Newsletter Archives

• WeatherMate — The weather on your desktop, without ads

  Posted on February 13, 2023 at 02:43 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Weather apps seem to follow a process in development.

  Step 1: Make a full-featured app.

  Step 2: Let people get hooked on it for a few years.

  Step 3: Ruin it by filling it with an obscene number of advertisements.

  But there is one app out there that is a breath of fresh air, mostly sunny with only a 10 percent chance of showers.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.07.0, 2023-02-13).

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Newsletters, Weather

• Which antivirus solution is the best?

  Posted on February 13, 2023 at 02:42 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Once upon a time, antivirus was the only thing that kept the attackers on the outside and protected your data on the inside.

  Even though antivirus is still an important item in your security toolkit, it is by no means the only means of protection. These days, I look to security programs that provide a balance between protection, information, minimal or no performance impact, and rare false positives. In the days when Microsoft still released major Windows service packs, your antivirus solution often meant the difference between a successful upgrade and one that was painful.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.07.0, 2023-02-13).

  On Security antivirus, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, security, Software

• How to fix File Explorer folder views in Windows 10 and 11

  Posted on February 6, 2023 at 02:45 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.06 • 2023-02-06

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  There’s a common complaint about the file manager in Windows 10 and 11. You change File Explorer’s “folder view” to show filenames, dates, file sizes, and so forth. You’ve got them exactly the way you want. You select View, Options and use the View tab to click “Apply to Folders.” Then File Explorer immediately forgets what you said and shows folders any damn way it wants.

  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. But the anguish from this problem arises so often that it’s a wonder Microsoft hasn’t fixed it by now.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.06.0, 2023-02-06).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Public Defender File Explorer, Newsletters, Windows, Windows 10, Windows 11

• Changes to Outlook and OneDrive have fallout

  Posted on February 6, 2023 at 02:44 CST by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Last week there were two big — and related — changes to Outlook.com and OneDrive.

  One is a way for Microsoft to gobble up more of your OneDrive quota. The other is a new Microsoft 365 plan, which might interest people with a perpetual license to Office 2021, 2019, and earlier.

  I’ll explain these changes in detail; in particular, I’ll explain why these two changes are related and how to deal with the fallout.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.06.0, 2023-02-06).

  Microsoft 365 Microsoft 365, Microsoft Outlook, Newsletters, OneDrive, Outlook.com, outlook.com attachments

• Would you ever run an MS-DOS program in 64-bit Windows?

  Posted on February 6, 2023 at 02:43 CST by Ben Myers • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE

  

  By Ben Myers

  Let’s see if we can find good reasons to continue to use a 30-year-old MS-DOS program.

  Recently, a client asked me whether it was possible to run an MS-DOS program important for his business on a modern Windows 10 laptop, rather than his 15-year-old laptop with Windows XP. I asked him for his reasoning and quickly rejected out of hand the possibility of installing a 32-bit version of Windows 10 to run his DOS program, an extremely limited use for a laptop. And with a look to the future, there is no 32-bit Windows 11, either.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.06.0, 2023-02-06).

  Hardware DOS Emulators, MS-DOS, Newsletters, printing, vDOS

• Lunch with Brian

  Posted on February 6, 2023 at 02:42 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  EDITORIAL

  

  By Will Fastie

  Brian Livingston was on the East Coast a few weeks ago and took the opportunity to make a side trip to Baltimore.

  Brian called in advance to set up the meeting, saying he preferred to meet the people he was working with face to face. He graciously paid his own way, and we had a nice afternoon.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.06.0, 2023-02-06).

  Editorial Brian Livingston, History, Max Oppenheimer, Newsletters

• Getting Outlook to behave

  Posted on February 6, 2023 at 02:41 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  When dealing with Outlook, there are some tricks for dealing with its annoyances.

  A friend of mine was setting up a new computer and loaded up her applications. One of the major ones she relies on is Outlook, for her email and calendar. When she opened Outlook to view her calendar, it had frozen and wouldn’t open. What to do?

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.06.0, 2023-02-06).

  Patch Watch Newsletters, outlook, Patch Lady Posts

• Apple announces new Mac products

  Posted on January 30, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.05 • 2023-01-30

  APPLE NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  The MacBook Pro and Mac mini are upgraded to new versions of Apple’s M2 system on a chip.

  All models became available last Tuesday.

  There’s not a lot of news here. The move to the M2 series of Apple silicon was inevitable and expected for both product lines, so the new products are not much of a surprise. But it’s important to keep up, because Apple silicon keeps evolving.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.05.0, 2023-01-30).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Apple Apple M2, Apple News, Apple Silicon, Mac mini, MacBook, Newsletters

• How to choose and use the best PowerToys for Windows 10/11

  Posted on January 30, 2023 at 02:44 CST by Lance Whitney • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS

  

  By Lance Whitney

  Microsoft packs a lot of cool tools into its free PowerToys offering. Here are some of the best.

  Microsoft’s latest incarnation of PowerToys has been around for a few years. Geared for Windows 10 and 11, PowerToys aims to add more features and flexibility to Windows.

  But now there are more than 15 individual tools in PowerToys. How do you know which ones are worth trying? Let’s check out what I think are the best of the bunch.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.05.0, 2023-01-30).

  Windows Newsletters, PowerToys, Windows, Windows 10, Windows 11

• Volume² — a comfortable, useful addition to Windows

  Posted on January 30, 2023 at 02:43 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Have you ever stumbled across a program that is so sleek, so well executed, and so simple that it feels as if it’s always been a part of Windows?

  A program you just know must be on all your computers, or they won’t feel like Windows?

  Alexandr Irza, a talented developer from Ukraine, created Volume². It’s a free, open-source program that seriously upgrades the volume controls of your Windows PC. I always enjoy listening to a little music while I write these articles, and I can’t stop playing with my new volume controls!

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.05.0, 2023-01-30).

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Newsletters, Sound, Volume

• Passwords don’t work — until they do

  Posted on January 30, 2023 at 02:42 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Let’s get real. We all would love it if every website requiring credentials would just launch to our desired page without our having to enter in a password or do any sort of authentication.

  The process of entering a password or passphrase that is unique to every website is essential for security, but untenable. We usually counter our inability to remember more than a few passwords by using a Password Manager program (hopefully your display is not surrounded by Post-It™ notes). Password managers work great, until they are no longer safe.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.05.0, 2023-01-30).

  On Security Hardware Keys, Newsletters, passwords, Patch Lady Posts, security, Security Tokens

• “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
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