Replies

Re: WordPerfect and attorneys/courts: as someone who did WP priority tech support years ago, it isn’t that Novell and Corel did a better job marketing WP them. Word had serious problems formatting pleading papers correctly.  WP doesn’t, so it became the word processor of choice for a number of court systems. Having also helped people with Word, WP is far better at actually formatting documents the way you want (without having to use tables the way Word does in templates, which average users I helped with resumes had no idea was why they had formatting problems when they tried changing stuff). That flexibility, actual toolbars, and the blessed Reveal Codes function are why I have paid for WP.

Re: Tracfone: when in doubt, check HowardForums for help instead of Tracfone themselves. Tracfone support is not good. With your phone, the update is coming from Tracfone if you use a Tracfone branded Moto G6, not Verizon. Tracfone just uses Verizon’s network, among others.

Side note: Tracfone does have a Bring Your Own Phone program, if you decide you would rather get support from phone manufacturers when you get a new phone in the future. If you want to stay with Motos, you definitely can get an unlocked Moto G and use that with Tracfone (personal experience here, I’ve used Tracfone for years that way, starting with a Moto G3 up to my current Moto G Power 8th gen).

Re: data backups to Google Drive: definitely do so. Google started deprecating older backup/restore methods where you could backup to a local computer with Android 9 Pie. Not all app data can be backed up without rooting, but use any built-in backups, both app and Android specific ones, for what you can.

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LHiggins

The reason I had my old PC on and updating was because there’s a pretty decent chance I might need it for at-home work. That was not fun on my old PC before, so biting the bullet and replacing it when I could definitely afford to do so with a computer that can run Win11 if/when I upgrade to that seemed to be the better long term option.  Bonus: it was on sale from the manufacturer, and I could get it with Win10 Pro.

Can confirm re: home users not upgrading computing devices every few years. I’m only finally looking at replacing my PC that I’ve owned since 2009 now since I noticed it was running really hot while using it and updating Windows for the first time in about two years and can actually afford to replace it thanks to my share of my late father’s estate. Desktops are expensive – every one I’ve ever owned were gifts, frequently of discontinued lines of hardware. Mobile devices aren’t much better for average users. I saw a lot of old outdated devices helping people in my old job, in part due to cost to replace them. I personally buy mid-range Android devices that I know I can afford to replace in a few years when I need to do so due to hardware issues.

Side note, before anyone freaks out over lack of updates on the above PC: I haven’t had it on since it was last updated, as I use my Android devices normally. It is running Win10, only because I had separately upgraded the graphics card years ago. If I hadn’t, I would have been stuck on Win7.

+1 for f.lux at home, and blue light filtering apps on my devices. At work, I turn on night mode temporarily when I have a migraine, since light hates me then. I also requested IT to adjust the system font size/icon size globally, after a bunch of complaints from coworkers when we got new PCs and stuff was too small for the majority of us. A coworker adjusts the mouse pointer size and theme to make it easier to read.

Now, if work would only use accessible fonts that don’t hurt my head, causing me to use Portable Waterfox with a custom userscript to look at our website…

I’ve noticed odd things at times with MS Accounts at work – you may think you have signed out after using OWA or other MS Office programs, only for the next person on that PC to open up Word or Excel and see the previous person still logged in to Office. I’ve even seen it where you log out of that account in the standalone MS Office programs, only to see that a second person’s account was also logged in, forcing me to log out twice if I wanted no user logged in to Office.

Android Word is the same – it isn’t on par with PC desktop Word. I suspect that the Android versions are akin to the 365 versions: I had to try to fill in a protected .docx file, and neither would let me fill in the editable fields. Since I don’t have desktop Word at home, I ended up using OpenOffice.org Writer, and apologizing for any formatting issues (this was a form I really needed to fill in for work ASAP, that under normal circumstances I would fill out a paper copy, but due to having to telework I couldn’t).

Also, the Office app for Android can’t be terribly new: it came preinstalled on my Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2019), which was released in April 2019. I got mine this March. Unless MS just snuck in some more stuff, what their website is highlighting isn’t new. (shrugs)

 

Reply-all issues are probably worse than normal now, with people teleworking. That’s my guess on why MS finally did this. I’m just glad the amount of recipients to trigger this is so high – right now with my library system we do have reply-alls going to about 280 people at a time, as three subgroups are collaborating on virtual services we’re offering, and valid reply-alls have come in fast at times. I’m sure IT departments wish that MS would give them control over the settings, though (besides wishing that end users would learn to check who they are replying to – making reply-all a default implies the user knows what that means).

