Join us for a discussion on how Comcast is helping women and minorities with resources for improving tech within their businesses. We will be speaking with our friend Michelle Gilbert about this subject and the expansion of broadband across the great state of Michigan. Looking for upgrade tips and tricks. I learned one from Ed that we will be sharing regarding storage. With more people working from home, Ed will enlighten us on the advantages of having a docking station. Lastly, cell phone carriers are giving breaks to customers trying to contact others in the Ukraine.
Listen to our Podcast
From the “Ed in the Shed” studio – Watch our ZoomCast
Links to subjects we talked about on the show
For Information on Comcast Programs go to theses sites.
For the RISE program for helping women and minorities businesses
For the Affordable Connectivity Program
https://www.xfinity.com/learn/internet-service/ebb
Reported by MacRumors
Belkin Debuts New 12-Port CONNECT Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock
Belkin today announced the launch of the CONNECT Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock, which is a docking station that offers Thunderbolt 4 connectivity for 40Gb/s total bandwidth and support for fast charging, dual display support, and more.
The CONNECT Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock is compatible with both Macs and PCs, offering 12 power, data, and video ports. It includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports (one upstream and one downstream), two HDMI 2.0 ports, a USB-C port, two USB 3.1 USB-A ports, two USB 2.0 USB-A ports, an SD card slot, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
It supports a single 8K display at up to 30Hz, two 4K displays at up to 60Hz, and three displays with select laptop models. The USB-C port offers PD 3.0 and supports up to 90W for charging connected devices.
Belkin’s CONNECT Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock can be purchased from either Amazon.com or the Belkin website for $400, while the Thunderbolt 4 Cable is available from the Belkin website for $45 to $70
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/02/24/belkin-connect-pro-thunderbolt-4-dock/
Reported By CNet.
US Carriers Waive Fees for Customers Who Need to Call Ukraine
If you live in the US and need to communicate with relatives or friends in Ukraine, your carrier may be nixing long-distance international charges.
Some US carriers are making it less expensive for you to communicate with relatives and friends in Ukraine, following Russia’s invasion this week.
T-Mobile is waiving international long-distance and international roaming charges for calls and SMS made to and from US and Ukraine, the mobile carrier said Thursday. This weeklong waiver will be available to T-Mobile and Sprint postpaid and prepaid consumer and business customers from Feb. 24 to March 3. It also includes calls made within Ukraine to local numbers to cover roaming customers in Ukraine, T-Mobile said.
Verizon will waive charges for calls from its postpaid consumer and business wireless customers and residential landline customers to and from Ukraine from Feb. 25 to March 10, the carrier said Friday. Verizon also said it is waiving voice and text roaming charges for customers in Ukraine. US Cellular, the country’s fourth-largest mobile carrier, is offering customers free calls to Ukraine from the US from Feb. 25 to March 31, the company said Friday.
Reported By Toms Guide.
Inland Prime M.2 NVMe SSD Review: Entry-Level on the Cheap
No real frills, but no real compromises.
The Inland Prime delivers up to 3300 MBps of sequential read/write throughput, which is near the typical limits for a PCIe 3.0 SSD, but it comes with a friendly price tag that’s a great fit if you’re looking for an entry-level SSD. While the drive offers nothing new on the performance front, it is TLC-based and has the advantage of appearing in Micro Center stores at a reasonable price. It’s a good alternative to DRAM-less, QLC-powered SSDs or can serve as a solid upgrade from older SATA SSDs. Additionally, the 6-year warranty is especially nice given its price point.
Specifications
| Product | 500GB | 1TB |
| Pricing | $54.99 | $99.99 |
| Capacity (User / Raw) | 500GB / 512GB | 1000GB / 1024GB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface / Protocol | PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4 | PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4 |
| Controller | Phison E15T | Phison E15T |
| DRAM | HMB | HMB |
| Memory | Micron 176L TLC | Micron 176L TLC |
| Sequential Read | 3,300 MBps | 3,300 MBps |
| Sequential Write | 2,300 MBps | 3,000 MBps |
| Random Read | 300,000 IOPS | 400,000 IOPS |
| Random Write | 420,000 IOPS | 480,000 IOPS |
| Security | N/A | N/A |
| Endurance (TBW) | 200 TB | 400 TB |
| Part Number | 316927 | 316935 |
| Warranty | 6-Years | 6-Years |
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/inland-prime-nvme-ssd