Link To Article
Date of Article: 2015-03-12
Source of Article: WinBeta
This article addresses a question I often hear and does so in a very clear and reasonable way.
Personally I fit in what the article calls the high class and have found I need to replace my systems on a three year cycle. My current laptop runs Windows 8.1 and my desktop is running Windows 7. The desktop is about a year older than the laptop. Right now I am holding off on buying another system until Windows 10 is available. At that time I will update both to it and then evaluate their performance to determine which I replace first. Since I do most of my work from the laptop it will more than likely be the first to be upgraded.
As the article says, those who use their systems to: browse the web, use email, use Excel for simple worksheets, and Word for small documents have a lesser need for high performance and should find themselves happy with systems no older than 7-8 years old. I still recommend that they take advantage of the free upgrade to Windows 10 when it comes out if their machines are eligible.
Those in the medium category do everything those in the low category do and add on games and multimedia players and use office in more complex ways. They need more performance than than the lower group and need a system no more than 4-6 years old. They too if eligible need to take advantage of the Windows 10 upgrade.
Why am I so in favor of Windows 10? It takes the best of the Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 interface and merges them to create what should be an excellent user interface. It brings out a new web browser which should be more secure than Internet Explorer and hopefully deliver better performance. Hopefully like the new browser Windows 10 will be more secure than its predecessors. Lastly I am looking forward to the Windows 365 subscription model which I hope to enjoy as much as my current Office 365 subscription.
W.C.
Date of Article: 2015-03-09
Source of Article: Various tech blogs
Several tech blogs are reporting that the old Windows help-file (.chm) format is being used to deliver CryptoWall attacks in which data on the attacked PC is encrypted and held for ransom.
Sadly quite a few legitimate software packages still use this outdated format which was largely abandoned by Microsoft (though not completely) due to its many security vulnerabilities.
If you get an email with an attachment with the chm extension I would recommend that you not open it.
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2015-02-25
Source of Article: Tech Republic
Another article dropping suggestions about what we might expect Windows (365) as a service will be like.
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2015-02-20
Source of Article: TechRepublic
This is what I have been expecting to see and I for one will be signing up for it when the time comes. I've been using Office 365 since early last April and plan on renewing it this April. Not having to worry about upgrading Office again is a good thing and I believe the same for Windows will be great too.
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2015-01-21
Source of Article: The Verge
This article describes some of the features we can expect in Windows 10 and includes several screenshots.
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2015-01-21
Source of Article: ZDNet
This is an announcement I have been hoping to see. The catch is that the offer is only available for the first year after Windows 10 is released (expected in Fall of this year).
From what I have seen and read Windows 10 takes the best of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 along with some new features (Internet Explorer replaced etc) which should result in a very nice user interface.
As the article says, this is the start a new model for the relationship between Microsoft and Windows users. Hopefully it will work as smoothly as the relationship between Microsoft and Office 365 users (I belong to this group).
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2015-01-08
Source of Article: Windows Secrets
Well those who dislike Windows 8 are running out of options. Windows Xp support has ended, Xindows Vista support is well into its countdown, and now Windows 7 has started its countdown. The author gives a pretty good description of the implications with an emphasis on the effects on businesses.
Hopefully Windows 10 will make the what to do question easier to answer for most users.
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2014-12-24
Source of Article: TechRepublic, Tony Bradley
This article is good reading for people who have seen those ads on TV or the Internet which claim to be able to make your PC run as good as new and protect you from all the malware out there. If you have seen one of those ads and are considering purchasing the service I suggest you read this article first. Like the author I am glad to see Microsoft take this step.
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2014-12-12
Source of Article: InfoWorld Tech Watch
If you have a Windows 7 SP 1 system and have installed KB3004394 from the latest Patch Tuesday and it is causing problems this article describes a fix just published by Microsoft to help cure these problems.
MS claims that KB3004394 does not cause problems on Windows 8/8.1 systems. I can not personally attest to the problems or lack of problems as I am still in my personal Patch Tuesday delay mode which is always at least 6 days long and longer if I know there are problems out there through the reporting of Woody and several of his peers.
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2014-12-11
Source of Article: PC World
This is a good basic article on what to look for and what not to look for and then what to do if it does look like you really have malware.
Part of my protection system has been to use the best antivirus/malware software that I can afford and then do periodic testing with three different portable scanners to verify what my first line of defense is telling me.
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2014-11-19
Source of Article: TechRepublic
Mobile technology is changing the way we live and interact with others and this article points out 10 of the ways it is doing so and some of the positives and negatives.
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2014-??-??
Source of Article: ars technica
Be warned my friends, these scams are out there and this action by the government has just hit the tip of the iceberg. Four of those brand names in the next to last paragraph are familiar to me because I received their spam/scam offers. I didn't answer their offer because I was sure they were scams and this article has confirmed it for me. I hope they all get some real hard time and loose all their assets when the case is over.
What really makes me mad is I suspect that a significant part of that $120,000,000 these thieves acquired was paid by seniors living on a fixed income who just wanted to keep their PC running reliably to allow them to keep in contact with friends and family.
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2014-11-06
Source of Article: Windows Secrets Top Story
This article points out how many of the companies that we do business with are equally to blame for consumer's losses due to identity theft and for loss of personal information. Many companies ignore threats to their web sites and point-of-sale terminals even when companies operating similar sites of terminals are hit by data breaches. I wonder if the law required them to take the loss they caused, would they still ignore these threats. Read the article, it may wake you up.
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2014-10-22
Source of Article: ZDNet, The Ed Bott Report
This is very good news in my opinion. Security is often overlooked by members of the buying public when they go to get their new PC. Starting with an operating system that has more security features will make them safer.
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2014-08-05
Source of Article: Wall Street Journal
One of our members sent a link to this article to me and if I was currently in the market for a new laptop I would find it very useful. There are a few other brands that I also like but the article is still accurate and worth reading if you are in the market.
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2014-07-07
Source of Article: InfoWorld
Woody has long been one of my most trusted sources of where things are going in the Windows world and Wzor has been cited by him quite often and with the prediction coming true. The last paragraph in the story is very interesting and if correct could make Windows 9 acceptance the norm, especially if it includes the desktop start menu.
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2014-07-08
Source of Article: ZDNet
As I usually do, I will wait until next Monday (my regular weekly system update and backup day) to install these updates. By then any problems should have surfaced and I can judge if I need to skip any of the patches.]
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2014-07-08
Source of Article: ZDNet
Thus the official countdown begins for Windows 7. IMO Microsoft really needs to get their version of the Start Menu back for Windows 8.1. I already use an add-on one but there are several different versions out there and that makes life harder in some cases for software developers. An official Start Menu would force the add-ons to make their products compatible with it. I believe it would also speed up acceptance of Windows 8.1, especially among seniors. A couple of days ago I saw a video demo of Microsoft's vision for the menu seemed to combine the best of the tiles with a traditional start menu. It looked really promising.
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2014-07-??
Source of Article: Snopes
I started getting this one today. I did a little research and found the article above on Snopes. I found several other articles including two from the real Amos Family Funeral Home in Ks whose name was useed in the two emails I received. If you receive one like this my advice is to not click on the link unless you like to have your machine infected.
W.C.
Link To Article
Date of Article: 2014-07-02
Source of Article: TechRepublic
Since several of our members have Linux laptops I thought this would be a good article to post.
Sorry I am so late posting this but I have been off line for almost five days due to a service outage.
W.C.
