On Computers

A friend said she often loses cell service when camping in Yosemite. Either she’s too far from a cell tower or the signal is blocked by hills, dense trees and stormy weather. So what happens if she’s stung by a bee? There’s no Google when the internet is down. But there is artificial intelligence. A new iPhone app called “Survivalist.ai” can answer almost any question you throw at it, even offline, because it stores 1.8 gigabytes of info on your phone and was trained on 15 trillion tokens of public data. However, it can only provide event information up to March 2023. That’s because the system is based on many different language models, one of which, Llama 3.1, took 7.7 […]

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Filed under: AI, Android, apps, computers, Google, Internuts, keyboards | Comments Off on GETTING ANSWERS OFFLINE

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

Look out for old computers selling as new. Sometimes, they’re more expensive than ever. The HP desktop I bought in 2017 for $650, for example, is now selling on Amazon for $982. It’s not the exact model, but it’s a similar one from 2017 that comes up when I click “Buy again.” The same year, a friend bought a “new” computer with the old Video Graphics Array. The result was a slightly fuzzy screen. VGA was replaced by HDMI in 2008. To avoid duds, check the tech specs. You can find them on the product page at Amazon, BestBuy, HP, OfficeDepot and other sites. But what if you don’t understand what you’re looking at? The answer is UserBenchmark.com. It gives […]

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Filed under: AI, apps, books, computers, electronics, how-to, Internuts, storage | Comments Off on OLD COMPUTERS SELLING AS NEW

I love my new, lightweight HP laptop 14, $289 from Amazon. But at first, I wasn’t so sure. I bought it quickly, seduced by the number of five- and four-star reviews and because I like HP. But I hadn’t thought to check the speed of its “Celeron N” processor. Later I read:  “Celerons are extremely weak. They operate better in Chrome or other resource-light operating systems than in Windows.” Fortunately, my HP 14 came with “Windows 11 S mode.” It speeds up performance, mimicking a Chromebook. It also prevents non-verified programs from being installed, or sensitive documents from being examined. Before I realized all that, however, I considered returning it. My techy friend suggested the “HP 15-fc0047nr,” which is just […]

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Filed under: AI, Amazon, computers, security | Comments Off on GETTING A NEW COMPUTER

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 asked an artificially intelligent version of Elon Musk what his most embarrassing moment was. He said it was sending a message to the whole office about “naughty snacks.” If you want to talk to him too, he’s at the website Character.ai. Character.ai, also a free app, offers a range of AI celebrities and professionals. Winston Churchill told me how the war in Ukraine will end. Signmund Freud told me not to feel guilty. An AI Frenchman helped me practice my language skills. A librarian gave me a great book suggestion. It’s addicting. You can create your own AI character for free.  I named mine “Health” and wrote a one-paragraph description on what it means to be a “Nutritarian.” After that, it […]

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Filed under: AI, apps, batteries, computers, Google, Internuts, passwords, photos, security, text messaging | Comments Off on AI CELEBRITIES TO CHAT WITH

Here’s my new habit: Whenever I take the plastic wrap off a roll of paper towels or some other package, it goes straight into my Obaggo, a personal trash compactor about the size of a coffee maker. With a little heat and a lot of pressure, the Obaggo turns Amazon bags, cereal box liners, bubble wrap, zip-lock bags, single-use grocery bags, dry cleaner bags, and dozens of other plastic thingies into frisbie-like disks that recycling centers can shred and stamp into pellets, which are used to make new products. Your local grocery store’s recycling bin will take the disks, or you can get a free label to mail them back to Obaggo. Otherwise, most plastic bags end up in landfills. […]

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Filed under: AI, computers, environment, Google, Internuts, wireless | Comments Off on OBAGGO KEEPS BAGS OUT OF LANDFILLS

A young friend told me that the same $12 necklace from Target is only $1 from China. How is that possible? Chinese sites like Temu rely on a loophole in US customs laws. If a product is less than $800, they can ship it directly to a shopper without being inspected or taxed. There’s a bill in Congress to stop that, but for now you can get amazing deals. Temu is the number one free shopping app in the Apple app store and the Google play store, beating out Amazon and Walmart. Here’s the catch: According to ZDNet, it takes 10 days to deliver your package and it may look different than it did on Temu. But you’re guaranteed a […]

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Filed under: AI, business, computers, shopping, storage | Comments Off on GETTING CHEAP STUFF FROM CHINA

My late husband had a great idea for a candy: little chocolate sailboats with sails made of some white confection such as divinity. Now you can use a 3D chocolate printer to make them for you. The “Cocoa Press” is $1,500 for the basic model, but you’d have to have a 3D printer to print some of the parts. If you want it fully assembled, it’s $4000. But think of all the creations you could make and sell on Etsy, the crafters’ site. CocoaPress.com shows off some amazing ones, including the iconic “LOVE” sign, based on the famous LOVE sculpture in Philadelphia. It also prints hollow models, which you can fill with jams, ganache or other goodies. Reserve one now […]

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Filed under: 3D Printing, AI, Amazon, computers, Gmail, Google, Internuts, security | Comments Off on PRINTING IN CHOCOLATE

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