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A Trump branded social network is a bad idea
A few decades ago, when people got their news from printed sources and a handful of TV and radio stations, we had a minimum daily diet of common facts. Sure, in some cities there may have been a...
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Google maps features you already have or will soon get
This post first appeared in the Mercury News About 21 years ago I reviewed the Magellan 750 M portable GPS system, which debuted at $2,500. My wife and I called it “Maggie,” because it had a female...
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It’s been 40 years since I wrote a manual for IBM’s first PC
This post first appeared in the Mercury News Forty years ago this month, I started my first job in the PC industry. When I signed on, I thought I’d be writing a manual for a popular Apple II word...
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My new air fryer is a security risk
by Larry Magid This post first appeared in the Mercury News My Cosori air fryer, which is not the model with known vulnerabilities (image downloaded from Amazon.com) Little did I know that my latest...
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Combating ‘dyscommunication syndrome’
by Larry Magid This post first appeared in the Mercury News Let me start with an apology of sorts to the many people who have written me emails but didn’t get a response. That includes some of my...
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Risk of ransomware to national infrastructure
By Larry Magid This post first appeared in the Mercury News The shutdown of Colonial Pipeline, which delivers gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel to much of the East Coast, is a reminder that essential...
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What Google announced at its developer’s conference
Since 2008, I’ve been attending the annual Google I/O developer’s conference, which until the pandemic, was held in-person, first at Moscone Center in San Francisco and in recent years at the Shoreline...
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‘Universal Control’ is an incentive to buy more Apple products
This post first appeared in the Mercury News If Apple had its way, every iPhone user would also own a Mac, an iPad, an Apple TV, an Apple Watch, AirPod headphones, and a HomePod speaker, along with...
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Facebook offers tools to ‘slow down’ toxic conversations
At Facebook 2019 F8 developer’s conference, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that “groups are now at the heart of the experience, just as much as your friends and family are.” He was talking about an...
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My 3-year-old PC won’t run new version of Windows
Three years ago I bought (and wrote about) an HP All-in-One PC, which I’m using to write this column. I use it every day and am incredibly happy with the machine. Once I upgraded it with a solid-state...
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Trump’s misguided lawsuit against social media companies
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a class-action lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter, and Google, “asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to order an...
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Microsoft to bring Windows to the ‘cloud’
Cloud computing has been with us for a while, and chances are you’re already using one or more cloud services. Web-based email services are a rudimentary example. There was a time when you needed a...
View ArticleWhy it is essential to keep your operating systems up to date
I’ve said this before, but a recently discovered flaw in Apple’s operating system for iPhones and iPads, is an urgent reminder of why it’s essential to keep your devices’ operating systems up to date....
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Buying a portable air conditioner and making it smart
by Larry Magid This post first appeared in the Mercury News Until a few weeks ago, there was no air conditioning in my Palo Alto house. That’s because during the time we’ve lived here, the weather has...
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Seniors Flocking to TikTok
When you think about TikTok, it’s easy to conjure up images of young teens lip-synching and horsing around in short videos they share with their peers. And while teens do make up about a quarter of...
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Smart glasses are yet another privacy challenge
Facebook and Ray-Ban are now collaborating on smart glasses, called “Ray-Ban Stories.” It’s not the first product of its kind but, it’s particularly noteworthy because of its progeny. Facebook as you...
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Protecting mental health on Instagram
by Larry Magid This post first appeared in the Mercury News Listen to “Instagram and teen mental health” on Spreaker. Larry Magid talks with experts on this 1-minute CBS News ConnectSafely Report A...
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iPads are great, but consider cheaper tablets or no tablet
Apple recently announced its newest crop of iPads and, as usual, they look great with excellent screens, a minimum of 64 gigabytes of storage with the option for a lot more and, of course, the ability...
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New Law Will Make it Easier to Cancel Online Subscriptions
by Larry Magid This post first appeared in the Mercury News Listen to “New law makes it easier to cancel online subscriptions” Listen to Larry Magid and Assemblyman Marc Berman discuss new law...
View ArticleSocial media risks and solutions can be nuanced
One of my favorite phrases is “it’s complicated,” because it expresses the fact that many things in life are not as simple as they seem. That’s especially true when you need to make an important...
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