#gadget — Public Fediverse posts

MSI Utilizes More Affordable DDR4 RAM in Latest Katana 15 Gaming Laptop Amid Rising DRAM Costs #gadget #gaming

MSI leans into affordability with DDR4 in the Katana 15 HX C14, offering DDR4-3200 options alongside DDR5 to curb rising DRAM costs. Read how this hybrid memory strategy, powered by Intel’s 14th-gen CPUs, could reshape entry-level gaming laptops. https://ift.tt/iJHp7ec

Source: https://ift.tt/iJHp7ec | Image: https://ift.tt/hQwag0S

Ah, the Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash—a name so revolutionary it makes your toaster blush with inadequacy. 🤖✨ Now you too can bask in the glory of #AI #innovation, because who needs actual content when you have #buzzwords to throw around like confetti at a #tech party? 🎉📢
https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/developers-tools/build-with-gemini-omni-1-1-flash/ #Gadget #Enthusiasts #Flash #HackerNews #ngated

🆕 blog! “Gadget Review: Thermal Master P3 Macro Lens”
★★★★⯪

The good folks at Thermal Master have sent me their latest camera to review - and it is a bit different to all the others I've tried.

Whereas previous cameras are good for bird watching, or wildlife spotting, or finding leaks at home - the P3 has a manual macro lens and is specifically…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/gadget-review-thermal-master-p3-macro-lens/
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#gadget #infrared #review #thermal #usb-c

Gadget Review: Thermal Master P3 Macro Lens

The good folks at Thermal Master have sent me their latest camera to review - and it is a bit different to all the others I've tried.

Whereas previous cameras are good for bird watching, or wildlife spotting, or finding leaks at home - the P3 has a manual macro lens and is specifically designed for getting close-up and personal with your electronics.

Yup! See just how hot your CPU is getting 🥵

Let's take it for a spin!

Unboxing

As well as the camera (which looks gorgeous with its gold trim) you get a carry-case, USB-C extension cable, and a Lightning converter for older iPhones.

The metal casing of the camera feels delightful and gives it a bit of heft. The focus wheel is reasonably stiff which makes it easier to position just right.

Sample Photos

These are the raw images taken directly from the app. I haven't resized or altered them in any way. What you see is what you get. Here's a hot-spot on a circuit board:

The natural size of the images is 1344x1008. That's obviously upscaled from the sensor, but there's a surprisingly amount of detail in there.

Here's a small circuit board which has just booted up:

Where the P3 shines is when you twist the manual lens all the way down to macro. You can get about 2cm away from a surface and stay in focus.

Obviously don't get that close to something red hot!

Annoyingly, the images are uncompressed JPEG and weigh in around 6MB each. I've losslessly compressed these to WebP, which is about 10% of the size.

Colours

There are a variety of different colour palettes to play with. Some are more useful than others. Here's a mug of hot and delicious matcha rendered in the various colours:

Scrolling through the colours is a little difficult in the app (more on that later) but once you've found one you like, it stays that way for the photography session.

EXIF

Geolocation is taken from the phone - there's no GPS chip in the camera. You can refuse location permission to the app and it will work just fine.

That's just about all you get other than the time and the model name of USB_IR_RS300_P2L - the infrared details aren't recorded separately.

Video

The video doesn't upsample the image, it has a resolution of 504x672 playing at 25fps. Audio is recorded from the phone's microphone and is 64kbps mono. A minute of video is around 22MB. I've recompressed this one for the web.

The App

It is, sadly, an inevitability that good hardware is always accompanied by a substandard app. The Thermal Master Android App is the only way to access the camera. It has a relatively easy to use interface with plenty of options.

As you can see from the word "brightness" the UI is a little janky in places.

There's a decent amount of settings to fiddle with.

You can also change which elements get displayed on the final image.

Unfortunately, it is also a bit crash-happy. Most times I used it, the app would randomly close. It takes a little while to re-open thanks to a mandatory animation. So it gets a bit annoying. Flicking through some of the options can be slow and tedious. It also doesn't respect the phone's orientation, so images may be 90⁰ off what you expect.

