A few years ago my kids opened an unexpected and rather odd Christmas gift; a WiFi router. I remember their puzzled faces as they tried to figure out what they’d just unwrapped. Strange as it seemed at the time, it was one of the best gifts under the tree and it was probably the only gift that has lasted 5…
As teachers and parents begin to navigate a new school year like never before, many are wondering how to engage students in class work from home while giving mom and dad time to meet with co-workers over Zoom meetings, phone calls and file-sharing. While there are many educational apps in both app stores, many of them miss the mark by…
When the pandemic and stay-at-home orders began in March many people who were laid-off or furloughed thought their job would be waiting for them when it was safe to go back to work. They’re not so confident now. According to a survey by The Associated Press-Norc, nearly half of Americans who have lost their jobs in the past 4 months…
What’s up with the mystery seeds showing up in people’s mailboxes. The seeds are shipped from China and delivered by the US Postal Service. But no one ordered them. The package doesn’t say what they are, who sent them or any other information. It’s a mystery. The Department of Homeland Security and the US Department of Agriculture warn people who’ve…
“Alexa, make my life easier during quarantine.” Never before have we seen a school year start off the way it’s going to in 2020. Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle and High School students will do at least part of their classroom attendance at home. Not to mention many college students attending online classes since many of the dorms are closed. On top…
Americans have apparently taken on a new hobby during the pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders: playing the stock market. Brokerage firm TDAmeritrade said in the 2nd quarter of this year (April, May, June) it saw daily average revenue trades of 3.4 million, which is 4 times more than last year’s 2nd quarter numbers, and 62% more than the first quarter…
You don’t have to spend much time on Facebook these days to see friends get angry with friends and even post mean or horrible things on their pages. The coronavirus, protests, stay-at-home orders, sports cancellations…it truly has been too much to handle some days. What we need is an app to take our minds off of the bad news and…
As kids are going to be doing at least some of their school work online and moms and dads are going to continue working from home this fall, many people are searching high and low for web cameras. Since March most retailers have sold out of the popular brands which have the best quality. I checked Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart…
Twitter is now explaining what happened last week when dozens of high profile Twitter users were hacked, sending tweets asking for money. In a blog post Twitter said it believes the attackers used a social engineering scheme to trick some of its employees to divulge confidential information. The Twitter accounts of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Warren Buffett, Elon Musk and…
This time last year when we were all getting ready for back-to-school, we were buying school supplies and dorm room necessities like coffee pots and bed linens. In the time of the coronavirus, back-to-school gadgets are taking on a whole new meaning. If your kids are going to be going back to school from your dining room table this fall…
