Brokelyn

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From the AAs in your flashlight to the Lithium ion in your laptop, batteries… tend to run out. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do all in your power to milk those precious power cells for all they’re worth. A few minutes of maneuvers, beyond just shutting off and plugging in, can mean a difference of hours or even years for your indispensable gadget. Here’s how to save your batteries. Read the rest of this entry »

appaholics

Picture this scenario: you had a job interview in some foreign section of town and, if it went anything like our interviews, it was an unquestionable disaster, due to vague reasons of “not addressing the room” and less vague ones like “completely and totally flubbing questions about the economy for an economic reporter job.” Your morning hopes of being able to splurge on a $6 Hennepin in celebration have been replaced again by the afternoon reality of drink-special consolation. What you need is some sort of function or operation to help you find a cheap drink, and fast!

Thanks to the ever-expanding effort to leave no aspect of modern life un-apped, you are in luck. The Cocktail Compass from L Magazine and Night and Day Studios gives you access to a database of happy hour information for 866 bars (167 in Brooklyn, 662 in Manhattan). Read the rest of this entry »

Each week or so, our Dear Penny column investigates the answers to reader questions about saving money in Brooklyn. Send your stumpers to DearPenny@brokelyn.com.

On purely economical terms, yes, make the switch. The idea behind no-contract providers is that they offer unlimited talk, text and web for one flat monthly fee. Metro PCS ($40), Cricket ($40) and Sprint’s offshoot, Boost Mobile ($50), are three of the big names, and they constitute a real savings over both alternatives: pay-as-you-go phones, which have added charges for basic services; or annual contracts, with their hefty monthly fees. But the money’s not the whole deal in the contract/no-contract debate. A few equally important issues, like service area and phone quality, also should play a role in your decision. Read the rest of this entry »