Apple TV HD - The Best Streaming box ever

I purchased my Apple TV on its release day, in October 2015. It continues to serve me perfectly, after nearly 10 years of active use. Although it is decidedly not the newest model of Apple TV, it does 100% of the things I want it to do without any issues.

Sure, I'd love a more modern SoC, gigabit Ethernet, Thread support, 4k video support, etc, but honestly I am not missing any of those features, so "upgrading" it today would be a waste of money.

I did sell the original Siri remote in 2023 and upgrade to the 3rd generation (USB-C) Siri remote. The original Siri remote was working great, but I figured after 7.5 years of use, it was time to get a new remote with a new battery.

I will likely upgrade my Apple TV in the future, but I can't predict when that will be. Due to a quirk of its release strategy, this Apple TV was discontinued in late 2022, and so it is likely to be supported for several more years. A new device would have to be a leap ahead, because my 2015 model is still a fantastic, reliable, and capable device. A 12+ year lifespan isn't all that bad considering the industry norm.

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, part 1: Disassembly Guide

I've had my SodaStream Jet for years, and once in a while something has gone wrong. Disassembly is the first step to repair. Start with this article to see how to disassemble the SodaStream, and then once you have that down, scroll through my other articles to see how I repaired specfic SodaStream problems. SodaStream Jet Disassembly Guide Tools Required Flat head screwdriver Phillips head screwdriver 1. Remove the Carbonator. Duh. 2. Remove the black panel lever The front big black tilt lever needs to be removed first. Removing this panel is tricky, but it isn't impossible. Looking up at the bottom of the black panel, there are two tabs, one on the left and one on the right. These tabs fully secure the panel in place. The trick is to use a flat-head screwdriver under the plastic to gently lever the tabs out of the way. Note in the pictures how I approach these tabs with my screwdriver. I usually release the left side first, and then I release ...

Macintosh: Upgrading an eMac

It's been a long time since I wrote this article, but the fact remains: The good old eMac can still be useful if you take the simple steps to keep it as good as it can be. All can run Tiger, and most can run Leopard - great operating systems for their day with a bit of useful life. This article describes the procedure I used to upgrade my old eMac, including: Replacing the internal hard disk with a large capacity drive. Increasing the memory for performance Upgrading the operating system Here I'm upgrading a 700 MHz eMac, but the procedure and tasks for upgrading other eMac models should be almost identical. Upgrading versus Replacing My sister's eMac is of the 700 mhz variety, with 256 MB of memory. The machine seemed to be getting "slower", and the original 40 GB disk was becoming jammed packed with photos and iTunes, and within a few months she'd be out of disk space. There were two options to address the problems: upgrade the eMac, or go o...

Excellent DD-WRT Router for Me: Netgear WNDR3400 / N600

My WiFi performance was suffering, and so I decided to do something about it and upgrade my router. When I say my WiFi performance was suffering, I really mean it: I live in a large high-rise apartment building and there are 100+ WiFi access points visible from my home office. All of the contentious traffic was severely curtailing my WiFi reliability. I was lucky to get 1 Mbit/second throughput. Sometimes I was lucky to stay connected even with my WiFi router in the same room. I decided it was time to go for 5 GHz, which is a WiFi band which is used less frequently and which has a tougher time traversing walls. And of course I wanted DD-WRT support. The set of features I was looking for included: Trouble-free DD-WRT support 5 GHz 802.11n Support Simultaneous dual band capability Inexpensive. Maybe even cheap. For me this means under $50. Under $35 is even better! It sounds like an easy task to bring all this together: A...

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, Repair #2 - Broken Fill Button

My Soda Stream Jet's fill button broke, which means I can not longer carbonate water by pressing the pushbutton. This caused all sorts of grief in my household. Here is how I managed to repair my Jet to give it another 10 years of life (hopefully). First, a look at the button The fill button on the top of the SodaStream is actually a simple lever. Pressing down on the button moves a pin that does the actual work of pressing open the Carbonator's valve. Unfortunately, the axis point is fairly thin and can see a lot of stress. That's where my Soda Stream button cracked. [ I think the usage tip here is "don't over-press the button like a gorilla, it doesn't do anything but put high stress on the button."] Cracked levering point of the button The Pesky Lever Retaining Pin The Fix It was pretty easy for me to replace the button: Take off the back of the Soda Stream and remove the carbonator. Push out the the button lever's steel retaining pin. This takes qu...

Using a Garmin eTrex with a Macintosh or Linux

The Garmin eTrex series consists of decent, full featured handheld GPS units. The cheaper monochrome eTrex models have a basic RS-232 serial interface, and the color eTrex models sport USB connectivity. In this article I'll talk about my experience with connecting both USB and serial port versions of the eTrex series to my Mac and to my Linux-based PC. I personally use the Garmin Vista HCx GPS now, but the other Garmins in the eTrex series, including the inexpensive but well specified Garmin eTrex Venture should work the same way. Dealing with the eTrex Series with USB Most of the eTrex units with a color screen have a USB port on the back. Happily, this USB port uses a common USB connector, so it is easy to physically connect a USB eTrex to a Mac or a PC running Linux. The USB Port on an eTrex I have found two pieces of software perfect for use with a USB eTrex, without the need for special drivers: GPSBabel+ and Google Earth . The Mac version of the freeware program ...

Thanksgiving Centerpiece (or, fun with paper mache)

Every year, one person in my family is assigned to make a special thanksgiving day centerpiece for the dinner table. This year I was assigned to make something. Fulfilling my obligation, I have created a paper mache Turkey, the center of the American thanksgiving celebration. Read on to see how to make this Thanksgiving Centerpiece Turkey, the official Pilgrim Turkey of Thanksgiving. Gobble Gobble! You can make me too! Strangely, most people don't know the story of how Thanksgiving became synonymous with turkey. But first, maybe you'll want to know to build this handsome fellow... Building the Turkey I started with a couple small balloons, some coat hanger wire, and masking tape. I formed the body and head with the balloons and taped them together. I bent the coat hanger wire to form the beak and legs/feet. Some needle nose pliers helped me bend the wire. Balloons, tape and wire. Note that I taped the feet to my work surface. The beak frame. I drew a face on the "h...

The Lance J. Technoweb

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