Newsletter Archives

• Freeware Spotlight — CAD

  Posted on October 18th, 2021 at 02:43 Deanna McElveen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  BEST UTILITIES

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  For those of us who had drafting in high school, we thought our T-squares were expensive. Those new-fangled home computers were going to make things so much easier for designing palaces, office towers, and rockets — but to do so, they needed software. Very expensive software called CAD.

  CAD stands for computer-aided design. What it should stand for is cash-aided design, because the top CAD programs can cost as much as a used Camaro. A very, very nice used Camaro. Seriously, I just want to design a patio and a birdhouse for said patio. I want software that is much closer to free … or exactly free!

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.40.0 (2021-10-18).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, CAD, Computer Aided Design, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight

• Freeware Spotlight — Preparing your PC for Windows 11

  Posted on October 4th, 2021 at 02:45 Deanna McElveen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  ISSUE 18.38 • 2021-10-04

  BEST UTILITIES

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Nothing can ruin the excitement of a major Windows upgrade like an error message halfway through installation.

  You know — that pit in your stomach when you don’t know if you now have your old Windows or the new Windows. Are you stuck on a transitional plane? Have you created a half-breed, mutant operating system? Are your personal files gone!!? Let’s try to prevent all that with some good old-fashioned housecleaning before you are offered Windows 11 this month.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.38.0 (2021-10-04).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.38.F (2021-10-04).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus membership, Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Windows 11

• Freeware Spotlight — SageThumbs

  Posted on September 20th, 2021 at 02:40 Deanna McElveen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  BEST UTILITIES

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Some of the most common things I get asked about at our computer store are how to email a picture and how to make it smaller. Or, how to make a picture my desktop background image.

  To us geeks, these tasks are pretty straightforward because we have done them hundreds of times; but to a novice who is just learning to use a computer, it can seem rather confusing.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.36.0 (2021-09-20).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, utilities

• Freeware Spotlight — Anti-Twin

  Posted on August 23rd, 2021 at 02:45 Deanna McElveen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  ISSUE 18.32 • 2021-08-23

  BEST UTILITIES

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Yes, those seashell pictures you took from the ocean were great, and that recipe for Frito Pie is a real crowd-pleaser. But do you need seven copies of these on your hard drive?

  Data clutter is a common thing these days. Often I see customers’ computers that have hundreds of duplicate files on them, especially pictures. Whether it be from a mishap with choosing the same drive for backups or accidentally making copies of folders, an unorganized computer can fill up space quickly. This is certainly a big issue with smaller, solid-state hard drives, where you might not have the space to spare.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.32.0 (2021-08-23).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.32.F (2021-08-23).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Duplicate file finders

• Freeware Spotlight – Three tools to make your printer print

  Posted on August 9th, 2021 at 02:42 Deanna McElveen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  BEST UTILITIES

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  The last few builds of Windows 10 have not played well with LAN and Wi-Fi printers. It’s not as if our printers didn’t have enough problems with just a USB connection.

  I spend a lot of time fixing customers’ printing issues and the networking issues caused by Windows updates. It seems like half of what we do at our shop these days.

  How do we fix our printer woes on a tight budget? Freeware to the rescue!

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.30.0 (2021-08-09).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, printing

• Freeware Spotlight — Logyx Pack

  Posted on July 26th, 2021 at 02:41 Deanna McElveen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  BEST UTILITIES

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

  Did you know that Microsoft first introduced Solitaire in Windows 3.0 1990 to teach everyone how to drag and drop with that fancy new mouse? Enjoy a good game of Minesweeper? In 1992, it came along in Windows 3.1 to teach us how to be speedier with our mice (mouses?) and to become more comfortable with left- and right-clicking. Also, that year we got our beloved Hearts game. Hearts originally had network play to help us get used to interconnected workstations. You could even communicate with the person you were playing against on the network! Common now, but it was pretty awesome back then.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.28.0 (2021-07-26).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Freeware AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Games, legacy apps

• Freeware Spotlight — Three free tools to check Windows 11 compatibility

  Posted on July 12th, 2021 at 02:42 Deanna McElveen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  BEST UTILITIES

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  It’s a confusing time as Windows 11 approaches.

  With Microsoft releasing new (sometimes conflicting) information about Windows 11 daily (sometimes hourly), the exhausted developers of the three free tools I am featuring have been playing catch-up for a few weeks now. I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve updated them on OlderGeeks.com just within the past week.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.26.0 (2021-07-12).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, security, Windows 11

• Freeware Spotlight — Notes Keeper

  Posted on June 21st, 2021 at 02:42 Deanna McElveen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  BEST UTILITIES

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  When I find something I need, you get something you need.

  I decided that I wanted a note-taking program for service calls and in-shop repairs, but I wanted it to meet certain criteria. It had to be portable so I could use it from my flash drive. It had to be free because I’m a cheapskate. And I wanted it to have word-processor type features but be super-easy and fast. And, last but not least, I wanted it to allow me to add pictures to my notes.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.23.0 (2021-06-21).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight

• Freeware Spotlight — ShellBag AnalyZer + Cleaner

  Posted on June 7th, 2021 at 02:41 Deanna McElveen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  BEST UTILITIES

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  I don’t want to know why you need to clean your computer-usage tracks, but if you thought you were cleaning all of them … you weren’t.

  What are shellbags, and why should you care about them? Shellbags, a new feature starting with Windows 7, have been in every version of Windows since.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.21.0 (2021-06-07).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight

• Freeware Spotlight — Win10 Settings Blocker

  Posted on May 24th, 2021 at 01:01 Deanna McElveen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  BEST UTILITIES

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  A computer user who can’t access the Windows settings is a computer user who has less chance of breaking something.

  A few years ago, Sordum.org came out with a handy tool called Win10 Settings Blocker to block access to Windows settings. We’ve used it on scores of computers owned by our clients. We’ve used it on public-access kiosks, nursing-home med carts, computers for the Mennonite communities in our area, and countless others. The program is portable, free, and clean. Perfect!

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.19.0 (2021-05-24).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Windows 10 Settings

• Freeware Spotlight — O&O Lanytix

  Posted on May 10th, 2021 at 01:02 Deanna McElveen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  BEST UTILITIES

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  When showing up at a new client’s small business, the first thing you need to know is where the heck everything is. Or maybe you just want to take inventory of your home network.

  How many routers are there? How many computers? How many people are using the company Wi-Fi for their personal phones? Is your kid using his/her laptop at 3 a.m.? What are the IP addresses and MAC addresses?

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.17.0 (2021-05-10).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Networking tools, Networks

• Freeware Spotlight — Complete Internet Repair 8

  Posted on April 26th, 2021 at 01:02 Deanna McElveen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  BEST UTILITIES

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  The tools on your flash drive save you time — and the time of your client.

  In my former life as an elementary school teacher, I was never opposed to kids using calculators to skip some of the basics and get right to more advanced math skills. Let’s face it, using a calculator to do the easy stuff so you can get a head start on figuring out how to get us to Alpha Centauri is not cheating. Punch in 7 times 8 a few thousand times, and you’re going to learn it.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.15.0 (2021-04-26).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Freeware
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