Digital Photography — Managing a Passion, Part I …

I developed a passion for photography in college and my first job after graduating was in the photo department of a trade magazine in New York City. While I loved taking pictures, I was not a fan of working with darkroom chemicals, and after I began my teaching career, I drifted away from serious photography and concentrated on family and vacation photos. All that changed for me with the arrival of digital cameras in the 1990’s. By today’s standards the first commercially available digital cameras produced crude images, but I saw the process as nothing short of magical, and I was hooked. In 2015 darkrooms and chemical developing is a thing of the past, and photos taken with cellphone cameras can produce better images than photos taken with a $20,000 digital camera in the early 1990s.

Digital cameras come in all shapes and sizes, but by far the most popular are cellphone cameras, which are with us everywhere we go. Having easy access to a camera can mean taking lots of pictures, and the question then arises — what do we do with all of these photos? Many of us keep the photos on our phones, until one day the phone sends a message that it is running out of storage space. Then what?

During our recent visit to our grandchildren in Hawaii, both Eddie and I found ourselves constantly taking pictures with our iPhone cameras. I wasn’t worried about taking too many photos, because my new iPhone 6 has 64 GB (gigabytes) of memory, but Eddie’s iPhone 5c has only16 GB, and before we flew back to Florida, he started receiving  Memory Low messages.

When that happens, it is time to download some photos to your computer. With both an iPhone and Android phone you are probably saving many of your photos to the Cloud, but it is always a good idea to save them to your computer as well. On both the Mac and PC, if you connect your phone to the computer with a USB cable, photos can be imported directly to the computer using several different methods. If you use a Mac, one of these methods is to use the native application, Capture, that recognizes a cellphone as an external drive and allows the import of all or selected images. Windows computers also recognize cellphones as external drives and will let you import photos directly into the Photo Gallery. On both platforms you can also import photos using the iTunes application. If you need help in transferring photos to your computer, perform a Google search on how to transfer photos from iPhone (or Android) to Mac (or Windows). There are numerous website that will take you through the process step-by-step.

In most cases, even though your photos have been transferred to a computer, they still exist on your phone and your  next task is to delete unwanted photos. If you want to delete all your photos, or a large group of photos, this is a relatively easy task, but it you want to pick and choose, the only option is to look at each photo and trash them one at a time. 

For directions on deleting large groups of photos on an iPhone, visit www.iphonehacks.com/2014/07/bulk-delete-photos-ios.html. Since I am not well versed with an Android phone, I recommend doing this web search — delete multiple photos android phones.

Next week’s column will cover my preferred method of managing all my photos once they are transferred from my camera, or iPhone, to my computer.

New Technology All Around and Figuring it all out …

I am writing this week's OnMouseClick sitting in the middle seat of a Southwest airplane bound for Orlando on the last leg of our trip back from Hawaii. I decided to begin writing after watching about an hour of mindless television on my iPad. Southwest planes does not offer individual viewing screens. Instead, they require passengers to use their personal devices — smartphones, tablets or laptops — to connect to a WiFi network offering realtime TV, music, movies and Internet access. Movies and Internet access require payment, while TV and music are complimentary. 

Over the past decade, travel by air has become extremely uncomfortable. Seats have been made smaller, legroom has shrunk, the number of bathrooms have decreased and the remaining ones are much smaller, and extra fees are charged for just about everything. What has improved is the entertainment options, thanks to advances in electronics and technology. 

While air travel has become a less than pleasurable experience, technology has made traveling by automobile more pleasurable. Cars today are as much computers as they are engines, and the computers work tirelessly to make us safer and more comfortable. We recently purchased a new Honda Odyssey, and were amazed by some of the computerized features of the vehicle, a few of which I have mentioned in previous articles.

If you have recently purchased a new car, you may have found the vehicle owners manual a bit overwhelming. Our Odyssey includes a 561 page owners manual, as well as a separate 324 page manual about the navigation system. Some of the vehicle features are controlled with nothing more than an on and off switch, while others are more complex and cannot be adequately used without extensive review of the manuals. The heated seats are operated with an high-low button, but working the touch controlled audio, information and navigation systems require a thorough reading of the manuals.

Our Odyssey features a large, high definition monitor located in the middle of the dashboard. When the transmission is set to reverse, the monitor shows a view from a backup camera, a feature which has become standard on many new automobiles. In addition, there is a passenger-side camera which provides a blindspot view of the right side of the vehicle when the right blinker is switched on. During our initial test drive we thought this might prove distracting, but since owning the car we have found the camera view is superior to using the right side-view mirror. The same monitor is also used for the built-in GPS navigation system.

We no longer need a key to start the car, we need only to touch a button. To lock and unlock the door we touch the door handle, and in order for either of these features to work, we need to have a remote control fob on our person. I don’t know how many times I have closed the car door with the feeling that I missing my key, only to realize that the car does not need a key.

Safety features, in addition to the backup and blind-side cameras, include lane-deviation and front collision warning signals. While these features are welcome additions to the driving experience, some manufactures have gone a step further and added automatic front collision avoidance breaking to their vehicles. Google is working on a self-driving car, and after driving our Odyssey for the past few months, I think it is highly probable that we will see such cars on our highways in the very near future. 

Now all we need at TR are self-driving golf carts.

Finding the Best Deal …

In December, while traveling north for the holidays, I wrote about using TripAdvisor to help find hotels along our route. TripAdvisor is only one of what has become a very crowded field of travel websites and apps that search for hotel room rates and offer bookings. Other services in the category include Expedia, hotels.com, Travelocity, Priceline, Trivago, Booking.com, bookit.com

Computers, computers everywhere…

Eddie and I are in Hawaii visiting our son's family, and we are having the best time with Julianna and Brianna, our four and five year old granddaughters. Being with them, I cannot help but think what life is going to be like when they are grownup. With the pace of innovation and development in the field of technology, major changes in how we do just about everything is inevitable.

Our granddaughters are bright, happy little girls, who love to play outside riding their bikes and scooters, read, draw, play pretend, and cuddle on the coach while watching a movie – preferably one featuring fairies or princesses. But their world also revolves around technology, which is fully integrated into their lives in a way quite dissimilar from previous generations.

Little children today take technology for granted, and cannot imagine life without the tools that some of our generation have trouble understanding. Smartphones and tablets devices are a part of their lives. Our girls have known how to use a smartphone since they were toddlers, and it amazing how intuitive it is for them. While our generation gets annoyed at needing to enter pass codes and passwords repeatedly, the little ones take it for granted. They assume that you need a code to do things, that is just the way it is.

