bears is iClever , giving more credence to the theory of the glorified dropshipping warehouse that is Amazon. To its credit, so far, I like it a more than the Anker, at least physically.  They may also be called vertical mice, although they look a bit more like Alienware towers than these.  The Jelly Comb (Right) is a little bigger, with back and forward buttons are placed more naturally for a thumb to click. The clicks are not as loud. Anker is on the left. However, the JellyComb would randomly stop working, despite having batteries and lights indicating all systems go...

    Having multiple pairs of headphones and earbuds are important to me. I still use my Galaxy Buds on walks or at the gym, but I prefer wired, over ear for at home, and it was time to get a new pair, moving to Sony . These replace my Sennheisers from about 2017 -- While they were uncomfortable for a long period of time, the sound quality was unmatched. I couldn't find a pair that looked comfortable and were hovering around 120$. One of the ear cups has broken off, and I can't super glue and rubber-band it back forever 😥 (Maybe I could use sugru ? It's held up my car windows for 5 years. #NotAnAd)  I had 5 criteria for a new set of wired over the ear headphones; Colorful Wired Reasonable sound quality Under 100$ Made in the past 3 years (No earlier than 2019)   I managed to get 4.5/5 -- The headphones are a nice blue (albeit darker than I'd like -- A lot of my furniture is dark, and I have lost tech for days because my cases are also dark.), they have both wire...

 Happy new year -- Let's take it back to 2007-2008, and completely ignore the housing crash and economic downturn to talk about Microsoft's semi-failed* mobile media device, the Zune. Mine is the Halo 3 30GB version. I've never played Halo; It was the cheapest one and had a fair amount of storage, so aesthetics be damned. With tactile, round buttons, one within another, it did reasonably simple things like 'host pictures' and 'play music' and even videos.   Source: Halopedia .  I didn't realize there were two different versions, I had the Military Special Edition one! Looking at this picture, I don't remember the Community aspect one bit. I also don't remember the home screen looking like this. I remember The GUI being simple, with the same narrow fonts that zoomed in when selected, but the text was quite a bit larger on my device.Maybe I had changed a setting. This UI is 17(!) years old, and still looks super modern pic.twitter.com/4wCtd49EEp — ...

Cars have computers now.   Photo by Andrew M on Unsplash  Not mine, mine is about 20 years old. I put a key into the ignition, the CD player keeps eating my alt-pop-rock CDs, it gets me from here to there, and I like it. My next car will be the same, sans CD-eating. But! Other people's cars have computers, and sometimes I have to work on the computer parts.

 Disclaimer: This was a few months ago, and the image of the TV's file system is unavailable.    The TV? e500i-b1 by Visio. A couple of years old. I also took the time to update some firmware before doing this. You can make your own standalone Media Server with some 3rd party software to be 1337 ....or you can use Windows 10 built in Media Streaming Options. In an uncanny turn of events, Visio already had an app in place for this very situation: The DLNA Multimedia App, accessed by that large V I've never bothered clicking on the remote.                                                     It's between the volume and channel buttons.  After sharing the appropriate library, it does open a file system with my videos and music. It did work pretty well besides one finale hurdle: It wouldn't play the 20+ minute video. Sh...

    There are few reviews about this product across the web - Target has the most, and the "company's" own site has none. Makes me think this is sold under various names. It was less expensive than the initial webcam I was looking at and easily returnable. Does the low price pay off?

  Earbuds have become a hot commodity. It's awesome to have them act independently of each other while still playing music. The Galaxy Buds+ is a wireless earbud that has made its name by combining features of some of the top competitors in the market at a lower price-point - To mixed results. Before I got to buying Buds, let's walk down my history of audio devices.  The Personal History of Morgan's Audio While I enjoy my Soundpeats Wired-But-Also-Technically-Wireless Earphones, I wanted earbuds for 2 reasons: They have microphones.  They won't snap in half if I charge them in my car, forget they're plugged in, put them on my ears, and attempt to exit. That's a mistake you only make once. Sennheiser Momentum On-Ears - After about a year, one ear cup began to die, and Sennheiser sent me a refurbished set. They still work, but the over ear puts pressure on your ears, which isn't fun after hours of use. I use them on occasion. There's a muffled quality on ...