I made it north to the San Francisco Bay Area after a two day stop in La Quinta. It is so much cooler here and the nights are wonderful. Such a change from Tucson. While I love my adopted city, summers there are unbearable. I will be here a month, but, as promised the blog will continue on.
When last we spoke, after several attempts, two of my three computers failed to install the Windows Anniversary Update. I brought the Windows laptop with me as I use it to do this blog (I also brought my MacBook Pro and iPad). Yesterday, I decided to give the laptop one last try to do the installation. If it failed, I was ready to hop on a BART train to the Microsoft Store in San Francisco to let them figure it out. But to my surprise, the laptop completed the installation…and immediately upon completion, it started updating the update with a brand new cumlative update (see story #1). That went well also.
So now I have a fully functional Windows laptop with all the latest additions. I have been playing with it much of this day and I like some of its new features. The Edge browser works very fast and it so much better now that it uses 3rd party extensions like LastPass, Evernote Clipper, and Ad Blocker Plus. They are easy to install. I will play with Edge much more before I make a final judgement.
I have also had fun playing with Cortana, the voice-activated search engine. It works much better than it ever did. Bottom line: Windows is even better now. I am glad I finally was able to update Windows as I like what they have done.
On another topic, I had the pleasure of witnessing a minor miracle this morning. Brendan Miller, the grandson of my dear friend Paula, has been color blind all his life. In a week or so, he will be off to Oregon State as a Freshman. Today, Paula, Brendan, his Mother, and I went to an optometrist office in San Ramon who features the new EnChroma Lenses to try them out. They have only been on the market for a few months and they can correct the vision of a color blind person so he or she sees the real colors that most of us see.
With a pair of glasses in hand, we walked outside and I stood next to Brendan as he put them on for the first time. He stood there in silence for a couple of minutes with his mouth wide open…staring at trees and flowers. He was shaking with excitement to see the colors of our world that we take for granted. He was blown away by the colors of trees. Even the red and green of a stop light amazed him. What a joy it was to watch this happen. They were able to shape the lenses into a frame of his choice and he walked out with them on, seeing the world, literally, with new eyes.
The EnChroma Lenses are an amazing technology. So, if you know someone who is color blind, let them know about this.
OK, time for you to take over, so I hope you find something of interest. -JRC
Tech News and Opinions
Microsoft rolls out several new Windows 10 cumulative updates
Microsoft is making a number of fixes and reliability and performance improvements available across a variety of different flavors of Windows 10 via new Cumulative Updates.
Delta system outage: Here's what went wrong
Updated: Airline chiefs have explained what was behind the technology failure that grounded more than 1,800 flights.
Facebook will show you an ad, whether you block it or not
Analysis: The world's largest social network is turning to technology to put an end to ad blocking.
Walmart is buying Jet.com for $3 billion
The deal for Jet.com comes as big brand companies and retailers are trying to shore up their defenses against an all-out assault on their business from Amazon.com.
T-Mobile vows to match Verizon's coverage in next 12 months
The nation's third-largest carrier believes it will be able to match Verizon's industry-leading wireless coverage within the next 12 months, and maybe sooner
Computer Tips and Tricks
One of the oldest rules about passwords is totally wrong
Your school or workplace may require you to change your password every couple of months or so to keep your account safe. It’s a widely implemented security recommendation. Except it’s totally wrong.
How to Find and Remove Malware With Windows Defender Offline
With Windows 10’s Anniversary Update, this tool is included with Windows, and even easier to launch. Here’s how to use it, no matter which version of Windows you’re on.
Excel: 5 timesaving power tips
Help with formulas, and filling and fixing spreadsheet data.
19 Incredibly Useful Websites
Whether you’re looking to learn how to code, build leadership skills, or otherwise improve yourself, here are 19 awesome places to learn the critical skills that will change your life.
The Best Windows 10 Universal Apps of 2016
Windows 10 lets you easily install apps that run on all manner of devices from tablets and phones to PCs and Xboxes. Here are our favorites. And most of them are free.
Mobile Computing
How to Use Your iPad as a Second Monitor for Your PC or Mac
Multiple monitors are awesome. With two screens side by side, you can more easily see all your windows at once, keeping you productive. Got an iPad? You can use it as a second display for your Mac or PC.
Studies show people use only 5 apps on their smartphones
It will come as no surprise that one of those apps is Facebook. The other most common apps — which we all know from stats about user counts — include WhatsApp and Snapchat
Find, download, and install Android apps safely
Search for Android apps efficiently, spot fakes, and check compatibility in Google Play, the Amazon app store, and Download.com.
6 phones with the best battery life
If a long-life battery tops your list of phone needs, you can't do better than these. Did yours make the list?
This app organizes iPhone screenshots and makes them useful
It is not the first screenshot manager, but the app hopes to go beyond simply organizing screenshots.
Send documents over WhatsApp or Telegram
Prefer texting to email? You can still share documents, presentations, and PDFs with your contacts. Here are the best apps for messaging files, plus tips for messaging directly from Microsoft Office apps.
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