Category Archives: computer tips

How to Enable Wake-on-LAN (WoL) on a Synology NAS (DS925+ and Others)

Leave a comment

TL;DR: On a Synology NAS, enabling Wake-on-LAN takes two steps in two different DSM screens. Turn on Enable WOL on LAN 1 in Control Panel > Hardware & Power > General, then get the NAS MAC address from Control Panel > Info Center > Network, not from Network > Network Interface. Why Wake-on-LAN for your NAS? Wake-on-LAN, or WoL, lets you wake a powered-down device by sending a small network broadcast called a magic packet. I wanted it on my

Read more computer tips

Gigabyte AORUS RTX 5090 AI BOX w/128GB Framework Desktop: Real-World AI Workstation Setup

Leave a comment

Last year I was able to pick up a killer deal on a Gigabyte AORUS RTX 5090 AI BOX, an external GPU enclosure that packs a full desktop RTX 5090 (32GB GDDR7) into a compact box that connects over a single Thunderbolt 5 cable. My goal was to pair it with the Framework Desktop running AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip and see how well it worked as a portable AI workstation. Short answer: surprisingly well. The Setup: Framework Desktop

Read more computer tips, AI

How to Find Your New Synology NAS IP Address (DS925+ and Others)

Leave a comment

TL;DR: Synology NAS devices use DHCP, so there’s no default IP address. To find your new DiskStation on the network, open find.synology.com in any browser. It will detect the NAS and hopefully show you the IP address in seconds. The Problem You unbox a new Synology DS925+, slot in your drives, plug in Ethernet and power, and wait for it to boot. Now what? Unlike a router with a sticker on the bottom showing 192.168.1.1, Synology NAS devices don’t have

Read more computer tips

MacBook Neo vs. Windows Laptops in 2026

Leave a comment

Disclosure: This is my own personal opinion. I have not been paid by Apple, Intel, Qualcomm, AMD, or anyone else to write it. TL;DR: The MacBook Neo is not the most powerful laptop here, and it is not the best specs bargain. At $599, it is the simplest smart laptop buy in a very messy 2026 market. Buy the Neo for the cheapest Mac that still feels fast and polished. Buy the M4 MacBook Air for the better long-term Mac.

Read more computer tips, gadgets-and-tech

I Tested 13 Local LLMs on Tool Calling: March 2026

Leave a comment

I built a deterministic eval harness and tested 13 local LLMs on tool calling (function calling) to find out which models work decently well for agentic tasks. The result that surprised me most: a 3.4 GB model scored higher than everything else I tested, including models five times its size. If you’re running a local AI stack with Open WebUI, LM Studio, or any OpenAI-compatible frontend, tool calling is one of the key features that enables agentic behavior. It lets

Read more AI, computer tips, Gadgets and Tech

Gmail to Claude: Line Breaks Disappear on Paste (Fix)

Leave a comment

TL;DR: When you copy text from Gmail and paste it into Claude (or Claude Code), all your line breaks disappear and the text runs together into one giant wall of text. The fix: right-click and choose “Paste as plain text” (or press Ctrl+Shift+V on Windows/Linux, Cmd+Shift+V on Mac). Your line breaks will be preserved. The Problem You’re working in Claude and need to paste an email from Gmail. You copy the text, hit Ctrl+V, and… all your carefully formatted paragraphs

Read more AI, computer tips

TurboTax Adding Rental Property Depreciation to the WRONG State Return

Leave a comment

TL;DR: If you file in multiple states and have rental property in TurboTax Desktop, check your Asset Entry Worksheets. TurboTax may silently add state depreciation entries for every state on your return, not just the state where the property actually exists. The fix: go to the Asset Entry Worksheet, scroll to the State Depreciation section, and set “Include asset in state return” to No for any state where the property is not located. The Problem I have a commercial rental

Read more computer tips, money tips

MacBook Neo Tap to Click (how to turn on)

Leave a comment

The MacBook Neo launched recently and at $599, Apple’s cheapest laptop ever is a legitimately impressive machine. I’ll have more to say about the Neo overall soon, but I wanted to quickly share something that tripped me up right out of the box: the trackpad. ⚡ TL;DR The MacBook Neo’s trackpad uses a mechanical click instead of the haptic feedback found on other MacBooks. If that bugs you, go to System Settings > Trackpad > Point & Click and toggle

Read more Mac OS X, computer tips
« Older Entries