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2018

Instructions to Download Google Play Movies Offline on Standalone Daydream Headsets

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I have been the proud owner of the first standalone Google Daydream headset since it launched – I actually got it at launch day. It is an excellent platform offering support countless hours of entertainment. Sadly one feature that is absent from Google Daydream is the ability to download content offline. This really seems like an oversight on Google’s end as the current Google Play Movies app on Daydream even offers a way to view offline content and manage storage. After hours of browsing the web, I came up with no current method of downloading offline content. I have a trip coming up and I am determined to binge watch content on my Daydream headset – fortunately I have come up with a solution.

The HP Elite X3 Laptop Dock is a Must Have Accessory for Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Owners (Samsung Dex)

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Many people say cell phones are like mini computers in your pocket however as the Galaxy Note 9 is a powerhouse that can run circles around most people’s laptops, I have to disagree and say that the Note 9 is a computer in your pocket. The HP Elite Laptop Dock was a premium accessory for a mobile phone that really did not sell well, this phone was the HP Elete X3. The Laptop Dock was specifically made to show off the Windows Mobile “continuum” feature to allow business customers to access a (almost) full Windows 10 Desktop while on the road by simply connecting the laptop dock to your HP Elite X3 phone via a simple USB Type C cable. As phone did not sell well and has since been discontinued, the price of these laptop docks have fallen sharply and this laptop dock works perfectly with Samsung Dex – if you have a Note 9 or Samsung Galaxy Tab S4.Warning – This only works with the Galaxy Note 9 or Galaxy Tab S4. It will not work with the Note 8, S8, S8+, S9, S9+ or any other model that is not the Note 9 or Galaxy Tab S4. Using the HP Elite Laptop Dock on a unsupported model of phone will not damage it or your phone but you will not get Dex – you will simply be limited to screen mirroring as if it were a HDMI output

Google Drive Sync in a ChromeOS Crostini Container with InsyncHQ

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We know that Google is working on eventually adding the ability to integrate Google Drive with Crostini in the future but this feature is not expected to hit production Chromebooks until sometime next year. Sadly it is also not possible to mount a Google Drive share (or any remote filesystems) at this time as well. Fortunately there is a excellent third party Google Drive client that I have personally used for a few years on my Linux machines called Insync – it turns out that it works in Linux without much of an issue. Here is now to install it:

Tutorial : Backup your Chrome OS Crostini Container to a remote server

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I have been contacted by serveral readers and seen countless posts on reddit from users who have been forced to powerwash their devices after a unstable “Dev” update to their Chromebook. While I do not recommend that users who demand stability use the “Dev” channel, I do understand why they do as it offers a lot of features that allow a Chromebook to replace their primary machine. I am a firm believer in a saying that says “If it is not backed up, you must not care about it”. As Google does not yet offer a way to backup your device, allow me to show you a simple way to do this via rsync and a remote server.

Update : T-Mobile 512 GB Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Experiencing Major Shipping Delays

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I published a notice last week that T-Mobile is suffering from severe delays with the 512 GB Samsung Galaxy Note 9. These devices were expected to ship on August 24th but the shipment date has long gone. I reported that the delays could delay pre-order shipment dates to the last half of September. I checked my credit card account about an hour ago and saw that T-Mobile charged me for the pre-order which T-Mobile does not normally do until the phone ships. Sure enough, I checked T-Mobile’s website and sew that that the shipment date has been updated to “September 4th – September 6th”. I pre-ordered mine early so it is hard to tell if all pre-orders are shipping this week. If you also pre-ordered a 512 GB Note 9, you may want to check your credit card statement online to see if the charge is pending.

T-Mobile 512 GB Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Experiencing Major Shipping Delays

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If you are like me and pre-ordered the 512 GB Samsung Galaxy Note 9 from T-Mobile (and perhaps other carriers), you will by now know that your device has missed the promised shipment date of August 24th. On August 23rd, I got a vague text message from T-Mobile saying that the shipment of my Note 9 has been delayed with no expected shipment date on the message. I reached out to T-Mobile via Twitter and found out some terrible news – the shipments have been delayed by several weeks. If you ordered a 512 GB Galaxy Note 9, here is likely what you can expect – you are likely not going to be thrilled with the news below.

A Warning to Galaxy Note 9 Owners : Beware of Fake MicroSD Cards

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Technically the warning here applies to all phones regardless of manufacturer but I am picking on Samsung specifically as they made it a huge point to say that the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 can be extended to 1 TB of space with the purchase of a 512 GB Micro SD Card… the problem however is that they did not mention the fact that 512 GB Micro SD cards are expensive and sites like Amazon/eBay/etc are full of scam artists that are chomping at the bit to sell their fake MicroSD cards to unsuspecting value hunters.

Instructions for installing .deb files in a Crostini Container via the ChromeOS File Manager (AKA – Installing Franz on ChromeOS via Crostini)

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Over the past few days, instructions to install Debian Packages (.deb) files on ChromeOS via the Chrome OS File Manager have been floating around many major tech sites. I was originally not planning to cover this story as it was already covered so many times however I changed my mind after following the steps on these sites and was not successful. It turns out that they were missing a step – the .deb file needs to be placed in the “Linux Files” mount first. Here are the instructions: