Posted on December 31st, 2014 by Joy Schwabach
— “Lauren Ipsum” by Carlos Bueno is the story of a little girl who must find her way home by thinking like a programmer. It may do for children what Douglas Hofstadter’s “Godel, Escher, Bach” did for Joy back in the 1980s: get them excited about programming ideas. The name “Lauren Ipsum” comes from the dummy text used as filler when printers don’t have the actual text of a page yet or want to show off a font. It’s been around since the 1500s, when an unknown printer used assorted type to make a specimen book. The book’s title character tackles classic problems like “Zeno’s Paradox” and “The Traveling Salesman.” Each chapter connects to a real-life computer science lesson in […]
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Filed under: books, education, kids | Comments Off on THREE PROGRAMMING BOOKS FOR KIDS
Posted on December 30th, 2014 by Joy Schwabach
We just read that landline phones will be phased out – meaning “cutoff” — in about five years. We’re ready, now that our cell phone is connected to a speaker that takes calls and plays music.
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Filed under: cheap calls, gadgets | Comments Off on BEYOND THE LANDLINE
Posted on December 29th, 2014 by Joy Schwabach
It happened like this: Joy got one of those Roku sticks you plug into your TV set so you can get dozens of extra channels. It didn’t work. Joy said it must be a problem with the Sony TV. So Bob, ever helpful, went on the web and searched on the term “Sony support.” He clicked on the first one that came up and dialed the number for Sony Support. Boy, was that a mistake. The smooth-voiced gent that came on the line advised us that we had a bad virus situation and took control of our computer with one of those remote control programs that let you do that. The screen began to fill with hundreds of error messages […]
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Filed under: security, spyware, virus | Comments Off on WE GET SCAMMED
Posted on December 29th, 2014 by Joy Schwabach
Joy’s mother once left a note on the door, telling a workman she would be back in half an hour and to come on in. That was enough time for the house to be robbed. An alternative is the “Kwikset Kevo” deadbolt. Type in a code on your iPhone to open the door, and change the code as often as you wish. Hopefully, the people you give the code to have an iPhone, but if they don’t, the lock also comes with a key fob; press it to open the door. You can get as many extra fobs as you want for a small charge. If you use the app instead of the fob, however, stand close to the door. […]
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Filed under: security | Comments Off on GETTING IN THE DOOR
Posted on December 28th, 2014 by Joy Schwabach
Chromoscope.net displays the Milky Way (our galaxy) in several wavelengths. If you were an alien with x-ray vision the galaxy would look quite different to you, so probably would we. Wave lengths shown add gamma rays and radio waves. Here’s looking at you, kid.
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Filed under: astronomy, Internuts, science | Comments Off on X-RAY VISION AND BEYOND
Posted on December 28th, 2014 by Joy Schwabach
InstantCheckmate.com turns you into a private investigator, like Paul Drake in the old Perry Mason TV shows. Besides a person’s address and phone number, you can get police records, which include everything from speeding tickets to sexual offenses, background reports, marriage and divorce info, and a history of lawsuits. You pay $23 for one month, $59 for six.
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Filed under: apps, search | Comments Off on APP SEARCHES DIVORCE RECORDS AND MORE
Posted on December 26th, 2014 by Joy Schwabach
— “Next Move Quiz” is our favorite new iPhone/iPad app, free from educational book publisher Pearson. The app has fun and colorful quizzes for kids and adults in subjects like science, geography, food, sports, culture and history. Joy has a lot to learn about currency but aced the human body quiz. You can retake quizzes. “Quiz Up” for Android is similar. — FaceTune is a $5 app that goes way beyond blemish removal in photos. Want a thinner nose, a wider smile, and a forehead whose skin tone matches the rest of your face? (Joy’s bangs keeps her forehead white; like a baseball cap.) It can also sharpen facial details while blurring the background and adding other effects. This app […]
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Filed under: apps, kids, photos | Comments Off on THREE GOOD APPS FOR IPHONE AND ANDROID
Posted on December 24th, 2014 by Joy Schwabach
If you don’t like Windows 8, don’t hold your breath waiting for Windows 9. Microsoft is moving ahead with Windows 10, due sometime in 2015.
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Filed under: Microsoft, Windows | Comments Off on WINDOWS SPEAKS
Posted on December 23rd, 2014 by Joy Schwabach
The “OnePlus One” phone, made by Chinese manufacturer OnePlus is said to have the key features of a $600 Samsung Galaxy S5 phone for half that price. Previously, you could order one only by invitation, but they’ve recently started selling them to the rest of the world on OnePlus.net. As Bugs Bunny used to say: “You know, of course, that this means war.”
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Filed under: phones | Comments Off on A DELUXE PHONE AT HALF THE PRICE
Posted on December 22nd, 2014 by Joy Schwabach
A glass of water destroyed Joy’s smart phone. It happened during lunch. We don’t care if we miss calls, it’s the turn-by-turn directions from Google Maps that we miss. So while we’re without a smart phone, we’re using “CoPilot GPS.” It brings turn-by-turn directions even when you can’t connect to the Internet.
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Filed under: GPS, maps | Comments Off on COPILOT GPS BRINGS YOU DIRECTIONS OFFLINE
