The CJRB Hectare Does Everything the Most Famous EDC Outdoor Knife Can, for $100+ Less

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Proven performance: The CJRB Hectare knife vs. rope and cardboard; (photo/Nick LeFort)

There are so many folding knives aimed at the outdoors these days that there’s bound to be some overlap. In some cases, that overlap might even be intentional — so intentional, in fact, that when you Google one knife and another one comes up in the results, you can confirm you’re not crazy. This is really happening.

For years, the Benchmade Bugout has been a dream come true for those folks who want a durable, reliable, medium-duty folding pocket knife without the heft. At 1.85 ounces, Benchmade aced the weight challenge. It also hit a home run with the choice to go with S30V blade steel, a wicked popular stainless steel. And the cherry on top, the knife carried Benchmade’s Axis lock. For less than $200, the Bugout became a no-brainer in the world of EDC knives.

This year, CJRB Cutlery reached out to see if I wanted to test out its newest outdoor-focused knife, the Hectare. CJRB deemed it the brand’s “first EDC-focused knife featuring a fast and reliable crossbar lock.”

Looking at the pictures and reading the specifics, I couldn’t ignore the similarities it drew to the Bugout: roughly the same size, sub-3-ounce weight, and a very similar, albeit less refined, design. It fits well in the “Hiking and Backpacking” knife category.

Accepting the offer to test and review the Hectare was a no-brainer.

In short: The CJRB Hectare proves that you can get more bang for your buck. By taking cues from one of the most desired hiking and backpacking EDC knives on the market, CJRB created a $50 knife that questions the need for a $200 one. If you don’t want to spend a lot on a knife but want to experience the hype surrounding the Benchmade Bugout, the Hectare will get you there.


CJRB Hectare Knife

Specs

  • OAL
    7.35"
  • Blade length
    3.15"
  • Blade steel
    AR-RPM9
  • Blade shape
    Drop point
  • Grind
    Flat
  • Hardness
    59-61 HRC
  • Lock type
    Crossbar lock
  • Carry
    Deep, left or right hand, tip-up
  • Weight
    2.69 oz.
  • Price
    $67 (but seemingly always on sale for $47)

Pros

  • G10 handle scales

  • Overall performance of the steel

  • Crossbar lock

  • Price

Cons

  • The roughness of the crossbar lock buttons

  • Initial crossbar lock resistance

CJRB Hectare Knife Review

Design & Features

a close-up photo of cjrb hectare pocket clip
CJRB Hectare pocket clip; (photo/Nick LeFort)

The CJRB Hectare is a lightweight, durable, reliable backpacking knife. It features a skeletonized steel frame and G10 handle scales, and deep-carry pocket clip. For a lock, the Hectare relies on a crossbar-style lock. The Hectare has an overall length of 7.35 inches, 3.15 of which make up the AR-RPM9 drop-point blade.

Additionally, the Hectare comes in at a trim and lean 2.69 ounces — a shoo-in for backpacking and EDC requirements.

Last month, Knife Steel Nerds, which I consider to be the authority on knife steel, claimed that Artisan, the parent company of CJRB, made false claims about its AR-RPM9 steel. Dr. Larrin Thomas, the brainpower behind Knife Steel Nerds and inventor of MagnaCut steel, claimed that AR-RPM9 steel was not a powdered steel as Artisan had claimed.

In the end, Artisan apologized for the mistake; however, it seems like the future of AR-RPM9 hangs in the balance. It may need to be reevaluated and renamed. The “P” stands for “Powdered” and the “9” stands for the number of elements in the steel, but there are only 7.

Still, it is nearly identical to 9Cr18MoV, a Chinese high-carbon stainless steel known to excel in edge retention, toughness, abrasion resistance, and corrosion resistance. So politics aside, 9Cr18MoV stands as an excellent budget steel.