The app updated the firmware on the camera, but didn't say what had changed.

It takes photos and videos, allows you to share them, and has a bunch of options to play with - but it does have a habit of crashing just when you're about to take the perfect shot. There is also zoom available, but it is digital only - so you're just making the pixels bigger rather than getting optically closer to the object you're scanning.

Linux Info

I tried plugging it in to a Linux laptop. It shows up as 3474:45a2 Thermal Master Technology Co., Ltd. P3 - but that's about it. There's no way I can find to access the thermal images.

To be fair, this is explicitly sold as an Android and iOS device. I'm hopeful someone will be able to reverse engineer it.

Cost and Final Thoughts

Thermal cameras are expensive. This will run you about £280 on Amazon or about £260 direct. Readers of this blog can get 10% off using code THERMALBF10

If you run a hackspace, this is a no-brainer. The ability to see hot-spots on your circuits is immediately useful. The detail is impressive, allowing you to see exactly what's causing problems.

If you're a hobbyist, this is definitely in the "ask Santa if you've been good" category. You'll find it handy on any small projects you have, or to diagnose faults with electrical equipment.

For non-macro uses, it's also pretty good. You might be better off with a dedicated device if you want to go hunting wildlife or doing home surveys.

The only fly in the ointment is the app. While somewhat customisable, it does repeatedly crash and it isn't the easiest to use or set up. I found that pretty frustrating and have fed back the problem to the developers. I appreciate it saving high quality images - but a PNG or lossless WebP would be easier to work with than massive JPGs.

Ultimately, this is an excellent thermal camera. It looks lush, it is customisable, the images are high quality, and the macro-lens is surprisingly useful.

🚨 ALERT: #Apple has launched a revolutionary... *drumroll*... #POLISHING CLOTH! 🎉 Because why not pay $19 for a piece of fabric to rub your overpriced gadgets? 🤑 Next up, a subscription service for polishing instructions—because clearly, doing it yourself is so 2020. 🙄
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/08/25/apple-releases-new-polishing-cloth/ #Cloth #Gadget #News #Tech #Humor #Consumerism #HackerNews #ngated

Apple’s upcoming foldable smartphone is on the horizon – but will the iPhone 18 Pro overshadow it? #technology #gadget

Apple’s upcoming foldable iPhone is on the horizon, but will the iPhone 18 Pro overshadow it? Our latest analysis breaks down the foldable design, potential specs, and what to expect from Apple’s keynote this September. Read more: https://ift.tt/zm9tc32

Source: https://ift.tt/zm9tc32 | Image: https://ift.tt/estarKM

iPhone Users Alerted to Overlooked Feature When Modifying iMessage Chat Backgrounds #gadget #technology

Exciting reveal: iPhone users can now personalize iMessage chat backgrounds, a feature that started in iOS 26. But beware—the chosen background also appears to the recipient. Our latest post dives into how to customize and the surprising edge cases this brings as iOS 27 looms. Read more: https://ift.tt/1UAzj0n

Source: https://ift.tt/1UAzj0n | Image: https://ift.tt/jT6PFzC

https://reviewengine.in/dreame-x60-max-ultra-complete-review.html

Dreame X60 Max Ultra Complete A premium flagship #robot #vacuum and mop hybrid featuring advanced #AI obstacle avoidance and specialized edge-cleaning hardware. #gadget #review

Samsung Galaxy S26 FE Launching on August 27: 6.7-Inch Screen, Triple Camera Setup, and Additional Features #technology #gadget

Samsung Galaxy S26 FE could arrive August 27 with a 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED display, a triple-camera setup, 4900mAh battery, Exynos 2500, and AI features. Live stream details and likely pricing/name to be confirmed at the event. Read the full update here: https://ift.tt/pP2Bugc

Source: https://ift.tt/pP2Bugc | Image: https://ift.tt/4hag8DL

Riassunto della stagione smartwatch prima dell'IFA di Berlino:

- Pebble Round 2 e Suunto Core 2 tornano al minimalismo: niente GPS, autonomia lunghissima
- Samsung Galaxy Watch9/Ultra2 e Amazfit Balance spingono su sensori e prestazioni sportive
- Un outsider, il Watch2Care Vital, promette di misurare il "chi" invece dei passi

