On Computers

$20 CELL PHONE

Posted on January 5th, 2011 by Joy Schwabach

We were happy with the Tracfone we bought for $10 at a grocery store, but then a reader wrote to tell us about something better. (Readers: What are you gonna do?) He said we could have double the minutes with a much nicer LG 420G TracFone, which was just $20 at Walmart.com. So we took his advice and spent the $20. The phone dutifully arrived and it took only five minutes with TracFone customer support to have our old number and minutes transferred over. Unlike the $10 version, the new phone has most of the latest features: a camera, polyphonic ringtones, changeable wallpaper, games, web browser, speakerphone, auto redial, etc. “Best of all,” said our reader, “it has Bluetooth. So if you’re […]

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YOUR NEW IPAD

Posted on January 5th, 2011 by Joy Schwabach

So you got a new iPad and you don’t know what to put on it? Take a look at the new book: “Best iPad Apps, The Guide for Discriminating Downloaders,” by Peter Meyers, $22 from oreilly.com. Every page is illustrated and you get a quick peek at what your app will look like. Prices range from free to about $10; most are $2-$3. Here are a few that caught our attention: NoteTaker HD; $5. People who still prefer handwriting to typing will love this. That’s because it’s hard to write small on a touch screen, but this app will take your large letters and instantly downsize them as you go, so you can get a lot more on a single […]

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ASUS TABLETS DEBUT AT CES 2011

Posted on January 4th, 2011 by Joy Schwabach

ASUS Slider photo courtesy of Engadget.com ASUS just announced a slew of new tablets at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The most interesting one, the Eee Pad Slider, has a slide-out keyboard. It has a 10.1 inch screen and cameras on the front and rear for easy video chatting. It comes with the Android 3.0 operating system and an optional 3G cellular connection. Another ASUS tablet, the “Transformer,” has a separate keyboard with docking station and a 16 hour battery life. A smaller tablet, the 7.1 inch “MeMo,” is small enough to slip into a jacket pocket, yet still good for taking notes using the supplied stylus. Like the Transformer, it has a Micro HDMI port to connect […]

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BAR KARMA: NEW TV SHOW LETS YOU HELP GUIDE THE PLOT

Posted on January 4th, 2011 by Joy Schwabach

A new TV show previewing January 20th lets viewers add to the plot. It’s called “Bar Karma,” and it was created by the guy who created Sim City and all those other Sims games.

(CLICK UNDERLINE BELOW HEADING FOR MORE.)

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