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Showing posts with the label Cat Ellis

The EZVIZ EP4 is a great home security camera for renters — but its facial recognition won't stop it from spamming you with alerts when you come home

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EZVIZ EP4: one-minute review Fitting a video doorbell or security camera is often a non-starter if you rent or live in an apartment where drilling into the walls isn’t allowed. That’s where the EZVIZ EP4 Wire-Free Peephole Door Viewer comes in — by fitting through your front door’s existing peephole, it brings almost everything you’d get from a full video doorbell, without any damage that could upset your landlord. The physical setup is incredibly easy and took me just 10 minutes to complete. After you’ve unscrewed the old peephole, the EP4 securely clamps onto the door without a power tool in sight. Once it’s running, the footage captured is very clear, giving you a detailed look at anyone outside. The companion app is simple to use and intuitively designed, making it effortless to check live feeds, use the two-way talk feature, or adjust security settings. When it comes to saving video footage,...

The KitchenAid KF4 brews a beautifully balanced espresso thanks to its Intelligrind system, but its iced drink menu left me cold

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KitchenAid KF4: two-minute review The KitchenAid Fully Automatic Espresso Machine KF4 is a new addition to the company’s lineup, and though it looks very similar to earlier models like the KF3 and KF6, it’s considerably smaller and a great choice for compact kitchens. It also offers particularly good noise shielding, and during my tests it proved quieter than its siblings when grinding and brewing. It has the same Intelligrind system as KitchenAid’s larger machines, making it easy to achieve the correct dosage for your chosen coffee. With just a few manual tweaks of the grinder (which can be adjusted via a dial), you’ll soon be enjoying consistently delicious, well-extracted espresso. The KF4’s automatic milk system lets you use that espresso in delicious lattes and cappuccinos, and while it’s optimized for dairy, it worked perfectly well with barista-style oat milk as well, producing foam that w...

The Dyson HushJet Mini Cool is the powerful personal fan you won't want to live without this summer — and it's surprisingly reasonably priced, too

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Dyson HushJet Mini Cool: review Dyson’s engineers are experts in airflow — whether in vacuum cleaners, fans, or hair dryers — and the HushJet Mini Cool puts that power right in your hand. It’s a portable cooling fan that you can hold, wear around your neck, attach to clothing or a bag strap (if you buy one of the optional clip accessories) or stand upright on your desk — and it really works. Shortly before testing the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool, I got my hands on the Shark ChillPill — a rival handheld fan that was released at approximately the same time. I was impressed by the ChillPill’s cooling ability, which is supplemented by a misting attachment and a metal cooling plate — but in terms of sheer power, the Dyson absolutely blows it away. (Image credit: Future) This mainly comes down to two factors: the fan’s powerful motor, which can reach up to 65,000rpm (compared to just 25,000rpm for the Chi...

I spent two weeks with the gorgeous Philips Café Aromis espresso machine, and creating delicious custom coffees has never been so much fun

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Philips Café Aromis 8000 Series: two-minute review The Philips Café Aromis 8000 Series is a premium automatic coffee maker that works brilliantly by itself, and even better when paired with the Philips HomeID mobile app. The Café Aromis offers a huge menu of over 50 different hot and cold drinks, and encourages you to tinker with brew settings to achieve the flavor you prefer with your chosen beans. You can do this via the large, bright touchscreen, or better yet, through the mobile app, which guides you through your options with an interface styled like an AI chatbot, and saves your preferences to your profile for quick access later. You can even start brewing remotely through the app. Once you’ve got the brew settings nailed down (including tweaking the grind size using a dial inside the bean hopper), you’ll enjoy consistently delicious hot and cold drinks, with thick and creamy hot or cold mil...