Category Archives: Gadgets and Tech

Lenovo X220 i7 with eGPU! (diy ViDock)

My new Lenovo X220 laptop should be arriving soon. While it has a nice i7 CPU, it only has only has an integrated Intel HD 3000  for the video card 🙁  This severely limits 3D performance, therefore I will be adding something known as a DIY eGPU -or- DIY ViDock. This is a simple little project that is similar to the commercial “ViDock” product but at a lower cost and potentially with more capabilities. Basically it is connecting a desktop video card

Cheap tech gear for telecommuting jobs in Colorado

Mountains and wildflowers diagonal

Colorado is a wonderful state to visit for business or pleasure. This summer my wife and I will be spending almost a month there. We have a housesitter for home and will be staying at a cabin at 10,500 ft. For the portion of the stay where I’ll be working (telecommuting) I have tried out a variety of hardware and software for the job. If you are thinking about telecommuting from Colorao, this post illustrates a surprisingly capable telecommuting setup

What is the latest Kindle firmware version? [answer] for all generations

Q. Hiya. I see on my Kindle “Settings->Device Info” screen that my Kindle has “Software Version” Kindle 2.5.5 Is there a later firmware version for my Kindle?! Thx in advance. A. Yes! There are later firmware versions available.  The LATEST version depends on which Kindle you have. Judging from the info you provided, you have either a 2nd gen Kindle or a Kindle DX so version 2.5.8 is the latest version for your devices. Also here is the latest firmware

Info on the dreaded “not charging” iPad and iPad 2 screen + solutions

Simple tips for charging the iPad via USB | Digiupdateshttp://digiupdates.com/2011/simple-tips-for-charging-the-ipad-via-usb/What we found in all of our test is that although the iPad might say “not charging€ on the display, in reality, juice is still trickling to it and the iPad is in actuality still charging; albeit at a slower rate. No wonder: The iPad is designed to charge from the 10-watt wall adapter it comes bundled with, but many USB ports supply only 2.5 watts (5 volts at 500ma). As

AMD’s Triple Core Llano (and lots more Fusion info!)

Turks get their paws on AMD’s three core Llano – A6 3500 confirms the rumours | TechEyehttp://www.techeye.net/chips/turks-get-their-paws-on-amds-three-core-llanoAMD’s upcoming triple-core Llano APU will be flogged under the memorable A6-3500 handle. The chip is a bit odd in that it is similar to the quad-core A6-3600 except for the fact… Donanimhaber tested it and found that it works at 2.1GHz with a 2.4GHz on Turbo, has 3MB of L2 cache and comes with Radeon HD 6530D graphics with 320 stream processors and

Bought & Sold: Olympus E-P1 – 12.3 MP Digital Camera & 14-42mm lens

Introducing: Bought & Sold This entry marks a new feature on jdhodges.com: Bought & Sold Here I will list items that I purchased and then sold at a later date. Simple enough huh? Here we go… First item: Olympus E-P1 12.3 MP & 14-42mm kit lens This was my second Micro Four Thirds based camera and it was quite a lovely little camera. 🙂 Purchase date: 2009.06.16 Purchase price: $799.99 (from Amazon.com) Sale date: May 27th, 2011 Sale price: $320.00 Owned for:

Does amount of RAM (size) affect hibernation time? [yes]

Today some laptops, such as the Dell M6500, can have up to 32GB of RAM! (4 sticks of 8GB DDR3) Drawbacks of more RAM However, before you load up your laptop with as much RAM as it can hold, there are some potential drawbacks to more RAM that you may want to consider: #1 Slower hibernation times – if you use the “hibernate” feature of Windows, be aware that the more RAM you have, the longer hibernation will take. Related: