Thursday, October 22, 2015

Windows Upgrade in November…Apple Upgrades Now!

What a surprise it was yesterday to get two upgrades from Apple…one each for my two Mac’s and one each for my iPhone and iPad. I guess one could call them maintenance upgrades as they apparently fixed some issues in the current systems. If you have a Mac or an iPhone or and iPad, you should probably upgrade them right away.

I don’t know if it fixes all the nagging issues, especially in the Mac OS (called El Capitan). But most are fairly minor anyway. I know that I am having an issue with Airplay, a feature I have never used. It shows up on my MacBook laptop, but not on my big Mac. I’ve read of other issues that cause problems for some folks, but not for me.

As for Microsoft, a major source leaked yesterday that we will get the next major upgrade for Windows 10 in November…perhaps as soon as November 2. This upgrade will supposedly add new features to the OS. However, don’t expect Edge, Microsoft’s new Web browser, to be finished. It will have more features, but will not include add-on’s or plug-ins. The word is we will not see that feature added until sometime early next year. It surprises me that Microsoft would ballyhoo their new browser as the greatest thing since sliced butter (even in TV ads) but deliver an incomplete product.

I don’t wish to sound too negative about Windows 10 as it is, for the most part, a very fine operating system that I enjoy using.

Anyway, it is time for me to shut up and for you to start looking at our featured stories here to see if you can find something to peak your interest. Have a great weekend. -JRC

 

Tech News and Opinions

Major Windows 10 PC update tipped to land in November

Microsoft is getting ready for its next major update to Windows 10, dubbed Threshold 2, and inside sources say we’ll be getting the update next month. One source says the exact date is 11/2.

 

WikiLeaks posts data from CIA director Brennan's email account

CIA director John Brennan reportedly used his AOL account to store possibly classified -- or, at very least, sensitive -- materials.

 

Yahoo: We have a plan to win you back

The Internet giant, which has offerings ranging from email to fantasy sports, is offering a new mantra: focus

 

Google Photos reaches 100M users in five months

Google has announced that Photos, the image backup tool spun out of Google+ just five months ago, has already reached 100 million monthly active users.

 

Breathtaking Time-Lapse of Arizona's Monsoon Season

It’s not really tech news, but you might enjoy this 10 minute video about my home state. Over the summer, photographer Mike Olbinski spent an astounding 48 days on the road chasing storms during the monsoon season in his home state of Arizona. Here is his epic new video, “Monsoon II"

 

Computer Tips and Tricks

Tested: Should You Unplug Chargers When You’re Not Using Them?

How much energy do your smartphone, laptop, and tablet chargers really use? We measured exactly how much power a variety of common chargers use, and how much keeping them plugged in will cost your each year.

 

How to back up Gmail to your computer or local drive

Over the years, your email collects a lot of important information you don't want to lose. And that means you may not want to trust it to a big corporation in the cloud.

 

Clean out junk files in Windows 7, 8.1, and 10

Free up gigabytes of space on your desktop, laptop, or tablet, without special tools.

 

If you forget your Windows admin password, try this

All is not lost. You just have to wiggle the lock on the virtual back door.

 

A review of Win10’s new security features

Given the increasingly sophisticated nature of malware, it’s no surprise that Microsoft built new security capabilities in Windows 10.

 

Mobil Computing

Download iOS 9 to give your iPhone the middle finger (emoji)

Apple has released iOS 9.1, the latest version of its mobile operating system, bringing with it several fixes and improvements for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

 

Hands on with the iPad Pro, Pencil, and Smart Keyboard

The iPad Pro is simply, profoundly, a bigger, better window into apps and the internet than Apple has ever made before. And it comes a new keyboard and pencil that provide new ways to interact with both.

 

Which Android apps are the biggest battery guzzlers?

Here are the top 10 apps that are slowing your smartphone down and eating scarce storage and battery resources

 

Apple Maps vs. Google Maps

We took the two mapping apps for a walk, drive, and bus ride to see which gave better directions.

 

All Android devices' vulnerable to new LTE security flaw

Devices on AT&T and Verizon networks are vulnerable to "loss of privacy, incorrect billing, and data spoofing."

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