We heard from a reader who wasn't sure what Bluetooth was and why she needed it on her new iPad Mini. The answer is (the envelope, please): It's a short-range radio transmitter and receiver, and she doesn't need it.
No doubt you're wondering why it's called Bluetooth, and who wouldn't. Harald Bluetooth was a 10th century king of Denmark -- which back in those days included more than just Denmark. He had a dental problem. One of his front teeth was discolored, sort of bluish, you might say. So people used to call him -- you guessed it -- but not to his face, of course.
Bluetooth (radio version) has become common for communication between your watch and your smartphone and your tablet and your computer and any other device, gadget and gizmo that has the tiny hardware for receiving and sending the signal. Range is 30 feet, sometimes up to 300 feet, depending on conditions. We once used it to control an air filter with our phone, but it was actually easier just to press the button.
If you think your phone or tablet needs to communicate with another gadget, go to "settings" and tap "Bluetooth" to set it up. It has to look around (feel around?) to see if there are any brethren in the area and it will then get in touch, so to speak. For example, you might want to listen to music on a wireless headset, or transmit statistics from your Fitbit to your phone. But using Bluetooth drains batteries, so if you don't need it, don't use it.
Our eBay Experience
We thought it would be easy to sell our old phone on eBay and it was.
As you know, eBay is an auction site. You can click a "buy now" button if you're willing to pay the asking price, but most people wait until the final hours of a sale to get a lower price. Sellers don't pay a listing fee on the first 1,000 items, or the first $25,000. That may seem like a huge number of transactions but some people make a business of it and buy and sell hundreds of items regularly.
EBay suggested we start the bidding on our 4-year-old Samsung Galaxy S3 phone at $48. As the 10-day deadline approached, it was bid up to $56. We had four bids and the winner paid within the four-day deadline. (If they don't pay by then, you can file a complaint. The deal can be canceled and a new one begun.)
The money went right into our PayPal account. If you don't have a PayPal account, you'll be prompted to create one, an easy process. If you link your PayPal account to your bank account, your PayPal funds can be transferred automatically. We didn't bother with this step. Not only do many websites accept funds from PayPal, it's an easy way to pay freelance contractors, relatives, and even some stores. Office Depot, for example, accepts payment from PayPal right there at the cash register.
Ebay made it easy to ship our item out, providing the shipping label. You can pay for the shipping cost or let the buyer pay. We let the buyer pay. That's because they were getting a great deal anyway.
We could have sold our phone to Amazon, but they would have only given us $36 ($20 less than eBay.) Still, it's worth checking out "Amazon Trade-In" for ideas on stuff you might want to sell. Joy's yoga book would bring us $10. Amazon will also buy stuff you didn't get on Amazon, but prices are dismal. Forty cents for our CD of Bach partitas? Ridiculous; that's Glenn Gould playing.
The Numbers Report
WalletHub.com gives you a free credit score and has just announced its 2016 Credit Score report. According to it, iPhone users have the best credit (56 percent have an "excellent" rating). Blackberry users are most likely to have bad credit (46 percent of those users got a bad rating). And Android users had 44 percent with a bad rating.
App Happy
"Redzone," from redzonemap.com, is a free app for iPhones that identifies "red zones," by which they mean areas with high crime rates. Pins on the map show you the exact location of shootings, assaults, thefts or other crimes occurring within the past 90 days. Areas mapped include the U.S. and Israel. An Android app is due "soon" they say.
Internuts
• Physicsdatabase.com/book-list-by-title offers hundreds of free scientific books in subjects such as quantum mechanics, chemistry, biology, math and astronomy.
• Universalenroll.dhs.gov is from the U.S. government's transportation administration, with the idea of speeding up the security lines at airports. Enroll online, then show your passport in person at one of their security centers, and every time you fly, you can get in a faster line.
• Educents.com is an online marketplace for books and educational supplies from pre-kindergarten through college. Their best-sellers were mostly a third off the regular price.
• NextAdvisor.com has an article about protecting yourself from malicious advertising -- ads that have been hijacked. These ads have even been found on sites like The New York Times. One remedy is a free program from Malwarebytes.org, but there are others. For more info, go to NextAdvisor.com, click "technology" and scroll down to the article on "Malvertising."
Tips and Tricks
If you've ever bought anything electronic, you've probably seen those little bags of silica gel in the box. Don't throw them out.
We watched a YouTube video called Why You Should Never Throw Away Silica Gel Bags, from IFlScience.com. These little bags, full of silicon dioxide, are nontoxic and will absorb moisture from anything around them. Throw them in a gym bag, and they may hinder bacteria or mold from growing. If your phone gets wet, put it in a jar with these bags and you'll have a better chance of saving it. Put a few bags in a box of old photos to prevent them from sticking together. Your razor blades may last longer if you put them in a container with some silica bags.
Bob and Joy Schwabach can be reached by email at [email protected] and [email protected].
SundayMonday Business on 04/24/2016