Gadgets

Gadgets

Things that are nice to have. Not necessary.

Alecto WS-5500 WiFi Weatherstation

The good old TFA Weatherstation didn't work fully anymore, so a new one was welcome.
This WS-5500 automatically uploads measurements to WeatherUnderground, you can see it here.

Rubrider X13

This is just a fun thing, "clean" (I can say that because I use 100% wind generated electricity) and silent!
It does require a drivers license (AM class) and insurance and registration.

Samsung Gear S3 Frontier

My son got himself a nice smartwatch, had to have one myself too, just had to!

BMW R1200 GS - 2010

My last bike, a 4 cilinder 1100 cc BMW K1100LT, was used up. Electronic problems were too much.
This "new" machine is stacked with gadgets: ABS-II, ESA, ASC, DOHC, 110 hp, warmed handlebar, extendable cases, etc.

Raspberry PI 3

I wanted to have a very small device to use as a terminal at work. This Raspbian driven thing does the trick.

Hoverboard

To be able to train small ancle movements (hehehe), this device was absolutely a must have!

Apple iPad Pro 10.5" met Smart Keyboard

The old iPad 2 has served almost daily for six (!) years now. Some "heavy" apps crash due to a lack of memory and these apps take forever to load. This new iPad pro has a A10X, 6 core Fusion-chip processor, 64-bits architecture and a M10-coprocessor incorporated. This makes it the world faster than the iPad 2! The iPad pro is also IOS 10 ready (to be released in NL on September 19th 2017).

Samsung Galaxy S7

The old and faithful S5 began to show some quirks, the screen switched off now and again, recently more now than again.

e-Reader

Books are nice but the electronic versions are cheaper! Got myself a Kobo Aura with sleepcover.

Samsung Galaxy S5

Because my subscription was to be continued, I was able to choose a new device. The S3 was magnificent, but the S5 is better!

XS4ALL optical fiber

We were still using copper cable for our TV and internet (60 Mbps up/20 Mbps down) and ISDN-2 for our telephone.
Our village is now povided with fiber optic cable, to be used for TV, Internet (100 Mbps up/100 Mbps down) and Voice Over IP!

Canon EOS M

The old and faithful Olympus is getting a bit old. It's place is now taken by the Canon EOS M!

Sony SmartWatch SW2

Fun fun fun! My watch now "talks" with my smartphone!

Protoplast

Just for fun, to be able to create some plastic to our needs, we've bought a bucket of protoplast.

I've used this stuff successfully to repair a luggage carrier of a bike and a bike's headlight. I've also created some "things" that keep the wastebinlid ajar to prevent them from becoming rather smelly when opened.
To get an impression on how to use it, see this page

GoPro Hero 3 Silver Edition

To be able to create little movies of Jeffrey's BMX performances, we've bought ourselves a GoPro!

Due to some malfunctions on Jeff's BMX, there are no videos available yet. The Hero is currently using a 64Gb class 10 storage card.

TFA Primus weather station

The former weather station was already turning green and the rain meter was letting me down. This new set has several solar collectors and has wireless communication between anemometer, rain meter, display and PC.

Samsung Galaxy S3

The Galaxy Mini was a fine mobile phone, but the lack of speed and small memory were a nuisance. The S3 is "top of the bill" and will have to provide me with years and years of pleasure!

This mobile initially runs on Android 4.0, but has been upgraded to Android 4.1.2.

Parrot AR Drone

Parrot has created a remote controlled flying machine that can be controlled by the iPad or by the Android Smartphone, just by making the desired moves with the iPad or phone!

Spinder Tour bike carrier

The old bike carrier was becoming... eh... old. Faulty connector e.g. We now have the Spinder Tour, which doesn't need any clamps on the trailer hitch.

The bike carrier is also used mounted on the front end of our caravan.

Samsung Galaxy Mini

To be able to access e.g. Twitter, Facebook, e-mail. This is a smaller version of the Galaxy S2, which is, in my humble opinion, to big to fit into my pockets.

This mobile runs on Android 2.3. Due to the lack of memory, this mobile has been decommissioned and stored for fall-back purposes.

NetGear ReadyNAS NV+ RND4000

To create a secure and failsave storage for all our digital photos, videos and other documents. NAS = Network Attached Storage.

The NAS has two HDD's mounted, each 2Tb in size, automatically maintaining a full mirror.

Apple TV v2

Together with the iPad, we can now look at e.g. YouTube movies on our regular TV. Jeff can also stream videos from his iPod and Donja from her iPhone.

Apple iPad 2

This is a nice gadget, enabling me to read "fresh" news, see what's on TV etc. I've chosen the cheapest model, without G3. There's no need (yet) to take the thing to places where there's no WiFi.

The iPad is used on a daily basis!

Humax Digital Receiver

We've bought a Digital Receiver. Ziggo, our cable TV supplier, did already provide us with a digital signal, but we only used the analog signal. Using this equipment, we can now view TV programs in High Definition and can also record programs to view them afterward.

The digital HDD receiver/recorder is used on a daily basis.

Garmin Zumo 660

I've bought myself a brandnew GPS set! This set has many advantages, compared with my former Garmin Quest II. Are all new features an advantage?

