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THE TECH SUPPORT DUNGEONS
Calling for tech support is often the beginning of a descent into gloom and doom. Here’s an example from a recent reader letter. He says: “I have recently turned eighty, my hearing is not the best. My...
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THE BEST WEBCAM
Harv and Marv What with everybody staying home, so-called virtual meetings with Zoom are taking the lead. Some computers and all laptops come with a built in camera and microphone. If you don’t have...
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ALEXA, TAKE A NOTE
We sometimes have a good idea late at night that we can’t remember the next day. Alexa, the voice inside the free Alexa app or the Amazon Echo smart speaker will remember it for us. We say, “Alexa,...
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ABOVE THE FOLD
Remember the first Samsung Fold phone? You could unfold it to get a much larger display. What a dud. Now they’ve announced their third foldable phone: the “Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G.” The reviewers of the...
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DATA NAKED
A reader got upset when I said Chrome was my favorite web browser. He wrote: “You do realize that Chrome keeps track of everything you do on the internet– browsing, searches, and anything you write? I...
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SLEEP TRACKER KEEPS ME UP ALL NIGHT
My first night with Amazon’s $65 “Halo” fitness band was hilarious. I kept waking up to see if I could improve my sleep score. I couldn’t stand to see a “poor” grade. I kept trying to go back to sleep...
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GETTING ZOOM HIGHLIGHTS
I’ve often wished I could capture the highlights of a Zoom meeting in a short video clip. Now, with a free app from Grain.co, I can. I started with a two-hour meeting recorded six months ago, which...
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BLOCKING TRACKERS, GAINING SPEED ON THE WEB
Everybody’s raving about Brave, the new web browser. They say it’s three times faster than Google Chrome. I like Brave on my phone and computer. It blocks ads and trackers, which means it makes...
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LOCATION SHARING SAVES THE DAY
Google Maps photo of Lake Michigan I lost my phone on a bike path the other day when it fell out of my bike basket. I emailed a friend and he knew right where it was. Thanks to Location Sharing in...
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FINDING GOOD TECH SUPPORT
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...
View ArticleAVOIDING SCAMS
A reader wrote: “Two days ago my wife was nearly in tears after falling for a scam email that looked exactly like it was from the SAS Shoe site.” She was out $45 bucks. Others are being scammed by...
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NEW ROUTER MAKES YOU GO FASTER ON THE WEB
A reader wrote: “I upgraded my router!” Wow. I’m impressed. I never think to do that. An old, outdated router can slow down your WiFi, disrupt your connections, and leave your network vulnerable to...
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HOW TO USE A MOBILE HOTSPOT WHEN YOU HAVE NO WIFI
Most cars today come with a mobile hotspot, allowing everyone’s devices to stay connected to the internet at a cost ranging between $20 and $40 a month. But what if you have an older car? A reader...
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PARTY PRINTER
I remember when my sister used a stand-alone photo printer to print photos at her son’s birthday party so the guests could take them home immediately. Now you can get one that’s as small as your cell...
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TEXTING THE EASY WAY
When I wrote about cellphone texting from a Windows PC, I left iPhone owners in the lurch. There’s no easy way for iPhone users to to text from a Windows computer, though a Mac works fine. “Why not use...
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PUBLISHING YOUR BOOK ON AMAZON
Publishing a book through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing turned out to be both easier and harder than I thought. After tearing my hair out at first, I discovered Amazon’s template for a...
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A NEW AI
I just pasted 63,226 words into a search bar and got a great summary in a flash. In 14 sentences, Claude AI listed all the major events and themes of a book I edited called “A Woman from Iran.” “This...
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