I might have said yes to the cat my neighbor offered me if I’d had “Leo’s Loo Too,” a robotic kitty-litter cleaner from SmartyPear that ships this month. It looks like a miniature dryer.

Cat pooh can be dangerous. According to a University of Chicago study, 60 million Americans have “toxoplasmosis,” a parasite you can get from touching it. It causes “intermittent explosive disorder” and increased aggression in humans, experts say.

With the Loo Too litter cleaner, a rotating drum separates your fur baby’s pooh and sends it into a carbon-filtered, odor-containing waste drawer. When the drawer is full, a notification on your smart phone tells you it’s time to take out the trash, which is automatically bagged. You’re back in business and Kitty can resume hers. If you have an Amazon Echo or some other Alexa-powered device, you can use the Loo Too voice commands, such as “Alexa, Turn on the Loo Too.”  Or: “turn the Loo Too to automatic.”

 Though it costs $550, other robotic cleaners are nearly as expensive. The top-rated system on AllAboutCats.com, which has yet to see the Loo Too, is the “Litter Robot 3 Connect” for $499. It also uses a rotating-sifting mechanism instead of a rake to filter out pooh. This avoids the problems of other automatic filter boxes. With those, the doo doo tends to clump around the rake or in nooks and crannies.

Chromebooks Vs. Windows

A reader says he loves his Acer 713 Chromebook. It gets great reviews for its battery life, performance and colorful display. He wonders why anyone sticks with Windows.

The main reason people use Windows is familiarity with the system, as well as the variety of programs you can install. And of course, many people don’t want to pay Apple’s prices.

A Chromebook is a great alternative for people who do almost everything online. I bought the Pixelbook Go for $599, which is more than double the cost of budget Chromebooks.  But I wouldn’t want one of those. When I had to borrow a friend’s cheaper model for a Zoom session, it stuttered and kept losing contact. If you do video chatting, avoid the cheapies.

Talking about the Acer 713 Chromebook, this reader notes: “It has many of the attributes of Apple products. Especially appreciated is the instant-on, and I believe it’s immune from viruses.” Well, not completely. According to TechAdvisor.com, Chromebooks can get viruses but they’re rare. It could happen if you install an app from a scammer.  However,  if you do get a virus, you can reset your Chromebook in a few easy steps. Sign out first. Then press the “Ctrl” button, the “Alt” button, and the “Shift” key while tapping “r” for reset. Then choose “Powerwash.”

App Happy

“Be My Eyes” is an app which allows blind people to get assistance with daily tasks, a reader reminded me.  He listed the following examples: locating dropped or misplaced items, reading receipts and helping with travel. “The app allows the phones of sighted volunteers to connect with the phones of those requesting assistance,” he explained. In other words, you can see into their environment and tell them what they would see if they had full vision. The connection is monitored and privacy is closely guarded, the reader points out.

“Many of my friends have received much needed assistance,” he said. “And many of my sighted friends have enjoyed much gratification from the assistance they provided. Seldom a week goes by that I am not questioned by someone who has helped a blind person. They get a real charge from assisting.” More info at BeMyEyes.com.

Windows 11 Conundrum

Recently, I was wondering why my computer’s super-fast Intel Core i7 processor wasn’t  considered good enough for the free update to Windows 11. So I turned to my favorite question-and-answer site, Quora.

“It’s not the speed of the processor that matters, said an expert there.  “It’s the generation. The newer generations have certain security and reliability features.” Digging deeper, I found out that Windows 11 turns these features on by default, since they represent a major security enhancement over Windows 10.  Surprisingly, one of those is available In Windows 10, but it’s switched off by default. It’s called “virtualization-based security,” or VBS. Unfortunately, the instructions for turning it on are complex. I’m not going to bother with it.

Cleaning Dirty Screens

Experts at CNET say we should clean our phones once a day. But we shouldn’t use alcohol or vinegar unless we make a solution with at least 70 percent water. Straight vinegar and alcohol will strip your phone’s protective coating.

Apple says it’s OK to use Clorox disinfecting wipes on the iPhone or iPad, or anything with a similar concentration.  If you don’t want to buy those, use a microfiber cloth. Wetting it with a little distilled water might get the worst smudges off. I bought a 16 ounce bottle of stuff called “Eveo Scree Cleaner,” $17 on Amazon. It’s designed especially for phone and tablet screens and should last for many, many years.

Map Tip

Did you know that Google Maps lets you check to see if a store is busy? Scroll down and look on the left for “Popular Times.” Not only will it tell you if it’s busy now, a graph will show you the most popular times of the day.

Photo courtesy of ZME Science

Internuts

ZMEScience.com has an intriguing article about a cafe in Tokyo that uses robots as waiters that are controlled by the disabled from home. The founder was inspired to provide them because he had to stay in the hospital for three years as a child. He knows what it’s like to feel idle.