Newsletter Archives

• “What can I use my old computers for?”

  Posted on January 23, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Randy McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.04 • 2023-01-23

  SUPPORT

  

  By Randy McElveen

  I will be the first to admit that I have a problem letting go of things. I just cannot throw things away, especially electronics.

  In this article, I will give you some “tips for pack rats” about how to repurpose old computers. I’m sure I will get around to doing these things with my basement full of computers — someday.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.04.0, 2023-01-23).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Support hardware, Linux, Newsletters, Older PCs, Randy's Remedies

• Is the woman in this video real or a deepfake? Now find out.

  Posted on January 23, 2023 at 02:44 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  There’s been an explosion in artificial intelligence (AI) that can create fake videos and compose passable writing samples. These computer-generated outputs are now good enough to fool the average person, who may absorb social media with an uncritical eye.

  The major media have exhaustively (but superficially) written about these AI programs. So I won’t bore you with the mind-numbing details of exactly how they work.

  Instead, I’ll tell you how to detect them and — hopefully — protect yourself against fakes of all kinds.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.04.0, 2023-01-23).

  Public Defender Artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, Deepfakes, Newsletters, Video

• Get started, but stay original, with Microsoft Designer

  Posted on January 23, 2023 at 02:43 CST by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  There is and will continue to be a lot of hype about Microsoft Designer.

  As usual, the reality of a Microsoft product is somewhat different. Microsoft’s focus is making everything quick and easy, which sounds great. But any moderately experienced Office user knows the trap. Too many docs, sheets, and slides have a tedious sameness to them because they rely on the same templates and design helpers.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.04.0, 2023-01-23).

  Microsoft 365 Designer, Graphics Editors, Microsoft Designer, Newsletters

• Microsoft to lay off 10,000 workers

  Posted on January 23, 2023 at 02:42 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  Microsoft will reduce its worldwide workforce by 5% due to economic uncertainty.

  On January 18, 2023, Satya Nadella sent to all Microsoft employees a letter titled Focusing on our short- and long-term opportunity. The note contained his explanation for the contraction of the workforce.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.04.0, 2023-01-23).

  Microsoft News Financial Performance, Microsoft layoffs, Newsletters

• When is the right time to buy a Windows 11 computer?

  Posted on January 23, 2023 at 02:41 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE

  

  By Susan Bradley

  The other day, I retired the last Windows 7 computer in our office, the one that had been used by our office manager.

  She didn’t like change and rarely went online. She used the computer only for some key business applications. (She carried a flip phone.) In other words, this is a case in which I wanted to make the transition as smooth as possible.

  So I took an older Windows 10 computer that wasn’t eligible for Windows 11, put the Start10 application on it, installed the Office classic menu, and ported her preferred background image to the “new” PC. I put the icons on the desktop in exactly the same place. I did everything possible to make the new computer look and behave as much like the old one as I could. And I didn’t tell her the computer had changed.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.04.0, 2023-01-23).

  Hardware hardware, Newsletters, Windows 10, Windows 11

• How to set up a local account in any edition of Windows 11

  Posted on January 16, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Lance Whitney • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.03 • 2023-01-16

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Lance Whitney

  Yes, there is a way to create a local account in Windows 11, if you know the right tricks.

  With Windows 11, Microsoft has certainly made it more difficult to use a local account, especially if you’re running Windows 11 Home edition. But difficult doesn’t mean impossible. There is one clever way to sneak past Microsoft’s restrictions and create a local account in any edition of Windows 11.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.03.0, 2023-01-16).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Windows 11 local account, Newsletters, Windows 11

• Windows Menu Editor — This is the last day I search for “Delete”!

  Posted on January 16, 2023 at 02:44 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  I switch between versions of Windows a lot.

  Most of the computers I repair are Windows 10, but most of the ones I build are Windows 11. Two of the desktops I use in the office are Windows 10, but my office laptop is Windows 11. I don’t know how many times a day I right-click to cut, copy, paste, rename, or delete something — but if it’s on Windows 11, it takes time for my brain to stop searching for the words “Cut,” “Copy,” “Paste,” “Rename,” or “Delete.”

