When is it Time to Replace my Computer? A reader asks… My initial thought is that you’re very much nearing the end of the useful service life of your 2017 Macbook Air and it’s time to start thinking about replacing it. In 2020, Apple starting outfitting their Macbook models with the M1 chip, and updated to the M2 chip in 2021. Plus, Apple replaced the keyboard mechanism in all their models in 2020 with a significantly better design. All this […]
Windows Update Patience: a reader asks… Sometimes when I do the Windows Updates, it seems to take a very long time to complete. I have work to do, so how can I make it go faster? In short, you have to practice patience. The way I try to mitigate this is to schedule my time to do Windows Updates for a block of time near the end of every month when I don’t have other computer work scheduled. That way […]
Apple Photo Albums & Signal App Sharing Quirk: a reader asks… I use an iPhone with photos arranged in albums inside the Photos app. When I try to share these with other people (using Signal), I get an error message that says “You can’t share more than 32 items”. Apple’s sharing limits say nothing about this strict limitation. What gives? Apple’s photo album sharing limits are explained on this help page. You’re right, it says nothing about a 32 item […]
What Can I Do vs. Do It – Mouse buttons: a reader asks… I remember reading something you mentioned awhile back but can’t find it. You had a handy way to describe what the mouse buttons do. Can you tell me? You betcha! The way to consider these is simply: If you use a Mac Magic Mouse or Trackpad, replace the button clicks with 1-finger tap or click (for left mouse button action) and 2-finger tap or click (for right […]
Chrome Enhanced Safe Browsing: a reader asks… I recently read that Google has a new feature called “Enhanced Safe Browsing” that’s supposed to protect us from bad websites, phishing scams and the like. My family all shares the same computer and I suspect that some might have accidentally gone to bad places. Do you think I should use this to help protect my family’s web browsing? First off, this isn’t that new. Google came out with the Enhanced Safe Browsing […]
Account Credentials: a reader asks… Every once in a while, my Windows 10 computer gives me a popup that asks for a password. I don’t know why it does this, and I also don’t know which account password it’s asking for. I use this computer for both work and personal use, and this always seems to happen at times when my work tech support isn’t available. Can you help? My guess is that you have several different account passwords for […]
When to Restart Windows: a reader asks… I get how nowadays we should be leaving our computers running all the time, with just the monitor powered down. And only shutting it off when we leave town. But I’m not sure how often I should be restarting my Windows computer. Any advice? Sure, there are three reasons to restart your computer: First, when the computer is not acting normally, your first step should be to restart the computer. This can be […]
iPhone Beeps, Tones & Notifications: a reader asks… I have an iPhone (13), and am confused by the array of beeps and tones that it emits. I don’t know how to control that. Do you have any tips? iPhone’s notifications, ringtones, text tones, etc. have become much more complicated as the iOS versions have progressed and matured, to the point where now it can take a lot of work to set the various sounds your iPhone makes the way you […]
Fake Infection Warnings: a reader asked… I’ve been getting these warning popups that line up on the right side of my Windows 11 screen. They warn that my computer is infected, and list McAfee as the warning. I think they’re fake, but they keep coming back anytime I run my web browser, Chrome. I don’t even have McAfee installed, just Malwarebytes. What can I do to stop these fake warnings? After looking at your screenshot, I can see that the […]
Buh-Bye Apple PhotoStream: a reader asks… I received an email from Apple that they are shutting down My Photo Stream soon. I have thousands of photos in my Photo Library, are these at risk? What should I do? Your photos are not at risk, and you don’t need to do anything. Over the years, Apple has refined and improved the image and photo management experience using Apple devices. You may remember iPhoto? My Photo Stream is similarly an older technology […]
Small Business Internet Service: a reader asks… I am starting a small business and have a very tight budget. I can’t get out of paying rent on office space, but I would like to, at least initially, save money on internet service. Can I get away with using my smartphone’s hotspot for internet access in the office? I’m using VOIP for office phone service from my laptop and smartphone. Other tenants in the office building don’t use internet service, so […]
Computer maintenance: a reader asks… Since Microsoft is planning on supporting Windows 10 until October 2025, you have a few years of routine maintenance ahead of you. Please note this is no different advice than for anyone using a computer. All computers and operating systems require routine maintenance, but the list below is customized for your particular situation. And I will say up-front that keeping your computer up-to-date is the easiest and best way to keep it running well for […]
Fighting Junk Email: a reader asks… I’m inundated with spam! I get so much of it, way more than legitimate emails that I want to read. I’m using Outlook and know there’s a junk mail filter, but it seems like the spammers keep using different addresses and even if I mark emails as junk, they keep sending them to me and the junk mail filter doesn’t catch them. Is there anything more I can do? Ok, this is going to […]
Outlook Tracking Emails: a reader asked… I use MS Outlook (MS 365 subscription), and like to track sent emails occasionally to see when they’re opened or read. I’ve noticed that the tracking button doesn’t always appear for me to view tracking information. Why can’t I see tracking information? The short answer is that when you send an email out with a tracking request, that request may not be honored by the receipient. If your recipient doesn’t send you tracking information […]
Apple Photos to PC: a reader asks… Actually, there are two ways. The first way is automatic, and happens in the background. The second way is manual, and you do this for each photo or set of photos you want to transfer. The advantage of the first method is that it happens without you having to do anything, the disadvantage is that the actual transfer may not occur immediately. The advantage of the second method is that you have access […]
