Blog Archives

• Touring through Apple’s September updates

  Posted on October 11th, 2020 at 21:15 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge
  

  APPLE

  By Nathan Parker

  For those who follow Apple development, September is a special time of year.

  It’s when the company showcases major updates to its various consumer operating systems: iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Recently, I took each of them for a test drive.

  Here’s a quick summary of what I’ve found so far — both the good and the … not so good.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.40.0 (2020-10-12).

  Apple, AskWoody Plus Newsletter Apple, Apple updates, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14, watchOS 7

• A post-reinstall checklist for Windows 10

  Posted on October 11th, 2020 at 21:10 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  LANGALIST

  By Fred Langa

  After a Win10 reinstall, the order in which you set up a PC’s drivers, updates, apps, and data can fundamentally affect its stability, performance, and ease of use.

  Here’s how to get a Win10 reinstallation off on the right foot — solid, fast, glitch-free, and running as well as it possibly can!

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.40.0 (2020-10-12).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Post-reinstall checklist, System Restore, Win10 system setup

• What is Microsoft saying to SMBs?

  Posted on October 11th, 2020 at 21:05 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  SMALL-BUSINESS COMPUTING

  By Amy Babinchak

  Microsoft’s 2020 Inspire and Ignite conferences are now literally history; as with most other major tech meetings this year, they were, for the first time, both entirely virtual.

  Inspire is focused on Microsoft-partner marketing, while Ignite is more about technology. Both events showcase the company’s vision of future business computing. But sometimes you have to read between the lines, too. Here’s what I think Microsoft is saying to small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) and IT professionals.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.40.0 (2020-10-12).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Small Business Computing AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Business security, Data privacy, Desktop management, Remote computing, Remote printing

• Freeware Spotlight — URL Disabler

  Posted on October 11th, 2020 at 21:00 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  BEST UTILITIES

  By Deanna McElveen

  Are you a parent struggling to keep Timmy focused on online schoolwork?

  Are you a business manager who needs to bar Carl from browsing Amazon for fishing lures on company time?

  There’s a profusion of reasons for blocking certain websites. Regrettably, many site-blocking tools simply modify Windows’ built-in hosts file, which is easily worked around. Fortunately, the folks at Sordum.org offer URL Disabler, a free and portable app that’s difficult to circumvent.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.40.0 (2020-10-12).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Website blocking, Whitelisting, Windows hosts file

• How to use Chrome Remote Desktop

  Posted on October 4th, 2020 at 21:08 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge
  

  REMOTE ACCESS

  By Lance Whitney

  There are plenty of apps for connecting two devices. Google’s Chrome Remote Desktop offers a simple, free, and no-frills approach to remote access.

  As you might expect, Chrome Remote Desktop (CRD) is cross-platform; there are versions for Windows, Mac, and Linux. You can also connect to a “host” system from an iPhone, iPad, or Android device via mobile apps. Use the app to remotely access your home or work machine, or to provide someone else with support and/or troubleshooting help.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.39.0 (2020-10-05).

  Remote Access AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Chrome Remote Desktop, Give support, Remote access

• Updated: A textbook-perfect Win10 reinstall

  Posted on October 4th, 2020 at 21:05 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  LANGALIST

  By Fred Langa

  Here’s a fresh look at a from-scratch, “down to bare metal,” manual reinstall that goes far beyond Win10’s built-in Reset options.

  In fact, it’s the best way to virtually guarantee that your Windows setup is 100 percent pristine and as close to perfect as possible.

  That’s because this reinstall method can in no way carry over existing and potential problems from your current setup — no errors, no misconfigurations, no malware, and no junk.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.39.0 (2020-10-05).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, From-scratch reinstalls, Windows 10 reinstall

• An audio problem in Win10, a forgotten app, and a Dropbox update

  Posted on October 4th, 2020 at 21:00 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  SHORTS

  By TB Capen

  Controlling audio in Windows has always been one of those things that should be really simple — but aren’t.

  Recently, I ran into another audio problem that really had me flummoxed. When I was watching a Netflix movie on my PC, inside a Firefox tab, audio came through just fine on my USB headphones. But if I unplugged them, there was no audio from the speakers attached to the machine’s audio-out port.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.39.0 (2020-10-05).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Windows 10 AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Audio controls, Benchmarks, Dropbox, Password managers, Windows Experience Index

• Win10’s ever-changing Reset functions

  Posted on September 27th, 2020 at 21:15 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge
  

  LANGALIST

  By Fred Langa

  Microsoft has quietly removed one of Win10’s three built-in Reset options.

  In Version 2004 (April 2020), the somewhat confusing and redundant Fresh start option is now gone, replaced by an enhanced and clearer Reset/Keep My Files function.

  Another improvement: All Win10 Reset controls now let you choose between local or cloud-based reinstallation files.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.38.0 (2020-09-28).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, System resets, Win10 2004
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