For Christmas Santa brought Julie a cash register, but it is a little different than the toy cash register I remember as a child. Julie's cash register includes a conveyor belt, scanner and even a credit card reader – for a toy credit card, of course. They love getting behind the "counter" and checking out the play food. They use an iPad tablet to watch movies, play games, and learn with educational apps – and it isn't too much of a leap to think that they are going to be using these devices to control their environment in the very near future.

The technology already exists for the average person to have a what is known as a smart home. With installed electronics and a smartphone app, you can control the thermostat, home entertainment systems, and even lightbulbs. Several manufactures have introduced LED lighting systems that can be programmed to turn on and off, change color, and be remotely controlled. Are you arriving home after dark and realize that you forgot to leave a light on? No problem if you can turn lights on with an app before you get home.

There is a lot of talk about cars that drive themselves, and in December Google unveiled a fully functional prototype. While it will be a few years before such cars are available to the public, I expect that these cars will be the norm when Brianna and Julianna are old enough to drive. Already we have cars that warn the driver when a car in front is too close, and some cars will brake automatically in dangerous situations. We have begun to take backup cameras on cars for granted, and our new Honda Odyssey  has a right-side blindspot camera that is synchronized to come on with the right blinker.
The pace of technology can be a bit overwhelming, but watching our granddaughters I know that the generation starting school today is going to be more than ready for what the future holds.

As final note, an update on an earlier column that I wrote about Hulu Plus and Netflix as alternatives to cable TV. At the time I had not used Hulu Plus, but our family in Hawaii has a subscription and I've seen it in action this past week. Hulu Plus features prime-time television shows one day after they are first aired, with advertisements. However, the ads are limited to three during any one program, and they are extremely short in duration. It is definitely worth researching for anyone who wants to keep up with the current season of television offerings while at Travelers Rest – as long as you have a relatively fast WiFi network in your home or RV.

Aloha.

It's the Little Things That Matter …

Last week I wrote about a medical record keeping application that has made my life easier. With the surge of interest in all things iOS at Travelers Rest, I thought many of you would be interested in another app I have come to rely upon, TinyScan. It is one of a number of apps that act as handheld scanners, and I have found it indispensable. Over the past few years I have downloaded numerous scanner app, but TinyScan best meets my needs. The app, which I use on my iPhone, also comes in a version for Android.

Scanner apps use the smartphone camera to take a photograph of a document. Before scanning you can select single or batch mode. When batch mode is selected the app will create a multi-page document. TinyScan takes a color photo and approximates the edges of a document. Dots appear in the four corners of the image, and if the entire image wasn't selected, you can move the dots to the proper locations. On the next screen you decide if you want the image in gray-scale or color. If you chose gray-scale you can select the intensity of the black/gray areas of the image. Click on a checkmark and the image is saved to the app. From there you can send the document to a cloud service – Evernote, Dropbox or GoogleDrive – email, print, fax, or open it in another app on your device. The resulting image is saved as a PDF (portable document format) file, which is the only format available in every other scanner app I have tried.

What makes TinyScan stand out is that it also saves document image to the device's builtin camera roll. I need this feature, because I scan all of my business related receipts with TinyScan. Once on the iPhone camera roll, the images become available on my iPad, and I can then import them into the iPad app I use for keeping track of business-related expenses — apps which do not accept imported PDF files.

When scanning documents for use with other iPad apps, or on my computer, I save them as PDF files to the Dropbox app, which, as a cloud based service, gives me access to stored files on other devices and computers. I have written about Dropbox in past columns, and I promise to include an overview again this season.

At this point you might be wondering why bother with smartphone scanning when many of us own scanners, either as stand-alone devices or in combination with a printer. My answer is simplicity. Once you understand the "how to" of using a handheld scanner, it is always at you finger tips. You can scan anywhere, and always find the resulting document in one location – stored on the app. It is simple to scan letter-size documents, receipts of any size, and business cards. I also find myself using TinyScan as a copier – simply scan and print.

When TinyScan accesses my phone's built-in camera, it compensates for camera shake, and I have yet to have a blurry result. The iOS version of TinyScan is universal, running on both the iPhone and iPad, but I find it much easier to take a picture with the iPhone. TinyScan comes in both free and pro versions for both iOS and Android devices. The free version features ads, which are eliminated in the pro version for $4.99.

I want to apologize to anyone who looked for the online version during the past few weeks. It was unavailable due to technical problems, but it is up and running once again. Eddie and I will be visiting family in Hawaii until early February, and OnMouseClick is being filed from the island of Oahu. Aloha.

Taking care …

As I write this week's column, the annual International Consumer Electronics Show, known as CES, is taking place in Las Vegas. The largest show of its kind in the United States, industry watches from all over the world flock to Las Vegas to see developers, suppliers and manufacturers of electronics showcase their newest content, delivery systems, and hardware. 

Over the past decade new products have been introduced at a dizzying pace, both at CES and other industry showcases, some of which have profoundly changed our lives. It is too soon to report on any world changing products that might be introduced at this year's CES, but the promise of new innovations got me thinking about how much has changed since Apple's introduction of the first consumer oriented smart phone in 2007, followed by the first iPad tablet in 2010. What makes these devices so special is not just the hardware, but the fact that the the software powering them is constantly evolving with new features and applications (apps) designed to make our lives a little easier and more efficient. 

A recent article in The Wall Street Journalist was titled Your Smart Phone Will See You Now. Quoting from the article:

From phone attachments that can diagnose an ear infection to apps that can monitor your mental health, a range of new high-tech tools promise to tilt health-care controls from doctors to patients.

The article was personally relevant as Eddie and I have recently been attending to some medical issues. While we were not using our smart phones and tablets as diagnostic devices, they were an integral part of our medical journey. Every time we visited a doctor or medical facility we were asked for a list of current, and sometimes past, medications, as well as existing conditions and previously preformed procedures. Remembering all of the necessary information would have been difficult if not for Capzule PHR, (PHR stands for Personal Health Record) the app I use to keep track of our health records. I keep copies of the app on our iPhones and my iPad, and the information is always with me.  

