coolpub

coolpub

Proxmox vs VMware

Proxmox vs VMware

I am evaluating using Proxmox instead of VMware (free license) for my VMs. I am writing down some of my thoughts for later reference. I have not used Proxmox so these thoughts are based on my research. Proxmox pros and cons * Comes with backup and restore even for the free

VMware hosting - NAS storage or SSD

VMware hosting - NAS storage or SSD

I have been hosting VMs on my ESXi hosts for 7 years. During this time I have tried different setups. I am comparing the pros and cons of each setup. I am using the free license, with its limitations. Initially I was hosting VMs in the internal SSD of the

Restoring VMware from Synology Active Backup

Restoring VMware from Synology Active Backup

I have been using Synology's Active Backup for Business to back up my VMware VMs. I wanted to test whether I can restore these backups to a new ESXi host if my current one dies, so I tested a restore process the other day. My Setups My active ESXi host:

Power Consumption of Electronics

Power Consumption of Electronics

I am recording some power consumption figures for electronic equipment. Measured using Kill-A-Watt. Devices that fall below Kill-A-Watt's sensitivity threshold are measured alongside other devices to calculate their actual power usage. Streamers & DACs Active watt Idle watt Chromecast Audio 1.2w 1.2w Topping E30 DAC (optical input) 2.1w

Room nulls for stereo

Room nulls for stereo

I was performing frequency response measurement on my speakers, and there was a significant dip at around 110Hz range. Surprised, I repeated the measurement multiple times, with the same result. My initial thought was that my speakers had uneven frequency response, but eventually figured out it was due to room

Hatch Rest Sound Machine

Hatch Rest Sound Machine

We have been using the Hatch Rest Sound Machine (1st gen, Bluetooth version) for a while now. It's somewhat a peculiar design. First of all, all the buttons are on the bottom of the device, so they are very hard to access. If you want to dim the light, you'll

O-Cedar Pot Brush & Sponge

O-Cedar Pot Brush & Sponge

I saw these two items on America's Test Kitchen, and decided to give them a try. And they both work very well!! Pot Brush This pot brush has well spaced bristles, and it does work much better than the brush it replaced. Some stuck on food comes off pretty easily,

County Line Mason Jar Lids

County Line Mason Jar Lids

We've been storing breast milk in mason jars. They are easy to clean and don't impart flavors. They are not easy to pour out of though. I was on a quest to find mason jar lids that seal tightly and pours well. I lucked out. I found these County Line

Humidifiers vs Vaporizers

Humidifiers vs Vaporizers

It's winter now. For cold climate households humidifiers come in handy in keeping humidity in check. I'll share some of my experience. Types of humidifiers (and vaporizers) There are 3 major types of humidifiers I am familiar with: * Vaporizers - or warm steam humidifiers, such as Vicks Vaporizer. They work

Brother MFC-J4335DW Review

Brother MFC-J4335DW Review

I bought Brother MFC-J4335DW printer late 2021 (around $160). My old printer wouldn't print any more, and I needed a printer that could print as well as scan. To be honest, I was shocked at the dearth of sub-$200 printers with decent scanning capabilities. At the end I had

WiiM Mini Streamer

WiiM Mini Streamer

WiiM Mini is a $90 streamer that is capable of satisfying most streaming needs at high fidelity. That's all I have to say about that. ... What? Not convinced? Oh, okay. You see, WiiM Mini supports many major streaming services, and is able to output the music lossless via its optical

Phorus PR5 Streamer

Phorus PR5 Streamer

Ah, Phorus PR5. Such an awkward looking streamer, controlled by a crappy app. I hesitate to recommend it to anybody, yet I use it myself. You see, Phorus PR5 is primarily controlled by the DTS Play-Fi app. The Play-Fi app streams music from Amazon/Tidal/Qobuz onto your phone, and

SMSL DA-6

I notice SMSL DA-6 is currently (2023-01-20) on sale on Amazon for $50. It is well reviewed. It accepts RCA (analog) connection only, but has well laid out inputs and outputs. It also comes with a remote. What attracts me is that it has a remote control, and has a

SMSL Quality

As many might know, SMSL, Loxjie and Sabaj are owned by the same parent company. In general, their products tend to have high build quality. Their products tend to have higher polish than other Chinese manufacturers. Functionalities are better thought out and more usable as well. I always assumed their

Loxjie A30 Stereo Amplifier

Loxjie A30 Stereo Amplifier

I've been using Loxjie A30 stereo amplifier for more than a year now. Here is my simple review: Overall, it's a very competent amplifier. When using the optical input, the sound is very transparent. It's more transparent than entry level A/B amplifiers such as Sony STR-DH190, for example. I

Race Conditions in Kodi

Race Conditions in Kodi

I tag and rate my movies quite a bit, which allows me to organize and sort my movies by tags and user ratings. I find the built-in mechanism for tagging or rating a movie cumbersome, so I wrote a small addon called "My Rating & Tags" for Kodi, which exposes a

Centralize Kodi Management (Part 2)

Centralize Kodi Management (Part 2)

In Part 1 we moved our Kodi database to the central file server. Now we want to move user files to the central file server as well. There are generally three types of user files in Kodi: 1. configuration files such as passwords.xml or sources.xml 2. other user

Centralize Kodi Management (Part 1)

Centralize Kodi Management (Part 1)

I have a few Fire TV Sticks (aka Firesticks), each serving a different TV in the house. They all consume content from a home-networked file server. It would be nice if these devices can be managed centrally. I tried Plex for a while, but came back to Kodi because I

Blogging Kodi Addon Development

Blogging Kodi Addon Development

I have always been interested in writing my Kodi addons, especially context menu based addons. Now I've finally decided to do it. I soon realized that API documentation for Kodi is quite sparse, and it's difficult to find more information online. I learn by reading code from other Kodi addons.

Looking for Speaker Stands

Looking for Speaker Stands

We bought some bookshelf speakers to go with our new Sony amplifier. When they arrived I placed them on the edges of our TV stand, then went on the hunt for proper speaker stands. I was looking for sturdy and economical speaker stands that could handle heavier speakers. I started

Asus X205TA Review

Asus X205TA Review

Asus X205TA is lightweight