“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 to blow him up with nuclear weapons. Though he begged for more time, his mom wasn’t crazy about continuing the conversation, even through the app on my phone. She definitely isn’t going to install it on hers.

Here’s what’s surprising to most people: Kids aren’t using AI primarily for homework, according to an arxiv.org study to be presented at an upcoming Institute for Electronics and Engineers symposium. They’re looking for a virtual friend and emotional support. For teens, there’s the possibility of an AI romance. That’s not surprising. Even AI Aristotle sounds sexy to me. Perhaps these conversations need chaperones.

Substitute for Photoshop Elements

Getting a brand new computer might bring some unpleasant surprises on Christmas morning. Some things don’t work in Windows 11.

My techiest friend just discovered that his favorite program, Adobe’s Photoshop Elements 6, isn’t Windows 11-compatible. But having just bought a new computer and monitor, he was loath to shell out $100 every three years for Photoshop Elements 2025. The 2024 edition on Amazon for a flat $99 was tempting, but 54 percent of reviewers gave it one star. They said that it’s just a trial version. So my friend got the 2025 edition. He does a lot of advanced editing, including book cover design. He especially likes its organizational features. To find it, go directly to Adobe.com. Avoid the scams.

I had an earlier version of Adobe Photoshop Elements, but it disappeared when my computer automatically upgraded to Windows 11. So I turned to Ashampoo’s “Photo Commander 18.” It has a 30-day free trial, no credit card required. After the trial, it’s $55, about half the price of Photoshop Elements and it’s a one-time only fee. A great how-to video pops up after you install it, but I find it easier to use than most programs even without that. The company also offers tech support by email.

What I appreciate most is the program’s photo organizer, which has tools like “Duplicate photos.” If you flip the switch to the on position, it shows you which photos are similar and by how much. For example, two photos of my sister were pegged at 89 percent identical, but in one, she wore sunglasses, in the other, she did not. I kept both of them. So far, I’ve only deleted photos that were 100 percent identical, or varied only in small ways, like lighting.

The Commander’s layout is so good, I’m seeing photos I never knew I had. I just emailed one to an old high school friend I haven’t seen in years, and she wrote back immediately. First I used the right mouse button to click and save it to my downloads folder. That made it easy to find and send off.

The Future of TikTok

A Court of Appeals judge says the law banning TikTok is legitimate. Next stop: Supreme Court. If the law stays in effect, you might not be able to visit the website, even with a Virtual Private Network, according to VPN companies. But what about the app? After India banned it in 2020, users received an error message when they tried to open it. The message said that TikTok is complying with the Indian government.

Read Aloud

I’ve started using Microsoft Edge on my computer instead of Google Chrome, because I like the news I get when I open a new tab. Recently, I discovered that it will even read aloud to you.

Here’s how. First, open a website. Next, use your mouse cursor to highlight the passage you want to hear.  Now, right-click the text and choose “Read selection aloud.” From a toolbar on top, you can pause, go backward or forward, and so on.

For PDFs, right-click the file and choose “Open with Microsoft Edge.” Then click the “A” at the top, which has a couple of lines radiating out of it. Click “Voice Options” to have it read in dozens of other languages or in English with a different accent. Only the voices labeled “natural” sound OK to me. The rest sound like robots. So far, I like the Australian, United Kingdom and Nigerian accents best. For more info, see the PCWorld article “How to get Microsoft Edge to read web pages and documents out loud to you.”

Internuts

– OpentoDebate.org has great debates. In the latest one, international leaders duke it out on three topics: “Is the Future of Currency Fiat or Crypto?” “Will AI Change the Nature of Truth?” “Is It Time to Give More Power to Tech Companies?” Each one lasts about 10 minutes.

– “Researchers put bird legs on a drone so it can take off by jumping.” Search on that phrase to see a video showing a drone that can fly in areas that would leave a fixed wing aircraft stranded. This drone needs no runway.

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