David Bixenspan
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Articles by David Bixenspan
5 inexpensive stocking stuffers for PC gamers
5 Inexpensive Stocking Stuffers For PC Gamers We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. With the holiday shopping season comes the process of figuring out what gifts to buy the various loved ones in your life. Depending on exactly how open or even pushy they've been about what they want, shopping for them can sometimes be quite difficult.
6 of the most expensive old electronics ever sold at auction
6 Of The Most Expensive Old Electronics Ever Sold At Auction It's difficult to overstate the degree to which the collectibles world has become a sellers' market in recent years, thanks in large part to a massive surge in interest during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
6 underrated features and upgrades of the Raspberry Pi 5
6 Underrated Features And Upgrades Of The Raspberry Pi 5 We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. The Raspberry Pi series of single-board computers is, for a certain kind of builder and tinkerer, a bit of a dream product. Depending on exactly how much horsepower you need and which model best accommodates those needs, you can get a pretty functional computer for all sorts of projects at a good price.
7 Discontinued Home Video Formats That Were Commercial Failures
Physical media is dead. Well, at least that's the saying. Tens of millions of units of physical music titles still move each year, with even CDs selling respectably despite more vinyl records being sold. And even though physical video sales have slowed, there have been positive signs of growth for Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. There's still a distinct class of customer willing to pay for higher fidelity video and audio than streaming is capable of achieving.
6 Gadgets From The '80s That Shaped Modern Tech
The 1980s were a time of significant change in the tech world. The personal computer industry exploded with numerous manufacturers warring with each other while offering little in the way of interoperability. Video games were booming both in arcades and at home until consoles declined steeply in 1983, only for Nintendo to revive the industry in 1985 with its NES console and revolutionize portable entertainment with the release of the portable handheld Game Boy console in 1989.
How To Clean Vinyl Records Without Breaking The Bank
There are various reasons why vinyl records sell better than CDs these days, but the fact remains that with a good turntable, vinyl's often the best-sounding consumer format for recorded music — even more than 75 years after its introduction. However, vinyl is also a famously flawed format, as very minor damage can result in significant audible artifacts during playback, and these flaws are amplified by the kind of cheap turntables that a lot of people have used over the years.
6 Things You Should Know Before Buying A Used Gaming Console
If you're sticking to a tight gaming budget, one of the best options is to stay a console generation behind and feast on an array of used systems and games for heavily discounted prices. The used game market blew up in the '90s, thanks in large part to the rise of the FuncoLand chain of stores (which later merged with GameStop), and since then, the gaming world has never been the same.
6 Things You Should Know Before Buying A Used Classic Gaming Console
Classic gaming is as popular as ever. Not only is it easy to play many old favorites through console makers' subscription services, but there's plenty of interest in using the original hardware, as well. This draws a lot of gamers to go back to old cartridges and discs, or to newer flash carts that let them load up numerous games on an SD card. However, while classic hardware is always going to give you the most authentic experience, it doesn't always amount to the best experience.
What happened to the Showtime Pro electric rotisserie oven?
What Happened To The Showtime Pro Electric Rotisserie Oven? We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. In 1984, the Federal Communications Commission changed the face of American television forever. That was the year when the FCC removed the cap of 16 minutes of commercial time per hour of programming, paving the way for "program-length commercials," which soon became more commonly known as infomercials.
What Happened To The Showtime Pro Electric Rotisserie Oven?
In 1984, the Federal Communications Commission changed the face of American television forever. That was the year when the FCC removed the cap of 16 minutes of commercial time per hour of programming, paving the way for "program-length commercials," which soon became more commonly known as infomercials. Direct response ads directing viewers to order products by phone weren't new, but infomercials changed the game.
5 Key Signs That Your TV Is On Its Last Legs
The era of the flatscreen TV has undergone a lot of changes over the years. 3D HDTVs had a moment about a decade and a half ago but were ultimately a flop because of the cost and glasses-based 3D effects being underwhelming on home-sized screens. Plasma TVs were a big deal for the first half or thereabouts of the flatscreen era and arguably had better picture quality than LCD screens, but they eventually vanished from the market after concerns over image burn-in and energy efficiency.
