If you're on a limited calling plan, you don't have to buy more minutes when you run out. A free app called Signal Private Messenger lets you call for free using a Wi-Fi signal. It beats the heck out of WhatsApp and the other free Wi-Fi calling apps I've tried.
Using the Signal app, my voice calls are as clear as any on my landline or cellphone service, whether I'm talking or listening. Ironically, 60 of my friends are on WhatsApp, but until I sent invitations, none was on Signal. Yet in my experience, the sound quality in WhatsApp is lousy. When I tried it, the sound kept cutting out. In Signal, it's great.
Signal lets you make calls on an iPhone, Android phone, Windows computer or Mac. It's run by a nonprofit foundation. There are no ads and no affiliate marketers or creepy tracking. Besides voice calls, it also handles text messages and video calls.
OONTZ ADDS OOMPH
The best affordable portable speaker I've ever had is the one I just got: the Oontz Angle 3 Ultra (third generation) from Cambridge SoundWorks. It was recommended by a reader and is $35 from theoontz.com or Amazon.
It's great for amplifying a phone, computer, or tablet. Lately, I've been using it instead of a soundbar for improving the sound on my TV. It's better than nothing, especially for those British films where the crunch on the gravel walk is louder than the dialogue. But it makes a much bigger difference when I'm listening to music from my phone or watching a movie from my computer. Instead of having to sit in front of the computer, I can sit across the room with the speaker on a table next to me. That way I get great sound without turning the volume up. You can connect the Oontz wirelessly using the Bluetooth setting on your phone. It works from up to 100 feet away.
Since there are two speakers inside the Oontz, you get stereo. It will play for 200 hours before needing to be plugged in for a recharge. It's water-resistant enough to play in the shower or at the beach.
GET WINDOWS 10 FREE
A reader asked about getting Windows 10 for free. It's considered risky to continue using Windows 7.
Microsoft said it discontinued the free version of Windows 10 in 2018 but you can still get it if you use their accessibility site. Search on the phrase "Microsoft Software Download Windows 10 Page." When you get to the site, click on "Download Tool Now" under "Create Windows 10 Installation Media." You'll need to burn an ISO file to a thumb drive or memory stick. I used the free Burning Studio Free, from Ashampoo.com. If you aren't a techie, or don't have a techie friend to help you, try Kenny from helphelpnow.com.
KUDOS TO YOU
Kudoboard.com lets you pin photos, clipart and text to a greeting card wall to share with others via a link. Kudos to them for making greeting cards more fun.
The link will look something like the sample seen here: bit.ly/33kKtCX. This may turn off people who think they'll have to register at the site. (They won't.) To ensure they'll open a link you've created, get the words "kudoboard," etc. out of the link. Put your cursor somewhere in the blue text and type something like "my latest thoughts and pictures" or whatever sounds compelling to you. ("My secret diary about to go viral" would get more eyeballs than you probably want.) Delete any extra characters. The underlying link will stay the same, only the description changes. As you email it around, each recipient can sign it and add their own pictures and videos. The site is free if you have 10 or fewer contributors.
UNUSUAL PODCAST
Blog.FreetoChooseNetwork.org has podcasts on economics. I listened to "Do Economists Reach a Conclusion?" It calls to mind the old joke: "If all the economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion." Actually, economists tend to agree on how to achieve a given policy outcome, such as lower housing costs. They disagree on priorities.
CALL BLOCKER
A reader says he gets a lot of junk calls. He was wondering if there is a way to accept calls from contacts only. There is. It's in a free app called Call Blocker. It works but it requires disabling your battery optimization for best use. Bummer. If you stop optimizing your battery for this app, your phone can drain more quickly. On the other hand, if you don't disable it, Call Blocker turns itself off periodically.
Before I got a Pixel, which automatically screens calls, I used the TrueCaller app to block the junk. The ad-free version now costs $30 a year. It blocks telemarketers, detects fraud, identifies unknown callers and allows unlimited call recording.
INTERNUTS
"7 Palindromes that will make your head hurt." Search on that phrase to find them on wordgenius.com. Examples include short ones like: Dammit, I'm mad." And long ones like: "Doc, note. I dissent. A fast never prevents a fatness. I diet on cod."
Ducksters.com has interesting historical tidbits. For example, Adam Smith, the great economist, was kidnapped by Gypsies as a young child. As an already-famous adult, he worked as a tutor. This gave him time to write a book that influenced the founding of America: "The Wealth of Nations." Take note, tutors of today.
Joy Schwabach can be reached by email at joy.schwabach@gmail.com.