I have used multiple Google Nest Cam in my current house, which has served me well. The connection is stable. The only time it went down was when my Internet was down. I even subscribe to Nest Aware for ten days of 24/7 video recording. I have integrated my Nest Cams to Apple HomeKit using Homebridge with Homebridge Nest Cam Plugin. The integration works well as well.
For my new house, which I hope to move into in Q4 2023, I am seeing if I can integrate smart home devices directly into HomeKit without running Homebridge on my Synology NAS.
Ugreen Nexode 65W Charger retails for S$50.39 on Shopee or Lazada. Like most Ugreen products, if you are willing to wait, you can get it cheaper during double-digit sales day.
The much awaited Aqara Presence Sensor FP2 has finally launched in Singapore on 20th April 2023. It retails for S$159 and you can get it from Souky store on Lazada or Shopee.
Unlike the typical motion sensors that use Passive Infrared (PIR) Sensors, presence sensors use 60 GHz mmWave radar sensors to detect “presence” instead of “motion.” Because of this, it can detect multiple people in a room. It can also tell the difference between a person in a room that is not moving and no one in it. This is something that motion sensors could never differentiate.
Introduction
Aqara G4 features 162° angle 1080p recording with infrared night vision. It can be powered via six AA batteries (included in the packaging) or an AC/DC adapter. For AC, it needs to be 12V – 24V 0.2A 50/60Hz, or for DC, it needs 8V – 24V 0.5A.
Rode PSA1+ is a microphone/boom arm from Rode. I got it from Red Dot Photo on Lazada during 12/12 for S$141.32. The usual selling price should be about S$169.
I was using a cheap China OEM microphone arm that I bought it together with my Rode NT-USB Mini, and it is pretty bad. You can only rotate the arm if you do not tighten the clamp; even so, the rotation is not smooth. The screws protruding near the clamp area will scratch your table, which was my deal breaker. Given the price, I would say it is ok. But in my case, I would rather pay more to get a quality microphone arm instead. So that is why I went ahead and got the Rode PSA1+.
I always wanted to get a microphone for the cool of it since I don’t do podcasts or streaming. The primary use case for me is just for Zoom/Slack calls.
Since I wanted to buy “something” for Black Friday, I decided to get the Rode NT-USB Mini instead of Blue Yeti because the later is outdated and still using mini-USB as the port.
It so happens that the scroll wheel of my five years old Logitech MX Master Wireless Mouse spoiled just a few days before one of the greatest sale day, the Singles Day (11/11).
Technically, it is not spoiled, but the scroll wheel is forever in free-spinning mode, aka the clicky/ratcheting is not working when the SmartShift button is being pressed. There is an article on how to fix it, but it seems the fix is not permanent. It will come back within a month, probably due to the spring being loose due to its age. You will need to tear the mouse’s feet to access the screws every time you fix it.
There are two variants of this product. One with adjustable height, which is this, while the other is a fixed height available in black and metal grey (S$19.89). Again during double-digit or flash sales day, you can get it for S$14.99. Both variants are foldable.
Ugreen Height Adjustable Aluminum Mobile Phone Holder – Box Front