5 key signs that your TV is on its last legs
5 Key Signs That Your TV Is On Its Last Legs The era of the flatscreen TV has undergone a lot of changes over the years. 3D HDTVs had a moment about a decade and a half ago but were ultimately a flop because of the cost and glasses-based 3D effects being underwhelming on home-sized screens.
Why Go90 Was One Of Verizon's Biggest Flops
These days, Verizon is primarily known for its Verizon Wireless and Verizon Fios brands, where the company provides arguable best-in-class service when it comes to mobile phone and home broadband service, respectively. It's the core competency of the former Bell Atlantic, after all. Back in 2015, though, Verizon dipped its toes into a new venture: go90, a free, ad-supported video streaming app for iOS and Android.
Invest Wisely: These 5 Jeeps Have The Best Resale Value
There's an old saying that a new car loses a significant amount of its value the moment you drive it out of the dealer's lot, and it's true. New cars depreciate faster than used cars by way of how much value "new" carries, and there are a bunch of different factors that determine how much a vehicle will or won't depreciate beyond that point.
5 audiophile products that didn't hold up under scrutiny
5 Audiophile Products That Didn't Hold Up Under Scrutiny The audiophile world is an interesting part of the tech industry. Much of what makes for great sound is subjective, making some product reviews far harder than the typical speeds and feeds of the latest laptop or smartphone. You might be able to measure a speaker's exact frequency response, but we all hear it differently in our heads.
5 Audiophile Products That Didn't Hold Up Under Scrutiny
The audiophile world is an interesting part of the tech industry. Much of what makes for great sound is subjective, making some product reviews far harder than the typical speeds and feeds of the latest laptop or smartphone. You might be able to measure a speaker's exact frequency response, but we all hear it differently in our heads.
Potential Spam Keeps Calling And Texting? What That Means (And What You Can Do About It)
It's been over two decades since 2003's introduction of the Federal Do Not Call Registry. At the time, it was supposed to be a game changer, allowing consumers to opt out of telemarketing phone calls, and for a while, it did what it was supposed to.
5 Retro Car Ads That Prove Old-School Advertising Had Charm
This may come as a shock to younger readers, but television commercials actually used to be entertaining. Sure, they always existed solely to get us to buy things, but until the 2010s or thereabouts, there was much more of an artistry to them, and many of them were genuinely funny.
What Are USB DACs And Why Would You Want One?
AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt USB DAC - AudioQuest/Amazon We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. You've probably heard the arguments that digital music — or at least CD-quality digital music — is inherently flawed compared to all-analog formats like vinyl records, making it a major reason why people buy more new vinyls than used CDs these days. Your mileage may vary as to just how true that is and why, but there's no real disputing that bad, low-quality digital exists.
5 Products Google Should Never Have Discontinued
Google has released and acquired a whole lot of products over the course of its existence, both software and hardware. The average person probably uses several Google apps every day, especially if you have a non-Apple smartphone.
5 unexpected devices that run Android
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Why Nintendo's NES & SNES Classic Consoles Are So Expensive (And Where You Can Find One)
Nintendo NES Classic mini-console - Nintendo These days, it doesn't take much to emulate classic video games, especially older ones from the 2D era. For something like that, even projects built around a $10 to $15 Raspbery Pi Zero single-board computer are enough to emulate consoles through the Sega 32X and SNK Neo-Geo, as well as 2D arcade games released even later. If you're less of a tinkerer, even a cheap Amazon Fire TV Stick can run all sorts of classic games surprisingly well.
The 6 Best Movies For Your Surround Sound System Experience
The term "home theater" is pretty self-explanatory: A home entertainment system assembled to get the closest thing to a movie theater-style experience that you can fit into your home. Generally speaking, it's used to refer to a combination of a large TV (or projection screen) and a surround sound system. Though surround sound is also used for TV shows, video games, and even multichannel music, it's most closely associated with the theatrical movies where it originated.
5 Signs That Your CPU Is Failing On Your PC Or Laptop
Your computer's central processing unit, or CPU, is the equivalent of a computer's brain. It helps to power your computer's behavior, telling everything connected to it what to do by making calculations after fetching and executing a program's instructions. As intelligent and expensive as they can be, though, CPUs can also be pretty delicate too.
