On Computers

The first thing I noticed on my recent trip to California was the explosion of e-bikes. They zipped past me on a boardwalk along the ocean. The number of e-bike sales are about double the number of electric car sales, despite a price in the thousands. But for $450, you can get a conversion kit, such as the “Clip,” which will turn any old bike into an e-bike. You can even remove the “e” part of your e-bike when you go inside, to prevent theft. Here’s how it works: When you engage the clip, a small roller transmits torque directly to your front tire, driving you forward without any need for complex sprockets or gears. This so-called “friction drive” is […]

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Filed under: 3D Printing, apps, batteries, fitness, Internuts, iPhone, robots | Comments Off on THE RISE OF E-BIKES

I have friends who buy new iPads when theirs run out of storage space. But here’s an easy way to free up space: Offload apps you’re not using. It’s nearly automatic. Tap “Settings,” then “General,” then “Storage.” You’ll see a list of apps. Choose one and tap “offload.” You won’t lose any data associated with it. Besides, you can always tap it again to bring it back. I just saved more than half a gigabyte by offloading iMovie, which I’d only used once. Another way to go is to send photos to your computer. In Windows, when I plugged my iPhone SE into a USB port on my computer, Windows popped up with a message asking me what I wanted […]

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Filed under: cameras, gadgets, Google, Internuts, iPad, iPhone, spam, trends | Comments Off on STORAGE TRICK FOR IPHONES AND IPADS

Many businesses would rather hire a skilled high school graduate than an unskilled college grad, especially from Google’s new “Certificates” program. For $39 a month, people from all walks of life are getting trained for tech jobs. No prior experience is necessary. The new program has already placed 75,000 people into jobs with a median salary of $66,000. One of the recent grads got a job in tech support for the NFL. The training requires less than 10 hours of study per week for three to six months. To get started, search on “Google Certificates.” Choices include “Digital Marketing and E-commerce,” “IT Support,” and “Android Development,” among others. There are 150 participating companies offering 1.5 million jobs. The site also […]

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Filed under: education, Google, Internuts, iPhone | Comments Off on GOOGLE TRAINING MIGHT BE BETTER THAN COLLEGE

Most cars today come with a mobile hotspot, allowing everyone’s devices to stay connected to the internet at a cost ranging between $20 and $40 a month. But what if you have an older car? A reader wanted to read the newspaper on his iPad in the car because he likes its bigger screen. Since there’s no WiFi in his older vehicle, he needed some way to connect his iPad to the internet.  I told him to go to “Settings” on his iPhone, then “Cellular” and tap “Personal Hotspot” to turn it on.  After he did that, his iPad was able to share the iPhone’s cellular network. “Works great,” he said.  To try it on my Android phone, I went […]

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Filed under: gadgets, Internet, iPhone, security, troubleshooting, web | Comments Off on HOW TO USE A MOBILE HOTSPOT WHEN YOU HAVE NO WIFI

I get a lot of iPhone questions from readers, so I decided to buy a used iPhone SE for $95. What amazed me most is how pristine this thing is. It was listed on eBay as “Grade C,” which means lots of scratches. But it looks brand new. No wonder the seller, Second-Hand Phones, has a 99.8 percent approval rating. He was sold out when last time I checked. But I saw other pre-owned iPhones for as low as $72. My new iPhone SE is so tiny it looks like a phone from ten years ago, but came out in 2016. It’s less than five inches long and is only 2.3 inches wide. So why did it cost so much? […]

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Filed under: art, Internuts, iPhone, video | Comments Off on BUYING A PRE-OWNED IPHONE

My frugal sister will get her first smartphone when her flip phone runs out of minutes, 45 minutes from now.  That may take a while. She doesn’t make many calls on it. In the meantime, her friends keep saying: “What?” The sound quality is dreadful. I suggested the Pixel 4a for $349 with “Google Fi” cell service for $20 a month for unlimited talk and text, not counting whatever data you use. But a friend’s deal may be better. She went with Consumer Cellular’s iPhone SE for $250. Consumer Cellular is known for their friendly tech support, especially for seniors. The monthly cost is lower than Google’s “Fi” service if you use more than 500 megabytes worth of data per […]

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Filed under: games, Internet, Internuts, iPhone, Uncategorized | Comments Off on SMARTPHONE PLANS FOR THE FRUGAL

Amazon Halo, the new Fitbit-type wearable I wrote about it last time, is even weirder than I thought. But I like it.  Halo’s voice analysis can pinpoint my moods to the very second, telling me when I sound delighted, amused, shy, and so on. (I’ve yet to sound angry even once in over three weeks.) For example, it said I was  “miserable” at 11:10 a.m., but “happy” exactly two seconds later. If you want to improve your tone, the app has video challenges for that. For instance, a four-time martial arts champion and yoga expert guides you in warm-ups for powerful public speaking. You can turn off the mike if you don’t want your tone analyzed. Speech samples are processed […]

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Filed under: Amazon, Apple, books, education, health, Internuts, iPhone, kids | Comments Off on A SECOND LOOK AT AMAZON HALO WEARABLE

“Dark Mode” is all the rage on smartphones. It gives you a black background with white text and is easier on the eyes. You can get it on your Windows or Apple computer too, with these tricks. On Windows, hold down the Windows key, (looks like a flag), and tap the plus sign to bring up the Magnifier. Now hold down the “Ctrl” key and the “Alt” key at the same time and tap  the letter “i” for invert. Now every bit of text you see anywhere – in Microsoft Word, other programs or on the web – will have a black background. Unfortunately, pictures will have inverted colors too, looking like negatives. To see them normally,  toggle back by […]

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Filed under: Amazon, apps, gadgets, Internuts, iPhone, security | Comments Off on EASY ON THE EYES

“What is 5G?” The question reminds us of one of Joy’s favorite novels, “Atlas Shrugged.” The characters go around saying “Who is John Galt?” but never get a good answer until the end. Some say that 5G is ten times faster than the previous generation, others say it’s 100 times faster. An article in the New Yorker claims you’ll download a two-hour movie in four seconds. There will be no lag times for online games. But is this hype or reality? Several factors come into play, such as the hardware you’re using, where you’re located, what your network can handle, how many users are sharing it, what kind of interference you’re getting, and whether you’re at home or zipping around […]

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Filed under: Amazon, Apple, browsers, gadgets, iPhone, keyboards | Comments Off on 5G PROMISES GREATER SPEEDS, BUT HARDWARE IS CRITICAL

Hard to believe but there are still people out there thinking about getting their first smart phone. That’s a cell phone that can search the web and take selfies. About 80 people a year die while taking selfies. Sometimes they step back too far at the edge of the Grand Canyon, sometimes the flagpole on the tenth floor is slippery. Well, this has happened to us twice now. Not getting killed taking a selfie, but talking to older people who have decided they want one of those smart phone things. In one of the great marketing coups of all time, Apple has somehow made people believe that a smart phone is an iPhone. This is despite the reality that Android […]

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Filed under: apps, health, iPhone, phones, spam | Comments Off on GETTING A SMART PHONE