The app has categories for general health information, vital statistics, immunizations,  pre-existing conditions, allergies, medications, results and procedures, and medical appointments. It is also possible to import and store PDF copies of labs and test results 

A record keeping app like Capzule PHR is only as good as you make it, and for it to be effective you have to be disciplined in keeping records up-to-date. Every time either Eddie or I visit a doctor, I enter a new record, including notes on what the doctor said. I keep track of medications by entering the name, strength, prescription number and duration. Appointments are entered directly into the app, which synchronizes with my calendar app. On more than one occasion, when asked a question by a doctor, I was able to refer back to notes from previous appointments to fill in the blanks.   

Capzule PHR is iOS only, but another medical records app, My Medical, looks very impressive and come in both iOS and Andriod versions. In another column I will cover some of the other health related apps and attachments available for use with smart phones and tablets.

Beginning all over again …

My husband Eddie and I both purchased our AT&T iPhones with a two-year contract, and at the end of our contract period, we are eligible to purchase a new phone at subsidized pricing. My contract was up in December and I asked Santa for an iPhone 6 for Christmas. 

While the thought of purchasing a new generation phone is enticing, it can also be a daunting prospect. If, like me, you have invested time and effort in setting up your iPhone (or Android smart phone) exactly the way you want it, you want to transfer all your apps and data with you when you upgrade. Transferring apps and data to a new phone can be effortless if you follow a few, simple steps. The procedure I am going to outline is for iOS devices (it is the same for iPhones and iPads). If you use an Android device, instructions can be found online at the website cited at the end of this column. 

The first, most important step is to back up your old device before getting the new one. An iPhone can be backed up to the iCloud, Apple's cloud storage which is available to all Apple users, or to you computer. If you use iCloud storage, only vital data is backed up – for a complete backup of everything on your phone, including apps, you must back up with iTunes software on your computer. Apple computers come with iTunes preinstalled, and it is a free download for PC users. The following instructions are for iTunes 12, the most current version of the software.

To begin, connect the phone to your computer with the USB cable that came with your device (it is the cable plugged into the power plug) and open iTunes. It may take a few minutes for the phone to be recognized, and once it is, a small device icon will appear in the upper left corner. Click on the icon and the iPhone Summary screen will appear. The screen will show information about your specific device in three informational boxes, labeled iPhone, Backups and Options. 

On right side of the Backups box you will see the words Manually Back Up and Restore. If you have previously backed up the phone to your computer the date of your latest backup will be listed. Clicking on the Back Up Now button will commence a full back up of everything on your phone. 

iTunes keeps a record of every app on your phone, and during the back up process you will be asked if you want to transfer all app purchases to your computer, a step you must complete. Once all your apps and data are saved to your computer, you are ready to go out and buy your new phone. 

When you make the phone purchase, your sales person may offer to set up the phone for you, but if you do this you might not have all your apps transferred to the new phone. These instructions assume you are going to bring the phone home and set it up on your own. 

Once the device is turned on you will be presented with a series of five screens. Follow the directions on the first four screens: a welcome screen, choose a language, choose a WiFi network, choose if you want to turn on location services. 

When you come to the fifth screen you will be presented with a choice between three set up methods: Set Up as New iPhone, Restore from iCloud Backup and Restore from iTunes Backup. Select Restore from iTunes Backup and follow the instructions to plug the new phone into your computer and open iTunes. After a wait – the length depends on how much data needs to be transferred to the new phone – your new phone will restart and be ready to go, with all your apps and data. It is really that simple. 

Instructions on setting up a new iPhone, complete with pictures of each screen, can be found at support.apple.com/en-us/HT202033. For instructions on upgrading an Android phone visit lifehacker.com/5843206/how-to-upgrade-to-a-new-android-phone-and-take-everything-with-you.

I am thankful for …

Take a minute to think about the technology you use every day, and then try to imagine what life would be like without your smart phone, tablet, computer, digital music player and GPS. Not to mention the computerize components in cars and household appliances. Technology plays such a big part in twenty-first century life that I wanted to take this opportunity to list some of the technologies I am most thankful for. Not the actual devices, but the uses for those devices that have made a difference in my life. 

Facetime video conferencing on the iPad and iPhone – Our son Brian is stationed with the Army in Hawaii, and is a long time between visits. With Facetime we can talk to the family in real-time over the Internet, and because it works over WiFi on our portable devices, we can move around as we talk. On a recent call we gave our son a tour of our new house, and our granddaughters are always asking to to see the outside of our house. Our oldest granddaughter, Brianna, is learning to read, and last fall she called to read us a book for the first time. The younger one, Julianna, loves to dance to music grandpa plays for her on his iPad, and as we interact with the girls the miles between us melt away. 

Photos posted on Facebook – Our daughter-in-law is very good about posting photos to Facebook. What fun to see the joy in Brianna's face on the first day of kindergarten, and to see Julianna dressed as Tinker Bell for Halloween. 

Smart phone text messaging – Sometimes you want to talk to someone and it just isn't convenient to talk on the phone. Type a message and at the touch of a button it is instantly sent to the recipient's cell phone. Photos and videos can be attached to text messages, and on Christmas morning our son sent us videos of the girls opening presents in Hawaii. It was not as good as being there, but the videos made our Christmas just a little bit brighter. 

Heated seats in our 2014 Honda Odyssey – In some ways a new car is computer on wheels, and it features a host of high-tech innovations. One of the features included with the car is heated seats. While it was not a feature we would have chosen, on our recent trip north for the holidays we found ourselves heating the seats every time we got in the car – it really made a difference in the cold weather. Sometimes it is the little things that mean the most. 

Facetime is only available on Apple devices, but Skype, another video conferencing application, works on all platforms. Facebook is a website, and is also available as an app for iOS and Android devices  Text messaging a feature built into all smart phones. 

I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2015.

0n the road again …

I am writing this column on my iPad sitting in the passenger seat as we drive north for the holidays. Our car, a 2014 Honda Odyssey that we purchased in September, has a variety of innovative features, one of which is HandsFreeLink, which automatically provides a Bluetooth cell phone connection to the car’s speaker. Bluetooth is a wireless technology designed to pair electronic devices over short distances.

A few minutes ago we received a phone call, which Eddie answered by pressing a button on the steering wheel. The radio was automatically silenced, and we were both able to talk through the speaker. To hang up, he pressed another button on the steering wheel. The call was from the TR Times, requesting a new photo of me for my column. The phone call reminded me that I had a column due this week, and Eddie suggested that I write about what I had been doing for the past hour, which was searching online for a hotel for tonight.

