ARM is really important for Windows 11

WINDOWS 11

By Mary Branscombe

Microsoft is pushing people to Windows 11 to get AI features. Today, that means Windows 11 on ARM — even though the AI isn’t ready yet.

When Microsoft announced the generative AI features in Windows 11 that Satya Nadella claimed would change the whole PC experience, the first thing that struck me about Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs was how very far Windows on ARM has come. The new flagship devices that will run controversial, premium new Windows features such as Recall — and are supposed to make us think of Microsoft as “the AI company” rather than “the Windows company” — are, at least initially, powered by Snapdragon X Elite processors. Those are ARM architectures.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.30.0, 2024-07-22).

The resources you need for a secure computer

ON SECURITY

By Susan Bradley

With over a year left before Windows 10 stops being supported in its current fashion, are you reviewing its health and well-being?

Just the other day, I came across a home computer that was not a happy camper. Its C (boot) drive was too full. Upon review, I found that it also had a D drive with room for data, so I went into storage settings and moved 30GB of photos from the pictures folder to the D drive.

Why was this important? Because the PC was not installing updates. Clearing out space on the C drive provided the room for updates, and soon the PC was acting normally. Now we can wait to see how it responds to the constant pull of AI — and decide its future later, perhaps next year.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.30.0, 2024-07-22).

Bad antivirus definition triggers shutdowns

By Susan Bradley

It was a really bad day for IT admins.

Late Thursday night, the security protection company CrowdStrike sent a bad antivirus definition file to its entire customer base. Because this faulty data file inserts itself into the Windows kernel, Windows does what it was designed to do — it goes directly to the blue screen of death (BSOD).

Most of us can rest easy. CrowdStrike is not a product for the consumer or for a very small business. It’s an enterprise product, and thus its impact was widely seen in very large companies, triggering service interruptions for airlines, banks, healthcare providers — worldwide.

Read the full Plus Alert (21.29.1, 2024-07-20).

AutoAudioRecorder — Record any audio playing on your PC

FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

By Deanna McElveen

My daughters made a video of themselves singing a song they’d created when they were little. I wanted to grab the audio from it for a family project. Free software to the rescue!

AutoAudioRecorder by AutoClose was exactly what I needed for my own purposes, but it has so many neat abilities that I decided to share it with you as well.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.29.0, 2024-07-15).
This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

In Loper, the Supreme Court has made it harder to empower users

LEGAL BRIEF

By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

Mainstream media attention has been focused on the more dramatic Supreme Court decisions of the past few weeks, but another recent decision is potentially of greater importance to the user community.

From the legal-nerd perspective, that case involved the viability of the Chevron doctrine, a rule that had given federal administrative agencies great deference in deciding how much authority they had.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.29.0, 2024-07-15).

Capture basics for video tape

PERSONAL MEDIA

By Will Fastie

Video tape was introduced to the US consumer market nearly 50 years ago, in 1976. It created a consumer boom, but the machines that recorded and played video tapes are dying off.

Worse, support is waning for the technology to get the video off all that old tape and into a digital form more suitable for use today.

The process is not complicated, once you know a few tricks and have the appropriate hardware and software at hand.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.29.0, 2024-07-15).

No break from vulnerabilities

PATCH WATCH

By Susan Bradley

Microsoft is releasing updates for a large number of vulnerabilities this month.

Meanwhile, Apple is busy working on iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, tvOS 18, HomePod software 18, and watchOS 11. Currently, the updates are released for developers and will soon be coming to the public for beta testing. The Mac OS preview for Sequoia will bring artificial intelligence to Mac models with Apple silicon.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.29.0, 2024-07-15).

Tonight

The other day Brian wrote an article about how Social media is killing our kids. I think its damaging us too.

Tomorrow, I urge you to say hello to someone you don’t know. Start a conversation with a neighbor you haven’t talked with in a while.  Let’s find common ground and not “sides” in this world. Life is too precious.

Comments will be turned off and thank you for understanding.