The Shortcuts launcher icon feature was added with Android 7 “Nougat.” You might have already accessed this feature by mistake. Don’t let it alarm you!
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In my history of using cell phones, I had an overage only once. That was back in the bad old analog days, when I left my cell phone on during a trip to Washington DC. The bill for 600 roaming minutes was outrageous. That was just for talk, not data.
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Unless you tell it otherwise, your Android mobile device tracks everything you do. This tracking builds an online profile designed to customize advertising. And, yes, you can turn it off — once you know how.
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The latest version of Android Nougat (7.1.1) was installed on my Nexus phone and Pixel tablet. Along with these updates comes new frustration, mostly because my material — both printed and online — becomes out-of-date in a matter of minutes. I sigh heavily, but that’s why I write this blog: to keep you updated.
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Samsung is like that brilliant kid you knew in high school; a delightful genius you could admire but socially awkward enough to shun.
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It can tick me off too: I want to type one word, but the phone changes it to another word. Sometimes this change happens because my spelling isn’t correct, but yet the replacement isn’t correct either. Other times, the change happens because the word I type is correct, but the dictionary/autocorrect feature doesn’t recognize the term. Then it “helpfully” replaces it.
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The front-facing camera on a phone is genius. Use that camera to take a picture of yourself, but try not to look like you’re taking a picture of yourself. That’s where the genius melts away.
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This situation happens to me twice. The first time is when I create a contact: Where do I put the extension number? The Contacts app lists no place for an extension. And second, even if you could set an extension into a contact’s information, how do you dial it? The answer is that you can, but the solution isn’t obvious.
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You thought it would be cute. Your significant other was signing in the shower, so you held the phone up over the curtain and snapped a picture.

The results were hilarious! And you looked at the photo. Your significant other looked at it. And then you both noticed, well, nudity — private stuff. Time to delete the picture.

“Is it really gone?”

Of course not!
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