Q:I'm thinking about getting a tablet, but it's unclear to me which one would be best. I would use it for e-books and magazines, streaming video, Internet and e-mail. I'm torn between an iPad and a Kindle Fire. Are there any other tablets worth considering?
A: Apple's 10-inch iPad and the 7-inch Kindle Fire from Amazon are indeed the two leading tablets at the moment, but the market is about to take off in a big way. Google's new 7-inch Nexus 7 will come out this month, and Microsoft will start selling its first computing hardware - the 10-inch Surface tablet, in the fall. But wait, there's more: Apple is rumored to be readying an "iPad Mini," to compete against the Kindle Fire (and the Nexus 7). Oh, and Samsung already makes tablets in both sizes.
Early reviews of the Nexus 7 have been kind. The Microsoft Surface may be a gamble, however. It will run a brand-new version of Windows, and when you combine untried hardware and software, you're asking for bugs. That said, the Surface will be very cool in one respect: Its built-in cover will double as a physical keyboard.
Since you've waited this long to jump on the tablet bandwagon, why not give it a few more months to see how the newest entries fare before taking the plunge.
Q:I print about 5,000 pages per year on my HP 8600 all-in-one printer. Is that too much? I am on my fourth printer. They keep breaking, but to its credit, HP keeps replacing them for free.
A: Five thousand pages? And I thought my wife used the printer a lot for her nonprofit work - but that's nowhere near your level. You must be spending a fortune on ink cartridges. Also, think of all the trees giving their lives so you can play Gutenberg.
OK, enough ranting. Your printer actually should be able to handle up to 25,000 pages per month, according to HP. The company recommends a volume of 250 to 1,250 pages per month for optimum performance. Nobody knows what these numbers really mean - and in your case, they don't mean anything, because your usage falls about halfway between the low and high recommendations, and your printers keep breaking.
If the bulk of your printing doesn't require color, you'd probably be better off getting a monochrome (black print only) laser printer, which will almost certainly outlast an inkjet printer - and cost less to operate. HP makes a multifunction monochrome laser printer (print, copy and scan) for about the same price as the printer you have now. BTW, you could keep the inkjet for color jobs.
Q:I'm going to be traveling in France, and I'm planning on accepting the 21st century by finally getting an iPhone so I can access my e-mail, check baseball scores on the Internet, and use GPS to find my way around. My question is, does it make any difference which carrier I choose? I heard that phones from some U.S. carriers aren't compatible with European wireless networks.
A: It's true that Sprint and Verizon rely on network technology that's incompatible with GSM, the system found in Europe and elsewhere (and used by AT&T). But the iPhone 4S is a "world phone" that includes GSM compatibility, so you can take it almost anywhere, regardless of your carrier.
That said, international voice and data plans from U.S. carriers can be prohibitively expensive. You're better off replacing the sim card in the phone with a prepaid card from Orange or another big French wireless carrier for the duration of your trip. You can buy an Orange Mobicarte at any Orange store, and there's practically one on every corner in Paris.
One caveat: An iPhone won't work with a prepaid sim card unless the phone is unlocked. By default, new iPhones are "locked" to the carrier with which you have your wireless plan. A carrier will unlock the phone for you - just make sure you get it done at the time of purchase, so you don't have to worry about it later.
Q:The battery on my Android phone needs recharging practically once a day. I've turned off GPS and Bluetooth, which I never use anyway. What else can I do?
A: You can find lots of battery-saving tips online, but nothing beats turning the phone off when you go to bed. If you want the ability to receive emergency calls, you can just disable data (3G and 4G) and Wi-Fi at night. The phone itself will still work.
Source: http://feeds.sfgate.com/click.phdo?i=9e8607b2fce6475ca5b23f2302480406
kim zolciak quinton coples a.j. jenkins riley reiff david decastro travis pastrana aj jenkins
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