2014 - Page 3 of 5 - TBNI.Blog - The Official TBNI.Blog

How to Replace / Install PS4 Hard Drive

August 8, 2014 by TomBoyNI

The PS4 is a cracking’ machine. Brilliant in fact. But really, Sony what were you thinking with only giving us a 500GB hard drive. ‘Oh it was to keep costs down,’ you will no doubt reply, but that is a bit of a false economy, as the costs go back up when we have to replace our HDDs ourselves.

It also to be far has been a bit of a slow start for me when it comes to PS4 gaming as at this moment in time I simply have the games that came free with PS+ as well as The Last of Use Remastered, Wolfenstein, Sniper III, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Infamous Second Son, Watch Dogs and Killzone. So a reasonable mediocre collection at this point, so imagine my surprise when I checked my free space and noted I had had 92GB out of my initial 500GB left!

Well all that meant was it was upgrade time.

The story is not that simply however. As in the past, probably January (isn) 2014 I did try to pre empt this situation and took it upon myself to do an early upgrade to limit the hassle of re-downloading all of my games and game data. however back then I was one of the PS4 users who couldn’t upgrade to 2TB. The reasons for that were that at that time Seagate made the only compatible and affordable 2TB drive for PS4. However it came in an enclosure, you had to take it apart…

That wouldn’t put me off however and I did purchase it back then, that’s when the problems arose. It was quickly established that if you cracked open your PS4 and found a HGST drive staring at you chance were that the Seagate drive was going to be incompatible with your system. Basically there was ‘handshake’ issues between the hardware, but I won’t bore you with that as now it is all thankfully ancient history! (Workarounds were present but I like things to work right 100% of the time, so I shifted the drive on to someone who could use it properly.)

So after a bit of reading I established with a degree of certainty that I could live with that the hand shake issues that were previously present were now gone. No matter what drive you had in your PS4 the Seagate 2TB M9T drive was / is now 100% compatible.

That’s all I needed to here, and off to the shops I trekked picking the drive up for £69.99 and back to the house I hurried to try it out.

Coming Soon – The Lego Simpsons – Mini Figures and the Simpsons House!

October 21, 2017May 2, 2014 by TomBoyNI

This morning saw the release of the first series (maybe the only series) of the Simpsons Mini Figures from Lego! And I am happy to say I have the complete set. I am also pretty chuffed about another recent Lego purchase namely the Simpsons House. I will get some pics up shortly, but in the meantime here is the official ‘photoshop’ to feat your eyes upon!

If you are interested in purchasing a complete set – I have two (complete sets) remaining please Contact Me or use the Contact Page above.

Otterbox Preserver for iPhone 5s UnBoxing and Video Water Testing

April 30, 2014 by TomBoyNI

I am always on the search for the ultimate phone case, and with my work and hobbies of riding a motorcycle I require something tough, something that will stand up to the elements and most importantly something that will keep my phone in absolute pristine condition! Bulk doesn’t bother me and in recent times my favourite case has been the Otterbox Armor. I had it for my iPhone 5, and it took me from the fine shores of Northern Ireland to the finer shores of Florida. It took me through every theme park and thunderstorm Florida could offer and it never missed a beat. Admittedly it was a beast of a case, but I was fine with that. Nothing was beating it.

Since then and getting an iPhone 5s I have been looking for the same thing. I have tried many cases since then, most recently was the Tech 21 Special Ops Combat case. And to be fair to it, it is a crackin’ case! It felt strong, I trusted it, the only thing it lacked was water resistance and it blocked the fingerprint sensor. And let’s be honest it is the finger print sensor on a iPhone 5s that differentiates it from a 5. You have a 5s and you’ll want to be able to use your finger print sensor or at least show it off on occasion.

So now that Otterbox has bought LifeProof and the designs boffins have started working together the inevitable outcome is the Otterbox Preserver.

Anyone who had a Lifeproof Fre case will instantly recognise the Preserver, the similarities are everywhere from the look to the feel, although the preserver feels stiffer, more rigid and just a little bit tougher. These are all good things, that result in a sleek package. If you are used to the Armor case this one will feel truly insignificant.

Now I am not one to torture test my phone or a case, plenty of others do that. I buy a case to prevent my phone being tortured but it is good to know what you are playing with and the stats that the preserver boasts are as follows :

– Two-piece case with snap assembly for easy installation

– Internal foam cushions device and holds it in place inside the caseIncludes an adjustable lanyard for convenient carrying and tethering

– Waterproof: fully submergible up to 6.6 ft. (2 m) for 30 minutes (IP-X8)

– Drop proof: protects device from drops up to 6.6 ft. (2 m)

– Dust proof: blocks entry of dust and debris particles (IP-6X)

OtterBox Defender for Nokia Lumia 920 UnBoxing

April 17, 2014 by TomBoyNI

From my previous post you can see that I recently purchased a Nokia Lumia 920. Anyone who follows my blog will also know that I am a huge fan of tough cases for phones, it means I can go to work and forget about my phone, go out on the bike, go for a run and never be overly worried about the phone, safe in the knowledge that it is well protected. Of course there is the fact that these cases will add considerable bulk to a phone and I appreciate that therefore tough cases are not for everyone. With that to the side it is hard to deny that OtterBox make a good case, and it is for that reason that I opted for an Otterbox Defender for my new Lumia.

