Newsletter Archives

• Patching embedded code

  Posted on February 24, 2025 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 22.08 • 2025-02-24

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  I’m here to state that patching firmware is easy.

  Easy, that is, if you can get over a big hurdle — knowing what device you have and where to find the proper firmware update.

  If you have a home-built or custom-built computer, often the hardest part is remembering which motherboard and accessory cards were installed. Then something turns out to be not quite right, and you’re in a pickle.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.08.0, 2025-02-24).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Patch Watch BIOS, Drivers, Firmware, Firmware Update, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Printers, Surface firmware update, System Information Viewer

• How you can make DeepSeek tell the truth

  Posted on February 24, 2025 at 02:44 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  The tech world was shocked last month when a Chinese company released DeepSeek, a chatbot that uses affordable, run-of-the-mill chips and consumes less energy per query than other artificial-intelligence programs.

  What’s not so good about DeepSeek is the way it censors or outright lies about political affairs. This includes anything you ask the chatbot that relates to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Asian democracy, and numerous other subjects.

  But it’s easy to make DeepSeek give you the straight-up truth — and I’ll tell you how to do it.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.08.0, 2025-02-24).

  Public Defender AI, China, DeepSeek, Newsletters

• Microsoft 365 changes, and Copilot

  Posted on February 24, 2025 at 02:43 CST by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Microsoft has made huge changes to its 365 consumer plans, including the intrusive addition of Copilot into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

  It’s the biggest transformation of Microsoft 365 Personal and Family (Home) plans for over a decade. Worse, it’s led to inevitable misinformation and screwy advice on social media.

  These are changes that all Microsoft 365 customers need to understand.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.08.0, 2025-02-24).

  Microsoft 365 Copilot, Excel, Microsoft 365 Family, Microsoft 365 Personal, Newsletters, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word

• NPS Image Editor — for those who still like Microsoft Paint

  Posted on February 24, 2025 at 02:42 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  I’ll admit it. I still use Microsoft Paint from time to time because I like how easily I can paste images into other images, make collages, and quickly add text to an image.

  Before you start writing that email: yes, I know there are other programs that do those things. Remember? I run that download site. But Paint is fast. You can right-click an image icon and choose Edit, and Paint has your image ready for you. Do I wish it had more bells and whistles? I certainly do.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.08.0, 2025-02-24).

  Freeware Spotlight Color picker, Image Editor, NeoHtop, Newsletters, NPS Image Editor, System Monitor

• How to fix problems with Microsoft’s Phone Link app

  Posted on February 17, 2025 at 02:45 CST by Lance Whitney • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 22.07 • 2025-02-17

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Lance Whitney

  Phone Link pairs your iPhone or Android phone with Windows, but it doesn’t always cooperate. Here’s how to fix technical troubles that may pop up in the process.

  I often use Microsoft’s Phone Link to sync my iPhone and Android phone with Windows so I can access mobile calls, messages, contacts, and photos from my phone directly on my PC. I especially like to write and answer texts using my desktop keyboard and mouse rather than my phone’s tiny virtual keys. But Phone Link can sometimes misbehave.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.07.0, 2025-02-17).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Windows 11 Android, Bluetooth, iPhone, Newsletters, Phone Link, Settings, Troubleshooting

• What do we know about DeepSeek?

  Posted on February 17, 2025 at 02:44 CST by Michael Covington • Comment in the Forums

  AI

  

  By Michael A. Covington

  On January 27, the Chinese AI company DeepSeek caused so much panic in American industry that NVIDIA stock dropped 17% in one day, and the whole Nasdaq had a 3.4% momentary dip.

  What scared everybody? The impressive performance of the DeepSeek large language model (LLM), which competes with ChatGPT, reportedly cost less than a tenth as much to create and costs less than a tenth as much to run.

  The bottom fell out of the market for powerful GPUs, at least temporarily, because they don’t seem to be needed in anywhere near the quantities expected.

  But what is this DeepSeek, and what do we make of it?

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.07.0, 2025-02-17).

  AI AI, Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, Llama, LLMs, Microsoft, Newsletters, OpenAI

• February — Same number of patches, fewer bugs

  Posted on February 17, 2025 at 02:43 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  This month we have a more “normal” patch release of 57 vulnerabilities.

  Although that’s a “woo-hoo” for the security researchers, you and I will still see the same old security updates being offered. That is, we will see a Windows security update.

