Newsletter Archives
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Randy’s remedies: Juice, heat, glass, social, grid, and malware
SUPPORT
By Randy McElveen
Let’s finish up that list of remedies from Randy’s top 10 customer-support issues: Identified!
In this article, we’ll tackle #6 all the way up to #1. If you remember, we’re going to get you some free malware-removal tools for #1, so find that flash drive!
Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.38.0, 2022-09-19).
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Do external hard drives make sense in the cloud-storage era?
LANGALIST
By Fred Langa
With effectively infinite storage available online, is there any point to storing files and backups locally, on external hard drives? A subscriber’s question prompts today’s first item.
The second item looks at a PC electrical glitch. A subscriber has a battery-backed uninterruptible power supply and an emergency generator. Trouble is, they won’t work with each other! Here’s what’s probably going on, and how to correct it.
Last, you’ll see ways to connect to an unknown, potentially compromised, public USB charging port — without risking your device’s data!
Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 19.10.0 (2022-03-07).
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Locked out of his own PC’s Desktop!
LANGALIST
By Fred Langa
There’s no such thing as a small permissions problem in Windows! When things go wrong, they can go very, very wrong, as today’s first reader-submitted question illustrates.
In this issue’s second question, a reader wonders whether he should try updating his PC’s firmware (i.e., BIOS/UEFI and similar low-level hardware) via Windows’ Device Manager.
And in the third, a reader seeks help when his device fails to restart after a power outage.
Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.24.0 (2021-06-28).
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Batteries so powerful they do everything but fly
PUBLIC DEFENDER
Batteries so powerful they do everything but flyBy Brian Livingston
There are times when I’m power-mad — I just want the biggest battery available to power my laptop, my phone, and heck, maybe a cup warmer for my coffee, too.
I’m not going to drag around a cart with a propane generator just so I can compute. Fortunately, power banks that can double or triple the life of a laptop are now affordable and light enough to carry around in a shoulder bag or backpack.
But what about airplanes?
Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.6.0 (2021-02-15).