First Impressions

cjrb hectare knife details close up
(Photo/Nick LeFort)

I take no issue with a company like CJRB making a knife so similar to a popular knife made by a premium brand. I was eager to see how a knife that costs more than $100 less compares to the knife that inspired it. While I didn’t expect this knife to behave like the Bugout, when it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised.

Though all crossbar lock mechanisms look and perform in a specific way, there are a lot of different versions of it on the market. Out of the box, the crossbar lock on the Hectare was a little resistant to being activated. That’s due to some differences in machined tolerances and the use of heavier springs.

CJRB’s choice to go with caged ball bearings around the pivot complements the axis lock nicely, allowing the blade to swing open smoothly and lock up tight like a tiger.

I like CJRB’s decision to use G10 handle scales. They’re durable and provide an excellent grip. On the Hectare, CJRB machined them to allow the knife’s steel frame to nest into them. This increases the overall foundation of the knife without impacting its size. And it keeps the weight under 3 ounces.

But even with this full frame embedded into the handle, the Hectare still exhibits the known flex that the Bugout has when you squeeze its handle with the blade open. This is a clear indication that this is a light- to medium-duty pocket knife.

In the Field

cjrb hectare knife review
(Photo/Nick LeFort)

Out in the world, the Hectare performed really well for a $50 knife. Heck, its overall performance was on par with a $200 alternative. I had some concerns it wouldn’t hold up to use and abuse at the level I treat the knives I test. But those all washed away within the first few uses.

I never thought it would fall apart on me, but $50 sits on the low end of the spectrum for what I consider a reliable knife. So, while I’m not shocked that the Hectare made it through a few months of living with me, I am surprised at how well it held up overall.

I hate to be the guy who says he spent a lot of time cutting rope and cardboard with his knives, but I actually did with the Hectare. Both rope and cardboard (along with meat) can dull a knife edge quickly. I’m happy to say that wasn’t the case here. After 4 months, the blade needed to be honed to return to its factory sharpness, but it was far from dull.

After opening and closing the knife via the crossbar lock several times, I decided to rub it down with a Scotch Brite pad. The machined-in tapers on the buttons were a little annoying and got caught on my thumb, irritating my skin. It’s either a process CJRB missed or didn’t think was necessary. It’s by no means a deal-breaker, though, and is easy to fix.

the cjrb hectare knife and flowers
(Photo/Nick LeFort)

Like all of the knives I test, the Hectare spent plenty of time in the elements and dirt getting wet and gritty. At no point did it falter. Even now, the knife doesn’t show any signs of wear or tear.

But I will say that the pocket clip on the Hectare is a little sensitive. At some point, the clip pulled away from the surface of the handle scales. It’s not a lot to cause any issues in carrying, but it should be noted.

Ergonomically, I had no issues using the Hectare in demanding situations. It still has the flex that’s associated with the Benchmade Bugout, but I’ll chalk that up to being the nature of the beast. Though it’s noted and noticeable on both knives, it does not impact performance.

In Conclusion

It’s key to keep in mind that any lightweight knives, from any brand, are medium-duty at best. You can’t baton the spine to split kindling or pry with them. They are designed to prep a tinder bundle and food for the fire, or open boxes from Amazon — stuff like that.

AR-RPM9 steel sign on cjrb hectare knife
(Photo/Nick LeFort)

Though the form and finish of the Hectare might be missing some of the geometry that make the Bugout look more refined, it’s hard to ignore the fact that both knives function the same. That includes the AR-RPM9 steel.

No, I am not saying that AR-RPM9 is as good as S30V in the long run, but it’s good enough for the day-to-day use the average person doles out. It may turn into sand after 20 years of abuse, whereas S30V will still be riding high. Maybe I’ll swing back around and write a long-term review about it then.

All in all, the Hectare serves as another indicator that budget knives have their place in the viable EDC knife market. Brands like CJRB, CIVIVI, and SENCUT prove you can get a quality knife at a lower price.

