TechByter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) with Bill Blinn

In an effort to be helpful, smart phone manufacturers, service providers, and apps want to send messages and reminders. There are ways to tame the deluge. In Short Circuits: BIOS updates are always problematic. Should we install them or ignore them? The old advice was generally to ignore them, but that advice needs to be modified when security issues are involved. Did you sign up for the $125 Equifax settlement thinking that you might actually get $125? Dream on. In Spare Parts (only on the website): The Digital Citizens Alliance says online services such as Facebook and Google are not doing enough to keep sellers of illegal drugs off their systems. • QBE North America has launched processes and insurance designed to protect their clients from cyber threats. • Twenty years ago digital cameras were just beginning to gain acceptance as sensors captured enough data to make snapshot size photos.

We hear about ransomware attacks that affect cities and, while they are frequent targets of malware, some crooks target small businesses and home users because they know the targets will be softer. In Short Circuits: Sometimes it seems that electronic devices go out of their way to make our lives miserable and, when they do, finding a solution to the problem can be challenging. If you've been thinking about switching to an open-source office suite, there are two primary choices: OpenOffice and LibreOffice. So which one is better? We'll look. In Spare Parts (only on the website): When you need to run a notebook computer or tablet for a long time and there's no nearby power source, modifying the computer's power settings can help. • It's also a good idea to keep an eye on the battery's performance over time because you'll probably need to replace the battery at least once before you replace the computer. • Twenty years ago some people were in a tizzy about the September 9th computing disaster that turned out to be even less of a problem than the much anticipated Y2K "disaster".

Corel Draw has been around for a long time and the recently released 2019 edition of the graphics suite continues the company's long running emphasis on ease of use. In Short Circuits: Some of us love the Windows Start Menu. Some of us hate it. Either way, there are actions you can take to improve how you get to the programs you use most often. You might think that I'd be sad to say that Alien Skin Software no longer exists. I'm not and I'll explain why. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A recent update to the Emoji panel in Windows 10 makes the component really useful for the first time. • You know not to trust emails that claim to be from your boss, but what about phone calls? • Twenty years ago a company wanted to sell wearable computers for the equivalent of nearly $10,000 in today's money.

Anyone who owns a scanner -- regardless of make, model, or type -- should take a look at VueScan because it's probably better than the software that came with your scanner. In Short Circuits: Website owners often receive emails from China with warnings that someone is trying to register their website name. In short, it's a scam intended to separate your money from you. Another scam that I hadn't seen before added an entry to my Google calendar so that it could create pop-up messages telling me that I had won an IPhone. In Spare Parts (only on the website): It looks like there's finally been some progress in getting phone companies to cooperate in a way that may eventually eliminate or at least reduce unwelcome robocalls. • It's been 20 years since Adobe introduced InDesign. Publishing has changed a lot since then and InDesign now virtually owns the desktop typesetting and page layout market.

Powerful features and low cost are rarely features of a single computer application. Normally you get one or the other but software developer Serif is trying to provide both in its new series of Affinity products. In Short Circuits: Adobe has added several new features to its photographic applications and has updated many others. The result is one you'll like. If you'd like to frighten yourself, have your Wi-Fi router send a copy of its latest status report to you. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Small improvements can make big differences in your photographs and I'll show you one that's both easy and dramatic. • If you have some old computer gear that is no longer in service, taking it for a short drive to Newark next weekend would be a good idea.

If you need a computer for school, you'll find lots of choices. Maybe too many choices. It's not a one-size-fits all situation, so picking the right computer involves matching your needs. In Short Circuits: Some scammers are just plain stupid, so let's take a moment to laugh at one that fits that description. It's getting harder to use the Flash Player in most browsers and it will be impossible by the end of next year. Websites that use the technology have until the end of 2020 to upgrade. In Spare Parts (only on the website): We'll take a quick glance at some big improvements in Adobe's photo applications. • Bearing in mind that today's cameras are just computers with lenses, should we be surprised that they can be infected with malware? The short answer is NO.

Life has never been better for those who prefer to read books on electronic devices and libraries offer a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction materials for patrons. In Short Circuits: There is a threat on the horizon for electronic books and audiobooks. Four major publishers are planning to severely limit library access to electronic versions of their books. Do you need a utility to confirm that your smart phone is working and would it be worth more than $200 per year? Microsoft continues to offer rewards for Bing searches and for participating in daily exercises. Although amusing, these actions aren't exactly rewarding. In Spare Parts (only on the website): How to modify Windows so that you'll always have a current restore point. • Using a Wi-Fi hotspot without a VPN application is dangerous and Erie Insurance says a VPN is just one of several steps necessary to improve security.

WordPerfect hasn't been the dominant word processor since the 1990s, but Corel's development efforts for the past 23 years and WordPerfect's long-time killer feature (Reveal Codes) make it exactly the right choice for some users. In Short Circuits: Sometimes a new application doesn't install properly. When that happens, finding a workaround starts with reading and understanding diagnostic messages. The Google Local Guides feature is handy for finding store hours, movie theaters, and good restaurants, but it can be much more during a crisis. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Capital One, a Virginia bank with a huge on-line presence, suffered a data breach that exposed credit card application information from 100 million people. Fortunately, this incident isn't quite as bad as it sounds. • Sometimes Windows takes far too long to shut down. There's a solution, but it involves a Registry edit and it's a change that might cause other problems. Let's take a look.

Too many people are trying to steal your data, whether it's on your computer or stored on-line. We all have a duty to be cautious, so let's consider how. In Short Circuits: If you have an old computer or other electronic device that still works, you can sell it. But what if it's broken? You may still be able to sell it and keep it out of a landfill. Some electric utilities make it possible to keep an eye on real-time usage. An update to Adobe Audition has added several new features. One of them is small but uncommonly useful. In Spare Parts (only on the website): LampLess projectors still have light sources, so are they really "lampless"? Maybe it depends on your definition. • Amazon can now deliver packages to your car if you live in one of 50 specific cities, have a current Acura RDX, and park it in the right place.

You may be surprised by the price of the best camera in the world, but extensive research and testing have revealed that it probably costs less than you would expect. In Short Circuits: If your Windows 10 computer seems slow, it might be the result of having too many applications open in the background. Far too many developers think their app should run all the time, but it's easy to turn off the ones you don't want. Police departments are using social media and some have even developed apps for mobile phones with the objective of making people aware of police activities. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Sudden panic about a photo app that's been around for two years is unwarranted but it does raise some valid questions. • Youngstown is about to lose its newspaper and an experiment in electronic journalism will take its place. • A new round of idiocy is circulating on Facebook, calling for people to copy and paste some word-salad text to keep Facebook from using their photos. As with most of these, it clearly a fraud.