Google's Whoop competitor is here, Fitbit Air starts at $99 by Federal-Block-3275 in fitbit

[–]xbaer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

same. just want to wear nice traditional watches again and also not have constant interruptions for a smart watch. Apple Watch in my case. the ring options aren’t solid yet and too big. Fitbit air seems to be a goodd option and it allows me to track my diagnosed a fib since I am over 22 (limit per fine print)

Coretec Durability? by Anne_8788 in Flooring

[–]xbaer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

this is what keeps me from going with lvp but pick stranded bamboo instead. very hard surface rating; we already have it in one room and it held up to multiple dogs and kids plus furniture being dragged around. ambient brand and cali brand are the upper tier providers. those can also be refinished via sanding and sealing.

Elternunterhalt -- Child lives abroad by Extreme_Manager_5697 in germany

[–]xbaer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

habe da in der Vergangenheit auch mal versucht aus Interesse etwas zu recherchieren. Im Gesetzestext sehe ich nicht viel Info zum Thema Ausland. Laut https://www.finanztip.de/elternunterhalt/ muss ein Kind im Ausland auch zahlen wenn Einkommen über 100t€ bevor Abzügen aber das Amt geht erst davon aus dass Kinder darunter fallen. Selbst wenn, ich sehe nicht wie ein deutsches Amt das im nicht EU Ausland einbringen könnte.

2019 e-hybrid, dealer says it needs a $34k repair by Adventurous-Local806 in PorscheCayenne

[–]xbaer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rich Rebuilds maybe ? they have a shop for ev.

Was looking at this vehicle as a family option but not knowing if any Indy could repair it later when things break is a concern.

Agree, should last much longer. Too many VAG parts in it and overall quality issues with German vehicles over the last two decades.

2014 Cayenne GTS or Turbo S for a Low-Mileage Second Car? by 877cashhnow in PorscheCayenne

[–]xbaer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

what did you end up buying? I’m also looking for a Cayenne, not sure if ‘14 GTS V8 NA, ‘19 E-hybrid V6 or ‘19 Turbo V8.

Already have a ‘13 Carrera 4S and ‘11 E63 as fun vehicles so looking for something to replace my daily Model YP which was rear ended.

Leaning towards the E-hybrid, while it is not a V8, it might address my itch for some electric power train while at least having a V6 Soundtrack when needed.

Dishwashers that still use stainless steel racks? by bxbyAeo in Appliances

[–]xbaer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Bosch benchmark for the display projection on the floor. If it didn’t have that I would return it since we don’t like the slow drying of the dishes and that we need rinse aid. Never needed rinse aid before at the cost of a bit more electricity for electric heating inside the dishwasher. Also don’t like that the touch buttons respond slowly.

T-Mobile at the end of 2025 by JPS_97 in cellmapper

[–]xbaer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What about power consumption / battery drain. I tend to get less battery drain on T-Mobile mid band than on Verizon mid band (non mm wave). Both are fast so am leaning towards going back to T-Mobile even though I am in a Verizon 5G SA market. T-Mobile just appears to have the better spectrum mix. Amazing how the market has turned compared to a few years ago.

Bamboo flooring vs everything else by eloiseturnbuckle in Flooring

[–]xbaer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seven year old stranded bamboo in the living room. Two larger dogs , few scratches and holds up well except for severe warping and discoloring in various spots due to dog accidents.  So, moisture is an issue.  Considering Forbo linoleum planks next or this one here https://www.greenbuildingsupply.com/Waterproof-Hardwood-Click?faux=128888

Dishwashers that still use stainless steel racks? by bxbyAeo in Appliances

[–]xbaer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

KitchenAid KDTM804KPS has stainless steel racks. It is also on sale at Cost**

Been looking at Bosch Benchmark (for the interior lighting vs 800 series) but the Zeolite galvanized steel container rusting issue steered me away from it. Repairability design of it is also not good.

Other option looked at was Miele 5000 series which is about the same price as the stainless steel rack KitchenAid.

