Showing 51 - 60 of 98
The three version rule for Windows
Life, James Hein, Published on 18/11/2015
» I was helping someone out with their scanner driver for Windows 10, easy enough, but when it was installed the default program worked fine and the graphics program they were using worked great in preview but then did not work at all for the actual scan. The problem appeared to be the age of the application. Many computer users get very used to a particular version of a particular application. It could be an old version of Word, or in this case, Picture Publisher.
Operating without support
Life, James Hein, Published on 21/10/2015
» For most customers, Windows Server 2003 ran out of even extended support back in July but there are still plenty of people using it, including the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) where half of their servers are still running on the old but very good at the time operating system. For some, running an old operating system has no downside. What software and functionality that is running on it has probably happily been doing so for a decade or more and also in all likelihood without any problems. If the device is not connected to a public network of any kind then the risk of security breaches is also very low so missing out on any security updates is likely to have no impact. There is also no need to upgrade hardware to support a later and more demanding operating system. For some users this is a win-win.
The Office 360 downgrade
Life, James Hein, Published on 07/10/2015
» As I write this article I am in New York. New York has excellent Internet connectivity if you have the right connection. Like anywhere, however, Wi-Fi access can vary considerably. When I travel I also use Team Viewer to connect to my home computer and as I found out you are relying on someone at the other end to restart the computer if there is a problem like a power failure. If you do travel I recommend leaving some instructions on what to start after the computer is turned on or set things up to auto load. The other option of course is to forget about technology altogether and just have fun. These days it is all about the selfie shot. I must admit that while I do not typically indulge in the practice I did take a couple in front of some iconic places and put them on Facebook. It is amusing to see someone use a selfie stick to take a normal picture, it looks very awkward.
Watch for the dust in the machine
Life, James Hein, Published on 16/09/2015
» Over time computers break down. In my case it was a power supply that went with a bang, not a whimper, accompanied with a flash of sparks, some smoke and that lovely ozone smell.
Faster than a speeding bullet? No
Life, James Hein, Published on 01/07/2015
» It still surprises me how little the average individual understands about internet speeds and the sharing of a connection. Around the world, companies make grand advertising statements like "up to 100MBs connection speeds", which is, in almost anyone's language quite fast, certainly fast enough to stream ultra high definition video that requires somewhere around 25MBs to perform well. If the server providing the file can provide it at this speed and there is essentially a direct connection between your computer and the server that maintains the speed then yes, you will get the performance advertised. Ironically, if you are connected via some kind of torrent delivery system then it could be 1,000 computers combining to provide the video and you will also get those kinds of speeds in total.
No more games
Life, James Hein, Published on 10/06/2015
» Official Windows 10 will be available on July 29, this year. By the time you read this, legal software owners should have received their notification from Microsoft to register for the free upgrade. Yes, there are indeed some nice new features that may or nor be available to you at release but there are what some will consider negatives to the product as well.
Computing genetic manipulation
Life, James Hein, Published on 20/05/2015
» What is the next big thing? Microsoft and some others would like you to believe it is all things cloudy. The problems with that are factors like communication channels between continents, security of information, the reliability of a server somewhere else versus on-site and the army of hackers trying to get into all that information just sitting there. If you have seen the intro to CSI: Cyber you will know what I mean. Another group want it to be virtual reality glasses for all, but as the Google Glass demonstrated, people walking around with even small glasses were not appreciated. At least the VR goggles will mostly be at home. This technology still has quite a way to go.
Free stuff, TVs, and hacking
Life, James Hein, Published on 25/02/2015
» If you use email and the internet then you will have been bombarded with offers for free stuff. These offers take various forms, but the most common one is the chance to win something for free, where your chances increase with the more friends you get involved with and then there are the mandatory pages of offers that you need to say "no" to, in order to complete the application.
It's all about connections
Life, James Hein, Published on 04/02/2015
» There are many types of networks. People create social networks through using social media apps. A local area network, LAN, connects a number of computers together, for example, in an office.
Window to tomorrow's technology
Life, James Hein, Published on 28/01/2015
» Windows 10 will be the best version ever. Yes we have heard it all before and all you need to respond to such a statement is Vista, Windows 8 and Windows Bob. Does anyone even remember that last one? These three versions and a couple of others were hardly the "best version ever" as Windows XP and Windows 7 has proven to all in more recent times.