Handy Tech Episode 10: A Review of Tools and Gadgets

In this episode of Handy Tech, we're taking a look at some of our favorite tools and gadgets that make life easier for tech enthusiasts. First up, we have a multimeter, which is an essential tool for anyone who wants to get hands-on with electronics. I recently picked one up and was happy to find that it's easy to use and presents the results in a way that my sister or mom could understand. The device has a replaceable battery pack that provides a voltage reading between 0 and 3V, and if the needle bounces off the end of the scale, it indicates an approximate voltage of 1.6V.

I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed when I realized that this multimeter doesn't tell me the actual voltage reading, but it's still a great tool for sorting out batteries in my office, and it comes at a very reasonable price. As for its accuracy, I wouldn't say it's the best device on the market, but it gets the job done. If you're looking for a reliable multimeter that won't break the bank, this one is definitely worth considering.

Next up, we have the Xbox One Wireless Adapter Controller Dongle. Now, I'm not recommending cheap third-party adapters, as they can be a nightmare to find software drivers for and often don't work properly. I actually had a similar adapter die on me last time around, and when I replaced it, I realized that I could have just bought an official Microsoft adapter instead. Fortunately, Microsoft has the only adapter that's compatible with Xbox One controllers, and it supports up to eight controllers at once – which is twice as many as before.

This device works seamlessly with both standard Xbox One controllers and the fancy Elite controller, but unfortunately, it doesn't work with Xbox 360 controllers, so you'll still need a separate adapter for those. The adapter itself is cool, but there are some caveats to be aware of – Microsoft has decided to use the wireless adapter as a way to force users to upgrade to Windows 10, and they've refused to provide software drivers for Windows 7 or 8 or 8.1 users.

If you're planning on using this adapter with an older version of Windows, be aware that it might not work properly. Despite these limitations, the adapter is a great device for anyone who wants to play PC games with their Xbox One controller – and at this price point, it's definitely worth considering.

Finally, we have a special mention for Lisa, an innovative online mattress company that has disrupted the traditional mattress-buying experience. According to Lisa, for every 10 mattresses they sell, they donate one to a shelter, and they've done away with the awkward mattress showroom experience that many of us have suffered through. Their mattresses are shipped free to your doorstep, compressed in a box about the size of a mini fridge.

The best part is that Lisa's mattresses come in all sizes, are crafted from three unique foam layers, including two of memory foam and one of a really cool latex-like foam called Aveena that helps keep you cool. They offer a 100-night risk-free trial, so you can try it out before committing to spending a bunch of money. And as a special deal for our viewers, the first 100 people who use the link in the video description will receive a promo code "Linus75" at checkout, which gets them $75 off their order.

That's all for this episode of Handy Tech – thanks for watching! If you enjoyed this video, be sure to like it, subscribe, and consider supporting us directly by using our affiliate code to shop at Amazon. And if you're new here, consider checking out our store, where we sell all sorts of cool tech gear – including the shirt I'm wearing today.

