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Solar Storage - 2023 Update

  A few years back I published a 2 Part post discussing Solar Energy systems.  The discussion focused on all the due diligence and prep work needed and what were some of the key considerations around designing and implementing a solar system. One of the discussion points was around solar storage or batteries.  What were the use cases for batteries and if they were a good investment and should you incorporate them into your design. Back in 2020 - the math around batteries said no - that you wouldn't be able to break even on the cost of a storage system over its normal warranty life of 10 years. So here we are three years later and so I figured it was time to revisit.   There are two primary uses cases for solar storage.    First is what's called peak offset or peak shifting.  This is a concept where you utilize stored solar generation to run your home during what many utilities call Peak Periods that are part of a general category of rate plans known as Time of Day (TOD) plans.
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ChromeOS Flex - a nice alternative for older PCs / Laptops

Like many of you, I have a portfolio of PCs, Laptops, Tablets, Phones, etc.  The challenge often is as these devices age, they have a harder time supporting the latest OS revisions from the major OS makers.   So then - you refresh a laptop let's say - but the old one still runs fine, albeit maybe slower or maybe doesn't support the latest OS (Windows 11 for example) so you start asking your self - how do I keep this device alive, but still current.. For many years - I would install a Linux distro like Linux Mint or Clear Linux as an alternative OS.  99% of the time those OS would install perfectly, support all the internal devices like WiFi, Bluetooth, Sound, etc and so great you kept that device running.   Linux on the desktop has come a long ways - the UIs now are excellent, there is a good selection of apps and they run on older hardware great.   But if you were trying to do a hand me down of that device to another family member - Linux can sometimes be just a little too for
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Saying Goodbye to the Intel NUC

On July 11, 2023 - Intel announced it was "discontinuing direct investment" in the Next Unit Computing (NUC) business. Much like it did with it's server business - selling it to MiTAC - Intel is expecting it's "ecosystem partners" to continue NUC innovation and growth.  Asus will take over board and device building for it's current commitments. With that being said - the NUC experience for me will just not be the same.    Intel announced the NUC in 2012 and then released the first generation of devices in 2013.  The goal was to show that you didn't need some big tower PC to have a great computing experience. While Apple had introduced the Mac-Mini several years earlier - for the Windows/Linux communities at the time there really was no equivalent device.   Based on what ended up being called the Ultra-Compact Form Factor (UCFF) and the 4" x 4" footprint the NUC was simple and inexpensive and allowed Intel to showcase CPUs, GPU, NICs, Wifi,
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Home Automation Platforms + Matter - Early Observations

For those of us who have been involved in automating homes by adding "smart" devices from light switches to thermostats, cameras, sensors, controllers, etc - there was always a challenge with managing the wide range of devices. While each OEM had their own app that would allow you to control their devices - you'd often end up with anywhere from 4 - 10 apps that were required to manage the entire home.  And depending on your product choices you also had to have hubs to communicate from your Wifi network to other RF networks like Zigbee or Z-Wave.  With many of these "hubs" they had native support across multiple vendors or you had to add plugins or provide specific OEM support. Some OEM apps were great, some sucked, but it became challenging to provide a solution for a client where they could easily manage their home on their own.  Between having to maintain multiple credentials/logins across the apps and even communicating which app controls what - it sometimes
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Windows 11 - 18 months later

Hey folks.. Back in late June of 2021 - I started down the Windows Insider track with Windows 11 and installed build 22000.51 on both an Intel NUC 8th Gen and a Dell Inspiron 2-in-1 laptop. Back then I made the comment that effectively Windows was just a Chromebook/MacOS mashup and that really I had noticed any major performance improvements over the Windows 10 builds I had been running... Okay so here we are some 18 months later and I'm running build Windows 11 Pro build 25267.    So what's changed ? To be honest not much.   Sure there have been some improvements with the overall start menu and task bar, there is now tabs for Windows Explorer and the extremely glacial migration of system settings from Control Panel has continued The biggest thing that Windows 11 had forced me to do is to upgrade my NUC as Intel effectively stopped upgrading the Iris 655 Graphics drivers for my NUC 8 and I didn't want end up with a platform that wouldn't support newer builds. So the goo
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Cutting the Cord 2022 Edition

Hey folks... As we close out 2022 - figured it was time to revisit my Cutting the Cord analysis.   Over the last 4 or 5 years - I've done an analysis every year or two to see if I could "cut the cord" while will providing my family the entertainment choices they wanted, with the same convenience they were used to and lower my monthly costs. Back in 2017 & 2018 the answer for me was a definite no.  There were simply too many caveats, compromises and complexity to make it work.   My last analysis was in late 2020 and the market had matured quite a bit - with much better offerings and technologies.  My conclusion then was that cord cutting was a very viable option and in fact starting in 2021 I started switching some of my property management customers to streaming, but I still hadn't done it myself... Finally in 2022 I did "Cut the Cord" - albeit a Satellite TV cord vs a Cable TV Cord.   The catalyst for the change was actually a move - we bought a new hom
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NUC 12 Pro Wall Street Canyon Review

  Hi folks... It's been over a year since my last post - but I recently upgraded my Intel NUC from an 8th Gen to 12th gen and figured it was time for a review of the latest generation.    I'm a big fan of the NUC platform. The fact that you can have a 4" x 4" system on your desk with the latest Core CPUs and easily add what ever RAM and Storage you want to it for under $1,000 is great.    I'm not a gamer - so the NUC12 Pro - Wall Street Canyon - NUC12WSHi5 was my choice.  Its effectively a like for like upgrade to my NUC8 Bean Canyon system. Let's start the review with obtaining a NUC 12.   I always buy the NUC Kits and then purchase my own RAM, NVMe and in this case an additional 2.5" SATA SSD.  I love that flexibility of the NUC line.   Although the NUC12 Pro was announced in August - right now NUC12 Pros are few and far between and many are over charging for the unit.   I was able to find one for $526 US.  One pointer I can give is that make sure that
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