On Computers

After I put soapy water in the blender, which I placed on the stove to get it out of the way, I turned it on to clean it. Foam poured out all over, which I quickly mopped up. Moments later, while sitting at my desk, I smelled something funny. Then I saw smoke. When pressing down to mop up, I’d accidentally turned on the burners. The base of my blender melted while a dish towel smoldered and threw out sparks. The whole place stunk. What ever happened to knobs on stoves? The air was so bad I had to open the doors to my balcony and front door. Thankfully, I’d just bought the AirDoctor 4000 to clean my condo. In […]

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Filed under: AI, environment, Internuts, podcasts, radio, robots, shopping, Windows | Comments Off on AIR DOCTOR

Many years ago, a reader in Thailand blew up his computer by downloading movies from a site I recommended. Oops. Now you can get free movies from reputable sources like Amazon Prime, Tubi TV, (owned by Fox), and Pluto TV, (owned by Paramount). Tubi TV has a ton of free movies on demand, in categories like “Based on a Book” and “Most Liked.” They also have free TV, including oldies like The Avengers, Perry Mason and Columbo, and current shows, like Midsomer Murders and Master Chef. Among the 1200 kid movies, “Baby’s Day Out,” looks fun. Tubi TV has ads, but I don’t mind them. Pluto TV has lots of free movies and TV shows too. Categories include 70s Cinema, […]

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Filed under: gadgets, Google, Internuts, music, notes, shopping, TV, wireless | Comments Off on TONS OF FREE MOVIES ON PLUTO, TUBI

Shopping between Black Friday and Cyber Monday brings you the best deals. But it’s also the best time for scammers. I once ordered pants that never showed up. When shopping online, look for “https” in the address bar. If it doesn’t have the “s” for security, leave. Also watch out for deals that sound too good to be true. Avoid unknown retailers. Two-factor authentication is also highly recommended. If the Hilary Clinton campaign had used it for its email accounts in 2016, for example, hackers couldn’t have gained access to the 50,000 sensitive emails belonging to her campaign chairman. Nor could the hackers have controlled the inboxes of her staffers, according to “Fancy Bear Goes Phishing,” by Scott Shapiro. Finally, […]

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Filed under: AI, computers, facebook, health, robots, shopping | Comments Off on HOLIDAY SCAMMING

“With the election season going full bore,” a reader wrote, “the robocalls are non-stop.”  I use Magic Jack and haven’t gotten a single one. The Magic Jack gizmo, the size of a thumb drive, replaces your landline phone service with a $43-a-year internet phone service that sounds great to me. Each caller has to punch in whatever single-digit number a Magic Jack voice asks for, and robo dialers can’t do this. So I haven’t gotten any spam since I signed up years ago, though I’m using an old number that used to get a lot of robocalls. Another plus: I like using the landline’s big handset when my sister calls for a long chat. Setup is a snap. First connect […]

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Filed under: AI, cheap calls, games, Internuts, security, shopping, spam | Comments Off on STOP ROBO CALLS

“This morning it took about four minutes to download the newspaper,” a reader wrote. “Usually, it’s only seconds.” Neither of us could figure it out, so he called his internet service, Xfinity. They said the problem was his wiring. But why, he wondered, would his download speed be 20 Mbps one day and 500 Mbps the next? After a runaround, he gave up on Xfinity and signed up for AT&T’s fiber optics service. He’s very happy with it. I like AT&T too. But I switched to Xfinity last summer when I found an unbeatable deal: internet service for $5 a month and cell service for $15 a month. But I had a heck of a time getting Xfinity to acknowledge […]

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Filed under: apps, crytpocurrency, Google, phones, scanners, shopping | Comments Off on BOOSTING YOUR INTERNET SPEED

A friend just gave me a delightful Christmas present. It’s the Jacquie Lawson Edwardian Advent Calendar, an $8 download from JacquieLawson.com. Besides something special on each day, it has other activities. In a beautiful living room with colorfully wrapped presents, for example, I found an undecorated Christmas tree. I clicked it to choose lights, ornaments and more. Then I clicked the presents to reveal games. One led me to fascinating versions of Solitaire, including one with cards of the same suit and color. I then solved a puzzle that turned into a beautiful painting, and clicked a music book to reveal the wondrous tunes I was listening to. When the program first opens, click the star on the outside of […]

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Filed under: AI, art, gadgets, games, how-to, Internuts, kids, shopping, video | Comments Off on DIGITAL ADVENT CALENDAR

A reader said that he wants to replace a five-year-old Motorola phone with a later version. But new Motorolas often have worse reviews than old ones, though the new ones tend to cost less. For example, I paid $170 for the 2021 Moto Power G on Amazon but it now goes for $270 to $400.  Does that mean people prefer the old to the new? Has Motorola gone downhill? The latest Moto G Power has nine percent one-star reviews on Amazon, which is a lot. But it’s reasonably priced at $200, has a relatively fast Snapdragon processor and the same great  battery life as the older Moto G phones. It can go five days on a single charge. It also […]

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Filed under: Amazon, Internuts, phones, shopping, Windows, wireless | Comments Off on MOTOROLA MYSTERY

A young friend told me that the same $12 necklace from Target is only $1 from China. How is that possible? Chinese sites like Temu rely on a loophole in US customs laws. If a product is less than $800, they can ship it directly to a shopper without being inspected or taxed. There’s a bill in Congress to stop that, but for now you can get amazing deals. Temu is the number one free shopping app in the Apple app store and the Google play store, beating out Amazon and Walmart. Here’s the catch: According to ZDNet, it takes 10 days to deliver your package and it may look different than it did on Temu. But you’re guaranteed a […]

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Filed under: AI, business, computers, shopping, storage | Comments Off on GETTING CHEAP STUFF FROM CHINA

DNA tests have found some living relatives for me. But did they get my nationality right?   Ancestry, 23andMe and MyHeritage all say I have zero Native American. Mom said I’m one-eighth Cherokee. Should I believe them or Mom? I’m thinking: “Dear departed great-grandfather, I wish I could talk to you and your tribe. Are you my step-great-grandfather or a full-blooded Indian relative?”  A blogger at ReviewGeek says he knows for a fact he’s eight percent Romanian, thanks to his great-grandfather. But his DNA results show no Romanian. Why? The Romanian samples at 23andMe aren’t large enough, he says. Maybe that’s why my results show no Indian.   There are over 12 million users at 23andMe. Ancestry.com has over 15 million. MyHeritage […]

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Filed under: apps, shopping | Comments Off on DNA TESTS FIND LIVING RELATIVES BUT MESS UP ON NATIONALITY

Around half a trillion dollars worth of stuff is returned to places like Amazon and Walmart every year. Millions of pounds of it wind up in landfills, but you can make money from the rest. Savvy shoppers buy the returned items at stores like “Dirt Cheap.”  Resellers focus on the latest crazes, such as InstaPots, Air Fryers, and massage guns. A couple of nursing school students profiled by NPR’s “Planet Money” say they earn about $800 a week at their local Treasure Hunt store. But they have to endure crazy Black-Friday-like stampedes to get what they want, using binoculars to peek into the store before it opens and heading in the opposite direction of their competitors. An alternative is the […]

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Filed under: Amazon, apps, facebook, magazines, shopping | Comments Off on MAKING A PROFIT FROM AMAZON RETURNS