Ho messo prezzi e dettagli tecnici di tutti i modelli qui: https://giornaleorologi.it/2026/08/19/i-nuovi-smartwatch-fra-grandi-ritorni-e-modelli-che-misurano-il-chi/

#Smartwatch #Wearable #Tech #Gadget

Sonos Live Activities Make a Comeback on iPhone Lock Screen #gadget #technology

Sonos Live Activities return on iPhone Lock Screen with version 88.0.51, bringing speaker playback and Dynamic Island controls to your lock screen. Learn how to enable on iOS 18+, see what information is shown, and note limitations like missing album art. Read the full update and tips here: https://ift.tt/RbYQZGq

Source: https://ift.tt/RbYQZGq | Image: https://ift.tt/ED9ZPqX

Gigabyte Launches 16-Inch Gaming Laptop Featuring Core Ultra 9 and RTX 5060 #gadget #gaming

Gigabyte unveils two 16-inch gaming laptops powered by Core Ultra 9 and RTX 5060, featuring 16 or 32 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, 165 Hz WUXGA display, and advanced cooling with GiMATE AI suite. Read more on the full launch and market context. https://ift.tt/5mwGh2N

Source: https://ift.tt/5mwGh2N | Image: https://ift.tt/C9hDpny

Ruby 4.0 Universal RCE Deserialization Gadget Chain

https://www.elttam.com/blog/ruby-4-0-universal-rce-deserialization-gadget-chain

Comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49295238

#HackerNews #Ruby #RCE #Deserialization #Gadget #Chain #Universal #RCE #Cybersecurity

I have close to zero use for this, but want it so badly!
https://thexpod.ai/?se_activity_id=172733497500&syclid=d9uu24iu8n8s73ctap3g

#gadget #EDC

How to Troubleshoot Game Crashes and Stutters by Updating Game Ready Drivers #gaming #gadget

Discover how updating Game Ready drivers can fix crashes, stutters, flickering, and low FPS in newly released games. A quick guide to troubleshooting performance issues with graphics drivers. Read more: https://ift.tt/L7jugnN

Source: https://ift.tt/L7jugnN | Image: https://ift.tt/CtL9JRh

Samsung Introduces AI Features Tailored for India in Upcoming Galaxy Smartphones #gadget #artificialintelligence

Samsung is tailoring AI for India with Galaxy smartphones, introducing local features like a bill payment reminder to simplify everyday tasks. Learn how Samsung’s Noida and Bengaluru teams are shaping AI that fits Indian consumer needs. Read more: https://ift.tt/EPKZcFw

Source: https://ift.tt/EPKZcFw | Image: https://ift.tt/5R9FoPx

🆕 blog! “Gadget Review: Soundpeats POP Clip2 Earphones”
★★★★⯪

Last year, I reviewed a new type of Clip-On earphone - the Soundpeats Clip1 Cuff. I was a bit sceptical, but was won around by their comfort. The good folks at Soundpeats have sent me their new version to review. I had a few niggles with the Clip1 - so let's see how the UU2 Clip2…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/gadget-review-soundpeats-pop-clip2-earphones/
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#bluetooth #gadget #headphones #review #usb-c

Gadget Review: Soundpeats UU2 POP Clip2 Earphones

Last year, I reviewed a new type of Clip-On earphone - the Soundpeats Clip1 Cuff. I was a bit sceptical, but was won around by their comfort. The good folks at Soundpeats have sent me their new version to review. I had a few niggles with the Clip1 - so let's see how the UU2 Clip2 compare.

Design

The "cuff" design is fairly new to the UK - but is already popular in other parts of the world. Rather than sticking the buds in your earholes, they clip around the flappy bits of your ears. The aren't like a bulldog clip - more like a gentle caress. The speaker sits just outside your ear canal, so you can still hear ambient sounds from around you. Look, you do not want a close-up of my waxy lugs, so here's a model:

You don't have to wear them in that position. Mine tend to hang around my earlobes - your ears might be a different shape.

