Reflecting on 2021

Topic

New Reply

EDITORIAL By Will Fastie We’re still alive. Don’t take that the wrong way. I’m not talking about the pandemic or my age. I’m talking about this venera
[See the full post at: Reflecting on 2021]

10 users thanked author for this post.

schmootoo, Wheel_D, AlexEiffel, WSGeo, MHCLV941, Lars220, AlphaCharlie, OscarCP, tcc089, Alex5723

Reply | Quote

Replies

Comments on the newsletter format and style, as you requested.

I never know what the NS-DEFCON numbers mean. Is 1 bad, 5 good? Or vice-versa? I guess that 2 is red and 4 is green are supposed to tell me that 1 is bad, yet it doesn’t look bad.

I sometimes would like to save an article that might be useful to me in the future, as a PDF. The old Windows Secrets had a link to let you do this when viewing the web version, but I don’t see any easy way now.

I have been a subscriber for many years, and the newsletters have often been most valuable.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Will Fastie

Reply | Quote

Juniperus wrote:

I have been a subscriber for many years, and the newsletters have often been most valuable.

You can keep/save e-mailed newsletters. Backup your email, print to PDF…

Reply | Quote

Juniperus wrote:

I never know what the NS-DEFCON numbers mean. Is 1 bad, 5 good? Or vice-versa? I guess that 2 is red and 4 is green are supposed to tell me that 1 is bad, yet it doesn’t look bad.

Click on “MS-DEFCON System” at the top of the page for a full explanation of each number.

Windows 10 Home 22H2, Acer Aspire TC-1660 desktop + LibreOffice, non-techie

Reply | Quote

I have to say that there have been significant improvements in how the site works from the point of view of looks and the speed of getting to see comments as well as writing and editing them. Even long threads post substantially quicker now, enough to notice. Also the moderating of the comments is better, in my opinion, than it used to be until some six months after the change of leadership: It took time for that to happen, but it happened.

What I still would like to see is some more articles in the Newsletter on macOS and Linux, not nearly as many as about Windows, of course, but now and then on topics of particularly broad interest would be helpful to those of us who either use these systems as well as Windows, or only these systems and not Windows, as there are more than a few of us around in AskWoody.

It would also be nice if someone could be found willing to take Nathan Parker’s old place as resident expert on issues pertaining to Macs and other Apple devices.

So I say: Keep up the good work in 2022, while hoping here for it to be even better by New Year 2023.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

1 user thanked author for this post.

Will Fastie

Reply | Quote

A very useful, cogent reflection. Thanks for the insight!

w

Reply | Quote

I get the full newsletter in email but Gmail clips off the end of it (it apparently does this for anything longer than 199k and there isn’t any setting to tell it not to do this).  So then I have to click on the link at the bottom to read the whole thing.

 

Doesn’t sending the full newsletter raise costs?  Wouldn’t it make sense to send a much shortened version in email and then a link to open the full version in a browser?  I’d be okay with this though I’m sure some subset of people would be unhappy, as is par for the course in any change anywhere to anything on the internet.

What kind of promotions do you do to attract new subscribers?

Maybe put a tip of the day or a helpful forum post on Twitter and other social media properties?

1 user thanked author for this post.

Will Fastie

Reply | Quote

I never know what the NS-DEFCON numbers mean. Is 1 bad, 5 good? Or vice-versa? I guess that 2 is red and 4 is green are supposed to tell me that 1 is bad, yet it doesn’t look bad.

“DEFCON” is short for Defense Condition and it’s originally a military term.  There are 5 levels:

DEFCON 1            Nuclear war is imminent or has already started
DEFCON 2            Next step to nuclear war
DEFCON 3            Increase in force readiness above that required for normal readiness
DEFCON 4            Increased intelligence watch and strengthened security measures
DEFCON 5            Lowest state of readiness

So, yes, DEFCON 1 is bad, very, very bad.

I sometimes would like to save an article that might be useful to me in the future, as a PDF. The old Windows Secrets had a link to let you do this when viewing the web version, but I don’t see any easy way now.

Agreed.   Why a PDF instead of just a link?   I can search PDFs store on my PC or NAS to help find what I want.

I have been a subscriber for many years, and the newsletters have often been most valuable.

Strongly agree!!

