Gadgets

TP Link Smart Plug (HS100) with Amazon Alexa Review Video

written by geektastic

Being able to control my lights with my Amazon Alexa is super geek-sweet. Being able to control my lights with my smartphone is secondary and I almost never use it that way.

What is my setup? How well does it work? What are my concerns? Watch the following video to learn more:

Approximate Transcription:

Speaker 1:                           Alright, this video is about the TP Link HS100 Smart Plug. What I’ve started off with here is drawing a picture of my house. As you can tell, I’m a great artist. Right here, this is my router. Each box is actually a Smart Plug, each red box. Actually, these circles are the Smart Light Bulbs and this X is a range extender, and I’m actually standing right there. What I’m going to do is, I’m going to turn off this light. That’s actually the overhead light. Alexa, turn off master bedroom. Alexa, turn off master bedroom. So we got this one …

Echo device:                       That command doesn’t work on that device.

Speaker 1:                           Whoa. That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that. There’s three lamps. One, two, that lamp actually is not working very well, and three. Let’s try this again. Alexa, turn off master bedroom. There’s actually Alexa groups that you can do to … I’m not sure why it’s not working right now. Alexa, turn off David’s lamp. That should be this lamp right here. Well, of course as soon as you try this it doesn’t work. Let’s walk over here to the Echo. Alexa, turn off master bedroom.

                                                So, here’s part of the problem.

Echo device:                       That command doesn’t work on that device.

Speaker 1:                           That is really weird. I’ve never heard that before. Part of the problem, and we don’t have a big house … Let me turn this back on. We don’t have a big house and that’s why I got the range extender over here because this lamp really has had problems with connecting, and even the Echo is right here. I’ve got another, the main Amazon Echo … This one’s a dot and then I got the main Amazon Echo right here. They have trouble, all three of these have had trouble connecting at different times. This is actually the TP Link Range Extender and it has mixed results, but it also might be I think my router is not so great. They have trouble connecting, but it’s nice because I can actually do bedrooms. All five of these are set up as bedrooms so I can say, “Alexa, turn off bedrooms.” There we go. Turned that one off. This one is also the light bulb and it seems to have a little bit more trouble connecting than the Smart Plug.

                                                Let me go ahead and show you what … Alexa, turn on David’s lamp. This is actually the Smart Plug down here. This device right here. It’s actually very easy and quick to set up. I really, really like it a lot and it’s really convenient for when all the lights are off and you’re walking in the bedroom at night and I just want to turn on the lamps, I just say it and it’s great. Or when I’m laying in bed and I want to turn off the lamp, I just say it and that’s always nice and convenient.

                                                It is frustrating that it seems like these three, one, two, three, have trouble working. This is a lamp that it’s pretty close to here and it works really reliably. This one right next to the router always works. Always, always works. Also, it’s really nice with Amazon to be able to say, “All.”. Actually, there’s a group that’s all, so I can turn on all or turn off all. Actually, I reset some of these and so it’s not working right now.

                                                Let’s do this again. Alexa, turn off bedrooms. Okay, so that worked but again this one’s not working. This one actually isn’t working separately. I can’t even turn it on manually. The good news is that if you have trouble connecting a normal lamp you should be able to turn it on. I think the light bulbs out so I need to change that.

                                                Overall, despite it being not perfect, it is very cool and it works a lot of the time. It’s actually working less now than it usually does, so I’m pretty happy. I’m going to shoot a separate video about the light bulbs and my opinions on those. I’m really happy with the HS100 and I feel like if I had a better router and maybe if I set up the range extender a little better that probably if I had a better router or even a smaller house, which my house is 1850 square feet so it’s not really big, then it would work better. Maybe if I had a second router or again a better range extender they would be more reliable because this one right here, it works 100% of the time. This one right here works 99% of the time. The Smart Plug definitely works better than the light bulbs.

                Thanks for watching. Please like this video. Bye.

tp-link-smart-plug-review

January 14, 2017 2,712 comments
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robots

Cozmo the Robot Unboxing

written by geektastic

When I first saw Cozmo on a video, I got very excited. My 5 year old son also got very excited.

