Newsletter Archives

• How to fix problems with Microsoft’s Phone Link app

  Posted on February 17, 2025 at 02:45 CST by Lance Whitney • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 22.07 • 2025-02-17

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Lance Whitney

  Phone Link pairs your iPhone or Android phone with Windows, but it doesn’t always cooperate. Here’s how to fix technical troubles that may pop up in the process.

  I often use Microsoft’s Phone Link to sync my iPhone and Android phone with Windows so I can access mobile calls, messages, contacts, and photos from my phone directly on my PC. I especially like to write and answer texts using my desktop keyboard and mouse rather than my phone’s tiny virtual keys. But Phone Link can sometimes misbehave.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.07.0, 2025-02-17).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Windows 11 Android, Bluetooth, iPhone, Newsletters, Phone Link, Settings, Troubleshooting

• Control Panel and consoles in Windows 11

  Posted on June 3, 2024 at 02:45 CDT by Ed Tittel • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.23 • 2024-06-03

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Ed Tittel

  Control Panel element counts are shrinking, but they remain surprisingly active and entangled in Windows controls, configuration, and management.

  Although more than a decade has passed since Microsoft began migrating functionality from Control Panel into Settings, Control Panel elements remain alive and active in Windows 11. Windows consoles are also still important, and likely to remain so, as a new AI-enabled release of Windows 11 is anticipated later this year.

  But the landscape between Settings and Control Panel shifts constantly.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.23.0, 2024-06-03).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Windows 11 Control Panel, God Mode, Microsoft Consoles, Newsletters, Settings

• Settings

  Posted on May 6, 2024 at 02:44 CDT by Ed Tittel • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Ed Tittel

  The Settings app in Windows 11 remains endlessly under development, with the transition from Control Panel and Microsoft Management consoles far from complete.

  With the introduction of Windows 8, Microsoft began a slow and deliberate changeover in how setup, configuration, and related settings are handled. In this first of a series of stories about the Settings app and Control Panel, we’ll take a long, hard look at Settings and describe where Control Panel still appears under the Settings umbrella.

  Surprisingly, I must give Microsoft due credit. In a close examination of Control Panel holdovers that appear occasionally under the Settings umbrella, the number of such occurrences is substantially lower than I believed when I began this investigation.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.19.0, 2024-05-06).

  Windows 11 Control Panel, Microsoft Consoles, Newsletters, Settings, Windows 11

• Make Windows 11 easier to see, hear, and use

  Posted on December 11, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Lance Whitney • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.50 • 2023-12-11

  ACCESSIBILITY

  

  By Lance Whitney

  Whether or not you have specific disabilities or limitations, you can take advantage of a variety of accessibility settings to make Windows 11 more usable and accommodating.

  My eyes became much drier following eye surgery last year. As a result, my eyesight can at times get fuzzy, so I’ve had to adjust certain visual settings in Windows 11 so that I can more easily see text and other on-screen elements.

  If you’ve run into your own issues trying to see, hear, or otherwise use Windows 11, Microsoft offers several key accessibility features that can help. Here’s how they work.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.50.0, 2023-12-11).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Accessibility Accessibility, Disabilities, Newsletters, Settings, Windows 11

• Introducing Microsoft PC Manager

  Posted on October 23, 2023 at 02:44 CDT by Ed Tittel • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS

  

  By Ed Tittel

  Not many people know about the Microsoft PC Manager application, despite its being available in English since October 2022.

  One reason you might not be aware of PC Manager is because it is still in beta. It also began as a Chinese-language app in early 2022, which in all likelihood would not have caught the immediate attention of English speakers.

  However, it’s clear just from the URL of PCM’s microsite, https://pcmanager.microsoft.com/, that Microsoft has plans for the program. (It even has its own logo.) You can download the program from that location.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.43.0, 2023-10-23).

  Windows Beta, Newsletters, PC Manager, Settings, Utilities

• 11 settings to tweak on a new Windows 11 PC

  Posted on February 21, 2022 at 02:45 CST by Lance Whitney • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.08 • 2022-02-21

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Lance Whitney

  There are a bunch of settings you should configure before you fully dive into Windows 11.

  Let’s assume you’re running Windows 11 on a new or upgraded PC. Before you fully start working, playing, and hopping online, there are several key settings and features you should review, configure, or enable. By doing so, you’ll feel more at home with Windows 11. Among the settings to check are the Start menu, Taskbar, battery power, universal clipboard, and Windows Hello options.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 19.08.0 (2022-02-21).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Newsletter 19.08.F (2022-02-21).

  Windows 11 Newsletters, Settings, Windows 11, Windows 11 Settings