Category: Software

  • Screen protectors, Amazon Drive, ChromeOS on old laptops, text-to-speech

    As AI (artificial intelligence) is used more and more on the internet, here is an interesting use: translating jargon into more understandable English. There is an extension Chrome titled Jargon. It appears to have a “limited free trial offer” —no indication if or when that will change. Visit explainjargon.com. If you like to choose a…

  • Spam Calls on Smartphones, free your music, Google Hangout changes

    If you get a lot of spam calls on your smartphone but rarely makes calls yourself, you may have thought about changing your number. In theory, it’s easy: once all your important contacts have your new number, they will be able to contact you. And if you message people through social platforms, nothing needs to…

  • Protecting While Sharing

    When loaning your smartphone to someone else, you can do a few things first to limit what they can do. On iPhones, turn on Guided Access (Settings>Accessibility, and slide on Guided Access), and use Passcode Settings to set a different code from your normal unlock code. Explore Time Limits for other options. Limit use to…

  • Tech Updates for July

    Windows 10 always wants to market new ideas, and anew one is called News and Interests. As part of May’s Super Tuesday update, Microsoft put in a new widget to “surface news, sports scores, and stocks based upon your interests,” and it may show up on your taskbar. To get rid of it, right-click on…

  • No More Passwords?

    Apple, Google, and Microsoft are working to end passwords. Before you cheer too loudly, review what they are trying to do. This does not mean that there will not be a need for some type of authentication. Have you ever tried to login to a website and had to get a one-time code sent to…

  • Windows Tips, Text Mistakes

    I love how Facebook researchers find the darnedest things. The latest out of their labs (actually an internal study from 2018) is that they found that using Facebook increased loneliness more than other activities its researchers surveyed, including video games and watching TV. As more people “discover” Windows 11, they find things like dark mode…