  What also hasn’t changed is my stance toward Windows 11 24H2. If you buy a computer with it, stay there. If you are already on it and see no issues, stay there. But if you haven’t yet installed the 24H2 feature release on your existing Windows 11 23H2 machine, I still recommend holding back, especially for businesses. For consumers, the risk is less — as long as you are not a gamer.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.07.0, 2025-02-17).

  Patch Watch Apple updates, CVE-2025-21194, CVE-2025-21376, CVE-2025-21387, CVE-2025-21391, CVE-2025-24200, KB890830, Netlogon, Newsletters, Outlook (new), Patch Lady Posts, System Guard, Windows 11 24H2

• Setting up the Mac mini

  Posted on February 17, 2025 at 02:42 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  APPLE

  

  By Will Fastie

  Apple has an excellent reputation for helping iPhone users migrate from Android, a process that is smooth, precise, and friendly.

  It’s been over a decade since I set up a Mac, a 2009 model. My memory of that is vague, but I recall it as straightforward and easy to understand. I wondered whether today’s experience would live up to Apple’s past or to its excellent iPhone experience.

  I do not expect any oddities in my setup. However, there are a few things I should explain.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.07.0, 2025-02-17).

  Apple Adapters, HDMI, Mac mini, Mac setup, macOS, macOS Sequoia, Newsletters, PC setup, Thunderbolt

• Make the most of the snipping tools in Windows

  Posted on February 10, 2025 at 02:45 CST by Mary Branscombe • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 22.06 • 2025-02-10

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Mary Branscombe

  When you need a record of something you see on screen, Windows has multiple tools — plus ways to get images you saved on other devices, too.

  As usual with Windows, there isn’t just one way to snip, clip, or capture a screenshot of part of your screen. There’s a handful of options in Windows 10 and a more powerful new tool just for Windows 11.

  Windows 10 comes with an update of the Windows 7 Snipping Tool. You can open that from the Start menu, but it’s very basic and has a broken link to Paint 3D.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.06.0, 2025-02-10).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Windows 11 Edge, Newsletters, OneNote, Screen capture, Snipping Tool, Windows 10, Windows 11

• How good is Mac software vs. Windows software, really?

  Posted on February 10, 2025 at 02:44 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  The flame wars over whether Apple programs and apps are better or worse than Windows programs and apps have raged on ever since the Apple I was released in 1976. Like a fool, I’m stepping right into the middle of this battle royale with today’s column.

  In the first two parts of my Mac-vs.-Win11 series, I described how to get the best price on the new, 2024 Mac mini with its M4 chip and how to choose an inexpensive keyboard, mouse, and monitor (if you aren’t insistent on buying peripherals from Apple).

  Today, I’m going to cover the software that comes with the Mac mini, as well as programs and apps that you can get as separate add-ons. I’m probably not going to satisfy anyone.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.06.0, 2025-02-10).

  Public Defender Apple, Mac mini, macOS, Newsletters, Software, Windows

• Back to BASICs — Hello, World!

  Posted on February 10, 2025 at 02:43 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  My mom ran the media center at my school when I was a teen, and she happened to have control of a coveted personal computer.

  Sometimes, that TI-99 made it to our home on the weekends. As I think back to messing around with TI BASIC, I realize that — to some of you — BASIC seems pretty amateur. Well, not all of us are old enough to have had snowball fights in the woods of Wisconsin with Seymour Cray.

  Anyway, I found eight pretty nifty BASIC (Beginners’ All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) programs for you to geek out on. All of them will run on your Windows machine, so have fun!

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.06.0, 2025-02-10).

  Freeware Spotlight bas55, Basic, BASIC-256, Craft Basic, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Decimal BASIC, FreeBASIC, GCBASIC, Great Cow BASIC, Microsoft Small Basic, Newsletters, QB64

• Why is software security so hard?

  Posted on February 10, 2025 at 02:42 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  I’ve had discussions with developers about how and why software bugs get introduced into software.

  Most of the time, it’s because humans write the code, and then we humans use the code, often doing things that the software developer just didn’t think we’d do. But then there are those bonehead decisions that developers have made along the way — because someone decided it was faster or easier to do something that later proved to be a problem, rather than taking the time to do it right in the first place.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.06.0, 2025-02-10).

  On Security CISA, MFA, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, SecLists
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