  I don’t have the time nor the will to adapt!

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.03.0, 2023-01-16).

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Menus, Newsletters, Windows 10, Windows 11

• Saving history

  Posted on January 16, 2023 at 02:43 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  PERSONAL MEDIA

  

  By Will Fastie

  Nothing lasts forever. Or does it?

  The readership of this newsletter is old enough to have used, if not embraced, a host of analog technologies for documenting memories. Today we’re taking photos and videos using our omnipresent “phones,” but as recently as two decades ago magnetic tape and film were our primary tools.

  We know this to be true because in our attics, basements, and closets we have trays of 35mm and Instamatic (127) slides. We have strips of black-and-white negatives, and perhaps strips of color negatives. We have boxes of video tapes in Sony Video8, Hi8, Betamax, VHS, VHS-C, and the crossover format MiniDV. We have albums of printed photos. We have quarter-inch audio tapes, cassette tapes, and maybe even the elusive 8-track cartridge format. We may even have vinyl LPs, and older 45s and 78s.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.03.0, 2023-01-16).

  Personal Media Audio, Media, Media Conversion, Newsletters, Photo, Video

• January’s patching cyclone

  Posted on January 16, 2023 at 02:42 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  We’re a bit soggy and wet at the AskWoody Tech LLC Global Headquarters here in central California.

  We’ve had nearly a week of rain, and more is coming. I shouldn’t complain — severe drought has brought our state’s water supply down to historically low levels, so the water is needed and much appreciated. But when Microsoft rains down upon us at the same time, the total deluge is a bit much.

  For January, Microsoft fixed 98 security vulnerabilities, said goodbye (for the final time) to the much-beloved Windows 7, also said goodbye to the less used (but popular among its buffs) Windows 8.1, and actually released updates to Microsoft’s on-premises mail server, Exchange.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.03.0, 2023-01-16).

  Patch Watch Exchange Server, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch, windows 7, Windows 8

• Welcome to our twentieth year

  Posted on January 9, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.02 • 2023-01-09

  FROM THE PUBLISHER

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Time flies.

  It seems like only yesterday. Out of the blue, I got an email from Brian Livingston, asking to meet with him while I was in Seattle attending a Microsoft event. Over dinner, he explained that he wanted me to write a column in the Windows Secrets Newsletter that would track issues with Microsoft patches and analyze their impact on PCs and their users.

  It was the dawn of “The Patch Lady.”

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.02.0, 2023-01-09).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  From the Publisher AskWoody, History, Industry, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Windows Secrets

• Make Windows 11 as cool as your phone with Android apps

  Posted on January 9, 2023 at 02:44 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  After many, many requests, Microsoft finally added the capability to run Android apps when it released Windows 11.

  Every iPhone and Android phone user knows how convenient it is to carry in your pocket or purse any number of apps that bring you weather, traffic, emails, texts, games — even rocket science, if that’s your thing.

  However, unlike the ease of use of a smartphone — where you can install virtually any app with just a few clicks — Windows 11 presents you with a series of “gotchas” that can discourage even the biggest Microsoft fanatic from adding an Android app.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.02.0, 2023-01-09).

  Public Defender Android, Android on Windows, Apps, Newsletters, Windows 11

• Note to Congress: Please try to keep up

  Posted on January 9, 2023 at 02:43 CST by Max Stul Oppenheimer • Comment in the Forums

  LEGAL BRIEF

  

  By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

  That’s a big ask.

  In a previous column, I explained why law always lags technology.

  To summarize, case law is by definition reactive. Courts don’t go out and look for cases; they wait for someone to be upset enough to bring one to them. Legislatures can be proactive, but they can’t act until they realize there’s a problem to be acted upon. So it is not surprising that new issues will arise, and we will need to be patient while solutions are agreed upon.

  But …

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.02.0, 2023-01-09).

  Legal Brief Artificial intelligence, Copyright, Fair Use, Legal, Newsletters, Patents
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