They are ridiculously comfortable. I've had them on for a several hour train journey and forgot they were there. They don't leave a mark, they don't ache, they don't pinch, and most importantly they don't fall off. Even if I shook my head vigorously or did any exercise, they stayed put.

I am happy to declare them the most comfortable headphones I own - even more so than my Bone Conducting headset.

But, of course, there are some downsides. The previous version had touch-only controls which were a bit shit. It was far too easy to accidentally brush your finger against your ears and skip a track. The Clip2 improves this somewhat by adding a small physical button to each headphone. You can set them to play/pause, skip tracks, adjust volume (if you can remember the precise sequence of taps you need).

Bluetooth range was good - I was able to wander all over my house without losing connection. Sound quality - even on the default setting - was excellent. You can push up the bass or fiddle with the equaliser if that'll make you happy. Battery life is going to depend on how hard you drive them and if you choose a more energy efficient codec or not. They lasted several hours in my test and recharged quickly in their included case. Naturally, the case has a USB-C connection so it'll use the same cable as all your other gadgets.

Android

They just work. They paired instantly, accepted AAC as a high quality audio codec, the sound quality was excellent as was the microphone quality. Once I used the app to switch to LDAC, the Clip2 restarted and Android started playing in the higher fidelity mode.

App

*sigh* Why is that hardware manufacturers make the crappiest software? You don't need the app - everything will work without it. But if you want to customise the buttons, change the EQ, or enable LDAC you'll need it.

Annoyingly, you can't do anything unless you're logged in and have an Internet connection. Want to change the EQ while you're on a train with no signal? Tough.

The app also handles firmware updates - there was one waiting for me - but doesn't offer any information beyond the usual platitudes of bug fixes and stability improvements.

Note, you need the PeatsAudio app not the "Soundpeats" app.

Honestly, find an EQ you like, update the firmware, toggle the settings, then uninstall it.

There are some nice touches - like the personalised EQ test - but it is slim pickings. Here are some screenshots.

Linux

Yup! Connected perfectly the first time and gave access to all the supported codecs.

A Few Niggles

Despite looking superficially similar to the Clip1 - these new ones don't fit into the charging case of the originals. That's unfortunate. I guess they don't want users mixing up pairs and getting confused?

Rather annoyingly, they don't pause the sound when you take them off. The old Clip1 would detect if it was in-ear and pause if you popped one out to chat to someone.

They supply a short USB-A to C lead. That's just e-Waste and shouldn't be included.

Because of the design they won't block out all external noise and there's no noise cancelling function. But that's offset by the fact that they do let you retain some awareness of your surroundings.

Price and Final Thoughts

The Clip2 cuff headphones are usually around £60, but are on offer now for about £48. I think that's excellent value for money.

Readers of this blog can use code SPUU2810 for 30% off until August 31, 2026.

I am an absolute convert to cuff-style. They don't tightly grip your head like bone-conducting ones, they're less noisy than rear-firing open-ear cans, and they're a good deal more comfortable than sticking something deep in your ear-wax chambers.

The app is a bit shit - but you'll probably only use it once. The buttons are slightly fiddly, but I can't see a way to make them any more tactile without sacrificing their small size.

Sounds quality - on Linux and Android - was excellent. They're perfect if you spend a long time with headphones on.

AI and Smartphone Team Up with Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 18 as Strategic Partner #gadget #artificialintelligence

Ai+ Smartphone teams up with Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 18 as Strategic Partner, boosting brand visibility across India. Learn how this alliance taps into KBC’s trusted legacy to emphasize privacy, transparency, and user-centric innovation. Read more: https://ift.tt/VNfGrCY

Source: https://ift.tt/VNfGrCY | Image: https://ift.tt/srbPQLh

Asus launches a new 16-inch laptop featuring Ryzen AI 9 H 465 and a 165 Hz OLED screen #gadget #artificialintelligence

Asus unveils the Vivobook Pro 16 (2026) powered by Ryzen AI 9 H 465, featuring a stunning 16-inch 165 Hz OLED display, upgraded cooling, and flexible upgradability with two M.2 slots. Read more about this powerful newcomer here: https://ift.tt/WgmrD6M

Source: https://ift.tt/WgmrD6M | Image: https://ift.tt/jxFkSnB

Dieses KI-Gadget ist verboten (eigentlich)

https://peertube.heise.de/w/4R5VendL8Kj4WdJVRenmYf

🆕 blog! “Gadget Review: T2 Max plug-in Thermal Camera”
★★★⯪☆

The good folks at Thermal Master have sent me another Thermal Camera to review. The last one was a big beastie with a huge touchscreen. This one is much smaller and is designed to plug into your phone's USB-C port.

