On Computers

I asked my diary: “Should I marry?” It answered me quickly with the pros and cons. What’s amazing is that it didn’t parrot my own words back to me. Instead, it offered interesting insights, delivered in its own style, inspired by the 38,000 words I wrote covering a four-year period. All I had to do was feed the diary into Google’s “NotebookLM.” NotebookLM is an artificially intelligent friend who absorbs everything you throw at it, then answers your questions based on what it learned. A YouTube tutorial called “How to Use NotebookLM,” by Tiago Forte describes the process step by step. Forte is a productivity expert with 263,000 subscribers.  He writes copious notes on every book he reads, amassing a vast collection. Using NotebookLM, […]

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Filed under: AI, Google, Internuts, photos, scanners, tech support | Comments Off on GENIE IN A NOTEBOOK ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS

No wonder my friend Kenny got out of the tech support business. He charged around $50 per call. Now you can get free tech support without bugging your neighbor. Engadget.com listed the three main services, starting with CyberSeniors.org, which offers free support from volunteers. After you fill out their form, a volunteer will call you. Later, you can ask for them by name. The site also offers “Tech Drop-Ins,” to allow questions via Zoom. SeniorPlanet.org, from AARP, is similar. It’s free even for non-AARP members and offers daily Zoom sessions. Alternatively, you can talk to a tech on the phone any time between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, by calling 888-713-3495. For adults of all ages, there’s […]

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Filed under: AI, Amazon, gadgets, health, tech support | Comments Off on FREE TECH SUPPORT

With Microsoft’s free “Bing Image Creator,” the words you type turn into art. You can even sell the results. It all happens through the magic of “DALL-E2,” a tool invented by the makers of ChatGPT. I envision putting these images on t-shirts, tote bags, posters, blankets and more. But for now, I’m just using them for greeting cards and Facebook posts. To start, go to Bing.com/create. Next, type in a phrase and click “Create.” For a birthday card for my brother-in-law, for example, I typed “golfer celebrating birthday on the course in the style of Van Gogh.” In two of the results, there were facial distortions, but the other two were great.  When I typed: “a picnic on the beach […]

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Filed under: AI, art, batteries, health, Internuts, maps, tech support | Comments Off on MAKING A BUSINESS OUT OF AI-GENERATED ART

When I left my computer at a repair shop earlier this year, I never thought for a moment that they would snoop through my stuff. Then I saw a report from the University of Guelph in Ontario, quoted by Malwarebytes.org. It showed that technicians from six of the 12 shops they investigated had delved into personal data. Two of them copied the user’s stuff to their own drives, including photos and financial information. Most of the shops also asked customers for their login password, even when they didn’t need it. But my local Gadgetworks never asked for mine. To be on the safe side, however, I’m using VeraCrypt, a free download from Sourceforge.net, to encrypt any sensitive files. After installation, […]

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Filed under: gadgets, mouse, photos, security, tech support | Comments Off on TECH REPAIR SHOP SNOOPERS

It takes a lot of gumption for a small company to put their smart speaker up against Google’s and Amazon’s. But the $349 “Mark II” from Mycroft.ai is a big disappointment. It looks like a retro TV, roughly five by five-by-five inches. On its cheery display, it shows the temperature, date and time, plus the answers to your questions, often with a small picture. I love the look. But its voice assistant, Mycroft, is a dud compared to Google and Alexa. When I said “play music” I got nothing. When I asked for a bread recipe, I got a picture of an album by the group “Bread.” When I asked for a definition of “optometry,” it didn’t know. When I […]

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Filed under: Amazon, electronics, gadgets, Google, Internuts, photos, tech support | Comments Off on MYCROFT CAN’T COMPETE WITH ALEXA OR GOOGLE

Ever since Kenny, my favorite tech guru, switched careers, I’ve been hearing moans from the readers who relied on him for help. Here are a few good alternatives. The Central Arkansas public library has online tech lessons, as does YouTube. For the library, you can register for one of their “how to” courses by writing them at digital@cals.org, or by calling 501-918-3068. Everything is free. For more extensive help, try a “TotalTech” membership from BestBuy. It covers computers, TVs,  car accessories and more for $200 a year. With that, you get round-the-clock help by phone and chat, as well as discounted prices on stuff you buy from BestBuy.  For the stuff you buy, you get free set-up. This includes mounting […]

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Filed under: browsers, gadgets, Gmail, Google, tech support, web | Comments Off on FINDING GOOD TECH SUPPORT

I’ve never used a meat thermometer, so when I got one for review, I turned to my grilling friends for help. They love it.   Compared to the typical thermometer on Amazon, the new Thermapen One is a a bit of wizardry. It tells you the temperature in one second. That way, you’re not standing over a hot grill getting yourself cooked while waiting for a reading. It can test just about anything, including food from a microwave, oven, stovetop, deep fryer, refrigerator or freezer. Some use it to test the temperature of their bath before they step in.  My friend started off by using it to test Impossible Burgers. The directions say to cook them for two minutes per side […]

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Filed under: apps, cheap calls, gadgets, health, Internet, phones, tech support | Comments Off on FROM GRILLS TO BATHTUBS

I feel like Thidwick, the big-hearted moose, throwing freeloaders overboard. My inbox is finally uncluttered, thanks to “OnMail,” a new email service. Every time a new sender is about to put mail in my box, I hit “block” or “accept.” If I hit “block,” they’re banished permanently, unless I unblock them later. It works better than labeling something “spam” in Gmail, which tends to bounce back. Even Gmail’s filters haven’t worked as well in my tests. OnMail has many other nice features. For example, it ignores “read receipts,” those notifications senders get when you’ve read their email. That’s to protect your privacy. If businesses know you’ve opened their messages, they’ll bombard you with more. (West Elm, I’m talking about you […]

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Filed under: email, gadgets, Gmail, health, tech support | Comments Off on TAMING THE EMAIL BEAST

DJI makes the best drones, according to just about everyone. But who wants to spend a thousand dollars? I don’t know about you, but I’m not planning to become a drone professional. Recently, I borrowed a $31 Holy Stone “HS 210” mini-drone from a friend. It’s astonishingly easy to fly, compared to the last miniature drone I flew. The old quadcopter shot past me like a rocket, banging against every obstacle in my apartment. Not this time. Push a button on the three-inch-by-three-inch flying machine and it launches. Push another and it flies in circles. Push another and it does aerial flips, or lands. Push two buttons —  if it’s about to hit Aunt Sally — and it shuts off […]

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Filed under: apps, art, drones, education, Internuts, tech support | Comments Off on I LEARN TO FLY A MINI DRONE

I was strolling in Chicago when my phone fell out of my bag somewhere along the river walk. I was notified by email right away. Wow. “I hope you get this,” the email said. “My wife found your phone downtown. We left it with the front desk person at Boeing.” I was mystified. How did he get my email address? It was simple. I’d allowed notifications for important messages to be displayed on my Android phone’s lock screen. My email address was listed at the top. I was lucky the phone hadn’t run out of juice and was still showing notifications. The couple who found it had tried calling me first, only to discover I hadn’t entered any contact info […]

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Filed under: Amazon, cheap calls, Internuts, music, tech support, troubleshooting | Comments Off on PLAN TO LOSE YOUR PHONE