Category: video

How to Wake a Switch 2 with 8Bitdo Pro 3 or Ultimate 2 Controllers

A few weeks ago I took a look at how the popular 8BitDo line of game controllers work with the new Switch 2 console. But despite the compatibility, the controllers could not wake up the console – until now.

In my latest video, I took a look at the new 2.0 firmware update for the 8BitDo Pro 3 and Ultimate 2 Bluetooth controllers (compensated affiliate links), both of which can now wake up the Nintendo Switch 2 with just a shake. This feature had been missing from earlier versions, so I wanted to go through what’s required to make it work. It does require a specific procedure, so a general pairing with the console won’t wake it up.

First, it’s important to note that only these two controllers — the Ultimate 2 Bluetooth Edition and the Pro 3 — currently support this wake function. Other 8BitDo models will connect to the Switch 2, but they can’t wake it up yet.

To get started, you’ll need to update your controller’s firmware to version 2.0 using the 8BitDo Ultimate software on your computer. Once connected via USB, the software gives you the option to update the firmware, which enables the new “shake to wake” feature. After the update is complete, the controller will reboot automatically.

Next comes the special procedure: Put the controller into pairing mode by pressing the button on top until it starts blinking. Then, remove a Joy-Con from your Switch and power the console on using the Home button. From the main menu, go to the controller settings and select “Change Grip/Order.” At this point, press the left and right buttons on the 8BitDo controller until it pairs successfully.

After pairing, you can reattach your Joy-Con, put the Switch to sleep, and then try waking it up by turning on the 8BitDo controller and giving it a quick shake. Be sure the controller is set to Bluetooth mode rather than the 2.4GHz wireless dongle mode. On the Ultimate 2, make sure the mode switch is in the bluetooth position, and on the Pro 3, confirm that the “S” mode is selected.

It’s a small but welcome addition to these controllers, and it brings them closer in functionality to Nintendo’s own gamepads. See more of my 8BitDo videos here, and my review of the Switch 2 here!

Disclosure: 8BitDo and/or their distributor AKNES sent me these controllers free of charge. No other compensation was received, and they did not review or approve this content before it was uploaded.

MINIX Elite ER936-AI Mini PC Review

My latest video review looks at the new Minix Elite ER936-AI Mini PC. It’s powered by AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 365 processor, part of the Strix line, which gives it ten cores and a surprisingly capable built-in GPU. My review unit came configured with 32 gigabytes of DDR5 memory running at 5600 MHz and a one-terabyte NVMe SSD. You can find it over at Amazon, or direct at Minix’s online store (compensated affiliate links).

I’ve reviewed a number of Minix devices before and have generally found them to be well built, and this one fits right in with that reputation. It’s designed to be easily serviceable, with a tool-less bottom panel that lifts off for access to the internals. Underneath, you’ll find an extra NVMe slot, the Wi-Fi card, and RAM slots.

The port selection is generous for a small system. There are two 40 gigabit USB 4.0 Type-C ports that can handle Thunderbolt and video output, plus multiple 10-gigabit-per-second USB-A ports, dual 2.5-gigabit Ethernet jacks, HDMI, DisplayPort, and a headphone/mic jack placed on the front. Power comes from a 120-watt adapter, and the system draws around 100 watts under heavy load but sips about 10 to 12 watts at idle. A small fan keeps things cool; it’s audible under stress but not particularly loud, and it does a good job of maintaining thermal consistency.

The system ships with Windows 11 Pro preinstalled and activated. General performance was solid across everyday tasks like web browsing and streaming, though I noticed a few dropped frames while playing 4K60 YouTube content. The machine scored 33 on Browserbench’s Speedometer test, putting it in line with other recent AMD and Intel processors. Its graphics capabilities stood out in particular. I tested DaVinci Resolve with 4K footage and saw smooth real-time playback of transitions and a noticeable speed advantage when rendering effects compared to other mini PCs I’ve tested.

I also experimented with local AI tools to see how it handled workloads beyond typical productivity. Using AMD’s GAIA and Lemonade applications, I ran a 20-billion-parameter open-source language model that utilized the GPU. It performed significantly faster than running similar models through Olama on the same hardware which only runs through the CPU. It’s not going to rival cloud-based AI tools, but the fact that it handled local LLM this well shows how far these compact systems have come. For anyone experimenting with automation tools like N8N or other LLM setups, this configuration offers a good entry point.

Gaming performance was better than expected. In Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p low settings, frame rates hovered around 45 to 55 frames per second, dipping slightly in more complex scenes. No Man’s Sky performed even better, staying close to 60 FPS on the ground and climbing to around 80 in space. The GPU is the limiting factor, but there’s enough CPU headroom for an external GPU setup if you wanted more performance. On 3DMark’s Time Spy benchmark, the system scored 3,504, which puts it close to older desktop GPUs like the Nvidia GTX 1060 and 1650. The stress test showed stable cooling with a 99.3 percent consistency score.

Linux support was also solid. Ubuntu detected all of the system’s components, including Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and audio, without issue. With two NVMe slots, it’s easy to set up a dual-boot configuration for Windows and Linux. This flexibility makes it suitable for home server use or software testing environments where you want both operating systems available.

After spending some time with it, the Minix Elite ER936 feels like a well-balanced small form factor computer that can handle a mix of productivity, light gaming, and local AI tasks. The design is practical, it runs efficiently, and it delivers consistent performance under load.

What’s Going on With Fire TV?

Amazon’s new “Select” 4k streaming stick with the new Vega OS has not been well received – especially by enthusiasts. In my latest video, we take a look at what’s going with the FireTV and why Amazon is moving away from the Android player we’ve come to know and mostly love over the last decade.

When I started covering tech on YouTube more than a decade ago, one of the earliest products I reviewed was the original Amazon Fire TV. It was a time when streaming boxes were still new and fragmented. Roku was around, but like today it was very limited in capabilities, and Apple’s TV box didn’t yet have apps. Amazon’s entry in 2014 was a surprise — an Android-based device with an interface built for television. It even beat Google’s Nexus Player, the first official Android TV device, to market by a few months.

Back then, the Fire TV felt like a meaningful step forward. Amazon had invested in game development studios and the box had decent graphics performance for casual play. You could sideload Android apps, and it was fast at launching video, caching streams so they started almost instantly. The platform was flexible, and the company was building a product that appealed to both mainstream users and enthusiasts.

Fast forward eleven years, and Amazon’s latest Fire TV device, the 4K Select, runs something entirely different. The operating system, called Vega OS, has replaced Android under the hood, but Amazon isn’t marketing it openly. It’s not mentioned on the box or in promotional materials. What’s more, this new system limits what the device can do. Apps now need to be rewritten for Vega OS, and many haven’t made the jump yet. In some cases, Amazon is actually streaming apps from the cloud to make them run on the new hardware, a workaround that shows how much compatibility has changed.