In the following video, I show my unboxing of Cozmo and my first impressions:


Approximate Transcription:

Hello, this video is an unboxing of the Cozmo robot. It’s just come in the mail. Taking off the nice pretty plastic. Now I am going to give this to my son for the holidays so I’m going to try not to damage it too much. I’m going to see how I can open this a little bit easier. Like I said there’s some stickers over here, I can redo those.
So there’s two little stickers on the bottom that I cut, that’s it and then I was able to slide it out. It’s in this nice display case and I’m going to open it some more. Two little stickers that I should be able to replace.
Let’s see, and we’ve got this nice guide, I get Cozmo stickers, nothing else in there. So over here with this stuff [inaudible 00:00:49], we don’t really need this, quick-start guide, probably don’t need this right away. So we have the quick-start guide, we’ve got the cubes, and his charging station. It’s a USB drive along with, I guess this is his battery pack.
So bust out the quick-start guide. Help Cozmo feel at home. Okay I’m going to read this and get back to you. Basically, create a big, empty clean space for him. It’s pretty simple. He doesn’t really work in the dark.
Next step is powering up and actually it says it only takes ten minutes for him to go from empty to full. I’m going to go ahead and plug him in.
Okay, so I’ve got him out of the box. I’ve got him charging. I guess it’s giving me a password for the app, that’s fine. I’ll let it charge for a minute. I’ve got these three blocks, I haven’t pulled the tabs out. I’m not sure exactly what … Oh I see. This is a USB charger, there we go. So I can plug it right in to the wall.
There’s nothing underneath here, I checked. I’ve kept this nice and neat, it was very easy to take out, so that I can repackage it at another time. Actually I should put this back. Oh, this should go down a bit more I believe, there we go. And I can … Whoops.
Okay, so we’ll come back and check out this first try in a few minutes. I’m going to download the app and looks like get rolling. I think once he’s fully charged I use the app to get him started, so I’ll resume there.
Okay, so we’ve got it all charged up I believe. It was kind of annoying to connect to Cozmo because … Oh, let’s see, you can see his eyes a little bit. Because you have to turn off your wifi and it kept wanting to connect to a more powerful wifi. Now I’m at the step that tells me to take out the things preventing the cubes from using their battery. Let’s see. Oh, it says he’s got, I don’t know if you can see that, 175 seconds left, so I’m going to pause and then come back.
Here we go. Now I’m going to hit continue. Continue. Let’s see. Start. Watch Cozmo come to life. I think he’s waking up. Hello Cozmo. Hi.
I’m trying to move side to side to see if he can recognize me. It kind of sounds a little bit like Star Trek …
Oh hi. I think he sees me, standing behind the camera. Sounds a little bit like R2D2.
Let’s see, okay, let’s begin. Cozmo has a very special robot. Turned blue, okay. Place the power cube in the front. There we go. Great. Now it wants me to put the light size up. Okay. Oh, he’s going to go inspect it. He’ll tell me when he’s ready to proceed.
I think he’s excited about finding his cube. Here we go, let’s see. Cozmo is ready to play. Telling me some stuff. I’m just going to … Let’s play. Quick test. Unlock.
All right, just went through several things. He’s still playing with …
Automated: [crosstalk 00:05:51] Quick Tap. In this game, both you and Cozmo need your own cube to play with.
Speaker 1: Okay I’m going to go over the instructions for Quick Tap and I’ll be back.
Okay so it wants me to play this Quick Tap game. This is the first, game one. So basically we gotta match the colors on the cubes by pressing when they match and not on red. That’s basically the … and you get points if you …
All right, let’s see if I can … Tap a flashing cube. Okay. No not red. It tried to fake me out. Nope. See I get a point. Let’s see. Aha. Nope now I’m red even though it matches. Nope.
Let’s move it so you can see his eyes a little better.
Whoops. Sorry Cozmo. Let’s try that again. Right here buddy.
Okay, here we go. Let’s try again. Huh, I pressed it. I get a point. Now you’re just giving me points Cozmo. Oh, not on red.
He doesn’t look very happy. He wants to play again, all right.
He tries to interact with those eyes. Boy Cozmo, you’re getting eaten alive. Ah boy. Oh are you sad? Sad Cozmo.
So I’m basically getting some sort of points. I think you get something when you …
We’re playing it again. Now it gets a little bit harder. The colors are different. It can have two different colors on the same cube. Three to three.
Cozmo won. Let’s see if he celebrates. I want this to play around too.
He got faster. Best two out of three.
Four to one, me. His eyes are fun. There we go. Throwing a fit. I’m collecting energy which looks like I can unlock different stuff on the game, so cool.
cozmo-the-robot-unboxing

January 13, 2017 2,669 comments
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Gadgets that Geeks Love
Gadgets

Gadgets that Geeks Love

written by geektastic

Back in the day it was uncool to be called a geek or a nerd. Nowadays everybody wants to be associated with geek culture, this includes adults of all ages. In this regard we have compiled a list of gadgets that most if not all adult geeks will love. Hopefully it will help you shop for that special geek in your life.

