Author: Terry White

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My 2019 Gadget Guide is Here

Terry White Recommends

Thanks to Amazon’s new Influencer Program, I can now put all my gadget and photography recommendations in one place. This is the most complete guide that I’ve ever had simply because Amazon carries so many products. Does this mean that I don’t shop or recommend places like B&H Photo anymore? Absolutely not. I love B&H and quite honestly I will continue to buy my big ticket photography gear and electronics from there. However, there are so many things that I recommend that B&H just doesn’t carry. That’s why I’m stoked to have the opportunity to have my own spot on Amazon. There isn’t anything here that I haven’t used personally. The only possible exception would be a newer version of a gadget or piece of tech that I use that is no longer available.

They are nicely organized by category. You can see my recommendations here.

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Automate your existing blinds with the MySmartBlinds kit

For the past two years I’ve been looking for a solution to automate my blinds without having to replace them with new ones. I would love to have Serena blinds by Lutron to integrate into my existing system, but those would set me back anywhere from $500-$800 a window. I just can’t justify that. Luckily now I don’t have to. I stumbled upon the MySmartBlinds Automation kit. MySmartBlinds allows you to automate your existing traditional horizontal blinds. I have 24 windows with these blinds already installed. No need to replace the blinds. I can just pick and choose which windows I want to automate and install the MySmartBlinds kit.

How hard are they to install?

It takes about 10-20 minutes to install the kit on one set of blinds. I can do it pretty quickly now that I’ve done about 10 of my windows. Here’s a video of how the installation and setup in the app works:

MySmartBlinds Installation and Review
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Use your AirPods with ANY Device – AirFly Review

I love my Apple AirPods on a level you can’t imagine. They are not perfect, but they are absolutely the best wireless earbud solution I have ever tried. While I love my AirPods there are times when I wish I could use them with a device that doesn’t have bluetooth. For example, the in-flight system on planes requires a wired connection. The same goes for gym equipment if you want to watch any of the TV’s that are broadcasting.

AirFly to the rescue

The good folks over at Twelve South have created a great solution. It’s called AirFly. I picked one up in the airport right before a flight. I was happy that it came pre-charged. The cashier even helped to get it paired with my AirPods while I was paying for them.

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Wemo Mini Smart Plug Review – Alexa, HomeKit & Google enabled

Anyone that knows me knows that I’m a huge fan of smart home gear. When we built our house back in 2016 I got a chance to have a clean slate and really install all the latest and greatest smart home gear of the time. I wanted lights that would come and and go off at different times, WiFi controlled garage door openers, cameras, voice assistants and more. When it came to lighting I standardized on the Lutron Caséta system. I’ve been 100% happy with it for the last two years. While I love the Caséta system it does have a hard limit of 50 devices per hub. I couldn’t believe it one day when I went to add a device and it told me that I had hit the limit. Now keep in mind that’s wall switches, lamps and pico remotes. But yeah, I hit the 50 limit. Luckily I was able to unpair a remote that we weren’t really using and add the last device.

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What I’m Live Streaming About This Week — 1/7 – 1/11

photo by Jim Babbage

Happy New Year! I hope you had a great holiday break. I took some extra time off to unwind, but I’m back! I’ll be in my home office this week and that means that I’ll be live streaming design and photography tutorials. Here’s my schedule for this week:

Monday, 1/7 – 1PM PT – A look back at the BEST New Features introduced in 2018 for Graphic Designers

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My 2018 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide is Here

Last year the holiday season snuck up on me and I failed to get my guide done last year. This year isn’t much different as once again the season just kinda appeared and the next thing you know it’s the last week fo November and here we are. I try to get this done before Black Friday (which has become Black November), but as they say better late than never. If you have a techie or photographer on your holiday gift list, here are my top recommendations for gifts that they are likely to appreciate. In no particular order:

Anker Qi Wireless Charger for iPhone/Android smartphones

Wireless charging is so convenient and this Anker charger is my favorite. Fast, low profile and it just works.

Get it here: Anker Wireless Charger

Logitech Circle 2 Wired HomeKit compatible security camera

Logicircle

My top three favorite home security cameras are from Nest, Ring and Logitech. I find myself adding more and more Logitech Circle 2’s because they are cost effective, easy to setup and the only ones (that I like) that work flawlessly with Apple’s HomeKit.

Get it here: Logitech Circle 2

DJI Copilot – Backup On Site Solution (B.O.S.S.)

One of the things I hear from photographers again and again is that they want to travel with less gear. One of the things that people want to do is carry an iPad instead of a laptop or not carry a computer at all. The DJI Copilot is a solution that lets you backup your images in the field AND use your mobile devices to review, edit and share your images. Yes, even your raw files. With 2TB of storage and all the connections you need it’s a great solution.

Get it here: DJI CoPilot Boss

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What I’m Live Streaming About This Week – 10/29 thru 11/2

I’ve had an amazing couple of weeks! As many of you know, two weeks ago was Adobe MAX in LA. Last week was PhotoPlus Expo in NYC. From coast to coast I had a very busy presentation schedule with live in person audiences. I got to kick off Adobe MAX to an audience of close to 15,000 people. See my Photoshop presentation here. Last week I was doing sessions at PhotoPlus Expo in the Adobe Theater as well as the conference track. I also got to speak in the Nikon Theater. See that presentation here.

Now with the major shows out of the way for a while, I’m back to live streaming. Here’s my schedule for this week:

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