Rich's Tongfamily (Richtong.net add-on)

OK, there have been about a million opinions about the new MacBook Pro, here are the tips, tricks and traps: Unexpectedly cool Touch Id. I didn’t realize how much time I spent typing my password in and it is super cool that it is integrated into the phone. The Sound. Ok, this is the biggest…

Now that I’m taking so many more pictures with iPhones, I’ve been thinking about how to best move files off. With digital cameras, here is the flow: offload the SD or CF card use DxO to process them as I find it’s automatic features blow things out less than Adobe Photoshop. Add location information with…

There is a dizzying array of ways to make your tax payments. And I have to say they are not super discoverable, but here is what I have found from cheapest to most expensive: directpay.irs.gov. This requires that you valid by knowing some facts from previous returns and then it will let you put your…

Ok in consumer electronics, here are the next recommendations: TL;dr TVs as Computer monitors. Do not get one, instead, get a low-end TV. At 43 inches, this will let you really develop software well assuming you have the room on your desk and believe me you will want to. The Samsung 6300 line for instance…

I got two adapters that convert USB C to a SATA interface, you can bus power a SSD, so this is not a bad test. I then ran Black Magic Speed Test and found to my surprise that one of the cables is 20-30% faster than the other. I used two SSDs, a Toshiba OCZ…

I’ve been using Google Slides quite a bit lately and I’ll be on to Office365 next, but here are some power user tips: The themes are really powerful, but you can many themes with the same name. There is an invisible GUID for themes, so when you are confused about formatting turn on the themes…

Well they now allow unlimited photos with an Amazon Prime account and you can share your high resolution photos with up to five family members. It does sound like the ideal backup strategy. But here are the problems: Live Photos. They still have a 5GB limit for videos and other storage, unless you pay $59…

I’ve been meaning to put a real router into the house for a while. You really want something that can handle 2M packets/second (why, I don’t know) but more importantly something that is reliable. Previously I had used the Linksys WRT-54G (which dates me!) and I found that under heavy load it would crash and…

Ok there are real problems with after market cables particular with USB C. TL;dr USB C, unlike other USB cables, are not created equal. Some only have six wires in them, some have 24, some have the right passive electronics (pull up resistors) and some have the right active electronics (e-mark), so you need to…

Well, the family the blogs together has the most fun together. Here’s a list of everyone who is blogging. I don’t know how up to date, but we definitely have the domain names covered: gracetong.com. Out of date, but it is there! calvintong.com. Just up now add some content Calvin tongfamily.com. Ok this is the…