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I've had Macs for decades. It's time to replace my current laptop, and I don't know if I can still justify getting a Mac instead of a Chromebook. If I get a Chromebook, maybe I'd switch away from iPhones, too. Given my use and preferences (inside), would a Chromebook that costs significantly less than $1100 be a step down in any meaningful way, or not?
comment posted at 5:39 AM on Mar-6-24


My eleven-year-old niece who wants to be a writer would like a typewriter for her birthday. What should I get?
comment posted at 7:41 PM on Mar-4-24


I always have too much laundry to do because I don't have my own washer/dryer and it's a PITA to get dressed and get it all going in my building's little laundry room even when I really need to. Can you help me develop a tentative strategy to address this issue based on some of the paint points described within?
comment posted at 6:44 PM on Feb-27-24


This charming lass is a 3 year-old border Aussie named Holly. She's plateaued in her training, and our trainer would like us to use an e-collar. I'm having a hard time coming to terms with it, since it seems, well, cruel. Can I get opinions on e-collars?
comment posted at 6:19 AM on Feb-18-24
comment posted at 12:55 PM on Feb-18-24


For financial reasons, I'm trying to decide if I want to switch to Ghost (from Wordpress). One of their themes, Ruby, looks like it might be suitable, but I'm having trouble changing the height of the images being displayed. Can you help me figure out what's going on?
comment posted at 11:40 AM on Feb-16-24
comment posted at 2:38 PM on Feb-16-24


Tell me some more about two types of people.
comment posted at 10:06 AM on Feb-15-24


I just changed jobs, and in my new position I don't get assigned a corporate mobile phone. I haven't yet turned in my iPhone 14 from the old job, and I have the option to buy it from the company if I want to keep it. Is it a better idea to buy my current iPhone 14 from my company at the current depreciated price of $500, and "bring my own device" to Verizon, or should I just get another device from Verizon with my new plan?
comment posted at 6:45 PM on Feb-11-24


I'm going to be using my slow cooker a lot more because of my new job. But several recipes call for me to saute some ingredients first before putting them in the slow cooker - something which I don't have the time to do in the morning (and it would wake up my later-rising roommate). I had the idea - how about I simply do that bit the night before, stash that in the fridge, and then dump it along with everything into the cooker the next day? Any reasons why I shouldn't, at least?
comment posted at 8:46 AM on Feb-9-24


My son (under 10) wears Crocs. He is the sort of person who tries one thing, likes it, and never wants to change, so he has been wearing Crocs since he could first walk. These are not great though for running around and probably not awesome for his feet. He needs real sneakers. Problem is, I got him running sneakers and he does not like them. He says they are too heavy. That's fine. But is there a better brand? Maybe a brand more like Crocs? This is the US. Happy to order online or in person.
comment posted at 3:22 AM on Feb-8-24


I'm looking for any examples of off-screen scenes (the action happens to the side of where the camera is focusing) that aren't centered around a violent act, like the cliche murder scene where the blood splatters the wall but you don't see the actual murder.
comment posted at 5:52 AM on Feb-8-24


Why do customers have so much trouble using the Self-Checkout? Often, while standing in line behind them, I see people freeze up for what seems like minutes. If it's a language problem, I give you a pass; also if it's your first time (but there can't be that many self-checkout newbies now, can there?)
comment posted at 3:07 AM on Feb-8-24


The Place That Makes Me Happy by The Moss (2023) is currently in heavy rotation on my college radio stations. What does it remind me of?
comment posted at 3:56 PM on Feb-5-24


The physical buttons on my wife’s second-gen iPhone SE have suddenly stopped working. How can she get them back?
comment posted at 2:28 PM on Feb-3-24


For reasons, I'll be hosting a friend tomorrow who does not have access to their phone. I'd like to give them mine to use in private, and although I doubt they'd snoop, I don't want them going through my email/photos/texts. Is there a way to activate a guest mode? Thanks!
comment posted at 2:40 PM on Feb-3-24


I'm the proud owner of one spoon, one fork, and 3 knives. A cheese slicer. And a set of 43 year old wedding china. I enjoy cooking, preferably in bulk so I can freeze meal-sized portions. So I know I'll need cooking vessels, food-freezing vessels, and cooking utensils. If you were in my shoes, what would exist in your perfect dream kitchen?
comment posted at 8:42 AM on Feb-1-24


I keep running into this issue with iPhones confusing numbers. Description of the issue under the fold.
comment posted at 6:13 AM on Jan-30-24


When I connect my iPhone 15 Pro Max to my Optoma Projector via an HDMI cable, it just works... unless I'm using the Criterion Channel app (which I believe runs on Vimeo), in which case it give me an error and tells me that "mirroring" is forbidden. Criterion's dreadful support is unresponsive. Is there a way around this?
comment posted at 10:22 AM on Jan-27-24
comment posted at 3:02 PM on Jan-28-24


I have a rare Italian ebike that I love. The charger has broken and no longer charges the battery. I've taken it into my local bike shop who used to sell this model and they've confirmed this is the issue. The problem is that the company no longer exists, so I can't contact them for a replacement.
comment posted at 8:16 PM on Jan-26-24


I am looking for your most favoritest documentary films or documentary series that have really stuck with you.
comment posted at 11:23 AM on Jan-25-24


What's worth buying on a trip to London that couldn't just be easily ordered online from home instead?
comment posted at 8:20 AM on Jan-21-24


We have a new 11 month old Siamese/Bengal mix, female, who is vocal, curious, vertical (climbs), likes to cuddle and be petted, but doesn't like to be picked up. She came with a name but it's sliding off. See for yourself. Suggestions will be taken under advisement, thank you kindly!
comment posted at 7:33 AM on Jan-19-24


