Find a laptop that fits you and your needs
For all the convenience and computing power that smartphones and tablets offer, sometimes a full-fledged computer is still the best tool for completing tasks at home or even on the go. Today’s laptops typically have faster processing speeds, more storage capacity and longer battery life than their recent predecessors. Many have also taken cues from tablets to become more versatile,... READ MORE
Share your passwords with your spouse
About a year ago, my friend Susie’s husband of 46 years died unexpectedly. John, a dedicated techie, left Susie with wonderful memories, an estate to settle, and a technology nightmare: an Apple computer, four iPads, four iPhones, a stack of hard drives — and no passwords. That left her unable to get access to critical information (think tax records) and accounts in his name that... READ MORE
Technology changes family doctor role
Lisa Love hasn’t seen her doctor of 25 years since she discovered telemedicine, which lets her communicate remotely with a physician through her computer or phone. Love tried such virtual visits last summer for help with a skin irritation and returned for another minor problem. Now she doesn’t feel a pressing need to seek care the old-fashioned way, especially since she also gets... READ MORE
Walmart using AI to watch the store
Inside one of Walmart’s busiest Neighborhood Market grocery stores, in Levittown, N.Y., high-resolution cameras suspended from the ceiling point to a table of bananas. They can tell how ripe the bananas are from their color. When a banana starts to bruise, the cameras send an alert to a worker. Normally, that task would have relied on the subjective assessment of a human, who likely... READ MORE
Reason to get tech savvy: the grandkids
Retirees Kristi Appelhans, 68, and her husband, Tony, 69, live in Idaho Falls, Idaho — about 2,000 miles from their daughter Kira’s family in Staten Island, N.Y. Although they visit every few months, they have found that the best way to stay connected to their grandson, Oliver, 5, is through video chats using Skype and FaceTime. “Once Oliver got big enough to see us, around age... READ MORE
Don’t suffer computer problems alone
The only thing worse than having computer, Internet or other technology problems is suffering them alone. But take heart: local organizations called “user groups” let you meet friendly people to help you cope with — and even enjoy — technology. Though it’s easy to think that buying a computer is as simple as selecting a microwave oven, groups offer assistance for this tricky... READ MORE
Technology 2019