The T2 Max is a chunky little camera - but doesn't weight too much. The USB-C…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/gadget-review-t2-max-plug-in-thermal-camera/
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#gadget #review #thermal #usb-c

Gadget Review: T2 Max plug-in Thermal Camera

The good folks at Thermal Master have sent me another Thermal Camera to review. The last one was a big beastie with a huge touchscreen. This one is much smaller and is designed to plug into your phone's USB-C port.

The T2 Max is a chunky little camera - but doesn't weight too much. The USB-C connector is long enough to securely plug in even if your phone is wearing a case.

Thermal Master boasts that this is the "world's smallest thermal monocular" - and it is easy to believe. The lens is comparatively huge, but the total package size is tiny.

In the box you get the camera module with rubber lens cover, a short extension lead, a Lightning adapter, and a handy carry case which is well-padded and has a carabiner clip.

The focus is manually adjustable. Gently twist the lens until you can clearly see what it is pointed at.

Wanna see some photos?

Photos

These are the original photos, untouched. Annoyingly, the images are rotated 90°, so I've fixed that. I've also removed the geolocation.

Photos are 1008x1344 pixels. Of course, that's massively upscaled - still, the level of detail is impressive.

Here's a cat I spotted.

Turning on the X3 enhanced mode, and you can see the amount of extra detail it extracts.

There's a variety of thermal modes. Particularly effective is this one which highlights heat in green and lets the rest of the image fade away. Very good for birdwatching.

The zoom is relatively impressive, and the picture-in-picture mode allows you to see an optical image as well as thermal. Here's the moon.

Videos

Video is about 25MB per minute with a resolution of 672x504. Here's a re-encoded video showing off the various thermal modes, focuses, etc.

Your device's microphone can be used to record an audio track. That's useful for giving commentary on what you're seeing. I've stripped it out because you don't need to hear me chatting to the cat.

The camera can pick up a remarkable amount of detail - although the zoom is digital rather than optical.

Framerate starts off well but, as you can see, degrades a bit. I suspect that's the app's fault. It's a real shame because the phone screen seems to display a silky-smooth frame rate.

Android App

Once you've installed the Thermal Master app, you can set it to open as soon as the camera is plugged in.

The app takes a bit of getting used to. There's no direct on-screen "take photo" button, you have to open it up from a menu, which is a little annoying.

There are a decent amount of options to fiddle about with. Because USB-C is bidirectional, the camera can either face you or away from you. If you swap orientation you'll need to adjust the settings.

It also has a "Picture in Picture" mode which overlays the thermal image with what your device's regular camera is seeing. That's handy in daytime, but a bit pointless at night.

Sadly, the app is a bit crap. It crashed several times while I was using it.

The interface isn't brilliant and you'll find yourself taking several taps to do anything basic.

iOS Support

No idea. It should work with newer USB-C iPhones. It also comes with an adapter for older Lightning port devices.

Linux Support

Nope. I tried using the extension cable and plugging it directly into my computer's USB-C ports. I got this series of errors from dmesg:

device descriptor read/64, error -32
attempt power cycle
new full-speed USB device number 17 using xhci_hcd
Device not responding to setup address.
device not accepting address 17, error -71
WARN: invalid context state for evaluate context command.
unable to enumerate USB device

I rotated the cable, and it showed up as 3474:41b2 Thermal Master Technology Co., Ltd. T2 Max. I suspect that it doesn't have the internal resistors needed to signal that it is a USB 2 device - and the included extension cable is wired to only provide them on one orientation. Even after all that, I couldn't get it working in any standard Linux tools.

