To get into Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, all I had was a receipt with a barcode on it, sent to me by email. To make it easier to find, I added it to the Google Wallet app on my Android. The equivalent for iPhone users is Apple Wallet.

To add it to Google Wallet, I hit the plus sign in the app and was prompted to choose a category. Since it wasn’t a payment card, a transit pass, a loyalty card, a gift card or an ID card, I chose “everything else.” After I was prompted to take a picture of it, Wallet automatically created a pass reading “Adler Planetarium.”

Coming soon, Wallet will also create a digital version of your passport, with the hope of making your airport experience less stressful. To start, you’ll be asked to scan the security chip on the front of your passport and take a selfie video to verify your identity.

A Reader’s Superior Solution to Robocalls

When I wrote about Magic Jack’s spam-blocking landline phone service, I had no idea that there was something better and cheaper out there. A reader set me straight.

“We have had a Vtech landline (wireless with four handsets) for a couple of years,” he wrote. “An incoming number that is not on the list of allowed numbers prompts the caller to press the pound key. No robo caller has been able to do that.”

The reader paid $130 for the Vtech IS8151-5, a one-time cost that included a digital answering service, base unit and four handsets­– with no annual service fee. I saw the Vtech VS112-2 with two handsets on sale for $58 on Amazon. By contrast, my MagicJack device cost me $50, not counting taxes and fees, and charges me $43 a year.

I phoned the reader so I could test the call quality. It was great.  Vtech simply asked me to press the pound key and announce myself. Of course, some callers, like your doctor, might be ticked off by this. But fortunately, you can turn off call screening whenever you wish.

Ironically, the reader wasn’t even thinking about robo calls when he ordered a Vtech phone from Amazon. He bought his Vtech because his cell phone service didn’t reach every room in his large house. The Vtech not only reaches everywhere inside, it also extends to his backyard.

If you wish, you can pair a Vtech phone with your cell phone. Then, you can use your landline’s comfy handset to take a cell phone call.

Vtech has been around since 1976 and was one of the first to develop an internet phone. I should have known that. I’m switching to Vtech when my MagicJack service expires in 2026.

Going into Space

“Google Maps in Space,” at google.com/maps/space, takes you from your computer to all the planets and the international space station.

When you go to the site, hover over “Layers” in the lower left and click “more.” Next, check off “Globe View.” Zoom out to see the planet list. Click on one and zoom for details.

When looking at Earth, I dragged the tiny golden human in the bottom right to South America. Immediately, I got a street view. That’s how I explored Chile.

Smart Glasses

The $195 “Journey Lens” from Phantom Tech are smart glasses that keep you focused on the world around you, instead of your phone. It uses an artificially intelligent assistant’s voice, or text placed discreetly at the top of one of the frames. The glasses also play music, take calls, snap photos and videos, whenever you ask the AI assistant to do those things for you. They come as sunglasses, or for an extra fee, as prescription glasses. You can preorder them now for delivery in 2025.

Meta’s $299 Ray-Ban smart glasses are similar. They also allow you to work hands-free. For example, a rock climber could say, “Hey Meta, snap a picture.” But they have even more tricks. For example, an AI assistant can describe your surroundings in detail. This is a big help for those with low vision who might otherwise have trouble navigating the world.

My PC Went Down

According to PC World, there are seven deadly sins in Windows. Perhaps one of them made my computer go kerflooey recently.

First, avoid installing optimization tools. For example, though I’ve never had any problems with the free version of Ccleaner, the paid version includes a driver update tool, which can cause problems. It could have been what gave me the gray screen of death. A techy friend put in a new graphics card and I was back in business.

Second, avoid installing too many programs. After I did a “PC Reset” to restore my PC, I only reinstalled what I needed. Now, my computer runs much faster.

Third, avoid downloading software from unknown sources. Free movies or programs from sketchy sites are never worth it.  For other no-no’s, see PC World’s “Seven Deadliest Windows PC Sins.”

Internuts

• Antiwar.com has links to news articles on war issues. I read an opinion piece urging NATO to strike down drones that drift into Lithuania.
• When Harvard researchers wanted to test the idea that we could mimic a volcano’s air-cooling effect by shooting particles up into the sky, they forgot to ask the indigenous Sami people about it. The Samis said “no.” For more info, see: “A controversial experiment to artificially cool Earth was canceled.”