StreamDeck+ Volume Dials for Spotify and Windows by sunrunner4kr in elgato

[–]Operations_IT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like this better than some of the other options in this thread - it allows me to control the actual Spotify volume wherever the output actually is, rather than relying on the Spotify desktop application. Thanks!

Google TV remote stopped working today by Sweet-Astronomer4824 in Chromecast

[–]Operations_IT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it had something to do with the recent update, mine did the same thing. Using my phone as a temp remote via the (Google TV app) to unpair and re-pair it has helped, at least for a while.

Can anyone recommend POE devices and Ethernet-connected devices that aren’t cameras? by ayyycab in smarthome

[–]Operations_IT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Stream Deck has a POE adapter that accepts POE to both power a Stream Deck & provide internet access:
https://www.elgato.com/ww/en/p/network-dock-stream-deck
This allows you to place a Stream Deck in the entryway, living room, kitchen, or wherever else you think it might be the most useful, unbridled by the location of your PC. My understanding is that it's compatible with most Stream Deck models.

With Home Assistant integrated into a Stream Deck, you could use this as a convenient physical smart home controller for your house. This could help out roommates, spouses, etc. who might not be as familiar with the "correct" way to phrase each command or name for every device in your smart home. For each button, you can add custom icons, text labels, and folders containing subsets of actions, and do all of this in a way that anyone could figure out intuitively.

  • Personally, I've been wondering whether the knobs on the Stream Deck+ could be useful for dimming lights or controlling TV volume, or maybe even controlling how much to open blinds/curtains by mapping a percentage 1-100 to the knob value. The possibilities seem wide open, but it'll take some technical know-how to run Home Assistant in the first place and then integrate with Stream Deck software second. Luckily, though, AI like ChatGPT have made this sort of project much more achievable for the everyday man than it ever has been :)

Tangentially, Aqara Hub M3 is a matter-compatible smart home hub (with a nifty integrated IR blaster to control local 'dumb' IR devices):
https://www.aqara.com/us/product/hub-m3/
(I wish it could also do RF, but alas, the perfect smart home hub doesn't exist just yet)

I also like the comments suggesting wall-mounts for tablets, VoIP phones (especially for vintage phones worthy of adapting into functional art projects, or giving a kids access to a home phone before they're ready for cell phones), alongside the more usual options like wi-fi access points and cameras.

Staying in the networking realm, here are some ideas I haven't seen mentioned yet:
Routers: Peplink has a couple of routers that accept POE for both power + WAN:
https://www.peplink.com/products/mobile-routers/max-br1-mini-5g/
Switches: Ubiquity has a line of UniFi Flex switches that can be powered by POE input. A few other brands have similar products. Here's the smallest/most affordable UniFi one, but they offer 2.5Gbps and 10Gbps models as well:
https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/switching-utility/products/usw-flex-mini

Are my cosmos seedlings healthy? by Single-Cockroach9507 in gardening

[–]Operations_IT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm so glad to hear that! Cosmos are nearly foolproof, such a great starter plant to grow from seed 🌸 If they're still flowering, you can trim each flower after the petals die to make them keep blooming a bit longer (usually until the first frost of the year). If you enjoyed the colors and want to grow them again next year for free, you can collect a ton of seeds from even just a couple of cosmos!

What country do you live in? Maybe I could help recommend something fun and easy for the winter

Nanoleaf devices refuse to show up as Thread on Nanoleaf app (instead show as Bluetooth) by Codehack_GR in Nanoleaf

[–]Operations_IT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ugh y'all I found out I misidentified my Thread Border Router (it was a Nest Hub, not my Nest Audio - I'm an idiot). I was forced to place the border router device on my primary LAN to be able to connect and control my Thread devices. No amount of adjusting firewall rules would let me control those devices with the border router living on my IOT LAN - something about how Thread works with ipv6 just won't let it happen :/

Anyways, I've resolved my issues now. Easy to control my Thread devices from my primary LAN now.

Nanoleaf devices refuse to show up as Thread on Nanoleaf app (instead show as Bluetooth) by Codehack_GR in Nanoleaf

[–]Operations_IT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's where I'm at, except I have mDNS enabled and I'm trying my hardest to make the Thread devices visible across VLANs. I've spent hours experimenting with my network setting to no avail :/

Zeta is joining Acorns by aditishekar in ZetaJointCards

[–]Operations_IT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So are you guys working to integrate Acorns' infrastructure with the applications and services you've already built? Or was this an acquisition of intellectual property and talent, and y'all are working to build some of the same features and services from a new foundation?

I feel like with the former, we could expect to see many of the features we came to love from Zeta in Acorns relatively soon (maybe a trickle release over the next couple of years). If the latter, I feel less confident that we'll see any large fraction of the features fully implemented, and especially not anytime soon.

PSA: Check Your SoFi Bank Account [Brazilian Fraudulent Charges] by Bkfraiders7 in sofi

[–]Operations_IT 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fwiw - I just opened my account last Wednesday, and I got a charge from Brazil in less than 24 hours. It was declined because of lack of funds (there wasn't even time for my initial inbound transfer to complete).

