Author: Dave Farquhar

What does a TP-Link do?

Dave Farquhar Servers and Networking
What does a TP-Link do?

What does a TP-Link do? It depends on which product you’re asking about. But all of TP-Link’s products allow computers, game systems, and mobile devices to network together, so they can share things like a printer and an Internet connection.

TP-Link makes a number of devices, including routers, access points, switches, network cards, and powerline adapters. What these have in common is they all create or extend computer networks, either wired or wireless.

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Plastimarx: Marx’s Mexican subsidiary

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Plastimarx: Marx’s Mexican subsidiary

Plastimarx is a frequently misunderstood 20th century toymaker. It was part of Louis Marx’s post-WWII expansion into foreign markets, specifically Mexico. But how and when it came about and ended are all a bit unclear. Let’s try to clear it up.

Plastimarx’s slogan translated to “They are beautiful, they are durable, they are Plastimarx toys.” It  was perhaps the last piece of Louis Marx’s toy empire to fall, surviving until 1991.

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How much does an author make?

Dave Farquhar Writing
How much does an author make?

Let me tell you a dirty secret that may surprise you. Authors don’t make a lot of money, generally speaking. How much does an author make? It varies, but if you’re not famous, probably less than you think.

Writing the book is the easy part of making a living as a writer. Selling the book is the harder part, and many authors find there aren’t enough hours in the year to do both and make an average income.

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How to view your Twitter inferred interests

Dave Farquhar security
How to view your Twitter inferred interests

Social media infers a lot about you. After all, if the service is free, you’re the product. Here’s how to view your Twitter inferred interests and see what Twitter thinks it knows about you.

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Is Ryobi a good brand? Who makes Ryobi tools?

Dave Farquhar DIY
Is Ryobi a good brand? Who makes Ryobi tools?

The price and selection of Ryobi tools available at your local big-box store certainly is tempting. But is Ryobi a good brand? Let’s dig in.

Ryobi tools are made by Techtronic Industries (TTI), an OEM for many other brands. Ryobi tools are aimed at consumers, and designed to be equivalent in quality to Black and Decker.

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Put your blog posts on Pinterest for free

Dave Farquhar Writing
Put your blog posts on Pinterest for free

There are several plugins that put your blog posts on Pinterest and other social media, but Pinterest is always an option that costs money. But recently Pinterest made a change to allow you to send it an RSS feed. Here’s how to use RSS to put your content on Pinterest for free.

If your audience is largely female, being on Pinterest is a must. Even if your audience is largely male, being on Pinterest can be helpful, and is worth the effort, especially now that Pinterest has made it much easier.

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Marx tender values

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Marx tender values

I saw a complaint on a discussion board recently that someone couldn’t find straight answers in regards to Marx tender values anywhere online. Maybe my previous guidance wasn’t specific enough, so I’ll give it another try.

I have good news and bad news for you. The bad news is that most Marx tenders are worth around $10. Some are worth more, but that’s a fairly short list.

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Will a new Roku buffer less?

Dave Farquhar Hardware
Will a new Roku buffer less?

I get a lot of questions about Roku buffering. As time progresses, buffering becomes the most annoying thing about them, for sure. But will a new Roku buffer less?

Replacing an older high-end Roku with a new low-end Roku won’t necessarily mean less buffering. But generally speaking, replacing an old Roku with a newer version from a comparable price point to the original probably will buffer less.

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Goodwill by the pound

Dave Farquhar Saving money
Goodwill by the pound

Goodwill operates thrift stores all over the country, but most major cities have one Goodwill Outlet as well. These stores, nicknamed Goodwill by the pound, sell merchandise by weight. It’s the last stop for merchandise before being recycled.

Goodwill by the pound offers tremendous opportunity for bargain hunters with a sense of adventure. If you’re willing to dig, and fix up what you find, you can save a ton of money at these stores.

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What is MS-DOS?

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
What is MS-DOS?

What is MS-DOS? I guess the question dates itself, or rather, the person who asked it. DOS is obsolete today, but was so important in the 80s and 90s that people assume you know what it was.

MS-DOS was the operating system PCs used before Windows. It was the first popular 16-bit operating system, and was the dominant operating system of the 1980s and early 1990s. It did not multitask.

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