The steel may not have a buzz-worthy name, but that won’t impact the way it performs. In the case of the Hectare, you won’t find any issues unless you want to. This knife exceeded my expectations, sore thumb and all. Expect to see the Hectare in the next update of the Best Knives for Hiking & Backpacking.

The post The CJRB Hectare Does Everything the Most Famous EDC Outdoor Knife Can, for $100+ Less appeared first on GearJunkie.

GearJunkie

★ A growing list of profitable businesses built on Laravel

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In a post I made earlier this year, I mentioned a couple of businesses that are well known for using Laravel. Some reactions to that post have centered around the limited set of examples, but that wasn’t the point of the post.

Laravel continues to grow, so new apps and businesses using it are popping up all the time. But finding truly profitable businesses that are built on Laravel—not just ones that use Laravel somewhere in the mix with a ton of other tools, but ones where Laravel is the breadwinner, with teams that are keen to continue with Laravel.

I think this is whole other level of example.

So back in March, I tweeted asking who was running a profitable business on Laravel and I got a really awesome response.

I intend to keep this list up to date as time goes by, so if you know of any others, please let me know! And if you’re on here already and want to get more of your products listed, just say – my DMs are always open on Twitter.

Heads up! Some of these links are tracked for affiliate earnings, meaning I may earn something when you buy.

Here goes, in no particular order:

More to come!

And of course, this isn’t even counting the thousands of indie developers and small businesses (like me 👋🏼) who are building and running Laravel applications that are profitable—even if they’re not quite enough to employ anyone full-time yet.

Are you running a profitable business on Laravel? Please consider using Laradir to find great Laravel engineers and to promote your business in the community! Prices for access to the directory just went down and there are great things coming.

Laravel News Links

A Compilation of 1950s Factory Films

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A Compilation of 1950s Factory Films

We love watching how factories make things. Archive film company British Pathé compiled this reel of vintage factory footage dating back to the 1950s. Along the way, you’ll see how they made jukeboxes, candies, model aircrafts, and more. It would be interesting to compare modern manufacturing processes to these to see how much they have changed.

The Awesomer

The 6 Best Free Ringtone Apps and Websites for iPhone

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Tired of hearing the monotonous Marimba ringtone every time you get a phone call? Fortunately, there are several apps and websites where you can find a variety of new ringtones for your iPhone without needing to purchase them.

1 Ringtones for iPhone: Music

If you’re looking for an app that only features free ringtones, the Ringtones for iPhone: Music app, developed by Jerome Melis, is your best bet! While the app being completely free to use is certainly impressive, it features more than eight hundred popular ringtones and has an incredibly easy-to-use interface.

Upon launching the app, you’ll see ringtones classified as Most Popular. When you dig deeper, you’ll find ringtones divided into various categories like Funny Ringtones, Summer Selection, Christmas, Old phone ringtones, and much more. Unfortunately, to access these ringtones, you need to watch an ad or rate the app on the App Store, but it’s certainly better than paying money!

Once you find a ringtone you like, the app allows you to install it using GarageBand or iTunes (for which you’ll need a computer). If you find a ringtone that you like that you’d like to save to view later, simply tap the Heart icon next to it to save it to your favorites.

Download:Ringtones for iPhone: Music (Free)

2 Tuunes

With over ten thousand licensed ringtones to choose from, the Tuunes app, developed by WhitePoint GmbH, is a worthwhile option. The app sorts available ringtones into various categories, like Latest Chart Remixes, Around The World, and TikTok Classics.

You can also view ringtones and alarms sorted into genres by tapping the Genre button below the search bar. You’ll now see different genres, like Alternative, Blues, Children’s Music, Comedy, and more. Similarly, if you’d like to view free ringtones, tap the Free button below the search bar.

Tuunes allows you to create ringtones without needing iTunes or your computer. Once you download a ringtone, all you need to do now is follow the on-screen instructions to set it as your iPhone’s ringtone using GarageBand. If you’d like to recognize who’s calling simply by hearing the ringtone, the app also lets you assign unique ringtones to each of your contacts.

