Ryan and Ken

Ryan

Neato Botvac 80 Robot Vacuum

You've likely heard of Roomba but maybe not of Neato, the primary competing robotic vacuum. I recently picked on of these up to help maintain some level of dog-hair-less-ness in my house and I have to say I am impressed by the speed and nose levels compared to the Roomba I used many years ago. These things aren't cheap, though you can get some models for as low as $189 with a lesser feature set, so be sure this is something that you'll really take advantage of. 

 

OverBoard Waterproof iPad Case

It's not the prettiest case, and it's not the cheapest either. But it might be the waterproof-iest. If you have any generation of iPad, or really any tablet in the same or smaller size, and you want to use it around water, a case like this is pretty handy. The Shrout House recently had a hot tub installed and I wanted to be able use the iPad to check email or watch Monday Night Football WHILE sitting in it. It only seems natural, right? I have been using the case consistently for a couple of months without issue but be warned: water is conductive and will interfere with your touchscreen devices occasionally. 

It has a shoulder strap too – I have no idea why.

 

Samsung SmartCam HD Pro 1080p Full-HD Wi-Fi Camera

Want to spy on people? No I meant legitimately, like at your front door, or in the back yard? The Samsung SmartCam series is a competitor to Dropcam and offers some interesting features and in my experience, a no nonsense user interface. You can stream the camera footage through a web browser or an Android/iOS app and you can also record it to an installed SD card if you want. There are alerts, night modes, a 128-degree lens – quite a nice list of features. And, if you need an outdoor camera that can withstand the elements, then the recently released SmartCam Outdoor unit will be up your alley.

 

Ken

Inateck 2.5 Inch USB 3.0 HDD External Enclosure

Let's be honest, we all get roped into doing tech support for our relatives and close friends. Since we know people don't backup their data, what do you do when they ask for that tax return or vacation pictures they just lost during the reinstall? Well my solution is to always image the drive before hand. Considering most people have laptops these days, this Inateck USB 3.0 Enclosure is just the answer. Simply pull the drive out of the machine, image it, and move on with your reinstall of a spyware-ridden operating system.

Beyond bailing people out, this is the perfect item for your extra drives, or just an item to keep in your bag. With UASP support, you'll get maximum transfer speed, even on the fastest SSDs. 

Seriously, just buy one now. You'll thank me later.

Sony Alpha a6000 Interchangeable Lens Camera

For a company that no one think about in the consumer electronics space anymore, Sony has been killing it for the past few years in the camera department. They have made great advancements in mirrorless camera technology, and the a6000 is a great example of this. Long gone are the days that you need a DSLR to get any appreciable quality out of a camera. Mirrorless cameras can now provide the same quality in a much smaller footprint, which means that you might actually be apt to carry it with you unlike a bulky DSLR.

If you have been thinking about getting into photography, or even video then this camera is a fantastic place to start. For the price, you simply can't beat it.

Plex Media Sever

If you have a random collection of media files sitting on your pc that you have had no clue what to do with, you need to give Plex a look. For the past year, I have been running a Plex server in my house as a centralized place to keep all of the media that my roommates and I have amassed over the years. Simply point it at folders through of media and it will automatically grab metadata and catalog all types of media. With a great web interface and apps for just about every platform you can imagine, there is virtually no learning curve for anyone looking to just watch a movie without having to deal with a complicated interface.

While Plex itself is free, they also offer the Plex Pass subscription. Plex Pass gains you a few features, but the coolest one is Plex Sync which allows you to sync offline copies of your media to mobile devices (iOS, Android, and even Windows Phone) so you can watch away from your home internet connection. Honestly, Plex is a great piece of software and I have no issue throwing the developers a few dollars to support them.

 

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