Setting up a CUPS server with Docker on a Synology NAS for my Brother printer

My Brother Printer made for Windows

I made the unfortunate mistake of purchasing a cheap brother printer, the Brother HL-L2300D, which is USB only. And not only is it a USB printer, it is a Winprinter which makes it very limited in anything other than Windows. The laser printer is great for printing, but purchasing the cheapest feature-limited version was a bad decision. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to purchase a Brother network printer and save myself the trouble and hassle trying to network share a USB printer. I encourage you to do the same. But if you are reading this page, you probably made the same mistake I did, so read on...

Controlling Philips Hue lights with an Amazon Dash button

So I have read around online that people have found a way to hack Amazon Dash buttons. Without doing much research, I jumped on buying a few Amazon Dash buttons for $1 during Amazon Prime Day. Once I got them and started working on hacking them to do what I wanted, I realized things were not as clear-cut ready as I thought it was. But luckily a few people had a great head start and it didn't take much tweaking in order to succeed.

Trying to charge my MacBook 2015 with a Quick Charge 2.0 USB wall charger

What is Quick Charge 2.0?

The Apple MacBook 2015 charges using a USB-C cable and a 30 watt wall charger. When using a generic USB charger, they usually output 10 Watts at 5 Volts and 2 amps. Maximum possibly being 12 Watts at 5 Volts and 2.4 amps. Quick Charge 2.0 is capable of outputting a maximum of 18 Watts at 9 Volts 2 amps. Since that is more powerful than generic USB charging, can the MacBook take advantage of it?

Running HomeBridge on my Synology NAS to interface SmartThings with HomeKit

I have gone through a few platforms and configurations in my home automation adventures. I've used openHAB and the Wink Hub. Recently, I have stuck with the SmartThings Hub V2 for almost half a year. Apart from some instabilities, which they have been working on, I have been happy with the setup. It interfaces with my Amazon Echo perfectly for voice control, which is great! Because of this, I have not really bothered with trying to get Apple's Siri plugged into my home. But I have been seeing HomeBridge come up in many discussions which allows Apple's HomeKit to work with devices that are not approved. Since it got me curious, I decided to set it up and see what it's like!

Using a Particle Photon as a small WiFi controlled IR blaster

I have written about using a Raspberry Pi as a Wi-Fi controlled IR blaster. Eventually I was left with just using my LogitechHarmony Hub to control IR devices in my living room. Recently I moved some things around and put my Winix Air Purifier in my bedroom. I no longer had the Raspberry Pi set up and purchasing another Harmony Hub for my bedroom is just too costly.

I purchased two Particle Photon devices that I was going to use for another project which ended up failing. Since they were just laying around, I decided to try and see if I can set them up to be little Wi-Fi controlled IR blasters. And luckily, after a bit of head scratching and cursing, I got it to work!

Reviewing the Hootoo HT-UC001 USB-C Hub for my MacBook

I recently bought myself a Hootoo HT-UC001 USB-C Hub for my Retina MacBook. As the Retina MacBook only has a single USB-C port for everything, I needed a hub that is capable of handling multiple things yet still be portable. I have had the Hootoo hub for a week now, and I would like to share my experiences. 

Using iSCSI to store your Apple Photos library on a Synology NAS

You got yourself an Apple computer, but it does not have enough space to store all your photos? You happen to have a Synology NAS and want to know how to use it to store your photos? I will show you how with iSCSI!

Connecting a Hard Drive to my Apple Airport Extreme via USB

Every couple of months it seems that my TimeMachine backup becomes corrupt on my Synology NAS. So I decided to try and use my Apple Airport Extreme router as a backup destination with a USB Hard Drive.

Finally got some Philips Hue lights

I had previously gotten Ilumi lightbulbs from Kickstarter, which I started to become disappointed with. While the hardware is solid, the software side was heavily lacking. Now that I have switched to Philips Hue lights, I am enjoying these new lightbulbs a lot more! I am going to share the configurations I have set up with them.