Home Tech

Spice up Your Bar with Lucky Shot USA

As the manager of a nice home bar, I always look for unique and fun items to add. One way to give your bar some flare and give great gifts are bottle openers and shot glasses. Lucky Shot USA offers hand-crafted goods made from fired military munitions. They personalized two items for me to review; let’s take a look!





Never Get out of Bed to Turn off the Lights with Switchmate’s Smart Light Switch

In attempts to “smarten” up my home, I’ve installed cameras for added security — along with a host of new gadgets — but one thing that I was intrigued about was smart home lighting. And then I received the Switchmate Smart Light Switch, and I love it. You may have seen a few “smart lamps and light switches” that require having to do a bit of hard wiring, but that’s certainly not the case with Switchmate’s switch. At only $39.99, it’s certainly an affordable price compared to competitors. The install process is about as simple as you can make a…


SVALT High-Performance Cooling Dock: Prevent Workstation Meltdowns

Do you use your laptop as your main computer, hooked to a monitor and keyboard when you’re working at your desk? Then you probably know it doesn’t take much before the fan starts whirring and your laptop starts to get hot. If that’s your experience, then you’ll want to take a look at the new SVALT High-Performance Cooling Dock.



SnapPower Guidelight Review

We’ve all had that moment in the middle of the night: the baby cries, you need a glass of water, you heard the unmistakable sounds of a dog about to puke on the carpet. So you rocket out of bed, only to start stumbling around because, well, it’s dark. And you don’t want to turn on the lights, but you need, well, a nightlight. The SnapPower Guidelight, to be precise.


Mistbox Brings Evaporative Cooling to the Home to Reduce Cooling Energy Costs

Mistbox was invented to help your air conditioner keep up with the heat while also saving you money on energy costs. Using evaporative cooling, Mistbox creates a fine mist around your AC unit to cool the surrounding air, therefore allowing your AC unit to work less. With a built-in solar panel, Mistbox recharges itself. Purchase yours from Mistbox or Lowes.





Vizio M50-D1 Home Theater Display Is So Smart, It Is Brilliant

As Raina and I were setting up our new house, one of the things I knew was that I wanted were large televisions both in the living room and the bedroom. Fortunately, I was approached by VIZIO and offered the opportunity to review one of their new 2016 VIZIO SmartCast M-Series Ultra HD HDR Home Theater Displays. We love it.



Assassin HTPC’s Micro Extender Is the Perfect Streaming Solution

Assassin HTPC, one of the top names in the Home Theater PC game, is back in the news with their new Assassin Micro Media Extender. It’s a pint-sized PC that runs on Android that comes preconfigured with Assassin HTPC customized software that’s ready to use straight out of the box. The Assassin Micro retails for $249.99, including lifetime cloud updates.


SensePeanut: Smart, Inexpensive Life Automation, Starting with the ThermoPeanut

Sen.se is announcing their new ThermoPeanut today, the first in its series of smart sensors called SensePeanut. For those of us who are wondering what a SensePeanut might be, the short answer is that each $29 SensePeanut has its “own set function, task or habit it can monitor.” SensePeanuts are designed to bring people the benefits of smart life automation without the need for costly or complicated solutions. We are thrilled to launch ThermoPeanut as the first in the line. Whether you are monitoring room temperatures, making sure your refrigerator is cooling properly or keeping a server room at an…


The Lyric Round Wi-Fi Thermostat is So Smart and Cool That It’s Hot!

Raina and I continue to add smart features to our home. We love the Haiku Smart Fan we installed and reviewed here on Gear Diary. (Read the review!) The next step in the process was adding a smart thermostat. I received a Lyric Round Wi-Fi Thermostat for review. This second generation unit is small but packs a punch. It’s awesome!





HP OfficeJet 200 Mobile Printer Truly Delivers a Mobile Office

Your computer is now thin, powerful, and gets great battery life. Your tablet is even thinner, often just as powerful, and gets even better battery life. Your workflow is truly mobile. And yet, if you want to print a document, you need to go into the office. Thanks to the HP OfficeJet 200 Mobile Printer, that’s no longer the case!