To be fair, it isn't marketed as being suitable for computer use. It explicitly says iPhone and Android only. Ah well!

Price

Thermal Cameras are expensive - even more so when they're miniaturised like this. So, brace yourself, it is on sale for £320!

Readers can use the code THERMBIRD10 for 10% off at Thermal Master website, or Amazon UK, or Amazon.com.

Final Thoughts

If you spend a lot of time looking for wildlife, The T2 Max is a decent bit of kit. It is small, lightweight, and easy to integrate with your phone.

The app is a real let down. It isn't exactly the zenith of interaction design - but you'll find your way round it easily enough. The real problem is the frequent crashes an the lapses in frame-rate while recording video.

Because of the design of the lens, it isn't great for domestic tasks like spotting leaks & hotspots. For that you'll want something like the Hikmicro unit I reviewed last week.

Being able to shove it into your phone means that it can easily integrate into your workflow. You can edit, crop, and post images just as you normally do. For such a small device, you get a lot of image - and the on-board processing is excellent.

Sadly, the zoom is digital, rather than optical. All you're doing is blowing up pixels rather than getting closer to the subject.

The image quality is exquisite but the Android app is a real let down. If you're prepared to put up with a baffling interface and occasional crashes, you'll get some fine photos and videos out of it.

Vor ein paar Wochen, als wir euch die ersten Eindrücke rund um die #SwitchBot #Wetterstation mitgeteilt haben, konntet ihr noch für rund 25 Euro weniger zuschlagen. Jetzt ist unser #YouTube-Video mit bewegten Bilder fertig: Und aktuell ist das #Gadget leider wieder etwas teurer. Das von uns getestete All-in-One-Gerät mit #Hub und #Außensensor gibt es für 149,99 Euro.

Alles zum Thema: https://www.appgefahren.de/?p=403242

#appgefahren #Apple #AppleBlog #iPhone #iPad #Mac #SmartHome

🆕 blog! “Gadget Review: HIKMICRO D02 Thermal Camera”
★★★★★

The good folks at Hikmicro have sent me their D02 Infrared Camera to review. It's part of their "Eco" series of thermal imagers - designed to be easy to use around the home and relatively cheap.

Despite the no-fills appearance, it packs in a lot of features which put some more expensive models to…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/08/gadget-review-hikmicro-d02-thermal-camera/
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#gadget #review #thermal #usb-c

Gadget Review: HIKMICRO D02 Thermal Camera

The good folks at Hikmicro have sent me their D02 Infrared Camera to review. It's part of their "Eco" series of thermal imagers - designed to be easy to use around the home and relatively cheap.

Despite the no-fills appearance, it packs in a lot of features which put some more expensive models to shame. It even works with Linux. Shove in a USB-C cable to grab the photos or even use it as a webcam.

All the images you see in this post are unaltered. I haven't optimised them or stripped the metadata; what you see is what you get.

Let's go!

Specs and Pictures

Infrared cameras usually have tiny sensors - the D02 is no different, you get 96x96 pixels of thermal information upscaled to 240x240.

Where the D02 shines is that it also has an optical camera just below the thermal sensor. This allows the camera to combine both the thermal and optical images into one "fusion" image.

Here's an example of the thermal image:

The optical image has a higher resolution - 480x640:

It isn't the highest quality lens in the world, but more than adequate for seeing what's going on.

Once fused, the image looks like this:

With the two images overlayed, you get a reasonably clear photo. The visual shows a good amount of detail and the thermal image shows what's hot.

It mostly works. If you're pointing at something very close to the sensor then you'll end up with a slightly surreal image like this which show the two out of alignment.

Storage is limited to around 2.5GB with no SD card slot. But given that photos are typically less than 150KB, you'll fit tens of thousands on there before worrying about running out of space.

Videos

Videos are a bit bigger, about 12MB per minute in MP4 format. But, again, you'll be able to store a couple of hours of footage on there without worry.

Again, 240x240 upscaled. Good enough for domestic use. No audio. What you see is what you get.

EXIF

There's not much useful EXIF - just the timestamp and camera serial number. That said, all the images and videos are placed in the DCIM folder which should make importing them easier.