While Tuunes has a decent collection of ringtones that you may download for free, you’ll unfortunately need to collect coins to purchase the more popular ones. When you download the app initially, you’re granted 75 coins. You can win 15 coins daily by watching an ad and win 30 coins by playing a quiz. If you’d like more, you’ll unfortunately need to pay.

Download:Tuunes (Free, subscription available)

3 Ringtones

While Tuunes has an easy-to-use interface, the amount of free ringtones available is unfortunately limited. The Ringtones app is a great alternative if you’re looking for a wider selection of ringtones for free. Ringtones are categorized into various sections, like Christmas, ASMR, Alerts, Animals, Asian, and more.

The Ringtones app also shows the most popular ringtones in a separate section called Hottest Ringtones. The app also allows you to make and set a custom ringtone on your iPhone for free. You can do so by tapping the Editor tab at the bottom of the screen.

If you want to set an audio recording as your ringtone, simply tap Recorder. Otherwise, you can use the Ringtone Maker to import an audio file from iCloud, your device’s gallery, or the app’s list of ringtones. Once you import audio, you can tweak its pitch and tempo, use the app’s built-in equalizer to edit the audio, trim it, and more.

Once you’re satisfied, you can simply export it to GarageBand and set it as your ringtone. Like Ringtone Maker, you can also assign separate ringtones to individual contacts.

Download:Ringtones (Free, subscription available)

4 Zedge.net

You’ve probably heard of Zedge if you’ve searched the web for good ringtones. From Bollywood to Hip-Hop ringtones, finding a ringtone that you vibe with using the Zedge app is no difficult task.

While the app has a wide collection of free ringtones available for download, you may need to watch an ad to unlock some of them. Similarly, you may need to purchase Zedge Credits to download exclusive ringtones.

You can use the app to set any sound you like as your notification tone or a ringtone. Once you find a tone you like, you just need to tap the Download icon and choose Set on Device. You can then use GarageBand to set the tone as your ringtone.

If you don’t want to use the app, you can use Zedge’s web app in any browser. Similar to the app, you can download any tone you like by simply hitting the Download button. However, you’ll need to transfer the ringtone to your iPhone if you’re accessing the site on a computer.

Download:Zedge (Free, subscription available)

5 Melofania.club

MeloFania is another website with a great selection of trending songs you can use as ringtones for your iPhone. However, what makes the website stand out is that it lets you extract audio from YouTube besides uploading a song of your choice.

Unlike the sites and apps listed above, the ringtones on MeloFania aren’t sorted by categories. So, you’ll have to rely on the search bar and dig around to find a ringtone you like. If you want to download a ringtone from a certain artist, there’s also an option to browse artists by alphabet.

If you decide to create your own ringtone by uploading a tune or extracting one from a YouTube video, the platform allows you to clip the desired part, adjust the volume, and add fade-in or fade-out effects. Once you’re satisfied, you can download the ringtone as an M4R file.

6 Audiko.com

While Zedge and Melofania both have a great collection of ringtones, I noticed that neither website is updated as frequently as I’d like. As a result, I couldn’t find trending songs to set as my ringtone. If you’re someone who likes to have viral songs as your ringtone, Audiko will undeniably be your best friend. Like most other sites, Audiko categorizes its tunes into sections like Country, Pop, K Pop, Jazz, and more.

If you want a song by a particular artist, type the artist’s name in the search bar. To find trending songs, click the three horizontal lines and select Collections from the dropdown menu. Here, you’ll not only find trending songs but also various alterations of them to set as your ringtone. For instance, you may find the TikTok version of the original song, the sped-up version, etc.

While Audiko has an app on the Google Play Store, iPhone users need to rely on the website in Safari or any other popular iOS browser they prefer. Once you find your desired ringtone, you can download it to your computer as a M4R file and export it to your iPhone.

Whether you’re looking for a fun tune to set as a ringtone to make sure you never miss a call or are looking for more subtle ringtone options than what Apple offers, I’m sure you’ll be able to find your next ringtone easily using the apps and sites above!

