12 Jan 2023 - Windows 11

Topics of the day

• Tax notes: For 2023 the Required Minimum Distribution age is now 73.  By default financial organizations should withhold 10% of distributions for income taxes, this can be changed if you ask.
• Bob really liked the History channel documentary "Breaking the Sound Barrier" which had lots of information he, and probably you, didn't know.  Example: the plane was the "XS-1" not X-1!.  Watch it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w07LG-WjKJ4
• Call 302-831-7218 or email ChaiResearchLab@udel.edu to participate in a UD study of "Does Eating Wild Blueberries Help Improve Memory and Cardiovascular Health?"  Sounds fun.
• To turn *off* Google tracking, login to your account, click the initial upper right, select 'Manage account.'  Click "Manage your data & privacy" and look through what Google saves and delete or turn off whatever you want.
• Rhetorical Question: Does it help to get mad at the computer?
• LassPass: what happened and what you can do.  There is a lot of information and mis-information floating around the Internet on this.  The best, most detailed is here:  https://www.grc.com/securitynow.htm  Look for #904, “Leaving LastPass” - Audio, Notes, & Transcript
• PC Health Check: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/how-to-use-the-pc-health-check-app-9c8abd9b-03ba-4e67-81ef-36f37caa7844
• Woody poses the question, https://www.askwoody.com/2022/is-it-time-to-move-to-windows-11/ ?  The answer: "It depends."
• Start11, a great replacement for the Windows 11 terrible start menu:  https://www.stardock.com/products/start11/  Brings back the better Windows 10 menu.
• The BMW "Zeus & Hera" ad from the 2022 Superbowl director's cut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JMalpza51M  This was a setup for ...
• ... The BMW Keynote at last week's CES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX10XBwpJ6M which was over an hour.  But, no worries, Bob's got a 'best of cut' coming up in his next presentation!

#301 - Jan 5, 2023

You guys must really like to hear me talk - kept me on-line till 3.  Thanks to all that listened to me ramble, I hope to see you in person when we resume hybrid presentations next week.  

Today's Topics:

• Recommend Bob Rankin's newsletter for tech topics: https://askbobrankin.com
• Intel announced their new 13th generation Core i CPUs, "Raptor Lake"
• To compare CPUs, check their Passmark: https://www.cpubenchmark.net 
• Scambusters is a good way to stay on top of the current threats, https://scambusters.org/ to subscribe to their newsletter to keep up.
• USB - cables connectors and protocols - can be confusing, we talk about them
• What is "Streaming?"  Like the "Cloud" there's less here than appears.
• Adwcleaner (Google "Adwcleaner Bleeping") is a great, quick way to check for malware.  It also detects pre-installed software, you're choice to keep or remove
• Should I replace my HDD with an SSD?  Short answer, Yes!  SSDs have gotten less expensive over the last year.  We talk about the process.
• Bob's daily driver, "Centurion" had a uh-oh!  (repeated blue screens)  We talked about how I recovered from it.
• Gene Barlow (who gave a presentation to us way back) has discounted Acronis products.  Acronis has gone to a subscription-only product list, so is less attractive, but Gene has good prices for those products.  https://ugr7.com
• Yes, the "3G" cell phone signals have been shut down.  Most vendors are giving you a free replacement if you have a 3G-only device.