Welcome back people, I'm ThioJoe, and I've got a great list of awesome tech you guys
will want to hear about, and all of these things are under $50.
Some of these you may have heard of, some maybe not, but I'm sure you'll at least find
a few of these interesting.
Plus I'll throw in some honorbale mentions at the end, like those that are just a little
bit over $50.
Of course I'll put links to all these in the description.
And yes, I am going to shout out my instagram again, I try to post cool stuff on there it's
just @ThioJoe, that link is also in the description.
So let's not wait any longer and jump right in.
First up, this is one I'm sure you're gonna be skeptical about at first, but hear me out.
It's an HDTV Antenna.
I know what you're thinking, dude are you kidding, a TV antenna?
What year is it?
Listen, you might not have known this, but if you're someone who doesn't want to pay
for cable TV, you can get all the major network TV channels like NBC, CBS, ABC, and others,
for free, in High Definition, with an atenna.
These aren't the old days where you have the big bunny ear antennas with crap quality that
you have to adjust.
I've made a video about this before, and the thing that surprises most people, is the HD
picture you get over the air for free, is actually BETTER than what you get with cable,
because it's not compressed.
Now the one I got is called the Winegard Flatwave, it's a 50 mile antenna, and it's actually
$53, but they have a ton on Amazon that are cheaper.
Definitely something to look into, just be sure to look up how far away your nearest
TV broadcast tower is so you know what range to get, there are websites that can tell you
that.
Ok moving on, we have the Avantek Wireless Doorbell for $28.
This one is great for people like me who might live in an apartment that doesn't have a doorbell.
Before, if I was in another room with my headphones on and someone knocked on the door, I might
not hear them.
There are plenty of other brands you can get, but I liked the design on this one.
With it, you get two receiver modules that actually ring, and the doorbell button that
you can just stick anywhere.
I just used some command strips and stuck it outside my door.
I like that it has a bell symbol on it, so it's very obvious that it's a doorbell, and
then when you press it, it rings both the receivers at the same time.
And you can also choose from a bunch of tones and change the volume as well.
Alright number 3 is one I've mentioned in other videos, which is the "Promixx 2.0" blender
/ mixer for $30.
I guess it's not really a true blender, because it doesn't use metal blades, but this thing
is great for stuff like protein shakes.
It's really straight forward, you just put in water, whatever powder and stuff, and then
turn it on, and it starts spinning really fast.
The first time I turned it on I was actually surprised how much power this thing can deliver,
when you're holding it you can tell it's not messing around.
One thing to note is they're apparently releasing a new version in November that's only in pre-order
right now.
So if you're on the fence or don't need one right now, I might just wait till the new
improved version comes out and get that.
Still, the current version is great and I've used it for years.
Number 4, you probably HAVE heard of this, it's the Google Home Mini, just announced
recently, coming in at $49.
The mini is to the Google Home what the Amazon Echo Dot is to the regular Echo.
As far as the software goes, it has all the same features as the regular Google home,
because it uses the same assistant.
Unfortunately I haven't gotten one of these yet, but I do have the regular Google Home
which I like a lot.
I think this would be great for someone who doesn't necessarily want to listen to music
on it, because the smaller speaker obviously won't sound as good.
Another difference is the mute button, which is now a switch, and you change volume by
tapping on the sides of it instead of a circular touch interface.
But I rarely ever physically interact with my Google Home anyway, that's not really the
point, so I think the Google Home Mini is a perfect entry point.
And yes, it can FINALLY do reminders.
Ok number 5 is tech related so it still counts, which are this pack of microfiber cloths for
$10.
This particular pack seems to just be generic, there's not really any brand name for them,
but they are really high quality for the price, and you get 8 of them, it's actually a great
deal.
Each cloth comes in an individual cardboard package, the clothes themselves are thick
and sturdy with seamed edges.
And yes, they're proper smooth microfiber material, not like that other crap that's
more like a roided up paper towel, you know what I'm talking about.
So yea if you've been looking for something to clean your phone or glasses with, these
are great.
Number 6, for those of you who have too many home network devices, there's the Netgear
8 Port gigabit switch, at $47.
Or, they have a 5 port version for $35.
If you don't know what a switch is, that's OK no judgement, you can just think of it
like an ethernet splitter.
Maybe I'm old fashion, but I still prefer the reliability of a hardwired ethernet cable
over WiFi when I have the choice.
If you either don't have a switch, or you have a basic 100 megabit one... hah.
This is one to consider.
Obviously there are other brands out there, but I like this one because it just feels
like a quality product, and I've found them to be reliable.
They're all metal construction, not cheapo plastic that you typically see, and they look
pretty slick.