This move appears to be a shift in priorities. Vega OS likely helps Amazon build cheaper hardware with lower overhead, targeting the low-end streaming stick segment rather than the higher-performance devices that used to appeal to enthusiasts. Developers can build in React Native, which is cross-platform, but that still means maintaining another version of their app specifically for Vega. Whether streaming app makers will see that as worth the effort remains to be seen.

According to AFTVNews, Amazon is keeping Vega OS confined to the entry-level devices for now, while higher-end Fire TVs and smart TVs may move to a different system based on Android 14.

The timing of this change may have something to do with where Amazon stands in the streaming device market. Data from Pixalate shows Roku leading with about 36 percent of U.S. market share, far ahead of Fire TV’s 14 percent. Roku focuses almost entirely on delivering video streaming with a simple interface. Consumers seem to prefer that over devices that try to do more. Fire TV’s more advanced features don’t appear to be helping it compete.

Roku’s financials tell a similar story. They’ve been selling hardware at little or no profit but making nearly a billion dollars a quarter in gross profit from their platform business — most of it advertising. These devices aren’t meant to be powerful computers anymore; they’re ad platforms with remotes attached. Amazon seems to be trying that model, prioritizing simplicity and scale over capability.

Google is reportedly rethinking its own TV strategy as well, possibly moving away from its current Google TV platform. For users who enjoyed the flexibility of older devices like the NVIDIA Shield (compensated affiliate link), there may not be many options left. The Shield still offers features like sideloading, local media playback, and advanced home theater support with Dolby Vision and lossless ATMOS, but it’s starting to look like an artifact of a different era.

I find it telling that Amazon, a company that once encouraged experimentation on its Fire TV line, is now quietly locking it down. For people who use these boxes just to stream Netflix or Prime Video, that may not matter. But for those who like to tinker — to run emulators, custom apps, or personal media servers — this marks the end of an era. The industry seems to be moving toward simpler, more disposable devices designed to serve ads and stream content, not extend functionality.

My advice? Buy as many NVIDIA Shield devices as you can while they’re still for sale.

OhSnap Grip 5 Review

I’m not someone who usually likes to stick things to the back of my phone, but about two years ago I came across the OhSnap Grip 4 (compensated affiliate link) and found myself not wanting to take it off. You can see my original review of it here.

If you visit my affiliate link here, you can get a discount with my code LON33650.

It was a simple little accessory that functioned like a PopSocket—you could pop it out for a better grip or use it as a stand—and when you didn’t need it, it folded down super flat. What made it stand out to me was that it added MagSafe-style functionality to Android phones through its magnetic ring. It wasn’t something I expected to keep using, but it became part of my daily routine.

Now the company has released an updated version, the OhSnap 5 Grip (compensated affiliate link). It largely looks the same but it no longer uses the strong but removable adhesive of the prior model. OhSnap says they very carefully designed a stronger magnet system that hangs on tighter.

I was curious to see how that would change things since I didn’t have any real complaints about the previous version. So that’s what we explore in my latest video review.

To use the new model on Android phones, the company includes a metal ring that gets stuck to the back of the phone. Once attached, the grip will snap neatly into place and retains the same features as before—the pop-out stand and the comfortable finger grip. But Android users will have to pry lose the adapter ring if they stop using the Snap 5 grip.

The design looks thin but feels sturdy, just like the last one, though it’s slightly thicker. When I tested how securely it attached to my caseless iPhone 17 Pro Max, it came off more easily than the adhesive model. A firm tug or some lateral pressure will very quickly snap it off. For someone like me who uses a phone without a case—my running joke is that AppleCare is my case—the old adhesive-backed version feels much more secure.

When I tried it on my iPad mini with a metal Magsafe adapter ring installed, the grip was much stronger—so much so that I couldn’t pull it off easily. That told me the performance really depends on the phone’s case and how close the case’s magnetic ring sits to the surface.

Like the earlier version, the Grip 5 is MagSafe compatible and allows for chargers and other MagSafe accessories to snap on top. While MagSafe devices snapped on as expected, the strength of the outer magnets is noticeable weaker than the Grip 4. For charging, the Grip 5 works best with MagSafe chargers but doesn’t pair well with standard Qi chargers that lack magnetic alignment.

After a few days of use, I’ve found that while the Grip 5 is not as good as its predecessor. The magnet is strong but not strong enough to serve as an effective substitute for the reusable adhesive, and its outer magnet does not latch onto MagSafe accessories as confidently as before.

I’ll therefore be sticking—literally and figuratively—with the old one.

Disclosure: I purchased a Grip 5 with my own funds, and the company separately sent me another one free of charge. No other compensation was received, and the company did not review or approve this content before it was uploaded. All opinions are my own.

Amazon Fire TV 4k Stick Select Review

Amazon’s latest Fire TV Stick 4K Select (compensated affiliate link) marks a shift in direction for the company’s streaming devices. This one runs on a completely new operating system called Vega OS, replacing the Android-based OS Fire TVs have used over the last decade. But at launch, it’s clear this is a minimally viable product, and early adopters will need to temper expectations.

Check it out in my latest video review.

As far as the product lineup goes, this device sits just above the 1080p stick and just below the full-featured Fire TV Stick 4K. For now, I’d say it’s worth paying a little extra for the latter if you want a smoother experience. The Select model still uses micro USB for power, has just one gigabyte of RAM, and supports Wi-Fi 5 instead of Wi-Fi 6. It also lacks support for Dolby Vision which is found on the other 4k sticks.

Once set up, the interface looks familiar if you’ve used a Fire TV before. Most of the big-name streaming apps are available, but not all of them are native to the device. Some, like the NFL Network, are cloud-hosted, meaning both the app and its content stream over the internet. It works, but performance can feel sluggish, even on a fast connection. Specialized apps for devices such as the Tablo or HDHomeRun aren’t available yet, and while Plex is present, it’s missing many of the features found on its Android-based counterparts.

App support overall feels limited. There are no games and no sideloading options. The experience is closer to a Roku, but with fewer apps to choose from. For basic streaming, though, Netflix, Disney+, and YouTube run well enough. The device supports basic HDR (but again not Dolby Vision), and Dolby Atmos audio works through compatible services.

Performance on YouTube was mostly solid with 4K HDR playback, though I had to manually force it into 4K60 mode. There were occasional frame drops, but nothing too disruptive.

One issue that stood out was the lack of proper 24p output for films and TV shows in all of the apps I tested. Even with the “match frame rate” option enabled, the device stayed locked at 60Hz, resulting in uneven motion that film buffs will notice.

Voice control works as expected, with Alexa handling searches and smart home commands reliably. The remote can also control basic TV and receiver functions, though support for other devices appears trimmed down compared to earlier models.