In addition to shopping at Amazon, you can also support us by donating a monthly contribution through the forum – it's a great way to show your appreciation for our content and help us keep creating awesome videos like this one. And finally, if you're looking for some entertainment after this video is over, be sure to check out our "Super Fun Video" series, where we ride on those swag wheels and just have each other – it's pretty flippin' sick!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhandy tech under 100 where i normally show you guys some cool affordable tech stuff you can buy is going to be a little different this time around all the items will be priced at over a hundred dollars and none of them are going to be useful so we're going to kick things off then with the apple watch which i'm just kidding it's the usual thing corsair's rmi series power supplies feature premium components for great performance with very low noise check out the link in the video description to learn more let's jump right into it no foreplay the first item for today is the kind of thing that i'd recommend ordering now and then putting away in a drawer somewhere for that day when you're running around trying to find a freaking notebook power cord and all you can find is the full-size pc ones adapters like this are available in the five dollar range with shipping included if you have a prime account and can adapt from a variety of different power standards with some going as far as to also include a short cord so they can act as an extension now i'm aware that you can also just buy a bunch of c5 power cords i did but a handful of adapters is lighter and more compact to take with you in a tech tool kit where you'll already be carrying a c14 cord or two our next item is one that i've wanted to make a video about since i did this unboxing of the razer oroboros in my kitchen back in 2012 and was blown away by the space age material that they put on the base station so i finally got around to getting my hands on some this pack from materialsampleshop.com includes three a4 size sheets of the material in point three point five and point eight millimeter thickness depending on what you wanna use it for the basic idea is pretty simple you peel the adhesive on the one side stick it to the thing that you want to mount to something or hold in place and slap it down the way it works is this material is covered in thousands of tiny suction cups so the flatter the two mating surfaces are and the more contact area they have the better it can be used to mount pictures to flat relatively glossy walls or windows stick guitar picks to your guitar create diy seals or gaskets and even hold docks in place much like razer did with the oroboros the sky is pretty much the limit it is a bit expensive but when it gets dusty and cruddy eventually you just wipe it with a damp cloth let it dry out and oops it's good to go i love this stuff finally my usb charging hub doesn't need to fall off my nightstand every night dragging my phone down with it next up is the yubi key a two factor authentication device that improves the ease security and convenience of managing your online accounts at least once you go through the gauntlet of getting everything configured the ubi key itself is pretty straightforward it's a thin usb device about half the width of a port with a touch sensitive button and an nfc radio for use with nfc enabled android smartphones but where it gets a bit complicated is in the configuration the tools and guides use a lot of acronyms and technical jargon with half a dozen different windows applications for configuring settings and functionality on the yubikey site depending on what you're trying to do something you may not realize until you've already downloaded it the good news is that for my purposes using it as an additional authentication factor you can learn more about multi-factor authentication here with lastpass and using it as a windows login key is a pretty basic config with everything in the personalization tool the one that you want to use pretty much left as default and then a quick edit within lastpass to get it set up so the achilles heel of the ub key is also its greatest strength though because as complicated as it might be for new users it is extraordinarily configurable if you want to dive into it so you can make it so the physical key is enough to authenticate you can force the user to touch it no fingerprint id yet unfortunately but i'd be surprised if that's not coming and you can force the user to have both a ub key and a password but don't worry it has backup and restore settings in case you somehow manage to damage it or lose your keychain or whatever else for our next trick yes this episode of handy tech has more than three items we've got the ass pro excuse me the amprobe battery tester it's a simple little gadget that tells you how much life is left if any in your batteries it works with all the usual 1.5 volt varieties aaa double a c d and with 9 volts as well and while it really doesn't do anything you couldn't do on your own with a multimeter it's easier to use and presents the results in a way that my sister or my mom could understand and while i might personally really wish that it would tell me the actual voltage instead of just good or replace i can help you guys out by interpreting it for you replace is in the 1.3 volt range and if the needle bounces off the end you're sitting at about 1.6 volts now frankly i don't know if this is the best such device on the market but it sure helped me sort the batteries in the office into new still good remote control duty and recycle so i consider it a winner especially for the price and finally we've got the xbox one wireless adapter controller dongle this time i am not recommending a cheapo third-party one they can be a nightmare to find software drivers for and i actually had one die last time around and when i ended up replacing it i realized well now i've spent so much i could have just bought a first party one anyway and besides at this stage in the game microsoft has the only one that's compatible with xbox one controllers anyhow it supports up to eight controllers now twice as many as before for you know all those pc games that support 8-way multiplayer and works with the standard xbox one controller as well as the fancy pants elite controller that luke