As a tie-in to the AVFD article, I have the Kim Komando article HERE, about calling 911 from your smartphone.  Calling 911 in an emergency is critically important, and your smartphone can help. Learn how to use it and also, put your medical info in your phone so an EMT can find it when necessary. Learn about that HERE.

As a health device, the smartphone can be a great tool, especially when used with a corresponding smartwatch. I’ve recommended this before. While I love smartphones for being powerful computers in your pocket, the smartwatch really ties things together.

I don’t even use a lot of features on my iWatch, but some that I use a lot are: talking to it. I ask Siri to call Carol when I’m driving, send a text message, set a timer for me or an alarm. It keeps track of my “fitness”, which is fairly pathetic, but a real motivator for my mom and Carol.
The watch can also track heart rate, and send a report to your doctor if you want. These devices are getting more and more sophisticated, able to track your heart rate, Blood Pressure, and even run a single lead ECG. It won’t be long before they will be able to non-invasively monitor what’s in your blood, which they can do now by attaching to more standard and invasive devices. 

I went to an iPhone a few years back. Mostly because I got Carol’s old one, and partly because I’m a fan of facetime, which should be on every mobile device, instead of just Apple’s.

I like that the Android OS is used on many devices, not just phones and tablets, but also that some of the apps I used were free on Android, but paid on Apple.

The market is split pretty 50/50 between the 2, with Samsung being the leader in Android products. As most of us learned our phones as we went along, there may be holes in what we know. The article HERE can help teach about some things you may not know about your Android phone.

I was recently given an iPad with an extremely cracked screen. One of the reasons I wanted it was to replace the screen. I am really terrible at it, and do NOT do it for other folks, but, if I have one to practice on, then I might attempt it. I bought the replacement for this particular iPad 4 on Amazon for about $16, which makes it cheap enough for me to try. If you are patient and interested, you might give it a try yourself. If you have great eyesight and really tiny hands also, that will help. I have neither.
That got me interested in iPad tips and I particularly like this macworld article included here.​ I don't agree with the opening statement as I do think that the iPad is a good laptop replacement for many people.
​(Brian)

The iPad isn’t really the laptop replacement Apple wants us to think it is, but anyone who outright dismisses it as a productivity device shouldn’t be taken too seriously, either. The iPad can feel magical when you have the knowledge of the right tricks at hand. Once you’ve mastered them, works sometimes feels fun. It may not be a MacBook, but you’d be wrong to dismiss it as giant iPhone.
​
Here’s a little introduction to the wizardry Apple conceals beneath the familiar facade of iOS. Some tips basically amount to refreshers of the tutorials, but other bits may make you whisper, “Wow.” (I’m speaking from my own experience.) Once you’ve got these tools at your disposal, you’ll understand why Apple has such a ridiculous lead in the tablet market.

​Read more 

When you get a new iPad or iPhone, the best thing to do with the old one is to give it to me, however, you may have somebody else to give it to. I understand that.

I’ve received 3 iPads over the past few weeks, and in all cases, they were unusable. If an iPad is locked, it can’t be unlocked. Even if I have the code, or the device was reset, unless the owner has deauthorized the device, it can’t be used.

The iPads I had were able to be reset, but when they came back up as needing to be setup, they always get to a point where they recognize themselves as being attached to an Apple user. In order for me to wipe and give away the iPad, the prior user must sign out of the device.

There is another way to do this after the fact, which requires the prior owner to sign into the Apple account and de-authorize the device from there. That’s not always an option for me. The best thing to do is sign out of the device before giving it away. Signing out is done through Settings. I have a link for you to read instructions on how to do this right HERE.
An Apple page to not explain it all can be found HERE.

Oddly, I found the Apple pages on the subject confusing and incorrect. This link seems better, though it has several annoying typos.

Good luck. I hope to see a bunch of iPads and iPhones on my porch soon.

Windows 10 has a lot to be annoyed with. One of the most annoying things is how much data Microsoft collects on you. Most people just don’t care. Privacy isn’t such an issue as functionality. I hadn’t given much thought to this, as it’s so pervasive in everything we do in the tech world. However, if you are interested in using another kind of Windows 10, then this video link HERE, may be just the ticket.

One of my favorite tech sites, Linus Tech Tips, offers a video of a Windows 10 project that strips down a huge amount of the data collection software out of the operating system. If you are bothered by that, then this might be a great option for you. You could run it in VirtualBox, or just try loading it on a spare computer that you haven’t given to me yet. In any case, I found the subject fascinating, and Linus is entertaining.​