At this stage, the Fire TV Stick 4K Select and its new Vega OS feel like a work in progress. It handles core streaming tasks fine, but beyond that, the limitations add up. This isn’t the Fire TV experience power users have come to expect—it’s more locked down, less flexible, and missing key features found on cheaper models. Amazon’s long-term plan is clearly to transition its lineup to this new platform, but until app developers catch up, it’s going to feel like a step back.

For now, it works if all you need are the major streaming apps on an older TV. But as Amazon moves further away from Android, this early look suggests the future of Fire TV could be more controlled and less open than before.

See more devices like this one here!

Thermal Master P3 Smartphone Thermal Camera Review

The Thermal Master P3 is a thermal camera designed to plug directly into an iPhone or Android device through the phone’s USB-C port. While it’s a little on the pricey side it does offer some great features and has some useful macro features.

Check it out in my latest video review!

You can find one over at Amazon (compensated affiliate link). Once connected and the companion app is installed, the camera functions as a macro thermal imager—it’s clearly optimized for close-up inspections rather than broad outdoor scenes. It’s the kind of tool you’d use to check an electrical panel, a circuit board, or in my case, a Raspberry Pi, rather than searching for animals in the woods.

It can be attached facing either direction and even accommodates some thicker phone cases thanks to its extended connector, though not every case will fit comfortably. For older iPhones, there’s a lightning adapter included. When using the lightning adapter, the setup feels a bit unstable, so a short extension cable might be a better option.

There’s a focus ring built in, which helps bring small components into sharper view. The sensor itself is very small, with a native resolution of 256×192. The app offers an AI-enhanced mode that upscales to 512×384, but even then, fine detail is limited. The best results come when the camera is positioned close to the subject.

While testing, I filmed my Raspberry Pi booting up and watched the components warm in real time. I also pointed it at a stovetop to see how it handled extreme temperatures. The app includes built-in burn-in protection that reduces exposure to high heat sources, prompting me to back off a bit. Temperature ranges can be adjusted within the app, with one mode for lower temperatures (-4 °F to 302 °F) and another for higher ones (212 °F to 1,022 °F). You can’t combine the two ranges, but for most household or electronics projects, the preset bands are sufficient. A scale overlay can be toggled on to display minimum and maximum readings in real time.

I experimented with the camera around the house—tracking hot water lines, scanning my electrical panel, and exploring different color modes. The app provides several palette options such as white hot, black hot, and various false-color schemes. There’s also a split-view mode that overlays a standard camera image to help identify what you’re looking at when the thermal view alone doesn’t offer enough definition. Users can even draw shapes on-screen to isolate temperature readings from specific areas—useful for monitoring different components within the frame.

Although it costs less than dedicated professional thermal imagers, the device isn’t meant for scientific precision. The manual includes some reference values for emissivity correction, but calibration is limited, and readings shouldn’t be treated as exact. What it does well is provide quick visual confirmation of heat distribution. It’s compact, fits easily in a pocket, and draws power directly from the phone. For spotting hot spots on a breaker panel or verifying that a circuit board component isn’t overheating, it’s a handy, portable option that fills the gap between hobby gear and higher-end tools.

Disclosure: The camera was sent to the channel free of charge. No other compensation was received and no one reviewed or approved this content prior to uploading. All opinions are my own.

My Arcade Atari Gamestation Go Review

In my latest video review, I take a look at the My Arcade Atari GameStation Go (compensated affiliate link), a portable emulation console aimed squarely at those of us who grew up in the era of wood-paneled consoles and CRTs.

It’s a self-contained handheld that plays hundreds of mostly Atari classic games from the 80s and 90s and even lets you load more through an SD card. What caught my attention was the variety of control options—there’s a built-in paddle for games like Breakout, a trackball for Centipede and Missile Command, and a solid D-pad with shoulder buttons. It doesn’t have the high-end feel of a Steam Deck or Switch, but it manages to strike a decent balance between nostalgia and functionality.

Navigating the interface is straightforward. The menus are organized by system, with sections for Atari 2600, 5200, and arcade titles. I tried Breakout first, which uses the paddle controller, and I liked that the device’s “SmartGlow” lighting highlights which controls are active for each game. The paddle isn’t a free-spinning spinner, but it has enough resistance to make gameplay feel natural. The trackball, however, felt scratchy and inconsistent, and I found myself preferring the D-pad for precision control in Centipede. The D-pad itself is surprisingly good—firm, responsive, and better than my initial impression led me to believe.

The system includes about 200 licensed games, mostly from Atari’s catalog. Activision classics like Kaboom and Pitfall! are missing due to licensing, but loading them from an SD card is simple. Once I inserted a card, a hidden menu appeared, letting me boot ROMs from different systems, including the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, and even PlayStation. Performance varies—Sonic the Hedgehog lagged a bit, and Dreamcast games crawl. But PlayStation and Atari Lynx emulation worked better than expected. It’s essentially running an open-source emulator framework under the hood, so there’s potential for the community to expand its capabilities over time.

Battery life felt similar to a small tablet—around four to six hours, depending on what’s running. There’s HDMI output too, but connecting it reboots the system and reduces performance. The image quality looks fine at 1080p, but frame rates dip with some of the newer “Recharged” Atari titles installed on the console. Still, older Atari games like Bowling and Breakout play smoothly both on the built-in screen and an external display.

While this isn’t a machine for hardcore emulation fans, it’s an enjoyable, self-contained throwback for casual players and gift-givers who want a plug-and-play experience without tinkering. The stand-out features here are the paddle and trackball that allow for game controls that more closely match how these games were originally played.

The Raspberry Pi 500+ Disappoints

The Raspberry Pi 500 Plus is a new take on the age-old keyboard-computer concept that combines a Raspberry Pi 5 with a mechanical keyboard and built-in NVMe storage.

In my latest video review, we take a look at this retro inspired offering from the Raspberry Pi foundation.

It’s selling for about $180 to $185 at official Pi retailers, which is roughly $100 more than the earlier Pi 400. Out of the box, it feels like the most polished of the Pi-in-a-keyboard systems I’ve tried, with better specs and a more comfortable design overall.

Inside, it has 16GB of RAM and a 256GB NVMe SSD that ships with Raspbian OS preinstalled, so it boots right up without any tinkering. You can, of course, use the microSD slot to load other operating systems.

Still, some of the frustrations from the Pi 5 carry over. The two micro-HDMI ports feel unnecessarily small given the space available on the back, and the power situation is still tricky. It requires a 5-volt, 5-amp USB-C power supply, which isn’t as common as you’d think. Most USB-C chargers top out at 3 amps in their 5 volt mode, and using one of those will trigger low-power warnings when you plug in peripherals and possibly lead to performance issues under load. Even Apple’s chargers don’t work properly with it, so it’s worth getting the official supply. I picked up one of these low cost ones at Amazon (compensated affiliate link).

