On Computers

Tesla recently announced the Cybercab, a driverless car without steering wheel or pedals. In 2026, this futuristic beast will cost less than $30,000. CEO Elon Musk previously said he would operate a fleet of these robotaxis, and individuals could use their own cars as cyber cabs. But he didn’t mention this at the launch. He did say that the new Cybercab won’t need to be plugged in, thanks to inductive charging. He also announced a new driverless minivan capable of carrying 20 people. But what about Google’s Waymo? It already provides 100,000 rides a week in self-driving Jaguars located in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and has been operational since 2009. Soon, you’ll be able to order a driverless […]

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Filed under: AI, cheap calls, health, robots, spam, word processing | Comments Off on DRIVERLESS CARS

I often write emails to myself, leaving them in the draft folder where I can easily find them. So now I have a build-up of 22 notes. “Why not use Google Keep?” a friend asked. I’d forgotten all about Keep. It’s like a bulletin board, with notes pinned to it. When I first went to the Keep site on my computer, I immediately saw a picture of me, my mom and my sister, pinned years ago. By adding a photo to each note, a Keep page begins looking like a scrapbook. But I’m mainly using it for my to-dos and grocery lists. Everything you do on Keep’s desktop version shows up in the free Keep app on your phone. This […]

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Filed under: AI, Amazon, apps, Google, Internuts, robots, video, word processing | Comments Off on KEEP YOUR NOTES

Listening to artificially intelligent podcast hosts is like listening to an episode of your favorite talk show. Google’s NotebookLM, a free online program, creates them instantly, based on whatever you feed it. The banter between NotebookLM’s AI podcasters is described as “stunningly lifelike” by ZDNet. I agree. They sound like people I know. To start, I uploaded a fact sheet from FoodRevolution.org called “9 Ways to Lower Blood Pressure,” because I’m big on prevention (and nagging). When I clicked the “play” button, my AI co-hosts took “a deep dive” into the wonders of broccoli and other veggies. The male co-host even made a bean joke, provoking laughter from his female counterpart. When I fed Notebook LM an issue of the […]

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Filed under: AI, apps, business, health, Internuts, robots, video | Comments Off on INSTANT PODCASTS, BROUGHT TO YOU BY AI

The free Yuka app uncovers the dangerous ingredients lurking in foods and cosmetics. I wish it said “yuck” every time it gave a bad rating. Thanks to Yuka, I decided not to buy Mission’s “Carb Balance Whole Wheat Tortillas” ever again. Yuka gave it a dreadful score, with all the reasons outlined. It also suggested healthy alternatives, but best of all, it saves your searches and the ratings, with photos of the scanned products and their alternatives, along with other great info. To start, download and install the free app from the app store, then open it and tap its scan icon. Then scan a barcode. That’s how I found out that Olay’s “Complete Daily Moisturizer,” with sunscreen, which I’ve […]

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Filed under: apps, games, podcasts, robots, troubleshooting, video | Comments Off on FREE APP FINDS RISKY INGREDIENTS IN FOOD, COSMETICS

“Private Space” is coming to Android 15, the next version of the Android operating system. It gives you a secret compartment for all of your apps, photos, documents and more, similar to Samsung’s “Secure Folder.” I enrolled in the beta version of Android 15 to try it out. Setup was easy. To start using Private Space, I tapped the word “Private” at the bottom of my app list. Private Space is like having an extra phone. It includes separate versions of Chrome, Gmail, Photos, Camera, Files and the Play Store. You can add more apps directly to the private area. To test it, I typed up a list of passwords on my computer, then took a picture by tapping the […]

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Filed under: Android, games, robots, security, troubleshooting, word processing | Comments Off on NEW SECRET COMPARTMENT IN ANDROID 15

I’ll never sell anything on eBay again. Or if I do, I won’t use the Post Office to ship the package. The Post Office lost the Pixel 6a phone I sold on eBay to a man in Miami. He got a refund, but I had to pay eBay $38 in fees, ten bucks of which went to promoting the phone on their site. I wish I had the phone back. My sister had suggested keeping it as a backup after I’d temporarily lost it, then replaced it with the Pixel 8. But when I found it again, I figured eBay was the best solution. I was sucked into using the post office by eBay’s offer of a discounted shipping label. […]

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Filed under: Amazon, business, environment, games, Internuts, robots | Comments Off on EBAY AND POST OFFICE DISAPPOINT

“You’ve been hacked!” Those words spilled out all over a friend’s computer screen. Then her phone rang. The caller said he represented U.S. Bank, which happened to be her bank. “You’ve been hacked,” he repeated, giving her his fake employee badge number. Then he got permission to install an app to control her computer from afar. After that, she called her bank. They told her to come in and set up a new account. Then she asked a techy friend to fix her computer. He probably used Windows recovery options. But she still couldn’t sleep. So when I dropped by, I ran a McAfee virus scan, just to be sure. I wasn’t expecting any problems, because I would have seen […]

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Filed under: AI, Android, art, Internuts, photos, robots, security, social networks | Comments Off on HACKED!

Just before I close my eyes for the night, I ask Alexa to remind me of something the next day. In the past, this was frustrating because the next day, I’d be in another room and couldn’t hear her. But here’s a trick. Since I have two devices with Alexa inside, all I have to do is tell my Echo Dot in the bedroom to let my Echo Show answer me in the living room. To test it, I closed the door to the bedroom so the Alexa in the living room couldn’t hear me. Then I said to Dot:  “Alexa, remind me on the Echo Show.” “What’s the reminder?” she said. “helicopter,” I said. “What time?” she said. “9 […]

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Filed under: AI, DVD, Internet, Internuts, robots, science, TV | Comments Off on ALEXA HAS TRICKS UP BOTH SLEEVES

I’ll never forget being stuck in North Carolina without enough cash to pay for a bus to a remote retreat. When a fellow passenger lent me the money, I immediately paid her back using the Venmo app. That turned me into a Venmo fan. Now I have their new credit card. The Venmo card offers three percent back in your favorite category, such as groceries. It also gives you a virtual credit card number, which protects your real card number from prying eyes. What’s more, you get 10 percent back at 95 golf courses. My favorite perk is the crypto option, which gives you cash back in Bitcoin, Ethereum or one of the other major cryptocurrencies. Though the most I could invest […]

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Filed under: browsers, Google, phones, printer, robots | Comments Off on NEW VENMO CREDIT CARD PAYS OFF IN CRYPTO

A robot from Google’s “Food Mood” creates interesting recipes based on any two countries you choose. The 193-country list makes for some interesting combinations. I made “Beetroot Symphony,” a great yogurt-beet dip that combined the cuisine of Latvia and India. My other combos include Barbados and Tonga; Grenada and Turkey; Saudi Arabia and Australia; Moldova and Namibia; Japan and Peru. To try it yourself, search on the phrase “Google Food Mood.” When you land on the page, take a look at the recipe Google found for you.  If it looks good, click “let’s cook.” If not, click on any or all of the keywords to customize your next recipe. You can change the countries, the serving size, and the type […]

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Filed under: AI, Amazon, gadgets, Google, robots | Comments Off on FOOD MOOD