Virtual Reality Headset

Virtual reality has been a long time coming and as a result major tech companies such as Samsung, HTC and Facebook have invested in it. Most headsets are now light and powerful enough to offer entertainment like never before. These gadgets start at $16 but there are premium brands such as Samsung’s VR gear which offer great features such internet connectivity and even high definition gaming.  Here’s a video so you can check out how cool VR gaming is.

Smartphone Projectors

As smartphones get more powerful so will their accessories. This particularly holds true for smartphone projectors. For about $18 you can now get a smartphone projector for your adult geek and trust me it is bound to blow their mind. The picture is crisp, colorful and just as bright as ordinary projectors.

Touch Screen Gloves

There’s nothing worse than having a greasy stain on your smartphone. That’s why all geeks are hyped up about touch screen gloves. A quality pair will only set you back $2. Remember to get a pair for that messy friend who keeps touching your smartphone while eating.

3D Printers

If you really want to impress a geek this Christmas get them a 3d printer. Don’t get discouraged by the price tags on industrial sized 3D printers though, there are now smaller ones. For instance 3D Doodler is now selling a pen that writes in 3D ink for only $19.

USB desktop fan

Wherever you find a nerd you’ll probably find a desktop computer full of games and other projects. This is why USB desktop fans are all the rage right now. The fan is designed to use as little power as possible while still proving as much cool air as possible. Don’t tell anyone but, you can also use it on your laptop.

Wireless Speakers

Remember during the dark ages when every speaker had a tonne of wires and you needed a powers source to use them? Well, a geek somewhere built a wireless speaker and let it use Bluetooth to connect to your other devices. Thank God for geeks.

Smartphone printers

Now that you can project from a smartphone its time that you started printing from it too. For only $130 you can get a pocket size printer that also acts as a smartphone case.

December 7, 2016 2,597 comments
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Gift Ideas for Geeks for Christmas 2016
Gift Ideas

Gift Ideas for Geeks for Christmas 2016

written by geektastic

2016 may have had its issues, but we can all agree that it was a great year to be a geek. There were brand new offerings from sci-fi and fantasy franchises the world over, advances in tech and gadgets, and all manner of old school reinventions to celebrate. All told, there was plenty to geek out about in the past year, and what better time than Christmas to celebrate that fact? If you’re looking to snag a unique, geeky gift for someone special in your life this year (or if you’re just looking to get a little something for yourself), look no further. Here’s some gift ideas for geeks for Christmas 2016 for all the geeks in your life.

For the Pop Culture Geek

2016 ushered in a whole slew of new movies and TV shows to geek out about. The year kicked off with a brand new episode of Star Wars and wrapped up with HBO’s breakout hit Westworld and a brand new installment of the Harry Potter universe. So why not get your favorite geek something that celebrates their favorite sci-fi or fantasy offering of 2016? Not only is there a ton of merchandise available for the above-mentioned movies and shows, you can also snag a subscription to the streaming service that hosts your geek’s favorite content.

For the Tech Geek

There were gadgets galore released in 2016, and Christmas is a great time to scoop them up. What tech geek wasn’t excited about advances in virtual reality this year? Think about grabbing a new VR headset for the geek on your Christmas list. Not only is this gadget awesome in its own right, it will also allow for experiencing other geeky content in a whole new way. There were also plenty of other gadgets of note this year: from personal fitness trackers to intuitive speakers for the home. Whether your tech geek is into music, video, or personal health, there is a gadget out there that will be the perfect fit.

For the Old School Geek

Is the geek in your life more interested in kicking it old school than keeping up with the latest trends? Never fear, there were plenty of new releases this year that harken back to the good old days. Why not pick up a vintage gaming console, or invest in a refurbished vinyl record player? Gifts that let you experience vintage music and games in the way they were intended are excellent ideas for this particular kind of geek.

Whatever your special someone geeks out about, there’s something on this list for them! Now go forth and find that perfect geeky gift before Christmas rolls around.

December 6, 2016 1,486 comments
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