ISSUE 23.32 • 2026-08-10 SILICON By Matthew S. Smith If you, like me, became familiar with PCs in the late 1980s or 1990s, then you no doubt have the blue Intel Inside logo seared into your brain. You may even occasionally reminisce about people dancing in bunny suits. Even though  the competence of Intel’s marketing […]

PUBLIC DEFENDER By Brian Livingston Realistic-looking videos that are the most-often recommended by the popular TikTok social media app regarding health care contain no real people 40 percent of the time, a new analysis of the site’s mini-movies has found. Many of TikTok’s top-rated videos on every topic are AI-generated but look exactly like actual […]

WINDOWS 11 By Martin Brinkmann Quick Machine Recovery auto-fixes Windows boot loops via the cloud, but granting Microsoft pre-boot control carries hidden risks. Here is the deep dive on how to manage it. Two years ago, the IT world stopped spinning. The July 2024 CrowdStrike disaster caused Blue Screens of Death on millions of computer […]

TAME YOUR TECH By Susan Bradley As my dad turns 98 years young today, I am reminded that technology is deeply integrated into his daily life. Yet, much of this daily tech is not geared toward his needs. Although he is — thankfully — not in an assisted-living space, we have friends who are. They […]

ISSUE 23.31 • 2026-08-03 ACCESSBILITY By Will Fastie Tesla’s Full Self-driving (FSD) capability affects more than everyday convenience. It’s a little jolting to realize that the then-called Tesla Motors was founded in 2003, 23 years ago. You don’t need me to tell you about the success of the company, which I consider unmarred by recent […]

WINDOWS 11 By Mary Branscombe Changes to File Explorer might show that Microsoft is serious about listening to users — and fixing Windows 11. The Windows Insider program has been through a lot of changes over the years. At its best, it has been a supportive community the Windows team has paid attention to for […]

FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT By Deanna McElveen I think my goal in life is to sit back in my easy chair, eat cherry cordials, and do all my computer work with one hand. RightClickTools by our good friend Les Ferch is getting me a little closer to that goal. If you’ve been reading my articles for a […]

ON SECURITY By Susan Bradley OpenAI’s recent attack on another company’s cloud instances reminds me that sometimes we forget the basics. As we understand the situation at the moment, OpenAI’s test platform was meant to be isolated and not connected to the Internet. But because it needed to download certain items, it was given read-only […]

ISSUE 23.30 • 2026-07-27 FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT By Deanna McElveen I was never a big fan of Microsoft’s built-in Sticky Notes nor its forced “upgrade” to the bloated and slow Sticky Notes New. I don’t want integrations with other programs. Stop mushing everything together, Microsoft. I don’t like my food to touch! Note: Thank you, Rick, […]

PUBLIC DEFENDER By Brian Livingston Millions of people around the world have installed Internet-connected “security cameras” to monitor foot traffic around their homes and offices. Unfortunately, many of these video devices make it easy for unwanted persons to see your live feed and record whatever comes into view. It’s convenient to know who’s at your […]

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 […]

ON SECURITY Tracking the attacker By Susan Bradley Recently, Apple, Adobe, Microsoft, and others released updates illustrating how much we are being impacted by AI. The three major vendors either sped up releases or released updates with a massive number of vulnerabilities. But does that make us more unsecure? Before I discuss some side effects […]

ISSUE 23.29 • 2026-07-20 PATCH WATCH By Susan Bradley Well, the benefits of AI are clearly here — at least in terms of bug counts. Microsoft fixed 621 vulnerabilities this time around. However, take a breath — a big breath. Even with all those fixes that encompass both Windows and .NET, the updates are pushed […]

COMMENTARY By Will Fastie I don’t have a problem embracing change, except for grocery prices. In most cases, my complaints are usually centered on things made worse by changes or on things that should be changed but aren’t. I want stuff to advance, to become better and more helpful. My complaints seem to be rising. […]

COMMENTARY By Will Fastie AI could ruin YouTube, not only for viewers but also for creators. YouTube has been a tremendously useful resource over the years, for both entertainment and education. Want to learn how to hammer a nail into a board? Tens of thousands of videos. Want to learn how to use Blackmagic Design’s […]

FROM THE FORUMS I recently wrote the article Older software to the rescue, which included a note about my having replaced Adobe Acrobat DC with the ten-year-old program PDF Fusion. The forum topic associated with the article received a lot of traffic. Although I mentioned other old software in the article, forum participants homed in […]

ISSUE 23.28 • 2026-07-13 Look for our BONUS issue on July 20, 2026!! PUBLIC DEFENDER By Brian Livingston Millions of people in the US and around the world are developing “tech neck,” a medical syndrome caused by prolonged hunching over smartphones, tablets, and other electronic devices. It’s hard to state the exact number of tech-neck […]

WINDOWS 11 By Martin Brinkmann To fix a bloated Windows 11, Microsoft has reportedly launched “Project K2” — a massive internal repair campaign For years, Windows fans have watched Microsoft stuff the operating system with features barely anyone asked for, all while core features such as File Explorer, Windows Search, and the general reliability of […]

WINDOWS 11 By Lance Whitney Oracle VM VirtualBox is another free and capable virtual machine program from which you can run and work with different operating systems. As a freelance technology writer, I often review and test different apps, settings, and features in Windows. I need to be able to do this without affecting my […]

ON SECURITY By Susan Bradley If you are a Windows 11 owner, it’s wise to review your security practices on a regular basis. Recently, I’ve come across a new tool that you may want to check out. The advantage? It uses only official Microsoft built-in techniques that are documented and approved. In addition, it comes […]