Newsletter Archives

• The Three Laws of Robotics

  Posted on April 10, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.15 • 2023-04-10

  COMMENTARY

  

  By Will Fastie

  Along with its recent announcement of Copilot, Microsoft made a point of mentioning “responsible AI.”

  Undoubtedly, part of the reason for bringing the matter up was the almost instant controversy surrounding Bing AI, Microsoft’s integration of its AI engine into Bing and Edge, especially its apparently threatening behavior toward a reporter.

  What does “responsible AI” mean?

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.15.0, 2023-04-10).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Commentary AI, Artificial intelligence, Bing AI, Copilot, Newsletters, Robotics

• Behind the scenes: The site

  Posted on November 28, 2022 at 02:43 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  COMMENTARY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  A newsletter about Windows isn’t run on Windows.

  I’ve always found it interesting to see how something works, and I’ll bet many of our readers do, too. So I’m going to use my space in this bonus issue by giving you a peek into the technology we use to run the site and our forums, to prepare the newsletter, and to get it to your inbox.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.48.0, 2022-11-28).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Commentary Email, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, WordPress

• Behind the scenes: The newsletter

  Posted on November 28, 2022 at 02:42 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  COMMENTARY

  

  By Will Fastie

  When I took this job, I was surprised at the number of moving parts involved in publishing the newsletter.

  My predecessor, editor emeritus Tracey Capen, did an excellent job with general organization and collaboration. Tracey wrote a very comprehensive document in OneNote about how to produce the newsletter, which was extremely helpful in my early days. I was very grateful to have that guide because otherwise, I would have been at sea on day one.

  Publishing an issue of the newsletter involves a lot of steps.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.48.0, 2022-11-28).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Commentary Adobe Photoshop Elements, CSS, Dreamweaver, Editors, Expression Web, HTML, Newsletters, Photo Editing, Publishing

• It’s Happy Sysadmin Day!

  Posted on July 29, 2022 at 10:22 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  It’s the 23rd annual sysadmin day and I’d like to include everyone who handles their own technology in their home as part of that “happy” appreciation. Personally I think home technology is sometimes more confusing and harder to do than business tech. Too often vendors assume that home users don’t need options, or need set up to be hidden by or only done with apps and phones.

  So pat yourself on the back for having one of the hardest jobs on the planet: Keeping up with home technology!

  In other news – I didn’t realize that 2022 is the year that George Jetson was born! In two days he will be born!

  

  “Meet George Jetson….. His Boy Elroy……..Daughter Judy…….Jane his wife.”

  Theme song here

  Commentary Patch Lady Posts

• The worst software in the world

  Posted on July 25, 2022 at 02:42 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  COMMENTARY

  

  By Will Fastie

  If I were grading the various apps in Microsoft’s Casual Games collection, they’d be lucky to get a D.

  It’s not because the games themselves are bad. It’s because they are all based on the same underlying game engine, one designed with multiple capabilities. The emphasis on the engine has diverted attention away from the games themselves, which have been in general disrepair for some time.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.30.0, 2022-07-25).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Commentary AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Games, Microsoft, Software Quality