On Computers

I went to my first Amazon Fresh store. I walked in, selected stuff and left. No check-out necessary. As I walked in the door, I had a choice of “just walk out shopping” or the traditional kind. To use “just walk out,” I was shown how to use either the Amazon app or an Amazon credit card. When I stuck my credit card in the turnstile, its screen flashed green and said “Go.”  Everyone else must have been using “just walk out” too, because there were four checkers just standing around, looking bored.   The store looks like a combination of Whole foods and a regular supermarket, though I also saw Amazon’s inexpensive “Happy Belly” brand, especially in the spice department. […]

Read more

Filed under: AI, Amazon, computers, Internuts, security, storage | Comments Off on SOMETHING FRESH

When I spilled orange juice on a Macbook it died. Apple said it couldn’t be fixed. But if that happens to the new Google “Framework,” I could just swap out the bad part. The $999 “Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition,” by Google, is made of replaceable components. It’s part of the “right to repair” movement, which is all about do-it-yourself (DIY). Instead of buying a new laptop, you could theoretically keep upgrading the parts forever. Each component has a QR code that takes you (or your repairman) to DIY guides for replacing or upgrading. At 2.8 pounds, the Framework weighs the same as a Macbook Air, and is similar in size. Unlike the Macbook, its basic memory can be upgraded from […]

Read more

Filed under: computers, environment, games, Internuts, trends, Wikipedia | Comments Off on NEW CHROMEBOOK LETS YOU SWAP PARTS

A new top-of-the line Chromebook, coming out in mid-October, reminds me how much better Chromebooks are compared to Windows or Macs, if you mostly work online or use Android apps. For $500, you can get the Acer “Vero 514” Chromebook. It’s powerful, has a great display, and should last many years. It has a 12th-generation Intel Core processor and charges to 50 percent in 30 minutes. Much of it is made from “ocean-bound” or recycled plastic. It has standard screws, so you can easily open the device to upgrade it instead of buying a new one. If you compare a Chromebook with a Windows PC that shares the same specs, you’ll find the Chromebook loads websites quicker. For example, the […]

Read more

Filed under: computers, Internuts, photos, science, security | Comments Off on CHROMEBOOKS CONTINUE TO AMAZE

If you have an old computer gathering dust in the closet, why not turn it into a Chromebook? It could gain a new lease on life. Chromebooks work well for everything we do on the web. They avoid the frustrations of Windows, by fixing problems every time they boot up. Unlike machines that get buggy after too many programs have been installed and uninstalled, Chromebooks don’t slow down over time.  A friend of mine converted his 10 year-old Samsung laptop in about 45 minutes. Most of the changes took place automatically. The improvements are remarkable. The battery life went from about two hours to well over three hours. Web browsing is faster too, though his laptop wasn’t bad to begin […]

Read more

Filed under: apps, computers, Gmail, Google, Internuts, mobile, security | Comments Off on MAKING USE OF AN OLD COMPUTER

I might have said yes to the cat my neighbor offered me if I’d had “Leo’s Loo Too,” a robotic kitty-litter cleaner from SmartyPear that ships this month. It looks like a miniature dryer. Cat pooh can be dangerous. According to a University of Chicago study, 60 million Americans have “toxoplasmosis,” a parasite you can get from touching it. It causes “intermittent explosive disorder” and increased aggression in humans, experts say. With the Loo Too litter cleaner, a rotating drum separates your fur baby’s pooh and sends it into a carbon-filtered, odor-containing waste drawer. When the drawer is full, a notification on your smart phone tells you it’s time to take out the trash, which is automatically bagged. You’re back […]

Read more

Filed under: apps, computers, gadgets, health, how-to, Internuts, Windows | 1 Comment »

Worldwide shipments of desktop computers have dropped in half since 2010, while tablets and laptops have surged, but I still like the feel of a good desktop. I just have to remember to clean the inside occasionally. This is the perfect time of year for that, before summer starts to fry everything. I’ll never forget the time my husband cleaned my sister’s desktop computer for her. No wonder her machine was slow! The dust bunnies were thick and still multiplying. Dust never sleeps, especially inside a desktop. The cooling fans bring in air from the outside, clogging the parts with dust. If it gets hot enough in there, the central processing unit (CPU) as well as the graphics processing unit […]

Read more

Filed under: Android, apps, computers, email, facebook, security, troubleshooting | Comments Off on SPRING CLEANING

After 11 years, my friend’s computer conked out, due to a hard drive failure. I tried to talk her into replacing it with a refurbished PC. No dice. Her first thought was taking it to a repair shop. Angie’s List said it would cost $300 for the drive and installation.  Not only did that sound like too much, but an 11 year-old all-in-one PC with a bad hard drive is likely to have other problems. So she got an HP Elitedesk 800 G1 desktop, which came with a monitor and mouse for $324 from Walmart. I was glad to see it had eight gigabytes of RAM and an Intel i5 processor. (You can compare processors at CPUboss.com.) Unfortunately, the Elitedesk […]

Read more

Filed under: computers, email, Gmail, Internuts, photos, TV | Comments Off on BUYING A RENEWED PC

On a recent plane trip, I watched in dismay as the power drained from my phone. By the time I got from Chicago to New Hampshire with a stop in Philly, it was circling the drain.  A portable power bank is the answer. Here are two questions: How fast can it restore a phone to full charge? Does it lose power when not in use? In the past, on the rare occasions when I’ve thought to bring a power bank with me, it turned out it wasn’t charged and I didn’t have time to mess with it. Power banks with lithium ion batteries should retain their power months after they’ve been charged. But some products that claim to have lithium […]

Read more

Filed under: apps, batteries, books, cameras, computers, graphics, Internuts | Comments Off on NEW PORTABLE POWER BANK SAVES THE DAY

You don’t have to buy an expensive laptop to get a fast machine. I like Google Chromebooks, but learned my lesson on the more expensive ones. Chromebooks are fast because they aren’t gunked up with software. Almost everything takes place online. Any errors are automatically fixed each time you boot up. But reviewers often encourage you to spend more money than necessary. Except for a cheapish Lenovo, everything listed on “The Best Chromebooks for 2020,” at TheVerge.com is around $600 on up, with one well over a thousand. Same goes for CNET and Wired reviews. For more than a week, I used a friend’s $199 HP Chromebook 14, comparing it with my own $650 Pixelbook Go from Google. Sure, the […]

Read more

Filed under: apps, computers, gadgets, music | Comments Off on WHEN IT COMES TO A LAPTOP, IT CAN PAY TO SPEND LESS

A reader got upset when I said Chrome was my favorite web browser. He wrote: “You do realize that Chrome keeps track of everything you do on the internet–  browsing, searches, and anything you write? I switched to Microsoft Edge after being a Chrome user for many years. I finally realized how data naked I really am.” It could be worse. According to Google’s privacy policy, your personal info is not for sale to anyone. Google uses it to show you ads for products from Google partners or Google itself. If you’re worried about privacy, go to myaccount.google.com and click on “data and personalization” to automatically turn off tracking and delete every trace of everything you’ve done on the web […]

Read more

Filed under: apps, browsers, computers, GPS, kids, web | Comments Off on DATA NAKED