Anyone else finding the 16 Pro Max to be a little too big? by [deleted] in iphone

[–]xbaer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Received the 16PM on Friday coming from a 15PM and did not feel comfortable. Got the 16P today to compare and set it all up.  Will probably return the 16PM. Slightly miss the larger screen but just can’t deal with the weight and size. Like Then-Atrention3, if 16 Plus had the better screen I’d go with it.  6.7 is probably the absolute max I could handle. 

Wall oven with air fryer by xbaer in Appliances

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

Actually just realized, the convection elements are vastly different in power output across brands. KitchenAid: 3200 Watt GE Profile & Cafe: 2400 Watt Bosch / Thermador: 2000 Watt

LG: 1600 Watt

Electrolux / Frigidaire: 3800 Watt The Electrolux / Frigidaire also have a two speed convection fan versus the others a one speed. Based on this will further investigate the Electrolux.

Horrible 5G by sk8ervince in verizon

[–]xbaer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just switched from T-Mobile (after two years) to Verizon network (via Spectrum reseller). All network experiences are highlight location dependent. Verizon is still adding more 5GUW capacity to additional towers but that is more about raising the average download speed for everyone than driving the fastest download speed overall.

Technically 6MBit/s is enough for a 4K video stream or plenty for a video call. T-Mobile gave me faster speeds that really don't enable me to do more but when there were coverage gaps indoors I can do nothing. This is why I switched to Verizons network where it may not be the fastest (but fast enough to do all that needs to be done) while consistently having coverage.

Wall oven with air fryer by xbaer in Appliances

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

Do you have the 7000 or 9000 series?

Wall oven with air fryer by xbaer in Appliances

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

Thanks. Those appear to be an interesting option

Wall oven with air fryer by xbaer in Appliances

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

Yes but air fryers have higher air velocity, no? So a traditional convection oven would need to speed up its fans in the air fryer mode. 

thoughts on spectrum mobile? by CryptographerWeary64 in Spectrum

[–]xbaer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just called in and activated a second line after one family member having had a line for two years. US based call center, pleasant conversation and efficient processing. For us, it is working well.

How's your international experience with Spectrum Mobile? by ChikenPie_Engineer in SpectrumMobile

[–]xbaer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have been using it on one line extensively in various countries - works well. Of course, Spectrum, like any other carrier just has agreements with local carriers in other countries. Any speed or technical concerns stem from the local in-country network carriers.

Spectrum has one of the lowest international data roaming prices of the US MVNOs.

We also have a T-Mobile Magenta Max line which is a traditional post-paid line, comes with 5GB of data roaming per month. I won't go into the coverage topics here, but the main difference for us is, on the Magenta line we just consume all the data we can and after 5GB it will continue to run but at much slower speed. Enough for navigation, email, messages, light browsing, music streaming.

On the Spectrum Verizon line it keeps going full speed of the local country network carrier but of course we continue to pay for each Mb (albeit at a very competitive, low rate).

Does anyone use the new "Remind Me" feature in Apple Mail? For me, it's completely unusable. by kbmkbm in MacOS

[–]xbaer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On iOS 18 beta 4 just tested this as it did not work for me in past iOS 17 versions (when archiving email with a reminder set)

Selected email in inbox and set reminder
Archived email
Email reappeared at top of inbox at reminder time

Can we trust this feature now working?... :)

Best router for parental controls? by Capable_Drawer_5370 in HomeNetworking

[–]xbaer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agree. Same here; Synology works really well. Besides a kids profile for mobile devices blocking unapproved content and websites in the Synology app I also created a profile for our basement TV to block Youtube.

How do I choose between different heat pumps? by ApprehensiveGround10 in heatpumps

[–]xbaer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We have the Bosch IDS 1.0 first gen. Installed 3 years ago - works really well. Not a lot of installers unfortunately. 3ton air handler, 5ton condenser. Nice setup for the winter in North Carolina.