It's a simple, straight edge design, that just looks like a proper piece of networking
equipment.
Oh and I should point out they do make managed versions as well, but for those of you who
don't know what that means, you don't have to worry about that.
Seven, this is actually two tech related accessories that I'm going to count as one because they're
pretty similar.
First, is this pack of 50 velcro cable ties by a company called Pasow for about $7.
These things always come in handy, and they're so cheap you should just get some to have
on hand when you want to wrap up a single cable or multiple.
Also, related to that, is this really clever cable management sleeve for $15.
It's basically a two sided cloth material with velcrow, and you just wrap it around
a cluster of cables to keep them together and looking nice.
One side is black and one is white, so you can choose either color as the outside, and
you just cut it to whatever length you need.
They also come with these cord label clips you can use if you have a lot of similar looking
cables I guess.
So this is something I like, I used it to put behind my TV stand with the white outside
so it's just less messy than a bunch of black cables bundle together.
Number 8, it's a shame that we need something like this because so many companies are removing
headphone jacks, but anyway here it is, the TaoTronics Bluetooth Receiver for $15.
It's just a little bluetooth module with a 3.5mm output plug that you can plug into anything
and then stream to it.
For example, you might keep this in your car so when you're riding with friends and want
to listen to their music, they can do so even if their phones don't have a headphone jack.
Or maybe you have it hooked up to your speakers at home so you or your friends can easily
put on music that way if you don't want to bother with a cable or adapter.
Of course bluetooth still isn't really up to par with a proper cable, but hey, this
is cheap enough where it's easy to justify.
Coming near the end of our main list, number 9, is the Anker USB charging Hub with USB-C
port, which costs $50.
I think it's pretty obvious why a USB power hub is useful.
It's good for if you have a lot of devices of your own, or you could put it in a common
room where a lot of people might want to use it.
But with so many phones and devices using USB-C now, that just makes this even better.
You see this supports USB Power Delivery, which is the new standard for delivering extra
power through USB.
This means if you have one of the new iPhones, you can use this to fast charge your device
instead of using Apple's expensive charger.
It will also charge any other devices that need USB-C with power delivery, like the latest
Macbooks.
So if you're looking for a hub that can deliver a lot of power and will be pretty future proof,
this is one to look at.
Ok finally we have number 10, and after we can get into honorable mentions.
So for this we have the Yubico Security Key for $18.
This is also something I've talked about in other videos, and I think it is an awesome
device for the price, especially for people who are security conscious.
Basically, this is a physical usb device that you plug in and use as a method of Two-factor
authentication, and it's supported by a ton of major websites.
If you're not familiar with two factor authentication, this is how it works.
On websites that support it, you can make it so to log in, you not only need your password,
but also a special one-time code that is either sent to your phone through a text message,
or is generated through an app on your phone.
That way, if someone steals your password, they still can't log in.
But in some cases, you may fall victim to a "man in the middle attack", that I won't
really get into, but put simply, someone else gets your code instead of you, like they set
up a fake website, or steal your sim card.
A physical security key uses some more advanced encryption techniques that I'm not qualified
to explain, so to log in, you simply press the button on the key, and it does a secure
handshake with the service that can't be intercepted.
So it's much more secure than just using a regular code, and worth it especially for
services like Google, where you might have all your accounts tied to a single email.
Definitely worth it.
Alright so now onto a few quick honorable mentions.
First, is the Lutron Casetta Wireless dimmer plug and remote, which is $60, so a bit over
$50.
I've got a couple of these and find them really useful for some lights that I wanted to put
where there are no light-switch controlled outlets.
With this, you can plug it in anywhere, and now the lights you plug into it can be controlled
with the little remote you stick anywhere on the wall.
The next honorable mention are these super cool spiral edison type bulbs.
They come in a pack of 4 for $16.
I know they're just light bulbs but I thought they were super cool looking and wanted to
mention them.
And there are also other cool designs you can find all over Amazon that might be worth
looking through.
Finally, this one is kind of tech related I guess, but SO useful.
And that is a pair of long needle nose pliers, which go for around $15.
You might have a regular pair of needle nose pliers, but I doubt you have these.
They have come in handy so many times, like when I'm working on the inside of my computer
and drop a tiny screw at the bottom of the case.
But obviously this would be useful any time you need to get to something small in a hard
to reach place.
Next time that happens you'll be glad you had them.
So, that is it, hopefully you guys found a bunch of these pretty awesome and useful.
If you have any super cool gadgets you think I should talk about next time, feel free to
let me know down in the comments or on Twitter as well.
If you want to keep watching, I'll put some other videos right here, you can just click
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Again, I'm looking forward to hearing from you, so thanks for watching I'll see you next
time, have a good one.