On Computers

My friend Bonnie needs a Korean translator for her memoir.  Could she use AI, she wondered?   To test it, I pasted one of her short essays, “The Cat Ate Kimchi,” into the search box at Claude.AI. She was thrilled with the result. After a few minor touch-ups, she sent it to a Korean writer. The writer found it as hilarious as I did when I first read it in English.  Before testing Claude further, I asked if it would recommend itself for the job. After modestly admitting that it wasn’t a native Korean, it said its translation would work well for a self-published book or as a rough draft for a human translator. Bonnie’s project meets both criteria. Her memoir […]

Read more

Filed under: AI, Android, Internuts, iPhone, troubleshooting | Comments Off on CLAUDE TRANSLATES YOUR MEMOIR

Right after I told you it wasn’t worth switching my cell phone carrier, I switched. I knew that Consumer Cellular is touted for its budget-friendly plans and reliance on the robust AT&T network, but it took a reader to suggest it. “Consumer Cellular has been great!” she wrote. “Cut my bill for two iPhones. I now get unlimited text and calls and a good amount of data for $57 per month. Several family members have also switched. Their call centers are all US-based.” With the switch, I’m saving $15 a month, which isn’t huge. But the quality difference between Xfinity and Consumer Cellular is immense. With Xfinity, I was getting at least one dropped call a day. What’s more, the […]

Read more

Filed under: Amazon, games, health, Internuts, iPhone, phones | Comments Off on SWITCHING PHONE SERVICE AGAIN

When a new dentist said I needed a crown, I was suspicious. But should I have been? “You’re not being paranoid at all,” said TheRealRealTalk, an artificially-intelligent chatbot available at Poe.com. “Your Spidey-sense is tingling for a good reason! Here’s the deal: New practice owners often have massive loans to pay off, and suddenly everyone needs crowns. Funny how that works, right?” The new dentist wanted to rush the surgery because she was going on pregnancy leave a few days later and claimed I could have a cracked tooth in a few weeks. But I decided against it. A week later I asked for X-rays to be emailed to me so I could use them to get a second opinion. […]

Read more

Filed under: AI, Apple, gadgets, iPhone, security, TV | Comments Off on ASKING AI FOR DENTAL ADVICE

I loved canoeing to an Alaskan glacier, kayaking around islands and river rafting past eagles after a hike in a rainforest. But I hated the dropped calls and spotty internet on board the Discovery Princess. I blamed it on my Samsung Galaxy A16, which I bought after my Pixel 8 phone died in a pool of salad dressing. After Googling “problems with the Galaxy A16,” my suspicions were confirmed. For the entire week on the “Holistic Holiday at Sea,” my phone had problems making calls and connecting to the internet. Meanwhile, my iPhone-owning friends connected everywhere but the elevators.  For one wild minute, I considered getting the new iPhone 17 when I got back home. But I don’t need its […]

Read more

Filed under: AI, Internet, iPhone, phones, storage | Comments Off on JUMPING SHIP

I’m planning to go on the “Holistic Holiday at Sea,” a one-week Princess cruise to Alaska. My artificially intelligent friend, Microsoft Copilot, has been so helpful, it practically wished me bon voyage. Now I won’t be unprepared. I started by asking it about the cabin types, something that both the website and the phone operator were frustratingly vague about. After answering this beautifully, it asked me some questions, encouraging me to get more info, just as if it were my mom or a superior travel agent. For example, I told Copilot that on my last cruise, when I was 14, I was dreadfully seasick until we stopped in San Francisco for the night on our way to Hawaii from Long […]

Read more

Filed under: AI, health, Internuts, iPhone, robots | Comments Off on AI PLANNED MY VOYAGE

Which is better, Android or iPhone? Whatever team you’re on, you’re unlikely to switch. Unless your family is on the other side. An Android-loving grandfather said he switched after his son-in-law couldn’t send video of his child, born seconds before. “He said the video wasn’t sending and he figured out it was me,” the reader wrote. “When he deleted me from the group, it sent, and every iPhone got it.”  There would have been no compatibility issue if everyone had been using the free WhatsApp. So I asked Granddad why he didn’t suggest it, since he’d used it to send texts to his friends in Haiti. He said he didn’t want to make everyone else use a different app just […]

Read more

Filed under: AI, Android, Apple, games, Google, health, inventions, iPhone, news | Comments Off on ANDROID VERSUS IPHONE

A new app allows you to choose Judy Garland and other icons to read books, news and articles aloud. It’s called the “Reader App” and it’s free from Eleven Labs for iPhone and iPad only. Android users can join a waitlist. It took a little fiddling to figure it out, and it was sometimes buggy. But hey, it’s free. When I got the hang of it, I enjoyed hearing Judy Garland read “A Little Princess” and “The Wizard of Oz.” After that, I listened to James Dean, Sir Lawrence Olivier and Burt Reynolds. There are also a dozen or so non-celebrities with various accents, including a middle-aged Australian dude. The Reader App includes a list of books you can try […]

Read more

Filed under: AI, Amazon, Internuts, iPhone, numbers, troubleshooting | Comments Off on BURT REYNOLDS AND JAMES DEAN WILL READ TO YOU

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 […]

Read more

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

“Before he died, my philosophy professor asked me to promote his upcoming book,” a man wrote. I was intrigued. “Surviving Technology, Lessons from Theater: The New Necessities For Living a Human Life,” by University of Texas professor Paul Woodruff, explains why theater is under attack by technology, and why that matters. Woodruff’s previous book was favorably reviewed in The New York Times, and his articles have been published widely. Tech matters a lot in entertainment. In 1876, Richard Wagner used different circuits of natural gas for stage and audience, alternately plunging the audience into total darkness, to force them to pay attention to the stage. Their inattention reminded me of an audience at a magic show I saw at a […]

Read more

Filed under: AI, anti-virus, books, Internuts, iPhone, Mac, security, Windows | Comments Off on SURVIVING TECHNOLOGY, LESSONS FROM THE THEATER

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the craziest of them all?” You are, that’s who, if you’re willing to spend $500 to $1000 on an artificially intelligent mirror. Or maybe not. A glance at the new Baracoda Bmind Smart Mirror could talk you out of yelling at your boss, saving your bacon. First it will size you up. Then it will offer encouraging words, guide you in meditation and bring you light therapy. It also gives you your weight, the weather, some food recommendations and Nature scenes. According to ZDnet, the smart mirror is one of the best AI gadgets from the recent Computer Electronics Show. But number one on the ZDnet list is the “Motion Pillow.” When the Motion […]

Read more

Filed under: AI, gadgets, iPhone | Comments Off on $500 MIRROR GIVES ADVICE