Featured on Undecided with Matt Ferrell
I'm happy Matt asked me to help out with our second apples-to-apples(ish) comparison between our two all-electric, heat pump-ified homes. This one focuses on the source of heat, and it's a follow-up to Matt's popular video from a year ago that compared our solar setups here. I really hope you get a lot out of this one too. Your thoughts, stories, and feedback are always appreciated here. Feel free to drop a comment below, no login required. As a small and independent part-time content creator,…
After 4 New England Winters Living With Just Heat Pumps
This closely-related video covers some of the considerations to consider when looking into heat pump based heating and cooling systems. My wife and I took on the task of converting from gas to electric for our just-purchased "forever home" back in 2022. It was a 32-year-old, 1,856 sq. ft. house in need of a new roof, some remodeling, and major energy-efficiency upgrades including new windows. The massive supply chain and labor shortages at that time made the HVAC portion a much bigger…
Dell 5K Monitor, VPP Payout, Ubiquiti Cloud Gateway Fiber, LFP as UPS, Framework Desktop
This article summarizes my 2025, both professionally and personally. Please consider leaving a comment with feedback, or just to let me know you're interested in learning more about my installation and configuration of some of these tech items. With a ton of household-renovation-related work to focus on from 2022 to 2024, all but the most critical tech and home automation acquisitions had to be back-burnered. I needed to patiently wait for some spare time, and a budget. With many aging tech…
EV Club of CT's second annual symposium
here's my full presentation deck As one of the EV Club of Connecticut Leaders, I've been helping out with the arrangements for this event. I'm very much looking forward to having a chance to speak this year again too. All the details are in this EV Club of Connecticut article by leader Barry Kresch, with the registration form right here for folks wishing to attend either or both days, and/or test drive one of the many EVs we'll have on-hand. I'll be doing some informal "Sage on a…
World's #1 Home Energy & Electric Vehicle Show, Vancouver BC
This article summarizes my experience with a podcast, a list of videos, and some stories. Enjoy! Interested in an AI-generated podcast version of this article? Have a listen here, it's generated by NotebookLM. Freaks me about a bit, how about you? Please feel free to leave your comments about this "podcast" or anything else about this article right at the bottom, no login required! If you don't care to log in to your Google account to hear it, here's a shorter clip below: Your…
TinkerTry's home featured in Matt Ferrell's video and podcast
This set of two videos followed by a detailed, technical article is the first-hand information that I had hoped to find when I was trying to find out if it was even possible to go all-electric with solar back here in Connecticut back in 2021. It had become clear we needed to downsize to a one-level "forever" home, but there was no land near us suitable for new construction, and new construction prices were very high. If you enjoy this content and find value in it, you can save…
I think this interview video will help you get to know Matt better, gaining a better appreciation for just how much dedication and focus he has poured into his content creation business, and the training and experience it took him to get where he is today. Please feel free to leave comments below this article and/or video. We would love to hear what you think! It was a cold and dark wintry night when I received an intriguing email from Matt. He was ever-so-politely asking if I might be…
Resilient and all-electric, no more more gas!
