ARTIFICIALLY INTELLIGENT MUSIC

AI writes the songs that make the whole world stop singing. In other words, artificially intelligent music is definitely a work in progress. For example, I went to Suno.ai and typed: “Write a song in the style of Dixieland jazz.” It was awful. So was 60s rock. And so was a rewrite of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” If this is the future of music, I might stop listening. But I liked the bluegrass tune “Neon Cowboy,” and was intrigued by “My Truck Found Love.” It’s about a self-driving vehicle gone rogue. Supposedly, you can also get tunes from the Suno plugin in Microsoft’s Copilot. Search on “Microsoft Copilot” or click the blue-turquoise icon in the top right in Edge. […]

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OLD COMPUTERS SELLING AS NEW

Look out for old computers selling as new. Sometimes, they’re more expensive than ever. The HP desktop I bought in 2017 for $650, for example, is now selling on Amazon for $982. It’s not the exact model, but it’s a similar one from 2017 that comes up when I click “Buy again.” The same year, a friend bought a “new” computer with the old Video Graphics Array. The result was a slightly fuzzy screen. VGA was replaced by HDMI in 2008. To avoid duds, check the tech specs. You can find them on the product page at Amazon, BestBuy, HP, OfficeDepot and other sites. But what if you don’t understand what you’re looking at? The answer is UserBenchmark.com. It gives […]

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REFURBISHED APPLE PRODUCTS FOR LESS

A reader’s seven year-old iMac refused to power on. Apple couldn’t fix it. “They first tried the power fix, which didn’t work, then tried replacing the logic board,” she said, “which also didn’t work.” To repair it would have cost $900. “I am extremely disgusted,” she said. “I paid more than a thousand dollars for it. I think it should last longer than that. But it is what it is. Now I need a new computer.” Unfortunately, a computer that lasts seven years is par for the course. On average, they last three to eight years. But desktops last longer than laptops because they get better airflow, which reduces heat, the enemy of electronic components. It’s also easier to swap […]

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SWIMMING TO THE MUSIC

Nothing beats swimming while an orchestra plays in your head. I’m talking about the new Run Plus waterproof headphones sent to me from Mojawa. The headphones work well on land too. They’re like a thin cable that wraps lightly around the back of your head, with loops for your ears. I tried something similar from Shokz six months ago, but had trouble getting my long hair plus headphones inside my swim cap. A friend suggested I wear the headphones outside my cap. That works great. Thanks to bone conduction technology, I don’t have to line up the ear loops to my ears. The sound quality is excellent, even in water, though my splashing interferes with the tunes somewhat. To get […]

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GOOGLE VOICE SAVES THE DAY

I left my phone in a Lyft on the way to the airport. But Google Voice, the free phone service, saved me. Using the airport’s free WiFi on my laptop, I went to Voice.Google.com and typed in my friend’s phone number, to say that I’d arrived. Alternatively, I could have used the Google Voice app, though on a Windows machine you need to go to the website instead. Either way, the call quality is excellent. The great thing is, Google Voice lets you call anyone. With apps like Facebook Messenger, your recipients must use the same service. For the next six days, I was happily phoneless. But I still wanted to find the darn thing. So I Googled “Find My […]

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THE SUPERIORITY OF CHROMEBOOKS

Why spend over a thousand on a Macbook or Windows computer when you can get a Chromebook for peanuts? According to ZDnet, there are five reasons why ordinary people would do better with a Chromebook than anything else. First of all, they’re cheap. On Amazon there are dozens of them for $300 or less, including the Samsung Chromebook 4 for $120. Many of these, like the Chromebook 4, have only four gigabytes of RAM, but that’s enough if you’re not a multitasker. If you do Zoom calls, however, you’ll want something more powerful than the Chromebook 4’s Intel Celeron processor. Experts recommend avoiding the Celeron or Pentium processor and going for an Intel Core i3 or above. A second reason […]

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PUBLISHING YOUR BOOK ON AMAZON

Publishing a book through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing turned out to be both easier and harder than I thought.  After tearing my hair out at first, I discovered Amazon’s template for a five-by-eight inch paperback. I also noticed a lengthy guide and a long video tutorial, but I can never sit through those. So whenever I had a question, I hit the chat button and got a live person. They didn’t always know the answer but kept me moving right along, encouraging me to skip design elements I didn’t need. Besides texting, I could have talked on the phone or emailed them. Each time, they were available within seconds. I’m working on a historical novella for a retired professor of […]

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PHISHING WITH BAIT

It’s getting difficult to tell a legit email from a fraud. Recently, I took a foolish chance. I clicked on a link in an email that appeared to be from Amazon. The website I landed on showed the address “Amazon.com” at the top. It even had one of those security locks. But it wasn’t Amazon. The site said that my Amazon credit card had been unlinked from my account. It asked me to call Amazon’s number, an obvious red flag. Amazon never lists its number. Lesson: If in doubt, always go to the company’s website. Never click a suspicious link. According to retired FBI special agent Jeff Lanza, these kinds of frauds are increasing. Over 15 million Americans have been […]

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GETTING COLLEGE CREDITS CHEAPLY

The cost of college tuition is stunning. But you can get basic courses for $25 apiece. Starting March 7, GoStudyHall.com will have online classes from America’s top universities. The price is a far cry from the standard online tuition. According to EducationData.org, online tuition averages $38,496 for a bachelor’s degree for in-state students, and $54,183 if you’re out of state. Even one virtual class could cost around $1000. I went to GoStudyHall.com to check out the previews, clicking on a U.S. history course taught by Danielle Bainbridge. She’s an assistant professor at Northwestern University who also lectures at PBS Origins. I found her entertaining. The site also offers English composition, College Math and “Human” Communication. Robots need not apply. Speaking […]

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COLORIZE YOUR BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOS

My black and white pictures of a 1970s newsroom came vividly alive after I let palette.fm colorize them for free. All I had to do was upload my photo and watch it fill with color. I couldn’t believe how those old days became vibrant. A friend tried it with his childhood Christmas photos. At first, his shirt came out green instead of blue. Then he tried one of the palette.fm filters, and the true blue came out. But the web browser may also make a difference. In his tests, Firefox did a better job than Chrome or Vivaldi. I didn’t like any of the Palette.fm filters, preferring the unfiltered version. The browser didn’t matter much either. But I got slightly […]

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