Ports include two USB 3.0, one USB 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet, and the familiar GPIO header under a rubber cover. AC Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are built in, and dual 4K60 HDMI output is supported (although it’s super sluggish in 4k). During testing, I was able to get a 1080p display running at 144Hz without issue which felt pretty nice. The overall setup feels like a complete Raspberry Pi experience—ready to experiment with projects right out of the box.

Performance, however, leaves something to be desired. Running the Chromium browser at 1080p worked fine for light tasks, but the system bogged down on heavier pages with animation or video. At 4K, it felt even slower.

On the Speedometer browser benchmark, the Pi 500 Plus scored 4.54—less than half the score of an Intel N150 mini PC that costs the same or less. On the bright side, power draw was remarkably low: about 4 to 5 watts at idle and around 10 watts under load. That efficiency might make it appealing for someone experimenting with a home lab or lightweight Docker containers, but it’s not suited for media serving or anything that needs significant processing power.

The keyboard uses low-profile blue Gateron switches, and the keys are replaceable. The bright backlighting is nicely implemented, with adjustable colors and effects. There’s even a novelty game—Flappy Bird—that runs directly on the keyboard’s LEDs. The typing feel is solid, and having a dedicated power button is a welcome touch.

Overall, while the design is fun and nostalgic, the price puts it in direct competition with faster and more capable mini PCs. The keyboard is genuinely nice, but it drives up the cost of what’s still a modest performer. For light server duties or educational projects, it might find a niche, but the same money could buy more performance elsewhere.

I still like the charm of a computer built into a keyboard, but I’m hoping the next generation of the flagship Pi computer will push things further and correct some of the annoyances of the current generation. The Pi 500 Plus is a reminder of how far we’ve come since the $35 Raspberry Pi revolution—and how much the landscape has changed since then.

See more of my Raspberry Pi videos here! And my other Mini PC reviews here.

Disclosure: I paid for the Pi with my own funds. This is not a sponsored post nor did anyone review or approve this content prior to uploading.

The FCC Listened to You — NextGenTV DRM Is In the Hot Seat

The FCC has taken an important step in its ongoing review of the ATSC 3.0 television standard, and this time, encryption—or DRM—has taken center stage. After months of advocacy, travel to Washington, and countless public comments, the agency has released a draft of proposed rulemaking that directly addresses many of the issues consumers have been raising.

In my latest video, we dive into the FCC’s proposal and talk about next steps.

The most immediate change in the document would eliminate the ATSC 1.0 simulcast requirement. Broadcasters using the new ATSC 3.0 system have been required to continue broadcasting the same programming on the older ATSC 1.0 standard to ensure that no viewers lose access. If this rule change is approved, stations could transition to the new format without maintaining a 1.0 signal, effectively speeding up the shift to next-generation TV. The FCC is also considering allowing MPEG-4 encoding on 1.0 channels to make more efficient use of spectrum, something that could benefit both broadcasters and viewers with modern televisions.

But the biggest topic is DRM and how it’s currently being managed. The FCC is asking for public comment on whether the commission should establish rules governing encryption of free, over-the-air broadcasts rather than leaving control to the A3SA, the private industry group currently setting those standards. The Commission expressed concern about how that system operates and whether it aligns with the Communications Act of 1934’s definition of broadcasting. They’re also examining whether DRM is creating unfair competition or restricting which devices can receive signals—an issue that has limited tuner availability and compatibility with platforms like Roku and Apple devices.

The filing also shows that consumer feedback has made an impact. Thousands of viewer comments have been cited throughout the document, and both Tyler the Antenna Man and I were mentioned multiple times. The FCC clearly took note of the frustration from early adopters who bought new tuners only to find themselves locked out by encryption controlled by a private organization. The agency even raised questions about fair use and whether DRM could undermine consumers’ rights to make in-home recordings—something the broadcast flag controversy of the ATSC 1.0 era had already tested in court two decades ago.

As the FCC prepares to vote on these proposals at the end of the month, it’s clear they’re not ready to sign off on encryption as it currently exists. The upcoming vote will likely remove the simulcasting rule, open another round of public comments, and extend the process into next year. That gives consumers and advocates another opportunity to weigh in. My hope is that the Commission will consider a real-world test by suspending DRM to see how the market responds. If encryption has been holding back tuner adoption and consumer interest, that experiment could prove it.

So we will likely need to keep submitting comments and addressing the questions the FCC is asking that relate to our own personal experiences. Tyler the Antennaman and I also suggest attaching selfies of “encryption error” screens that block free TV could help put faces to the issue. The FCC’s draft shows that public voices are being heard, and continuing to speak up might be what ensures free, open access to the airwaves remains part of the country’s broadcasting future.

Windows 10 Is Dead – What Are Your Upgrade Options?

The end of Windows 10 is coming up, with Microsoft planning to stop support on October 14, 2025. I’ve been seeing the same warnings you probably have — those pop-ups telling you to upgrade to Windows 11 — and I wanted to take a closer look at what that really means for people still using perfectly good older computers.

Check it out in my latest video!

Windows 10 has had a long run, and I’ve always liked how well it performed even on lower-end hardware. The problem now is that Windows 11 has stricter requirements, mainly the need for a TPM 2.0 security chip and newer processors. If you’ve got an Intel 8th Gen or newer, or an AMD Ryzen 2000 or newer, you’re likely ok to upgrade.

Anything older isn’t officially supported, though there are ways around it. Microsoft doesn’t recommend circumventing the TPM chip requirement, and if they make a change assuming everyone has TPM 2.0, it could cause problems later. Business and government users also have to meet compliance standards, so running an unsupported version isn’t an option for them.

To see how this plays out in the real world, I fired up one of my older PCs — a small Shuttle box with a Celeron processor — and ran Microsoft’s PC Health Check app. It said I could upgrade for free, meaning this one squeaks by. Once Windows Update offers it, I can upgrade to Windows 11 in place. As always, it’s smart to back up first, but the process should be straightforward.

If your machine doesn’t qualify or you’re not ready to move on, Microsoft has something called the Windows 10 Extended Security Update (ESU) program. It’s available to consumers for another year, through October 2026. You can join it for free if you sync your PC settings with Microsoft, trade some Microsoft reward points, or pay $30. It’s not a long-term fix, but it buys more time for hardware that’s still working fine.

For people who’d rather try something new, Linux is worth a look. I tested Linux Mint on that same Shuttle PC, running the XFCE Edition since it’s lightweight and good for older systems. It’s surprisingly easy to get going, with a “live boot” option that lets you try it out without installing anything. Everything worked on my demo machine, and once installed, Mint has most of what you’d need — a web browser, office software, and access to more apps through its software manager. It uses about 1.2 GB of RAM sitting idle, so a 4 GB system runs comfortably.