Also I should say that there is very little variety when it comes to this phone, and even the OtterBox was difficult enough to source in the UK. The other alternatives were eBay imports that looked like rather cheap Otterbox imitations. Maybe the difficulty in sourcing this case explains the condition it arrived with me in, you may see in the photographs that the packaging certainly had better days and although it is hard to see the case itself was filthy, covered in a thick layer of dust as if it had been lying in an old store room since the beginning of time. To be fair the phone has been released for a while and the case itself didn’t come direct from Otterbox, so there are external factors worth considering.

Anyway this case does exactly what it says on the tin, it is big and bulky for shock and drop protection, the ports and switches are covered up with should offer good dust protection and it has a build in screen guard. It is at this point that I find my only fault with the case. The screen guard, when the case is installed, is not tight against the screen, there is a small layer of air in there that you feel when using the phone, it is almost like a cushion effect and it detracts heavily from the touch screen. I mean heavily. It is not nice to use. Also this gap seems to be a magnet for dust. After just a short period of time I noticed an alarming amount of dust and debris had accumulated inside the case, between the screen shield and the phone itself. This case should be removed frequently and the phone cleaned.

Having said that as far as extreme protection goes for the Lumia 920 this seems to be the best option, so if it is protection you require, and can deal with cleaning the phone and case regularly and the reduction in sensitivity and less than pleasing use of the touch screen this is a decent case, offering a standard of protection that no one else seems to for the Lumia 920. If you don’t need the heavy duty protection but like keeping your phones in pristine condition a decent full body shield such as those supplied by Zagg or BestSkinsEver may be the way forward?

OtterBox Defender for Nokia Lumia 920 UnBoxing :

Nokia Lumia 920 UnBoxing

October 21, 2017April 17, 2014 by TomBoyNI

I’m not completely new to Nokia Lumia phones nor the Windows Phone OS, having owned a Lumia 620 previously. As a complete and utter Mac fanatic and convert I have to say the Windows Phone OS is exceptional. Yes there are a few holes in the app market, but these are more ‘wants’ than ‘necessities’ and as every week passes these holes are getting filled in. There is now very little that I can’t do on WP that I really see as an immediate must, except for the Sky Go App. Come on Microsoft and Sky, Windows Phone users need Sky Go!

I previously did a simple guide for getting started on WP8, you can find that here : https://tbni.blog/2013/05/27/windows-phone-8-getting-started-tips-tricks/

Also to touch quickly on the built in Nokia Apps, firstly the Sat Nav Software is simply great. Last year it took me all across Florida without a single hitch, and it frequently takes me round roads over here, that the rest of the developed world would maybe, on a good day, consider as a track! Believe me, a Sat Nav working well over here is no mean feat!

So what is different and why did I see the need to change?

That’s an easy one, there are some unbelievable deals about at the moment on the 920 handset, I was able to sell my 620 for about £4 less than I bought it for and a few notes later I had upgraded to the 920. The differences are basically, everything is bigger and better. Bigger, better screen, more RAM, faster processor, more storage, much much better camera.

The full Specs of the phone for the technically gifted can be found here : http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_lumia_920-4967.php

Which leads me to my next point, the camera on the Nokia Lumia 920 is outstanding. (The gallery images were not taken with it by the way – say no more!) And with each and every update Nokia and WP8 are throwing out it just keeps getting better. The latest rendition of this Nokia Camera App can be found here : http://www.windowsphone.com/en-gb/store/app/nokia-camera/bfd2d954-12da-415c-ad99-69a20f101e04

With the Nokia Camera App you are not far off the power of a basic DSLr! With setting from Auto to Manual, Portrait to Sports, the need for a Point ‘N Shoot is quickly diminishing! Another quality app that has been released by Nokia for the higher end Lumia range is called ‘Refocus’ and with simply touch gestures true depth of field imaging has been brought – live time – to the mobile phone camera system. A quick preview and demo of ‘ReFocus’ can be seen here : https://refocus.nokia.com

With such a brilliant Sat Nav and Camera system on the 920 it has to be a contender to replace your sat nav in your car alone, and at similar money for a decent sat nag, and with the benefit of it being phone as well as a great camera the benefits are certainly becoming more obvious!