In 2022, my wife and I decided to downsize to a nearby house that was built by the same La Cava Construction that crafted over a thousand simple, sturdy homes in Connecticut. We had set a goal to find an efficient "forever home" with fixed monthly costs. Choosing this modest 1,856 sq. ft. one story house in Wethersfield Connecticut worked out well for us, but it wasn't easy. Our story began with our home purchase offer being accepted in June of 2022. That very same day, we paid the…
NEEVS Full Presentation Replay - Windows, Insulation, Heat pumps, Solar, Batteries
Here's the Google Doc version of the presentation, complete with animations. Enjoy! Below you'll find the original event description from the original event announcement: Join us for an exciting in-person event, the Northeast Electric Vehicle Symposium (NEEVS), held at the Hotel Marcel New Haven, Tapestry Collection by Hilton in New Haven, CT, USA. This symposium is a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of electric vehicles and network with industry experts. Discover the…
Featured on Home Gadget Geeks Episode #584
Thank you again Jim, for you being you, and for inviting me again! Including "The Home Tech Podcast" episodes, it's my 18th time on the air with you, with all of them listed below! It's always fun to catch up. I've got a few notes below, just in case you'd like to explore any of these items a little further. We discussed my recent solar experiences, and some of the benefits and challenges when going all-electric in our new-to-us 33-year-old home. We bought the house on Sep 15 2022,…
New Haven Connecticut, September 9, 2023
Live near Connecticut? Come join us, but you need to register here to attend -> bit.ly/NEEVS23 Join us for an exciting in-person event, the Northeast Electric Vehicle Symposium (NEEVS), held at the Hotel Marcel New Haven, Tapestry Collection by Hilton in New Haven, CT, USA. This symposium is a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of electric vehicles and network with industry experts. Discover the latest incentives, policies and advances in ZEVs and pathways to…
This podcast was recorded on August 2 2023, using Zoom to join the crew. This is my 1st appearance on this podcast! It's always fun to try something new, especially with these super smart IT folks that I've had the honor of meeting at various IT user groups over the years. You can easily subscribe to Gigacast here. As an alternative to the basic player above, you'll have speed controls using the player at right. Warning, I talk pretty fast some times. Even better, use your favorite podcast…
Tribal land where Connecticut's protectionist car dealership laws don't apply
It sure has been a long wait for Tesla EV car delivery to be possible right here in Connecticut, an issue that the EV Club of Connecticut has been trying to help address for over a decade! There have been so many years of citizens testifying in favor of so many bills that would allow for direct sales of EVs (and service) in Connecticut. Each year, powerful, well-funded dealership lobbies manage to dash the wishes of the voting constituency. Dealers even went so far as to sue the town of East…
In depth technical tours of each well-equipped EV [Video]
On Saturday, May 6 the EV Club of Connecticut held an EV meetup in conjunction with Tesla Owners - Connecticut. An open house of the amazing Hotel Marcel was also held that same day, with quite the array of EVs on display for the public to see, including Westport's new Tesla Model Y. It was recently purchased after the huge monetary savings from their (now 2.5-year-old) Model 3 became very apparent. Officer Charles Sampson kindly gave us quite the exterior and interior tour, sharing many…
Dear TinkerTry Readers: Today May 8 2023 is my very first day at Pure Storage! As a "Systems Engineer - Commercial", it's a return to a role that's more similar to what I was doing at VMware than at Dell, but with an even greater focus on customers right here in Connecticut and the rest of New England, reporting to Chandler Bassett, and working with Jay Gallagher. It also turns out that several of the folks I'll be working closely with also live right here in the Greater Hartford…
Video replay from March 21, 2023, featuring Q&A with EV Club of CT
I met Sandy and Cory in late 2021, and to my surprise reaching out to their team actually worked out, after a bit of back-and-forth negotiating the details. It's a Zoom event, and if this sounds like it's something you'd enjoy, please pre-register, read onward for all the details! Enjoy learning about the tech behind EVs? Don’t miss this special event where the @teardowntitan himself, Sandy Munro, will be joined by Munro & Associates President @CorySteuben on a very special EV Club of C…
When rates doubled, I switched providers in one of 30 states where you can choose your rate
Feel free to share this article TinkerTry.com/lowerbill with your friends and family. Disclosure: In about a dozen years of content creation here a TinkerTry, I've never written any one article or produced one video that saved my readers and viewers so much money with just about 5 minutes of their time. This is thanks to our ability to choose our energy supplier. In this video, I give you step-by-step instructions. If you prefer words over visuals, written directions appear below. While the…
Supercharger Magic Dock in Brewster, NY - great news for non-Tesla EVs
