The "New Toys" Thread

[NecroJoe]

Roku Ultra LT.

I've been suffering through not only the intentional aspects of a 3rd Gen Amazon Fire TV Stick (released on 2020). Not only is the interface trash, but its performance was even worse. I got it for "free" on FB Marketplace (OK, I had to trade a 6-pack of shitty beer that was hanging out in my fridge we weren't going to drink anyway) so I've been dealing with it because of the great value, and it technically worked.

I picked the Roku up on a sale, but paid more than I should have because I waited an hour to order it, and I didn't realize that it was on just a 1-week sale that ended at 11PM in my time zone. Still on sale, but not as on sale.

But...all of the annoyance at the pricing melted away once I got to experience just how snappy this thing is. Should have replaced that Fire Stock long ago.

 

[Perc]

I don’t sit at the desk at home much these days since I get enough of that at work. I was dumb and brought in my MX Master 3 from home. Turns out it was better than the shitty office mouse I had. Who knew.

So I had to snag a MX Master 3S at about half off the other day. Feels about the same but with quieter clicks.

Oh, and the mac version comes with a C to C charging cable but lacks the unified receiver. The PC version comes with a SCARTA to C cable but includes the receiver. Pick your poison, the mice are otherwise identical.

I went with the PC version because I have terrible experience with the bluetooth in the 3, which is the Mac edition. Had to buy the dongle separate back in the day to make the damn thing work.

Currently fighting the urge to get the MX Keys keyboard.

 

[leviathan]

Got me a thing for bedside charging. It was cheap, 25€ complete with a 15W power brick, and so far has exceeded expectations for being from a noname Amazon brand ("Innisto"). MagSafe for both the phone and watch works nicely, it's not fast but doesn't need to be - but it doesn't heat the phone up nearly as much as "normal" wireless charging, which is neat. The Airpods Lightning plug is handy, since I still run with 2nd-gen Airpods with the basic case, no wireless charging there - and that's fine imho, they can sit on that plug until needed, and can't get lost. The thing itself is solidly built, has anti-slide feet underneath, and overall does exactly what I wanted.

Only downsides are the somewhat short USB-A-to-C cable included in the bundle, and the bright-ass LED around the leg base. The LED turns off after 15 seconds though, so it's not too bad - but for that time, especially in a dark bedroom, it's hella bright, really unneccesary.

 

[Matt2000]

Bright lights like that are why I keep a little roll of black masking tape handy.

If you're feeling fancy you could get some LightDims smoked self adhesive plastic. If you're feeling trashy you could colour it in with a Sharpie.

 

[Matt2000]

I've taken my first step onto the potentially slippery slope of buying SmallRig products, with a little swivel adapter thingy that was in the Amazon Black Friday sales.

This is specifically designed for on-camera monitors, so has a cold shoe but also a 1/4" female thread at the bottom. I have my Atomos Ninja mounted on an arm here and I used to have one of these cheap crappy generic ball mounts.

Impossible to tighten up so it doesn't move but then really difficult to loosen off when you want to move it.

The SmallRig mount has swivel and tilt, but the movement is smooth and controllable. You can set the tension with the lever shown and the hex screw inside and it just stays at that tension, letting you smoothly adjust the position but not making it so slack that it flops around. It also has the spring-loaded pin to keep the monitor on the top locked in position.

I get the feeling that I might be buying more of their gear if it's this well made...