A friend wishes she'd kept her landline phone. The call quality was clear. The handset was comfortable.
I have the best of both worlds: a landline phone with a MagicJack box plugged in. It lets me answer cellphone calls on my landline. I can also use the landline to make unlimited local and long distance calls. Callers tell me they appreciate the improvement in call quality. It costs $39 a year.
Setting up MagicJack is simple. Basically, you plug it into the wall and connect a phone cord and an ethernet cable into the MagicJack box. Dial 72 to forward cellphone calls to the landline when you're home; dial 73 to turn off forwarding.
If you use Google Fi phone service like I do, you can tweak a setting to get a ring on all your phones simultaneously without dialing any special number. Another way to get your landline to ring when a call is made to your cellphone is to sign up for a new number from Voice.Google.com. Besides making all your phones ring simultaneously, Google Voice is great at blocking spam.
I used to use Vonage. Like MagicJack, it lets you answer cellphone calls on a landline. But it costs a lot more -- $28 a month for basic service, after taxes and fees, compared with $39 a year for MagicJack. I stayed with it for a long time however, even after readers told me how great MagicJack is. Why? Because years ago when I tested it, I experienced dreadful call quality. It's great now. I've been using it for weeks with no problems.
MagicJack, Vonage and similar services require an internet connection. If you don't have one, you might enjoy CommunityPhone.org. It's $22 a month if you pay yearly, plus a $99 setup fee. It offers unlimited local and long-distance calling from a landline. You get to keep your old phone number if you wish.
IPHONE TIPS
Smartphones can be annoying for senior citizens and the disabled. Since most senior citizens own iPhones rather than Android, here are some iPhone tips.
• If the text and icons are too tiny on an iPhone, go to "Settings," then "Display and Brightness." Now use the slider under "Text Size" to make it bigger. While you're there, tap "View" to change the size of the icons from "Standard" to "Zoomed."
• If the screen seems unresponsive, try a stylus.
• If you or someone you know has difficulty making a sharp tap, go to "Touch Accommodations." It's found under "Settings," then "Accessibility," then "Touch." You can require each tap to be more of a tap-and-hold. If shaky hands cause you to put in extra taps, choose "Ignore repeat."
• If you find it annoying that modern iPhones don't have a home button, go to "Settings," then "Accessibility," then "Touch." Look for the option to make a virtual home button.
• If you miss calls, consider having a light flash whenever a call comes in. Go to "Settings,"then "Accessibility" then "Audio Visual." Turn on "LED Flash for Alerts." If you wish, you can set it to flash only when the ringer is off.
• Increase the ringer volume. Find it under "Settings," then "Sounds & Haptics."
NEW IPHONE 12 BATTERY
Apple fans have been waiting for the official MagSafe Battery Pack wireless charger for the iPhone 12 because it doesn't interfere with with nearby credit cards or key fobs. It has now arrived. But according to Review Geek, the $99 price tag is a waste of money. The Anker Magnetic Wireless Portable Charger, which also has 5,000 mAh, does the same thing for $46. If you don't care about credit card and key fob compatibility or wireless charging, you can get a 10,000 mAh battery pack for $25. It's the Anker Portable Charger, Power Core Slim.
WATER RESISTANCE TEST
Ever wonder if your Android phone is truly water-resistant? There's a free app for that. It's called Water Resistance Tester. It's a useful test: Your phone can lose water resistance over time.
My phone failed the test. After Googling the question, I discovered that the Pixel 3a is not officially water resistant.
LOST LAPTOP?
If your laptop is ever lost or stolen, use the "find my" feature on a Mac or Windows PC. But first you have to enable it in settings.
To find any Apple device, go to iCloud.com/find to look for it. I just looked for my lost iPad. It says it's offline. That's what it said four months ago. When I moved to a new address in March, the movers mixed up stuff I was keeping with the stuff I was giving away. The iPad could be sitting in a trash dump somewhere.
For a Windows PC, type "find my device" in the search box in the lower left of your screen. When you get there in System Settings, toggle the switch to "on." To find it later, go to account.microsoft.com/devices.
Finding a Chromebook isn't easy. My Google account says mine is in Illinois right now, but it doesn't get more specific than that. To check your Chromebook's location, go to accounts.google.com. Then look for "security," and click "manage devices."
INTERNUTS
• ZMEscience.com is my favorite science site. The lead article recently was "scientists discover algae with three sexes." Another was "9 best drones for aerial photography."
• Search on "Lea Kyle Performs Stunning Quick-Change Act" to see the most remarkable quick-change artist I've ever seen.The action starts after the two minute mark.
Joy Schwabach can be reached by email at joy.schwabach@gmail.com.