Reply | Quote

Overall, I like this newsletter a LOT just as it is.

I understand the inclination to move into Apple, Linux, Android, etc. but I think it would be a mistake because it would dilute the content for your audience. To be sure, some of them would appreciate it but some others would not. Why? Simply because when I get Ask Woody, it’s worth my time to read the entire message. If rather than 4 or 5 articles on interest, there was only one or two, it’s no longer worth the time to do so.

How about starting companion newsletters that focus on those areas?

Better, but necessarily easier, set up optional areas of interest. If someone wants Linux along with Windows/Microsoft, a check box on one’s account could add that content. Likewise for Apple, Android, etc. For that matter, for the ABM (anything but Microsoft crowd), this content could be opt-in as well. PS: this really should be a paid-only feature.

That said, I would like to see more on Microsoft cloud, particularly Azure since it pretty much tags along with Microsoft 365?

2 users thanked author for this post.

Will Fastie, wavy

Reply | Quote

There was never a situation where people were complaining about having a section dedicated to Macs when Nathan Parker and PKCano were taking care of it, and PK still is, in the time left after taking care of other responsibilities. And a few times a year Nathan contributed an article to the Newsletter, while Ascaris and others have been keeping the Linux information flowing. I am not asking for anything to be different from that, which was never a problem. But is not happening now, and that is my point.

Separate newsletters? That would be nice, of course, but what I think is more needed is someone we can go to with specific questions and who disseminates information that can benefit Mac and Linux users that are subscribers here. Alex does a good job, entirely of his own volition, about updates to the various Apple devices software, as PK still does on a regular basis. But Nathan was covering also computer hardware problems and giving advice on useful applications, such as anti virus, screen capture software, etc., etc. And I miss having someone available and trustworthy who is an expert on Macs to ask questions about all that, which was a useful thing to have. Particularly at a time when such big changes are taking place both in Mac’s hardware and software. Same thing might be less necessary, given the number of threads active on the matter, but perhaps useful for stimulating and coordinating the conversations on Linux.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

2 users thanked author for this post.

migongo, Wheel_D

Reply | Quote

I agree with you @OscarCP Definitely, after having tried Linux Mint Cinnamon 20.3, I doubt someone may be interested in Windows 11. Linux is the most robust, stable, efficient and customizable operating system you have known. So I am, happily, another exclaiming “goodbye, Microsoft!”. But as a rookie in it, only the opinion of those who say that an antivirus is not necessary in Linux is restless. Being Linux – as it is also Windows– a highly dependent operating system of the Internet, Intuyo that the risks will not be less. So, what antivirus do you recommend me for Mint Cinnamon? Thanks in advance.

Reply | Quote

Very grateful you’re here, and glad to hear you’re doing well.
Not to be a spoiler for that upcoming survey, I look forward to this content every edition.
All the best for 2022!

1 user thanked author for this post.

Will Fastie

Reply | Quote

Will, I don’t have much to say and it is not very original, but I think you are doing a great job.

Often, subjects will interest me and I am sometimes surprised at the depth some articles go to, even more than I am expecting. This is a goal your team is meeting brilliantly.

I am always curious and looking forward to read the newsletter, which I think is a good sign.

I often learn something even on subjects I am quite familiar with.

The community often brings interesting points to the subjects covered.

Keep up the good work and thanks to everyone involved.

 

3 users thanked author for this post.

mledman, Wheel_D, Will Fastie

Reply | Quote

ibe98765 wrote:

Doesn’t sending the full newsletter raise costs?

Actually, no. We are charged based on the number of people on the list and the number of emails we send. Size is not an issue.

Reply | Quote

ibe98765 wrote:

Wouldn’t it make sense to send a much shortened version in email and then a link to open the full version in a browser?

In our survey of readers last year, we asked that exact question. More than half preferred receiving the entire newsletter via email.

2 users thanked author for this post.

WSGeo, Wheel_D

Reply | Quote

AskWoody may be the proverbial last bastion for truly mature technology analysis and insight. When Woody retired, I was grim about its prospects, especially for the newsletter.

How delightful to be wrong. Despite my shift toward Linux and Apple, I’ve happily renewed my paid AskWoody subscription. You all are terrific–please keep it up!

3 users thanked author for this post.

AlexEiffel, Will Fastie, OscarCP

Reply | Quote