Thursday, June 04, 2015

More About Windows 10 and Google Photos


 http://cnet4.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2015/06/03/9ff81ae0-492e-4255-94e5-e60b34c31a59/thumbnail/770x433/30d54c8c4c42855523ecdb10f48b8e2b/google-photos-8621-001.jpg
There are still many questions about the Windows 10 upgrade, and not all of them have answers. It’s understandable as Microsoft has never done anything like this. Have you checked to see if you have the small Windows Logo in the lower right corner of your task bar? If you do, did you click on it? That is the easy way to insure you get the new Windows. If you don’t have it, read the first article and you might find out why. I have 3 computers that will get the upgrade. Two of them got the logo. The last one, my Samsung Windows 8.1 laptop has yet to get it…which figures since I hate that computer and its been nothing but a pain since I bought it. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back and is the main reason I switched to Apple…first to a desktop, then a laptop. I reviewed all the criteria for getting the upgrade notice, and have met them all. Oh well, I will get the upgrade eventually…one way or the other.

As for Google Photos, I have added a couple of more articles about it to this edition. If you read my last post, there was a review of the new photo app which said it was good, but not great. Other reviewers gave it much higher marks. I tried it since I already had many photos already at Google, and I agreed with the first reviewer. It is good, not great. Based on his review and my own experiences, I decided to use Flickr. They have just upgraded that system so its features pretty much mirror Google’s. It also has far more editing controls than Google so you can really make your photos sing. The one thing Google does that I don’t like is that they use compression on their photos. Flickr does not. So I am sticking with Flickr. It works very well for me.

The one company that should be squirming about their photos app is Apple. The new Photos app for the MAC and the IOS version do a good job, but you have to pay for storage past the 5GB mark. I did pass that so I now have to pay $.99 a month for 20GB of storage. Goggle offers unlimited storage while Flickr gives you 1TB for free (only a professional photographer would ever need more. I have thousands of photos and I am nowhere near 1TB). Maybe Apple will make some changes. We may find out more on Monday as they hold their annual WWDC conference and will make many announcements in their keynote address. I will have more about that in our next edition.

OK it is time for you to work on your continuing education in computers. So get started and have a great weekend. -JRC  


Tech News and Opinions

Windows 10: You've got questions, I've got answers

There's more to Windows 10 than just the revamped Start menu. I've been keeping this FAQ up to date throughout the Preview program. Here are the latest details with less than two months until the official release.

Microsoft explains what you'll lose by upgrading to Windows 10

Upgrading will mean saying goodbye to Windows Media Center, the card game Hearts, and Windows 7's desktop gadgets...and it changes the way updates work

 

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Mobile Computing

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Best Free iPhone Apps: 10 paid iOS apps on sale for free, June 3

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Five ways Google search works directly with your Android phone

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Understanding 'Assistant' in Google Photos, and what it can do for you

There's lots to wrap your head around in Google Photos, but the new Assistant feature is here to help.

Think you use a lot of mobile data now? Wait until 2020

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