On Computers

When my Pixel 8 phone died in a pool of salad dressing, I sold it to Gazelle. They gave me $52, though it wouldn’t turn on. Besides iPhones, Gazelle also buys used iPads, Macbooks and phones made by Samsung, Google and Motorola. Whatever you send them, it will be carefully repaired, inspected and certified before being sold on their site. I got an instant quote, good for 30 days, and a swift payment. They even sent me a box with a free shipping label. All I had to do was check off options to describe it. I was glad I didn’t have to check the one that said “cracked screen,” though I did check off “won’t turn on.” The company […]

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Filed under: 3D Printing, AI, books, business, gadgets, Internuts, kids, printer, trends, Windows | Comments Off on CASH FOR YOUR STUFF

I gave only a temporary email address to Sharper Image, but they started bombarding my Gmail account immediately, three times a day. It started happening right after I signed up for “Email on Deck.” The purpose of a temporary email address is to shield your main address from view. Theoretically, after an hour or a day, the temp address vanishes, taking all spam with it. But what happens if the temp service sells your data? You get inundated. It’s better to sign up for a second regular service. Besides Gmail, I use AOL, Yahoo and Xfinity. I don’t bother looking at these accounts until I know that a coupon or something special has arrived. This works well. New Features Coming to […]

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Filed under: business, computers, email, Google, science | Comments Off on AVOIDING EXCESS EMAIL

If you’re tired of paying an accountant to do your taxes, just ask the Internal Revenue Service. Their partners might do it for free. If your income is $84,000 or less, regardless of your tax situation, you can get free tax software and step-by-step assistance. First, go to IRS.gov, and click “IRS Free File options.” Then click “IRS Free File.” You can get free help in person in your own community if you’re 60 or older, or earn $67,000 or less, or need language support, or have a disability. Click on the button that says: “IRS VITA/TCE.” It stands for “IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE).” If you don’t qualify for a free […]

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Filed under: batteries, business, education, gadgets, health, phones, robots, security, virus | Comments Off on FREE TAX ACCOUNTANT

Listening to artificially intelligent podcast hosts is like listening to an episode of your favorite talk show. Google’s NotebookLM, a free online program, creates them instantly, based on whatever you feed it. The banter between NotebookLM’s AI podcasters is described as “stunningly lifelike” by ZDNet. I agree. They sound like people I know. To start, I uploaded a fact sheet from FoodRevolution.org called “9 Ways to Lower Blood Pressure,” because I’m big on prevention (and nagging). When I clicked the “play” button, my AI co-hosts took “a deep dive” into the wonders of broccoli and other veggies. The male co-host even made a bean joke, provoking laughter from his female counterpart. When I fed Notebook LM an issue of the […]

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Filed under: AI, apps, business, health, Internuts, robots, video | Comments Off on INSTANT PODCASTS, BROUGHT TO YOU BY AI

To get into Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, all I had was a receipt with a barcode on it, sent to me by email. To make it easier to find, I added it to the Google Wallet app on my Android. The equivalent for iPhone users is Apple Wallet. To add it to Google Wallet, I hit the plus sign in the app and was prompted to choose a category. Since it wasn’t a payment card, a transit pass, a loyalty card, a gift card or an ID card, I chose “everything else.” After I was prompted to take a picture of it, Wallet automatically created a pass reading “Adler Planetarium.” Coming soon, Wallet will also create a digital version of your […]

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Filed under: apps, business, cheap calls, gadgets, Google, Internuts, troubleshooting, Windows | Comments Off on GOOGLE WALLET CREATES DIGITAL PASSPORT

I’ll never sell anything on eBay again. Or if I do, I won’t use the Post Office to ship the package. The Post Office lost the Pixel 6a phone I sold on eBay to a man in Miami. He got a refund, but I had to pay eBay $38 in fees, ten bucks of which went to promoting the phone on their site. I wish I had the phone back. My sister had suggested keeping it as a backup after I’d temporarily lost it, then replaced it with the Pixel 8. But when I found it again, I figured eBay was the best solution. I was sucked into using the post office by eBay’s offer of a discounted shipping label. […]

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Filed under: Amazon, business, environment, games, Internuts, robots | Comments Off on EBAY AND POST OFFICE DISAPPOINT

My used phone sold almost as soon as I listed it, thanks to eBay’s new artificial intelligence tool. AI makes it easy to get rid of your stuff. EBay’s AI will write your item’s description for you, though you can also add your own words, like I did. But it suggested I start the bidding at $38, a price so low it scared me. So I upped it to $95, with a higher “buy it now” price. Later, I  discovered you can toggle off the auction switch and just use your set price. EBay suggested $143 for the “buy it now” price, which included my unlocked Pixel 6a phone, a $25 ruggedized Otterbox case, and the Pixel’s original box and […]

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Filed under: AI, Apple, business, iPad, iPhone | Comments Off on EBAY GOES AI

My membership card for a local art museum never arrived. “We don’t use physical cards anymore,” the museum staffer explained. She suggested Google Wallet. The free Google Wallet app for Android now contains my museum card, credit card and loyalty cards from restaurants and stores. It can also store virtual car keys, transit cards and vaccination cards. If I had also been able to store my driver’s license, I would have saved a lot of hassle at the airport recently when I accidentally left my I.D. at home. But the Wallet only accepts driver’s licenses issued in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia or Maryland. With Google Pay, a part of Wallet, I can use my phone instead of a credit card. It’s […]

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Filed under: Amazon, Android, apps, business, computers, Google | Comments Off on GOOGLE WALLET STORES YOUR CARDS

A reader’s seven year-old iMac refused to power on. Apple couldn’t fix it. “They first tried the power fix, which didn’t work, then tried replacing the logic board,” she said, “which also didn’t work.” To repair it would have cost $900. “I am extremely disgusted,” she said. “I paid more than a thousand dollars for it. I think it should last longer than that. But it is what it is. Now I need a new computer.” Unfortunately, a computer that lasts seven years is par for the course. On average, they last three to eight years. But desktops last longer than laptops because they get better airflow, which reduces heat, the enemy of electronic components. It’s also easier to swap […]

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Filed under: books, business, computers, discounts, Internuts, Mac, TV | Comments Off on REFURBISHED APPLE PRODUCTS FOR LESS

I felt guilty returning a pair of black pants to Amazon. They will probably be dumped, shredded or both. There’s a name for this: “DIF” or “destroy in field.” Defective gadgets, luxury goods and cheap clothing are all candidates for the shredder. An Amazon spokesman told the New Yorker that nothing goes back on sale after the seal is broken or the wrap is torn. Returning stuff is part of a growing trend. A century ago, only two percent of stuff was returned to J.C. Penney’s department stores. Today, 40 percent of clothing on average goes back to US retailers. Returns are about to get even easier no matter where you do your shopping. A company called “Pollen Returns,” run […]

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Filed under: Amazon, business, cheap calls, environment, notes | Comments Off on BETTER RETURNS