It sure didn't take long for Tesla to deploy this Magic Dock retrofit solution after the Biden administration's recent announcement: Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Standards and Major Progress for a Made-in-America National Network of Electric Vehicle Chargers Feb 15 2023 Tesla, for the first time, will open a portion of its U.S. Supercharger and Destination Charger network to non-Tesla EVs, making at least 7,500 chargers available for all EVs by the end of 2024. The open chargers w…
Featured on Tech Breakfast Podcast 284
This podcast was recorded on Thursday February 23 2023, using Telegram for Windows to join the TBP crew Show notes below. This is my 11th appearance on this fun informative podcast! You can easily subscribe to Tech Breakfast here. You can play this fresh episode in the embedded player: As an alternative to the players above, you'll have speed controls using the player at right. Even better, use your favorite podcast app, such as Overcast which lets you keep your hands on the wheel and…
Technical discussion featuring installation considerations and owner's experience
Disclosure: Here's the Google Doc version of the presentation, complete with animations. Enjoy! Here's the PDF of the presentation, enjoy! My wife and I recently moved into a 33-year-old house, and our two EVs moved with us. We decided to remove the 33-year-old natural gas furnace, choosing to go all in on heat pumps for cooling, heating, and hot water. Between the EVs and the heat pumps, we needed a lot more room for circuit breakers, with hopes to eventually add solar and battery…
Featured as EV Correspondent, discussion with Aaron, Russ, & Tyler
This podcast was recorded on Tuesday November 15 2022, using Telegram for Windows to join the TBP crew Show notes below. This is my 10th appearance on this fun informative podcast! You can easily subscribe to Tech Breakfast here. You can play this fresh episode in the embedded player: Making dreams take flight Nov 16 2022 by Stella Katsipoutis-Varkanis at news.lafayette.edu At the 2022 Lafayette vs. Lehigh football game Nov. 19, the 158th meeting of college football’s most-played rivalry, O…
Here's how to download it any which way
This article has replaced my previous IA article, now that the same exact IA bits to download have been deemed worthy of the GA designation, as VMware proudly announced that vSphere 8 is now GA on Nov 8 2022, updating the same release notes accordingly. To get started with your lab testing, jump to the appropriate download section: If you have a free My VMware account If you're currently a vExpert If you're currently a VMUG Advantage EVALExperience subscriber If you're seeking the Free…
Tech tour featured on Undecided with Matt Ferrell!
Thirty-three-year-career Architect and Developer Bruce Becker was the President of the EV Club of Connecticut for many years, and we are both part of the small leadership team that met up at his just-barely-opened technological marvel called the Hotel Marcel back in June of 2022. Bruce graciously gave us the full facility tour, and I think it's safe to say we were all amazed. I've featured Bruce in other articles, and I quite enjoy diving into the nerdier details of how he adopts newer…
Here's how to download it any which way
This article has been replaced with this one, now that the same exact IA bits to download have been deemed worthy of the GA designation, as VMware proudly announced that vSphere 8 is now GA on Nov 8 2022 and updated the release notes. To get started with your lab testing, jump to the appropriate download section: If you have a free My VMware account If you're currently a vExpert If you're currently a VMUG Advantage EVALExperience subscriber If you're seeking the Free Hypervisor Download and…
TinkerTry - PCs, EVs, home tech, efficiency and more, including virtualization. My opinions here. Full-time IT Professional, occasional consultant.
Paul Braren, MCSE in 1998, VCP #2681 in 2005, vExpert 2014 to 2025, Veeam Vanguard Emeritus, 2015 to 2019.
Project Manager of my All-Electric Home Retrofit
Easily update VMware ESXi at TinkerTry.com/easy-update-to-latest-esxi
Source - Below paragraphs generated by this comprehensive Perplexity Deep Research report that includes information from 43 sources including Wikipedia - Enshittification:
Why This Exemplifies Enshittification
- Initial Value: VMware initially built goodwill by offering reliable, feature-rich virtualization products and VMUG Advantage, which provided significant value to users.
- Business User Phase: Broadcom prioritized enterprise/hyperscaler customers, extracting more revenue from them while degrading the experience for smaller users (perpetual license elimination, steep subscription costs, discontinued free products).
- Shareholder Phase: The rapid transition to subscriptions and price increases align with maximizing short-term shareholder value, potentially at the long-term expense of the platform's broader ecosystem.
...
The VMware situation perfectly illustrates what one industry observer described as "the classic case of enshittification—where a platform degrades in value to the user to extract maximum value for the shareholder". Even if Broadcom were to reverse course, "the trust is gone" and "the threat of future audits and contract changes remains".
Jan 04, 2026 at 3:12 AM UTC
TinkerTry's 2025 Home Tech Refresh
"This is a simple test of TinkerTry.com new improved handling of Disqus, and it uses the new API and lazy and deferred loading wherever possible. Disqus comments have returned to the sidebar area of al..."
