Joy's Pixel 2 smartphone was blasted by a worker with a hose when she left it in a zip-lock container by the side of the pool. Google sent a free replacement, but it wouldn't make calls.
We went through many layers of tech support, chats, email and phone calls. The phone kept saying "no mobile networks." In the meantime, we discovered a free app called Hangouts Dialer. With it, you can make free calls over Wi-Fi. We'd already been using Google Hangouts, which brings our voicemail messages and texts inside Gmail.
To get our phone working, Google sent us a physical SIM card to use instead of the eSIM we started with. This made us wonder: "What's an eSIM and what is it good for?" An eSIM is a small chip that takes the place of a card. The latest Apple iPhones, the XS, XS Max and XR, have an eSIM in addition to a SIM card. It's like two phones in one. You can have a SIM card for work calls and a separate one for personal calls. Or use a locally purchased SIM card when traveling internationally to save big bucks. By the way, our phone is working great now.
LOST IN CLUTTERVILLE
Joy was in the habit of misplacing her glasses, laptop and wallet. So she ordered Tile, an app that comes with a sticker or credit card-sized device. Stick the device on or in the thing you're afraid of losing and make it ring loudly when you tap the free app on your phone.
The funny thing was, as soon as she ordered the Tile Slim for $30 on Amazon, it struck her how silly it is to be always losing things. So she set up a "magic" shelf on a low bookcase next to the dining room table. Now when she's finished with her laptop, phone, glasses, etc., she puts them back on the magic shelf. It's magic, because she can always find her things again. Theoretically.
The Tile Slim arrived after several days of never losing anything. She put the credit-card sized Tile in her wallet. In setup, the free app on her phone asked her if she wanted to keep track of a wallet, purse, keys, phone, toy, dog or cat. She practiced ringing her wallet by tapping the app. It rang out a tune nice and loud. (The Tile device for locating a pet is small enough to stick on its collar.)
But now she can't find her wallet. The Tile app says it's "out of range." But the app also says it is at our address and there are 4,763 members of the Tile community nearby. We can get an alert if any of their devices picks up our signal. That doesn't mean they can see our wallet, just that we can get an alert if they're near it, and see the address they're at. But if it was in someone else's apartment at the same address, we'd never know.
A CHEAP OFFICE
Ashampoo Office, which includes the equivalent of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, has a one-time charge of $21 for five devices from Ashampoo.com. The programs look like Microsoft's Office 365, which costs $70 a year for one device.
A nice extra is the portable version it comes with. It is easy to use on a hotel computer, a friend's computer, or an office space somewhere, and is compatible with Word, Excel or PowerPoint without leaving any tracks. For Windows only.
INTERNUT
"Chillax, it's whatevs." Search on that phrase to find new words just added to the Oxford Dictionary. "Chillax" means to calm down, relax, chill. "Whatevs," is short for "whatever." "Jafaican" refers to fake Jamaican culture. "Nomophobic" is the anxiety you feel when you don't have access to your mobile phone or mobile phone services.
I CAN SEE IT NOW
How can an 85-year-old who has never used a cellphone and is legally blind watch YouTube? By tapping an IrisVision headset and saying "video player."
The virtual reality headset, a Samsung Gear with a special Samsung Galaxy phone inside, is $2,950. That's around $1,500 more than the latest Samsung phone and Gear without the specialized software, but if it means a person with macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy or other eye problems can watch TV, see photos and read, it might be worth it. It magnifies everything to a degree you choose.
The company sent us one to try out. Bob found the headset heavy and awkward, and it takes a bit of patience to get the three straps adjusted properly. Joy felt like Superwoman when she read the tiny label on a bread bag from 6 feet away. The company works with you and your family for three to five hours to make sure everyone is comfortable with the device. You get 30 days to decide whether it's for you or not. The phone inside the headset connects to the web, so the company can fix any problems remotely over the Internet.
When you're reading, you can invert the colors so it's white text on a black background or some other color scheme for greater contrast. Presets make it easier to get a good picture on TV. Take a snapshot of the world around you by tapping the side of your head, then use the touch pad to enlarge it. It goes right into a photo gallery you can access by voice command.
There is a two-year warranty with an additional two years of free technical support. The product was developed by a University of California, Berkeley professor of neuroscience who responded to a man who had a daughter with diminished vision. It was developed by the National Eye Institute, Stanford University and Johns Hopkins University. The product now has thousands of users.
Bob and Joy Schwabach can be reached by email at bobschwab@gmail.com and joy.schwabach@gmail.com.
Business on 10/26/2019