Installing Linux does mean wiping the drive, so backups are essential, but if you’re done fighting with Windows upgrades, it’s a practical way to keep an older PC useful. I’ve noticed Linux often feels faster on aging machines than Windows 11 does, and since it’s supported well past 2029 for Mint’s current version, it’s a stable alternative.

Whether you stick with Windows 10 a bit longer, move to Windows 11, or jump to Linux, you’ve still got options. It’s interesting that after all these years, some of the oldest PCs still have life left in them — they just need a new OS to keep going.

Lenovo Legion Go 2 Handheld and eGPU Compatibility Explored

I am working on a review of Lenovo’s Legion Go 2 (compensated affiliate link) and wanted to see how well it handled an external GPU before putting together a full review. The handheld includes two USB 4 ports that are Thunderbolt-compatible, so in theory, it should support external graphics. To test it, I used the GMKtec AD-GP1 — a compact eGPU enclosure that houses an AMD RX 7600MXT with 8GB of video memory. You can find the eGPU on Amazon here (compensated affiliate link). The AD-GP1 can power itself and the Legion Go 2 through a single cable, which makes for a cleaner setup.

See it in action in my latest video!

The connection process was simple enough. I plugged the GMKtec into the top port of the Legion Go 2 and immediately saw it begin charging. Windows took a few minutes to detect everything, and I had to install AMD’s drivers for the external GPU. Once that was done, it recognized the card properly as a secondary GPU. For best performance, I disabled the Legion Go 2’s internal display and used only the monitor connected to the eGPU as pushing video through the handheld’s screen can reduce performance due to bandwidth limits.

Hot swapping between the handheld and eGPU worked on the Windows desktop, though not while gaming. You can plug and unplug the GPU while idle, but if you try to do it mid-game, it’ll crash.

Running 3DMark’s Time Spy benchmark, I saw a significant performance boost: the internal GPU scored about 3,999, while the eGPU setup hit 9,493. Power draw during the test hovered around 215 watts, leaving a little room within the AD-GP1’s 240-watt power budget.

Next, I tested No Man’s Sky at 4K with enhanced settings. The game ran smoothly most of the time, hitting around 60 frames per second with some dips. When I disconnected the eGPU mid-game, it predictably crashed, confirming that switching GPUs on the fly isn’t practical for gaming sessions. Still, for someone who wants a boost at home, an extra $500 or so for a dockable GPU setup delivers real gains.

I also tried other eGPU options, like the GT Box enclosure with a desktop RTX 4060 attached, but those setups are much bulkier. The GMKtec is smaller, cleaner, and more desk-friendly, even though it lacks extra USB ports for accessories. My only real complaint about the Legion Go 2 design is that one of its USB ports sits on the bottom, which makes docking awkward when the stand is open. You’d need an angled connector or stand to use it comfortably.

Despite its quirks, it’s satisfying to see a handheld like this handle desktop-class graphics with a single-cable setup. It’s not the most economical path to performance, but for those short on space who want one computer for both travel and desk use, it’s a workable approach. I’ll be putting together a full review of the Legion Go 2 soon and plan to focus on areas that haven’t been explored much yet — so if there’s something specific you’d like to see tested, let me know in the comments.

Blackview MP100 Mini PC Review

My latest Mini PC review takes a look at the Blackview MP100, a budget mini PC that is powered by AMD’s Ryzen 7430U — a six-core, twelve-thread chip with RDNA2 graphics. It’s not the newest processor out there, but it’s still plenty capable for light workloads and even some gaming.

See it in action in my video review.

The biggest limitation out of the box is that it only comes with a single stick of RAM, which means you lose out on dual-channel performance. That’s an easy fix, though: adding another stick of RAM dramatically improves its graphical capabilities.

When I opened it up, I found it surprisingly upgrade-friendly. It includes a 2.5-inch SATA bay for an extra hard drive, a spare NVMe slot, and upgradable RAM — you can go all the way up to 64 GB. My review unit had 16 GB in a single channel and a 512 GB NVMe SSD. There’s also decent cooling inside, which helps keep performance consistent under load.

The ports are practical: two USB-C connectors on the front (one of them full-function with DisplayPort output), USB-A ports, Ethernet, HDMI, DisplayPort, and a headphone jack. You can drive a 4K display at 144 Hz through DisplayPort, which makes it an interesting option for streaming via GeForce Now or other cloud-gaming services. The case itself is plastic, and it has RGB lighting on the top that can be customized or turned off through Blackview’s included software. That software uses a USB-to-serial driver for control, which looked a bit odd at first but turned out to be harmless after some malware testing.

Day-to-day tasks like browsing, watching 4K video, and general productivity felt smooth even with single-channel memory. YouTube playback at 4K 60 fps ran fine, and benchmarks put it in line with other mid-range Ryzen mini PCs.

Where the second RAM stick really matters is gaming and creative workloads. In No Man’s Sky, performance jumped from around 20–25 fps to 35–40 fps after installing dual-channel memory. 3DMark Time Spy scores told a similar story: 956 with one stick, 1,373 with two. Even emulation saw tangible benefits, particularly for PlayStation 2 titles.

Thermals and acoustics are well-managed for a small system. The fan isn’t loud during heavy use, though it can spin up unexpectedly when idle. Power draw hovered around 10–11 watts at rest and roughly 46 watts at full load.

Linux support was excellent — everything from networking to Bluetooth worked without issue with Ubuntu, making it a solid choice for running containers or self-hosted apps.

What stood out most was how close this system comes to being great with just a minor configuration change. Splitting that single 16 GB stick into two eights would’ve unlocked the full GPU potential without raising costs much. As it stands, the MP100 feels like a solid, efficient little computer with real potential once you make that one upgrade. It also carries a three-year warranty, which isn’t common in this price range.

Disclosure: Blackview sent the Mini PC free of charge. No other compensation was received, they did not review or approve the video or this post before publication and all opinions are my own.

Plex Pro Week Webhooks Follow-up – Free and no-code options

During Plex Pro Week this year, I contributed a video talking about Plex’s Webhooks feature that allows for a relatively easy way to link your Plex install to automation tools like N8N, IFTTT and Zapier.

In that earlier piece, I showed how Plex can fire off data whenever something happens on your server—whether it’s a play, pause, rating, or media being added. That data can then be sent to automation tools like N8N, which I’ve used in the past. But running an N8N server can be complicated and the hosted version requires a subscription.

In my latest sponsored Plex video, I demo a free, no-code path that doesn’t require hosting anything yourself using Make.com.

You can check it out here!

