I received an email from Perplexity today with an interesting offer. Clicking through the provided link (not shown) reveals the specifics of the offer. If the unique link provided to me is used by someone I invite, and that person uses the Comet browser to ask Perplexity one question, I get $15. The person gets […]

It’s not just Copilot that’s becoming oppressive. Is the message above helpful, or coercive? Apparently, everyday, ordinary, plain advertising just doesn’t work any longer.

APPLE By Will Fastie> Now that Apple’s “OS 26” versions are out, I decided to examine Apple’s macOS update process on my Mac mini, now named “Orchard.” There was one thing in particular I wanted to check out, which I’ll detail at the end of the article. In general, my purpose was to see how […]

ISSUE 22.40 • 2025-10-06 SOFTWARE By Will Fastie I’ve been spending a fair amount of time with AI chatbots, looking for ways these new systems can help in my daily work. For the most part, I’ve been using Perplexity Pro as an advanced search engine. More recently, I’ve been experimenting with coding problems. and I’ve […]

We spend a lot of time in the trenches with the Microsoft technology that is closest to you, such as Windows and Office. And most of us are aware of Microsoft’s long-term and heavy investment in its cloud-based infrastructure, Azure. We also know that Microsoft is a behemoth, one of the most valuable companies on […]

APPLE By Will Fastie The usual fall iPhone event was unusual this year. I’m not yet sure what it portends for Apple and its customers, and I’m not alone. I don’t want to get off on the wrong foot. This event was about Apple’s personal devices — iPhones, AirPods, and Watches — not about computers. […]

HISTORY By Will Fastie I thought the waiting list for AskWoody-hosted tours of the System Source Computer Museum was on the wane, but the most recent tour was full and the waiting list remains strong. Reactions to the museum continue to be very positive. Visitors are polled after their visit, and the consistent rating from […]

I can’t take it anymore. I am making an executive decision. Henceforth and forevermore, in all things AskWoody and in a mighty effort to Tame Our Tech, no parentheses will be harmed in the making of our content. Therefore, we will no longer refer to the forever-upcoming version of Outlook as “Outlook (new)” and instead […]

FROM THE FORUMS The forums are a centerpiece of AskWoody, allowing our community to engage with one another to solve problems, share insights, offer feedback, and add to our collective knowledge. (Not to mention keeping us in line.) We appreciate both the questions and the ongoing willingness of forum members to participate. Here’s a quick […]

ISSUE 22.29 • 2025-07-21 HISTORY By Will Fastie Our most recent tour of the System Source Computer Museum welcomed a hybrid of AskWoody Plus Members, free subscribers, and a few Baltimoreans who expressed interest. This tour evoked responses similar to those of our previous guests. Universally, attendees express amazement at this priceless collection. More interesting, […]

PERSONAL MEDIA By Will Fastie Although FireWire (IEEE 1394) interface cards and cabling remain readily available, there is a serious problem. Nobody supports it any longer. In my article Capture basics for video tape a year ago, I discussed some of the problems facing FireWire, especially as it relates to MiniDV video tape media. I […]

Yesterday, I purchased an upgrade from the 2024 edition of the Adobe Elements bundle — consisting of Photoshop Elements, Premiere Elements, and Elements Organizer — to the 2025 edition. I’ve complained about this before because Adobe switched Elements from perpetual to subscription licensing; I said I would not pay for this misnamed “term” license. In […]

ISSUE 22.27 • 2025-07-07 HISTORY By Will Fastie Our spring bonus issue, exclusively for Plus members, was very well received. We decided to do it again. This time, we asked all our writers to reflect on tech they don’t miss. They offered quite a few suggestions, and we chose one from each of them. Read […]

On Thursday, Microsoft posted to its Windows Experience blog The Windows Resiliency Initiative: Building resilience for a future-ready enterprise. The post is primarily about WRI, but buried in it was a note about the “elimination” of the blue screen of death (BSOD) in Windows 11. The post did not actually mention BSODs and instead referred […]

HARDWARE By Will Fastie Prices this year are so chaotic that there is no way to determine trends. There are many possible reasons for this chaos. Uncertainty about global semiconductor manufacturing is a factor. Tariff upheaval no doubt contributes, although I predict this will even out by the time I reprise this article in 2026. […]

APPLE By Will Fastie Apple’s entire keynote for this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference focused on extensive changes to all its operating systems. There were no hardware or device announcements, but changes to macOS have profound ramifications for Intel-based Apple devices from previous generations. Some Apple users will be unhappy. Read the full story in our […]