TechByter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) with Bill Blinn

The open-source photo editing application Gimp might be a replacement for Photoshop, but I suspect that most Photoshop users who try to migrate will be less than delighted with the results. In Short Circuits: Last month's largest-ever distributed denial of service attack was followed this month by one that was even larger. The underlying problem is massive. IBM and Airbus have cooperated to build a basketball-sized robot that will soon fly to the international space station. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A study suggests that an artificial intelligence system does a better job than lawyers do in reviewing some kinds of contracts • Equifax says that it will be notifying another 2.4 million US consumers that last year's data breach exposed some of their information. • If you have a clever idea, you might want to enter it in the annual Create the Future contest. Top prize is $20,000.

Some websites use visitors' computers to mine cryptocurrencies. That may be OK if the user is told about it and given a choice, but that's often not the case. In Short Circuits: Last call for Net Neutrality. The FCC has published the rule that destroys Net Neutrality and now fewer than 60 Congressional Days remain if the legislature is to reverse this misguided rule. CrashPlan from Code42 has just received a new user interface that improves the utility's operation. Regardless of which browser is your favorite, it can be improved with a variety of themes, add-ons, and extensions. In Spare Parts (only on the website): If you're in the business of renting to millennials or young families, you'd better be sure that you have high-speed internet access and offer the ability to make rental payments on-line. • Among the predictions made at this week's Mobile World Congress in Taiwan is one that suggests we'll soon see humanoid robots in our homes. Some, in fact, already exist.

The open-source LibreOffice suite exceeds Microsoft's office suite in some regards and falls short in others. There are good reasons to choose LibreOffice and good reasons not to, so we'll consider some of each. In Short Circuits: There's no shortage of people who would very much like to obtain your tax refund, whether you're due a refund or not. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to foil their attempts. More computers are now running Windows 10 than Windows 7 worldwide. In the US, Windows 10 has been ahead of Windows 7 for a year and finally moved past 50% adoption rate in January. In Spare Parts (only on the website): The IRS and the Free File Alliance are once again providing free on-line tax filing resources for those with basic tax situations. • Intel has released a new update for some of its CPUs to fix a security flaw. The new code is for only a subset of chips and you'll need to wait for the computer manufacturer to provide it. • The next generation of consumers seems to prefer on-line talking robots to websites or trips to stores.

Smart phones and tablets have changed the way we read. Most libraries now offer electronic books in addition to physical books and the electronic versions have quite a few advantages, along with some drawbacks. This week we'll take a look at some ebook readers. In Short Circuits: Password managers have been important for several years, but now a new threat makes the need for secure password management critical. I'll explain why. Wi-Fi routers look like they have 12 channels, but really they have just 3. In Spare Parts (only on the website): This month's updates by Adobe further expand the cloud-based Lightroom CC and add features to Lightroom Classic and Adobe XD. • Dealing with false positive security alerts is causing legitimate alerts to be missed. • If you spend too much time trying to find an on-line video sequence that you enjoyed and want to see again or share, a new utility might be able to help.

As an image organizer, ThumbsPlus has a long history and it's an excellent choice for those who need to make identical modifications to multiple images. In Short Circuits: Nearly every motorist uses Global Positioning System devices to get where they're going. Now similar technology is being used within large and complex buildings. In the early days of Windows, themes were an extra-cost add on. They've been a basic part of Windows for a long time. If there's something you don't like about the interface, you can change it. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Blockchain, the technology that makes bitcoin possible, is being expanded to other payment systems and some of the world's largest banks and payment processors are investigating how to incorporate it. • What's the largest security threat to most businesses? The answer may surprise you because -- if you're an employee -- it's you!

Google continues to improve its on-line suite of office applications and perhaps you've wondered if the free apps could replace Microsoft's suite, or Wordperfect's, or one of the open-source suites. Let's take a look. In Short Circuits: Microsoft makes another emergency patch available, but it's not being pushed out to everyone and you may not need it. Sometimes the Windows volume control stops working, but there's a quick and easy way to restore proper operation. Your computer sends data to Microsoft for diagnostic purposes. A new Windows app will provide insight into what is sent and you'll have more control. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Artificial intelligence continues to expand. The current hot spot is customer relations, but internal management functions are next. • GoDaddy is acquiring a company that will provide branding assistance for the company's 17 million users. • The internet now has 4 billion users worldwide and about 80% use some type of social media.

There's a lot of confusion about the two primary formats that digital cameras use to store images -- JPEG and raw data. It's a large and complex topic, so this week we have a large and complex section on the topic as we look behind the digital curtain. In Short Circuits: Users of Adobe Photoshop will find that this month's update includes a blockbuster feature called Select Subject, so we'll see how well it works. For the first time in more than 5 years, PC sales (Windows and Mac computers) are up ever so slightly. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Burger King has weighed in on Net Neutrality with a demonstration that includes fast burgers and slow burgers. • There's a growing need for what's called out-of-band authentication. • Cryptocurrencies are hot and now even Kodak is getting into the game.

Telephone based spam and scams continue to escalate. Those with land lines have limited options for fighting back but mobile phone users and those who use some voice-over-IP systems have an increasing number of weapons. In Short Circuits: Even if your computer has already been updated to deal with the Spectre and Meltdown threats, you might receive a message that tells you to download another patch. Don't do it! Some people needlessly fear cookies that many websites write to their computers. Most are safe, but some caution is reasonable. In Spare Parts (only on the website): The Banking and Securities Department in Pennsylvania has released an electronic booklet that has some useful tips to avoid being scammed on-line and it's available no matter where you live. • New docking stations that have been designed and built by companies that don't make computers have a worthwhile feature that computer manufacturers don't include in their docks: They work with both Windows and MacOS computers.

There's one more chance to halt the Federal Communications Commission's destruction of Net Neutrality, but only if we all understand that this is not a battle between right and left, liberal and conservative -- but between internet service providers and we, the users of the internet. In Short Circuits: Microsoft, Apple, and Linux developers are working to eliminate dangers that affect nearly all computers and mobile devices and to contain the problems that the updates themselves create. This month's Windows update has removed a feature that's been in Word for the past 17 years. It's not widely used, but those who need it will have to buy a $100 add on. If you're planning to buy a new router this year, you might want to wait a few months because a new specification is about to be released. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Toyota showed off its Mobility Ecosystem that's designed to make vehicles for specific uses at this week's Consumer Electronics show. • Electric cars can be dangerous if batteries aren't monitored and controlled precisely. One company says that it has an inexpensive part that can make batteries safer.

Cybereason chief security officer Sam Curry, while acknowledging the many security disasters of 2017 is hopeful that 2018 might be the year when defense gets the upper hand. We'll talk with him about how to make that happen. In Short Circuits: This week we learned that every Intel CPU manufactured in the past 10 years has a serious security flaw and that fixing it will require operating system changes that will make your computer run slower. Light bulbs seem decidedly low-tech, but recent advances are producing bulbs that can save money by using far less electricity than old technology bulbs. In Spare Parts (only on the website): The music streaming service Spotify plans to go public in the first half of 2018 and will use an unusual method for its IPO. • If you have a teenager, how many social media accounts does he or she have? There's a good chance you don't know about all of them. • We'll reveal the second half of Dashlane's top 10 worst password offenders for 2017 and explore the 3 things we can do to avoid being password bunglers.