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

These machines support up to 8GB of memory, but are very picky in that they need PC-8500 (1033 MHz) dRAM, but many folks don’t. First you have to check your model numbers. BTW, the reason you might want to do this is your MacBook is perfectly good and you care about the environment. And/or, you…

Well, if it doesn’t matter the FBI can hack your phone and listen to your conversations (Just kidding), here are a list of accessories for the phone: Cases. The Frexishield Frost Skin for $11 is clear durable silicon gel, the Rearth Ringke Fusion Case is all black, the Spigen Ultra Thin Air is easy to…

I’ve been using the RX100 for about three months now and although the Mark II is out, this is a pretty awesome camera. Some notes on accessories: The grip is awesome. i got mine from a third party, but Sony now makes one. I lost the little wrist strap (used it to tie on a…

Wow, what fun, backpacking is kind of like bicycling. Hard to get into, but addictive as a sport (and also a a geek gear acquisition excuse :-). Here are some more notes on things. If you want to drool, check out the Dream Backpacking list at Outdoorgearlab.com Hiking Boots. Well, like most things, this is…

FBI Taps Hacker Tactics to Spy on Suspects – WSJ.com The FBI develops some hacking tools internally and purchases others from the private sector. With such technology, the bureau can remotely activate the microphones in phones running Google Inc.’s Android software to record conversations, one former U.S. official said. It can do the same to…

Well the good, Comcast is offered to send us a new Docsis 3.0 modem. They even did a robo voice mail and then gave me some magic URL to ask for an a new modem. It asks you for a letter reference (?!) and since I don’t think I got a letter, I guessed. In…

This is such a confusing topic. There is UVC which provices webcam drivers (but can’t take stills) and gPhoto which works for tethered still cameras. To get the best performing camera takes some work. The top selling Amazon webcam, the Logitech C920 gets marketed as a 15MP camera, but is actually 3MP underneath according to…

Well, our Mac Mini server 2010 has a mere 4GB of memory and we wanted more of course. However PC8500 ram is very expensive, so we got the much cheaper ($180 for 2x8GB PC8500 vs $120 for 2x8GB PC12800). But the problem is putting in both doesn’t work. It appears that the Mac Mini needs…

We’ve had the MSR Pocket Rocket for years and it is durable and very light. and has stood the test of time, but it isn’t very stable for sure, but technology has moved ahead: JetBoil Flash. $100. They started the revolution. The main advantage is that it is smaller than the MSR Whisperlite and is…

Wow, Amazon has been expanding its membership programs. Here’s a list: Amazon Student. This is a great program. Half price Amazon Prime ($40 a year). It’s free for six months, you get free two day shipping, but you don’t get to stream movies nor borrow free kindle books until you pay the $40 a month.…