Some other cameras provide the "raw" thermal data separately - but that's only really useful if you're doing analysis on the data, rather than trying to spot hot / cold spots.

Features

There are a few other nifty features. You can set a schedule to allow it to take pictures periodically - handy if you use the tripod attachment point to place it in a static location.

You can change the type of thermal image taken - there are various palettes available depending on what you're interested in.

There are various emissivity profiles depending on what you're pointing at:

You can also fiddle with the distance setting depending on how close you are to the subject. There's also an alarm setting to warn you if something is too hot or too cold.

Finally, you can view back the images and videos on the device. Handy if you can't get to a computer and want to show someone what you've spotted.

SuperScene AI

Everything needs AI in it nowadays. Thankfully, the D02 doesn't chat to you - instead it can analyse photos for potential problems. There are a range of build-in "SuperScene" modes available once you update to the latest firmware.

I simulated a water leak under my sink and pointed the camera at it:

As you can see, it draws a red outline around anything it thinks is suspicious and draws a little water droplet icon in the lower left corner. It also set the colour profile, to make things easier to see. It isn't the most powerful AI model that I've ever used, but is certainly handy for checking things around the home.

User Interface

There's a trigger. Press it once to take a photo. Hold it down to start / stop recording. Pretty much idiot proof.

The rest is a bit flimsy. A combined power / select button, a back button, then up & down arrows. The arrows confused me for a while. Press the up one to change the type of photo you're taking, the down one changes the colour scheme.

There's no touch-screen, haptic feedback, speaker, or anything expensive like that.

Linux and Open Source

Works fine as a storage device on Linux, showing up as 0525:a4a5 "Netchip Technology, Inc. Linux-USB File-backed Storage Gadget". True to its word, it shows up as a standard disk.

Most hardware manufacturers from China ignore their Open Source obligations - but not HIKMICRO. There's a rather prominent menu item in the settings screen which lets you scroll through an almost endless parade of software names and their licences. A bonus star for that!

You can also turn on diagnostic logging - that'll slowly fill the disk with log files:

[07-21 14:47:40][pid:477][tid:642][GUI][ERROR][minigui_lcd_dsp_update][line:1393] KEY_OK_MSG minigui_lcd_dsp_update GUI_TM_DATA_CAPTURE...

Probably not overly useful unless you've got a problem.

Webcam

On plugging in the camera via USB-C, the screen gives a choice of "USB Drive" or "USB Cast Screen". Toggling to the screen option transforms the device into 2bdf:017f a "UVC Camera". In theory, you should be able to use it as a standard WebCam and show others what the D02 is seeing. I couldn't get it to work with Chrome or Firefox directly.

Using qv4l2 I was able to open it as an MJPG stream once I set the resolution to 240x320.

For those of a technical bent, here's what v4l2-ctl showed as the available formats:

ioctl: VIDIOC_ENUM_FMT
    Type: Video Capture

    [0]: 'MJPG' (Motion-JPEG, compressed)
        Size: Discrete 240x320
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
        Size: Discrete 320x240
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
    [1]: 'YUYV' (YUYV 4:2:2)
        Size: Discrete 640x256
            Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)

Price

Infrared cameras are annoyingly expensive. This one is around £190 - although currently discounted to £170 - which is fairly reasonable.

How much will it save you? Well, it can tell you where your insulation isn't working - or which plugs are about to burst into flames; so a decent investment.

Final Thoughts

I've reviewed a lot of thermal cameras and I think this might be one of my favourites. The fact that it (optionally) captures both the thermal and the optical image makes it great for diagnosing problems because you can easily see what it is you're looking at.

There are enough settings to fiddle around with to keep most tinkerers happy and the image quality is more than good enough for spotting problems in the home. It's well worth buying for your home if you want to check for leaks, insulation gaps, hotspots, and other domestic problems. I'd recommend sharing the cost with your neighbours, or loaning it to a local tool library.

This is lightweight, quick to boot up, has good accuracy, and is (relatively) cheap. Well worth it, in my opinion.

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過去のGadgetSonic参加作品リスト。
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