Nov 18, 2025 at 4:29 AM UTC
How to easily update your VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest version with one ESXCLI command
"so on an existing installation is not possible to update it? i couldnt even figure out how to create the tokens lol i dont have that option i think on the dashboard..."
Nov 18, 2025 at 4:24 AM UTC
Download all the VMware vSphere 5.5 pieces to get your home lab started
"I cannot do that. I run a legit site, and I have no special access to the code anyway since I don’t work for Broadcom."
Nov 18, 2025 at 4:23 AM UTC
How to easily update your VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest version with one ESXCLI command
"It is quite frustrating. While I managed to get the free ESXi 8U3e hypervisor installed (new install only) with a license that doesn’t expire, you still need a token to even patch it the easy way: h..."
Nov 16, 2025 at 8:44 PM UTC
How to easily update your VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest version with one ESXCLI command
"i m trying to find the way to generate the tokens etc but i m confused with broadcom....i think its about the time to start migrating to different platform...."
Jul 29, 2025 at 6:08 PM UTC
Download all the VMware vSphere 5.5 pieces to get your home lab started
"Hello, I need help with the vCenter installer. Could you make it available in some drive so I can download it? I have the license and need to activate it to work in an old environment."
Jul 29, 2025 at 6:07 PM UTC
Download all the VMware vSphere 5.5 pieces to get your home lab started
"Olá preciso de ajuda com o instalador do vCenter, poderiam me disponibiliar em algum drive para que eu possa fazer o download? Eu possuo a licença e preciso ativar para trabalhar em um antigo ambien..."
Jul 20, 2025 at 4:22 PM UTC
How to resolve “This virtual machine appears to be in use” error in VMware Workstation
"Still works, using VMware 17.6.3"
Jun 11, 2025 at 7:51 PM UTC
How to easily update your VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest version with one ESXCLI command
"I sourced the update zip from a third-party website and ran the following commands. The update seem to have gone fine. I suggest verifying the checksum of the file if you go down that route, as an ext..."
Jun 05, 2025 at 4:57 PM UTC
TinkerTry Supermicro SuperServer Bundles - powerful and efficient virtualization home labs
"I have not, as I moved homes and got rid of everything old, and I tend to avoid eBay stuff partly for support and energy use reasons. It’s amazing that I’m still running both of my SuperServers t..."
Jun 05, 2025 at 8:19 AM UTC
How to easily update your VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest version with one ESXCLI command
"Yes. It can be downloaded from the Broadcom site. It is under Free Downloads and comes with a Free license integrated in the ISO. https://support.broadcom.com/group/ecx/free-downloads"
Jun 05, 2025 at 2:56 AM UTC
How to easily update your VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest version with one ESXCLI command
"I admit I haven't looked into that, but I appreciate you dropping that idea my way here on TinkerTry! I'm doing much of the same soul searching and tech solution searching that many others are likely ..."
Jun 04, 2025 at 8:41 PM UTC
How to easily update your VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest version with one ESXCLI command
"Is there a way to upgrade with the full ISO without overwriting the currently installed license? It wouldn't be a total loss if we could somehow mount the ISO and use a command like below to upg..."
May 28, 2025 at 11:33 AM UTC
TinkerTry Supermicro SuperServer Bundles - powerful and efficient virtualization home labs
"This was such an insightful look back at the impressive legacy of these Supermicro Xeon D bundles! It's remarkable how these compact yet powerful systems served the homelab community so well for ..."
May 26, 2025 at 5:10 AM UTC
How to easily update your VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest version with one ESXCLI command
"Which are the others, if it is not a secret? I am also looking for alternatives."
May 26, 2025 at 1:50 AM UTC
How to resolve “This virtual machine appears to be in use” error in VMware Workstation
"Glad you found my article, thank you for the feedback, sure seems like they should have fixed this long ago!"
Allan Tygert
Feb 02, 2026 at 6:44 PM UTC
USB Image Tool for Windows easily backs up and restores your complete VMware ESXi hypervisor on USB or SD drives, a simp
"Thank you for the backup process. I followed the video and everything worked as expected. I was wondering if you could share some information on the tool you use to have a VNC-like connection to you..."