Q. Which is best for home use, an inkjet or laser printer?
A. The answer depends a great deal on what you want to print. There are tradeoffs that will narrow down your options quickly.
If you want to print in color, inkjet is a clear winner. But color printing can be expensive. This reality will reveal itself slowly, around the time you discover the price for replacement ink cartridges. If you regularly print high-quality photo images, you’ll find ink costs probably surpass the cost of a photo lab. It is a balance between cost and convenience.
Inkjet printers have one more limitation; they are most efficient when they are used often. At least once a day is ideal. Leaving the printer inactive for long periods will cause dry ink to build up, shortening the life of the hardware.
My point here is that the drawbacks of inkjet printers are not obvious until you own one. However, if you need convenient color photo printing, inkjets are the best option available.
Even better, if a local copy shop has an inkjet printer, you can pay-as-you-go and hop off the cartridge treadmill.
If you can avoid color, laser printers are the perfect tool. They are fast, inexpensive, and reliable. My Brother sub-$200 wireless printer is almost 10 years old, uses plain copier paper, and only needs toner once every couple of years.
Q. Is it possible to control my home thermostat from my smartphone?
A. Yes. Home automation technology is still a mixed bag, but there are a few simple tasks that it has taken over in our household. One of them is the furnace.
The main challenge is the initial setup. It requires some solid troubleshooting skills and a lot of patience. You need to navigate several apps to get the configuration correct.
We installed an ecobee Smart Premium thermostat last winter, and it has been a solid upgrade over my ancient thermostat.
I chose the ecobee in part because my power company offered it for sale at a deep discount. That closed the deal, but I already had an ecobee on my shopping list because I liked its simplicity compared to other devices like the Nest Thermostat.
Now I can ask Siri to set the thermostat to a specific temperature or use the ecobee app on my phone. We also depend on a second sensor upstairs, so we can keep the master bedroom at a specific temperature overnight rather than rely on a single sensor where the thermostat is mounted.
Based on our experience, the smart thermostat was a long overdue upgrade for us. It did take some patience during the initial setup, but the results have been worth the effort.
Q. How well do voice-activated smart locks work on a home entry door?
A. We are not yet in Star Trek territory where the door opens as you approach it, but it’s close.
This first bit of advice is the most important: choose a smart lockset that also operates with a key. Voice control and other electronic methods require electricity. Use the smarts in smart locks as an accessory, not as a replacement for a simple key.
If you have installed a door lockset before, installing a smart lock will probably be easier than a smart thermostat.
When researching the best lock for your needs, go online first. In my town, the local home stores generally stock older models. Find the best one for you online and then see if it’s available for purchase locally.
Some of the early lock designs had issues, but newer models from Level and Schlage are excellent designs that will provide years of reliable service.
Before you consider a specific device, take stock of what you already have in your home. Does the front door have good Wi-Fi coverage? Do you use Siri or Alexa? Can you replace just a deadbolt, or do you also need a new lockset? Do you already own a smartphone? The answers to each of these questions will put you on the road to success.
Bob has been writing about technology for over three decades. He can be contacted at techtalk@bobdel.com.
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