On Computers

A Google Chromebook is far more powerful than you’d think. Let’s start with GIFs. GIFS are five second animations you can add to text messages, email, Facebook or wherever you like to post. To start, click the launcher in the bottom left corner of your screen. Type “camera.” Click the “GIF” button. That’s it! A friend just sent me a fun GIF in an email. Unfortunately, I had to read his lips because GIFs don’t have sound unless you turn them into video files first, but it was still fun. It’s best for something visual, like dancing or puppetry. If you don’t have a Chromebook, try the free “Giphy” app, which offers a library of free GIFs. At giphy.com, you can […]

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Filed under: apps, gadgets, mobile, security | Comments Off on CHROMEBOOK”S HIDDEN POWERS

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 […]

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

If I were buying a cell phone today, I might get the new Titan Pocket because of its Blackberry-style keyboard. Remember the old Blackberry phone? Its physical keyboard was much-loved. Then the iPhone swooped in with a gazillion apps, temporarily crashing the networks, which weren’t prepared for the onslaught. Google, which had been working on a clone of the Blackberry system, switched to an iPhone clone so it could also offer apps. Now you can have the best of both worlds: a physical keyboard and as many apps as your phone can hold. In the case of the Titan Pocket, what you sacrifice is screen size. Its square screen is only 3.1 inches, which may be too small for people […]

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Filed under: gadgets, graphics, health, mobile, phones | Comments Off on CUSTOMIZABLE PHONE REMINDS ME OF BLACKBERRY

I just started using Google Docs to collaborate. It’s fun. I enjoy collecting web links, poems and photos in a place where loved ones can view or add to them. That way, there’s no hunting for email attachments or cycling through photo galleries looking for stuff to see or share again. After someone shares an item, you can go to Drive.Google.com and click “Shared With Me” to see it. It will always be there to view or edit unless one of you deletes it. Another way to view your stuff is with the free app “Google Backup and Sync.” It adds a Google Drive shortcut to your computer. But if you use that program, be sure to select which folders […]

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Filed under: apps, gadgets, games, Google, mobile | Comments Off on LET’S COLLABORATE

We were invited to preview the first-ever wearable tech exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. We came. We saw. We were disappointed. Self-lacing shoes got our attention right off. Nike’s version of Marty McFly’s “Back to the Future” shoes worked fine in the exhibit but aren’t playing well in the rest of the country. As the Washington Post reported recently, at least one user said his shoe lost connection to the Internet and wouldn’t lace. He couldn’t tie it manually because the shoe’s software was buggy. Pushing onward, Nike will come out with shoes that collect information about your athletic performance. In another part of the exhibit, we saw the late actress Marlene Dietrich’s 1950s tech […]

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Filed under: apps, batteries, gadgets, mobile, security | Comments Off on WEARABLE MARVELS

We got one of the new $150 “Polaroid Cube+” cameras, which are billed as cheaper than the popular “Go Pro.” We haven’t tried Go Pro, but we doubt the Cube+ is going to push it out of the way.

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Filed under: apps, cameras, gadgets, mobile | Comments Off on HERE’S TO NOT LOOKING AT YOU

Apple Watch reviews have been mixed. Some functions are unnecessary, and others take too long to learn. The $349 price isn’t too appealing either, and you have to have an iPhone to go with it.  We wondered what the alternatives were, so tried out three Android watches. You have to have an Android phone. Of the three, we liked the $179 “Motorola Moto 360” best. It’s half the price of the new “LG Watch Urbane” and $20 less than the new “Asus ZenWatch.” The round-faced Urbane  gets high marks for stylishness, though, with its metal rim and a handsome band. The rectangular ZenWatch is also attractive. But for Joy, our master tester, these two lost out to the less-expensive Moto […]

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Filed under: apps, fitness, gadgets, Google, mobile | Comments Off on THE APPLE WATCH COMPETITION

So the one-day sale Of Google’s Internet connected glasses resulted in one-day thefts. They all sold out in five hours, at $1500 apiece. The thefts took place a few minutes later. (They look like glasses but Google calls them “glass.” This may be in preparation for the return of wearing a monocle as a fashion statement.)

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Filed under: gadgets, Google, mobile, storage | Comments Off on OH THEFT, WHERE IS THEY BLING

Some of our readers have never owned a cell phone. To be talked into one, they want a super long battery life, no contract, caller ID, and a reasonable monthly cost. For all that, we think TracFones are probably the way to go.

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Filed under: mobile, phones | Comments Off on PHONES FOR THE PHONE-LESS

Tagg keeps track of your pet’s whereabouts through a GPS attachment on its collar.

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Filed under: apps, gadgets, GPS, mobile | Comments Off on TAG YOUR PET