Want instant cool drinks but don’t want to dilute the drink with water? Then stainless steel ice cubes are for you. Just cool the cubes in the freezer as you would do with ice cubes, then drop them into your drink to chill it.
I have previously bought this Bluetooth tranceiver, but ultimately it didn’t work well. In fact, it died. I suspect it was due to charging the battery while it is in use at the same time.
Well, i now got my hands on a Bluetooth 5 transceiver. It runs on the Qualcomm CSR8675 chip, which is probably the market leader. I ordered a pair so that i can be assured of the most reliable wireless audio transmission possible, but alas, the seller only shipped one unit, and refunded me the payment for the second unit. I will probably have to order another one next time.
Anyhow, i tried pairing this lone Bluetooth 5 transmitter with the built-in Bluetooth receiver on my mixer, and the result was fantastic! The audio quality was really spectacular, despite the Bluetooth receiver on my mixer being at most Bluetooth 4.1 (it is unspecified).
I tried using the Bluetooth transmitter while charging it at the same time and it resulted in some high pitched noise. I guess it is generally not a good idea to do so, the circuitry might be damaged.
I highly recommend this Bluetooth transmitter/receiver. If you need SPDIF input/output, you can get the bigger box and it cost only 20 Yuan more.
Before i proceed any further, i must put forth the disclaimer that i have not purchased the product from Taobao that i am introducing today. I still own and use the Anova circulator i have gotten many years ago.
My Anova still works flawlessly, but the clamp for holding it to the pot has broken off. Having used a Sous Vide circulator, though only on and off, i think it’s actually quite worthwhile owning one.
This is one of the most expensive items I have purchased on Taobao. As with most things on Taobao, it is cheaper than the equivalent coffee machine sold in the stores. The closest competitor is the De’Longhi Magnifica S which sells for around S$900. At 2980 Yuan (S$605), the Thermos is a no-brainer choice. The pricing fluctuates, but the 2980 is about the lowest i have seen so far. You might want to purchase from the official Thermos Taobao store if the price is the same.
Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – automatic coffee machineThis is another product recommended by Dr Tom Wu. I felt it delivers a big impact for a fairly low cost. Food is becoming less safe in this age when there is tremendous pressure to drive the cost of food down. This inevitably implies widespread use of chemicals in agriculture.
An ozone sterilizer is an effective and convenient way to mitigate the problem. It is convenient because it runs on electricity and does not involve any consumables. It is also actually quite effective in killing bacteria and removing pesticide.
Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – household ozone sterilizerI never thought i needed a blender until i was introduced to Dr Tom Wu’s nutritional approach. He advocates consuming the Phytochemical found in plants, and he suggests that the best way to get them is to break down the plant cell walls using a high speed blender. This is a very subjective matter, and nobody has a conclusive say on whether Dr Wu’s claims are true. Nevertheless, i was sold on trying out the blender. For one thing, i know i will be consuming more fruits and vegetables when i make it a point to put something into the blender every now and then.
Another valid point is that when food is already chopped into tiny bits, the nutrition is more easily absorbed. Also, unlike a juicer, you will consume the whole fruit or vegetable, which allows you to get more out of it. It is definitely more filling too, so you can make do with buying less food. Good for mother earth.
Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – high speed blenderI have previously tried Bluetooth as a means of transmitting audio wirelessly, and it was unreliable. Bluetooth 4 is just not good enough (i didn’t try the Bluetooth dongles that supported apt-x though and maybe those work). I have yet to try Bluetooth 5, but it is quite a bit more expensive. Instead, i decided to try UHF wireless transmission (these cost less than half that of the Bluetooth 5 implementation). UHF had been in use for a long time for on-stage wireless audio transmission (microphone, electric guitars and such).
Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – UHF wireless audio transceiverMidiplus is a Taiwanese brand that’s been around for some time, and they have a range of budget Midi controller keyboards. No, don’t compare them with the likes of Roland, Nord, Korg or Yamaha, but having read the reviews for their competitors like m-audio, Nektar Impact, i chose Midiplus.
Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – Midiplus X6 Pro keyboardDoing home coffee bean roasting isn’t so popular in Singapore, so it’s not easy to buy a home coffee bean roaster machine. Thanks to Qoo10, we have access to Korean made machines, and Imex is an established brand. Specifically, the CR-100 is a good entry level bean roaster. It is a fluid bed roaster (hot air keeps the beans moving while roasting), which is supposed to produce an even roast.
Continue reading Qoo10 product recommendation – Imex CR-100 coffee bean roasterI still remember I bought my first Bluetooth earpiece more than 10 years ago for around S$70. Fast forward to today, it cost just 15 Yuan (S$3). The M8 is the best selling product of this category.
Pairing the earpiece with the phone was simple, as expected. The sound from the earpiece was a little soft, but if you just need something no frills, it works. I guess sometimes being able to cut loose the wires is more beneficial than not having to charge a wired earpiece.
Those who are into music can consider getting a set of stereo earpiece. They do actually cost much more, but are still reasonably cheap – this qcy one is among the cheaper ones around at 100 Yuan (S$20).
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