On Computers

I didn’t expect Google Gemini to be business savvy. But it taught me how to get my money back from an unscrupulous chiropractor. I was roped into paying over $3,400 for back adjustments I didn’t need and foot therapy I did. Somehow the guy convinced me that an invisible malady would overtake my back if I didn’t endure 24 sessions. Although I was fooled by the X-rays of my spine, Gemini wasn’t. It said that my variation from the norm was so slight that the way I was standing might have contributed to it. Besides, I have zero back pain and no stiffness. “The spine adjustments sound like a scam, and nothing to do with your problems. They are just […]

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Filed under: AI, Amazon, drones, health | No Comments »

To do some chores, I hired a Venezuelan who doesn’t speak English. So I turned to Google Live Translate. First, I fired up the app and said: “Here’s where you should start today.” Immediately, we heard those words in Spanish. Then, when the Venezuelan said “Ok, muy bueno,” we heard “OK, very good.” It was practically seamless. But Apple’s Translate app is even better. You don’t have to tap “English to Spanish,” then “Spanish to English” whenever you want to switch. Just speak and you’ll hear the translation in any of 19 languages.  But what if you need to speak to someone in another country? With an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, you can hear a live translation in English […]

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Filed under: AI, Amazon, business, Internuts, numbers, trends | Comments Off on LIVE TRANSLATE

There are now artificially intelligent reviewers inside the Amazon phone app that can chat with you about Amazon products. They’re folksy and fun. To test it, I tapped the app on my phone, then looked up the Ninja Kitchen System, a blender and food processor in one. After I tapped “Hear the Highlights,” my AI hostess introduced herself, then introduced Sofia, an AI culinary expert. While they were talking, I tapped the raise-your-hand icon to ask a question. “Are the reviews good?” I asked and up popped a “you’re next” sign. “Joy’s asking about the reviews,” the hostess replied. “Do customers actually like this thing?” The culinary expert said that 83 percent of Amazon buyers thought that the Ninja was […]

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Filed under: AI, Amazon, browsers, Internuts, photos, photoshop, security, video, virus | Comments Off on TALKING AMAZON APP

Five-dollar chocolate bars and $15 bottles of olive oil. What gives? Chocolate prices hit record highs in 2024 due to dry weather in West Africa. Extreme droughts in Spain and Italy caused the price of olive oil to double. Could AI help? You bet. Just as ChatGPT was trained on billions of words, “Botanic,” offered by Living Models, is trained on DNA, the language of plants. It may sound corny, but Botanic “gets” corn. It also acts as a bud to your spud. For example, drought and rising temperatures in Idaho and Washington led to smaller yields and lower-quality potatoes. Botanic can help with that. Currently, it takes about eight years of trial and error to develop a new drought-resistant […]

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Filed under: AI, Amazon, Android, business, education, inventions, trends, weather | Comments Off on AI CAN HELP WITH GROCERY PRICES

Right after I told you it wasn’t worth switching my cell phone carrier, I switched. I knew that Consumer Cellular is touted for its budget-friendly plans and reliance on the robust AT&T network, but it took a reader to suggest it. “Consumer Cellular has been great!” she wrote. “Cut my bill for two iPhones. I now get unlimited text and calls and a good amount of data for $57 per month. Several family members have also switched. Their call centers are all US-based.” With the switch, I’m saving $15 a month, which isn’t huge. But the quality difference between Xfinity and Consumer Cellular is immense. With Xfinity, I was getting at least one dropped call a day. What’s more, the […]

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Filed under: Amazon, games, health, Internuts, iPhone, phones | Comments Off on SWITCHING PHONE SERVICE AGAIN

“I can’t read e-books because I don’t have a Kindle,” people tell me. But they can use the free Kindle app on their phones and tablets. Once you’ve installed the app on your mobile device, you’re ready to buy a book on Amazon and start reading. Alternatively, you can buy an e-book on your computer and click “read now” to see it on the big screen. Return to your library later by searching on “Manage your content and devices.” In the app, just tap “library.” If you want a physical e-reader, the new $69 Xteink X4 sticks to the back of your phone. Just flip it over to start reading. On the con side, it lacks a touch screen, has […]

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Filed under: AI, Amazon, books, Internuts, robots, web | Comments Off on KINDLES EVERYWHERE

Microsoft Copilot is a great shopping buddy.  With its AI “vision,” it looked at the websites I had open and analyzed the options. Not only did it save me money on a satin blouse, it picked out the right shoes. To start, I launched the Microsoft Edge web browser on my computer, then clicked the colorful icon in the upper right of my screen, though I could have just gone to Copilot.Microsoft.com in another browser such as Chrome. From there, I typed questions into the chatbox.  That’s how I found out which MBT running and walking shoes had roomy toeboxes but less structural support, and which ones were narrow but more supportive. Copilot also helped me choose an outfit for […]

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Filed under: AI, Amazon, apps, batteries, gadgets, kids, photos | Comments Off on SHOPPING WITH AI

I’ve been listening to Cinderella music through my new WearIQ sunglasses. Ah, paradise. The $30 sunglasses don’t officially launch at Walmart for another couple of weeks, but I received an advance pair. Besides music, the frames are great for podcasts and audio books. My Jane Austen novels sound fabulous. The frames are large on my face, just shy of dorky. But the colors are cool: dusty blue, black, “chalk,” and brown. The tint on the lens is so light, they hardly look like sunglasses, though they offer UV protection. The privacy is great: No one can hear what I’m listening to unless they’re within three feet of me. Since they’re water resistant, I could theoretically listen while floating on a […]

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Filed under: Amazon, gadgets, health, keyboards, phones, science, video | Comments Off on MUSIC TO MY EARS

Lately I’ve been hearing horror stories about Airbnb, the vacation rental site that opened in 2008. Goodbye rave reviews, hello complaints. A friend said that the house he rented in Brooklyn, New York, for a family reunion was a total disaster. There were no sofas or chairs in the living room, and the beds were army cots. Every square inch of the dining room was crammed floor-to-ceiling with junk, including furniture and bicycles. The kitchen cabinets were filled to the brim with appliances, bowls and utensils, all covered in dust, circa 1945. After two sweaty hours, he gave up trying to make a clean space in this hoarder’s paradise. The next morning, in a breakfast nook without a table, the […]

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Filed under: AI, Amazon, apps, health, Internuts | Comments Off on BYE BYE AIRBNB

The new “Alexa Plus” can      make reservations, summarize documents, and hold a conversation without your having to keep saying “Hey Alexa.” It’s available in an “early access” program to owners of the Echo Show smart speaker. Once you have it on an Echo Show, it becomes instantly available in the free Alexa app on your phone, the Amazon Fire tablet, the Echo Dot and even in email. I started it by testing it on a document, the “Simple Sabotage Field Manual,” from Gutenberg.org, a free book site. Because Alexa Plus only accepts text in certain formats, I click the “simple text” version, copied it and emailed it to  alexa@alexa.amazon.com. I was careful to skip the intro about Gutenberg.org, […]

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Filed under: AI, Amazon, Internet, Internuts, music | Comments Off on THE NEW ALEXA PLUS