While our new car is extremely computerized, it does not boast its own WiFi network, but my cell phone does have a data connection through AT&T. I much prefer the larger screen of my iPad for online searching, but it is WiFi only, and cannot receive data unless it is connected to a WiFi network. The solution was to use my cell phone as the conduit to the internet. Most newer cell phone models can be used as a hotspot to create a private network that other devices can join. The connection can be made by WiFi or Bluetooth, and I choose to use Bluetooth.

 Once online I visited TripAdvisor.com to search for hotels in the vicinity of our planned stop for the night. There are many travel websites that offer reviews, some of which I plan to write about in a future column, but I have found TripAdvisor to be quite reliable. Enter the location and dates and TripAdvisor generates a list of hotels in the area, ranked by ratings and including the price you can expect to pay. Once I selected a few hotels that meet our criteria of price and location, I started reading the reviews – primarily the negative ones. Too many negative reviews and I pass on the hotel immediately. If several reviewers complain of dirty rooms I move on, but if most of the complaints are relatively minor, I will then read some of the positive reviews to narrow down my choices. My final search criteria is to look for reports of bedbugs on bedbugregistry.com. In the past several years bedbugs have been reported in hotels around the country (even 5-Star hotels), and just one mention of bedbugs in a hotel and I immediately cross it off my list.

 When I am ready to make a reservation, I go directly to the hotel chain website (or App). In my experience, the prices offered through direct booking are as good, if not better, than those offered on booking sites such as Expedia, Hotels.com, and Priceline. When booking I either use an organizational booking code, if available, or the AARP/senior discount, to get the best rate. For tonight I reserved a room in a Comfort Suites in Florence, South Carolina using the Choice Hotel mobile app (also available for Android devices). Postscript: The Comfort Suites in Florence proved to be an excellent choice. The hotel was new and about a half mile off of Interstate 95. We had a good night’s sleep and continued on our way north in the morning.

How we watch TV – Now and in the future …

In my last column about remote television viewing, I described how using an Apple TV, connected to an HD TV set, content is delivered and displayed via the Internet. In the last paragraph I mentioned that another method of accessing some of the same content is with a Smart TV. What exactly is a Smart TV? According to Wikipedia, A Smart TV … is a television set or set-top box with integrated Internet and Web 2.0 features, and is an example of technological convergence between computers and television sets and set-top boxes.

 In laymen terms, a Smart TV is a regular HD television set with the added option of viewing additional content delivered over the internet through a WiFi connection. A Smart TV gives you a menu of apps (applications) that connects to various television and internet networks, although the number of networks offered are not as extensive as those available on the Apple TV. Every Smart TV brand features a different number of viewing apps, and currently Samsung is reported to offer the largest variety of apps. As with the Apple TV, Roku, or Chromecast, the key ingredient to watching content through a Smart TV is the Internet connection. Without a fast, steady internet connection the system cannot work reliably. Here at Travelers Rest our only option is to subscribe to Centurylink DSL, and at a minimum you need the10 Mbps service.

 Smart TVs give you access to Netflix and Hulu Plus, which are both subscription services offering movies and television shows. We have subscribed to Netflix for many years, and while in Florida we watch it more than any other television offering. We particularly enjoy the opportunity to watch some excellent Canadian and British television series, most of which have never been shown on American TV. Both Netflix and Hulu Plus plans start at $8.00 a month, and each has a slightly different focus. Netflix is free of advertising, offers movies as well as TV shows, and award winning original programming (such as House of Cards). The only negative is that you cannot watch the current season of a TV show. Typically, shows on Netflix are one season behind their broadcast dates. Hulu offers mostly television shows, from many of the major broadcast and cable networks (including FOX, Comedy Central, FX, and the Food Network), and current season shows are typically available the day after they are first aired. However, even though Hulu Plus is a paid service, the lineup includes limited advertising. A TR resident with a reliable internet connection might find the subscribing to Netflix and Hulu Plus meets all of their television viewing needs and a manageable monthly cost.

 Of the broadcast and cable network offerings on a Smart TV (and devices such as Apple TV), few allow for free viewing. In order to access most of the content, you need to sign-in with a cable provider name, user name and password, to prove a current cable TV subscription. This allows you to view most, but not all, of your subscription package channels. This is changing with the advent of pay-as-you-go streaming services. CBS is the first major network to offer such a service. For $5.99 per month subscribers to the service, CBS ALL ACCESS, can stream past seasons of hit CBS shows on demand, with next-day access to some first-run shows. In some of the major markets CBS ALL ACCESS provides live-steaming, but unfortunately, Tampa is not one of the included markets.

 In 2015 HBO plans to offer a stand-alone on-demand subscription service, which will be the first time a premium cable network has offered a service that cuts the cable cord. Rumor has it that Showtime, owned by CBS, will not be far behind. How we receive television signals is rapidly changing, and as the computer is an integral part of this change, OnMouseClick will continue to keep TR Times readers up-to-date. Links — NETFLIX • HULU PLUS • CBS ALL ACCESS • HBO GO • SHOWTIME ANYTIME

Cable TV Alternatives …

As seasonal residents of Travelers Rest, Eddie and I regularly read the summer updates posted on the resort website. This past summer, we were dismayed to learn that, as expected, the TR cable had been replaced by an over the air antenna system. Two weeks ago, shortly after arriving at TR for the season, an antennas was installed at our house in the village. We may occasionally utilize the antenna to watch programs on the three major networks and PBS, but we sorely miss having access to CNBC, MSNBC, AMC (how does one survive without the Walking Dead?) ESPN and TNT.

By now you are probably wondering, what is the relationship of TR cable and computer technology, the major topic of the OnMouseClick columns? In this second decade of the twenty-first century, computers and computing devices are ubiquitous, and at our house we make extensive use of one such computing device connected to our television— an Apple TV. It is a small, WiFi device, a little bigger than a pack of cards, that when connected to a HDTV through an HDMI port gives access to streaming content from the internet. We purchased the Apple TV primarily to watch Netflix, the subscription streaming service that allows us to view hundreds of TV series and movies without commercial interruption.

However, Apple TV is more than just a conduit for Netflix. It also gives us access to an alternative streaming service, HULUPlus, as well as a variety of TV stations, including HBO, Showtime, ESPN, ABC, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, The Weather Channel, ABC News, CBS News, PBS, Lifetime, A&E, The History Channel, and more. Most of the programming is on-demand. Once a show has been aired for the first time, the episode is then available to view whenever you want. A full listing of the current Apple TV lineup can be found here.

