techingolder

 Back when Microsoft released the near universally detested Windows 8 one of the driving philosophies was put everything at the users fingertips all the time. No more hunting through menus for that app you think you installed months ago, scrolling through three different folders filled with dozens of documents each to find your grandmothers apple pie recipe or looking for that specific setting you want to change. This concept became a part of Windows and is still with us today. All the user would need to do is press the all-powerful Windows Key on the lower left side of your keyboard to bring up the Start Menu and start typing whatever it is you're looking for. Grandmas apple pie recipe? Press the Windows Key and immediately start typing: appl and right about now you should be seeing results appear on your screen. Apps or programs containing the letters appl, internet search results containing appl and local documents containing the letters appl. What does this mean? It means I don...

 Something that always drops my jaw when talking with patrons is how much they spend each month on their cable television. Some spend as much as a car payment on TV. You need to have an honest discussion with your budget about the cost of television. Is it worth paying $100 each month for those images on the screen? $200? $300? The highest I think I've heard somebody paying is over $300 all-in with their Internet, phone and television. Absolutely crazy to throw away that much money every month on what amounts to nothing at all. Especially for seniors on tight, fixed incomes. Getting an antenna and trying to pick up a local signal is an option for some but not for anyone around where I live. There are no broadcasts within range. Before going any further understand that how you access TV and what is available to you will be drastically different from how it all works when you're paying $100 or more a month for cable. What's more important to you, saving hundreds of dollars a...

 How many of us have complained about our phone or computer to a friend or family member who then offered the not-so-sage advice: "you should try (other phone or computer) because it's easier to use." Spoiler alert: it's not. There are two reasons for anyone to suggest that using another phone or computer would be easier for you to use: they think it's easier simply because they've been using it for years or they're having just as hard of a time as you but figure if you have the same gadget you can help each other. Would it make sense for a piano player to suggest his student buy a different brand piano because it would be easier to play? Of course not. The only way to better play a piano is to practice playing the piano. The only way to learn your phone or computer is to use your phone or computer. Once you've adequately learned your phone or computer you'll be able to find your way around any phone or computer regardless of the operating system (...

 Your phone, every phone whether it's an iPhone or an Android phone recognizes four main gestures: 1.Touch 2.Touch and Hold 3.Swipe 4.Pinch Touching your screen opens apps, presses letters on the on-screen keyboard and initiates other actions. Touching and HOLDING will activate alternative actions like opening up a little menu or selecting an app for removal. Swiping your finger across the screen is used to flip through your pages of apps or to answer and ignore calls or to scroll up and down on pages that don't fit your screen like a website. Pinching your screen zooms in and out on most apps acting like a magnifier.  With these four motions you can accomplish anything on your phone or tablet. Try them out in different spots and in different apps to see what they do. Pay attention as you try them and say out loud what you do like when you get a call and the little phone icon shows up on the screen say out loud as you answer the call: "touch, hold and swipe" as you pe...

Ctrl+C to copy, Ctrl+X to cut and Ctrl+V to paste. Cut, Copy and Paste. You've heard those words before. Maybe you've done them before.  Did you right-click your mouse? Did you use the Ctrl key? (Command key if on an Apple) Like most tasks with a computer there are several ways to accomplish a Cut, Copy or Paste. First, what is Cut, Copy and Paste? Well, they're just what they sound like: "Cut" removes an object, usually text, from its place. "Copy" makes a copy of an object, again usually text. "Paste" places that object you just "Cut" or "Copied" into place. You can't "Paste" without first using "Cut" or "Copy." The first step in a "Cut" or "Copy" is to select the object you wish to "Cut" or "Copy." For example, say I just read something on a website that I'd like to put into an email for a friend of mine. Maybe it's a recipe, an event coming...

 Man in the Middle (MitM) Attack This is exactly what it sounds like. Somebody gets between you and whatever it is you're trying to access. Some common ways this can happen:

By now I'm sure we've all seen commercials on TV for VPN's. NordVPN and Norton360 offered through LifeLock seem to be the most common. So what is a VPN and do you need one? VPN's disguise or obfuscate your Internet usage from nosey entities. When you connect to the Internet your ISP (Internet Service Provider) can see every page you visit. They cannot see everything you do on every page like when you're checking your bank statements or medical test results but they do know that you are on your banks or healthcare providers website. Generally any website you have to log into is invisible to outside watchers the moment you log in. If you were using a VPN your ISP would not know what websites you are on. To justify any security concerns here we would have to assume that your ISP is not to be trusted and yet assume that the VPN provider you are using is to be trusted. Neither of these should be accepted as wholly true or untrue.  The reality is only three entities care ...

 Every keyboard you've touched has had these keys across the top: F1-F12, known as Function keys. What do they do? Well, they do a lot and they do a little. Usually they do nothing at all and you can go your entire life without ever knowing what any of them do and live perfectly well. If you were wondering what they do here is an answer. Not the answer but an answer. 

 This week I've helped three people who told me they couldn't print and needed new printers. Now it's no coincidence our area also lost power for a while. Whenever we lose power I know the printer questions are coming.

Very often I find myself helping people who have issues with stability, tremors , skin elasticity and conductivity  or vision difficulties that impair their ability to use touchscreen devices leading to mistouches , phantom touches , accidental swipes and more. If any of that sounds familiar to you give a stylus a try. A stylus is a little pen type tool with a squishy rubbery point on it. With a stylus you'll find you have better control and more precision. A stylus can be picked up just about anywhere and are very often given away for free as promotional items. You may already have one or two pens with stylus tips in the junk drawer. Give it a shot. You may find using your tablet or phone much more enjoyable with one.

Nearly every digital lock has two keys you need to open it: Username (usually an email address) and Password

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...

 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...

 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 ...

 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