MakeUseOf

Best NAS for Plex in 2024

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One of the best ways to store your growing movie collection is with a NAS, especially when you pair it with Plex to act as a front for your favorite films. It’s a much more dedicated solution than, say, repurposing an old computer, since you tend to be limited in the number of HDDs and SSDs you can install. It’s a relatively straightforward option, and you’ll have no problem finding the best NAS for Plex, no matter the budget.

front and back view of the qnap ts-264 NAS
QNAP

Its completeness as a dedicated NAS Plex server makes the QNAP TS-264 such a gem. Running the show is the Intel Celeron N5105/N5095 and 8GB of RAM. That CPU is particularly special because it handles 4K transcoding beautifully.

The QNAP TS-264 has a respectable amount of storage, with two bays. That doesn’t sound like much, but consider this: both bays can handle 22TB 3.5 HDDs in RAID 1. If you’re desperate for more storage, you can pick a model from the same lineup with up to six bays.

Once you get comfortable with the QNAP TS-264, you can tinker and expand. You can add another 8GB of RAM for a total of 16 GB, boosting access performance with its dual M.2. slots. You can also use the PCIe expansion slot to accept QM2 and network cards.

QNAP TS-264

Best Overall

The QNAP TS-264 may be small, but it truly is a force to reckon with. As a NAS for Plex, it’s everything you could ever ask for. Excellent 4K transcoding, 8GB of RAM, SSD slots for cache acceleration, and you can expand its performance via its PCIe expansion slot.

Pros

  • Dual M.2 NVMe SSD slots for cache acceleration
  • 2 expansion bays, but also available with 3, 4, and 6 bays
  • Dual 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ports
  • Small and compact
Cons

  • Interface isn?t the most intuitive

synology ds223j nas on desk, next to keyboard and monitor
Synology

The Synology DS223j gets our seal of approval for being one of the easiest ways to set up a Plex server. It’s as close as you can get to plug-and-play and, as a bonus, works with Windows, Android, Mac, and iOS.

Another great feature of the Synology DS223j is its expansion bays. You get two, each of which can accept 2.5-inch SSDs and 3.5-inch HDDs. A single bay can accept an HDD as big as 20TB, so you can have up to 40TB of storage. That’s plenty for a healthy library of 4K movies or an even larger library of movies at 1080p.

As a side note, you can save a little more by getting Synology DS120j. However, this does come at the cost of one less bay and reduced performance.

Synology DS223j

Best Budget

Quiet and compact, the Synology DS223j is the perfect entry-level NAS for running a Plex server for yourself and a few people. It’s easy to set up, will hardly make a peep, and is compatible with major operating systems.

Pros

  • Good for at least three people at a time
  • Quiet operation
  • Smaller than an ITX PC case

front view of qnap tvs-h874x nas and available i/o
QNAP

The QNAP TVS-h874X is likely overkill for most people. However, if you have enough media to fill so many bays or want to stream your Plex server to a large group of people, the 12th Gen Intel i9 processor is more than enough to deliver multiple 4K streams simultaneously.

In addition, the QNAP TVS-h874X has dual M.2 Gen4x4 NVMe SSDs to speed up the process. To further ensure a stable connection, you have dual 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports, with the option to expand to a 25 Gigabit Ethernet port via its PCIe Gen4 expansion slot. However, you can just as easily use the expansion slot for GPUs or, better yet, a QM2 car to boost your performance.

QNAP TVS-h874x

Best Premium NAS

The QNAP TVS-h874X is rocking a powerful 12th Gen Intel Core i9 processor, 64GB of DDR4 RAM, and eight bays to populate with either 2.5-inch SSDs or 3.5 HDDs. It’s for streaming 4K video to multiple users and lets you maintain a massive movie library.

