Back-to-school Laptop: a reader asks… I’ve got a teen heading off to college in a few weeks, and I want to make sure he has the right technology. He has an iPhone 6, and we’re shopping for a laptop – or should he get an iPad? If not, should we get him a Macbook Air, a Macbook Pro, or a Windows PC? It boils down to a few key questions. Namely, your budget for a laptop, his experience (and your’s) […]
Win10 Anniversary Update: a reader asks… I have a laptop that I upgraded to Windows 10 last year. I’ve been reading about the Windows 10 Anniversary Update that’s supposed to fix a bunch of stuff with Windows. It’s supposed to be available now but I haven’t seen it on Windows Update. Do I need to manually install this update? I wouldn’t be too anxious about installing the update. Microsoft reportedly put it on the Windows Update list, but is rolling […]
PSA: No More Ransom: Just a quick public service announcement. If your PC has been infected with Ransomware and you don’t have a full system image backup, then you may be thinking of paying the ransom to get your files back. Before you do this, check out this website: Of course, you’ll need to visit it from an uninfected computer, and download a set of possible keys you could use to decrypt your hard drive. No guarantees, but it’s definitely […]
Office 365 Confusion: a reader asks… I just bought Microsoft Office 365 for my Windows 10 PC. I haven’t installed it yet, because I’m confused about what to do. It looks like the default installation is Office 32-bit, version 2016. But my PC has Windows 10 64-bit. Also, I have MS Office 2010 already installed. Do I need to uninstall that? First off, Office 365 doesn’t necessarily do an upgrade of your existing Office programs, it just installs the latest […]
Win7 Update Rollup: a reader asks… I just replaced a crashed hard drive on my Dell Inspiron laptop, and installed Windows 7 fresh. I see it’s Service Pack 1, but there must be hundreds of updates since then. Do I have to do all those updates bit by bit or is there a faster way to get my system up-to-date? There is, with the “Windows 7 SP1 Convenience Rollup” that Microsoft released. This standalone update package brings any Windows 7 […]
I hate Edge! a reader asks… I recently upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7 on my Lenovo laptop PC. Everything is working fine and I’m happy with Windows 10 except for one thing. I just hate the new Edge browser! In Windows 7 I used Internet Explorer and it was fine. I had my favorite add-ons working just fine. But that disappeared in Windows 10 and all I have is this Edge browser which doesn’t run my add-ons. I’m […]
Too Orange? a reader asks… I use Night Shift on my iPhone so that at night the screen isn’t so blue. Unfortunately, now it’s very orange-looking. Is there a way to adjust the color so it isn’t so bad? I want to stop that blue light at night so it doesn’t keep me awake, but the orange tint is so bad it’s distracting. Yes there’s an adjustment on the Settings page for Night Shift. Go to Settings, then Display & […]
Macbook Pro Buy? a reader asks… I’m ready for a new Macbook Pro, my old Macbook Air has served me well since 2011, but now has too many problems to keep using. I also found the Air model a little lightweight for my needs, so want to upgrade to the Pro. I heard there’s a new model of Macbook Pro coming out this fall. My question is, should I wait and get that, or buy now? That’s really a question […]
Music on iPhone: a reader asks… I have an iPhone and use iTunes on my computer. I have a pretty large collection of music I’ve collected over the years that’s in my computer’s iTunes library, mostly by ripping CDs. Is there an easy way to get that music on my iPhone? There are two ways to get that music on your iPhone, but first let me pose a situation for you. Your iPhone might have 8, 16, 32, 64 or […]
Online lies: a reader asks… I have a relative who’s always sending me emails with the most outlandish statements. Some of these are very well made Youtube videos, others are links to ‘news’ articles that state as facts things that I know to be false. I don’t want to cause a rift in family relations, but I’m sick and tired of these emails coming from my relative. Do you have any advice? You have several options. First, you can just […]
New System Image: a reader asks… On the last day of the free Windows 10 upgrade, I took my Dell laptop to the Microsoft Store to be upgraded to Windows 10 (from Windows 7). I told them that I didn’t need to save anything from the old operating system setup, so they wiped the drive and installed Windows 10 fresh. That’s all great, but now I want to create a backup of my system so I can restore it in […]
Toner Refill? a reader asks… Hi, I have an HP color laser printer, model M252dw. The toner cartridge replacements from HP.com are $70-80 apiece (I need 4) and that’s a lot of money. Do you think I can use the cheap refill kits I’ve seen online for eight dollars or so each? Ok, there’s a probability that you’ll void your warranty if you don’t use HP-certified products, and the refill kits I’ve seen online show the ink as coming from […]
Chrome or Edge? a reader asks… I recently upgraded to Windows 10, and I see there’s a new web browser called Microsoft Edge. I’ve been using Google Chrome for awhile and it works pretty good. Also use Gmail. Should I switch to using Edge for day-to-day web browsing? Is it safer or faster? Right now I consider Edge to be a work-in-progress. It has potential to be a decent web browser, but as yet is not suitable for anything more […]
Win10 Protection: a reader asks… Hi Chris, do I really need to spend money to protect my new Windows 10 computer? I know you recommend Bitdefender and Malwarebytes, but I’d prefer not to have to spend more money, after all I just plunked down a lot for my new computer. It boils down to how much risk you want to take along with how safely you use your computer. Windows 10 does come with some basic protections built-in that older […]
iMessage tip: a reader asks… I have an iPhone 6 and use text messaging a lot. I have 2 questions, first, how can I know when text messages were sent? I see the date above a group of bubbles which tells me the date they were sent, but it doesn’t tell the time. Second, on the list of people I’ve texted with, how do I search for someone specific? My list is pretty long. Thanks for your help! Apple’s iMessage […]
