And it’s free. My favorite price.

Our county library system has something our tech users can really appreciate. Free internet access to all those library patrons 18 or older. Old news? Nope. This time it’s anywhere you want to access the internet. Any. Where. You. Are.

Coverage of this service is pretty much everywhere in our county. You can borrow the device for up to two weeks and even renew if available. Isn’t this a wonderful use of our tax dollars!

Why would I need a mobile hotspot?

When you’re away from home, are you tired of connecting to public wi-fi that’s slow, unreliable and insecure? Then bring your own. A mobile hotspot can deliver a strong, fast and secure online connection just about wherever you go. Like a mobile phone, but without the ability to make calls, a mobile hotspot is all about data. It works by taking an LTE connection and converting it into a wi-fi signal that your laptop or smartphone can use.

Maybe the best feature of mobile hotspots is security; its wi-fi network is protected with WPA-2 encryption, making it just as secure as any home router. Most public wi-fi networks, like at a coffee shop or an airport, aren’t nearly that safe. Or as reliable. A dedicated mobile hotspot has its advantages over a smartphone hotspot. There’s no risk of going over your cellular data limit or reducing your phone’s battery life. It can provide greater wi-fi range and more devices can connect to it for internet access.

Interested?

Here’s the info from our county library system.

Info on hotspots from https://www.gearpatrol.com/tech/a555121/best-mobile-hotspots/

Where did I hear that?

Ever want to find the source of something you “heard” on the Internet? Or reopen some website you found interesting oh, say a week or two ago?

Well, if you use Chrome browser, you can find out. (I found this out by accident when I hit Ctrl + H at the same time.) Go to chrome://history/ and voila ! Everywhere your browser took you is there to revisit. There’s even a search box so if you can remember that it was about car pools, for example, Chrome remembers that you read https://apnews.com/article/california-man-cited-using-mannequin-carpool-lane-d960a9623ee5a03aeca9764f8747acaf one day.

Somehow, I envisioned “mannequin” as something more glamorous…

Of course, this can be scary too. My history went back for 20+ days before my mouse finger got tired. There is an easy way to get it out of sight with the “Clear browsing data” button.

Look! It’s watching me as I type!