What Are The Differences Between Blu-Ray And DVDs?
In October 2023, Best Buy announced the end of an era. The electronics retailer, seemingly the last national chain standing that carries a sizable selection of movies and TV shows on DVD and Blu-ray, would be phasing out physical media starting in early 2024. This would seemingly make FYE, which still has around 200 stores, the largest retailer of video discs in the United States.
DealDash: Are They Real Prices? Or Just Another Big Scam?
If you still watch linear, traditional television, then you've probably seen commercials for DealDash.com. Billed as "The Fair and Honest Bidding Site," its commercials tout the ridiculous deals that it says its users have managed to snag, deals that sound too good to be true. Though DealDash does not appear to have posted any new TV commercials on its YouTube channels in the last few years, this one from 2018 still illustrates what's airing now.
How To Get Free TV Channels On Your Samsung TV Without An Antenna
Over the last several years, what it means to be a "cord cutter" without cable or satellite television service has changed radically. Contracts for key content expired, resulting in various new streaming services launching that wanted to grab at your wallet, and a bunch of cable TV replacement streaming services have launched, as well. If you're the kind of person who wants to try to keep up with as many new shows as possible, it's probably going to cost you more than it did a few years ago.
These Are The Best Albums For Testing Your Surround Sound System
When you think of surround sound, you probably associate it with movies. That's only natural: DIY home theaters with surround sound systems have become more common, so movies often get the most hype for their immersive soundtracks, but surround sound has become commonplace in TV and gaming as well. In video games, it can directly impact gameplay, as it allows you to hear what's behind you, which can be invaluable in stealth games.
5 Of The Best Apps To Watch Free Movies On Android
In recent years, there's been a significant uptick in the number of streaming services that qualify as what's become known as FAST, short for Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television. Though the FAST label is commonly used to refer to linear, traditional TV-style channels like the ones most closely associated online with PlutoTV, it can also refer to free, ad-supported video-on-demand services.
5 Of The Fastest Android Launchers To Speed Up Your Phone
For most Android users, the home screen will look as the phone manufacturer intended it. That's because the launcher, the app that controls how the home screen looks, is usually a custom one implemented by that manufacturer. According to a relatively unscientific poll by Android Authority in early 2022, 69.6% of the more than 10,000 users responding used the stock launcher. For the minority, though, they might go with a third party for a few different reasons.
5 Of The Best Free Document Scanner Apps For Android
Scanners of various flavors still exist, of course, but there's a lot less need for the average person to own one. Your recent-ish photographs are all going to be digital, and it's rare that most people will need to scan much of anything else until they stumble onto a collection of family photos or a cache of historical documents that need preservation. When you do need to scan a document or two, where do you turn outside of stopping by the local FedEx Office location?
5 Smart Ways To Use Samsung Galaxy SmartTags
In October 2023, Samsung released the newest iteration of its SmartTag tracker device, the SmartTag2, which follows up on the improvements made in the previous SmartTag+ revision by increasing its battery life as well as its resistance to dust and water. Designed primarily to work with Galaxy phones, SmartTags are Samsung's answer to Tile and Apple's AirTag.
These Horror Stories Prove That AI Could Pose A Serious Threat
At the center of the legendary Terminator film series is Skynet, an AI-powered system that controls the United States government's arsenal of nuclear weapons. In the films, Skynet became self-aware, determined that the entire human race was the greatest threat to its existence, and decided to launch a nuclear war to eradicate them. Skynet isn't real, but today, the market for AI-powered applications is booming at an astonishing rate.
The Best Streaming Devices To Watch Local TV Channels For Free
There are more ways than ever to consume television programming, both in general, and specific to traditional TV channels. There are, of course, the traditional options like using an antenna to pick up the channels over the air for free, subscribing to a local cable TV provider, and subscribing to direct broadcast satellite services like DirecTV or Dish Network.
5 Of The Best Offline Music Apps On Android
These days, free and subscription streaming services are the primary way that consumers listen to music. Physical media is largely dead outside the vinyl record boom, and subscription services have blown past digital downloads. That doesn't mean there isn't still a place for offline and local playback, though. Maybe you have a large collection of music that isn't easily available on any streaming service.
