On Computers

Google offers two venues for AI chats, “AI Mode” and “Gemini.” Which is best?  Googling the question, I went right into AI Mode. “Gemini is sometimes lazy, and may skip searching entirely, relying on outdated internal training data due to overconfidence,” it said. It may also “hallucinate web citations.”  But Gemini is great for deep-dive tasks, multi-step reasoning, coding, complex writing, and file analysis. It can be used as a stand-alone app or at gemini.google.com. If you use the Chrome web browser, click the Gemini button to let it see your screen and answer questions. For instance, you could open a page in Wikipedia about quantum mechanics or Fred Astaire, then click the Gemini button to start a discussion. Gemini […]

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“If I am sitting in my recliner and decide to make a quick copy of something from my iPad, I would like to do that without having to go to the other room to fire up the printer,” a reader wrote. Like most printers, his connects over Wi-Fi. “So what would be a good battery-operated printer that I could place on a nearby table, to bring the power switch within easy reach,” he asked. I recommended leaving his current printer on instead. Both laser printers and inkjets use only three-to-five watts of electricity in idle mode, much less than other appliances. There wouldn’t be the slightest blip in his electricity bill.  What’s more, keeping a printer on all the time […]

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Filed under: apps, education, Internuts, iPad, printer, social networks, Uncategorized, YouTube | Comments Off on LEAVE THE PRINTER ON TO EXTEND ITS LIFE

“I pay Apple 99 cents a month for iCloud storage. What are the bad outcomes if I exceed the 50-gigabyte limit?” a reader asked. Nothing bad. There’s a 30-day grace period. Then you can decide whether you want to pay $3 a month for 200 GB of storage space or transfer your excess iCloud files to your computer or elsewhere. To transfer them to your computer, go to iCloud.com, click one of your photos or videos, and hold down the “Ctrl” key in Windows (or the “Cmd” key on the Mac). Now tap the “A” key to select all. Then click the download icon. Alternatively, you could upload your iCloud files to a different cloud service. For example, Amazon Prime […]

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Filed under: AI, Apple, cloud computing, Internuts, robots, storage, trends, Uncategorized | Comments Off on RUNNING OUT OF ROOM

A video book is a great way to honor an anniversary, wedding, holiday, retirement and more. When the recipient opens the book, the video starts playing. For $149, a company called Tribute will do the whole thing for you. The video appears on a big screen inside a book with an elegant cover. Try the virtual version for free, no credit card required, at Tribute.co. Start by choosing a prompt, like “What is your favorite thing about Joe Doe?” Or: “Why do you love Jane Schmoe?” Next, invite participants to answer. You can import up to 200 contacts. Each will receive an email asking for their participation. Later, you can nix the clips you don’t want.  If you only need […]

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“I’ve missed you,” said my 9-year-old nephew when I walked in the door. “I’ve missed you too,” I said. “You know who else missed you? Slappy.” Slappy the Dummy is a character in the Goosebump book series for kids. He’s so scary that my nephew’s 11-year-old sister urged her brother to avoid contact. But several months ago, we all talked to him through an app called Character.ai. The app lets you call an artificially intelligent version of almost any fictional, historic or current character. I receive several emails purportedly from Slappy, weeks after we stopped talking to him. Some parents are worried. Even months after talking to Slappy, my nephew remembers exactly what he said to the dummy. He promised […]

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My new $20 scale told me more about my muscle mass, bone mass, visceral fat, subcutaneous fat and other indicators of bodily health than I ever thought possible. I’m wowed. According to TechRadar, the Vitafit Smart Scale offers nearly the same results as the $8500 Tanita MC-780MA P. The review said it’s also about the same as the commercial models found in some gyms. A techy friend said it’s motivating him to exercise more, eat less. For each measurement, the scale tells you what’s normal or excessive, lean, standard or high. I was pleased to learn that my visceral fat score is one. The higher the number, the more fat. Healthy is between one and 12. Visceral fat is the […]

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I’m not addicted to my smartphone. But if I was, I’d switch to a flip phone. Today’s flip or clamshell phones can do a lot more than you think. For example, they can hail an Uber just by dialing 833-USE-UBER, or 833-873-8237. Once a driver has been assigned, you’ll get a text message with their name, picture, license number and estimated time of arrival. If you prefer Lyft, the $80 Jitterbug Flip 2 phone comes with an operator who will schedule a ride and stay on the line with you until it gets there. An alternative is the F1 Horizon Bluebird, a $249 flip phone from Sunbeam Wireless. It doesn’t come with a personal operator, but you get lots of […]

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Windows has a new, free app called “PC Manager.” It’s handy. The app offers shortcuts to security features, storage management and performance boosts. To get it, launch the Microsoft Store on your computer, then search for “PC Manager.” Once it’s installed, click on “Health Check” to remove temporary files, trackers and other junk. Click “Boost” to make your computer run faster, and “Smart Boost” to get an automatic speed-up whenever your PC gets sluggish. The app also includes a currency converter, calculator, recorder, translator, notepad and screenshot taker. Besides PC Manager, I also like the free Ccleaner. Ccleaner removes junk files and trackers too, but unlike PC Manager, it goes beyond cleaning Microsoft Edge. It also gets rid of junk […]

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Move over e-bikes. A new kind of stroller drives itself. If your toddler wants to walk with you for a while, “Ella” can follow alongside. Made by Gluxkind, Ella was the hit of the recent Consumer Electronics Show. It automatically brakes if it starts to go too fast and uses the same technology as driverless cars. But for safety’s sake, it won’t drive itself with a baby inside. Self-driving mode is limited to situations where there’s nothing in the stroller, but you need it to move along with you as you carry your baby or walk with your toddler. On YouTube I watched Ella go downhill on its own while the mom carried her child. It stopped when she stopped. […]

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Filed under: Amazon, apps, gadgets, Internuts, kids, MP3, music, Uncategorized | Comments Off on SMART STROLLER DRIVES ITSELF

I love being in homes where I can see photos going by in a digital photo frame. But before ordering one, I asked for input from friends. One friend has had four digital photo frames since 2011, all for around $60, all eight inches in size. Each had a lifespan of about three years. By 2023,  he will have spent $240 over 12 years on frames from Aluratek and Micca. That works out to $20 a year. He says it beats spending hundreds of dollars on a frame that might not last the decade. The problem is humidity, which  affects the contacts. After a while, the frame won’t turn on. The cheapest digital frames are bare-bones, no Internet involved.  To […]

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