reviewed here but it does not work with xbox 360 controllers for that you will still need one of the last generation dongles cool device for sure but it does come with some caveats for some reason we're not quite sure why microsoft has decided to use the wireless adapter as a way to force users to upgrade to windows 10 and has refused to provide a software driver for windows 7 or 8 or 8.1 users so beware of that which i guess concludes handy tech episode 10 except for my usual disclosure section which is pretty simple today because all of the items in today's episode were purchased by me from amazon and materialsampleshop.com for use at home or around the office with no prior contact with any of the manufacturers which ties in nicely then to my usual reminder that while i frankly don't care if you buy any of these items if you guys are shopping at amazon for the holiday season or for any other reason hey check out the guide up here for how to change your amazon bookmark to one with our affiliate code so when you do shop there we get a small kickback it helps us out a lot and you know what else helps us out a lot today sponsor lisa an innovative and disruptive online mattress company and you might be thinking yourself okay well hold on a second mattresses online it's actually not that crazy they describe themselves as kind of like the tom's shoes or warby parker for mattresses for every 10 mattresses they sell they donate one to a shelter and they've done away with all of that awkward mattress showroom experience that we've all suffered through at least i have where you're like you're like laying on the mattress next to your wife and you're just you're kind of like you're standing there watching us this isn't actually how we normally sleep like you know normally her head would be on my shoulder or somewhere else or whatever and uh yeah so this feels really weird so they've taken all that away if you order it online they ship it for free to your doorstep compressed in a box about the size of a mini fridge the mattress comes in all sizes and is crafted from three unique foam layers including two of memory foam and two of a really cool latex-like foam called aveena that helps keep you cool the best part is that while the awkward showroom mattress experience kind of sucks at least it gives you the opportunity to try it before you commit to spend a bunch of money well lisa's got you covered on that too you have 100 nights to try your mattress risk free and they start at 525 bucks and as i mentioned before shipping is free but there's more the first 100 viewers link in the video description to redeem promo code linus 75 at checkout get 75 bucks off their order so check that out all right guys thanks for watching if this video sucked you know what to do but if it was awesome get subscribed hit that like button or even consider supporting us directly by using our affiliate code to shop at amazon i think i mentioned that already in this video buying a cool shirt like this one which we have a proper store now merch.line is techtips.com you can actually buy all the old designs or the other thing right direct monthly contribution through the forum now that you're done doing all that stuff you're probably wondering what to watch next so click that little button in the top right to check out the channel super fun video where the team and i ride on those swag way things and just with each other it's pretty flippin sickhandy tech under 100 where i normally show you guys some cool affordable tech stuff you can buy is going to be a little different this time around all the items will be priced at over a hundred dollars and none of them are going to be useful so we're going to kick things off then with the apple watch which i'm just kidding it's the usual thing corsair's rmi series power supplies feature premium components for great performance with very low noise check out the link in the video description to learn more let's jump right into it no foreplay the first item for today is the kind of thing that i'd recommend ordering now and then putting away in a drawer somewhere for that day when you're running around trying to find a freaking notebook power cord and all you can find is the full-size pc ones adapters like this are available in the five dollar range with shipping included if you have a prime account and can adapt from a variety of different power standards with some going as far as to also include a short cord so they can act as an extension now i'm aware that you can also just buy a bunch of c5 power cords i did but a handful of adapters is lighter and more compact to take with you in a tech tool kit where you'll already be carrying a c14 cord or two our next item is one that i've wanted to make a video about since i did this unboxing of the razer oroboros in my kitchen back in 2012 and was blown away by the space age material that they put on the base station so i finally got around to getting my hands on some this pack from materialsampleshop.com includes three a4 size sheets of the material in point three point five and point eight millimeter thickness depending on what you wanna use it for the basic idea is pretty simple you peel the adhesive on the one side stick it to the thing that you want to mount to something or hold in place and slap it down the way it works is this material is covered in thousands of tiny suction cups so the flatter the two mating surfaces are and the more contact area they have the better it can be used to mount pictures to flat relatively glossy walls or windows stick guitar picks to your guitar create diy seals or gaskets and even hold docks in place much like razer did with the oroboros the sky is pretty much the limit it is a bit expensive but when it gets dusty and cruddy eventually you just wipe it with a damp cloth let it dry out and oops it's good to go i love this stuff finally my usb charging hub doesn't need to fall off my nightstand every night dragging my phone down with it next up is the yubi key a two factor authentication device that improves the ease security and convenience of managing your online accounts at least once you go through the gauntlet of getting everything configured the ubi key itself is pretty straightforward it's a thin usb device about half the width of a port with a touch sensitive button and an nfc radio for use with nfc enabled android smartphones