“If I am sitting in my recliner and decide to make a quick copy of something from my iPad, I would like to do that without having to go to the other room to fire up the printer,” a reader wrote. Like most printers, his connects over Wi-Fi.

“So what would be a good battery-operated printer that I could place on a nearby table, to bring the power switch within easy reach,” he asked. I recommended leaving his current printer on instead. Both laser printers and inkjets use only three-to-five watts of electricity in idle mode, much less than other appliances. There wouldn’t be the slightest blip in his electricity bill. 

What’s more, keeping a printer on all the time is good for it. It keeps the internal components warm and moist, adding years to the printer’s life. Turning a printer on and off constantly can wear out the components.  

In short, the reader can relax in his recliner and print from there. The printer can even be in a distant room as long as it’s using the same Wi-Fi connection.

Live Translation

In a recent Facetime call, my friend’s words in Spanish were displayed on my screen in English, thanks to the iPhone’s “Live Translation.”

To start, I tapped the Facetime app and chose my Spanish club friend. When her face came up, I tapped the “More” button, represented by three dots. In the “from” field, I typed “Spanish.” In the “to” field, I chose English. As she spoke Spanish, her words appeared on my screen in English automatically.

But it was one-sided. If I spoke Spanish, she didn’t get a translation. For both sides to see it in a live conversation, they both have to have the latest Apple operating system, iOS 26, plus an iPhone Pro Max 15 or newer. Alternatively, there’s the free Translate app, which works with all  iPhones. It has a conversation mode that shows the translated conversation on both sides of the screen. It also speaks it aloud. But it doesn’t work with Facetime.

For Android or iPhone, there’s the free Google Translate app. To test it, I pretended I was in the room with a Spanish-speaking person. When it was my turn, I’d type something, then tap the microphone next to the Spanish translation so it would be said aloud. When it was their turn, I typed “Feliz Navidad,” then tapped the microphone so they could hear it in English.

The only glitch happened when I tried to get an English translation from a more complex Spanish sentence that I spoke aloud. When I tried to say in Spanish that I liked a certain restaurant and wanted to meet there later, I heard: “I like that restaurant too. What if we fell in love with Ali?” But it works well if the Spanish speaker pronounces their words correctly.

Using What’s App in Two Devices

“I would like to link one of my iPads to my other iPad so I can more easily share articles of interest to a lady in Russia about the war in Ukraine,” a reader wrote. Here’s how to link any two devices so that WhatsApp works on both.

Start by installing WhatsApp to your secondary device, whether it’s a phone, tablet or computer. Tap “Settings” then “link device.” A QR code will appear. On your primary phone or device, open WhatsApp and tap “Settings,” then “Link device.”  You’ll be prompted to point your camera at the QR code on your secondary device. Now you’ll get the same content on both.

 YouTube Stars

My 11-year-old niece and 9-year-old nephew have their own YouTube channel. Here’s how to make one for your kids.

To start, sign into YouTube, click your profile picture, and select “Create a channel.” Next, designate it as “Made for Kids,” if you want the content to be recommended on the YouTube Kids app. (For more info, see YouTubeKids.com.) By making the content generally available without revealing their identities, my nephew and niece attracted a nice group of followers, mostly from other countries. Parental controls are available to make it a safe experience.

For video editing, the kids use the free “Cap Cut” from CapCut.com. To polish it further, their mom uses the $15-a-month version of Canva. Canva Pro lets you add your own footage to professional templates. To get more help, there’s Canva’s “Magic Design.” After describing your video, Canva will create the YouTube video using your uploaded media and chosen style.

Online Education for Adoptive Parents

I live near an adoption agency called The Cradle. For years, I’ve heard from volunteers who glow about this place, especially if they’ve opted to cuddle babies in the nursery.  It’s so popular that the Cradle now has to turn away volunteers. But they’ve just introduced a new online program for adoptive parents and would-be adopters. It’s called “Stage-Wise Parenting,” at stagewiseparenting.talentlms.com.

To test it, I listened to a 90-minute webinar called “Top 10 Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew.” It’s full of valuable lessons, communicated in the most heart-warming manner. A bundle of courses starts at $119.

Internut

CounterforceHealth.org offers a free AI-powered tool that helps patients fight denials of their insurance claims by automatically generating strong, evidence-based appeal letters. The reviews are overwhelmingly positive. The company says that 70 percent of their appeal letters are successful.

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