DRAW ME A PICTURE

I asked Google to draw me a frog on a beach, a man with a rose, and a woman in a forest. Presto, they arrived, but not from any website. A robot made them on the spot. It’s all part of the “Search Generative Experience,” or SGE, a free add-on to your regular Google search in Chrome. To set it up, go to Labs.Google.com and scroll down to “Search Powered by Generative AI.” Click “Getting Started,” then enable it. Now every Google query in Chrome will have an optional AI answer plus the usual links. I asked it to “draw a chair on a raft going down Niagara Falls,” and a Mona Lisa in Tahiti. Both were fantastic. But sometimes an image […]

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PARTY PRINTER

I remember when my sister used a stand-alone photo printer to print photos at her son’s birthday party so the guests could take them home immediately. Now you can get one that’s as small as your cell phone. The Canon “Ivy Mini Photo Printer for Smartphones” is the best pocket-sized printer for parties, according to an extensive review by TheVerge.com. Kids love the photo stickers it prints, and adults may appreciate having new faces to stick on their refrigerator. On Amazon, the printer is $99, but I saw the same ones on eBay, brand new, for $55. The prints are about the size of credit cards, two-by-three inches. You don’t have to use their peel-and-stick backing; just peel it off […]

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NEW ROUTER MAKES YOU GO FASTER ON THE WEB

A reader wrote: “I upgraded my router!” Wow. I’m impressed. I never think to do that. An old, outdated router can slow down your WiFi, disrupt your connections, and leave your network vulnerable to security risks. But setup can be a “colossal pain,” the reader said. Fortunately, he discovered that all he had to do was change the new router’s settings to match the old one’s.  “A definite aha moment!”   I’ve never paid for a new router. My internet service provider, AT&T, will send out a new one for free if the old one has problems, which has only happened once.  Maybe I haven’t needed one because I “only” have 11 internet-connected devices.  The reader has over 40 smart devices, […]

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FINDING GOOD TECH SUPPORT

Ever since Kenny, my favorite tech guru, switched careers, I’ve been hearing moans from the readers who relied on him for help. Here are a few good alternatives. The Central Arkansas public library has online tech lessons, as does YouTube. For the library, you can register for one of their “how to” courses by writing them at digital@cals.org, or by calling 501-918-3068. Everything is free. For more extensive help, try a “TotalTech” membership from BestBuy. It covers computers, TVs,  car accessories and more for $200 a year. With that, you get round-the-clock help by phone and chat, as well as discounted prices on stuff you buy from BestBuy.  For the stuff you buy, you get free set-up. This includes mounting […]

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MAKING YOUR OWN ONLINE QUIZ

I sent my favorite 11 year-old a personality quiz based on her favorite Amazon series. Then I made a better one. You’ve probably seen such quizzes on Facebook and elsewhere. Perhaps the most famous is from the New York Times. If you search on the phrase “New York Times quiz how y’all,” it comes right up. It figures out where you’re from based on the words you use. They marked me as a Californian, which is right on target, since I grew up there.  One of the words that helped them decide was my use of “crawdad” instead of “crayfish.” But they also figured I’d spent time in Reno, Nevada, which I had, as a college student. To get started […]

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BLOCKING TRACKERS, GAINING SPEED ON THE WEB

Everybody’s raving about Brave, the new web browser. They say it’s three times faster than Google Chrome. I like Brave on my phone and computer. It blocks ads and trackers, which means it makes websites load faster, saves data, and saves on battery life. But even if it only blocked ads, I’d like it better than an ad-blocking extension.  Every time I use AdBlock Plus, for example, I get bombarded with messages asking me to disable it. I haven’t seen those in Brave. In Brave, you can opt in to get an occasional text ad in the corner of your screen. Viewing these earns points toward gift cards and allows you to give a tip to websites you like. So […]

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HAVE YOU BEEN ‘FLoCed?’

There have been lots of complaints about Google’s new “FLoC” tracking system. You may be wondering what the fuss is all about. Here it is, in a nutshell.  “FLoC,” which stands for “Federal Learning of Cohorts” replaces third party cookies that track you on the web.  Instead of being followed individually, your anonymous browsing activity gets lumped with thousands of similar users. Then the whole group is given an identifier. For example, if 3,000 users visit a bunch of furniture websites, a group identifier will allow advertisers to send furniture ads their way Despite the complaints, FLoC seems less intrusive than the current system. Significantly, Google says there won’t be any identifiers on sensitive activities. These include searches for personal […]

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GOLD VERSUS BITCOIN

Bitcoin, the digital currency, has been going up like crazy. But is it a better store of value than gold? Last year, Bitcoin went from a little over $7,000 to over $26,000 per digital coin. On January 8, a single coin hit $40,675.80! I’ve had some experience with cryptocurrency. In 2017, I bought part of a Bitcoin at Coinbase.com, when it was valued at around $4,000. I bought a bit more when it rose to $15,000. What can I say, I’m a gambler. Unfortunately, I sold it after it crashed below $4000. Disaster! I admire those who “HODL” a Bitcoin acronym standing for “Hold On For Dear Life.” According to a deVere Group survey of their own clients, 67 percent […]

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DATA NAKED

A reader got upset when I said Chrome was my favorite web browser. He wrote: “You do realize that Chrome keeps track of everything you do on the internet–  browsing, searches, and anything you write? I switched to Microsoft Edge after being a Chrome user for many years. I finally realized how data naked I really am.” It could be worse. According to Google’s privacy policy, your personal info is not for sale to anyone. Google uses it to show you ads for products from Google partners or Google itself. If you’re worried about privacy, go to myaccount.google.com and click on “data and personalization” to automatically turn off tracking and delete every trace of everything you’ve done on the web […]

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NOT READY TO CUT THE CORD? THEN AT LEAST PAY LESS

Every year I consider dropping cable TV. Then I call AT&T and they offer me a deal. Using an ace negotiating technique — I simply ask– I got the bill down from $165 to $90  before it rose again. The discount ends every year if I don’t call to renew it. So this time I told AT&T: “ I don’t need cable; I have Amazon Prime and Netflix.” (If I miss “60 Minutes,” I’ll put rabbit ears on the set.)  AT&T offered me Internet-only service for $40 a month with a 1024 gigabyte limit. Is 1024 gigabytes enough? Currently, I’m averaging only 50 GB a month. What if I become a movie maniac? That’s OK too. A high-definition movie uses […]

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