James Garriss

James is a systems engineer, has been married for 30 years, and has a pair of energetic toy poodles. His favorite gadgets are those that solve problems around the house and yard.

Prime Day News – Big discounts on building block sets during Amazon Prime Days

jmbricklayer sale

PRIME DAY DEAL NEWS – We’ve reviewed several building block sets here on The Gadgeteer, LEGO alternatives that have great builds at a great discount, usually 20 to 50% cheaper.  Many of these sets are on sale now, allowing you to slash another 20% or so!  Sets that we have reviewed include: The astronaut (from

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JMBricklayer Money Tree Building Block Set review – bring the legend home

jmbricklayer money 1

REVIEW – According to legend, the money tree signifies abundance, prosperity, and good luck.  If someone can grow and take care of such a tree, they will have good luck.  This is a new belief as far as legends go, having been started in the 1980’s after a truck driver first cultivated a money tree

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Canon PIXMA G620 Photo Printer review (Part 3) – We can make stickers!

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REVIEW – The Canon PIXMA G620 is an inkjet photo printer designed for consumer use.  In a previous article, I reviewed the G620’s ability to print from my personal computer, a Mac mini, where I found that it can print beautiful photos once I made a few configuration changes.  In another article, I reviewed its

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Canon PIXMA G620 Photo Printer review (Part 2) – Apple saves the day!

canon g620 printer 16

REVIEW – The Canon PIXMA G620 is an inkjet photo printer designed for consumer use.  In a previous article, I reviewed the G620’s ability to print from my personal computer, a Mac mini, and I found that after learning how to configure a few settings, it printed beautiful photos, both on 4 x 6 glossy

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JMBricklayer Puppet Show Building Block Set review – I am a real boy!

jmbricklayer puppet 1

REVIEW – LEGOs and other building blocks have the amazing ability to bring things to life.  This new set from JMBricklayer highlights this as well as any out there.  You remember the story of Pinocchio, the enchanted marionette whose nose grew when he lied, right?  The Puppet Show creates a larger-than-life version of Geppetto’s finest

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INSE S9 Cordless Vacuum review – a lightweight vacuum that’s good for dog hair

inse s9 vac 1

REVIEW – Our daughter and her husband recently moved into a new home.  They have a dog, and like many dogs, it’s highly skilled at shedding a lot.  The first story of their house has synthetic hardwoods, so my daughter needs a vacuum that can easily vacuum up dog hair.  Together we are testing the

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Canon PIXMA G620 Photo Printer review (Part 1) – beautiful photos printed at home

canon g620 printer 1

REVIEW – So much of our lives these days, including our photos, only live online, trapped in social media accounts.  Sometimes it’s nice to free these memories and bring them into the real world.  While I could print my photos at a local pharmacy, like CVS, or upload them to an online service, like Shutterfly,

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Comfier Wireless Hand Massager review – for a happier hand

comfier hand massager 1

REVIEW – This spring my wife broke her hand, and surgery required twelve screws to hold the bones in place.  The surgery combined with being a cast caused the muscles in her hand to become very tight.  This has made every part of physical therapy (PT) harder, so she has to start every PT session

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The smart door has arrived, but you’ll want to pass on this one

masonite mpwr 1

NEWS – Masonite has designed what has been called the world’s first smart door.  It starts with a high-end door and adds a video doorbell, a smart lock, motion-activated LEDs, and a door sensor.  Plus, it’s hard-wired, so you never have to worry about batteries.  Sounds fabulous, doesn’t it?  It does!  It’s the M-Pwr line

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JMBricklayer T-Rex Dinosaur Building Block Set review – large and in charge

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REVIEW – Is it possible to have too many building block sets?  I doubt it.  I’m looking for another fantastic set to join my lakeside lodge and my massive lighthouse.  I’m hoping that the new T-Rex from JMBricklayer will find a home on my bookshelf. What is it? The JMBricklayer T-Rex Dinosaur is a LEGO-compatible

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VIOFO A119 Mini 2 Dashcam review – lots of features in a small package

viofo a119 1

REVIEW – Earlier this year I reviewed the VIOFO A139 Pro dashcam; I was happy with it when I reviewed it, and I’m still happy with it now.  VIOFO has upgraded their introductory model, the A119, with several new features.  I installed the A139 in my wife’s car, a Honda CR-V, so I’m planning to

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Vosteed Nightshade pocketknife review – three terrific new EDC knife variations

vosteed nightshade openers 5

REVIEW – Last year I reviewed Vosteed Nightshade knife, an everyday carry pocketknife, and it instantly became my favorite EDC.  Since that time, Vosteed has released three variations of this knife, so I’m back to provide an update. What is it? The Vosteed Nightshade is an everyday carry pocketknife with a distinctive leaf-shaped blade.  It

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EKSA H16 wireless headset review – good for working at home

eksa h16 1

REVIEW – I’ve been working from home for over ten years now, and somehow, I still have a lot of meetings online.  At my company, we use Microsoft Teams and Slack for our calls, so I need a headset with a microphone that allows me to hear and be heard clearly by my co-workers.  For

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JMBricklayer Chameleon Building Block Set review – a bionic reptile from the future

jmbricklayer chameleon 1

REVIEW – Although our kids are grown and gone, we often have families with kids over to our house.  I thought it would be cool to have a building brick set or two available for them play with while they are here.  In this review, I’m looking at the JMBricklayer Chameleon set to see if

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Should we think twice about buying app powered gadgets?

vanmoof bike

ARTICLE – Many gadgets are smart, meaning they automate something for us.  Oftentimes they provide features that could not be done manually.  Higher levels of functionality typically require an app to be installed on our phones, these apps in turn often communicate with external servers. But what happens when these servers are no longer available?

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Another company has been watching you in your bedroom

Google Ring Indoor Camera

SECURITY NEWS – Most gadgets that we have make some aspect of life easy or fun; they are harmless.  Other gadgets, however,  bring with them security implications; if abused, they can harm us.  Perhaps the most obvious example is an indoor camera, and once again we have learned that a well-known company has been abusing

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Oraimo USB Charger review – power for the whole family

oraimo charger 1

REVIEW – In our house, we have a central location where everyone, family and friends alike, can come to charge their iPhones and iPads.  In the past, I used an Anker USB charger with five USB-A ports for this purpose.  These days, most of our gadgets use USB-C, so it’s time to update the charger. 

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