Newsletter Archives

• Reviewing your licensing options

  Posted on March 31, 2025 at 02:45 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 22.13 • 2025-03-31

  TAME YOUR TECH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Can you get a license for that?

  With the upcoming end of life of Windows 10, I’m often asked why I’m not recommending that you look for and install the long-term servicing channel (LTSC) version of Windows 10 or Windows 11.

  LTSC is a version of Windows 10 that was designed for devices that require minimal changes over time. It is primarily used in environments where stability and consistency are crucial, such as medical devices or industrial machinery. It is not available to the public and can be purchased only through volume licensing. It’s a platform that is intentionally not bloated, and it comes with fewer pre-installed apps, such as Microsoft Store, Cortana, and Edge (until the 2021 version). While it gets regular security updates, it does not get feature releases.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.13.0, 2025-03-31).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Tame Your Tech Adobe, Autopilot, Business Software Alliance, Intune, Licensing, LTSC, Microsoft, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Software, Windows 11

• How good is Mac software vs. Windows software, really?

  Posted on February 10, 2025 at 02:44 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  The flame wars over whether Apple programs and apps are better or worse than Windows programs and apps have raged on ever since the Apple I was released in 1976. Like a fool, I’m stepping right into the middle of this battle royale with today’s column.

  In the first two parts of my Mac-vs.-Win11 series, I described how to get the best price on the new, 2024 Mac mini with its M4 chip and how to choose an inexpensive keyboard, mouse, and monitor (if you aren’t insistent on buying peripherals from Apple).

  Today, I’m going to cover the software that comes with the Mac mini, as well as programs and apps that you can get as separate add-ons. I’m probably not going to satisfy anyone.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.06.0, 2025-02-10).

  Public Defender Apple, Mac mini, macOS, Newsletters, Software, Windows

• Let your PC start the new year right!

  Posted on January 6, 2025 at 00:15 CST by Ben Myers

  ---

  BEN’S WORKSHOP

  

  By Ben Myers

  Service your Windows PC thoroughly to get a big-time payoff in the coming year.

  First, ask the question “How healthy is my hardware?” before considering what to do with any software. This reflects best practice, and it is exactly what happens here when a computer shows up at my shop in need of attention.

  Messing around with the software on a computer with unhappy hardware can only worsen troubleshooting, analysis, and remediation. More importantly, it can change the content of a solid-state drive or hard drive in unpleasant ways.

  Along the way, I’ll provide some guidelines for selecting or upgrading a system for using Windows 11, or even Windows 10 during its final year of unqualified support.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.01.0, 2025-01-06).

  Ben's Workshop Backups, Drive maintenance, Hardware, Networking, Newsletters, PC maintenance, Security, Software

• The software subscription model

  Posted on June 10, 2024 at 02:42 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  COMMENTARY

  

  By Will Fastie

  My data is being held hostage.

  A recent email from TechSmith, the maker of Camtasia and Snagit, rubbed me the wrong way. This came on the heels of an annoying experience trying to activate Adobe Creative Suite 3 (CS3, from 2006) on my newest computer. I admit to knowing, in advance, that I would be annoyed.

  I then started thinking about software subscription plans and their pros and cons.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.24.0, 2024-06-10).

  Commentary Adobe, Camtasia, Creative Cloud, Creative Suite, JetBrains, Microsoft, Microsoft 365, Newsletters, Office, Snagit, Software, Software Subscriptions, Subscriptions, TechSmith

• Got change for a billion-dollar bill?

  Posted on June 3, 2024 at 02:43 CDT by Max Stul Oppenheimer • Comment in the Forums

  LEGAL BRIEF

  

  By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

  Large patent-infringement verdicts have been in the news recently.

  On May 10, a jury awarded IPA Technologies $242 million against Microsoft for infringing US Patent 7,069,560 by incorporating the patented technology into its Cortana digital assistant. Nearly a month earlier, a jury awarded Kove IO $525 million against Amazon for using Kove’s patented technology in its AWS products.

  Should you care?

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

  Legal Brief Newsletters, patent infringement, Patents, Software, User Rights

• UpdateHub — Safety in updates

  Posted on December 11, 2023 at 02:43 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Outdated software is one of the most common vulnerabilities that hackers use to gain a foothold in a computer system. Software authors fix their software by releasing updates when a vulnerability is discovered.

  Some software keeps itself updated even if you don’t use it. Most software prompts you for an update when you open it. But many programs don’t tell you about updates unless you click a “check for updates” button or something similar.

  If you think all the software on your computer is being kept updated automatically, you are probably wrong — unless you are using a software-updating program such as UpdateHub by the California-based company, Nexova Dev.

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

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Microsoft Store, Newsletters, Software, updates

• Working with the Intel Driver & Support Assistant

  Posted on June 19, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Ed Tittel • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.25 • 2023-06-19

  WINDOWS

  

  By Ed Tittel

  Intel’s share of the x86 processor market at the end of 2022 came out at nearly a two-to-one ratio for Intel vs. AMD.

  The Statista survey ascribes 62.8% of that market to Intel and 35.2% to AMD; the remaining 2% presumably belongs to ARM and “other CPUs” sometimes found in PCs.

  But other Intel devices, including PC chipsets and controllers, show up in PCs of all kinds. And that means Intel also supplies drivers to connect devices to Windows and allow them to do their jobs.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.25.0, 2023-06-19).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Windows Hardware, Hardware drivers, Intel, Newsletters, Software, Utilities, Windows

• How to take advantage of the Photos app in Windows

  Posted on March 20, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Lance Whitney • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS

  

  By Lance Whitney

  The Photos app in Windows 10 and 11 will help you view and organize all the photos and videos scattered across your PC and other devices.

  After years of shooting photos and videos, you may have thousands of them stored on your phone and your computer. And now you want to be able to access them all, preferably in one single spot.

  Designed for Windows 10 and 11, the built-in Photos app is a free and convenient way to manage and view all your photos and videos, no matter where they’re located.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.12.0, 2023-03-20).

  Windows Newsletters, Photo app, Photos, Software, Windows
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