Make.com offers a free tier with 1,000 “credits” per month. Each credit equals a task, so something like receiving a webhook and then adding a row to a spreadsheet would count as two. For casual use, the free plan can go a long way.

I set up a simple workflow that starts by having Plex send a webhook to Make, which in turns takes some of that data and posts it to a Google sheet as a means of creating a log of watched content. That event is triggered anytime a new piece of media is played based on the state of the “event” tag in the webhook.

I then set up a second branch for when playback stops. In that case, I had the system call ChatGPT to generate recommendations for what to watch next, and then send that recommendation via email. The input for ChatGPT came directly from the webhook data, which made the recommendation specific to what I had just finished watching. It worked smoothly, and it showed how easily AI can be folded into these workflows.

For those thinking about linking Plex to home automation, the free, non-complicated options are a bit more limited. Services like IFTTT require a paid tier for webhook support, while open-source projects like Home Assistant can handle webhooks for free but require a bit more setup and complexity. Home Assistant, in particular, could be a strong option for linking Plex events with things like lights or thermostats, though it isn’t as straightforward as make.com.

There’s also Plex’s new official API, which was announced during Pro Week. The documentation is out, and I expect third-party developers will soon release connectors for platforms like make.com and N8N. That should make integration even easier, reducing the need to rely solely on webhooks. My YouTube colleague Techno Tim has already been experimenting with it, using the API to drive a dashboard for monitoring Plex server performance.

What I tried here was aimed at giving a taste of what can be done quickly without coding. Setting up webhooks with Plex and pairing them with make.com is accessible and flexible, especially for logging and basic automations. From there, it’s easy to imagine extending the idea into more complex routines, whether that means generating watch lists, building dashboards, or nudging your smart home into action when the credits roll.

I Made My Own (Mostly) Self-Hosted Content Recommendation Engine with N8N

I’ve been getting increasingly frustrated with how social media algorithms decide what to put in front of me. More often than not, what matters most to the platform are not my interests but rather content that the platform thinks will keep me glued to it.

Over the past few months, I started experimenting with self-hosted and hybrid solutions to build something I could actually control. What I ended up with is a little algorithm of my own that now emails me every morning with a curated digest of topics I care about.

You can see it in action in my latest video.

The system runs on my Synology NAS using N8N, which I’ve also been using for other projects. The content engine pulls about 150 headlines a day from RSS feeds across trusted websites, YouTube channels, and Reddit forums I follow. From there, the workflow filters, organizes, and compiles the results into an HTML email.

It works really well. For example, when multiple outlets covered handheld gaming PCs, it was smart enough to recognize the GPD Win 5 and Asus ROG Ally as belonging to the same category and group them together. That gives me a cleaner view of what’s trending and helps me decide whether something is worth reviewing.

At the core of this is RSS, which has quietly persisted even as many sites moved away from it. I use TT-RSS to merge dozens of feeds into a consolidated source for each topic area. N8N then pulls those feeds into an AI agent workflow powered by Google Gemini’s free tier. I experimented with local models, but they couldn’t handle the complexity of parsing and structuring the data effectively. Cloud models still work better for this task, and because I only run it twice a day, I’m not paying anything for API usage.

Getting the prompt right was a big part of making this work. I had to iterate with both ChatGPT and Gemini until I landed on instructions that consistently returned useful results. The agent is told I’m a YouTube host looking for new topics, and I specify what types of content to prioritize and what to ignore. I also provide it with a structured HTML template so the output is consistent. The final email includes my calendar at the top, followed by curated sections on gadgets and cord cutting. It also uploads a copy to my FTP server so I can pull it up in a browser.

The advantage of this system is that I can fine-tune it. If something irrelevant slips in, I just add instructions to exclude it. If I want to emphasize a certain category, I can adjust the prompts. Unlike the opaque systems behind social platforms, this workflow only surfaces items from sources I choose and in the way I want to see them.

Everything I’m using—N8N, TTRSS, the Gemini free tier—is either free or open source. There are limits with the Gemini free tier, like rate caps and the possibility of data being used for training, but for my purposes it’s not a problem since I’m only working with publicly available content.

I haven’t put together an N8N installation tutorial yet, but Network Chuck has a good walkthrough that can help get N8N running on a server or NAS. It’s been interesting to see how popular N8N has become for building these AI agent tasks, and I’m trying to explore ways of using it that feel practical and useful. If you’ve also been frustrated by the way platforms filter your content, experimenting with something like this might give you back some control.

Check out some more projects like this in my “How To” series!

TCL D2 Palm Vein Door Lock – Raise your hand to unlock!

My latest review looks at TCL’s D2 palm vein door lock (compensated affiliate link), which came in for review after a number of viewers asked me about this type of technology. These locks work by just lifting your hand a few inches away from the lock’s sensor.

You can see it in action in my latest video review.

Testing this was pretty easy: after assigning my right palm to the lock, raising that hand opens the lock in just a second or two. If I tried with an unregistered hand (or somebody else’s), the lock rejected it.

The D2 Pro is a full deadbolt replacement. That means both the inside and outside hardware of your existing lock need to come off, and you’ll be using new physical keys – yes a pair of physical keys are included. I would have preferred no physical key option since it’s the least secure part of the system!

Alongside palm scanning, there are several other ways to unlock it: a keypad that supports six digit pin codes, a pair of RFID key fobs also included in the box, and the companion smartphone app.

The lock runs on a rechargeable 10,000 mAh battery that charges over USB-C. TCL says it should last about eight months depending on usage, but recharging takes time, which means your door will be offline for a while. In an emergency, you can power the lock temporarily with a USB-C power bank to get inside or of course just yse the physical key. I found installation straightforward, taking under half an hour including removing my old lock, though the build quality didn’t feel as solid as the Schlage I replaced. Once installed, it felt sturdy enough and carries an IP55 weather rating.

The TCL Home app is where you manage everything. It requires Wi-Fi on a 2.4 GHz network and I recommend putting it on a guest network to isolate it from other devices. The companion app works on both iOS and Android and integrates with Google and Amazon ecosystems, but does not currently support Apple HomeKit. Inside the app, you can manage users, register palm veins, assign or revoke codes and RFID cards, and even set temporary or one-time passwords.

TCL says palm data stays on the lock and isn’t uploaded, though there’s no way to verify that independently. You can store up to 50 palms and 50 six digit codes. It also offers features like duress passwords and limited-duration codes that could be useful for rentals or security-conscious households. What you won’t find is scheduling access for specific times of day, something some competing products do offer.

The lock also includes a built-in doorbell. It’s loud enough to hear inside, and you’ll get notifications on your phone, but there’s no video or two-way communication like a dedicated smart doorbell provides. Event logs are available in the app, so you can review entries and exits. My only annoyance with the app was the requirement to type in a PIN code every time I wanted to access the lock settings. Face ID or Touch ID support would have made that process smoother.

