Newsletter Archives

• Windows Settings today

  Posted on March 17, 2025 at 02:43 CDT by Simon Bisson • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Simon Bisson

  Windows Settings today is a mix of old and new.

  Windows settings applications across the years, from DOS to Windows 11, comprise a history of what were, at the time, logical decisions about how to manage and group settings, opening them up to third parties, and then freezing them as part of Microsoft’s commitment to backward compatibility.

  We’re now in a position where we have not one, not two, not three, but four different settings applications, each with different user interfaces.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.11.0, 2025-03-17).

  Windows 11 Advanced Settings, Command Line, Control Panel, Newsletters, Remote Assistance, Remote Desktop, System Center, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Management Interface, Windows Settings

• Mail Merge magic in Microsoft Word

  Posted on March 17, 2025 at 02:42 CDT by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Mail Merge is found under the Mailings tab in Word, but that title hides the extent of what the feature can do.

  Yes, it can combine any list of people, places, or things with a document to make letters, documents, emails, envelopes, labels, directories or lists — in bulk.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.11.0, 2025-03-17).

  Microsoft 365 Excel, Mail Merge, Newsletters, Office, Word

• Businesses in the crosshairs

  Posted on March 17, 2025 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  But first, a personal note.

  As you know by now, the founder of this site, Gregory Forrest “Woody” Leonhard, passed away unexpectedly on March 8, 2025.

  When Woody retired from freelance writing in 2020, he reached out to ask whether I wanted to take over the AskWoody.com site. He wanted to spend more time with his family and pursue other, personal interests. I didn’t hesitate for a second.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.11.0, 2025-03-17).

  Patch Watch Apple, CVE-2025-24984, CVE-2025-24991, CVE-2025-24993, CVE-2025-26633, Internet Printing Protocol, iOS, IPP, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Remote Code Execution, SQL Server 2019, USB Printers, Web Browsers, Windows 11 24H2

• A brief history of Windows Settings

  Posted on March 10, 2025 at 02:45 CDT by Simon Bisson • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 22.10 • 2025-03-10

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Simon Bisson

  The real story about the Windows Control Panel is a long and winding road that goes all the way back to DOS.

  Windows has always had a way of managing its settings. Right from its first version, it had a control panel that let you configure your installation. Today, it’s a collection of tools that have evolved considerably over the years from that first control panel, going from a simple applet with a handful of functions to today’s one-stop Settings shop for configuring everything Windows.

  That evolution has taken us through multiple designs and redesigns, from icon-based tools with buttons and sliders, to today’s text-first Web-like interface. It hasn’t been a smooth journey either, with Microsoft’s commitment to backward compatibility leaving you switching across different generations of Windows as you drill further down into settings dialogs.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.10.0, 2025-03-10).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Windows 11 AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, Control Panel, CPL, Microsoft Management Console, MMC, Newsletters, Windows, Windows 1.0, Windows 10, Windows 10X, Windows 11, Windows 2.0, Windows 3.11, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows XP

• Thunderbolt is not just for monitors

  Posted on March 10, 2025 at 02:44 CDT by Ben Myers • Comment in the Forums

  BEN’S WORKSHOP

  

  By Ben Myers

  When will Windows computer makers embrace Thunderbolt?

  This is not an idle question, but the answers are quite complicated, involving three different evolving industry standards: Thunderbolt, USB, and DisplayPort. Today’s Thunderbolt 5 offers the possibility of simplified and very fast connections for all manner of devices, not just monitors.

  The Thunderbolt 5 aggregate data transfer rate is up to 120 gigabits per second in both directions, providing single data channels faster than USB and in the ballpark of the speeds inside a computer.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.10.0, 2025-03-10).

  Ben's Workshop Apple, DisplayPort, HDMI, Intel, Newsletters, Thunderbolt, USB, USB 3, USB 4, USB Implementers Forum, USB-C, USB-IF, VESA, Windows

• Password Generators — Your first line of defense

  Posted on March 10, 2025 at 02:43 CDT by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  If you create a password that is easy to remember, you create a password that can be cracked.

  These are no longer the days of P@ssw0rd123, Fido2002, or 22222. No joke — an entire county government in our area used that last one on both of their servers until we helped them out.

  You may think your password is fine because your account gets locked if a wrong password is tried too many times. Well, that used to be the case. If a hacker used a rainbow table that tried 2 million passwords and could try only one possible password every 15 minutes, that would have taken a very long time.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.10.0, 2025-03-10).

