If you think all WiFi routers are pretty much the same, you need to think about how often you've been frustrated by dodgy connections, slow downloads and streaming issues.
It's possible your ISP has sent you a premium device to keep your whole household connected, but if they sent it to you for free, it's probably not that premium.
You don't actually have to spend your life rebooting your router or accidentally using up your mobile data because you've disconnected from your WiFi without realising...
The EXO AC2600 router from D-Link is one of the quickest and easiest ways you can supe up your WiFi. I'm not going to bog you down with too many techie stats and figures, but I can tell you the AC2600 is one of D-Link's range of MU-MIMO devices. Not only is that fun to say, but it's good news if you have multiple people trying to stream multiple things on multiple devices all at once. Those antennae that are so long they don't even fit in my photo, enable the AC2600 to separate out different streams for different devices, meaning everybody gets the most efficient use of the available WiFi without getting all clogged up fighting over one access point.
The sheer brute power of the AC2600 is a real boon too. Although the unit itself is very compact and easily concealed, I found the area covered to be as big, if not bigger than any other router I've tried. However, if like me, you have a house that seems to be specifically designed to defeat any attempts at comprehensive and consistent WiFi coverage, the good news is D-Link has a range of extenders that are not only easier to set up than ever, but are genuinely powerful enough to really fill up those WiFi dead spots.
One such device is the AC1200...
I'll happily endorse this as the easiest-to-set-up extender I've ever plugged in. By simply pushing the quick-connect buttons on both the AC2600 router and AC1200 extender, they pair themselves in about 60 seconds and you're good to go. The AC1200 adopts the name of your existing network, adds an "EXT" to the end of it and keeps the same password to make connecting easy.
Again there are external antennae providing excellent reception and even though it's a mere extender, you still get the choice of both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands to split up the traffic.
That all works brilliantly - as long as you keep it simple.
However, D-Link claims both these devices are "Whole Home WiFi Ready." This apparently is D-Link's version of MESH WiFi - the idea being you have just one network name (SSID) all over your home and your devices just grab hold of the most powerful signal.
Sounds good... trouble is, I couldn't figure out how to do it. Now, I'm used to setting up gadgets. I'm a nerd. Setting up gadgets is my jam. But this had me stumped. What's really bizarre is I can't find any instructions on how to do it anywhere. Not in the box. Not online. Not on the D-Link website. And what's really weird is, nobody else in the world seems to have tried to do it either. I keep thinking I've imagined that "Whole Home WiFi Ready" is a thing. But no, it's definitely on the website, there's a logo on the boxes so... how do you do it???
I tried simply naming the extender's network the same name as the base unit. (You can make more advanced adjustments like this using D-Link's QRS app) This looked like it was working, as only one name then appeared in the list of available networks. I was able to connect my Galaxy Note8 to this new, super network and it did indeed seem to provide me with comprehensive coverage wherever I roamed around the homestead.
Other, older phones experienced uncharacteristic dropouts though and as for my Chromecast, it got totally confused and refused to stay connected at all, no matter how many times I told it which network to join. So, either this isn't how "Whole Home WiFi Ready" networks are supposed to be set up, or older devices just aren't up to it.
So yeah... as for "Whole Home WiFi Ready" sadly I'm still none the wiser.
On the plus side, as I've already mentioned, the AC2600 is a lot more slimline, compact and subtle than some of its brightly coloured modem router cousins. This makes it a lot easier to hide away behind cabinets or on top shelves. In spite of its smaller size, you still get four LAN ports for direct connection and 2 USB ports, including a USB-3 which makes for a great media server interface.
The AC1200 extender is weirdly less easy to tuck away than some other similar devices. It actually sticks out from the wall socket quite some way and takes up more than its fair share of socket space making it impossible to plug something else in if you're using a double socket, either side-by-side or in a vertical configuration.
