The Slabby Journal
Guides, product deep-dives, and tips for getting more out of your tech.
The Complete Archive
Why Your USB-C Cable Might Be Secretly Limiting You to 60W or USB 2.0 Speeds, and How to Actually Check
Two USB-C cables can look identical and still differ by 4x in charging power and 80x in data speed. A small chip most people have never heard of is the actual reason, not the connector.
Does Kathmandu's Altitude Actually Affect How Well Your Laptop Cools Itself?
Air at Kathmandu's elevation is roughly 11% less dense than air at sea level, which is a real number server manufacturers build into their cooling specs. For a laptop, it turns out to be almost beside the point.
Does a Dash Cam Actually Help After a Kathmandu Traffic Accident, or Is It Just Peace of Mind?
A dash cam is always recording, which also means it's always overwriting. Without locking the clip right after an incident, the exact footage you needed can disappear before you think to save it.
Does a Tempered Glass Screen Protector Actually Save Your Phone in a Drop, or Just From Scratches?
Hardness and toughness are different material properties. A 9H rating tells you how well glass resists scratches, not how it behaves in a drop, and those turn out to be separate questions.
Can a Small Portable Bluetooth Speaker Actually Produce Real Bass, or Is It All EQ Trickery?
Most small speaker drivers physically roll off below 100-150Hz, no matter what the marketing calls the bass mode. Some of what fills that gap is real engineering, and some of it is just EQ.
Do Wireless Earbuds Actually Block Noise as Well as the Box Claims, or Is Tip Fit Doing the Real Work?
A correctly sized ear tip can block 20-30dB of noise on its own, before any active noise cancellation switches on. The wrong tip size can cost you 10-15dB, more than most ANC upgrades add back.
Does a Laptop Stand Actually Fix Neck Strain, or Do You Also Need an External Keyboard?
A laptop stand alone raises the screen and the keyboard together. Without a separate keyboard, you trade neck strain for shoulder strain instead of actually fixing anything.
Does a Wireless Charger Actually Charge Your Phone as Fast as a Cable, or Is It Just Convenience?
Wireless charging runs at roughly 60-70% efficiency against 85-95% for a cable, and loses the rest as heat. That gap is the actual tradeoff, not a flaw in your particular charger.
Do Small Desktop Air Purifiers Actually Help With Kathmandu’s Pollution, or Are They Too Small to Matter?
Kathmandu spent much of 2026 outside WHO-safe air quality limits, with AQI spiking over 200 in the worst months. A small desktop purifier can’t clean a room that size, but it was never built to.