On Computers

I left my phone in a Lyft on the way to the airport. But Google Voice, the free phone service, saved me. Using the airport’s free WiFi on my laptop, I went to Voice.Google.com and typed in my friend’s phone number, to say that I’d arrived. Alternatively, I could have used the Google Voice app, though on a Windows machine you need to go to the website instead. Either way, the call quality is excellent. The great thing is, Google Voice lets you call anyone. With apps like Facebook Messenger, your recipients must use the same service. For the next six days, I was happily phoneless. But I still wanted to find the darn thing. So I Googled “Find My […]

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Filed under: Amazon, apps, books, cheap calls, crytpocurrency, Google, how-to, Internuts, security, training, video | Comments Off on GOOGLE VOICE SAVES THE DAY

Why spend over a thousand on a Macbook or Windows computer when you can get a Chromebook for peanuts? According to ZDnet, there are five reasons why ordinary people would do better with a Chromebook than anything else. First of all, they’re cheap. On Amazon there are dozens of them for $300 or less, including the Samsung Chromebook 4 for $120. Many of these, like the Chromebook 4, have only four gigabytes of RAM, but that’s enough if you’re not a multitasker. If you do Zoom calls, however, you’ll want something more powerful than the Chromebook 4’s Intel Celeron processor. Experts recommend avoiding the Celeron or Pentium processor and going for an Intel Core i3 or above. A second reason […]

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Filed under: Android, books, computers, Google, Internuts, photos | Comments Off on THE SUPERIORITY OF CHROMEBOOKS

Publishing a book through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing turned out to be both easier and harder than I thought.  After tearing my hair out at first, I discovered Amazon’s template for a five-by-eight inch paperback. I also noticed a lengthy guide and a long video tutorial, but I can never sit through those. So whenever I had a question, I hit the chat button and got a live person. They didn’t always know the answer but kept me moving right along, encouraging me to skip design elements I didn’t need. Besides texting, I could have talked on the phone or emailed them. Each time, they were available within seconds. I’m working on a historical novella for a retired professor of […]

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Filed under: batteries, books, business, gadgets, Internet, Internuts, kids, storage, web | Comments Off on PUBLISHING YOUR BOOK ON AMAZON

It’s getting difficult to tell a legit email from a fraud. Recently, I took a foolish chance. I clicked on a link in an email that appeared to be from Amazon. The website I landed on showed the address “Amazon.com” at the top. It even had one of those security locks. But it wasn’t Amazon. The site said that my Amazon credit card had been unlinked from my account. It asked me to call Amazon’s number, an obvious red flag. Amazon never lists its number. Lesson: If in doubt, always go to the company’s website. Never click a suspicious link. According to retired FBI special agent Jeff Lanza, these kinds of frauds are increasing. Over 15 million Americans have been […]

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Filed under: AI, books, gadgets, security, trends, virus | Comments Off on PHISHING WITH BAIT

The cost of college tuition is stunning. But you can get basic courses for $25 apiece. Starting March 7, GoStudyHall.com will have online classes from America’s top universities. The price is a far cry from the standard online tuition. According to EducationData.org, online tuition averages $38,496 for a bachelor’s degree for in-state students, and $54,183 if you’re out of state. Even one virtual class could cost around $1000. I went to GoStudyHall.com to check out the previews, clicking on a U.S. history course taught by Danielle Bainbridge. She’s an assistant professor at Northwestern University who also lectures at PBS Origins. I found her entertaining. The site also offers English composition, College Math and “Human” Communication. Robots need not apply. Speaking […]

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Filed under: AI, apps, art, books, Internuts, kids | Comments Off on GETTING COLLEGE CREDITS CHEAPLY

My black and white pictures of a 1970s newsroom came vividly alive after I let palette.fm colorize them for free. All I had to do was upload my photo and watch it fill with color. I couldn’t believe how those old days became vibrant. A friend tried it with his childhood Christmas photos. At first, his shirt came out green instead of blue. Then he tried one of the palette.fm filters, and the true blue came out. But the web browser may also make a difference. In his tests, Firefox did a better job than Chrome or Vivaldi. I didn’t like any of the Palette.fm filters, preferring the unfiltered version. The browser didn’t matter much either. But I got slightly […]

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Filed under: books, drones, gadgets, Google, Internuts, phones, photos | Comments Off on COLORIZE YOUR BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOS

Three of my friends have books they want to self-publish. It sure beats sending your manuscript to the slush file of some harried, overworked agent. But another way to go is called “hybrid publishing.” With the hybrid approach, you team up with a publisher who lends an air of credibility to your book. As with Amazon’s “Kindle Direct Publishing,” you do the whole thing online. To find out more, I chatted with the author Samuel M. Goodman, a PhD chemical engineer. He took the hybrid route for his new book “Beyond Carbon Neutral,” by using an outfit called “New Degree Press.” What’s nice about New Degree is that you can refer readers to an actual publisher instead of a vanity […]

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Filed under: books, environment, Internuts, kids, music, text messaging | Comments Off on ONLINE TOOLS FOR PUBLISHING YOUR BOOK

Here’s something to consider when buying your next phone or tablet:  Get one that has a microSD card slot so you don’t run out of storage space. These days, a $25 micro SD card holds a whopping 128 gigabytes or more. Samsung, Sony, Motorola, LG, and Xiaomi phones all have slots for these. Alternatively, some phones, such as the Google Pixel, have dual SIM card capability. You can use a SIM card slot for a storage card. Because the iPhone and iPad don’t offer expandable internal storage, some people buy a new phone or tablet just to get more space. But that gets expensive. The iPhone 13 with 256 gigabytes is $100 more than the one with 128.   Here’s a […]

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Filed under: books, gadgets, health, Internet, Windows | Comments Off on RUNNING OUT OF SPACE

The daily weather report on my Android phone screen disappeared. No one had a clue on how to fix it. So I added a weather widget. Widgets are little marvels. They show info without you having to tap anything. There are widgets for weather, stocks, music, photos, etc. Here’s how to set them up. First, make room on your phone’s home screen by touching and dragging excess icons to a free area on another page. On an Android phone, you’ll want to hold your finger on the clear spot for a few seconds until a menu pops up with the word “Widgets.”  On an iPhone, touch and hold an empty area until the apps jiggle, then tap the plus sign, […]

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Filed under: apps, books, graphics, kids | Comments Off on WONDERFUL WIDGETS

You could pay $700 for a “Meural” art frame that shows off digital art. Or for $40, you could have 500 paintings on your TV. The “Billion Dollar Art Gallery” puts the world’s greatest art on a flash drive you stick into the back of your television. For me, watching the paintings go by in a spectacular video is better than seeing them in a museum or trying to put something together myself. The painting lingers for a moment before the title and artist info appears. Delightful music plays. I was enchanted. Not only did I see my favorite Renoir, Mary Cassatt, and Winslow Homer paintings, I saw lots of fantastic art I’d never seen before. If you pause the […]

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Filed under: Amazon, art, books, environment, gadgets, Internuts, TV | Comments Off on BILLION DOLLAR ART GALLERY ON A THUMB DRIVE