Newsletter Archives

• Mouse quest

  Posted on April 22, 2024 at 02:42 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE

  

  By Will Fastie

  I’m filled with angst about Microsoft getting out of the PC accessories business.

  PC peripherals of any kind are a very personal matter. But those with which we interact the most can have an enormous impact on our productivity. I know this intellectually, of course, but recently it’s become reality.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.17.0, 2024-04-22).

  Hardware Logitech, Mice, Microsoft, Newsletters, Touch Pad, Touch screen

• Touchscreen misregisters point-and-clicks

  Posted on April 5, 2021 at 01:10 CDT by Fred Langa • Comment in the Forums

  ISSUE 18.12 • 2021-04-05

  LANGALIST

  

  By Fred Langa

  Touchscreens are ubiquitous and usually reliable, but when one malfunctions, even simple pointing and clicking can become an exercise in extreme frustration.

  Here are the likely causes of touchscreen miscalibration, and several easy ways to get things working properly again.

  Plus: How to protect yourself from Windows’ dangerous, semi-secret back door!

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.12.0 (2021-04-05).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.12.F (2021-04-05).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware, LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware, LangaList, Touch screen

• Do I need a touchscreen?

  Posted on November 7, 2015 at 06:03 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  An interesting question from reader BB:

  Woody, I am a happy win 7 home premium user with an HP Pavilion dv7 laptop, 64 bit, I5 intel core.  I am following your recommendations about waiting to upgrade.  My question is should I purchase a new touchscreen laptop for windows 10 vs. updating my older HP to windows 10 Home?  I probably won’t be using the pro versions unless you advise it.  What features of windows 10 would I be losing without a touch screen?  Really appreciate all you do for all of us out here in the dark. 

  Take it as a given that I’m cheap. That said, I wouldn’t buy a new machine until the old one starts driving you nuts. The choice to make the leap to Win10 is yours – it’s a very good operating system (about to get better, this coming week) with some notable flaws. Mostly, you need a different mindset to use it:

  > Microsoft will keep track of what you do, and serve up ads accordingly. If you’ve ever used the Chrome browser, you’ve already seen that kind of behavior.

  > You don’t have any choice about accepting patches. As long as Microsoft keeps serving up decent patches — which has been the case for the past four or five months — that’s no problem. It may make you anxious though, if you realize that the patches are barely documented,, and appear without warning.

  As for the touch screen – I find myself actually using the touch screen from time to time, if I have one available. Most of my work is mouse and keyboard-based, but sometimes I reach out and press buttons instead of fumbling for the trackpad. For some people a touch screen is a godsend. My son’s using one right now to learn to draw letters. Some folks need touch screens in their work. By and large, though, I find myself using an iPad or Android tablet or phone if I really want a touch screen.

  Other Touch screen