And yet, it definitely provides a strong, stable signal and also includes an ethernet port so in effect you can use the AC1200 as a wireless access point for devices that don't have their own WiFi capability.
In concert, the AC2600 router and AC1200 extender are certainly capable of covering every inch of most New Zealand homes, reliably and at great speeds.
If only we could get that "Whole Home WiFi" up and running, then we'd really be cooking.
Click here for more information and pricing on the D-Link EXO AC2600 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi Router
Click here for more information and pricing on the D-Link AC1200 Wi-Fi Range Extender
I've been reviewing gadgets for a while now.
I've tried things that make my WiFi work better.
I've attached things to computers to make them run faster.
I've beefed up my security with clever cameras.
I've sampled an array of speakers, headphones and earbuds to see which sound best.
I've worn things on my wrist that are smarter than I am.
I've even used devices to help me sleep, ease my back pain and make me sit up straighter.
As for the phones... Ah, such wonderful phones.
But I've never come across anything quite as useless as this...
Just to clarify, by "useless," I mean I still literally haven't found a practical use for the Nanoleaf Aurora.
That doesn't mean I'm not a fan.
The picture above does these things no justice at all, of course. The Nanoleaf Aurora is a starter pack of 9 LED triangles that can be joined together by a collection of small connectors (supplied) in whatever configuration you desire.
Plug it all in, download the app, connect to your WiFi network and millions of colour combinations are at your disposal.
There's a selection of preset patterns, both static and constantly changing. Or, using the app, you can design your own. You can colour each section individually, or create a more general scheme over the whole display.
If it sounds fun, it is - mostly because it's so easy and it works. Even once the Nanoleaf Aurora is turned on, I've witnessed a bunch of idiot teenagers do their best to completely wreck the thing and the only result was more cool colours and shapes.
It gets better.
By adding the small Rhythm module, the Nanoleaf Aurora now reacts to sound - changing colour and pattern in time with your music, or just lighting up when you make noise.
This means you can now bring your party to life both visually and musically.
What's more, you can keep adding to your customised lighting display with more and more tiles - expansion packs come in sets of three. Go really crazy and you can run up to 30 tiles off one controller.
Of course, as I've said already, it's all completely pointless. But then, so is the Mona Lisa I suppose. Whether white triangles that light up in the colours of your choice can be considered art is definitely in the eye of the beholder. But you can certainly hang them on the wall as there are plenty of 3M Command strips included in the pack.
The power cable is conveniently thin, long and white, which means you don't have to be particularly close to a wall socket to hang your Nanoleaf creation where you want it... but where would you want it?
My feeling is this is a games room, bar area, media room sort of a vibe - anywhere you want to set the mood with coloured lights I guess. Kids bedrooms could be a definite possibility, but they won't be buying their own Nanoleaf Aurora setup on their pocket money - the 9-panel starter pack currently retails for $339 - which I think is a bit stiff for what is essentially a set of pretty lights. The Rhythm module is much better buying at just $59.
All of this is hard to imagine from my bad photos, so head to the Nanoleaf website to get a much better idea of what we're dealing with.
$400+ may seem a little steep for a bit of mindless fun, but if the Nanoleaf Aurora really is art waiting for you to create it, it works out a lot cheaper than the Mona Lisa.
Nanoleaf products are available at JB Hi-Fi and Noel Leeming.
Somewhere along the way, headphones became a fashion accessory.
Sure, sound quality has always been important but for quite some time, for quite a number of people, the look, the style, the brand has become the most crucial consideration.
Not for me.
Given it's my job to monitor a 2 and 1/2 hour radio show every day, not to mention cutting and editing audio before and after, my headphones take serious punishment.
Obviously, they need to sound great, but they need to last the distance too.
I couldn't really care what they look like - although red is always nice...
There's no avoiding it, the AKG N60NC wireless headphones are not the coolest looking set of cans you've ever seen. In fact, the word "cans" seems very apt; the first thing that struck me about the N60's was their can-like profile.
