TechByter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) with Bill Blinn

Copilot is the most significant new feature in the Windows 11 Fall update, version 23H2. If your computer hasn’t been updated to 23H2, you can force the update or obtain some of the new features even without updating. In Short Circuits: Opera is a good browser that I’ve recommended several times in the past 25 years, and I still do recommend it, but only if you perform a fully manual installation to avoid some nasty “features”. • It’s hard to keep up with improvements in artificial intelligence imagery. I took a look at images from Adobe Firefly, Canva, and Microsoft’s Copilot, which uses DALL-E3. There’s one standout winner. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): Some of the security fixes Microsoft patched in 2003 seem quite simple by today’s standards, but others are similar to issues that are fixed today, differing only in the affected components.

Adobe didn’t wait for the annual Max conference to roll out some of the new features for Photoshop and other apps. Generative Fill and Generative Expand are still resolution limited, but they are already surprisingly useful. In Short Circuits: Printers have long been the bane of IT support, and Microsoft has plans to make printers a bit less vexing. Manufacturers will need to work with a universal printer subsystem instead of writing drivers for their devices. • If your browser and any other applications that can display WebP graphics are up to date, you’re safe from a nasty flaw. If not, now would be a good time to update them. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): It’s not unheard of for Windows computers to run for months between restarts these days, but it wasn’t common in 2003 and I was somewhat jealous of a Linux system that had been up for more than seven months.

The main article is really three short pieces: One about PowerToys Run, a quick and easy way to start an application or launch a search; the next about the now limited “unlimited” hosting plan from Bluehost; and finally a fond farewell to WordPad. In Short Circuits: Living like it’s 1983. If you loved WordStar, you can now install WordTsar and try to remember some of the obscure key sequences that made things happen. • If you’ve ever read either a privacy policy or a website’s terms of service, you’re in the minority. A service is available to show the important points without requiring the consumption of many pages of legalese. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): Burning CDs and DVDs was a big thing in 2003, but few of today’s computers have optical disc readers, to say nothing of burners. It was a short era.

Even basic smart phones can create remarkably good videos and more people are editing videos at home. As a result, there are lots of applications, both free and paid, designed to take the place of editing suites that once cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to build. In Short Circuits: New features in Adobe’s audio editor, Audition, are rare, but three improvements in the 2023 version will wow audio editors, while others will wonder why they’re such big deals. • Aptos is Microsoft’s new typeface for Microsoft 365 subscribers, but before going all in on Aptos, it’s a good idea to consider some of what Microsoft isn’t talking about and thinking about Microsoft’s motives. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): 2003 was the end of the line for TechXNY, previously called PC Expo. Once a show that filled New York City’s Javits Center, the final program was confined to a small corner.

It’s a good idea to check out any file you receive as an attachment, even if the file seems to have come from someone you know. Jotti’s free malware scan will show the file to more than a dozen antivirus applications so you can make an informed decision. In Short Circuits: Sometimes modifying a computer setting fixes a problem even when you’re absolutely certain the setting cannot have any effect on the problem. I’ll tell you about one of those I encountered recently and, although it couldn’t possibly fix the problem, it did. • There’s a new and improved clock for Windows 11. It restores some features that were present in the Windows 10 clock and adds several new features, including the ability to display multiple clocks on multiple screens. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, I said your computer’s hard disk will fail. That’s less likely these days, even for mechanical drives, but complacency is still not your friend.

Being able to tell the difference between truth and lies is increasingly difficult, especially on the internet, but also with organizations that claim to be presenting facts. We can’t escape bias, but we can at least try to be aware of it. In Short Circuits: Mouse Without Borders, a relatively new feature in Microsoft’s PowerToys utilities, solves a problem you may never have encountered. For those who have experienced this problem, the solution is absolute genius. • If you’ve ever wondered about your home’s risk from flooding, wildfire, wind, or heat, the RiskFactor website can answer the questions. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, I offered what I thought was a great solution to spam. Fortunately, nobody implemented the plan. It was shortsighted in the extreme.

Whether you’re a graphic designer or not, Adobe Express has something for you. Professionals can use it to give themselves more time for custom creativity and non-designers can leverage Express to perform tasks they couldn’t do by themselves. In Short Circuits: Although Python has been available as a paid add-in for Excel, it will soon be included in the application. Currently it’s available only in the Beta channel for Microsoft 365 Insiders. • Installing and using more than one web browser can improve your experience because most browsers offer features not available in the others. How many browsers do you use? Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, Corel was pinning its hopes for the future on an office suite that was based on WordPerfect.

Buying a new computer includes some of the same processes and decisions needed when buying a new car, and it’s important to base the buying decision on facts instead of on emotions. In Short Circuits: Sometimes antique computer-users like me say old DOS computers seemed faster than today’s Windows machines. That’s not entirely inaccurate and the Windows Task Manager helps us understand why. • Safe Mode is useful when your computer has a problem, even if it can’t boot normally, but getting into Safe Mode is a little more complicated than it used to be. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, my preferred email client was The Bat, a remarkably advanced email application from Moldova that continued to be my favorite for many years.

Disk partition managers are essential tools for technicians, but they can also be useful for any computer user. Third-party partition managers include more features than the one that came with your computer and might be free. In Short Circuits: The Employee Retention Credit Act was established at the height of the covid pandemic to help businesses that paid their employees while the operation was shut down. The Internal Revenue Service warns about scammers who are now using the ERC to defraud companies. • The developers of the DuckDuckGo search engine are working on a browser and it’s currently available in beta for Windows and MacOS computers. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, some said the internet would save humanity and others said the internet is evil and will destroy us. Did we ever get that sorted out?

Mozilla has been working on a new version of Thunderbird for a while and the combination of improvements, new features, and ongoing debugging make it well worth looking at regardless of which email application you’re using now. In Short Circuits: Sometimes Microsoft does something so astonishingly ignorant that it’s hard to believe management was aware of it. I’ll describe what seems to be the dumb and petty decision to pull support for the OneNote Clipper from Firefox. • Usually I recommend against extended warranties, but sometimes they can be a good value, particularly with expensive mobile devices that can easily be damaged. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): Spam was a big problem in 2003, but back then we had no idea how bad it could be.