TechByter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) with Bill Blinn

Anyone who complains about the cost of digital photography probably never used film or can't remember film's costs. You have to pay for software today, but the cost is far less than that of film, processing, and printing -- and the capabilities far exceed anything we could do in the darkroom. In Short Circuits: Is this a great time or a lousy time to be a photographer? The easy answer is "Yes." Let's explore that thought. Adobe's Experience Design application now has a free version and Adobe is encouraging developers to create plug-ins that will expand its functionality. Do you have a connected home device? One company says they're more widespread than many believe. On the one-year anniversary of my older daughter's liver transplant, I have a request: Please consider signing up to be an organ donor. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Two more data security incidents serve as reminders of how easy it is for crooks to get their hands on information. • School vacation time is about here and it's time to think about summer reading programs for the kids -- and for adults, too. • NASA TV plans to broadcast much of the resupply mission to the International Space Station starting with Sunday's (20 May) launch.

Microsoft launched Windows 10 version 1803 last week. This week we'll take a look at the new features that seem to be the most useful and significant. In Short Circuits: Magazine fans might save money, clutter, and the environment with Texture, a service for Android and IOS devices, but not for desktop or notebook computers. Malevolent bots are increasing daily and it's not just the ones from Russia. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A company that provides tools used by the people who repossess vehicles with past due payments has proposed a new use for the technology. • The National Aeronautics and Space Agency has awarded grants to 3 groups that will be looking for life beyond our solar system. • Testing has been established to ensure that high-performance video displays live up to their promises.

Those who create or edit audio but don't need a full digital audio workstation might find that the open-source Audacity provides all the tools they require. In Short Circuits: The Windows 10 spring Creators update is nearly a month late, but Microsoft started pushing it out this week. Those who are still using Windows 7 are substantially increasing their risk from malware according to Webroot. Calls that begin with "Hello, I'm from Windows support" should be terminated immediately, but creeps and crooks use other methods, too. In Spare Parts (only on the website): It's all artificial intelligence all the time this week: • First, how AI can improve on-time performance for metropolitan transit system buses. • Then, a new use for AI in identifying and tracking cognitive changes as people age. • And finally, a Canadian firm says it can provide wastebaskets that, when full, leave the room to empty themselves while replacement wastebaskets roll in to take their place.

Making subtle improvements to photographs by slightly changing the geometry of the subject's face is possible with PortraitPro, but that's just the beginning. In Short Circuits: Your favorite browser may already have an ad blocker and adding a utility to block sites that attempt to track you seems like a good addition. Adding sound effects to home videos can make them seem more realistic and the British Broadcasting Corporation has just released tens of thousands of sound effects for free. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Laptop Magazine's annual review of the top 10 laptop manufacturers puts Lenovo in first place, but drops Apple to 7th place. • Maybe we can blame Millennials for poor customer service. A survey says they consider good support to be less important than Gen Xers and Baby Boomers do. • That package that's coming from Amazon might be in your trunk, but only if you have the right kind of car and live in the right city.

You probably use a digital camera, or maybe a phone, for photography these days, but what about the old negatives and color slides you have around the house? If you've considered having them digitized, but didn't like the price or the quality, this could be a great do-it-yourself project at home. In Short Circuits: Last week I was talking about the upcoming Windows 10 spring update. This week, we learn why the update has been delayed. When the Internal Revenue Service's website failed on the final day of the tax season, the response from the IRS website managers made the problem even worse. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Russian hackers want control of your router and manufacturers make it all too easy for them to succeed. • Crooks also want your Iphone and they have a trick that might convince you to give them access to it. • If you need something else to worry about, botnets are still going strong. • IBM says (surprise!) most of us are concerned about data security.

It's not uncommon for people to say that a second monitor will just clutter their workspace, but few would ever want to go back to a single monitor after trying two. Let's consider the advantages. In Short Circuits: A relatively new open-source video editor, Shotcut, looks promising because it packs a lot of versatility into a free application that runs on Windows, MacOS, and Linux. The Windows 10 Spring Update is coming soon. You can get it sooner, delay it, or just get it when you get it. The high screen resolution on many new laptop and notebook computers is great for photographs, but text is microscopic. Scaling comes to the rescue. Sometimes. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A survey says that a little more than half of us are comfortable with the use of artificial intelligence in medical settings. • Crime scene investigators carry increasingly sophisticated gear into the field. • Robocalls, spam, and scams continue to increase and that probably comes as news to approximately nobody.

Videolan's VLC media player is generally considered to be a video player, and the latest version makes it a superb video player by adding support for Blue-ray discs and Google Chromecast -- but it can do a lot more. In Short Circuits: Adobe's latest updates to the various Photoshop products might cause some users to wonder when it's appropriate to use each of the tools. Technology continues to change the way we travel and travel technology company Sabre predicts that radical changes are coming. A California company has purchased an app for Apple devices from the person who developed it. Is this news? You may join me in thinking it is when I share the details. The US Defense Department challenges ethical hackers to break in to the Defense Travel System. It's the latest in a bug-bounty program that started 2 years ago. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Wasabi has a new cloud storage app for Mac and Windows. It's not a data backup system, but would be a good choice for safely storing essential documents. • Intelligent assistants and chatbots are likely to be used in about 40% of large organizations by this time next year and most IT professionals aren't worried about job security.

If there's one upside about the situation involving Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, it's that more people now seem to be taking privacy and security 4eriously. Let's consider some steps you can take right now. In Short Circuits: Adobe is ending support for its Muse website development tool in 2019, but promises to have a replacement by then. Firefox users can install a new plug-in to keep Facebook from learning about what you do on other sites, but be sure to understand all the implications before installing it. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Android phones are more customizable than Apple phones, which means there are more ways for crooks to get your data. Malwarebytes has some suggestions. • PureVPN has made free versions of its plug-ins for Firefox and Chrome; the paid version is better, but the plug-ins are great for those with limited needs. • Microsoft has released patched patches to fix Intel's hardware flaw. Patches pushed out in January and February made the problem worse on 32-bit Windows 7 systems.

There's no small amount of controversy between those who feel that artificial intelligence is an essential part of the future and those who say that artificial intelligence will kill us all. Let's consider those divergent points of view. In Short Circuits: Facebook lost $50 billion worth of value this week, attorneys general around the country are investigating the company's business practices, and legislators in the US and Europe are demanding that Mark Zuckerberg explain the company's business practices. Columbus is still in the running for Amazon's second headquarters operation, but Ohio is in the bottom half of states in a ranking based on innovation. The next Windows update will give users better control over security, but otherwise won't have any exciting new features. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Most people seem not to be worried that companies know a lot about us and want the companies to use that information to personalize their shopping experiences. • A company is offering the ability to book an overnight stay in the Empire State Building, but good luck in figuring out how to apply.

Keeping your computer up to date is important, but it's also time consuming. A free utility makes the process easier and you might want the paid version instead. In Short Circuits: When something goes wrong with your computer, avoid the urge to do something immediately. A small delay doesn't cause most problems to become worse, but a quick action -- if it's the wrong one -- can be a disaster. Broadcom has terminated its attempt to take over Qualcomm. If you're waiting for fifth-generation communications gear, some may begin to appear around the end of the year. Microsoft will start making Intel microcode available for download to fix CPU problems. In Spare Parts (only on the website): More women are graduating with computer science degrees, but they're still not getting top programming positions. • An open-source development group wants its application to infect your network and has some convincing arguments for why you might want to encourage it.