Noobie - Your Technology Education Destination

Forgotten permission slip? Challenge accepted!

Back when I was a student in high school, if I forgot to have my mom or dad sign a permission slip, there was nothing I could do about it, short of asking the teacher to call my parents (and we all know how desirable that option is to a high schooler). Oh how...

Lofter LED desk lamp adds extra light to your workspace

Sometimes you need a little extra light in your bedroom, office or other workspace. That's where the Lofter LED Desk Lamp comes in handy. It's strong clamp allows you to securely attach the light to a desk, table, shelf, or any other sturdy surface. Lofter LED Desk...

How much do you really know about PayPal?

I use PayPal on a regular basis. In fact, I have one account for personal transactions and another for business transactions. I love how easy it is to send and receive money with really nothing more than an email address. But as much as I use PayPal, I've never really...

XFINITY xFi saved me money even when I wasn’t home

Not too long ago I wrote about the XFINITY xFi system and how I love the family control it has given me over the wired and wireless devices connected to my home network. Since that writing, I've experienced first-hand yet another benefit of the xFi system. While away...

Moto Z2 Play Review

If you've been reading my smartphone reviews lately, you already know my opinion that, for most high-end smartphones, 90% of the features are all the same. So these days, I concentrate on the 10%. With that in mind, let's jump right in with the Moto Z2 Play. What's...

Waze adds roundabout 6 days after it opens

It's no secret that Waze is my favorite GPS navigation app on my smartphone. Not only does it provide great directions, but it also routes around accidents and slow-downs in real-time and informs me of where the police are hiding (not that I would need this... wink,...

XFINITY xFi: Take (back) parental control of your home Internet

SPONSORED POST In my house, Internet connectivity is like currency. It's how I get my kids to meet all of my demands. Okay, okay, it's how I negotiate with them. Don't judge me unless you've been there! The problem I've had in the past though is that when I cut off...

Watch your DVDs on your tablet or smartphone with DVD Ripper Pro

I love that we live in a digital world where we can darn near summon up any movie or television show on our tablet or smartphone via Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Google, iTunes, Vudu or dozens of other services. What I don't love is that I can't do the same with the DVDs I...

Is binge watching television shows shortening your life?

I don't binge watch a lot of television shows but a few have sucked me into the dark world of couch-potato-ness. These include: Breaking Bad, Bates Motel, House of Cards and Homeland. I never really felt all that bad about binge watching these shows until I watched...

Can you use an iTunes card to purchase time on your smartphone?

QUESTION: Can you use an iTunes card to purchase time on your smartphone? - Jesse from Monticellow, New York ANSWER: As far as I know, an iTunes gift card is only good for purchasing apps (or in-app purchases), music, videos and books through Apple. I've never seen a...

I saw into the 5G future… and it was good

Which is better when it comes to data speeds on your smartphone—3G or 4G? You probably know (or guessed) that the answer is 4G just because four is a larger number than three. Good guess by the way. You might also logically conclude that the next jump in data...

Samsung Galaxy S8 Review

I can sum up my review of the Samsung Galaxy S8 by quoting my 13-year-old son talking to his friend the other day. He said, "Yeah, my dad reviewed this demo Galaxy S8 for only 45 minutes and then he went out and bought one." He's not lying. I immediately fell in love...

LG G6 Review

If you haven't noticed, the new trend in Android smartphones is bigger screen, less border. The LG G6 is no exception. It boasts a 5.7" display in a device that still fits comfortably in your hand. The true specs say that the LG G6 has an 80% body-to-screen ratio but...

Do you use/trust online reviews?

There's no doubt that user-submitted online reviews have a big impact on people's purchasing decisions. The real question is whether or not you can trust the reviews you read. I was just teaching a class the other day where I explained how I evaluate which app to...

Fix stuff on your own

When an appliance breaks in your house, does it bug you that you need to hire a repair person to fix it only because you lack the know-how to do it yourself? Next time, head over to RepairClinic.com. You'll find over 3,000 how-to videos showing you how to fix...

Would you let Amazon deliver inside your home?

I hate when I am excitedly waiting on a package delivery to my house only to come back from running some errands to find the dreaded "We Missed You" sticky note stuck to my front door. If you're lucky, the delivery service might try again later in the day but odds are...

Thank you Kroger for replying to my tweet… 104 days later

Have you ever received an email reply that arrived months after you sent the original email? You know the kind of email that lets you know the person you emailed finally got around to cleaning out their email inbox? I think I just received the Twitter equivalent of...

Win a $20k Indy 500 VIP Experience from Verizon

If you love the Indy 500, get ready to love it even more! Verizon is giving away an Indy 500 VIP Experience valued at nearly $20,000 ($19,849.70 to be preceise)! Here's what the lucky winner will receive: Two IndyCar single-event credentials and Hulman Terrace Club...

PDF Converter Elite 5 now extracts, merges, batch converts and more

I wrote about the cool "reverse PDF" features of the PDF Converter Elite software a while back. If you need a quick refresher, use this link: Reverse PDFs back to Word, Publisher, HTML and more with PDF Converter Elite Since that review, a new PDF Converter Elite...

Would this virtual reality roller coaster induce more excitement out of you… or more vomit?

It took me a long time as a kid to get up the nerve to ride the "big" roller coasters. But now that I'm older and have kids of my own, it's sort of a "thing" my boys and I like to do—and it seems the crazier the roller coaster, the better. Well, thanks to a...

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