MICROSOFT 365 By Peter Deegan Rent or buy? It’s the question all Microsoft customers face. It’s not a simple comparison, but the hard facts lead to one conclusion for most people. Microsoft stopped supporting Office 2021 on October 13, 2026, with no extension and no paid security updates. If that’s you, or you’re buying Office […]

MICROSOFT 365 By Peter Deegan Sooner or later, everyone needs to do something simple with a PDF. It could be combining two files, pulling out a few pages, or shrinking a file that’s too big to email. These are features that Adobe’s free Acrobat Reader DC does not provide. Naturally, Adobe wants you to pay […]

MICROSOFT By Lance Whitney Microsoft makes some of my favorite products, ones that I couldn’t live or work without. But it also drives me nuts with all the technical problems and sales tactics I encounter. When AskWoody editor Will Fastie asked me to write an opinion piece about Microsoft as a company, I had to […]

MICROSOFT 365 By Peter Deegan Microsoft announced unwelcome changes to OneDrive allotments for Microsoft 365 Family and Premium plans. Less widely reported is a new “Pro” plan with an astonishing price tag. I will explain the changes and compare all the consumer Microsoft 365 plans. For Microsoft 365 Family and Premium plans, OneDrive will be […]

ISSUE 23.40 • 2026-10-05 MICROSOFT 365 By Peter Deegan Copilot benefits are now available for all, ranging from a few for free Microsoft accounts and those sharing a Microsoft 365 plan, and more for owners of a Microsoft 365 plan and business plans with Copilot. The rollout of AI at Microsoft has been — how […]

ON SECURITY By Susan Bradley Years ago, my first iPhone-to-iPhone migration was flawless. I did a full encrypted backup to a hard drive on my personal computer, tethered the new phone to the computer, and performed a restore to the new phone. All applications came across, along with all the saved passwords. All settings and […]

MICROSOFT 365 By Peter Deegan Microsoft is finally fixing a mess of its own making by merging two Copilot apps into one. Less obvious are other changes happening at the same time: reducing Microsoft’s costs and nudging more people toward paid AI services. Just so you’re not caught unawares, let’s go through the Copilot app […]

ISSUE 23.35.1 • 2026-09-01 By Susan Bradley Defer the Passkeys mandate for 365. Today, Microsoft begins its official effort to move Microsoft 365 customers from traditional authentication to what it calls “phishing-resistant” methods. This means Windows Hello, passkeys, or similar multifactor authentication (MFA) methods that are more secure. For consumers using 365, this will probably […]

MICROSOFT 365 By Peter Deegan Microsoft recently extended the Windows 10 ESU plan until October 2027. What you might not realize is that neither Microsoft 365 updates nor Office updates are part of the ESU offering. Office 2021 support ends in mere months. Microsoft’s original plan was to offer the Windows 10 Extended Security Updates […]

ISSUE 23.26 • 2026-06-29 MICROSOFT 365 By Peter Deegan Give AI a chance to help you with any Excel or spreadsheet app. AI can greatly speed up your time spent working on a workbook — rom explaining functions and improving formulas to making a full sheet from your description. Any version of Excel, including perpetual […]