OT, computer tips.

[micky]

Laptop volume: There are programs that will make laptop sound twice as loud, maybe more, without adding distortion. I googled Windows volume amplifier . There are a lot of programs and lists of "best" programs. . Two of the lists included

and Letasoft Volume Booster. It has a 2-week trial period (and the Download tab says the trial period can be extended) where every 5 minutes it goes back to normal volume for 5 seconds. After the trial it's $20 to use on one computer. If you get a new laptop you can de-activate it from the old one and then activate it on the new one. (Some others have more features, I'm sure some are cheaper, and I think some are free, but all had for me what were weaknesses. I'll bet if you need more volume, you can find one you like Also, there are volume booster add-on's for Firefox, and probably for other browsers, but the first kind boosts Zoom and everything else.)

Blacken for Firefox. Lately, for some silly reason, some webpages use grey text instead of black and it's hard to read. Blacken doesn't change other colors, only grey which it makes black. It's only got 264 users, not millions like many add-ons, but it's free, pretty simple, I've had it for a month and it works fine afaict. Blacken, I think, once generated a warning that it was slowing down the browser or the computer, but my computer is pretty slow anyhow, so maybe yours will never say that.. The warning message gave the option to turn it off, and it puts an icon in the toolbar and I can always turn it on again when needed.