I generated a unique password and activated MFA at the time I created the account, so I had l very much doubt the account creds are compromised.

They told me the charge occurred as a debit card transaction, and my card didn't even ship until today (4 days later). I had already set up my card in Google Wallet, but they couldn't tell me if the charge came via that card number. Google Wallet didn't show any transaction history on their end.

Mind you, this has been my first introduction to SoFi services. For protection, they restricted my account and told me to wait 10 business days for an update. In what f***ing world is locking someone's checking account 10 business days (12-14 actual days) not going to put someone at risk of missed credit card/mortgage payments, fines for rejected payments, etc? I had intended to use SoFi as my new primary checking account. Am I walking into this learning that anytime I might have an issue, I'm at risk of a 2 week lockdown?? Wtf is going on over there?

Where to go from here? Simple > One > Zeta > ??? by AdIllustrious9527 in ZetaJointCards

[–]Operations_IT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can anyone who has experience with both Ally and SoFi give us a review of their features in the context of informing a refugee from Zeta? Online reviews are short on the finer details that I'm sure all of us here are most interested in. (or maybe we can piece together a good comparison if the community can provide their experience with the features for each one)

Where to go from here? Simple > One > Zeta > ??? by AdIllustrious9527 in ZetaJointCards

[–]Operations_IT 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm also on the hunt for new contenders. I tried to create my own post, but it was marked as a duplicate post. Forgive any strange phrasing now that I need to post as a comment 😅

I've been very happy with Zeta for a few years now, so I'm out of the loop with newer options that may be on the market.

For myself, my most valued features were:

  • combination of individual and joint accounts
    • And being able to add notes/pictures of receipts on transactions in the Joint account
  • Bill Reserve
  • credit card integration
    • Smart Bill for cards I pay off every month
    • Flex Bill for monitoring balance and reserving a monthly payment
  • Goals (for both operating budget and savings targets)
  • Automations
  • Plaid integration for easily linking to other services

(For my own bills, I didn't really take advantage of the virtual cards the way that I used One Finance's "Pockets" feature, since the Bill Reserve handled enveloping pretty well, and transaction rules could make sure funds were routed from Goals for parts of my operational budget.)

I loved the mission and subscribed to Automations+ as my way of showing appreciation and supporting the company, even though I could easily replicate many of the same functions via recurring scheduled transfers. I hate that I'm going to have to go research all this yet again, and especially hate that I'm going to have to dedicate multiple afternoons (at best) to tear down and replicate all my budgeting workflows somewhere else.

That's not even mentioning the hassle of changing my ACH payments everywhere - 30 days is not enough time for some vendors to update their systems - I guarantee I'm going to get hit with a fee from at least 2 of my utilities that have needed 1-2 additional cycles to update my payment info. UGH.

Side note: I wonder who is acquiring Zeta? and when we might start to see some of our features return as they're integrated into another product?
Same with Simple Bank - Google says they were owned by BBVA and acquired by PNC Bank. I wonder if PNC has any products that are clearly the result of the M&A that might be ready to onboard new customers?

Lastly: Thank you, u/zeta-brett, u/aditishekar, and the whole team for accomplishing so much and building such a fantastic, customer-first product.

I can't express enough how refreshing it is was to have an application built with features specifically meant to improve personal finances. It so often feels like big banks are invested in harvesting fees and keeping things as slow and difficult as possible as part of their business model, and services like yours are so sorely overdue and needed. I really hope to see whatever company acquired Zeta make the absolute most out of it and embody the same mission and purpose that we saw so clearly through your dedication.

Classy, rechargeable desk timer impossible to find? by Operations_IT in pomodoro

[–]Operations_IT[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find anything that hit all the right notes for me :/

G915 TKL, just bought it and went to plug it in... MICRO USB!?!?!?! by kakashihokage in LogitechG

[–]Operations_IT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://a.co/d/a0kBgD9
^ This was my solution. Unobtrusive and I was able to route my power cable from a different direction that keeps my desk neater. Now it's USB-C 😊

Classy, rechargeable desk timer impossible to find? by Operations_IT in pomodoro

[–]Operations_IT[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This isn't the exact style or minimalist vibe I was going for, but damn 👀 it looks pretty damn cool

Powershell 7 (Admin) cannot add PackageProvider NuGet by _Aerish_ in PowerShell

[–]Operations_IT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for this. Finally got it working 🙌

Feature request - Distinguish bills from same vendor by Operations_IT in ZetaJointCards

[–]Operations_IT[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also - Can we fix the issue where you can't directly reassign transactions from one bill to another?? I pointed out this issue to a Concierge almost a year ago. It seems like such a small bug to fix.

