On Computers

A reader asked me how he might safely donate a computer to a local refurbishing group. “Our son-in-law takes the hard drive out and destroys it with a hammer,” he said. “Is that the best way?” Unless you have business secrets or a celebrity past, you probably don’t need to destroy or remove perfectly good equipment. Instead, try the free Windows program “Eraser,” which uses Department of Defense-level data destruction algorithms to get rid of files permanently. For Macs, there’s “Clean My MacX Shredder,” $40. Both are highly recommended by TechRadar. But for most people, a factory reset is enough. Even for an expert, it would take specialized software to restore your files after a reset, which often doesn’t work. […]

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Filed under: 3D Printing, AI, apps, art, career, printer, robots, science, security, text messaging, trends, voice recognition | Comments Off on GIVING AWAY OLD COMPUTERS

Have you ever received a printed card a day before Christmas or Hanukkah, too late to respond? I have. Electronic greetings to the rescue. I’ve just been trying out Ashampoo’s new PhotoCard 3, $22 for Windows. To start, choose a design, then click an empty space to upload your photos, or snap a picture from a webcam connected to your computer. Next click “create” to share it on Facebook, by email or by printing it out. For more elaborate, multi-page cards, I like Punchbowl e-greetings for $45 a year. They allow you to add a short video recorded live as well as a gift card from many stores. Jacquie Lawson cards are also gorgeous and less expensive than Punchbowl. Their […]

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Filed under: Amazon, apps, crytpocurrency, games, science | Comments Off on LAST MINUTE GREETINGS

“I’ve missed you,” said my 9-year-old nephew when I walked in the door. “I’ve missed you too,” I said. “You know who else missed you? Slappy.” Slappy the Dummy is a character in the Goosebump book series for kids. He’s so scary that my nephew’s 11-year-old sister urged her brother to avoid contact. But several months ago, we all talked to him through an app called Character.ai. The app lets you call an artificially intelligent version of almost any fictional, historic or current character. I receive several emails purportedly from Slappy, weeks after we stopped talking to him. Some parents are worried. Even months after talking to Slappy, my nephew remembers exactly what he said to the dummy. He promised […]

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Filed under: Uncategorized | Comments Off on AN INVISIBLE FRIEND

For her 11th birthday, my niece got a $36 Bluetooth speaker that plays music, lights up in multiple colors and calls her friends. The Hetyre Night Light Bluetooth Speaker is a 6-inch tall reading lamp, nightlight, music player and alarm clock. My niece said the alarm woke her up with the sound of birds. “My parents thought there were birds outside fighting,” she said. “It sounded like a battle.” She figured out all the features without reading the manual or asking her parents for help. For the toddler crowd, there’s the PlayMonster “OK to Wake,” $20 on Amazon. It has multiple colors, five levels of brightness and turns green when it’s okay to get out of bed. I first heard […]

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Filed under: AI, analytics, astronomy, gadgets, health, Linux, social networks, text messaging | Comments Off on KID TECH

Shopping between Black Friday and Cyber Monday brings you the best deals. But it’s also the best time for scammers. I once ordered pants that never showed up. When shopping online, look for “https” in the address bar. If it doesn’t have the “s” for security, leave. Also watch out for deals that sound too good to be true. Avoid unknown retailers. Two-factor authentication is also highly recommended. If the Hilary Clinton campaign had used it for its email accounts in 2016, for example, hackers couldn’t have gained access to the 50,000 sensitive emails belonging to her campaign chairman. Nor could the hackers have controlled the inboxes of her staffers, according to “Fancy Bear Goes Phishing,” by Scott Shapiro. Finally, […]

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Filed under: AI, computers, facebook, health, robots, shopping | Comments Off on HOLIDAY SCAMMING