MICROSOFT By Mary Branscombe There are multiple ways to talk to Microsoft about problems and missing features. You must know where to go, and you may need some help from AI. It’s not surprising that Microsoft, with so many products and services, doesn’t have just one place to get help. Replacing Microsoft Answers with Microsoft […]

ISSUE 23.10 • 2026-03-09 WINDOWS 11 By Mary Branscombe Bring a little beauty into your day with new, high-quality photos for your background — and choose whether that includes trivia or AI images. Windows Spotlight is a mix of fun facts, often-stunning photographs, and annoying adverts for things such as the ever-growing deluge of Copilot […]

WINDOWS 11 By Mary Branscombe If your computer keeps turning on when you aren’t using it, here’s how to find out what’s waking it up — and then put it to bed. Recently, I looked at my September article Control power to your display, which described how to keep your PC from going to sleep […]

WINDOWS 11 By Mary Branscombe You can quickly reset Windows settings and defaults without reinstalling or losing data — but here’s what you need to do first. If you’re thinking of starting off the new year by spring-cleaning your PC — or maybe sorting out some long-term annoyances with your setup — there are several […]

ISSUE 22.52 • 2025-12-29 Look for our winter BONUS issue on January 5, 2026!! ONENOTE By Mary Branscombe Things are still moving slowly, but with the Store app dead, OneNote is getting more features on Windows and the Web — and they’re not all Copilot things you’ll want to turn off. This was the year […]

WINDOWS By Mary Branscombe Windows treats some folders as “special,” and has started putting them where it wants, not where you would prefer. They are called “shell folders” and are usually associated with your user profile. They include such folders as Documents, Music, Photos, Downloads, and the folder used for files you save to your […]

WINDOWS 11 By Mary Branscombe The Quick access feature of File Explorer is smarter than it used to be but also slightly more confusing. Do you want to open a file that was open just ten minutes ago? Or that you were working with on Friday, when you walked away from your PC for the […]