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Showing posts from February, 2026

To Antivirus or not to Antivirus

I like saving money. I like convincing others to save their money.  So here's a tip: stop subscribing to antivirus software. You don't need it. The threats you're most likely worried about won't be caught by it regardless of how expensive it is or how flashy its advertising is. If you own a current, up-to-date Windows PC, MacOS computer, iPhone or Android phone your device is already loaded with antivirus protection that is running non-stop and updating itself when it needs to. Chances are good that your Windows PC came already loaded with Norton or McAfee antivirus. Uninstall it. If you've already subscribed to it cancel then uninstall it. You don not need it and it won't protect you from what you're worried about anyway. Windows includes Defender antivirus. Defender consistently scores as high if not higher than products like McAfee, Norton or Kaspersky. It is free now and always. It keeps itself updated. It is entirely hands-off and it just works. Here is...

Where did all the instruction manuals go?

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 People love their instruction manuals. They love having something to reference. Something to return to and rely on when trouble or confusion pop up. You may have noticed they're gone. Almost nothing you buy today come with an instruction manual. There are two primary reasons for this: 1) It saves money to not include an instruction manual. You can make yourself feel a little better by also saying it saves trees but really, from a business perspective, trees are just money. 2) Software updates to your device will soon make a printed manual obsolete. These reasons also carry over to why the once plentiful market of "dummies" style books is shrinking. You, the end-user, the customer, are meant to use online resources for your instruction be they videos, blogs, messaging forums or the manufacturers own website. Trouble is you need to know specific terms and what they mean to get any helpful results in your search. If you're patient you can learn a lot even by searching t...

It's not really all that different, is it?

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 Most of you may remember Windows 95 or 98 as your first exposure to Windows. Thirty years have passed since then. 30 years! The baby you were holding then is probably holding your grandchild today. Windows has changed so much and you're absolutely certain it used to be better and easier, right? Sorry to tell you not that much has changed for the end user. Sure, under the hood and behind the scenes there have been an enormous amount of technical changes but barely any of those affect your experience as the end user. Windows 95/98 (30 years ago): Here we have:  a "Start" button bottom left shortcut icons on the Desktop the Taskbar across the bottom the clock bottom right a Window running a program (Welcome to Windows 95) an "X" in the upper right corner of that Window to close the program Windows XP (25 years ago): Notice anything familiar? a "Start" button bottom left shortcut icons on the Desktop the Taskbar across the bottom the clock bottom right a ...

You've Fallen and You Can't Get Up?

 Did you know Google Assistant and Apple's Siri can call 911 if you ask them to? If your phone or smart speakers are within range they will hear your shouts for help and contact emergency services for you. This is not an extra service or an add-on feature. It only requires a cellular or Internet connection. Set your phone assistant to listen on lock screen:  For Android phones