Pros

  • Can upgrade RAM to 128GB
  • Built-in HDMI port ready to go
  • PCIe Gen expansion slot opens door for more performance
  • 8 bays to populate, each can handle HDDs over 20TB

asustor lockerstor 10 as6510t on desk, next to keyboard, mouse, tablet, and monitor
Asustor

If you have a movie collection that rivals streaming services, the Asustor Lockerstor 10 AS6510T NAS is what you need. With 10 storage bays to populate—using your choice of SSD or HDD—each of which can handle 18TB, you’ll never want for storage space.

Even better, the Asustor Lockerstor 10 AS6510T works wonderfully with RAID, so if you have space to spare, you can have backups in case of a storage failure. What’s most impressive, other than its high capacity, is the Ethernet ports at the back. You have four Ethernet ports—two 2.5 Gigabit ports and two 10 Gigabit ports. Couple that with the dual M.2 slots for fast caching, and data will rarely, if ever, bottleneck.

Asustor Lockerstor 10 AS6510T

Best High Capacity

The Asustor Lockerstor 10 AS6510 T has 10 bays, each handling 18TB, and offers 180TB of storage. It also has two M.2 NVMe SSD slots for fast caching and four Ethernet ports to ensure a stable connection.

Pros

  • Handles transcoding well over multiple users
  • Can upgrade RAM to 64GB
  • Surprisingly compact
  • Quiet operation and keeps itself cool
Cons

  • Installing more RAM and M.2 is a bother

synology ds723+ 2-bay diskstation NAS on desk next to apple imac
Synology

Windows and Linux aren’t the only operating systems that can run Plex—it’s compatible with MacOS, too. In fact, if you’ve got a spare MacBook or iMac, they make pretty good Plex servers on their own, no NAS required. However, a much more dedicated solution would be the Synology DS723+.

It’s relatively easy to set up the Synology DS723+. The manual is rather wordy, but you’ll have no problem following along. The best aspect of the Synology DS723+ is its customization. It has just two storage bays, but if your movie collection outgrows your HDDs and SSDs, you can pick up the DX517 Expansion Unit for five extra drive bays. Even the 1 Gigabit Ethernet port can be swapped for something faster, like a 10GbE port. Not to mention dual M.2 NVMe slots for storage pooling and fast caching.

Synology DS723+

Best for Mac

Simple, fast, and expandable, the Synology DS723+ is the complete package that grows alongside your movie collection. And it’ll stick around for a while considering RAM, the storage bays, and M.2 can be upgraded when needed.

Pros

  • Flexible customization
  • Can upgrade RAM (16GB maximum)
  • Works with Mac and iOS
  • Fairly priced
Cons

  • Set up is easy but tedious (At least set a day aside)

FAQ

Q: What does NAS stand for?

It’s an acronym for “Network Attached Storage.”

Q: What do I use a NAS for?

Since NAS is simply a storage device that can be accessed over a network, you can use it for just about anything related to storing files. You could backup important documents, images, music, movies, and so on. Essentially, whatever you store on a PC can be stored on a NAS instead.

Q: What is Plex?

Plex is nothing more than software that organizes your media and lets you access it quickly. While Plex has its own movies to stream, it’s more about maintaining your collection.

The fun part is Plex also acts as a front for your NAS. Plex can stream your content to one or more devices by setting it up to access your NAS. It’s like having your own streaming service.

Q: What is RAID?

It’s an acronym for “Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks.” To put it simple: with RAID you store the same data in multiple locations. If an HDD or SSD were to fail, RAID ensures the data in those storage devices isn’t lost for good.

Q: How many bays do I need for a NAS for Plex?

There’s no hard or fast rule when it comes to the number of bays your NAS needs for Plex. It really depends on the size of your library and the quality of said media.

Let’s put it this way: the average size of a 4K Blu-ray can exceed 20GB. With a 1TB storage device, that’s 50 movies even. On the other hand, FHD (1080p) movies are around 1 to 2GB. Using the same storage device, you’re looking at 500 to 1000 movies.

