I believe that the Home Assistant will be the key to freeing myself from the Google ecosystem of personal assistants. Of course I will still want the YouTube Premium](https://www.youtube.com/premium) membership 1,790 THB/year (it might be 1,990 THB/year at the end of my current subscription), so that we keep the curse of advertisements at bay and ... Read more
Updated 23-Aug-2026 See also Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning The future is being made in China. Not all or perhaps even most of the future, but big and important parts. The implications are enormous. China Shock 2.0 Note: The idea that the success of the Chinese EV industry is just a takeover of western automotive ... Read more
This is my latest watch, replacing the Xiaomi Mi Band 8 Pro. I'll be comparing these directly. To be honest, this isn't something I planned on doing anytime soon (switching to another watch) but late one night there was an online shopping urge (and a very nice discount) and well, what can one say. Samsung ... Read more
Updated 05-May-2026 Great idea, though they really went overboard with the additional technology, making the cost somewhere around 7,500 USD in the United States. In Thailand, there are ebikes, configured like regular moterbikes/scooters, and three-wheel mobility between 20-30,000 Thai Baht (less than 1,000 USD). To make this cheaper: Optional components Roof/body Side view mirrors Windshield ... Read more
Updated 18-Jun-2026 This article was originally published on 08-oct-2024 on the Ruizu x52. Now it is expanded and mostly about the Ruizu x62. See also Ruizu mp3 player Sandisk Clip Jam mp3 player mp3 players and Linux Updated Ruizu x62 The updated Ruizu x62 improves upon, stays the same, and has degraded from the previous ... Read more
Updated 31-Aug-2026 See also Samsung buds core bluetooth Android devices Android apps Disable One UI 7/8 battery indicator Android Debloater I hate bluetooth I have hated and rejected bluetooth for since its inception. I mean, for headphones/earbuds. Of course I use bluetooth for things like: Smart band Car connectivity (in conjunction with wifi) SMK25II midi ... Read more
Update: Screw it, go with AMD. This driver hell is ridiculous. Yeah, Nvidia is a mess to deal with. That is, regarding Linux video drivers, and getting things working. Graphics on Linux can be nearly as frustrating as audio on Linux (well, not that near but still, frustrating). For Nvidia video cards, there are several ... Read more
Updated 19-Apr-2026 See also: Android devices Over the years I have been a fan and consumer of Xiaomi products including several phones, electronics of all types, backpacks, etc. Since they tend to enshittify, that is get crappier over time, I've scaled back and have found better substitutes. The following are not yet out of our ... Read more
While there is something to be said for actual self-hosting a server (at home or mobile), having a low-cost spot on the Internet is good for not having to worry about one's own personal connectivity at any given time, for services to work. By services, this could include: Web server (Caddy) Email server (Mox) File ... Read more
Updated 31-Aug-2026 See also Samsung buds core bluetooth Android devices Android apps Disable One UI 7/8 battery indicator Android Debloater Android hardware At this point, I feel that Chromebooks are non-starters. Either Android or Linux (Debian) are the proper OSes of choice, and decent hardware that can support these platforms. We have moved to Samsung ... Read more
Updated 21-Jul-2026 (Pictured: Kindle Paperwhite 2018, 2022, paper Manga) See also Ebooks and where to buy them which discusses DRM from each ebook seller. Kindle and Kobo ebook readers Calibre Ebook Library, De-DRM, Conversion Jailbreak Kindle KOReader open source ebook reader Note July 2026: I've been using the Kobo Clara BW for the past year ... Read more
Updated 03-Aug-2025 A thumbdrive or usb drive is generally essential, though there are some sdcard reader hardware that support using sdcards via USB A connectors. 16 years ago I bought this 8gb (fairly large at the time) in a mall in Vancouver, Canada. It has performed excellent service, though I don't use it daily. I ... Read more
Updated 03-Aug-2025 The story Around 80kph, on my 17 year-old Honda Wave 125i (a fantastic, durable, and functional motorbike that can go up to 120 kph) we ran over a nail and the rear tire explosively decompressed. The rear wheel started to slide around, hitting the rear brake did nothing, as we didn't have any ... Read more
Updated 08-May-2026 Sometimes there is a confluence of innovations, both technological, and economic, which conspire to prompt a purchase. Now it is that time for me, concerning the 2024 BYD Dolphin Standard Range. Incidentally, I rode in a BYD Dolphin driven by a GRAB car, driving home from the hospital after getting stitches in my ... Read more
Updated 03-Aug-2025 SDcards, especially MicroSD cards, can also be connected via USB, so those speeds are also important. Notes and For any USB interface, Type 3.2 when possible. and
Updated 03-Aug-2025 I spent a half-day or so looking for improvements to my current Swiss Army Knife collection (two), the Compact and the Jetsetter (3). Both are extremely compact and versatile (a bit redundant when discussing Swiss Army Knives / Victorinox). The outcome of this research is twofold: I have the most optimal (for me) ... Read more
Updated 03-Aug-2025 I have not played with Mobian (yet), but it, and two other projects (Termux and UserLAnd), are quite promising. The biggest issue seems to be hardware at this point, as there are only Pine Phone and Tab, and Purism Librum, as well as one or two other devices are supported. That said, the ... Read more
Updated 03-Aug-2025 Current cost-effective computing is focused on small, mobile, and Linux + Windows + Android. The Windows is for general familiarity and games for the children Current Devices Linux c214 - Ampton (ASUS C214MA) chromebook with Debian 12 (Bookworm) and Breath 4gb / 32gb + 256gb microsd n8 - NUC8i3BEH (Intel NUC) Debian 12 ... Read more
Updated 03-Aug-2025 Major update to this post as of April 2024, nearly 4 years later The below is woefully out of date. Trying to do the same thing with the same product (but different device) results in tears, mainly around Xiaomi OEM unlocking. The unlock tools simply don't work on the Linux and Windows devices ... Read more
Updated 03-Aug-2025 Because ChromeOS is simply ridiculous in terms of resource requirements (on devices meant for it), the only proper approach is to install or boot from a USB drive running Debian Linux (in this case, Debian Stable). Note: there is GalliumOS but it seems to have stalled development. There are various steps involved in ... Read more