“General” collection
Access a diverse collection of miscellaneous technology reviews, specialized DIY tool assessments, and unique lifestyle articles. From niche electrical equipment to general digital organization tips, this section covers the broad spectrum of a tech-focused life.
HTD Tech Briefs
View all →December 31, 2013
iGear Unlimited Flip Turn Case & Keyboard: Make your iPad Mini a Mini Computer
I always recommend getting a case for your tablet or smartphone. It's important to protect your investment. Sometimes, however, a case can go beyond providing simple protection, it can give utility as well. The iGear Unlimited has a very useful protective case that actually has multiple functions, starting with a Bluetooth keyboard. The iGear Unlimited Flip Turn Case is designed…
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December 23, 2013
Fantastic Fitbit Force is a Healthy Upgrade to the Flex
There is quite a rage going on now around wearable computers and devices, and Fitbit has been leading the charge of producing gadgets you wear that track your activity. A year ago, I was introduced to the Fitbit Flex, which is a rechargeable wristband that measured movements and activity as well as a whole lot more. I wore it almost…
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December 17, 2013
This Amazing Fix Will Get Your MacBook Air Charging Again!
I have an older MacBook Air and absolutely love it. It has performed flawlessly and is well used by me and my kids. However, I have had a lingering issue that has appeared every few months or so that has often left me scratching my head. Sometimes, when I plug in my 45 watt power supply, the little green light…
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November 12, 2013
“OnStar? I’d Like to Get a Tour of Detroit!” #ConnectedByOnStar Event
Now I get it. Now I understand why so many people choose GM vehicles like Buick. It's because these vehicles come equipped with OnStar. OnStar is like having your own personal, 24x7 co-pilot and concierge on-call. For the past couple of days, I have been not only immersed within all things OnStar and Buick, but also was able to experience…
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October 29, 2013
How To Use the eBay Simple Flow Interface to Easily Sell your Old Tablet
One of the big problems about being addicted to gadgets and consumer electronic devices is that you always want the latest and greatest "bright & shiny" device. When that desire hits you, suddenly, you are faced with two issues: 1) how do you find funds to get a new device and 2) how do you easily sell your old device…
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October 28, 2013
When is a Tablet Not a Tablet? When It’s A Windows 8.1 Pro Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2
I have had my fair share of experience with a variety of tablets ranging from iPads to Samsung 10.1 tablets to a Sony and even a Blackberry Playbook. It seems that manufacturers and developers continue to tweak their interfaces and hardware specifications to hopefully be the one that "sticks" and that everyone gravitates towards. I believe, though, that each of…
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October 14, 2013
Watch Out SnapChat Users! SnapHack App Can Now View & Save Photos & Videos Forever
SnapChat has always, in my opinion, been a controversial app. It has a very simple model, you can take pictures and photos and send them to friends and these multimedia files only are visible for a few seconds. Once the time passes, the videos or photos can no longer been seen. Teens and tweens view this app as a lot…
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October 7, 2013
Which Apple ID to use for iTunes App Store, iMessage, iCloud and Find My iPhone
Apple's iOS 7 introduced some confusion when it comes to Apple IDs. But the change was intentional because Apple's desire was to make iOS much more secure. As part of the upgrade process, iPhone and iPad users are required to set up an iCloud account and associate it with Find my iPhone. This process will (hopefully) cause the number of…
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October 4, 2013
Is K-12 the Appropriate Place to Teach Children about Copyright Infringement? Huffington Post Live Interview
I remember back in the 1980's (ok I'm dating myself) when my friends and I used to make mix-tapes and music compilations and shared them amongst ourselves. It was a multi-hour process and we poured our creativity and thoughts into making the perfect tape. There was no thought in our minds about whether what we were doing was "legal" or…
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October 4, 2013
Weighing in on the Withings Smart Body Analyzer WS-50
Recent advances in personal technology are allowing individuals and families to get better analysis of their health progress or lack there of. From wearable devices that track your movement to applications that help you set exercise goals, our society now has consumer tools that remove some of the mystery surrounding personal health. Withings is a company that has been leading…
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October 1, 2013
Is Storage Trendy? Or Just Following a Technology Trend? Top Storage Trends
Ok, I know. Talking about storage solutions or what the top storage trends are is not exactly the #1 topic on people's minds. In fact, I would say that we all take storage for granted...that is, until we RUN OUT of storage or a hard drive crashes or our storage solution is incredibly slow. And, many of us simply don't…
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September 27, 2013
Site Performance Optimization: MaxCDN, Nginx, CloudFlare and WordPress Caching
My blog has a problem. Or rather it had a problem but I'm making some big improvements to it to make it perform better. For many years, my site has suffered from slow performance. Much of that is my fault though. I tend to overload WordPress with lots of plugins. Plugins are bad, but they are in many ways, quite…
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