MakeUseOf

Apple’s durability testing is way more than a YouTuber can manage

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Apple will drop-test thousands of iPhones like this (Source: MKBHD)


Apple has revealed how iPhone and iPad drop tests should really be done — and are being done, thousands of times, in its durability testing labs.

YouTubers will buy one Apple device and smash it to pieces as pathetic clickbait. They always justify it, though, by saying these devices must be tested — and now Apple has politely suggested that they hold its beer.

Marques Brownlee, MKBHD — who doesn’t smash up the devices that his YouTube channel covers — has been shown around Apple’s testing labs for the iPhone. Every test any YouTuber ever makes on a device has been done by Apple first.

In a thread on Twitter, MKBHD shows how in Apple’s labs "there’s an entire room of machines for water and ingress testing." They range from a simulation of light rain to "high pressure spray from a literal firehose."

Then there’s the drop test, so beloved of YouTubers. Except in Apple’s case, industrial robots perform hundreds of drops, and each drop is monitored in slow motion.

Add to this a shake test that can mimic an iPhone being in the pocket of someone on a motorbike, and overall Apple tests to a degree that inconceivable for any individual YouTuber. Then if any one did manage to match Apple’s own testing, they’d also have to buy over 10,000 devices.

That’s how many of a new iPhone model will go through preposterous levels of durability testing. At retail, that’s a minimum of just under half a million dollars of iPhone — if you chose the lowest-cost iPhone SE.

Apple’s head of hardware engineering, John Ternus, says that the company does pay attention to durability issues once a device is on sale, but that this all helps improve the in-house testing.

"We’ve found when we’ll pull units back from the field and we’ll find things and figure out how do we build a test that represents maybe this new use case that somebody’s doing in the field," said Ternus, "and then that becomes a part of our test suite."

Ternus also argued that durability is the best option for the customer and the planet, even if to achieve that, Apple has to make it harder to repair devices.

"It’s objectively better for the customer to have that reliability," he said, "and it’s ultimately better for the planet because the failure rate since we got to that point have just dropped, it’s plummeted."

"So you can actually do the math and figure out there’s a threshold at which if I can make it this durable," continued Ternus, "then it’s better to have it a little bit harder to repair because it’s going to net out ahead."

AppleInsider News

How to use Cloudflare R2 with Laravel file storage

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Laravel offers a powerful filesystem abstraction using Flysystem, a file storage library for PHP by Frank de Jonge. Flysystem provides one interface to interact with many filesystems, including Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3-compatible object storage. There are multiple S3 API compatible object storage in the market today – starting with Amazon S3, Digital Ocean Spaces, Linode Object Storage, Cloudflare R2 among others.

When deciding which S3 object storage service to use, several factors comes into play. These factors include project requirements, available features, location, and cost. For most users, including myself, the decision often comes down to the cost. I always choose Cloudflare R2 as my preferred option due to its affordability and zero egress fee.

Let me show you how can start using Cloudflare R2 object storage in your Laravel project.

Prerequisites

Before we proceed, you may need to have some basic understanding of Laravel Storage, well at least know what it is and why we need it. To subscribe to Cloudflare R2, you will need a Credit Card or PayPal. R2 comes with a free tier, and you will only pay as you go once you exceed the limit. You can estimate your cost using R2 cost calculator.

Create a Cloudflare account

To create a Bucket, you must purchase R2 from the Cloudflare dashboard. Therefore, you must sign up for a Cloudflare account. If you already have an account, skip this section.

a screenshot of cloudflare sign up page

On signing up, click Explore all products link. You will redirect you to Cloudflare dashboard. You must verify your email before you can start using Cloudflare services.

a screenshot of cloudflare email verification prompt

Create a new R2 bucket

Create a new bucket – a file space on the server containing objects. Open the Cloudflare dashboard and select R2 on the left sidebar. You will be presented with an R2 subscription form. Fill in the billing details and credit card details, or use PayPal. If you already have a bucket, skip this section.

