Recently I moved into a house that has a Diakin mini-split system (FTX12NMVJU / RX12NMVJU) in the bonus room. Mini-splits are known for being extremely energy efficient but unfortunately, I was not able to remotely control the unit on a schedule as I did with my Ecobee smart thermostats, so unless I remembered to manually turn the unit off at night, it would run for no reason. Definitely a first-world problem. I research options Diakin offered. From what I could find, the only option to turn the dumb unit into a smart unit was to by a Daikin Wireless Adapter that required taking the unit apart. Not to mention, the wireless unit cost around $165 so I started searching for other options. Read More
Author: Tim
Best Screenshot Tool
I often need to take screenshots and annotate them with arrows. I’ve tried several screenshot programs over the years such as the default print screen that comes on macOS and Windows. They work but as soon as you need to draw an arrow, copy to clipboard or resize, they can be a pain to deal with. Read More
Smart Light Switches
Ever wanted to control a light switch on a schedule? What about turning them on when your Wyze camera detects motion? Smart light switches are great for automating lights on different schedules, voice commands, and other events such as motion from cameras. Most smart switches work with Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT. If you prefer Siri on iOS, make sure you pick one that supports Homekit. Surprisingly they are affordable at around $20. Read More
How to use Chrome Extensions in Opera
Since Chrome, Firefox, Opera and the latest version of Edge are now using the same web extensions API, many extensions will now work cross-browser with little changes. In Opera, you can install the official extension from Opera, that will allow you to install chrome extensions right from the Chrome store. This makes it very easy to try extensions in Opera that have not officially been ported over to Opera. If you are an Opera fan you will defiantly want to try this out! Read More