The N60's are on-ear rather than over-ear headphones, so the ear cups are relatively small in diameter, while having to accommodate premium amplification, bluetooth and noise-cancelling technology. Add to that the luxurious cushioning combination of memory foam and protein leather, and well... they stick out a bit.
They're not curved or streamlined at all really, but the N60's are about functionality, not style. Like me. So I love them.
It goes without saying AKG headphones are going to sound great. That's why they're the choice of so many recording studios and radio stations. The N60's are no exception. So let's take that as read and move onto some of the more unique features.
Hard to say which feature AKG has put more emphasis on; noise-cancelling or bluetooth connectivity. This is partly because both features are activated with the same switch on the right-hand ear cup. If you choose to plug in using the supplied 1.2m cable, the bluetooth function is disabled automatically, but you still get noise-cancellation flicking the same switch. It's really good too. The moment you slide that switch across it's a lot like going deaf.
I've tried other noise cancelling headphones and earbuds before, some work well, some not at all. Usually it's a battery operated system which is a pain when you're travelling because sooner or later you'll have to replace those batteries. The N60's are rechargeable via microUSB, and promise around 15 hours of use under both bluetooth/noise cancelling conditions. Although I haven't worn them for 15 hours straight, I've certainly used them all day without running them flat so I wouldn't be surprised if that figure is pretty accurate. I've also been impressed at how quickly they charge.
Right next to the bluetooth/NC switch is a multifunctional play/pause, next/previous track, answer call button and I do mean, right next to. This is one of the few design flaws to be found on these headphones as both switches feel almost identical and I can never remember which one is which. As a result, I've turned off the bluetooth instead of skipping tracks on a number of occasions. I don't get why they didn't put one switch on one side and one on the other. Instead, all the controls are on the right-hand ear cup including volume up and down - although thankfully these buttons are at the front, well away from the other two.
The left-hand ear cup holds the charging port and the socket for the detachable cable. AKG describes this as "a tangle-free fabric cable." It isn't. Flat ribbon-style cables are hard to tangle. Fabric cables like these might be a bit better than standard rubber ones, but not much. Maybe I'm just really good at tangling things. Unfortunately, the included USB charging cable is made of the same material. I've managed to tangle that one too.
But that's it. That's all that's wrong with the N60's and of course, depending on what device you're connecting to, you won't need the cable anyway. The bluetooth is clear, strong and reliable. Combined with the noise cancellation, I can barely hear the vacuum cleaner I'm using. This makes it much easier to pretend I'm not using it at all.
Answering calls via the N60's is kind of surreal, because while you can hear your caller perfectly, due to the efficacy of the noise cancellation you can hardly hear yourself. The people at the other end seem to have no trouble however.
I was a bit concerned when I saw each ear cup is only connected to the headband on one side. I assumed this would give an overall feeling of instability, if not resulting in actual instability. But rest assured this is definitely not the case. I've put in several weeks of constant use with these headphones and they're showing absolutely no signs of wear and tear whatsoever. This is of course what you'd expect from a high-end headset like this although I've been disappointed with the lack of durability from other brands in the past.
Not only do the N60's feel solid as, they're some of the most comfortable, well balanced headphones I've ever bunged on my bonce. Because they're on-ear rather than over-ear, I've found I don't overheat even after prolonged use and that memory foam is definitely the ticket.
These are genuine traveling companions too, folding completely flat inside the profile of the headband, taking up very little space in my laptop bag's front pocket, or the convenient carrying pouch, with compartments for cables and the included flight adapter plug.
As someone who wears headphones for a living, I've certainly tried my fair share and the AKG N60NC's are right up there, if not the best I've worn. What's more, they fold up neatly for travel. Sure they only come in black, black or black, but this ain't no beauty contest.
They cost a pretty penny, but they'll probably last years rather than months, saving you money in the long run.
Click here for more information and pricing on the AKG N60NC wireless headphones.
