Little kids love to pretend they’re on a phone call, even on a landline that isn’t plugged in. Now they can have their own landlines.

It all started when a bunch of parents decided to surprise their kids with a “Tin Can” phone at Christmas. The kids, who had been told they had to wait to get cellphones until they were at least 13, were ecstatic, especially the girls. Through landlines, they discovered the joy of the mysterious ring. Was it Grandma or a friend from school? They knew it had to be someone on their parents’ approved list, but it was thrilling nonetheless, especially if the caller left a voice message. The landline taught them to communicate without screens or apps.

A TikTok video about the Tin Can phone went viral, with over three million views. To see it, do a Google search on the words “long live childhood, Tin Can nostalgia.”

Calls to fellow Tin Can phone owners are free. To call users who aren’t on Tin Cans, it’s $10 a month. The phone itself is $100 at the website. Though the princess phone version is sold out, the company also offers one that looks like a tin can.

Electric Vehicle Tips

“A 240-volt charger is strongly recommended for electric cars,” I wrote recently. “You’re wrong,” said a reader named Larry.

 “My goal in life is to eliminate misconceptions about EVs,” Larry said. “When we got our first Tesla six years ago, everyone said you need to install a 240V outlet if you don’t already have one. But the car came with a charging cable and a plug for a standard 120V outlet, which I had in the garage.” He didn’t think he needed to pay for an electrician and new equipment.

His hunch was right. For every hour of charging, his car gets an extra four to five miles of range, which is plenty. After 12 hours, the car has 48 to 60 more miles. “The average American commute is 35-40 miles round trip,” he points out.

By sticking to the standard 120V outlet, Larry must have saved between $400 and $1,200 for the hardware to convert to 240V, plus around $1700 for installation, depending on the complexity of the electrical work. “A 120V outlet is a win-win,” he said. Besides the initial savings, “the battery lasts longer and degrades less.”

But many Americans don’t have the patience for slower charging, or they have longer commutes.  In addition, others find electric cars too expensive.The 2026 Nissan Leaf S+ starts at around $30,000 and has a 303-mile range. The 2026 Chevy Equinox EV is around $32,500. Its range is 319 miles. But you can still get a gas-powered, new 2025 Nissan Versa for around $20,000.

Tax Season Info

If your adjusted gross income is $89,000 or less, you can file your taxes for free with the US government’s “Free File” system at irs.gov.  H&R Block and Turbo Tax also offer free tax filing for simple returns. There’s also cash.app/taxes and freetaxusa.com. 

Liven Up Your Email

A reader with macular degeneration wrote to tell me that she’s in heaven with the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses I wrote about recently. “It reads anything I ask!” she exclaimed. “I asked it to read my mail, and a label on a can, etc. It is so wonderful, it brings happiness tears.”

Her thank you note included an animated kitten blowing kisses. How techy, I thought. I’d never put an animated emoji inside an email. Here’s one way to do it. On a Windows computer, press the Windows key, then tap a period. On a Mac, press the Globe key, then tap the letter “E.” For either one, tap the “GIF” tab and type “thank you,” or “love,” or something and select your emoji. It’s great. 

Reader Tip

In the last column, I wrote: “The Find My app will only show you the phone’s location on a map. That’s not much help if it’s hiding under a sofa cushion. Your phone won’t ring if it’s not on.”

A reader corrected me. Dottie has the “Find My” on both her iPhone and her iPad Air. “Even if my iPhone is off,” she wrote, “my iPad will send my iPhone a signal. My iPhone makes a very loud noise and I can find it easily.”

Nuclear Power with Less Baggage

Some day, your cruise ship could float along on nuclear energy, thanks to Ampera, a company developing a new kind of thorium‑based reactor. Sound scary? These microreactors are sealed, factory‑built units. Their system traps fission products inside ceramic shells, leaving a smaller waste stream that’s easier to store safely. 

But what makes Ampera notable isn’t the waste handling at the end. It’s the idea of a thorium‑fueled microreactor designed for industries that never had a nuclear option before. Traditional reactors are multi‑billion‑dollar construction projects that require hundreds of staff, a refueling team, and continuous regulatory oversight. Ampera’s unit requires no on‑site fuel handling, no refueling outages, and only a small crew with minimal training. Even if the microreactor has to be replaced every five to 10 years, you’re swapping out a box, not rebuilding a whole plant. 

Ampera is being marketed to cruise lines, data centers, and industrial campuses that want zero‑carbon power and predictable costs.

Filed under: apps, environment, government, kids, phones