There is a class of laptop that I refer to as a “traptop”. Buying this class of computer is akin to stepping in a trap, and I have warned my readers about these in past years. And here I am again, writing about Traptops in 2023, because they are changing and still causing harm to … Read more
Please avoid online piracy. And by piracy, I mean: Downloading movies/music/software from ersatz sources without paying for them. Just don’t do it. You’ll live to regret it. I won’t preach or get all moral about this. That’s for other people to do. And I can’t judge; I’m sure I’ve poached an album or two, back … Read more
Here’s a scam that you should know about, but not because it’s particularly dangerous. It’s just weird. But once you know the details about brushing scams, they won’t creep you out, and you can quickly move on from them. Surprise‽ When an unexpected item arrives at your doorstep, it may be part of a brushing … Read more
A couple of years ago, I blogged about Fake Flash Drives, and now I have to write a refresh article: You also need to watch out for Fake Hard Drives and Fake Solid State Drives. Please make sure you don’t buy these things! Good & Bad Examples First, some examples of legitimate, reliable storage drives: … Read more
For those of you still using Windows 8 computers, you’ll soon meet with legitimate popup messages, as shown below: This is not a scam, and Microsoft is telling you the truth. Windows 8 reaches the end of its lifecycle on 1/10/2023. But Don’t Panic! Here are more details to help you navigate what’s next. You … Read more
Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day! Have ye heard of PirateShip.com? Avast, me hearties: If yer shipping out lots of booty, say, from yer eBay or Etsy stores, this could save you lots of doubloons! At Pirate Ship, you can create a free account for calculating and creating shipping labels for your outbound parcels. It … Read more
“Used books,” as if someone else has had the best of them and you get the sere husk, or the lees, as if a book isn’t the one thing, the one product, that is forever new. There’s no such thing as a used book. Or there’s no such thing as a book if it’s not … Read more
eBay is the age-old classic auction website. You can get almost anything there through auctions and Buy-It-Now transactions. But eBay may not be your first choice. eBay does have its share of problems, ranging from shady sellers and fraudulent merchandise to an outright scandal that involved top execs. So here are some eBay alternatives: eBid … Read more
Someone actually devised this little website, called McBroken, to show on a map which McDonald’s restaurants have functioning ice cream machines. And which ones have out-of-service machines. How ingenious! This tool came about because of the high frequency of breakdowns with Mickey D’s ice cream machines. And there’s a whole story and debacle to read … Read more
Some info pertaining to the shortage of baby formula in the USA: Scams abound! If you find an online vendor for baby formula that seems too good to be true, it may be. When possible, buy your formula from respected, large companies and not sketchy eBay auctions or brand-new websites. Misinformation about buying from Amazon’s … Read more