The lovely people at Mokin keep sending me their USB-C hubs to review, and I'm happy to do so. They work splendidly with my Linux and Windows machines, and they provide more ports than I ever thought necessary. This one is positively festooned with extra ports. Let's take a look. USB-C Plug your power adapter into the hub, and then the hub into your laptop. With most hubs, that's it; you've…
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You can never have too many USB-C ports, right? It's rubbish having a cheap laptop with only a single USB-C port. So, the good folks at Mokin have sent me a gadget which turns your single and lonely USB-C port into FIVE USB-C ports. Along the side you get 4 USB-C 3.1 ports which are theoretically capable of 10Gbps in aggregate. At the bottom is a USB-C 3.0 Power Delivery port which can take…
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Supertoys last all summer long! But batteries do not. The last set of rechargeable batteries I had leaked everywhere, and I could never find the right charging lead for the gizmo which pumped power into them. So let's cut out the middle-man and plug a USB-C cable straight into our batteries! What? These were the cheapest AA batteries I could find which took USB-C. £16 including delivery, for …
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I genuinely think that USB-C might be the defining feature of the 21st century. A little port which is cheap enough to add to the most trivial of devices, and that can carry an impressive amount of power and data. All of my gadgets have it - phone, eReader, headphones, laptop, thermal printer, battery, games console - and now, my mosquito bite zapper! This is the "heat it" - it's about £30 on …
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The good folks at Fifine have sent me this neat little microphone to review. Unboxing Sound Quality Writing about microphones is like painting about flavour. So here's what it sounds like: 🔊 💾 Download this audio file. No noticeable hiss. Captured my voice perfectly. It picked up a little clack from my keyboard as I typed. Colleagues could hear me clearly - even if they were som…
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All USB-C cables are equal. But some, as the saying goes, are more equal than others. This little gadget from Plugable is a fantastic bit of kit. Plug your USB-C power supply into one end of the gadget, plug the gadget in to your laptop, phone, or any other USB-C device. Watch the screen to see how much power is flowing. Action Shot …
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I'm writing this post in the hope someone will rip off my idea and start selling it on Ali Express. Many years ago, I got a "Pressy". It was a little dongle which fitted into your phone's headphone jack. It had a single button on the top. It came with an app so when you tapped the button the app would do something. For example, tap once to open email, double-tap to switch to flight mode, etc. …
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The good folk at ChubbyCable have sent me a trio of gorgeous USB-C cables to review. If, like me, your work colleagues always "borrow" your cables never to be seen again - these are a godsend. They're available in a range of colours - you can even design your own. You'll never have to say "where's my boring black cable? Janice? Do you still have it?" No, you'll see the dayglow colours from…
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I've been looking for this rare beast for ages - a hub which has multiple USB-C outputs! You see it is a truth, universally acknowledged, that computers don't have enough ports on them. And laptops? Pah! A couple of USB-C if you're lucky, and one of them has to be used for power. What a world! This is the MOKiN USB-C Triple-Display Docking Station - MODK1402. It's a bit over £100 depending on …
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Winter has come! And with it the risk of power-cuts. Thankfully, we already have a Uninteruptable Power Supply for vital things like WiFi and security. But what about lights? Hurrah for candles! They're not just for birthday cakes, you know. But how do you light candles? I vaguely remember something about rubbing two stones together? But who can be bothered with that! "What about matches?" I…
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Are you too hot? Can't run an air-conditioner? Stuck on a sweaty tube train? You need a USB-C powered personal cooling device! There are loads of personal electric fans available - but I've gone for something slightly more high-tech. A neck-wearable Peltier cooler. It looks like this: And fits round your neck like this: Terence Eden is on Mastodon@edentReplying to @edentThere is a USB-C…
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Back to the office! The only thing which makes other people bearable is being able to block out their chatter (sorry colleagues, I love you all dearly!). So I picked up this pair of on-ear Bluetooth headphones with active noise cancelation. They're pricey (a bit under £200) but are they any good? First impressions Not great. None of the buttons are labelled, so it's surprisingly hard to figure …
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