With the app, readers save money on magazine subscriptions

I save over $200 a year on magazine subscriptions with a free app called Libby. All you need is a library card.

Once connected to the Libby application, available on phone, tablet or on libbyapp.com, you have access to 4,034 magazines. They also have 23,748 audiobooks and 57,401 ebooks. You can borrow up to 10 books, 10 audiobooks and 10 magazines at a time.

I read People Magazine's special edition on the Beatles, Time Magazine's issue on the Roosevelts and The Economist. Normally, The Economist alone would cost me at least $99 a year. I also watched Reader's Digest, The New Yorker and The Week Magazine, although I already have the hard copies. Somehow they feel like less of a burden on screen. Other popular titles include Newsweek and Cooking Light. Obscurer magazines include Food Truck Favorites, Modern Cat, and Engineering in Miniature. Click "Kanopy" to rent movies.

After installing the Libby app and entering your library card number, you'll be asked if you prefer to read on your Kindle app, available on any tablet, phone, or computer. I said yes.

CABLE-FREE LIVE SPORTS

A reader asked me if Apple TV includes ESPN. If we are talking about the Apple TV device, rather than the app, the answer is yes. You can install the ESPN app on your Apple box. But the ESPN app is also available for phone, tablet or smart TV. Anyway, what sports do you play?

Even the $7-per-month ESPN Plus app doesn't include all live sports events. It features live MLB, NHL, and MLS games when their seasons are active, as well as PGA golf and other events, but there are no live NBA or the NFL, nor all college games. You need a service that brings cable TV channels, like Fubo TV, ($60 per month for up to 166 channels), or YouTube TV, with over 85 channels for $65 per month. Without an app to bring cable channels, the reader, who just wanted to watch Razorbacks, is out of luck.

BIKE COMPUTER

I had never heard of a "bike computer", until I read about the new "Velo 2", $99 on global.beeline.co. Sounds good for GPS.

Using the free Beeline app on your phone, you can get a good idea of ​​how it works before buying. Type in your destination, then choose "a quick route", https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2022/jun/18/with-app-readers-save-money-on-magazine/"a leisurely route" or a balanced mix. If you decide to get the Velo 2, you'll see the info right on your handlebars, including the distance to your next turn. A dot tells you whether you should go right or left. It also shows your speed, the number of kilometers traveled, the current time and your estimated time of arrival. If it needs recharging, you can get two hours of riding in 20 minutes by plugging in a USB-C cable and charger. It will last 11 hours, or 18 months on standby. My God, if I have one, I won't have to stop to check Google Maps on my phone.

INSTAGRAM TIP

Have you ever seen something on Instagram that you want to come back to later? When this happens, I Google the name of the person or organization with the word "instagram". Earlier, I searched "Instagram nutritionfacts.org" on my computer to review a recipe demo.

DECLINING DISCS

PCWorld warns you to back up your CDs and DVDs now, before "bit rot" sets in and destroys them.

My tech friend is begging to differ. "I have a music CD that I burned about 21 years ago that works great," he says. "I also have commercial music CDs purchased 25 years ago that show no signs of deterioration. If this was a real issue, we would definitely hear more about it."

WINDOWS GOES BOOP!

Sometimes I'm doing something else in the living room when I hear my Windows desktop go "Boop!" For me, it's always the annoying sound of a trivial notification. Here's how to turn them off: Type "Notifications" into the search bar at the bottom left of your screen. Now click on "Notifications and action settings". Turn off the switch next to "allow notifications to play sounds".

NEW GOOGLE SHORTCUTS

If you use Google's versions of familiar Microsoft Office programs, try these new shortcuts. Type "docs.new", without quotes, in the search bar of Chrome, Firefox or other, to start a new Google document. Type sheets.new to start a new spreadsheet. Type slides.new to start a new presentation. Type cal.new to add an entry to your Google calendar. The rest of the shortcuts include: forms.new, notes.new, and meet.new.

INTERNAL NUT

"How to Keep Cut Flowers Fresh Longer." Search this phrase to find good advice. For example, if you're going to put a penny in the vase, you need one from before 1982. It's the copper that provides the antibacterial properties. Pre-1982 pennies are 95% copper. Modern pennies are only 2.5%.

CORRECTION

The three $10 styluses I found for the iPad aren't from Docuteck. They are from Ooclcurful. There is a bite. The description is "Stylus for iPad (3 pieces), universal stylus pen with high sensitive disc and fiber tip, compatible with iPad, iPhone, Android and other capacitive touch screens".

Joy Schwabach can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]