Tag: savvy consumer - Part 9

Bargain Hunters: It’s An Ideal Time To Get A Free Amazon Prime Trial

5/16/13 UPDATE: Note that the 30 Day Free Prime Trial offer may no longer be in effect; it was valid as of the writing of this post, and comes back from time to time, but I can’t guarantee it’s still in effect as you read this. I am a bargain hunter par excellence, I know a great deal when I see one. I also know that time-consuming, hassle-filled “bargains” aren’t really bargains at all, and neither are low prices on crummy products or services. Having said all that, I can tell you that taking advantage of free trial periods for premium services is one of the major tools in my bargain hunter’s utility belt. Free Trials: These Days, It’s Easy To Cancel Before The Expiration Date You may be leery of “free” trials, because as we all know the sellers’ goal is to hook you in and hope you forget…

What Is Twitter Good For, Anyway?

Take it from the Digital Media Mom, Twitter is not the colossal waste of time you’ve been led to believe it is. True, many celebrities and teenagers have used it only for purposes of wasting their own and others’ time, but that’s not Twitter’s fault. Hard though it may be for you to believe, Twitter can be an amazingly powerful tool and resource you may soon find yourself using on a daily basis. Twitter Basics Twitter is one example of “social media”, which is really just a jargon-y way of saying “tool that facilitates communication between individuals and groups”. Blogs, online discussion groups, message boards and newsletters (whether online or the old fashioned, real-world type), group emails and even phone trees could all be classified as social media, depending on how they’re being used.

Can I Share Content From My Thingie?

This is a question I get pretty often, in many variations. “Can I share the movies on my iPad with my daughter, on her iPad?” “Can my wife use an app I bought for my Galaxy Tab on her Android smart phone?” “Can my roommate listen to the audiobook I got for my Kindle Fire on her own Kindle Fire after I’m done with it?”  The answer to the question of whether or not you can share content from your thingie with someone else’s thingie is twofold: It depends on the thingies, and the content. I can’t possibly address every portable device (the thingies) or every existing piece of content. So I’m going to deal in types of thingies and types of content.

Surviving A Kindle Fire Factory Reset – With Most Of Your Stuff Intact

If you’re here to answer the question of what happens to all your content when you get a new Fire, or when your Fire is lost or stolen, see my post Managing Your Kindle Content: Cloud vs. Device, Deleting and Storing Content. Relax: you will not have to re-purchase all your stuff. See the post for full details. What follows is a reprint of a post I originally wrote for Kindle Fire on Kindle Nation Daily, plus a few subsequent updates I’ve made, where indicated. It is reprinted here in its entirety with that site’s permission. When your Fire starts acting hinky, as mine did a couple months back, sometimes there’s nothing for it but to do a “factory reset”. This post is about how to tell when it’s necessary, how to do it, and how to preserve as much of your Fire’s content as possible in the process.

Printing From Kindle Fire, Printing From Android

Today’s post is brought to you by Weekly Shirts, where you can get the coolest custom-designed, limited edition shirts around. Advertisers make it possible for Digital Media Mom to bring you great content each day for free, so thanks for your support. 3/27/14 UPDATE: please see this more recent post on the same topic, which includes links to more printer apps that have been released since the time this post was originally written. Like most people who own one, I LOVE my Kindle Fire. But one area where Android tablet computers and smartphones fall short of their bigger, beefier PC, Mac and laptop counterparts is in printing. Android smartphones and tablets like the Fire aren’t designed to be connected to other devices with cables, like regular computers are. You can connect your Android device to a computer with a USB cable for file transfers, but unless your device has printer driver software installed (a program that…

Does Your Kindle Fire Need Virus Protection?

* * * Today’s post is brought to you by ESET Smart Security, the tech security product I’ve used for years and love. Advertisers make it possible for Digital Media Mom to bring you great content each day for free, so thanks for your support. * * * Note: Kindle Fire HDX owners, please see this more recent post, which is specific to the HDX line – Kindle Fire HDX Antivirus: Do You Need It? In a word, at this point in time (October 2014), assuming you haven’t hacked your Fire and don’t “sideload” apps to it, no. Not really. While it’s true that the Kindle Fire runs on the Android platform, and there have been numerous reports of hackers targeting phones that run on the Android platform, that doesn’t mean they’re also targeting your Kindle Fire. Here are the reasons why: The Kindle Fire runs on a custom, Amazon-proprietary version of…

Can’t Afford To Buy New Digital Media & Devices? Amazon’s Buyback Program Wants Your Used DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, Vinyl, Books & Electronics

It’s one thing to realize digital is the better, less expensive, more versatile and more portable way to go with your entertainment media, or to know the Kindle Fire HD 8.9” totally p0wns your first-generation Fire*, but you can’t do anything about it until you’ve got the means to buy that newer and better stuff. Amazon’s Semi-Secret Buyback Program Well you’re in luck, because in its quest to become Media & Retailing Master of the Universe, Amazon has launched a massive media and electronics buy back program. They don’t advertise it much, and they don’t make it particularly easy to find either, but Amazon’s buy back program allows you to send in your used stuff in exchange for Amazon store credit. Amazon even lets you look up your items first, to see what their trade-in values are, and provides a pre-paid postage label you can print out at home so that shipping costs are covered. All you…