What's the state of your security light?
It's supposed to come on when someone walks by, right?
But what if you want to leave it on?
Is there some kind of weird combination of switching on and off fast and/or slow that makes it do that? Can you remember what that combination is?
Does it work at all?
Do you know if it's working?
So many questions.
The Netatmo Presence is a lot more than just a light. It's a super-smart outdoor security camera that lets you access all its features from wherever you are, whether you're inside the house or out of the country.
Because it simply replaces any existing outdoor light and connects via WiFi to your home network, there's no tricky wiring involved. Installation took me about 15 minutes. I was a bit worried when I first took it out of the box because all the instructions were for placement on a vertical wall, whereas the broken-down hunk of junk I was replacing had been attached under the eaves above my garage door. On an angle. With very little space to move.
It's a bit hard to visualise, so here's a pic of the Presence in place...
As you can see, it's a pretty subtle, modern-looking device, constructed from durable aluminium and UV protected plastic. The bracket allows you to swivel the Presence to adjust its angle, but there's no real ability to rotate it around. Would this mean my footage would be all skew-whiff? We're getting ahead of ourselves.
Once installed, setting up the Presence is just a matter of downloading Netatmo's Security app. Via the app, you'll need to set up an account and join the device to your WiFi network.
The moment I'd done this, I started getting notifications from the Presence - primarily because I was standing directly below it. Turns out, the weird angle I'd been forced into mounting it at didn't make too much difference at all...
That's the Presence filming me taking a picture of it. Very meta.
As this screenshot shows, the 100 degree filming angle more than adequately covers the driveway and the pathways that lead off in both directions around my house.
The really clever thing about the Presence's security sensor, is it's smart enough to differentiate between people, cars and pets. What's more, you can customise precise zones to monitor, which is obviously a major advantage if you've got a busy street with lots of foot traffic in shot.
That's the real beauty of this device; not so much what the Presence can detect, but all the things you can tell it to ignore. If you only want to record people walking up your front path and don't care about cats rolling around on your driveway, those are precisely the notifications you'll receive.
If you have the sound up on your phone you can be alerted by quite a cool little siren noise that's hard to miss. This is great for me, because I live in a 3-level house and it's not unusual for me to miss the doorbell if I'm upstairs in my bedroom. Now, because I always have my phone with me (not to mention my smart watch on my wrist) I can view my cat rolling on the driveway day or night.
Detection isn't completely foolproof. At certain times of the day, depending on the location of the sun, I have large trees casting shadows into the monitoring zone and if it's breezy, the Presence can be fooled into thinking these are pets.
But I'd rather pick up too many movements than not enough - for some reason, and I suspect this might be the only downside of the weird angle I have the camera mounted at, the Presence rarely picks up our cars driving in and out of the garage, although I don't think it's ever missed a person walking past. Cars parked on the driveway are identified correctly so it's a bit of a weird one.
The Presence comes with an 8GB microSD card pre-installed which doesn't sound like much storage but it's actually plenty because a) the camera only records when it detects movement and b) you can choose to save videos to Dropbox, your own FTP or straight to your device. It's really very user friendly. The videos are excellent quality, full colour during the day (black and white via infra-red at night) and there's sound too so you can even hear your cat purring while it rolls around. (My cat purrs pretty loudly)
Of course, where this all began was replacing a crappy security light that wasn't working properly, and in this department, the Presence definitely over-delivers.
From the app you can turn the LED floodlight on or off and even adjust how brightly it shines (if you thought LEDs couldn't blast out a decent glare, think again) Because the Presence is so damn smart, you can also tell it to ignore your pets and only light up for cars or people.
At around $500, the Presence is a pretty pricey security light, but as a 24hr security system giving you the option to constantly monitor a whole side of your house, from anywhere, this could be the all-in-one peace-of-mind device you've been looking for.
Click here for more information on the Netatmo Presence outdoor security camera and floodlight
