Newsletter Archives

• Working with USB 3 and 4 in Windows

  Posted on August 21, 2023 at 02:43 CDT by Ed Tittel • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE

  

  By Ed Tittel

  The Universal Serial Bus, most commonly known as USB, has been a basic staple of computing since it first arrived on the scene in 1996.

  It’s a widely used computing-industry bus standard that’s overseen by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), an industry consortium that publishes and maintains standards for USB4, USB 3.2, USB 2.0, USB ports, cables, connectors, and more. I haven’t seen a PC that didn’t include multiple USB ports since the early 2000s.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.34.0, 2023-08-21).

  Hardware Newsletters, storage, USB, USB 2, USB 3, USB Flash Drives, USB-C, USB4, Windows

• Update fails, and WaaSMedic runs for hours …

  Posted on November 1, 2021 at 02:44 CDT by Fred Langa • Comment in the Forums

  LANGALIST

  

  By Fred Langa

  Windows 10/11’s built-in WaaSMedic agent is supposed to automatically detect and repair problems with Windows Update.

  But sometimes, it can’t fix what’s wrong; other times, WaaSMedic itself is the problem!

  Fortunately, there are a number of known solutions — including some new advice from Microsoft — to remedy this and other common Update problems.

  Plus: Edge won’t stay dead! And: A Wi-Fi dongle takes down a keyboard and mouse.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.42.0 (2021-11-01).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Edge, LangaList, USB, Windows Update

• There are no USB cables any more

  Posted on March 8, 2021 at 01:04 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  It used to be that you could run any old USB cable between just about any two USB ports, and the devices on each end would simply work. But that hasn’t been true for a long, long time.

  As more and more manufacturers wanted to bring different devices with different needs to market, the standard USB-A cable was lost in the shuffle. Instead, we got a gaggle of novel USB connectors named Mini-A, Mini-B, Micro-A, Micro-B, Apple’s similar-but-different Lightning, and more.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.9.0 (2021-03-08).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender, Thunderbolt, USB, USB standards

• PC bargains: Buying a laptop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

  Posted on November 11, 2019 at 01:00 CST by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  PC BUYING

  By Michael Lasky

  Shopping for a new PC this holiday season? The best bargains are almost always on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) and the following Cyber Monday.

  While Cyber Monday’s online shopping binge might have lessened the Friday brick-and-mortar crowds — and extended the time we have to look for bargains — it hasn’t reduced the seduction for impulse buying.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.41.0 (2019-11-11).

  Buying New Hardware AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Black Friday, Cyber Tuesday, USB

• Windows 10 1709 still isn’t ready for prime time — and the latest buggy cumulative update, KB 4074588, proves the point

  Posted on February 20, 2018 at 07:32 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I’m seeing a whole host of different problems with this month’s cumulative update for Win10 Fall Creators Update.

  Computerworld Woody on Windows.

  Windows Patches/Security Fall Creators Update, KB 4058258, KB 4074588, USB, Win10 1709