In daily use, the palm scanning was reliable. Registered users could approach the lock and gain access quickly. It even handled different angles well, and I haven’t yet had it mistakenly grant access to someone it shouldn’t. Rejections take a bit longer than acceptances, which might be a subtle security feature. It’s worth registering both hands since it only recognizes the ones you set up, and sometimes one hand might be occupied.

As a way to enter the house without pulling out a phone, typing a code, or carrying a key, the palm vein technology worked smoothly. It’s one of the more seamless experiences I’ve had with a smart lock.

I bought the cheapest Windows laptop at Walmart: The $179 HP 14 Laptop

This weekend I bought one of the least expensive Windows laptops I could find on a retail shelf, the HP Laptop 14, which I bought at Walmart for $179 (compensated affiliate link). The goal was to see just how far a low-cost machine like this can go, and what I found is that while there are certainly compromises, there are also a few pleasant surprises.

Check out my video review here!

The biggest surprise is how easy it is to upgrade. The bottom cover comes off with just four screws, revealing a standard DDR4 RAM slot and an empty NVMe slot. Out of the box, it ships with only 4 GB of memory and 128 GB of UFS storage, but I easily swapped in 16 GB of RAM and added a 1 TB SSD, making the system far more usable without losing the warranty or HP’s one-year support. All in it’s feasible to double the RAM while still keeping the total investment here under $250 or less.

Its Intel N150 processor is the same quad-core part I’ve tested in many budget mini PCs, and while it won’t compete with a high-end laptop, it’s efficient enough to get real work done even without the memory upgrade.

The built-in storage performed better than I expected, hitting around 800 MB/s in reads and writes, but adding the NVMe drive brought things closer to 1.2 GB/s. This setup even opens the door for dual-booting Windows and Linux, which the Intel N150 chip inside handles quite effectively.

With 4 GB installed, video playback stuttered and multitasking was sluggish. With 16 GB, YouTube ran smoothly at 1080p60, Office apps opened quickly, and even some light gaming became possible. GTA V, for example, managed to hit around 30 frames per second at low 720p settings, and a PS2 emulator pushed through most titles at mostly full speed.

The biggest letdown here is the display. It’s a 14 inch 1366×768 TN panel at 250 nits, which means washed-out colors and narrow viewing angles. It’s fine for web browsing and word processing, but it’s not suited for editing photos or video. The webcam isn’t much better, but it does at least include a physical shutter.

Weight comes in at 3 pounds and the build quality is all plastic, yet sturdier than I expected for the price. The keyboard and trackpad—though springy and spongy—are functional. Ports are limited, with just two USB-A, one USB-C for data only, HDMI, and a headphone jack. Wi-Fi 6 support is built in, and in my testing it delivered 300–400 Mbps, which is enough for streaming and even cloud gaming. Services like GeForce Now ran smoothly as long as the WiFi connection was decent.

Battery life came in at about five to six hours under light use, which is reasonable given the efficiency of the processor. The fan does kick on under load, but at idle it’s quiet. Windows 11 ships in S mode by default, restricting installs to Microsoft Store apps, though switching out of S mode is quick if you need more flexibility.

Linux also ran well here – in fact it’ll run better than Windows with the base 4GB of RAM when using a lightweight distribution. I am running a few home servers on N150 Mini PCs and the performance here felt very much on par with those devices.

What stood out to me is how much you can get out of this little machine with a few inexpensive upgrades. It’s a cheap laptop from a recognizable brand, with a one year warranty and domestic support, and that sets it apart from the nameless imports that sometimes offer slightly better specs. The display holds it back from being truly versatile, but with extra RAM and an SSD, the HP Laptop 14 becomes a surprisingly capable everyday computer for not much money. It’s good to see these budget options are still available.

Disclosure: I paid for the laptop with my own funds. No one reviewed or approved this content before uploading and all opinions are my own.

Tubi’s “Boss Key” PR Stunt Encourages Workplace TV Streaming

Tubi, the free streaming TV service, has released a Chrome extension aimed at people who sneak in some streaming while at work. The extension includes what’s known as a boss key which will stop the video and instantly replace it with a productivity-looking website, giving your boss the impression you’re working.

While this is just a stupid PR stunt, the extension turned out to be more robust than I anticipated. It also got me thinking back to some of the fun boss keys that used to be included with computer games in the 80s and early 90s.

See the Tubi boss key and a few classic ones in my latest video!

Tubi promoted this with a press release that claimed 84 percent of Gen Z users watch movies or TV shows at work. That number seemed high to me. Back when I worked in an office, I might throw on a podcast while doing mindless tasks, but full shows felt like more of a commitment. Still, the extension itself turned out to be worth a closer look.

Inside the folder where the extension is stored, I found some customization options. The HTML page that appears when the boss key is triggered can be edited or replaced, so it’s possible to swap in something from a corporate intranet or a more believable screen. There’s even decent documentation included for modifying its code.

The extension only works on Tubi out of the box, but it looks possible to adapt it to work on other sites too. I ran the code through Google Gemini to see if it was sending anything back to Tubi, but it appears benign and limited to their site.

The idea of masking your screen with a fake productivity page has a long history. Back in the early 80s, computers could only display one program at a time, so a quick swap was the only way to hide what you were really doing.

The earliest example I came across was on the Apple II. A game called Bezare, written by Roger Wagner, had a boss key that displayed a fake VisiCalc screen—the spreadsheet program that was the Apple II’s killer app. Later, a DOS version of Tetris had one too, swapping to a Lotus 1-2-3 lookalike when triggered. Sierra Online built them into several of its adventure games as well. Leisure Suit Larry popped up a colorful chart of sales data for contraceptives, while Space Quest III flipped the idea on its head by ratting you out with a dialog box showing how long you’d been playing.

I spent part of my weekend firing up emulators to revisit a few of these boss keys, and it was fun to see how far back the tradition goes. For something a little more modern, the NCAA has long had a “boss button” on their March Madness website.

Channels App Beta Offers Over the Air Multiview Feature

The Channels App just rolled out one of the more interesting cord-cutting tools I’ve come across in a while: The ability to watch four separate over the air TV channels at the same time when watching on an iPad or Apple TV.

Check it out here!

The feature is still in beta, so users will need to obtain the beta app through Apple’s testflight app. A subscription to the Channels App is also required ($8 monthly or $80 annually). I tested it on an Apple TV connected to my antenna through an HDHomeRun Flex 4K, and the experience worked better than I expected. Switching between streams was quick, and I could easily bring one channel forward while keeping an eye on the other three in the background.