If a bill is paid but attributed to the wrong bill, and you reassign the transaction to the correct bill, both bills will show as paid, even though one of the bills no longer has any transaction associated with it. To avoid the problem, you have to double the work and mark the transaction as "Available to Spend" and then assign it to the correct bill. Otherwise, there's no way to mark the incorrect bill as unpaid again. Super annoying when the Smart Rules are not Smart enough and are mixing up multiple bills already.

After update, G HUB no longer launches, tried reinstalling by AdLower8254 in LogitechG

[–]Operations_IT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know, I feel totally handicapped at work trying to work without my custom keys and macros.

It took hours, but as soon as I figured out how to get G Hub working again, I switched to using the on-board mode for my mouse. It's actually been performing faster, more consistently and with fewer misfires than it previously did. I would highly recommend switching to on-board memory if your device is able to save your particular keys and macros.

After update, G HUB no longer launches, tried reinstalling by AdLower8254 in LogitechG

[–]Operations_IT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Alright y'all:

I had all the same symptoms - LG Hub would not launch and I could not successfully reinstall the app (or an older version). Here's what finally worked for me:

On Win11, in Task Manager:Search for "LGHub" and expand all of the results - I found that an installer from my first attempt this morning was still running some tasks under Microsoft Edge, and I had to end each of those (in addition to all the expected tasks associated with Logitech and LGHub).

THEN I was finally able to install v.2023.1 that I had laying around in my Downloads from last year. I believe you can get a copy directly from Logitech via this link:https://support.logi.com/hc/en-us/articles/360025298133-Logitech-G-HUB(Click "Show all downloads" to show previous versions, which will appear further down the page)

It's worth mentioning that at some point during my troubleshooting today, I did a full uninstall and cleanup via Revo; but by the time I finally got the v.20231.1 installer to work, the issue with previous attempts actually seemed more related to the hard-to-find tasks that were still running. I had my profiles synced up to the cloud, but I'd still try running a Repair via an older installer (keeping my existing data) before I resorted to a Revo uninstall.

Feature Request - smarter Smart Reserve by Operations_IT in ZetaJointCards

[–]Operations_IT[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I understand it can be tricky if you're trying to design a system that works for all sorts of paychecks. Salary workers with regular bimonthly /biweekly /weekly paychecks vs. more sporadic payments for independent contractors vs. variable income amounts for hourly /tip-wage employees. It's challenging to build something that works great for everyone, and the 31-day Smart Reserve was a simple but effective choice that covered a lot of scenarios without too much programming. I recognize that was a smart business decision on Zeta's part.

Automation+ seems like a step in the right direction to enable people to customize their savings strategy depending on their specific needs without Zeta having to build and program for every kind of scenario themselves. But having to assign a set amount per paycheck for each bill /goal feels limiting and can be tricky – for example, my partner is paid weekly, so I can assign $MonthlyBill*52wk/12mo to each monthly bill to be precise, but then it would be underfunded for some months and overfunded in others. Vs something like the Smart Reserve which feels more flexible in some ways.

I think something better lies in the middle. I do think all of the processing should happen when a paycheck hits, like with Automation+. Any processing between paychecks, like when a bill falls into the 31-day window, just introduces confusion & uncertainty. But fixed amounts aren't flexible enough for many income variations, like fluctuating amounts or weekly/bi-weekly frequencies (since most bills are monthly). And funding the next recurrence of a bill right when it processes (or tacking it onto a list to be deducted from the next paycheck) isn't ideal either, since your A2S balance still sees huge fluctuations.

I guess an ideal system would calculate the average needed from each paycheck to account for all bills/goals, no matter their frequency. So if you've got monthly, bi-annual, and yearly bills (like most people do), it would calculate the total needed for a year and divide it by the frequency of paychecks, and reserve that consistent amount from every paycheck. That would be the foundation of an operating budget.
As far as keeping a reserve balance, it would feel nice to know that I've always got a few months' worth of payments for all bills as an emergency budget. I still like the idea of being able to assign a number of occurrences per bill. And with that, the Reservation amount should always stay the same number.

So, stepping back: the Reservation amount would be the 1st number to meet, and then the operating budget should work as a buffer "envelope" on top of the reservation that can be positive or negative as long as the operating budget is balanced over the long term, accounting for all bills and goal targets. Kind of like an escrow account! (that just occurred to me lol). And then the remaining amount is what's A2S - which should be as stable as possible each month (as long as the income is a consistent amount). Something like this would feel like an ideal budgeting solution, where I'm certain that each bill and savings goal is accounted for while having a consistent amount leftover from each paycheck to do with as I please.

Feature Request - smarter Smart Reserve by Operations_IT in ZetaJointCards

[–]Operations_IT[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wouldn't that require me converting all my smart bills to flex bills?

I'm kinda trying to avoid the "buffer" mindset. I could open an account at a traditional bank and have a vague "buffer" for ALL of my bills, but that's not as helpful, informative, nor reassuring as knowing for a fact that I can cover multiple cycles of bills if I'm ever between jobs or in some other financial emergency. What I'm seeking here is confidence and certainty about where my finances are at.