On Computers

It seems like a lot of the people we meet want to be writers. And they have a great subject for a novel: it’s about them. A good start might be finding an agent. Nowadays, you can find them online. QueryTracker.net lists over 1500 literary agents, with brief information about each. It’s free to sign up, and the site can keep track of how many pitch letters you’ve sent, where they went and when. This could prevent some embarrassing moments, like sending the same letter to the same agent several times. Click on any agent’s name to find out the kinds of authors they represent. Some prefer pitch letters by email, others ask you to fill out a form online.  Click […]

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Filed under: books, business, facebook, games, Internuts, social networks | Comments Off on GETTING YOUR BOOK PUBLISHED

Our attention was captured recently by a Wall Street Journal article about executives playing video adventure games. One was 34, another 49. Their ages were apparently meant to surprise us, but in fact it’s normal. There has always been an assumption that only kids play video games. It depends on the game. In fact, in the decades we have been writing this column — and it is the oldest and longest running technology column in the known universe (and parts of New Jersey) — the great majority of video game players have ranged from their mid 20s on up. According to the Entertainment Software Association, the average male player is 35, the average woman 44. We’re talking about complex games […]

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Filed under: apps, email, games, numbers, social networks | Comments Off on GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

Buying a new computer is fun and they’re pretty cheap now. But watch out for the online reviews; trust no one and don’t speak to strangers. When searching for “how to buy a desktop computer,” you’ll find articles steering you to computers costing $1800 and up. These are fast and mean but appropriate mostly for people who edit videos or play games. Lots of memory and lots of processing power are important in those areas; for most of us, not so much. Searching for “budget desktops,” you get some strange picks, not all of them ready for prime time. PC Magazine shuttled us to the “Shuttle XPC Nano with Windows 10.” It weighs only one pound and goes for $221 […]

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Filed under: business, cloud computing, computers, Google, social networks | Comments Off on BUYING A USED NEW COMPUTER

Is online dating the worst way to find a mate, or the best? In any event, it’s much more popular than we ever thought. According to a Consumer Reports Magazine survey of 115,000 subscribers, 44 percent are in a long-term relationship or got married through online dating.  Yet reader satisfaction with these sites is lower than for any other service the magazine rates. They even rate lower than tech support. Now that’s the pits. As chance would have it, we know four women (no men) who have used online dating services. Two are happily married to the men they met this way, a third is happy in her new relationship and the fourth is still looking and not at all […]

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Filed under: apps, social networks, video, Windows | Comments Off on THE MATCH GAME

A reader described himself as “an over-the-hill guy” who remembers having a pen pal in his youth and he liked it. It was great fun, he said, but how would he find pen pals these days? Well … PenPalParty.com has international pen friends. You can specify adults who speak English, are over a certain age, or use any criteria you like, by going to penpalparty.com/lookforpals.html. You could also go to favorite websites, such as your favorite newspaper or magazine. If there’s a topic you’re interested in, comment on it and include your email address so people can write you back. When Joy was in her 20s, she loved the pen pals she met through “Single Booklovers,” which still exists at […]

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Filed under: contacts, facebook, Internuts, keyboards, photos, social networks | Comments Off on FINDING A PEN PAL ONLINE

Until now, news on Twitter was only as good as the services you subscribed to. You could search for a topic, click “follow” and from then on see posts on that topic whenever you went to Twitter.com. Now they’ve added “Moments.” Moments are more like traditional news headings. Click “Moments” at the top left of your screen any time of the day or night to see what’s going on. When we clicked,  we saw travel stories, music, sports and political news. Usually there’s not much going on.

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Filed under: news, social networks | Comments Off on TWITTER MOMENTS

Bob clicked on a hidden Facebook feature and discovered an old pal from Philadelphia. Turns out there’s a Facebook button called “Other.” It’s faint and hard to see, but that just makes it more mysterious. It’s there you may find mail from people who aren’t on your friends list, also ads for things you never wanted.

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Filed under: facebook, social networks | Comments Off on HIDDEN FACEBOOK FEATURE

We’ve never tried “Hinge,” which is a fast-growing dating service. We didn’t try it because we’re married and happy about it. Now that a widowed friend has tried it, we’re adding a few words of caution. Hinge.co is a free app that finds matches for you from friends of your Facebook friends. By confining the field, they claim you’re more likely to find suitable matches. When our widowed friend started Hinge on her iPad, she was startled to see her adult son’s face beaming up at her; she was afraid it was about to match her with his friends, despite the huge age differences. No one had ever disconnected as fast as she did. She didn’t realize the app just […]

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Filed under: apps, social networks | Comments Off on ONLINE DATING REVISITED

To whom it may concern: We are told by younger folks that nobody makes phone calls these days, they text each other. In case you do make calls once in a while, “Hello: Caller ID and Blocking” is a free Android app that makes it easier to place calls using a free Wi-Fi connection. It also blocks unwanted calls.

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Filed under: apps, facebook, social networks | Comments Off on APP HAPPY HELLO

According to The Economist magazine, “Tinder” is now the most popular dating site and app (Android) (iPhone). We thought it was too new to have achieved that status. But young people are now saying “Hinge.co” is even better. (“CO” is the country suffix for Columbia; it doesn’t mean a web site is based there, just that it’s registered there.) Tinder lets you swipe past any photo you’re not intrigued by. It requires a different swipe when you find someone you like. If they’ve done the same thing with your photo, you’re matched and something might come of this. Hinge.co matches you only with friends of Facebook friends. Though it might sound foolish to restrict the field, it gives you the […]

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Filed under: apps, social networks | Comments Off on ONLINE DATING