Newsletter Archives

• Revisiting Windows 11’s File Explorer

  Posted on March 24, 2025 at 02:43 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Will Fastie

  Have there been any recent improvements?

  In a word, no. The new File Explorer is not getting any love and continues to suffer from major problems.

  This is highlighted by my ongoing study of macOS. I will eventually write about the two world views of file management, comparing Microsoft’s File Explorer with Apple’s Finder.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.12.0, 2025-03-24).

  Windows 11 File Explorer, Newsletters, OneDrive, Performance, Software Quality, User Interface

• SpinRite 6.1 offers us help for solid-state drives

  Posted on December 16, 2024 at 02:43 CST by Ben Myers • Comment in the Forums

  BEN’S WORKSHOP

  

  By Ben Myers

  The latest version of SpinRite, long regarded as the go-to software to recover data from corrupted hard drives, adds testing and tuning of solid-state drives to hard drive rescue.

  Gibson Research’s famous SpinRite 6.0, circa 2004, recovers data from defective hard drives, repeatedly reading sectors to determine the original uncorrupted data with good statistical odds of success. SpinRite cannot possibly work on drives with failed circuit boards or drives that do not spin up.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.51.0, 2024-12-16).

  Ben's Workshop ClearDiskInfo, Newsletters, Performance, performance tuning, SMART, SpinRite, SpinRite 6.1, SSDs

• Core Ultra Series 2 desktop processors

  Posted on October 14, 2024 at 02:43 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  INTEL

  

  By Will Fastie

  Once again, new naming conventions make understanding Intel’s processors confusing.

  Late last week, Intel announced a series of new Core Ultra processors for desktop computers. These are designated “S” models. A month ago, Intel announced Core Ultra processors for laptops, designated “V.”

  At least for the moment, this is all very confusing. My big takeaway is that the V models are optimized for AI in the most popular form factor, laptops. The S models are optimized for the desktop gaming market. These initial S models do not perform as well for AI.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.42.0, 2024-10-14).

  Intel AI, Copilot+ PCs, Core Ultra, Intel Processors, Newsletters, NPUs, Performance, TSMC

• Using USB-attached Windows media

  Posted on October 7, 2024 at 02:45 CDT by Ed Tittel • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.41 • 2024-10-07

  WINDOWS

  

  By Ed Tittel

  Ports, cables, and devices all matter when you hook storage to Windows via USB.

  These days, it’s undeniable that the Universal Serial Bus — better known to all as USB — is the most common way to connect external devices to desktop and mobile PCs. And USB connects much more than mouse and keyboard. It also serves all kinds of storage, printers, and scanners. Indeed, ultra-fast modern USB versions such as USB4 can even accommodate high-resolution monitors via USB-C.

  USB has come a long, long way since the first version appeared in 1996. In particular, USB lets users add storage capacity to Windows PCs, across a variety of types. In this story, we’ll take a look at options for USB-attached storage, and present some possible selection criteria for same. But first, a quick review of USB-version history.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.41.0, 2024-10-07).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Windows External Drives, Newsletters, NVMe, Performance, storage, USB, USB4

• Understanding Qualcomm Snapdragon X

  Posted on September 30, 2024 at 02:41 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  SILICON

  

  By Will Fastie

  Qualcomm is not accustomed to speaking directly to consumers, making technical details difficult to find.

  Nevertheless, Qualcomm is now anxious to capture the hearts and minds of end users because its newest generation of processor, the Snapdragon X, is finding its way into many Copilot+ PCs.

  Here are a few technical details to help you through this year’s holiday buying season.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.40.0, 2024-09-30).

  Silicon Copilot+ PCs, Newsletters, Performance, Qualcomm, Snapdragon X Elite, Snapdragon X Plus, Specifications

• How my Internet outage caused security problems

  Posted on September 23, 2024 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  I live in a city with electricity, high-speed Internet, and all the other customary modern conveniences.

  In that same city dwell squirrels, birds (including beautiful hummingbirds), possums, kit foxes, bees, and too many others to mention. Although they’re lovely to have around, they are not necessarily the best of neighbors. Interaction with them doesn’t always work out, and sometimes that affects my technology — and even my security.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.39.0, 2024-09-23).

  On Security Insects, Internet, Internet connectivity, ISPs, Multifactor Authentication, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Performance, Security, Squirrels, Wiring, Xfinity

• Quantum computing is coming to you soon

  Posted on May 13, 2024 at 02:44 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  A breakthrough by researchers at Oxford University makes it likely that you’ll be able to access the power of a quantum computing center — remotely from your home or office — sooner than experts previously thought.

  “Quantum computing” is an entirely different animal from “digital computing.” A quantum server harnesses the capabilities of quantum states, weird behaviors that exist only at a subatomic level. In theory, quantum computing can operate much faster than even the speediest processors available today.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.20.0, 2024-05-13).

  Public Defender Blind Quantum Computing, Newsletters, Performance, Quantum Computing, Qubit, Security

• What can Microsoft PC Manager do for you?

  Posted on April 1, 2024 at 02:45 CDT by Ben Myers • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.14 • 2024-04-01

  BEN’S WORKSHOP

  

  By Ben Myers

  Microsoft’s PC Manager provides several easy-to-use tools to keep your computer running in good health, and more.

  Because I have long advocated keeping computers fit and in good shape, but not obsessively, so Microsoft’s PC Manager needed a long-overdue hard look to see what it could do for me. And for you. It was released in late October 2022, so it was high time to try it out. You can search for it at the Microsoft Store; once the store knows who you are, it installs PC Manager for you, leaving a small icon on the screen — making it convenient to use.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.14.0, 2024-04-01).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Ben's Workshop CCleaner, Health check, Newsletters, PC Manager, Performance, Revo Uninstaller
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