Reading the previous paragraph, Apple TV sounds too good to be true, and, as with most things there is a catch. To view most of the content, you need to be a customer of a cable TV company, and the network you want to watch must be part of your subscription package. To watch a network on the Apple TV, you sign in with your cable company user name and password. Since we have a home up north with cable service, Apple TV allows us to watch in Florida most of what we are paying for back in N.Y.

Apple TV is not the only such device available. Other similar devices are the Roku and Chromecaste, and if you have a smart TV, you can access some of the same content directly through your TV. Naturally, all of the devices mentioned work off a WiFI signal, and you need to have a dedicated WiFi signal in your home. In our case, we have a  Centurylong DSL internet connection.
Both the Apple TV and ROKU list for $99, and the Chromecast lists for $35.

Getting from here to there …

Remember when planning a car or RV trip involved packing stacks of maps for every area along the planned route. Impromptu travel, or ventures into unfamiliar areas, often required stops at gas stations to ask for directions. How did we ever mange to travel by car before the advent of automotive GPS units?

Global positioning satellites (or GPS), were originally designed for the military. The satellites were available for public use in the early 1980s, but for security reasons the military interfered with the signals, rendering them useless for precise navigation. Ubiquitous GPS become a reality in 2000, when President Clinton signed a bill requiring the military to stop scrambling civilian GPS signals. 

We purchased our first GPS in 2005. The unit, primitive compared to the model we use today, was developed specifically for Rvers by Lowrance, makers of marine GPS devices. The voice-guided navigation was a computerized female voice we named Gertrude, and we viewed a route map on a cluttered, five-inch screen. The first Gertrude was replaced with a sleek Garmin Nuvi in 2009. It featured the same-sized screen, but made better use of the viewing area, and included real-time traffic alerts. Last December we purchased our third Gertrude, this time a Garmin Nuvi 2797 which features a seven-inch screen – easier viewing for our senior citizen eyes. 

We share a single device between our car and motor home, and we appreciate the enhanced features found in our newest Gertrude (we actually call this one Gertie). Traffic reporting is much improved, the quality of the electronic voice is more human sounding, and it responds to simple voice commands. A  smartphone links to the GPS speaker via Bluetooth, and included is a lifetime subscription for updating the installed maps. An extensive points-of-interest data-base makes navigating to all types of public places relatively simple. The accuracy of the unit is such that the voice will tell you to "turn left in 200 feet at the Shell Station," and when approaching a highway ramp the voice signals which lanes to use and the screen view is a 3-D picture including realistic looking road signs and exit lanes. For example, if their is a two lane exit, it verbally and visually shows the two lanes and demonstrates which lane you should be in for your specific route.

One thing using a GPS has not done is make our use of paper maps completely superfluous. We still carry state maps in the car and RV, and when navigating unfamiliar roads I use the maps to double check our location. More than once I have heard someone tell a story about how they relied exclusively on their GPS, and ended up at a washed out road or turned the wrong way into a one-way street. While the current system of global positioning satellites are excellent, mistakes do happen, and it is better to have a backup in place. 

I also double-check Gertrude's traffic alerts with two smartphone apps, Intrix and Waze. Both apps are available for iOS and Android, and while they can also provide turn-by-turn navigation, I use them exclusively for real-time traffic updates. Intrix's excellent road alert system includes live camera feeds and detailed information about delays. Users are encouraged to add information, and when driving past a reported accident you can send notification if a reported delay has cleared. Intrix traffic reporting is available in most major population centers of the country.

Waze, recently purchased by Google, is advertised as a "community based mapping, traffic & navigation app." The app relies on users to provide traffic information, and works best in more populated areas. While not as sophisticated as Intrix, the results are both accurate and useful. When we are driving in a heavily trafficked area, I use both apps, going back and forth to garner as much information as possible, and we have used the information to help circumvent major highway delays. One caveat to remember when using these apps is that they are data and battery hogs, constantly sending and receiving information, even when working in the background. My approach is to quit both apps immediately after checking for traffic problems. 

My navigational arsenal also includes the mapping apps on my iPhone; Maps from Apple (available only for iOS) and Google Maps. Both work equally well as voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation systems, and during our recent trip to Hawaii and California, my iPhone was our GPS. With two people in the car, a smartphone makes an excellent GPS, but it would be unadvisable to use when driving solo — looking away from the road to see the map on the small screen could prove dangerous – akin to texting-while-driving. 

For more information on the traffic alert app, visit waze.com or intrixtraffic.com. Until next week, visit onmouseclick.blogspot.com for the online version of OnMouseClick.

Keeping it Safe …

As promised last week, this week’s column is about protecting smart phones from damage, and what to do if accidental damage does occur.

Backing up data — The most important component of any computer is the stored data, and a smart phone (or tablet) is nothing more than a small computer. If your phone is lost, or stops working for any reason, a recent backup ensures that your data is safe and can be transferred to a replaced or repaired device. The operative word is recent – be sure to backup your phone on a regular basis. 

iPhones have a backup and restore feature built into the operating system. Using iTunes, the free software that runs on both Macs and PCs, you can choose to back up your device directly to your computer, or to Apple’s remote iCloud service. For detailed instructions on how to preform an iOS backup, visit www.support.app.com and search for iOS backup. 

Android smart phones are a bit more complicated to back up, as they do not come with a native backup feature. There are several backup methods that can be used, and which method you choose will vary, depending on the phone manufacturer and user preference. If your phone did not come with specific directions for making backups, I suggest a Google search for “Backing up Android Phones.” 

Protecting your phone from falls — Every phone should be enclosed in a protective case, and there are hundreds of choices in the marketplace. Most cases cover the back and sides of the phone, leaving the glass face uncovered. While the phones themselves are very durable, the glass screen can crack and shatter if dropped. As mentioned in last week’s column, a case with a bumper that wraps completely around the front edge of the phone offers the best protection. If the phone is dropped, the cushioned bumper will come in contact with the ground first, and in most cases will protect the phone from damage. If you do experience a cracked screen, one of the following may apply:

Most of the time a cracked smart phone will still work, and you can choose to keep using the phone until your are eligible for a new phone from your wireless carrier. 