I'm exploring older cinema and watching flicks that have defined their genres - like the first vampire movies, first zombie movies, first mystery movies, etc. Can you please recommend old movies that are genre classics or really well made but don't give me a misogyny/racism ick? I had planned to see some film noir or neo-noir classics, but I'm getting icked out just reading the synopses or looking at the posters. Many thanks!
comment posted at 7:37 AM on Jan-19-24


Pardon me Dear Metafites and forgive me in advance if this question offends. This is a troubling interaction I just had with my primary care physician following a previously posted about hospital stay. (Details to follow)
comment posted at 3:15 AM on Jan-18-24
comment posted at 5:43 AM on Jan-18-24
comment posted at 8:19 AM on Jan-18-24


My SO and I voluntarily share our location with each other and we both have iPhones. Yet when we're texting, I'm shown their photo and underneath that, their name, then what city and state they are in from the screen within Messages App. However, on their iPhone, they only see my photo and underneath, my name (a nickname they gave me on their contacts list). We want to change it so that both of us can see what State and City the other is in from within the Messages screen on our respective iPhones.
comment posted at 3:21 AM on Jan-18-24


Help me find this mid-century comedy sketch about a man preparing to perform amateur surgery on his friend.
comment posted at 5:15 AM on Jan-17-24


Meditation is challenging for my busy brain, but I discovered that repeating the Hail Mary provided a focus for my brain and a good guidance for my breath that wasn't about counting or heartbeats. The problem is that I have complicated feelings around the Catholic church and thus that prayer. I'd like to try replacing it with something less weighted, but I don't know poetry. Can you recommend short poems/passages of text I could memorize?
comment posted at 7:17 PM on Jan-15-24
comment posted at 7:23 PM on Jan-15-24
comment posted at 5:52 AM on Jan-16-24


How do I clean my progressive lens glasses without scratching them but also without having to buy a bunch of products that I don't have.
comment posted at 4:25 PM on Jan-15-24
comment posted at 4:41 PM on Jan-15-24


In the move “The Third Man," some time after Holly Martins goes to the funeral of his friend Harry Lime, Martins is contacted by Kurtz. The conversation between Martins and Kurtz seems to set in motion Martins trying to investigate the death of Lime. If Martins hadn’t been contacted by Kurtz, it seems like Martins would have flown back to the USA the next day. But it seems like Kurtz had no reason to contact Martins. It seems like for Kurtz to contact Martins is a flaw in the story. Or is there a rationale that I missed?
comment posted at 9:50 AM on Jan-14-24


I need my phone not to ring for anyone at all in certain times and in certain locations. At other times, I want members of group A to ring, group B to buzz, and everyone else to have no notifications at all. At other locations, I want group A to buzz, and group B to ring, and everyelse to have no notifications. The rest of the time, I want it silent, with group A and B ringing, and everyone else buzzing. How do I accomplish this in a programmable way, preferably using Focuses?
comment posted at 3:30 PM on Jan-14-24
comment posted at 7:36 PM on Jan-14-24
comment posted at 7:27 AM on Jan-15-24


I’ve recently discovered I love “dad movies”—stuff like The Fugitive and In the Line of Fire. Gimme your fav dad movies! ‘90s preferred but all recommendations accepted.
comment posted at 3:18 PM on Jan-12-24


I've just finished reading a lovely book that featured all animal protagonists, but chiefly cats. It was warm and funny and very comforting. Since I have two rescue gremlins of my own, it was just... nice to read about cats while they cuddled around me and slept. Can you recommend more books of the same ilk? Some difficult content okay but looking for something primarily happy-making, please? Thank you! P.S. Doesn't need to be exclusively cats. You know what I mean.
comment posted at 10:26 AM on Jan-12-24


This was me a few months ago. By now, though, the cortisone shot has worn off and, when getting another shot yesterday, the podiatrist suggested I get custom orthotics. The cost ($500+) doesn't concern me if they really will make a difference, but *will* they make a discernible and worthwhile difference? A few more details inside.
comment posted at 8:47 AM on Jan-9-24
comment posted at 11:22 AM on Jan-9-24


New dog owner. What are small helpful tips, tricks, or life hacks that you wouldn't read about in the books for giving the dog and their owners their best and happiest life?
comment posted at 6:24 AM on Jan-9-24


I'm looking for some way to spend extra minutes (e.g., between pull-up sets at the gym) that's not randomly scrolling Twitter or similar sites. If I was religious, it might be reading and thinking about a bible verse. Is there a humanist alternative for someone with broad interests?
comment posted at 3:55 PM on Jan-8-24


Got my first Apple Watch series 9 before Christmas and I’m thrilled with the features so far but it’s overwhelming too. I’m basically using it for general info like weather, calendar, mail, text and most importantly tracking my exercise.
comment posted at 7:17 PM on Jan-7-24


I feel like this is a really stupid question, but... I have a Wordpress website hosted on Siteground at mydomain.com. I want to move the domain name but not the site to Pair. I want to design the site, also using Wordpress, and then turn it on when I'm ready. In the meantime I'd like to keep my Siteground site going and preferably not have any downtime when I switch. I know how to change the DNS when I'm ready but...
comment posted at 1:22 PM on Jan-6-24


I want to suck less at cooking. I want to try simple, cheap, easy meals for 1 more regularly. I'd like a cookbook or one or two websites I can have as go-to resources. Please help.
comment posted at 4:20 PM on Jan-4-24
comment posted at 4:42 PM on Jan-4-24


I'm looking for found families in fiction, especially in romance, mystery, fiction fiction, though suggest things from any genre!
comment posted at 9:34 PM on Jan-3-24