• Touchscreen
  The touchscreen allows for "larger buttons" and for a larger screen. This is absolutely an advantage! The buttons can be pressed even when wearing (motor)gloves. The screen is much larger than the screen of the Quest. Both Quest and Zumo are IPX7 waterproof and can be used on the motorbik (in the rain).
• Bluetooth
  The Zumo has bluetooth and can be paired with my mobile phone. It can also be paired with the Cardo headset (see next gadget). This way I don't have to put up with the wires anymore! The GPS kan communicate with my mobile phone, even though this phone is in my bag in my case.
• A SIRF III chipset
  The SIRF III chipset is much faster and does receive the satellites a lot better. The Quest lost it's contact when we drove through the narrow streets of Barcelona and even when we drove under large trees. The Zumo has no problem receiving the satellites and does even receive them within my house!

Cardo Q2 teamset

The Cardo Q2 teamset is a bluetooth intercom system. Two (similar) sets can communicate within a distance of 500 meters. The sets also have a FM receiver on-board. The Q2 can also pair directly with a bluetooth mobile phone, but it's easier to use the mobile phone through the Zumo GPS.

Logitech Squeezebox Radio

When I am sitting next to my desktop PC, I usually listen to radiomusic. I therefore use my PC and tune in to one of the internet radiostations. There is, however, a much more "sophisticated" way to listen to internet radiostations: an internet radio! After a lot of searching (mostly on the internet as my local electronicsshops are not at all familiar with internetradio) I chose the Logitech Squeezebox Radio: . Using this radio, you cannot only easily tune in to one of the internet radiostations, but also (using a little bit of open source software) play all music that can be found on one of the other PC's within the local network. My desktop PC e.g.
The reason I chose the Logitech was that this one can be used without a power cord. A battery pack can be obtained (at extra cost...) and you can then use the radio as a portable one. You only have to remain within the range of the WiFi Access Point. The radio can also be used as an alarm and can be programmed to sound all sorts of sounds like a surf on the beach or birds chittering...
Using "Softsqueeze" software can turn each PC into a Squeezebox radiodevice. This software radio can subsequently be synchronised with the Squeezebox radio. In this way, all computer devices can be synchronised and will all produce the same music. Switching the Squeezebox radio to another station makes all synchronised devices to switch too!

Asus eee PC

Last summer holiday, I've tried to maintain a weblog ("michaelliem.waarbenjij.nu") using my Smartphone. It is possible to do this, but I cannot say that it's easy. The browser-functionality on a Smartphone is limited. To enable some more "comfort" while being on the road (grin), I now use an Asus eee PC 901. This is a "netbook" featuring a solid state harddisk (it's not a harddisk as such, but it uses memory like you can use an USB stick). It runs on Windows XP and is small, just a bit bigger than A5 paper.


I have used the eee for some time now. It's very convenient in case I have to be standby for my work. After some fiddling, I managed to make Bluetooth contact between the eee and my HTC mobile phone. I can use the GPRS connection... It's not very fast (due to a slow GPRS connection on my phone), but it's a lot better to use this connection compared to staying within half an hour of our house (to be able to log on). I also managed to install MapSource (the routing program belonging to my Garmin GPS) including the USA maps. Installing the maps was some of a hassle, because the files are rather large and have to be unzipped and then installed...

At home, the eee connects with the WiFi router using a 135 Mbps connection (...) flawlessly!

I've also maintained an elaborate blog during my visit to Rwanda (http://michaelliem1.waarbenjij.nu). The eee can stay!

At first, this computer ran on Windows XP. Later on, I've changed it to run on Ubuntu (Linux).

Domain

Just for fun, I've obtained the domain "michaelliem.nl". You now can go to "www.michaelliem.nl" and end up on this site!
There's no real need for it, but it's easier. For you. The pass-through facility is hosted by "PCextreme.nl".

HTC S710 Smartphone (Windows mobile 5)

• I bought myself a new cell phone: a Smartphone.
  
  This one is using Windows Mobile 6. Some information can be found here.
• One of the reasons is the number of passwords I have to store. I used to use a Palm device, but that one's wearing out. To store the passwords in a safe way, I use Keepass (V0.0.9). It's for free!
• I also bought a tool called City Time. There's some information here.
• I have a bluetooth headset too; there's some info here.
• More nice software is Skype. This runs on a smartphone too and enables free phone calls using WiFi. Info can be found here.
• I also use Fring. This is a tool to combine addresslists of Skype, GSM, MSN etc. Info can be found here.

A-Bike

Another gadget I acquired is an A-bike.

This is a very small folding bike that can be used whenever the car cannot be parked near a destination. It's not meant to be used for larger distances...

Camera

The latest gadget is a new digital camera. I've bought the Olympus µ 850 SW. This small camera is Shock- and Waterproof! It's still usable and feeling fine if you're not diving deeper than 3 metres.

I've bought it here. To prevent myself from having not enough fun, I've added a 4 Gb memory-card. There can be stored nearly 2000 pictures, 8 Mp each.

During our visit to the USA, I stumbled and "crashed". The camera also smashed on the concrete pavement, still attached to my wrist on it's cord. It now has a dent on the front side, but it still works fine!