Or if you purchased insurance for the phone, you will have to pay a deductible, typically between $50 and $200, to receive a new phone. Applecare, Apple’s extended warranty and insurance plan, costs $99 and can be purchased within 30 days of buying a new phone. AppleCare covers any malfunction for two years from date of purchase, including accidental damage. There is no charge for hardware malfunctions, and if the phone is damaged, it can be replaced twice during the two year period, with a cost of $79 for each occurrence. Most wireless carriers offer their own insurance, covering loss as well as damage. The coverage adds $7 to $10 a month to your wireless bill, and a replacement phone, for any reason including hardware failure, will cost between $100 and $200, depending on the carrier and phone model.

If you have an iPhone and did not purchase Applecare, Apple will replace a broken iPhone on a sliding scale, based on the iPhone model: $269 for an iPhone 5, 5s, or 5c; $199 for an iPhone 4S, and $149 for an iPhone 4.

Most computer repair shops also offer screen repair and replacement, with prices range of $150 to $200.  

Other types of damage — Water damage is another common disaster that can befall a smart phone. My daughter-in-law accidentally washed her phone in the washing machine, and it is not uncommon for smart phones to take a dip in a lake, a ride on a surfboard, or a fall into a toilet. In case of submersion, immediately remove the phone from the water and use a paper towel or microfiber cloth to dry the surface. Whatever you do, do not try to turn the phone on or press any buttons. Once the phone surface appears dry, empty a bag of rice into a large container and bury the phone in the rice for 48 to 72 hours — the longer the better. Rice draws moisture out of the phone, and with luck the phone will power on once removed from the rice. If the phone is working, be prepared for some residual problems. In my daughter-in-law's case, for several months after the incident, pictures she took looked as if they were taken through a rainy window. However, the camera lens eventually dried out and the phone is currently working normally. 

A Cautionary Tale …

This week's column is a cautionary tale of problems and mishaps that could easily happen to your smart phone (or tablet), and some advice on prevention. 

Earlier this week one of my neighbors knocked on my door to ask if I might be able to help with her smart phone, an older model iPhone 4. She had no idea how it happened, but when she turned the phone on, she was presented with a screen requiring a four-digit numeric passcode — without the code the phone remained locked and unusable. She arrived at my door after futile visits to both a Verizon store, where the phone had been purchased, and to a local Radio Shack. Both stores provided no help in resolving her dilemma. My only clue as to how this passcode lock might have occurred was that another neighbor had recently updated her iPhone operating system. I recalled that built into the newest iPhone/iPad operating system, iOS 7, is a feature that requires entering a four-digit passcode when it is first set up. The passcode can be disabled, but only after it has been entered for the first time. When asked, the neighbor did not remember entering a passcode of any kind during the install.

The only way to access the phone would be to connect it to a computer running Apple's iTunes software and preform a reset, which would wipe all data from its memory, including photographs, and return it to factory default. By connecting to iTunes you can also backup an iPhone (or iPad), and a backup can later be used to restore the device after a reset. Unfortunately in this case, the iPhone had never been backed up. 

Apple also provides all users free access to its iCloud remote storage, and when an iPhone is first set up, the user creates a unique Apple ID and password (not to be confused with the passcode). iCloud can be accessed from any computer, and photos taken with the iPhone are automatically uploaded to the iCloud. However, as my neighbor did not remember her user ID or password, and none of the possible combinations we tired worked, her photos were not retrievable on iCloud.

While we were sitting at a table on my concrete patio, I proceeded to perform an Internet search for possible answers to this dilemma. The phone was on the table between us. I reached to pick up the phone and it slipped out of my hand, landing glass first on the concrete. I wasn't initially concerned, as I have dropped my iPhone numerous times, even on concrete, and it has always been unscathed. Not this time; the front screen of the phone was covered with a series of hairline cracks. The phone was functioning, still locked, and now it was also in need of cosmetic repair. 

My neighbor finally decided that a visit to the Apple Store Genius Bar was her best option. After spending over an hour with one of the Apple technicians, she came home with her phone reset, the passcode inactivated, and an Apple ID and password for future use. She has also promised that she will backup the phone to iTunes on a regular basis. 

And my advice?

Whatever model of smart phone or tablet you use, make sure you back it up on a regular basis, because you never know what can happen. As soon as you bring it home, connect it to your computer for the first backup. 

Make sure you know your phone's user ID and password, and be sure to keep a copy in a safe location. And if the phone has a passcode (even if it is deactivated), write it down in case you need to use it sometime in the future.

As for preventing accidental breakage, when you buy a case for your mobile device, choose one with a bumper around the edges. The case on my neighbors phone did not have edge bumpers, and offered no protection in a fall. While there is no guarantee that a different case would have prevented the screen from cracking, it certainly would have provided better protection. 

In next week's column look for a review of backup procedures and advice on what can be done if you experience a cracked screen or any other accidental damage to your mobile devices. Visit onmouseclick.blogspot.com for the online version of OnMouseClick

note: while Password and Passcode have similar dictionary definitions, the word passcode is most often used when the code is solely numeric.

Going, going, gone …

We arrived home from Hawaii Thursday night, and I have to say I miss the Hawaiian weather. Perfect every day; even in the winter rainy season, the temperatures are comfortable, the rain is gentle, and the sun shines part of the day. As I said, perfect. 

Being away from home for so long made me more aware of the inherent battery drain problems on my iPhone smart phone. We used my phone as a GPS as we traveled around the island of Oahu, and earlier this week when we spent four days in San Diego, and the inevitable battery drain made me think about ways to mitigate the problem. 

No matter which type of smart phone you use, optimizing battery usage is something everyone needs. While the steps I am outlining in today's column are intended for the iPhone, they are applicable to the iPad, and most of them can also be used to optimize a Droid phone battery.

 Turn off Push Mail – When push mail is enabled, the phone is constantly checking for new mail, which is a major battery drain. To change the setting on the iPhone go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Scroll down to Fetch New Data and turn it off, then set the schedule for each individual email account to Manual. Finally scroll to the very bottom and set Fetch to Manually. With these settings the phone will only check for new email when the Mail app is opened. If you are using a Droid phone, you will have selected how often check for mail when you set up your email account. The longer the interval, the less drain on the battery.

 Limit the use of Location Services – Many apps need location services turned on in order to work, and in some cases when the service is turned on, the app is constantly accessing the web, even when the app is sleeping. To avoid possible over usage, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services and scroll through your apps. Only leave Location Services on for the apps that you use all the time. For other apps you can turn the services on and off as needed. When you finish, scroll to the bottom of the screen and select System Services. You can comfortably turn off Diagnostic and Usage, Location Based Ads, Popular Near Me, and, if you don't travel out of the Eastern Time Zone, Setting Time Zone. Finally scroll to the very bottom and turn Frequent Locations off and Status Bar Icon on.