If you’re not familiar with Channels, it’s a DVR platform that runs on a variety of devices. It requires a server component—usually a small PC or NAS—and supports hardware transcoding and out-of-home viewing. The app costs about eight dollars a month and works with HDHomeRun tuners for over-the-air broadcasts. It also integrates TV Everywhere channels if you still have a cable subscription and even supports creating your own custom virtual channels.

The multiview feature only works with live channels, so you can’t use it with recorded shows or personal media, but it’s flexible enough to handle both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 broadcasts. Setting it up is straightforward: choose a channel, enable the multiview option, and then fill the other slots with the stations you want to monitor. Once you’re watching, you can switch the audio and enlarge a window with a click, or replace a channel on the fly. There are some rough edges at this stage, like the occasional frame stutter, but for a beta release it’s functional.

On the server side, the number of streams you can run depends on your tuner hardware. Each channel you add uses up one tuner, so if you want four channels at once, you’ll need a device that supports four simultaneous streams. Adding an extra HDHomeRun box is one way to scale if multiple people in the household want to record or watch at the same time.

One caveat is the ongoing battle over encryption of broadcast TV signals. If broadcasters succeed in pushing for mandatory encryption, features like this could be limited or disappear entirely, since broadcasters are blocking devices like the HDHomeRun from decrypting over the air broadcasts.

This beta is a fun way to get more out of live TV and is one the coolest things I’ve seen in the cord cutting space in quite some time. It feels especially handy for sports fans who want to keep tabs on multiple games at once. I’ll keep experimenting with the feature and will update as it develops.

MeLE Overclock4C N150 Mini PC Review

My latest Mini PC review is of the Mele Overclock4C, a mini PC built around Intel’s N150 processor. Despite the name, it isn’t actually overclocked, but the cooling solution sets it apart. Unlike some of Mele’s other fanless designs, this one uses a fan paired with a sizable copper heat sink. That design choice helps it sustain performance better under load while keeping noise levels surprisingly low. Even when the fan spins up, it remains quiet enough to be unobtrusive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QCArhYDYoY

The model I tested came with 16 GB of DDR4 RAM and a 512 GB NVMe drive, both of which are accessible if you want to swap or upgrade components. The RAM is expandable up to 32 GB, and storage upgrades are straightforward. The case itself is mostly plastic with a metal base, and a VESA mount is included for attaching it to a display.

You can see all of the configurations over at Amazon (compensated affiliate link).

Connectivity is decent. There are two USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port, dual HDMI outputs, a headphone jack, an SD card slot, and a full-service USB-C port that supports video, data, and power, though it lacks Thunderbolt or USB4.

Networking is where the system feels dated, limited to gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi AC, while many similar N150 devices now ship with 2.5 gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi 6. Power draw is modest—about 13 watts at idle and up to 32 watts under load.

Performance is what you would expect from the N150 line. General computing tasks at 4K resolution ran smoothly, with no issues using applications like Word, Excel, or browsing the web. Video playback was reliable, handling 4K60 streams without hiccups beyond a brief stutter on startup.

Benchmark results lined up with other N150-based systems I’ve looked at. Gaming is possible if you set your expectations accordingly. Grand Theft Auto V ran at around 30 frames per second on low settings at 720p, and PlayStation 2 emulation was mostly full speed. Streaming from GeForce Now at 4K60 was smooth over Ethernet, further broadening the system’s gaming options.

Thermals are where this PC stands out. A stress test confirmed stable performance with little to no throttling, holding steady at around 47°C, lower than comparable fanless or less robustly cooled designs. The stronger cooling doesn’t make the N150 chip any faster, but it ensures consistency during prolonged heavy use.

On Linux, the system behaved as expected with one exception—the built-in Intel AC 9560 Wi-Fi chipset wasn’t recognized by the latest Ubuntu release. Ethernet worked fine, and with the right drivers, Wi-Fi should too. That small issue aside, it has the potential to serve well as a compact server, whether for Docker containers or media streaming.

The Mele Overclock4C doesn’t deliver more raw performance than other N150 mini PCs, but its cooling design makes it a better fit for those who plan to run it under sustained workloads. It’s a practical little system that can handle everyday tasks, some light gaming, and server duties without struggling to keep its performance stable over time.

See more Mini PC reviews here!

Disclaimer: Mele sent the computer to the channel free of charge no other compensation was received. They did not review or approve this content prior to uploading, all opinions are my own.

Aurzen Roku D1R Cube Smart Projector Review

In my latest video review, I take a look at a new projector from a company called Aurzen that comes with Roku built right in. When you power it on, you’re greeted with the Roku interface, and it even ships with a Roku remote. It’s not a stick or an add-on—it’s fully integrated.

The projector is on the lower tier price-wise – this is one of those devices that sees frequent price fluctuations and sales so take a look over at Amazon (compensated affiliate link).

At 330 ANSI lumens, it isn’t very bright, so in a well-lit room the image can be hard to see. It performs better in a darkened room with blinds drawn. Resolution is capped at 1080p, though it will accept 4K input and downscale. There’s no HDR support, but the major streaming services negotiate resolution correctly, and Netflix plays back at full 1080p, which is notable since many budget projectors don’t have a Netflix certification.

The hardware is compact, with a built-in power supply and stereo speakers that sound decent. There are options for connecting external audio via Bluetooth or the analog output. On the back you’ll find a USB port for loading in media files, an HDMI input, and minimal physical controls. The included remote works reliably, and because it’s a Roku device, the Roku mobile app is also supported. For positioning, there’s a small kickstand and a standard tripod mount. An 85-inch screen requires about 8 feet of throw distance, and that’s close to the maximum usable size in my testing.

In practice, the image looks sharp enough and color reproduction is consistent with expectations for the price. Brightness, however, remains a limitation, especially with darker content. There’s no manual brightness control, though autofocus and auto-keystone work well. These adjustments, along with orientation settings, are accessed through the Roku menu rather than physical dials. You can manually adjust the focus and keystone through the interface.

Streaming performance feels similar to a Roku stick. Apps like Disney+ and YouTube run at 1080p, and casting via Apple AirPlay or Miracast works smoothly. I tested AirPlay with a Keynote presentation with my iPhone, and the projector was able to carry the presentation while my iPhone displayed the next slide and presenter notes.

Gaming was a different story. While HDMI inputs displayed a sharp, fluid 60 fps image, input lag was severe—around a quarter second. For casual presentations or watching content, it’s fine, but fast-paced gaming is not something I can recommend with this one.

For someone who already likes Roku’s ecosystem and needs a simple, low-cost projector, this fits the bill. It’s best suited for smaller screen sizes in dark rooms. The biggest drawback is brightness and input lag, but for straightforward streaming use, it works as advertised.

Disclosure: Aurzen provided the projector to the channel free of charge. However no other compensation was received, they did not review or approve this content before it was uploaded and all opinions are my own.