Newsletter Archives
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Why does this PC shut down at about 80% charge?
LANGALIST
By Fred Langa
Lithium-ion batteries wear differently from classic dry- and wet-cell batteries, leading to some behaviors that seem, well, odd.
But it also could be a matter of poor thermal management — simple overheating! Today’s column covers easy ways to investigate and cure either type of trouble.
Plus: Recurring bank-account password problems lead a subscriber to ask about using a free password manager app.
Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.34.0 (2021-09-06).
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A VPN dissenter speaks out
LANGALIST
By Fred Langa
A reader strongly disagrees with Fred’s recent recommendation about using virtual private networks (VPNs) to increase online security; that reader’s colorful letter leads off this column.
Today’s second reader-requested topic covers battery-monitoring apps for PCs and smartphones, including the extensive (but hidden) battery health report that’s built into every copy of Windows 10.
The third reader-requested topic looks at daisy-chaining charging devices — say, charging your phone from your laptop while the laptop itself is charging from a wall socket.
Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.32.0 (2021-08-23).
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Reader feedback on driver/software updaters, and more!
LANGALIST
By Fred Langa
CCleaner — the popular system-cleanup tool — recently added automated software and driver updaters to its features. A subscriber set out to see whether they’re any good.
Plus: Another subscriber’s laptop is stuck at 79% battery charge and won’t charge any higher; and a third seeks advice on how to obtain the fastest possible PC-to-smartphone USB tethering.
Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.29.0 (2021-08-02).
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New smartphone? Great! Now don’t charge it past 80%
PUBLIC DEFENDER
By Brian Livingston
Sales of new smartphones are skyrocketing — Samsung’s new S21 line sold three times as many units in the US in March 2021 as last year’s S20 series did in the same period, according to SamMobile — but few people are learning from the manufacturers about these phones’ dirty little secret.
That’s the fact that charging these devices’ lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries to a full 100% wears out a great deal of your battery’s capacity within a year or two. This has been written about before. But in this story, I’ll show you how to triple the usable life of your gadgets’ batteries — either on your own or using a simple app.
Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.13.0 (2021-04-12).
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Easily back up all your PC’s current drivers
LANGALIST
By Fred Langa
Free tools, including Win10’s built-in export-driver command, make backing up your device drivers simple.
Plus: Free security info from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. And, do new laptops really require a 100 percent initial charge?
Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.37.0 (2019-10-14).