Diagnostics & Usage – the iPhone is preset to constantly send a steam of diagnostic information to Apple. To turn it off, and conserve battery use, go to Settings > General >About > Diagnostics & Usage and select Don't Send. 

 Close Out Apps – It is good practice, every couple of days for both iOS and Android devices, to close out apps that are not being used to avoid having them run in the background. In iOS 7, double tap the home button and swipe up on the running apps that appear. On Droid devices you may need to use an app that kills running apps – follow the link at the bottom of column for more information. 

 Shut Down the Phone Once-a-Week – A smart phone, or tablet, is a small computer, and when you turn it off and back on, several processes will reset and run more efficiently. For the iPhone, hold the button on the top of the iPhone for a few seconds, then slide the Power Off slider. To turn the phone back on, press and hold the same button. On a Android phone, use the power button to turn the phone on and off. 

 Turn Off Auto-Brightness – when Auto-Brightness turned on, the phone is using sensors to constantly evaluate the surrounding ambient light, which in turn uses battery power. On the iPhone, go to Settings > Wallpapers & Brightness and turn off Auto-Brightness. When you need to manually change the brightness settings, swipe-up the Command Center from the bottom of the screen (iOS 7 only) and make the necessary adjustments. On an Android phone, go to Menu > Settings >Sound and Display. Scroll down to Brightness and turn off Auto-Brightness. 

If you would like to read more about optimizing your smart phone battery usage, read www.payetteforward.com/why-does-my-iphone-battery-die-so-fast-heres-the-real-fix (iPhone) or www.payetteforward.com/why-does-my-android-battery-die-so-fast-heres-the-real-fix (Android). Until next week, visit onmouseclick.blogspot.com for the online version of OnMouseClick.

A deal to consider …

Ever wish you had better photography editing tools available on your computer? Do you feel envious when you see what can be done with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, but you have been put off by the cost? Photoshop and Lightroom provide more features than the average digital photography enthusiast will ever need, but for the few who want more, Adobe has now made having the software a whole lot easier. 

I have been using Photoshop since the mid-1980's, and Lightroom since it was released in 2006. Without either of them, my work as a digital photographer would be very arduous and less enjoyable. Most people know that Photoshop is the ultimate photo editing tool. With it you can work magic on any photograph, even creating realistic looking images that never were. Lightroom was designed for photographers, with tools for sorting, cataloging, and editing. Together, these two pieces of software give a photographer every tool they could possible need to create the ultimate digital darkroom. As I write this week's column we are nearing the end of our Hawaii visit, and by the time the TR Times is published, we will be back in Florida. Since I have been traveling with only my iPad, I am anxious to transfer the trip photos to my computer and begin working on them. 

In the past, the list price for Photoshop was over $600, with Lightroom costing another $200, not to mention the additional 18-month software upgrades costing more than $200. Beginning last spring, Adobe transitioned all of its products to a subscription only format, and after a rather bumpy start, the company designed a very attractive subscription package just for photographers. For a monthly subscription fee of $9.99 a month, with a one-year commitment, subscribers get the most recent versions of both Photoshop and Lightroom, with incremental updates available for download as soon as they are released. 

Originally available only to registered owners of previous version of Photoshop, now until March 31, anyone can take advantage of this offer. For more information on the Adobe software and the subscription program, visit creative.adobe.com/plans/offer/photoshop+lightroom. 

Another application that might be of interest to photographers who use either an iPhone and iPad is SnapPen. Available only for iOS devices, this exceedingly simple program allows you to write and/or draw directly on a photo. While there are other apps that perform the same function, SnapPen is exceedingly easy to use, and writing with a finger or stylus feels as if you are writing with a pen, a feature lacking in most writing apps. 

This is an example of a photo captioned with SnapPen.

Until next week, back on the mainland, Aloha.

Storage for the iPad …

Our visit to Hawaii has been perfect. Our granddaughters are so much fun, and have an abundance of energy. We've been spending every minute we can with them, and yesterday was the first chance I had to use the Kingston Wi-Drive (pronounced wee-drive) I wrote about in the January 24 OnMouseClick.

The drive provides portable, wireless storage for mobile devices, and is the perfect solution for an avid photographer, like me, traveling with only a tablet computer. It provides additional storage, allowing the user to free up space on mobile devices.  The Wi-Drive come in 32 and 64 gigabyte capacities, works with iPhones, iPads, Android devices, and the Kindle Fire, and creates its own wireless network. When accessed through an app installed on the mobile device, a pathway is created for photos, videos and music to transfer from the mobile device to the Wi-Drive, and from the drive to the mobile device. 

The actual wireless transfer of several hundred photos from my iPad to my 64GB Wi-Drive took only a few minutes. Before making the transfer, I looked through the photos on the iPad and deleted the ones that were not worth saving. Once the transfer was completed, I was able to go back to the iPad and delete the majority of the images to free up storage space, keeping only the photos I want as part of my iPad photo album. Once we get back to Florida I will be able to use a USB cable to transfer the photos directly to my computer for sorting and editing. 

The Wi-Drive drive is small and compact, and has a rechargeable battery that is good for up to four hours of continuous use. Included is a mini-USB to USB cable and an AC wall adapter. The drive can be charged by connecting it to a computer with the USB cable, or by plugging the cable into the AC adapter. 

Last summer I read a review of the Wi-Drive, and while I found it intriguing, I was put off by the $144.95 list price. However, I was able to purchase the 64GB drive from Amazon for a $84.99, with the 32GB model priced at $78.65. 

Aloha.

Lost connection in paradise …

I am happy to report that traveling with an iPad as my only computer is working out fine. I am able to do everything I need to do, including writing and submitting OnMouseClick to the TR Times. I've been downloading my photos to the iPad, and this weekend I plan to begin using the new, Kingston Wi-Drive storage device I wrote about in last week's column. 

We are in Wahiawa, Hawaii, at Schofield Barracks Army base on the island of Oahu. Hawaii is a paradise: beautiful scenery, perfect year-round temperatures, and our beautiful granddaughters live here. What more can anyone ask? Nothing I can think of, except maybe a stable internet connection. Our son and his family just moved into their house on Scofield Barracks, and as of our arrival date, cable had not been installed. 

