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

OK, I’ve tried to stay away from SSH and doing command line stuff with Unifi, but this latest release (they used to call it the Unifi Controller which in the olden days was a piece of software that was written in Java and ran on Mac, Windows, and Linux, and you can imagine how fragile…

Dean asked me how I think about working with early-stage companies. This is a great question because there is a long way distance between being a full-time employee and having a coffee with a CEO. So here are the different stages you can think about engaging with a startup depending on your financial motivation. Is…

There are a sea of different Kensington Hubs as Thunderbolt 4 is coming out and it’s pretty hard to figure out what to use for what, but if you have: Older MacBook’s with Thunderbolt 3 Want to get new M1 MacBooks with Thunderbolt 4, but which are currently limited to a single monitor Be ready…

Geez, did I not write this down? At least, I remember fixing Dave’s PC but not how I did it. I’m sure I stuff it into tongfamily.com, but from the 6,000 plus posts I have, I can figure out how to find it. But, basically, a few years ago, Dave’s PC died. I thought it…

OK, this is a little strange, but it really is a problem on the Obins AnnePro 2 if you use the tilde (~) key, the problem is that while there are some amazing things like a quick click of the right SHIFT key and FN1 and FN2 and Ctrl will give you the arrow keys…

Well, I’m an idiot, there is no doubt. I’ve been pushing the envelope of the system pretty unknowingly and I had not seen a comprehensive, here’s how you bulletproof your system and what are the best practices. So first, what to do if you are an idiot and then how to keep it from happening…

Wow, it is really raining Homekit Smart Plugs and Extension cords. Really, I’m wondering, why given the relatively low cost, you wouldn’t just get all your new extension cords and multiple outlet adapters as HomeKit devices now, so some things to think about: Upgrading an old S-Video TV with an Apple TV is not crazy…

OK, this was a strange problem I hit today, suddenly, when using WordPress, JetPack could no longer see the custom site. Even running the diagnostics led to an unknown error. I saw a fleeting message about invalid SSL certificate but this never appeared again. But when I went to Safari and click on the lock icon for…

OK, as a poor man’s burglar alarm, we’ve been trying to figure out how to use HomeKit Secure Video and also have night lights go on in various vacation and summer homes across an extended family. It turns out that it is pretty tricky to do (and we have one outstanding issue), but here are…

We went crabbing yesterday and I was reminded how nice automatic inflatable life vests are. They are way less bulky that and don’t smell like rentals. There are lots available and the big things to figure out is whether you want an automatic inflatable (that is when you hit the water, they just inflate, which…