Finally, with Nokia MixRadio you have a massive catalogue of music to take with you, stream and enjoy for FREE! Yep another brilliant free app in the Nokia Suite, and the details of it are here : http://www.nokia.com/gb-en/apps/app/mixradio/

Of course there has to be a problem right? Yep unfortunately so. And it is common with all smart phones. The battery. When Sat Naving, photographing and streaming the Lumia goes through a battery as quick as a hungry baby with a bottle. Same can be said for many other phones of course, but it is a point to be wary off. If long battery life is a necessity for you, you may need to look else where, or at least at a USB car charger and spare lead, or a battery pack, hell there are that many options I’m sure you’ll be grand!

Nokia Lumia 920 UnBoxing Gallery :

Monster N-Tune Headphones UnBoxing…

March 31, 2014 by TomBoyNI

I got a set of these just after Christmas (I know a bit behind on this one) for an absolutely outstanding price of £49GBP! At the same time I was looking at a set of Beats by Dre which a supermarket chain were offering at a great price also, however after a little reading I decided that the fashion accessory that are Beats Solos are not for me (admittedly the higher up the range of Beats headphones are generally accepted as top class products the general conscious is that the Solos are more of an accessory than a headphone. I don’t want to get into a debate ion Solos, as I haven’t owned a pair, I have no doubt that they offer up a great sound, I just feel that following a little research there is potentially better sets at less money.

Anyway I see these Monster N-Tunes (Monster also make Beats by Dre) and thought they were at a price you couldn’t turn down! So I didn’t!

I have been using them now for a few months and I am massively impressed. The sound is crisp at all levels, the bass is deep, the mids are defined and the highs are oh so high! They are over ear earphones, but not cups, so they rest on your ear, rather than your ear tucked away in side them. And that is my only negative, I have a pretty big head (enough said) and the ears, they are a decent size too, and when it comes to headphones I like my ear inside the cup. I have a set of Sennheiser HD202 and my ear tucks away nicely in them. If these headphones did that I’d be 100% sold.

As it goes I’m 90% sold, the audio quality is so good I am forced to over look the mild discomfort. I get too that some people prefer this style than a full ear cup, so I suppose it is horses for courses!

For the fashion conscious they aren’t Beats by Dre however they are still a premium headphone, and you will stand out more from the crowd with a set of these as opposed to being just another one in that crowd with a set of Beats!

There are plenty of reviews out there from audiophiles, of which I am not, however as a general consumer these ‘cans’ are great. The sound is excellent, that comes from my experience of about 10 years DJing dance music (including a wee patch in Ibiza) so, I, at the minimum can at least say when something works well for the end consumer!

These work well, sound great, look good in shiny white, and let’s be honest everything looks good in shiny white!

UnBoxing Gallery of Monster N-Tune Headphones :

2 – Happy Birthday to TBNI.co.uk

March 20, 2014 by TomBoyNI

This month we are two.

In conclusion…Happy Birthday to Us!

Here’s 2 babes!

An Open Letter to the Company That Complained About Me – You Know Who You Are!

March 20, 2014 by TomBoyNI

Yesterday I received an email from a Company whose product I had reviewed on this blog. A favourable review may I add, not only a favourable review but a photo gallery dedicated to the product and even a few videos showcasing the product in action.

So in summary I had uploaded a review, gallery and videos as part of a favourable review of a product I completely recommended. A product I know I have effectively sold numerous other units to friends, family and readers of this blog.

How very unforgivable of me!

“This copy of the Install OS X Mavericks application can’t be verified” FIX

March 15, 2014 by TomBoyNI

Just a quickie fix here.

If you are experiencing the above error whilst trying to do a fresh install of OS X Mavericks (from a USB stick) there is a good chance all you need to do is change the date that your machine believes it to be.

So for example it is now 17.15 hrs on 15th March 2014.

To fix this error go to the ‘Utilities’ Menu and run ‘Terminal’ (from within the Mavericks’ installer).

Once in terminal enter the date as follows (of course making it the correct current date and time, this simply illustrates the format)…

date 031517152014

Press Enter.

Now close ‘Terminal’ and attempt the fresh install.

Things should now go your way!

Good luck.

Tar and Traffic Film Removal

February 21, 2014 by TomBoyNI

As a driver of a white car I am unfortunately plagued by Tar Spots and Road and Traffic Film on my paintwork.

The product that I use and thoroughly recommend is ‘Holts – Tar and General Spot Remover.’ It costs about £5 and the results are excellent. However it is a little messy and reasonably time consuming. In basic terms I use it as follows :

1. Pre wash with the power hose.
2. Snow Foam.
3. 2 Bucket Wash.
4. Holts Tar and Spot Remover.
5. Power hose wash and rinse.
6. Another 2 Bucket wash (just to remove any remaining Holts – it is a bit messy).
7. Polish…Wax…Sealant etc…

Holts is really easy to use, simply spray it on the spots, you will notice they almost instantly get darker, wait about 3 minutes and wipe off with a clean cloth. Then give the car a quick clean and at the very least a good coat of polish to protect your newly gleaming paintwork!

Disclosure :