T3 - UK (2022-06)

JUNE 2022 T 3 25

Gadget guru

A

Do you need to drive a

ridiculous supercar just

because it’s the fastest

thing out there? No. Do you need a

highly tuned spring plate made of

some highly technical alloy in your

sole, or an impossibly-stitched

upper designed to align your

chakras while you run? Also no.

Might you want them, though? Yes,

on both counts. It’s really a question

of your level of ability.

However, the difference between

lower-end trainers and more

expensive kicks is not the same as

the upgrade from cardboard

supermarket sneakers to a proper

pair of running shoes. This is where

Guru’s sports car analogies fall to

bits, but he’s clinging to them:

unlike an engine upgrade, you’re

not getting extra horses under your

right foot. A high-end sports shoe

means making what is very much

an iterative and minor change. If

that’s going to make all the

difference to you, you’re golden. If

you can barely tie your laces, let

alone microscopically improve your

metrics, sticking to £60 street-

pounders will work.

GADGET GURU’S MAGIC BOX

A

A confession, and one
which will probably not
surprise you if you’ve so
much as brushed against Guru’s
pathetically scuffed existence in the
past: GaGu’s main work machine
recently had a big ol’ spinning hard
drive failure and (yep) he hadn’t
backed up what was on it, like a
flipping massive computer idiot
who apparently did not want to
look after three years of work. You,
reader, are not an idiot. You’re
clever and very attractive, and you
need to make backups happen.
Guru’s forced-hand answer has
been to cobble together parts from
the dangerous slopes of Tech
Mountain combined with Linux-
based file sharing solution
OpenMediaVault to give him some
network-attached space for a
second copy. Do not, under any
circumstances, do this. You will fall
into the Linux pit because it won’t
work, and somewhere along the
line you’re going to either

experience or do something that

defies the Geneva Convention.

What you need is two additional

copies of your most precious zeroes

and ones, at least one of which is

off-site in case your teetering

edifice of tech finally leaks all of its

different chemicals together and

starts a fire. For that, opt for an

online solution; you might spend a

little on an expanded Google One

subscription, for example, but you’d

be better leaning on something

like Crashplan or Backblaze, which

can be surprisingly affordable and

take the pain out of remembering

to do backups.

For your second copy, a USB

SSD will do – Samsung’s 2TB S7

(£215) offers fast transfer speeds

and higher reliability than a

spinning-disc alternative – but

actual Network-attached Storage,

running RAID to mirror your disks,

is better. Synology’s DS220j (£180)

is a great place to put your drives,

and what you fill it with is up to you.

What should I do about

backups?

MUHAMMADANWAR,LONDON

Do I need fancy

trainers?

GINAWILSON,

VIAEMAIL

ABOVE

Send documents

into the cloud

even when

it’s not cloudy

outside. Magic!

Ask and GaGu shall receive: last issue

Guru talked starter streaming kit,

and the nice people at

Streamplify kindly sent him

a set to check out. GaGu

started with the Hub Ctrl

7 (£45), a seven-port

USB hub with cute

illuminated inserts. It’s

very pretty, and handy to be

able to physically switch off things like your

webcam or mic, but it might not quite have

the amps to juice up your phone. Next, the

Mic RGB (£70, with an arm and pop filter).

Its cardioid capsule is impressively sensitive

and clear, and the unit is light enough that it

doesn’t trouble the rather low-end arm too

much. You do get fewer options than with

higher-end mics, however, and certain RGB

modes add odd electrical noise to its

built-in headphone monitoring port.

Streamplify offers two lights, which are

both really rather good. The Light 14 (£65)

is a big ol’ temperature-adjustable AC-

powered beast that made Guru’s eyes

sparkle, and its remote control

is a lovely touch. The

smaller Light 10 (£20)

runs on USB, which is

more convenient, and

it’s not quite as barmy-

bright, but it’ll still be

perfect if you’re going for

that premium pupil look on a budget.

And then there’s the Streamplify Cam

(£60) and Screen Lift Green Screen (£130).

The green screen feels professional, well

packaged and protected, hydraulically

assisted and very sturdy once it’s pulled up.

For a consistent and easy-to-chroma-key

backdrop, you won’t find much better

value. And the 108 0p 6 0fps camera? It’s

sharp, very close to Logitech’s £90 C920,

and it’s entirely good enough to stream

with – though Guru needed to extensively

fiddle with the settings to stop it tinting him

blue. Overall, GaGu was delighted with the

lot: the theme here might be compromise,

but Streamplify has cut back on the nice-to-

haves and left the essentials intact.