Newsletter Archives

• Windows 11, Surface, and Windows Copilot

  Posted on September 25, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.39 • 2023-09-25

  MICROSOFT NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  In case we didn’t realize it already, Microsoft told us where we are headed.

  Last week, Microsoft held an event in New York. The bulk of the presentation was about AI, specifically Windows Copilot. Not Copilot, but Windows Copilot.

  This is deeply significant.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.39.0, 2023-09-25).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Microsoft News AI, Copilot, Microsoft, Microsoft Paint, News, Newsletter, Surface, Windows 11, Windows Explorer

• Apple 2030

  Posted on September 18, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.38 • 2023-09-18

  APPLE NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  Mother Nature deems Apple’s ambitious clean-energy goals worthy, albeit surprising.

  Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, in her starring role as Mother Nature in Apple’s fall event, stole the show. Apple goes Hollywood all the time in these events, but this was different.

  In a nicely done surprise skit, Mother Nature has come to Apple to audit its progress on meeting its green goals, specifically carbon neutrality. This alone was funny because all companies seem to have stated goals, but it’s hard to know whether any are being achieved. Mother Nature was skeptical to the point of assuming Apple was just blowing smoke, so to speak.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.38.0, 2023-09-18).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Apple Apple News, Apple Watch, iPhone, iPhone 15, Newsletters, Photography, USB-C

• Opal becomes Obsidian

  Posted on July 24, 2023 at 02:43 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE DIY

  

  By Will Fastie

  In this final article about building my new Windows 11 PC, I reveal a surprising change.

  It’s taken quite a long time for my new Windows 11 PC to get to the point when it could become my daily driver. I admit to some sloth. Worse, I confess to some confusion.

  Nonetheless, the unexpected delay in the project has been a worthwhile learning experience.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.30.0, 2023-07-24).

  Hardware ASUS, Corsair, DIY, hardware, HDDs, Migration, Motherboards, Newsletters, Noctua

• What should you do about Windows 11?

  Posted on July 3, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.27 • 2023-07-03

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Will Fastie

  Despite our warnings and hesitancy about moving to Windows 11, we’re at a point in time when more serious consideration is in order.

  To aid in setting the context, I prepared a timeline showing the lives of Windows 10 and 11. With that timeline in mind, I asked five of our regular contributors to offer their opinions.

  In this, our summer bonus issue, they hold forth. Opinions differ.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.27.0, 2023-07-03).

  Windows 11 lifecycle, Newsletters, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows end of life

• Terabyte update 2023

  Posted on June 26, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.26 • 2023-06-26

  Look for our BONUS issue on Monday, July 3, 2023!

  HARDWARE

  

  By Will Fastie

  There are several important trend lines this year.

  In last year’s installment of this series, I wrote about being surprised that there were no significant price changes.

  This year, there have been some changes, which may mean some tangible trends are emerging.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.26.0, 2023-06-26).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Hardware HDDs, Newsletters, SSDs, storage, Storage Prices

• Fixing Onyx’s RAID 1 failure — second drive

  Posted on June 26, 2023 at 02:41 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE DIY

  

  By Will Fastie

  In our May bonus issue, I wrote about fixing Onyx’s RAID 1 failure.

  There was one task left. I had replaced the failed drive in the mirror with a new Seagate FireCuda drive, but I did not want to install the second without giving the first drive time to burn in. In this brief article, I describe that final task.

  It went as expected.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.26.0, 2023-06-26).

  Hardware DIY, hardware, Intel RST, Newsletters, RAID 1

• Intel rebrands

  Posted on June 19, 2023 at 02:41 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  INTEL NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  To coincide with the upcoming release of new processors based on the Meteor Lake microarchitecture, Intel will institute a new branding scheme.

  I’m inclined to say this happens too often with Intel and is confusing, but the amazing reality is that the “i” branding has been around for 15 years. That’s actually a pretty long run.

  But the new branding is still confusing, at least for now.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.25.0, 2023-06-19).

  Intel News Branding, Intel, Marketing, Newsletters, Processors

• Storage Spaces or Intel Rapid Storage?

  Posted on June 12, 2023 at 02:43 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE DIY

  

  By Will Fastie

  My plan to use Storage Spaces on Opal hit a speed bump.

  In my recent article Windows Storage Spaces (2023-05-22), I described my experiment with Opal, in which I decided to replace the RAID array created by Intel Rapid Storage with the same type of array created by Storage Spaces. My reaction was generally positive, although I did complain about the UI.

  My opinion has changed. I’ll be reverting to Intel Rapid Storage.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.24.0, 2023-06-12).

  Hardware DIY, hard drives, hardware, Intel RST, Newsletters, RAID, Storage Spaces

• The last shoe drops

  Posted on June 12, 2023 at 02:41 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  APPLE NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  Three major announcements from Apple during WWDC 2023 close the loop for Apple silicon.

  No, I’m not talking about Apple Vision Pro, Apple’s new “spatial” computer.

  The big news is that Apple’s product lineup no longer includes Macs with Intel silicon.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.24.0, 2023-06-12).

  Apple Apple M2, Apple News, Apple Silicon, Mac Pro, Mac Studio, Newsletters

• Windows Storage Spaces

  Posted on May 22, 2023 at 02:43 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE DIY

  

  By Will Fastie

  I decided to try Storage Spaces on Opal, just to see what it would be like.

  It’s a mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s less technically challenging than the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST) solution that lives partly in UEFI and partly in a Windows driver. On the other hand, it’s a work in progress, with some confusing configuration steps.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.21.0, 2023-05-22).

  Hardware DIY, Newsletters, RAID, RAID 1, Storage Spaces, Windows

• All in on AI

  Posted on May 15, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.20 • 2023-05-15

  MICROSOFT NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  On May 4, Microsoft announced the “next wave of AI innovation.”

  Well, we’ll see about that.

  There was no parade, nor any hoopla associated with this announcement. The entirety of the presentation was in a single blog post, which might have gone unnoticed had I not received an email from a Microsoft spokesperson telling me about it. That was unusual.

  But that’s not the news.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.20.0, 2023-05-15).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Microsoft News AI, Bing, Bing AI, Copilot, Microsoft Edge, Newsletters

• The pros and cons of RAID 1

  Posted on May 1, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.18 • 2023-05-01

  HARDWARE

  

  By Will Fastie

  Revisiting an old friend, it’s time to update our thinking about RAID 1.

  In our all-too-brief time working together, Fred Langa and I had only one point of disagreement — RAID (redundant array of inexpensive drives). Our bone of contention dealt with RAID level 1, the “mirror.” That’s the focus of this, our spring bonus edition of the newsletter.

  Following this brief explanation, I’ll provide an update on the RAID situation with two of my PCs, Onyx and Opal.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.18.0, 2023-05-01).

  Hardware DIY, Drive Mirrors, Newsletters, RAID, RAID 1
• « Older Entries