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 a perfect sound, I swim underwater for a few beats. If I use a Bluetooth connection instead of internal storage, I have to keep my head above water to hear the music. Fortunately, the wireless connection is solid even when I’m at the far end of a 60-foot pool, though Bluetooth is only supposed to extend 30 feet. The battery is also great. It only needs a recharge after eight hours of playing at 75 percent volume.

I love the Run Plus, but I wish it had a dedicated on/off switch. You’re supposed to click a button twice and hold for two seconds when you want to switch between Bluetooth mode and MP3. Most of the time, this turns the device off. To avoid frustration, I get it ready before getting in the pool.

During their introductory launch, the Run Plus is selling for $140. Info at mojawa.com/products/run-plus.

Replacing an Old iPad

 “Do you think it makes economic sense to replace the battery in a first-generation iPad?” a reader asked. “I just got a quote for $199.”

“Don’t do it,” I said. “You can get a later-model iPad for about the same price, if you don’t mind it being used.” For just $10 more, for example, Amazon sells a “renewed” 7th generation iPad. But the reader said he isn’t always happy with used items from Amazon. For example, one of the two iPhone 8s he bought didn’t maintain its battery capacity, though it was certified by qualified technicians. Recently, he bought an iPad Pro, 2nd generation, for $350 from Facebook Marketplace. But when I checked my area, the iPad Pro 12, 6th generation, was selling for $165.

What should you do with your old tablet? You could turn it into a dashcam, a security camera, a digital photo frame, a second screen, a smart home controller, a kitchen tablet, an e-reader, a radio, a remote control, a clock or a gift for a child. See “12 Ways You Can Still Use Your Old iPad.” As for the reader, he’s selling his first-generation iPad. I saw one for sale on Facebook Marketplace for $20.

Too Good to be True

“What do you know about this?  Is it legit?” a friend asked about a free movie site at stream-access.net. It looked fishy to me.

Several websites give it a low trust score. I found it suspicious that it asks for a credit card, even for a free account.  If in doubt, stick with brands you know. For example, Amazon’s “FreeVee” offers free hit shows and movies. If you don’t mind commercials, it’s great.

Artificially Intelligent Wedding Vows

The website WithJoy.com will help you write a wedding vow, wedding toast and more, using artificial intelligence. Click on “Resources.”

For wedding vows, it starts by asking you to list your shared values. You also get to choose a style, such as “Shakespearian,” or “in the style of a pessimistic ex.” I guess that’s for laughs. In my test, it did a far better job than ChatGPT.

Indestructible Phone

The Doogee S100 Pro, perhaps the most rugged phone on the market, also has one of the most impressive batteries. It can go 97 days on standby and weighs about 14 ounces. It could easily charge your other phones.

The Doogee has a camping light and a night vision camera and comes with 256 gigabytes of storage space. That’s huge. It can be immersed in four feet of water for 30 minutes and still be good to go. Everything is sealed, including the SIM card tray, to prevent dust or dirt from getting in. I saw it online for $270.

Light Up Your Legos

“To love beauty is to see light,” said Victor Hugo. Thus starts the “Lego Lighting Book,”  by Brian Williams.

The author, winner of five awards from the annual Brickworld contest, shows how to light up a landscape, create streetlights and bring in window lighting. You might also want to add lights to cars, trucks, aircraft and spaceships. Other chapters talk about casting shadows and illuminating characters with swords and flashlights.

Instead of working from a set, you buy each piece separately from a site like Bricklink.com, but they’re cheap. For example, one of the larger pieces was listed as two for 13 cents. Check out Nostarch.com to download a free chapter. The hardcover book is $30 on NoStarch, or $18 for the eBook from Amazon.

Internut

A new company in California, Equatic, takes carbon dioxide out of the ocean and air while creating hydrogen fuel. Boeing will buy 2,100 metric tons of it for its planes. TheVerge.com has all the details.

Filed under: AI, books, gadgets, iPad, music, phones, security