Lon Seidman & Lon.TV Blog

I recently uploaded another Amazon haul, covering about two and a half months’ worth of gear—most of it affordable, a mix of items sent via the Amazon Vine Program, a few from manufacturers, and some that I bought myself. You can see the full list of items at this compensated Amazon affiliate link.

Nothing here was sponsored or pre-approved, just a rundown of what caught my attention and ended up being useful or interesting enough to feature.

One of the highlights was a 10-port USB-C charger from Plugable. It doesn’t come with a power supply, but if you’ve got one that puts out 100 watts or so, it’ll charge multiple devices efficiently by prioritizing the ports from left to right. Great for overnight charging, especially in places like classrooms where you need to juice up a bunch of iPads or devices at once.

Along the same lines, I tried out a universal travel adapter from Minix with a built-in GaN power supply. It delivers up to 170 watts through its USB ports and has built-in plugs for various regions. It’s not a voltage converter, but as a compact travel solution, it packs a lot of utility.

Another interesting find was a clip-on Bluetooth speaker from SuperOne. It’s lightweight, wearable, and doubles as a personal voice amplifier if paired with the right app. It’s not going to fill a large room, but in smaller settings, it could come in handy.

For streaming stick users, I checked out a couple of inexpensive but useful accessories. One was an HDMI elbow adapter that lets your device sit flush with the back of a wall-mounted TV. The other was a 100 Mbps Ethernet adapter that works with Fire TV and other compatible devices. It’s not the fastest option out there—Wi-Fi 6 built into recent low cost streaming sticks is quicker—but it can offer a more stable connection.

I picked up a Bell & Howell power hub from the Flip app as it tickled some nostalgic memories of their heavy duty AV equipment my school used in the 80’s. The design hints at the old-school gear they used to make, but the build quality doesn’t quite live up to that legacy. Perhaps due to the fact that Bell & Howell brand is no owned by a private equity firm. Still, it offers USB ports on three sides and a retractable power cord, though the latter was a bit clunky in use.

I also tried out some Apple-focused chargers from Belkin. These included a MagSafe-compatible 5,000 mAh battery with a kickstand, a foldable 3-in-1 travel charging pad, and a smaller 2-in-1 version. Each charger handled phones, AirPods, and Apple Watches to varying degrees, depending on the model. They’re simple, well-built, and compact enough to throw in a travel bag.

There was also an electric candle lighter—one of those arc-style models you charge over USB. It worked, but the narrow arc gap makes it easy to gunk up with wax. Practical outdoors, maybe, but definitely not something I’d leave around kids.

Finally, I spent some time with a surprisingly decent digital magnifying glass from a company called HIDEA. It has adjustable zoom, takes photos, and even comes with sample slides. It’s not a professional microscope, but it does a good job for its price, and I found it fun to play around with.

That wraps up this batch. I tend to go through a lot of gear, but only a fraction makes it to the table. The rest doesn’t pass the sniff test. Once I’ve got enough new stuff worth showing, I’ll put together another round. These videos are always fun to make, and it’s good to see that people still enjoy watching them.

I decided to try something unconventional: attaching an eGPU to the system bus of a budget GMKTec G3 Plus mini PC (compensated affiliate link), curious to see if I could push the limits of what these sub $200 PCs are designed for.

You can see if it works in my latest video.

The G3 Plus lacks the typical external graphics connections like USB4 or Thunderbolt. Instead, I used a workaround — an NVMe to Oculink adapter (affiliate link)—to see if this approach could effectively attach the eGPU to the system bus.

The setup process was straightforward. The G3Plus has two storage slots, one for its included NVME system drive, and a second slot for M.2 SATA disks. I imaged the existing storage drive onto an M.2 SATA drive to free up the NVMe slot, then installed the OCuLink adapter. The external GPU, a GMKTec AD-GP1 has an AMD RX 7600M XT, along with Oculink and USB 4 / Thunderbolt connection options.

Other eGPUs can work too if you get an Oculink PCIe slot adapter like I demoed in this video a few weeks ago. Many of the Oculink NVME kits come with the PCIe adapter. The cool thing about this is that you can interface just about any PCIe card with the PC.

