On Computers

I remember when my sister used a stand-alone photo printer to print photos at her son’s birthday party so the guests could take them home immediately. Now you can get one that’s as small as your cell phone. The Canon “Ivy Mini Photo Printer for Smartphones” is the best pocket-sized printer for parties, according to an extensive review by TheVerge.com. Kids love the photo stickers it prints, and adults may appreciate having new faces to stick on their refrigerator. On Amazon, the printer is $99, but I saw the same ones on eBay, brand new, for $55. The prints are about the size of credit cards, two-by-three inches. You don’t have to use their peel-and-stick backing; just peel it off […]

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Filed under: Amazon, browsers, cameras, cheap calls, gadgets, Internuts, wearables, web | Comments Off on PARTY PRINTER

I was stranded. No cell phone signal, no WiFi. I blame you Tracfone.  When I got finally got back home, I checked my Tracfone app. It showed a $125 payment in December for a year’s worth of service, but my credit card statement did not. The Tracfone’s website said my number now started with “143.” That’s a scammer’s prefix, according to a telephony expert at Quora.com. I wanted out. I went back and forth with Tracfone via the chat bot on their website. They told me to use the phone or an advanced chat. When I phoned, a robot answered, saying: “Your number is being ported.” When I tried the advanced chat, it wouldn’t accept my real number. Nuts! Tracfone […]

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Filed under: cheap calls, crytpocurrency, environment, Internuts, phones, trends | Comments Off on TRACFONE FAILS TO DELIVER

A reader wrote: “Two days ago my wife was nearly in tears after falling for a scam email that looked exactly like it was from the SAS Shoe site.” She was out $45 bucks. Others are being scammed by phony vaccine surveys. One reader said he was nearly taken in by a fake Pfizer survey, but hovered over the return email, which revealed sketchy-looking characters. If you do a Google search on “PSA post vaccine survey scam,” the US government at ICE.gov will show you exactly what the scammer’s email looks like. Don’t worry if you’ve already opened one. Just don’t click anywhere or open any attachments. There’s still time to panic. Google Pay and Mint Track Your Spending  Sometimes, […]

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Filed under: business, cheap calls, search, trends, virus, web | Comments Off on AVOIDING SCAMS

Which is better for watching movies, a TV or a projector? Years ago, a Moroccan invited me to his apartment to meet his wife and baby. After dinner, we watched a Jacques Tati movie. Rather than use a TV, he projected it from his computer onto a big white wall. It made perfect sense. Why bother with a TV when you can get a movie-size projection? A $100 projector can give you a 10-foot wide viewing area. I saw one from Epson, a quality brand, for  $70 on Amazon. But according to CNET, TVs are the better buy, thanks to a rapid drop in prices and improvements in technology. The big ones used to cost upwards of $10,000. Now you […]

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Filed under: apps, cheap calls, facebook, TV | Comments Off on TVS ARE BETTER THAN PROJECTORS

My quest for the perfect cell phone service started at a square dance. I was trying to make a phone call but couldn’t connect. Everyone else could. A friend suggested I get a cheap Tracfone plan as a backup. So I added it to an old iPhone I had lying around. It seemed like a good idea at first, but I didn’t really need two phone services. So I took the Tracfone SIM card out of the iPhone and put it in my larger and newer Android, after canceling its service. Now I’m saving hundreds of dollars a year, with no connection issues so far. Tracfone is owned by Verizon. My previous carrier, Google Fi, cost me between $20 and […]

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Filed under: 3D Printing, cheap calls, crytpocurrency, education, Internuts, kids, phones | Comments Off on GETTING A BETTER DEAL FROM TRACFONE

I’ve never used a meat thermometer, so when I got one for review, I turned to my grilling friends for help. They love it.   Compared to the typical thermometer on Amazon, the new Thermapen One is a a bit of wizardry. It tells you the temperature in one second. That way, you’re not standing over a hot grill getting yourself cooked while waiting for a reading. It can test just about anything, including food from a microwave, oven, stovetop, deep fryer, refrigerator or freezer. Some use it to test the temperature of their bath before they step in.  My friend started off by using it to test Impossible Burgers. The directions say to cook them for two minutes per side […]

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Filed under: apps, cheap calls, gadgets, health, Internet, phones, tech support | Comments Off on FROM GRILLS TO BATHTUBS

A couple of months ago I started using the free app “WhatsApp” for sharing pictures and making free phone calls. Now millions are angry with the app, turning instead  to “Signal” or “Telegram.” Switching from WhatsApp to Telegram is like switching from sugar to corn syrup. Telegram has had problems with foreign terrorists, neo-Nazis and white supremacists. It was recently used for hacking into Facebook accounts. And it’s not that private. Telegram allows businesses to collect data on you so they can send you ads. But what’s so bad about WhatsApp, anyway?  I don’t care that it’s owned by Facebook. Starting in May, businesses will be able to collect data on you so they can send you messages. But that’s […]

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Filed under: apps, cheap calls, digital, games | Comments Off on WHAT’S APP WITH THAT?

Bitcoin, the digital currency, has been going up like crazy. But is it a better store of value than gold? Last year, Bitcoin went from a little over $7,000 to over $26,000 per digital coin. On January 8, a single coin hit $40,675.80! I’ve had some experience with cryptocurrency. In 2017, I bought part of a Bitcoin at Coinbase.com, when it was valued at around $4,000. I bought a bit more when it rose to $15,000. What can I say, I’m a gambler. Unfortunately, I sold it after it crashed below $4000. Disaster! I admire those who “HODL” a Bitcoin acronym standing for “Hold On For Dear Life.” According to a deVere Group survey of their own clients, 67 percent […]

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Filed under: apps, browsers, cheap calls, free stuff, gadgets, Google, trends, video | Comments Off on GOLD VERSUS BITCOIN

I was strolling in Chicago when my phone fell out of my bag somewhere along the river walk. I was notified by email right away. Wow. “I hope you get this,” the email said. “My wife found your phone downtown. We left it with the front desk person at Boeing.” I was mystified. How did he get my email address? It was simple. I’d allowed notifications for important messages to be displayed on my Android phone’s lock screen. My email address was listed at the top. I was lucky the phone hadn’t run out of juice and was still showing notifications. The couple who found it had tried calling me first, only to discover I hadn’t entered any contact info […]

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Filed under: Amazon, cheap calls, Internuts, music, tech support, troubleshooting | Comments Off on PLAN TO LOSE YOUR PHONE

Our oddest Christmas present this year is a robot vacuum, given to us by a young relative. Bob was hugely skeptical at first but he has to admit: “It works, but it doesn’t hold much.” Go to YouTube.com to find reviews for dozens of these, from Roomba on down. Ours, the “LeFant 300m,” costs $140 on Amazon. Roomba ranges from about $200 to over a thousand. We have hardwood floors, four small mats in the kitchen, and a large Home Depot rug in the living room. It seems complicated, yet the robot vacuum handled them all, traveling from room to room in our small apartment. We charged it by plugging it into the wall. We dumped the debris by using […]

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Filed under: cheap calls, gadgets, games, Internuts, shopping | Comments Off on ROBOT VACUUM