but where it gets a bit complicated is in the configuration the tools and guides use a lot of acronyms and technical jargon with half a dozen different windows applications for configuring settings and functionality on the yubikey site depending on what you're trying to do something you may not realize until you've already downloaded it the good news is that for my purposes using it as an additional authentication factor you can learn more about multi-factor authentication here with lastpass and using it as a windows login key is a pretty basic config with everything in the personalization tool the one that you want to use pretty much left as default and then a quick edit within lastpass to get it set up so the achilles heel of the ub key is also its greatest strength though because as complicated as it might be for new users it is extraordinarily configurable if you want to dive into it so you can make it so the physical key is enough to authenticate you can force the user to touch it no fingerprint id yet unfortunately but i'd be surprised if that's not coming and you can force the user to have both a ub key and a password but don't worry it has backup and restore settings in case you somehow manage to damage it or lose your keychain or whatever else for our next trick yes this episode of handy tech has more than three items we've got the ass pro excuse me the amprobe battery tester it's a simple little gadget that tells you how much life is left if any in your batteries it works with all the usual 1.5 volt varieties aaa double a c d and with 9 volts as well and while it really doesn't do anything you couldn't do on your own with a multimeter it's easier to use and presents the results in a way that my sister or my mom could understand and while i might personally really wish that it would tell me the actual voltage instead of just good or replace i can help you guys out by interpreting it for you replace is in the 1.3 volt range and if the needle bounces off the end you're sitting at about 1.6 volts now frankly i don't know if this is the best such device on the market but it sure helped me sort the batteries in the office into new still good remote control duty and recycle so i consider it a winner especially for the price and finally we've got the xbox one wireless adapter controller dongle this time i am not recommending a cheapo third-party one they can be a nightmare to find software drivers for and i actually had one die last time around and when i ended up replacing it i realized well now i've spent so much i could have just bought a first party one anyway and besides at this stage in the game microsoft has the only one that's compatible with xbox one controllers anyhow it supports up to eight controllers now twice as many as before for you know all those pc games that support 8-way multiplayer and works with the standard xbox one controller as well as the fancy pants elite controller that luke reviewed here but it does not work with xbox 360 controllers for that you will still need one of the last generation dongles cool device for sure but it does come with some caveats for some reason we're not quite sure why microsoft has decided to use the wireless adapter as a way to force users to upgrade to windows 10 and has refused to provide a software driver for windows 7 or 8 or 8.1 users so beware of that which i guess concludes handy tech episode 10 except for my usual disclosure section which is pretty simple today because all of the items in today's episode were purchased by me from amazon and materialsampleshop.com for use at home or around the office with no prior contact with any of the manufacturers which ties in nicely then to my usual reminder that while i frankly don't care if you buy any of these items if you guys are shopping at amazon for the holiday season or for any other reason hey check out the guide up here for how to change your amazon bookmark to one with our affiliate code so when you do shop there we get a small kickback it helps us out a lot and you know what else helps us out a lot today sponsor lisa an innovative and disruptive online mattress company and you might be thinking yourself okay well hold on a second mattresses online it's actually not that crazy they describe themselves as kind of like the tom's shoes or warby parker for mattresses for every 10 mattresses they sell they donate one to a shelter and they've done away with all of that awkward mattress showroom experience that we've all suffered through at least i have where you're like you're like laying on the mattress next to your wife and you're just you're kind of like you're standing there watching us this isn't actually how we normally sleep like you know normally her head would be on my shoulder or somewhere else or whatever and uh yeah so this feels really weird so they've taken all that away if you order it online they ship it for free to your doorstep compressed in a box about the size of a mini fridge the mattress comes in all sizes and is crafted from three unique foam layers including two of memory foam and two of a really cool latex-like foam called aveena that helps keep you cool the best part is that while the awkward showroom mattress experience kind of sucks at least it gives you the opportunity to try it before you commit to spend a bunch of money well lisa's got you covered on that too you have 100 nights to try your mattress risk free and they start at 525 bucks and as i mentioned before shipping is free but there's more the first 100 viewers link in the video description to redeem promo code linus 75 at checkout get 75 bucks off their order so check that out all right guys thanks for watching if this video sucked you know what to do but if it was awesome get subscribed hit that like button or even consider supporting us directly by using our affiliate code to shop at amazon i think i mentioned that already in this video buying a cool shirt like this one which we have a proper store now merch.line is techtips.com you can actually buy all the old designs or the other thing right direct monthly contribution through the forum now that you're done doing all that stuff you're probably wondering what to watch next so click that little button in the top right to check out the channel super fun video where the team and i ride on those swag way things and just with each other it's pretty flippin sick\n"