Installation was simple, with the Oculink adapter inserting just like any NVME drive would. The G3 Plus’ slots are accessible on the top of the PC making it very easy for all of this to work.

It’s always a little nerve wracking when the “moment of truth” arrives. To my surprise the system immediately recognized the GPU right at boot and Windows 11 loaded without issue. Installing AMD’s Adrenalin drivers confirmed the GPU was fully detected, and from there, it was time to see how well it performed.

Cyberpunk 2077 was the first test, running at 1080p with ray tracing set to low. The system delivered frame rates in the range of 45 to 50 frames per second, but the CPU quickly became the bottleneck. The GPU utilization never exceeded 62%, demonstrating the limitations of pairing higher-end graphics hardware with a budget processor. Disabling ray tracing barely improved performance.

Red Dead Redemption 2 told a similar story. At 1080p on the lowest settings, frame rates fluctuated between 30 and 45 fps, depending on the complexity of the environment. The CPU remained fully maxed out, while the GPU hovered at just 30% utilization. This was a clear example of how throwing a powerful GPU into a low-end system doesn’t always yield massive gains.

Doom Eternal, however, showed a different side of the experiment. Running at 1080p with the lowest settings, the game reached 128 frames per second, dropping to the 90s in more demanding scenes. The GPU was significantly more engaged in this title, reaching 70% utilization. Turning on ray tracing caused a minor performance drop but still delivered a smooth experience, proving that certain games benefit much more from a powerful GPU than others.

Benchmarking with 3DMark’s Time Spy test revealed a significant GPU-driven boost. Without the external GPU, the mini PC scored 450 points. With the eGPU attached, the score jumped to 6,449, a stark difference that reinforced the impact of the external GPU—when the workload allowed it.

Beyond gaming, I tested an AI large language model with Ollama to see how well the setup could handle AI-based tasks. Running an 8-billion-parameter model, the GPU took full control, rapidly generating text while utilizing its compute power and 8GB of video memory to do it.

While this is not the most practical configuration, the experiment demonstrated the versatility of mini PCs when expanded through OCuLink. Despite some limitations, it was surprising to see how plug-and-play the process turned out to be.

Check out my review of the G3 Plus here.

Disclosure: I purchased the Mini PC with my own funds and GMKTec provided the eGPU to the channel free of charge for my prior review. No other compensation was received and they did not review or approve my content before it was uploaded. All opinions are my own.

Physical media is still going strong according to a recent survey from Consumer Reports. Despite the shift toward digital downloads and streaming services, a significant number of consumers continue to hold on to tangible media, whether out of nostalgia, preference, or practicality. While we typically look at sales data to determine format preferences, this survey reveals what consumers are actually using on a regular basis.

In my latest video, we dive into the survey results and also interview the Consumer Reports journalist who initiated the survey.

The survey, which included over 2,000 respondents weighted to reflect the American population, found that 45% of Americans still listen to CDs. This number surpasses vinyl records, which have outsold CDs in recent years, but not necessarily in terms of actual usage. Even cassette tapes have a notable presence, with 15% of respondents saying they still use them. Surprisingly, 5% of Americans still listen to eight-track tapes, a format that largely disappeared decades ago.

On the video side, DVDs and Blu-rays remain in use by almost half of Americans. Even as streaming services dominate entertainment consumption, many consumers still rely on physical copies, whether for better quality, affordability, or simply because they own large collections. VHS tapes, once considered obsolete, are still watched by 15% of respondents. Even laser discs, a niche format from the 1990s, still have a small but dedicated following, with 3% of Americans reporting they still watch them.

But consumer-generated media has also seen a more dramatic shift away from older formats. Only 9% of respondents say they use a dedicated camcorder, a sharp decline from past decades when handheld video cameras were common in households. The rise of smartphones with high-quality video capabilities has made camcorders largely redundant. DVR usage has also declined, with only 4% of Americans still relying on devices like TiVo.

