Category: 5.2 Technology
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Tech Troubles of @Seagate Backup Plus Slim
About two years back, I bought a Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2 TB external 2.5 inch harddrive. I love it! So much so, that I tried buying a second one a couple of months ago. From the get go, that second copy behaved weirdly, The disk was slow and seemed to operate in intermittent sprints…
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Impressions from Installing and Configuring Devolo Home Automation Control Center
As a first step, I had installed remote controlled (Z-Wave) thermostats for my radiators. In addition, I installed Devolo’s Control Center and registered on its website for access to the control center. I had thought, from a prior email exchange with Devolo’s support, that it would not be necessary to use their web service. However,…
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Unwrapping and Experiences With Installing Devolo Home Automation Thermostats
As my first (rather small) home automation project I decided to install remote controlled radiator thermostats. (This is also known as a central thermostat and comes with most modern apartments, but then my new Berlin apartment is rather old and charming. It has no central thermostat, making me run around the apartment every morning to…
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The Humor That is Alexa 2 / 2
So the Echo Dot seems like a good addition to a larger apartment or house. In addition, Amazon promises you can order it through your existing Alexa device. So I tried: Me: “Alexa, order an Echo Dot.” Echo: “I can only order product for Prime members. So I added Echo Dot to your shopping list.…
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The Humor That is Alexa 1 / 2
I was watching an old TV show rerun with a character in it called Alexa. My Amazon Echo (trigger word is Alexa) was also listening: TV set: “Alexa, stop doing that!” Echo: “Sorry, I don’t understand what you are saying.” TV set (raised voice): “Alexa, don’t talk to me like that!” Echo: “Sorry, I still…
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I Want My Computer to be as Easy to Use as My Rice Cooker
There is a (by now oldish) saying, attributed to Bjarne Stroustrup: I have always wished for my computer to be as easy to use as my telephone; my wish has come true because I can no longer figure out how to use my telephone. I used to riff on this with the following variant: For…