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Building a $400 at home DIY spin bike for Peloton & Apple Fitness+

TLDR: I combined the Sunny SF-B1002 Bike [https://amzn.to/37gQMcB], the moofit cadence sensor [https://amzn.to/349DpZM] (now sold out, checkout the Magene sensor [https://amzn.to/3raJ0Jd]), a tablet holder [https://amzn.to/3ntQZit], and gel seat cover [https://amzn.to/2ILSWaN] to build my own at home spin bike ready for Apple Fitness+ and Peloton digital. In this blog I break down my entire decision process, review the bike setup combined the services, and give final impressions after 2 weeks.…

James Montemagno

5 Must Install NuGet Packages for New Xamarin Projects

Starting your first project can be a bit overwhelming. I mean heck, I wrote nearly 3,000 words [https://montemagno.com/build-your-first-for-ios-android-app-with-xamarin-and-visual-studio/] breaking down every bit of what to select and what each option means. Oh, and I also have a full video series [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwOF5UVsZWUiHY1CkRVjYJ6dm0iCvAlfw] walking you through it step by step on my YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/jamesmontemagno]. Before I start writing…

James Montemagno

Indoor Cycling Stats Comparison - Peloton App vs Apple Watch Fitness

As winter approaches and the pandemic rages on and on I know I will be indoors even more than ever. Even though I am excited for cross-country skiing, I know I will miss the day (which is already here) that I am not going to be able to hop on my bike and go for a ride outside. I have always loved spin classes and pre-pandemic I used to go several times a month to in person classes for exercise. I have always thought about going all in on a Peloton, however I couldn't justify the price. Howev…

James Montemagno

Randomizing Lists in Power Automate Flow

Every Monday at 9:15 my team and I gather for our weekly team meeting to talk about our achievements from the previous week and what are plans are for the current week. Traditionally during status updates people just go around the room, but in a virtual standup it is easy just to go down the list alphabetically. I don't feel like this is very fair to members in the meeting. When I became a new manager and setup the weekly meeting I knew I wanted to do something a bit different. That is why…

James Montemagno

Straightening Your Webcam with a $3 Level

If you have been working from home more recently and started to invest in a sweet new home setup you may have upgraded your webcam. Most webcams mount on top of a monitor, but if you are going the DSLR or GoPro route then it has a mount on a mount or sometimes an arm. All of this can lead to complications of "straightening" your video output. If you are using a monitor arm like I am then there is yet another complication in the mix. However, with these super simple $3 "bubble lev…

James Montemagno

Switching from Android to iPhone - 1 Month Later

Last month for my birthday I decided to make the big switch from Android to iPhone after being an Android exclusive user for nearly 11 years. My life has mostly been infused with Android/Google devices, which have included my long love of Android phones, Android TV, and Android based smart displays. For the last two years I have been rocking the Pixel 2 XL, which is been a solid device with an amazing camera. I have been waiting and waiting for Google to release something great in their main or…

James Montemagno

Introducing Island Tracker for Animal Crossing New Horizons

tldr; I built a new iOS & Android app called Island Tracker [https://islandtracker.app] that enables you to track turnip prices, get predictions, and share them with friends. It is available today. Get it on: [https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1510177414?mt=8] [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.refractored.islandtracker] When Animal Crossing New Horizons launched in late March I fell in love immediately. My wife adopted my Nintendo Switch Lite and we both got copies the nigh…

James Montemagno

Animate Anything with Xamarin.Forms

I have been building apps with Xamarin.Forms for nearly 6 years now! I love how it has evolved over the years, added new controls, new features, and simplified everything with Shell. While I think I can build pretty decent apps in general, one thing that I have always struggled with is animations. The very first release of Xamarin.Forms had a built in animation system [https://docs.microsoft.com/xamarin/xamarin-forms/user-interface/animation/simple] to fade, move, and scale any of the controls…

James Montemagno

Tags

Building a $400 at home DIY spin bike for Peloton & Apple Fitness+

5 Must Install NuGet Packages for New Xamarin Projects

Indoor Cycling Stats Comparison - Peloton App vs Apple Watch Fitness

Randomizing Lists in Power Automate Flow

Straightening Your Webcam with a $3 Level

Switching from Android to iPhone - 1 Month Later

Introducing Island Tracker for Animal Crossing New Horizons

Animate Anything with Xamarin.Forms

James Montemagno

Tags