When Eddie & I travel we carry a Virgin Mobile MiFi, a credit card sized device that acts as a WiFi router. It connects to a cellular data network, the same network used by cell phones, and creates a hotspot for up to five devices. Virgin Mobile uses Sprint's cellular networks, and our three-year old MiFi works on the 3G network – newer devices work with 4G and LTE networks providing faster connections. Similar devices are available from all of the major carriers, but we chose Virgin Mobile, because it does not require a contract. While most hotels and RV parks offer WiFi connections, our personal MiFi provides a safe, private connection, and as a bonus, we have  internet access while driving. 

Knowing that we might need to rely on the MiFi in Hawaii, I checked the Virgin Mobile coverage map before we left Florida. According the the Map, all of Oahu is covered by the Sprint G3 network, but reality was another matter. When the MiFi worked, which was not often, the connection was extremely slow, and would regularly drop in and out. The lack of a stable connection was harder on Eddie, because he uses the internet to handle all of our finances. For me it meant no email, Facebook, or blog posts. I couldn't keep up on the news with the New York Times and Tampa Bay Times, or keep up with the blogs I follow. We were only in Hawaii four days before the cable was connected, but having to do without a reliable internet connection was a big adjustment, and made me realize that in this inter-connected world, life becomes more difficult when you don't have internet available at the click of a mouse.  

Aloha.

A timely experiment …

Two years ago Christmas I received my first iPad from Santa. Up until then I thought that a owning tablet computer would be nice, but It wasn't a must have device. After using it for a few weeks I changed my mind, and if you've followed this column over the past two seasons, you will know how indispensable my iPad has become. While I use my computer, a MacBook Pro Retina laptop, for serious photo editing and graphic design, just about everything else I do on a computer can now be done on my iPad. Which brings me to my timely experiment. 

By the time you read this, Eddie and I will have left for a trip to Hawaii. Our son is in the Army, and has just begun a tour of duty on Oahu. We plan to spend three weeks visiting with him, his wife, and our beautiful granddaughters.  Normally, one of the items on my packing list would be my computer. I actually cannot remember a trip of more than one or two days time when I did not take my laptop . This time, however, I am actually planning to leave the laptop behind and travel with only my iPad.

With my iPad I can send and receive email, browse the internet, store PDF versions of our travel documents, and all of my recipe files (a grandmother cannot visit without doing some cooking). I also have apps (tablet and smartphone speak for applications) for reading books, word processing, using spreadsheets, keeping database records, watching Netflix and HBO, playing games, and editing photographs. My only concern is whether or not I have enough free storage on the iPad for all the photographs I plan to take in Hawaii.

As a photographer I'll be packing a Nikon DSLR, two lenses, a point and shoot Panasonic, and of course my iPhone. During the past year my photography workflow has been to download  photographs directly to the iPad using Apple’s camera connection kit. Using a specially designed app, I can then sort through my photos, selecting keepers and deleting not-so-good images, and then transfer the keepers to my laptop. I can preform all but the last of these tasks if I leave my laptop home, but what can I do about the lack of adequate storage space on the iPad? My iPad is a 64GB (gigabyte) model, and I have approximately 20GB free. It sounds like a lot, but I tend to take a lot of photographs, especially when I am around my granddaughters.

I have ordered what I hope to be a viable solution to the storage problem. It is a small, portable drive with wifi capabilities designed to work as both a standard USB flash drive and a storage device for smartphones and tablets. The drive, a Kingston Wi-Drive (pronounce wee-drive), is about the size of an iPhone and comes in 32 and 64 gigabytes sizes. I ordered the 64GB drive, which should be adequate for my needs. 

I plan to continue submitting my columns during our trip, and I will include updates on how I am managing without my laptop. I am very optimistic and the only potential problem I see is that I will have to share my iPad with my granddaughters — but being with them makes everything worthwhile.

A Clean Start …

At the start of the new year, the New York Times published and article titled Cleaning the Mobile Germ Warehouse; a topic especially relevant to my family as Eddie was sick with bad head and chest cold for the week between Christmas and New Years.  We were home in New York, and our house was probably full of nasty little germs, and some of those germs were probably hiding in our iPhones and iPads. 

According to Dr. Durbert Guerrero, and infectious disease specialist who was quoted in the article, mobile devices are actually a source of disease transmission, and the accumulation of germs on the devices can be worse that you would find on the bottom of your shoes. Dr. Guerra is the co-author of a study about the prevalence of bacteria on iPads that was published in the American Journal of Infection Control in November. 

How can we protect ourselves from this newly discover source of nasty bugs? Most manufacturers specifically warn users not to apply window cleaners or any other cleaning products. Instead, we are instructed to wipe the screens with nothing more than a dry, soft cloth. 

However, the Times article states that using a moist, microfiber cloth will eliminate many types of common bacteria, and the moisture is not harmful to electronic devices. To take the cleaning a step further, the article recommends mixing a 1:1 solution of 70 percent isopropyl alcohol and distilled water in a spray bottle. Use the spray to moisten a microfiber cloth, and gently wipe down the screen and case of your mobile devices. It is perfectly safe method, as long as you do not spray the solution directly on the electronics. 

Keeping your mobile devices clean has secondary benefit, and that is of making it look like new when it comes time for a new smart phone or tablet. Most retail locations that sell smart phones and tablets offer trade-in on your old devices. There are also several online merchants that offer trade-ins for cash. In November, Eddie decided to trade in his three year old iPhone 4 for a new iPhone 5c. We visited Best Buy, and because the old phone was in excellent condition, he received $140. The iPhone 5c sells for $99, and there was enough left over to pay for a new case! Not a bad deal. Similar deals can be found at Walmart, Target, and the Apple Store. 

I recently traded a older model iPad for cash, through Gazelle (www.gazelle.com), an online company that buys Apple products. I submitted information about my iPad and received a online quote of its value. Gazelle then sent me a post-paid box for shipping, and once it was received and examined, I received payment via PayPal. You can also elect to receive a check in the mail. There are similar companies that take trades on most other brands of smart phones — a Google search for Smart Phone Trade In will produce a variety of web sites to visit.

I started writing this column the day after New Year’s, expecting to submit it for publication in the January 10 issue of TR Times. Snow was gently falling outside my kitchen window, and a full-blown blizzard was in the forecast. We had come north for Christmas, and because Eddie’s mother’s health was failing, we ended up staying longer than originally planned. Her not unexpected death last week changed our plans once again, and I put off submitting this column for another week. Tonight I will finally submit the column to my editors, and tomorrow we are driving south, leaving the frigid north behind.