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Newsletters, Password generators, Password Tech, RandomPass

• AskWoody at the computer museum

  Posted on March 10, 2025 at 02:42 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  HISTORY

  

  By Will Fastie

  In January, I invited AskWoody Plus members from this part of the world to join me at the System Source Computer Museum near Baltimore.

  Many Plus members responded, enough that I could set a date, make appropriate arrangements with the museum, and send formal invitations.

  It proved to be a delightful event. Our guests were uniformly impressed by the museum, and all seemed to enjoy themselves. It was great to meet our Plus members in person, and I am especially grateful to those who came from farther away than I expected.

  I thank all who attended. If you are a Plus member, expect an invitation to our next tour soon. It will probably be scheduled in late April. Those from the previous list who could not be accommodated will be first in line.

  
  Plus members in the IBM room at the museum, with an IBM 360/20 in the background.
  Photo courtesy Plus member Dr. David Peisner.

  See more photos in our Plus Newsletter (22.10.0, 2025-03-10).

  History Computers, History, Museums, Newsletters

• Planning for the unexpected

  Posted on March 10, 2025 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  We all have a tendency to take many things for granted.

  We take utilities, such as electricity and water, for granted. We assume fuel will be there on demand. We expect our computers and other devices to turn on every time. We assume that our software will run properly the next time we use it. Then comes the day when one or more of these things are impacted. Are you prepared? What can you do without?

  I’m going to discuss several items of technology that I rely on that suddenly failed last week. For some, I had ready backups. For others, I was reminded that I need to take better steps to have a Plan B.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.10.0, 2025-03-10).

  On Security Battery Backup, Disaster Planning, Electricity, Email, Internet, Microsoft 365, Newsletters, Outages, Password management, Patch Lady Posts

• You can stop the avalanche of teen suicides due to social media

  Posted on March 3, 2025 at 02:45 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 22.09 • 2025-03-03

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  The world is suffering from an explosion of teenage suicides and self-harm that are directly caused by the depression and suicidal impulses that young people develop through social-media use, according to medical experts.

  I called attention to these ghastly statistics in my July 8, 2024, column. Suicide rates among children as young at 10 have doubled or tripled since smartphones became glued to teenagers’ hands and social media such as Instagram became kids’ primary method of relating to the world.

  Finally, a respected psychologist — a professor of leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business — has published a blueprint to end the bloodshed and bring children back into a healthy relationship with their electronic devices and each other.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.09.0, 2025-03-03).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Public Defender Age Restrictions, Age Verification, Child Security, Depression, Newsletters, Self-harm, Smartphones, Social Media, Suicide, Teen Depression

• How to manage Microsoft Store apps

  Posted on March 3, 2025 at 02:44 CST by Mary Branscombe • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Mary Branscombe

  The whole point of the Windows Store is to take the guesswork out of working with Windows applications.

  The Windows Store is now known as the Microsoft Store (henceforth, the “Store”) because it’s also where Xbox users get games and Edge users get browser extensions. If an app is in the Store, it’s supposed to mean that it’s trustworthy and safe to install — no more scouring download sites to work out which is the legitimate app and which might have malware infections.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.09.0, 2025-03-03).

  Windows 11 Microsoft Store, Newsletters, Windows Store

• Mac mini setup — KVM update

  Posted on March 3, 2025 at 02:43 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  APPLE

  

  By Will Fastie

  Reconfiguring the Mac mini so it would be a part of my KVM arrangement went without a hitch.

  I more or less expected that because the KVM box is a rather simple thing, although my use case is odd. I’ll explain that below. For now, I’ll just describe the slight differences that showed up when I made the KVM connection.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.09.0, 2025-03-03).

  Apple Adapters, Audio, DisplayPort, KVM, Mac mini, Mac setup, macOS, Newsletters, PC setup, Thunderbolt

• To reboot, or not to reboot

  Posted on March 3, 2025 at 02:42 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Why do we need to reboot our computers?

  Why can’t they just run 24/7 without issue? And why is Windows more likely to require rebooting than other systems?

  Normally, I take rebooting for granted, as a matter of fact. This dates very far back. I remember tech support agents on the phone, asking whether I had rebooted a PC and then — regardless of the answer — asking me to reboot again. Recently, I stumbled upon a bug that was interesting enough to cause me to raise this question.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.09.0, 2025-03-03).

  Patch Watch Linux, macOS, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Rebooting, Windows
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