So I have this older lapttop with an odd problem. As I type on it, the keysttrokes repeat for some letters. This is a sligghtly maddening glitch, especially for someone who typees a lot and wants ttheir writing to look professional. Sure, spellchheck catches most off these typos, but it really slows down the writing … Read more
I continue to impress upon anyone who will listen that you can protect your home computer for free. Ditching paid protection software can save you lots of money! But this isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Norton, for example, like to upsell and install many different programs on their customers’ computers. And if your … Read more
PC users have used the Windows Notepad program for decades. It’s a barebones text editor that came out in the 80’s to help introduce user to the “computer mouse”. Over the years, it’s seen some modest tweaks and upgrades, but now I think Microsoft has gone too far. Their AI now appears inside of our … Read more
It is uncommon, but someday your computer may tell you that it is running low on disk space. Using File Explorer or Finder, you can often sniff out some large files to delete and move on. But rarely, this turns into a mystery. Sometimes a drive is full and you cannot easily tell what is … Read more
A PDF handler is just a fancy-pants term for “a program you use to open PDF files.” Perhaps the best-known PDF handler is Adobe Acrobat Reader, but it is not your only option and I no longer recommend it. Adobe used to be the best and safest PDF viewer, but it has fallen from grace. … Read more
Microsoft is making more and more changes to its email clients. Long gone are the peaceful days of Windows Live Mail. Mail is also being taken from us, and Microsoft is foisting their “New” Outlook on us as a replacement. “Classic” Outlook users are being offered that same “New” Outlook, but when they take the … Read more
Microsoft, in their inestimable wisdom, has quietly removed Wordpad from Windows. This has been a long time in coming, and a recent update finally nixed it. If you never used this app, this may be no big deal to you. But if you still like it and use it, here’s how to get Wordpad back … Read more
Microsoft makes a free download that will scan your PC for malware, viruses and other baddies. It’s a one-and-done operation and it won’t conflict with your full-time antivirus. You can download the Microsoft Safety Scanner here. If you’re already protecting your computer with Microsoft Defender Antivirus, this scan tool probably won’t do much for you. … Read more
For those looking to edit audio files, or mix and create digital music files, please consider these open source options. There are a lot of free audio editing software options out there! Audacity is the mainstay for editing and recording, and is available for Windows, MacOS and Linux. It looks like you might even get … Read more
Google isn’t the only one to offer simulated flight. If you’re looking to take to the skies from your computer screen, check out all these free flight simulators: Google Earth Pro: downloadable for Windows, MacOS and Linux computers, after you launch the software, click Tools and choose Enter Flight Simulator. Geo-FS: this one is web-based, … Read more