Christmas presents

[fox]

I think we have one of these threads annually. What neat, tech-related gifts did you get for Christmas? I can start off with two little things. I got a bunch of Linux stickers, including the classic "linux inside", a penguin, Arch and Debian decals, Python and Vim. I'll put the first two on my main computer. I also got a smart sensor wireless car charger. The sensor thing is neat. There are metal sides that enclose your phone. The sensor makes them open or close when you are withdrawing or putting your phone into the device.

[ssfc72]

Maybe you could post a video of the wireless charger in action, Mike.  I am visually, not quite sure of how it operates.

I bought myself one of those "killawatt" wall plug-in, energy monitors. You plug it into a wall electrical outlet and then plug any device/appliance that you want to measure what amperage/energy, that the appliance is using. I wanted to check the energy usage of my upright deep freezer and also to verify that my electrical heated cover for my bed mattress was actually working (drawing amps) when it was tuned on and the control said it was working (turns out the heating pad was indeed drawing current and working/heating)

[Jason]

I bought myself one of those "killawatt" wall plug-in, energy monitors. You plug it into a wall electrical outlet and then plug any device/appliance that you want to measure what amperage/energy, that the appliance is using.

I want to get one of those sometime. I didn't realize they could be had that cheaply. The last time I checked, they were at least $100 or more. It'd be interesting to see which devices might be "energy vampires" and how much energy they are using. They're devices that appear to be off but are actually in low power/sleep mode. TVs and monitors often do this.

[Jason]

I'm having trouble picturing that, too, Fox. I don't know that you could upload a video small enough to store on the server here but perhaps you could take a picture of it for us? Or a link to the item?

Santa brought me a much-needed phone case with a display protector and a Fire TV Stick - although the latter is for both of us. I got my wife an iPad on a 2-year plan. It's quite different from her Android tablet and she's having trouble finding games she likes. Hopefully, she'll find some. It'd be very sad if I ended up with it.

I broke my phone and had to get a new one. So I got a Motorola One 5G Ace on a plan with Koodo. I went with them because the sign-up includes a Chromebook (supposedly $300 value) that can switch between being a notebook or tablet. I haven't received it yet. The fine print said it could take 8-10 weeks.

The phone is great. Mostly like my old one except that the first system update was to Android 11 and it has almost the same size battery as the Moto G7 Power that I had before. But it's faster than the Power model. Apparently, the successor to the G7 Power this year was actually a step down from the year before in many specs!

I had bought the original G7 Power because of the long battery life but this one is 5000 mAh compared to the Power's 5200 mAh and is a better performer than my previous model. I like Moto phones for the gestures and that they don't pre-install all that bloatware. And because we can't let Samsung rule the world or Huawei steal all our secrets.

[fox]

Maybe you could post a video of the wireless charger in action, Mike.  I am visually, not quite sure of how it operates.
....

Don't know about a video, but I found a link to the charger here. You'll be able to visualize how it works when you see the arms. I don't know what it cost to get it here, but the thing is cheap - $US 5.00! It's only 10 watt; not the fastest in the world but for a car it's fine. (The plug-in charger that came with my Samsung S20 is much faster.) More important for me is that it can be attached easily to any kind of grille in a vehicle, and keeps the phone vertical. I use my phone a lot in the car for navigating (Google maps). Before I would lay it down on the console and look down to see the map. Now it will be in a much safer location for viewing while I'm driving.

I don't know about you guys, but when it comes to Christmas presents, I often find that the simplest things are the best ones.

[Jason]

That's actually really cool. I might not have the greatest taste but I like the style of it, too. Kind of retro-modern. Reminds me of those cars from a past decade with the finishes on them. And for $5, that's a steal! I'm guessing that it doesn't charge as fast because, even though it's 10 W (which is plenty for a charger), the wireless aspect of it means it gets the charging from the field generated which probably has a lower voltage. But Bill would know better.

And sometimes the simpler things are the best. I was really worried about my phone until I got it a case. I always seem to drop my phone. The case is nothing special but it was dirt simple to put the phone in it and feels very sturdy. It was $12. Not super cheap but the only ones I saw cheaper either didn't look good or were only gel cases. I wanted to get this one that was Rose Gold but delivery wasn't until January 7 and I didn't want to risk the phone that long. Here's what it looks like. I love the green.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B09BL9CD92/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Jason]

Sadly, for me, my wife loves her new iPad. It's the 10" model (actually 10.1 or 10.4" or something) 9th generation. Compared to the crappy Huawei tablet she had, probably anything would feel like lightning (see what I did there, Fox?) but I think she enjoys the higher resolution screen and extra size. She barely puts it down.

And I was surprised her cheap stylus worked on it. When she is able to put it down for a while, I'm going to get an Apple Pen (or is it Pencil?) and start doing some art on it.

For now, I need to find her a case. It's unfortunate the one we have doesn't fit. She just puts it back in the box when she's not using it.

[fox]

Lots of cheap iPad cases on Amazon. We actually have a neoprene sleeve for my wife's iPad.

[Jason]

Yeah, I've been looking. She has a folio case for her Huawei tablet so I'll be getting her something similar to that. I noticed they have ones that have a clip for the Apple Pen, too. That'd be handy.