For parents looking for e-learning resources, check either your local school or library system’s websites. Both may already have lists up, for both what they natively offer and where else you can go. In addition, a great list is at http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2020/03/a-roundup-of-pandemic-resources/ . Scroll down past the COVID-19 links and the little bit about what libraries should be doing (this is affiliated with School Library Journal, a professional magazine), for the e-learning and general stuff about what kidlit authors and publishers are doing.

Also, in areas where people may not have internet, schools and libraries even when closed may be doing what they can to help. I know in my county, the school system is using school buses for mobile wifi hotspots, while we do have the public wifi on during the day even while the libraries are closed (with security and local police keeping an eye on buildings and possibly social distancing). The library wifi extends throughout our parking lots. I’m not sure how many of our mobile hotspots that can be checked out, that we got via a grant, were before we closed to the public.

Very belated reply, in case folks haven’t done their taxes yet (and the IRS has delayed the due date to July 15): check your state revenue department, not the IRS, for free online tax prep info. I know in SC that’s where the links are for both, as I’m pretty familiar with the site both from personally free filing both that way for years and from having to download and print out tax forms for library patrons. It’s also where you should check to see if your state has pushed back the due date for returns to match the Feds. You sadly do get the same restrictions listed up front, but hopefully one will work.

Also, if you make over the financial limit or otherwise don’t qualify, and you are willing to do your taxes by hand, you might be able to just do fillable forms on the IRS and state sites and e-submit that way. That does depend on how complex your taxes are, based on the caveats on the IRS and SC versions, as some forms/lines aren’t available. Otherwise, since right now it will be hard to find VITA and AARP sites (and while AARP says they give seniors precedence, both groups in my experience when they’ve helped people at libraries help everyone), you may have to bite the bullet and pay if you want to e-file.

Belated reply, as I just saw this: while I do e-file, using the supported links for free e-filing from my state’s department of revenue for free state and federal filing, I have generally done a rough draft on paper by hand of my (and in the past, when she lived nearby, my mother’s) taxes.  I do find that doing so in the past has helped get everything in order for me.

That said, this year, anyone doing it by hand needs to seriously read up in advance about all of the changes to the federal forms.  There’s only one 1040 now, which itself is seemingly simpler, but there are more additional forms to file.  The new forms are up on the IRS website already, thankfully.  I’m glad that while I’m not in charge of the tax forms at work any more, I did help the person who took that over from me with ordering them this year, so I saw the drafts of the new forms and know I need to pay attention when doing my taxes. ;-D

But Susan, didn’t you know that Microsoft is the second most efficiently managed company today, according to a study cited at https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-best-run-u-s-companies-of-2018and-how-they-got-that-way-1543584095 ? I saw this on Monday when I was checking in the papers while opening at work, and had to die laughing. This is why Wall Street in general loves MS, I think, and not the quality of MS’s products…

Thankfully, for now, for Home users who have a clue and are tech savvy, workarounds to block upgrades still exist, as noted elsewhere here.  Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that those will continue to work, but for the very extremely rare cases nowadays where I do need to have my PC on and online, I’ll use them and not give MS the money.  I’ve pretty much already moved on anyway, which is sad, since originally I was planning on paying MS to upgrade to Pro on two computers at home when they were originally upgraded to 10 right before the free upgrade period officially ended.  However, MS lost those sales, and basically those active computers since we use our tablets more instead.

The other problem might be, since Home users are the unpaid and UNTRAINED (caps for emphasis) beta testers, how many problems go unreported because Home users don’t know how to report them?  There’s a reason my IT department likes me – I did tech support in a previous job, so when I email them, they know that they’ll actually get what they need to know, properly written up.  I know what to write when reporting a bug, and can track down how to do so – but I’m not an average Home user (on rare cases I use my PC).  Are average Home users up to that?

In my personal life, I basically have.  I’ve gone to Android, since at home I no longer have the energy to enjoy playing around and fiddling with a Windows PC, which was a joy for me, before 10.  Now, after having to help people use 10 on staff and patron PCs, and deal with it myself, I only turn on my PC when I need to backup my phone or tablet nowadays, and no longer do anything serious at home.  I keep up with 10 solely because I have to, not because I want to, and that’s sad, because I used to want and need to keep up.  Thanks, Microsoft, for killing that desire.