Who’s Better, Bard or GPT-4? A reader asks… Ok, I’m looking at your previous article about AI, and you mention Bard, Google’s AI. You also ended that article with a short answer from GPT-4 as to why it was the best. Can you give me a bit more comparison of the two to help me decide which I should use for writing projects? I would caution you on how you use artificial intelligence (AI) tools for writing projects. any AI […]
Auto-lock Screen w/o Sleep: a reader asks… I recently followed your advice about not using sleep mode on my windows 10 PC. But I’m now seeing a problem: my screen doesn’t auto-lock. Is there a way to use auto-lock without using Sleep mode? I need this because when I travel, I leave my laptop in my hotel room and don’t want anyone to be able to get into my computer. In both Windows 10 & 11, the computer auto-locks the […]
Verizon/AOL Email after I quit Verizon? A reader asks… If we cancel our Verizon services (cable, internet, phone, email), will we lose our Verizon email? We made the switch when they moved the emails to AOL. So now we log in through AOL. We’ve had the same email for 10 plus years and don’t want to lose that, but Verizon prices are just ridiculous. If we cancel Verizon services, will we need a paid AOL account? Nope, since your email is through AOL, […]
Trying out ChatGPT on iOS: a reader asks… I’ve been reading about ChatGPT and other new artificial intelligence technologies, and was wondering if you had any thoughts about how I might setup and use it on my iPhone? OpenAI.com has been working in the artificial intelligence (AI) field for a long time. As a a leading AI research and deployment company, they released ChatGPT last November and allowed the public to start testing it out for free. Since then they’ve […]
No Signature in Gmail: a reader asks… I use Gmail and way back when had setup a signature to use on all my outgoing emails. I’ve forgotten how I did that and now I want to stop showing the signature. How do I do that (and please keep it simple)? I think the simplest way to show you how to do that is visually, so here’s a step-by-step method to stop showing your signature in outgoing emails. When you open […]
iTunes Match – Worth it? A reader asks… Hi I’m all-in with Apple, use an iPhone, an iPad and a Macbook Pro. In the iTunes app I have a pretty large library of music – CD albums and other music I’ve imported into iTunes. Up to this point, I’ve been plugging my iPhone into my Mac every once in awhile to synchronize the music library. Someone just told me about a subscription service from Apple called “iTunes Match”. My question […]
Add Line in iMessage on Mac: a reader asks… Hi, I like to use the Messages app on my Macbook to send and receive text messages. On my iPhone, I can use the Return key on the virtual keyboard to add blank lines between words. On my Mac’s Messages app, the Return/Enter key sends the message. Is there a way I can add blank lines easily without sending the message? Actually this is quite easy – the Option key is […]
Record Me! A reader asks… I have to make a recording of me reading a speech. I have a Windows 10 PC with a nice webcam perched on top of the monitor – I use this for Zoom. Can I use this setup to record myself, and how do I do this? I have to upload a video file to a WeTransfer link that was given to me. Fortunately, Windows 10 has a handy built-in camera app (called “Camera”) that […]
Webcam Tip – Zoom and Field of Vision: a reader asks… I have a Logitech webcam and use it for Zoom, Microsoft Teams and GoToWebinar. I get that Zoom and Teams have the capability for virtual backgrounds and blurring your background, but what I’d like to do is zoom in my webcam or otherwise narrow in on myself. The webcam view is too wide. Got any tips? Yes I have tips. Depending on which model of webcam you have (and […]
Outlook Profiles on a Macbook: a reader asks… I recently switched from using a Windows PC to using a Macbook Pro. On the PC, I had two Outlook profiles, one for work and one for personal. On the Mac, I don’t see a way to setup multiple profiles, nor a way to switch between profiles. Is there an easy answer to this? I use a Microsoft 365 subcription for the Office apps. Short answer, using Outlook on the Mac isn’t […]
Cloud Storage Tip: a reader asks… I have a PC, an iPhone and an iPad, use a gmail account and have a subscription to Microsoft 365. Right now, I save Office documents, spreadsheets, etc. on Microsoft’s OneDrive, have my photos from my phone saved to iCloud, and have my email in gmail. Each of these cloud storage services has a cost. Is there a way for me to just use one and reduce my cost? The short answer is most […]
Strange Characters in Email: a reader asks… Why is it that sometimes emails I get from other people have strange characters in them? Sometimes the entire email is gobbledy-gook, and other times only some characters (like the apostrophe) are replaced with wacky characters. Is there a way to stop that? I use Windows 10 and Outlook (MS 365) for email. I’ve asked the sender about it and they say my computer is messed up. I don’t have this problem anywhere […]
Webcam/IP Camera Caution: a reader asks… I recently read an article about the (lack of) security for webcams. Is there a way to make using webcams safe? I have a vacation property and want to be able to check it remotely, but am worried about someone else gaining access to my webcams. I think you’re talking about IP Cameras, which don’t need to be connected to a computer (like standard webcams). Generally, these either plug into an electrical outlet or […]
Shiny New Chromebook Setup: a reader asks… Santa brought me a new laptop computer, yay! I looked at all your setup guides but didn’t find one for what I received – a Chromebook. So you have any tips for the best way to setup a Chromebook? Congrats! I’ve been warming up to Chromebooks for awhile now, as they offer a very much simplified computing experience compared to either a Mac or Windows PC (and for some, even easier than an […]
Hallmarks of a Scam Email: a reader asks… I received an email from Paypal saying I got charged a lot of money for some purchase. I neither made a purchase, nor even have a Paypal account. I called the number on the email and they sounded fishy, so I hung up fairly quickly. Should I do anything else? Delete the email. Recognize that you’ll get more of these types of “phishing” emails where a scammer tries to impersonate a recognized […]
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