Classic video game systems remain popular, however, with 14% of Americans still using older consoles. While this number may seem lower than expected given the strong online retro gaming community, it reflects the difference between casual users and dedicated collectors. Many small businesses and conventions continue to thrive around vintage gaming, and many enthusiasts like myself have even returned to using CRT televisions for a more authentic experience. I think we may see this number actually increase over time.

Legacy home office equipment also persists in some households. About a quarter of Americans still use landline telephones, though many of these are now VoIP-based rather than traditional copper-line connections. Fax machines continue to be used by 11% of respondents, and even Rolodexes and floppy disks still have their niche users, with 5% and 4% respectively.

The journalist behind the Consumer Reports article, Jim Willcox, joined me in the video to discuss how he personally added the questions about legacy technology to the survey out of curiosity. He noted that the longevity of physical media often defies industry expectations. While new formats tend to be predicted as the downfall of older ones, the transition is rarely immediate. Communities continue to form around niche formats, and the appeal of tangible media has proven resilient.

Willcox also highlighted the changing landscape of content ownership. With the rise of streaming, consumers have become increasingly aware of the drawbacks—such as the unpredictability of content availability and the necessity of multiple subscriptions to access favorite shows or movies. In contrast, physical media ensures long-term ownership without concerns over shifting licensing agreements or digital rights management.

While digital convenience is undeniable, the enduring appeal of physical media suggests that many consumers still value having something they can hold, play, and collect. Whether it’s a preference for higher-quality audio and video, a sense of nostalgia, or simply wanting control over their media, this survey shows us that physical formats are far from extinct.

Scanning and digitizing old film negatives and slides is often a daunting task, requiring expensive equipment and meticulous effort. The Kodak Slide N Scan simplifies this process, providing a rapid and accessible way to convert old photo negatives and slides into digital images. I took a close look at this device in my latest review to see how well it performs and whether it’s a viable solution for casual users looking to preserve their film-based photos.

The Slide N Scan is found at many retailers including Amazon and Best Buy (compensated affiliate links) so shop around for the best price.

Unlike traditional scanners that require software and complex settings, the Slide n Scan operates without a PC. Negatives or slides are inserted into the film tray, the device automatically converts them into positives, and a simple push of a button saves the image onto an SD card (not included). It supports various film formats—including 35mm negatives and slides along with 110, and 126.

Quality, however, is where expectations need to be tempered. The Slide N Scan is not an archival-quality scanner. The 13-megapixel sensor interpolates images up to 22 megapixels, but the results lack fine detail and sharpness. Color reproduction is also inconsistent, as the device attempts to automatically determine the correct balance. While there are some limited color and exposure adjustments on device, enthusiasts will be looking for a lot more. This means additional editing is often necessary after scanning to achieve accurate colors and exposure. But for snapshots, the automatic settings will usually be good enough.

In practical use, scanning is incredibly fast. The device writes images directly to an SD card, which can then be transferred to a computer, phone or tablet. The process is similar to using a digital camera—plug in the SD card, and the images are readily accessible. The Slide n Scan also features an HDMI output, allowing users to project the output of its 5″ screen on a larger television screen.

Examining the scanned images, it’s clear this is not a professional-grade solution. Compression artifacts are visible, and while the device outputs large JPEGs, there is no option for saving uncompressed formats like TIFF. The upscaling process to 22 megapixels does little to enhance detail. I found that black-and-white negatives tend to look better when using the lower 14-megapixel resolution setting, especially since popular films like Tri-X are quite grainy and can interfere with the upscaling and image compression process at the 22-megapixel option.

Despite these shortcomings, the Kodak Slide n Scan serves a purpose. For casual users looking to quickly digitize old photos for sharing on social media or archiving in a non-professional capacity, it provides a convenient solution. The speed and ease of use make it appealing, especially for those with a large number of negatives or slides to process. However, users seeking high-quality digital preservation of film-based images will need to explore more advanced scanning options.

A device in the $500–$600 range with a better sensor and uncompressed file-saving capabilities would fill a gap in the market for those who want high-quality results without the time investment of professional scanning solutions. While the Slide n Scan doesn’t meet that standard, it represents progress in the space, providing an affordable and efficient way to convert old film into digital format.

See more products like this here.