a screenshot of cloudflare r2 subscription form

If the subscription is successful, you will be presented with an R2 dashboard. Click Create a bucket.

a screenshot of cloudflare r2 home page

Provide a bucket name. Use your preferred naming convention. Update or retain the other default options, then click Create Bucket.

a screenshot of cloudflare r2 create bucket form

You should be presented with an empty R2 bucket ready for use upon successful creation.

a screenshot of cloudflare r2 empy bucket

Generate R2 credentials

To manage the bucket contents using Laravel, you must generate credentials for the S3 client. Select R2 from the left sidebar and then choose Manage R2 API tokens.

a screenshot of cloudflare link to manage api tokens

In the next page, select Create API token.

a screenshot of cloudflare link to create api token

Provide your preferred token name and select Object Read & Write permission. Apply the permission to specific buckets only (the bucket we created).

a screenshot of clopudflare-create-api-token-form

After your token has been successfully created, review your Secret Access Key and Access Key ID values. Save the keys as R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID and R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY respectively and jurisdiction-specific endpoint for S3 clients as R2_ENDPOINT. You will need these values in the next .

a screenshot of cloudflare r2 s3 access keys

You must record both values before proceeding, as the Secret Access Keys cannot be retrieved later.

Once you save the keys, click Finish.

Setup Laravel to use R2

In your Laravel app, open the .env file and add the following credentials.

R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID=078d********cb09bf********df1
R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=ff36f125b5******0072630595703a5
R2_BUCKET=laravel-demo-prod
R2_ENDPOINT=https://95f*************12ef5.r2.cloudflarestorage.com

Then open ./config/filesystems.php and add a new r2 disk as follows

<?php
 
return [
 
 'default' => env('FILESYSTEM_DISK', 'local'),
 
 'disks' => [
 
 'local' => [ /*...*/ ],
 
	'public' => [ /*...*/ ],
 
 's3' => [ /*...*/ ],
 
 'r2' => [
 'driver' => 's3',
 'key' => env('R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID'),
 'secret' => env('R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY'),
 'region' => 'auto',
 'bucket' => env('R2_BUCKET'),
 'url' => env('R2_URL'),
 'endpoint' => env('R2_ENDPOINT'),
 'use_path_style_endpoint' => env('R2_USE_PATH_STYLE_ENDPOINT', false),
 'throw' => false,
 ],
 
 ],
 
 'links' => [ /*...*/ ],
 
];

Finally, install the Flysystem S3 package via the Composer package manager.

composer require league/flysystem-aws-s3-v3 "^3.0" --with-all-dependencies

Testing the integration

To test if R2 integration was successful, try uploading a sample file. For example, you can try to upload the public/favicon.ico, which comes with all Laravel applications.

php artisan tinker

The command should open Psy Shell, where you can run the following code. If the command is successful, the Psy Shell should print true.

> $file = public_path('favicon.ico')
= "/Users/njoguamos/Code/r2/public/favicon.ico"
 
> Storage::disk('r2')->put('favicon.ico',$file)
= true
 

In the code above, we set the $file variable to the absolute path of the ‘favicon.ico’ file in the public directory. Then, use the Storage facade to store the ‘favicon.ico’ file to the ‘r2’ disk

To verify that the file was uploaded, run the following in the same Psy Shell.

> Storage::disk('r2')->allFiles()
= [
 "favicon.ico",
 ]
 

Open the R2 bucket dashboard on Cloudflare to verify the upload.

a screenshot of cloudflare r2 bucket with items

If you have made it this far, congratulations �. You have successfully integrated Cloudflare R2 with your Laravel application.

Conclusion

Integrating Cloudflare R2 with Laravel provides cost-effective and efficient object storage. Follow the guide to set up a Cloudflare R2 bucket and credentials and configure Laravel. R2 offers a free tier, pay-as-you-go options, and zero egress fees, making it an excellent choice for optimizing costs and performance. I hope this article was helpful. Please leave a comment in the discussion section.

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