5 Must-Know Tips For Buying Used Vinyl Records
Despite being the oldest media format still in any kind of wide use, vinyl records have come back with a vengeance in recent years, even exceeding CDs as annual physical media sales go. There are a number of different reasons why more people now buy vinyl records than buy CDs, from superficial benefits like bigger cover art and the playback ritual to serious arguments for the format's sonic superiority, but whatever personal reasons you cite, vinyl's big business in 2025.
4 Affordable Bose Surround Sound Alternatives For Any Budget
Bose has long been one of the most recognizable names in audio. Though the company dates back to 1964, it's been a household name since 1993's introduction of the Wave Radio, which was advertised incredibly aggressively across all of mass media. These days, the brand is probably best known for its noise-canceling headphones, some of which are sold under the QuietComfort line.
Buying A Gaming PC On eBay? Here's What You Need To Know First
In the last few years, there's been a noticeable trend — refurbished PCs sold for $500 or less on sites like eBay or Amazon that are, if not always outright branded as gaming PCs, always use the design language of gaming PCs while being presented as good deals. The vendor could very well be doing a good job refurbishing the PCs while offering genuine customer support and warranty service.
7 Hidden Features You Might Not Be Using On Your LG Smart TV
Between smart TV operating systems and special menus for advanced picture calibration, today's TVs are steeped in more complicated onscreen menus than ever before. As a result, customizing your experience can become confusing. Some functions might be buried deep in badly named and poorly organized menus, while others might require accessing outright secret menus or menus that require specific button commands instead of navigating through the settings menu.
5 Wireless Chargers You Can Add To Your Desk And Side Tables
At first glance, wireless smartphone charging may seem like a gimmick or something that has little utility outside of very specific use cases, but there's much more to it than that. The primary use for wireless charging is the way that — for someone who uses their phone a lot — having a charging pad on their desk or nightstand is something that can quickly become second nature, making sure that you're topping up your phone all the time without having to think much about it.
6 Of The Best TVs For Bright Rooms
These days, there is a ridiculous variety of TVs available at a wide variety of price points, to the point that you can get a pretty big TV — and often a pretty decent one — at virtually any budget. If you have a specific use case, you can probably find a TV for it, although quality TVs at small to medium screen sizes — let's say under 55 inches diagonally — are becoming increasingly difficult to come by.
5 USB-C Flash Drives That Are Fast, Reliable, And Worth The Price
One technology that's had a significant impact on our computing lives over the past 20 years has been the rise of solid-state flash storage, to the point that it's pushed mechanical hard drives to the fringes of the most data-hungry environments.
What Happened To NFTs? The Crypto-Collectible Phenomenon Explained
For much of the COVID-19 pandemic until very recently, there was a new, jargon-laden product category dominating news headlines: NFTs. What exactly they were was rarely explained particularly well, past that they somehow used blockchain technology to allow artists to sell limited-edition digital goods. Before long, NFT sales were booming, with all sorts of speculators buying them as investments.
5 things you need to consider before buying a handheld recorder
David Bixenspan 5 Things You Need To Consider Before Buying A Handheld Recorder : We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. For the average person, their smartphones are loaded with helpful tools and should be more than enough to carry out whatever field audio recording functions they will ever need, with the best voice recording apps offering extra functionality beyond basic expectations. Depending on the phone and software used, the results can even be surprisingly high quality.
5 Things You Need To Consider Before Buying A Handheld Recorder
For the average person, their smartphones are loaded with helpful tools and should be more than enough to carry out whatever field audio recording functions they will ever need, with the best voice recording apps offering extra functionality beyond basic expectations. Depending on the phone and software used, the results can even be surprisingly high quality.
Why More People Listen To Vinyl Records Than CDs
According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), vinyl records outsold CDs in the United States in 2023, the second consecutive year for that to happen. This is particularly notable because the 2022 figures marked the first time that this had happened since 1987 — a whopping 35 years.
6 Discontinued Sony Formats (And Why They Failed)
Sony, as one of the biggest and most successful electronics and technology companies in the world, is a household name. That name has, in time, become synonymous with excellence in everything from headphones to its Bravia TVs, PlayStation video game consoles, Xperia smartphones, and even camera lenses.
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