Is Dropbox safe? a reader asks… Hi Chris, I’ve been looking at online file storage solutions, and am about to decide on Dropbox. I have two questions for you, first, is Dropbox safe for me to use? I read all the time about companies getting hacked and am worried about storing my files online. I don’t have anything really important to anybody but me, but don’t want it all getting to some hacker somewhere. Second, which plan would you recommend? […]
Is this legit? a reader asks… Sorry to bother you, but is this legit? It won’t close to let me out! I’m using an HP desktop PC. It’s a scam. I can see that it’s simply a web page, but I can’t see the entire screen so I’m guessing the hacker who designed this page set it so the x-out button at the top-right isn’t usable. Anybody who can code in HTML can create web pages that look like anything […]
Win10 Upgrade no-go: a reader asks… I have a Windows 7 laptop PC and have been trying to upgrade to Windows 10 before the deadline. Every time I try I get an error during the upgrade and the system rolls back to Windows 7. I really want to go to Windows 10 before the deadline. Is there a way I can fix this without paying someone for hours of work? Generally when the upgrade fails, it’s because there is some […]
When to buy: a reader asks… I’m thinking that it’s about time for me to get a new computer. My 2006 iMac has served me well, but the hard drive is failing and the monitor flickers. Plus, it’s slowed down as I’ve updated OS X, seems like I’m always seeing the spinning beach ball. I’m thinking a new iMac but am wondering if now’s the right time? The rumor mills for the release of a new iMac are pointing to […]
New Laptop Setup: a reader asks… I just received a new Dell laptop with Windows 10 on it for my birthday. Can you give me your secrets, a rundown of what I should to to set it up correctly and to get my files copied over from my old laptop? Here’s what I think you should do, updated from my older article New Laptop? for Windows 10 and my current recommendations. The first thing you should do is to set aside […]
Lost Files: a reader asks… Hi there! I messed up big! So big I am hyperventilating a bit. But that’s probably when people email you. I got an HP Assistant message to create my system backup. I thought that I would do that on my external hard drive, which I use to store photos and documents. BUT what I did not realize is that creating the backup wipes the external hard drive and you are supposed to use a clean disc […]
Facebook un-friend: a reader asks… I use Facebook every day and have a huge group of friends. Unfortunately, one of these friends has started posting things I find really objectionable. I would like to unfriend them, but know that will cause a fight in real life which I’d like to avoid. Is there a way I can stop seeing their posts without unfriending them? Both Facebook and Twitter have a method of blocking someone’s posts from appearing in your feed […]
Win10 warning: a reader asks… I’ve been putting off taking the ‘free’ upgrade to Windows 10 (my 2-year old Dell laptop has Windows 7 on it). But I keep getting these popup warnings that Microsoft’s upgrade offer is ending in a couple of weeks. Today I just read about a security vulnerability that Microsoft just discovered and fixed that affects all versions of Windows – even Windows 10. So apparently Microsoft still has problems with security of their operating system. […]
Display problems: a reader asks… I have a Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop I purchased in 2012. Just recently a problem with the display developed. There’s a messed up vertical section that goes from top to bottom. I’d recently upgraded to Windows 10 so I thought that was the problem. I wiped the computer and started to re-install Windows 7 but am still getting the same vertical lines. What do I do? This type of a display problem is an indicator […]
Oops Sharing: a reader asks… Last night I realized some of my documents which I open from emails and then go to save ended up on a shared dropbox folder without me knowing or placing there! Is there a way to prevent this? I use a Macbook Air if that makes any difference. Your Mac tends to remember the last place you saved something, and when you save something new, it will be placed in the same folder as the last […]
Firefox & HTTPS: a reader asks… I think something’s wrong with Firefox. All of the sudden, it’s now telling me that every secure (https://blah blah blah) site I go to is unsecure – even google.com! I get a message saying something along the lines of “Your connection is not secure, the owner [any secure website] has configured their website improperly. To protect your information from being stolen, Firefox has not connected to this website.” I can’t believe that even Google has […]
Backup Beeps: a reader asks… I have sleep apnea and use a CPAP while I sleep. We have frequent brownouts. I have just purchased 2 UPS’s (Prolink Pro700SFT 650va). The brownouts usually last between 2 and 20 minutes. I wrote the Manufacturer but was told I can’t shut the alarm off. I want to disable or silence the alarm so I can continue to sleep uninterrupted. How do I do this? Thanks in advance for your assistance. First, I’m assuming you […]
Software Subscription: a reader asks… Hi Chris, I’ve noticed that more and more software is being sold as a ‘subscription’ where instead of a one-time purchase to buy the software, you pay every year and rent the software. What gives with this, and why should I go with renting software? There have been a number of changes in technology that have driven the switchover from software purchasing to the subscription model. The first place you saw subscription software was in […]
Windows 10 Hidden Bits: a reader asks… I recently upgraded to Windows 10 from 7, and darn it, I can’t find any of the control panel stuff. Where did Microsoft hide everything? With Windows 10, Microsoft elected to marry Windows 7-style Control Panel options with Windows 8.1-style control apps. I think it was a compromise between the old and the new, although it does seem unsatisfactory at providing a good power user experience. Minimal system control features are shown up-front, […]
Mac Refresh: a reader asks… Hi Chris, I have a 2012 Macbook Air with the latest MacOS on it (El Capitan). I use it everyday, I’ve kept it updated and everything works fine except for one problem: the battery doesn’t last very long anymore. When it was new, I could go all day before having to plug in, now it seems like I can’t go more than a couple hours before the battery indicator turns red. Is there a way […]
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