BoomerTECH Adventures

Sometimes my devices do the most bizarre things; it’s almost as if they have a mind of their own. Is artificial intelligence at work or simply an unintended tap or click? Who knows? But, invariably I learn something new. Here are several recent conundrums that vexed me and made me chuckle out loud. My pooch Sammy suffers from a food fixation and often whines persistently for treats or a meal. I was trying to cajole him into stopping his high-pitched nagging by saying, “I love you.” My Apple Watch through Siri responded, ” That’s so sweet.” What? How did that happen? I still have no... Continue Reading

I am always discovering new features on my iPhone, iPad, and Mac computer.  Sometimes it’s because I’ve been asked a question or there is a new option with a system update or I just don’t know how to do a particular process. This week was a banner one because I learned something new about each of my devices: iPhone: Why does the screen go dark during a phone call? iPad: There’s a new feature called Stage Manager. Mac Computer: How to alphabetize folders on my desktop (It’s changed from what I had always done! iPhone A friend asked me why her iPhone’s screen went black while she was... Continue Reading

  My iPhone goes black in the middle of a call! I’m tired of phone calls from marketers! It is so difficult to read the websites on my iPhone!   How do we solve these three very irritating problems on our iPhones!?! Fortunately a trip to Settings will quickly resolve these issues. Question: My iPhone screen goes black all of the time. Why does it do that? Answer: Your iPhone will require you put in passcode after a certain amount of time. You may be talking, but you are not typing or viewing a video so the phone’s software sees no activity; it essentially goes to sleep even though you... Continue Reading

  The news has exploded with stories about AI or artificial intelligence. One app that is getting a lot of attention is ChatGPT. It seems it will generate all types of writing.  I was in the process of writing an article for the Times Record and thought I would try it out. A friend and colleague from the days of the Maine Technology Learning Initiative, Jim Moulton, said he had asked ChatGPT to write a poem about Maine in the style of Emily Dickinson. So, I appropriated the idea and asked ChatGPT to write a sonnet about Maine.  Here it is–what do you think? Sonnet # 1 There lies a state with... Continue Reading

Why do I update my iPhone on a regular basis? It’s all about the camera app. Each upgrade provides a new feature that makes taking pictures more fun and offers the potential for exploring creative ways to edit and use the images. For example, the picture at the top of this blog was originally just a quick shot of the pooch. Then I opened it in the Clips2Comic app and turned it into a cartoon-type of image. Here’s another example of a fun transformation of a picture using Clips2Comic; you may recognize my BoomerTECH Adventures colleague Chris. Clip2Comic is a free app that you can use with... Continue Reading

  Do you have a folder full of recipes clipped from newspapers? Are your cookbooks bulging with handwritten recipes, perhaps dating back a generation or two? Are you in the process of giving your cookbooks to Goodwill because you just google recipes now?   Don’t lose those old, favorite recipes! It is relatively easy to digitize your favorite hand-written recipes these days. In Part 1 of this series, we explained how to use the Camera and Photos apps to digitize old recipes. Today, we will demonstrate how you can use the Notes app to scan and organize these recipes. The neat thing about the... Continue Reading

  Anyone who cooks, bakes and saves recipes has a file or box of recipes that are hand-written or clipped from newspapers. Often these recipes are family favorites that have been handed down through the generations. Yes, you can find almost any recipe by googling it, but somehow the results just aren’t quite as tasty as great-grandma’s potato salad or dad’s barbecue sauce. A much stained recipe card holds the magic ingredients and process and may be on its last legs. It’s time to digitize!     I can think of two ways to digitize these old recipes–take pictures of them or scan them.... Continue Reading

Many of us are guilty of benign neglect of our digital devices and as a result, sometimes they do not work at optimum capacity or we find ourselves paying to expand our cloud storage. Here a five tips for getting your digital devices into tip-top condition for 2023. 1.Clean up your Photos app. Photos and videos take up a lot of space on your devices; when you run out of storage, your device just might not operate correctly.  BoomerTECH Adventures guide Ed’s iPad is currently very uncooperative as you can see from the image below.   Step 1, identify duplicates. iOS 16’s new feature allows... Continue Reading

BTA Guides Chris, Jill, and Ed discuss the key features of the Health App on your iPhone. In this podcast we explain what the Health App does, why it is important, and what features are included. The importance of having your health information in one place cannot be overstated. Using the Health App allows you to see critical changes or alerts, get insights from your health data, and learn more about essential health-related topics. Originally Published on https://boomertechadventures.com/ Continue Reading

Would you like to be a SuperAger? I sure would. Alas, we Baby Boomers do not yet qualify—one has to be over 80 years of age. The term SuperAger comes from Northwestern University’s SuperAging Research Project (https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/26/health/superager-secrets-good-memory-wellness/index.html). A SuperAger is a person whose brain physiologically is similar to someone’s who is 20-30 years younger. As stated, they are over 80 and they have the cognitive function of a person in their 60’s. Their brain’s physical characteristics include a cortex (thinking, decision making, & memory)... Continue Reading