Newsletter Archives

• Decommissioning Outlier

  Posted on April 22, 2024 at 02:43 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE

  

  By Will Fastie

  After 25 years, I’m changing the way I work. Many hardware changes are on the horizon.

  You may recall my previous articles about building my Windows 11 PC, named Obsidian. After I put that PC into daily service, my desk remained cluttered with four desktop PCs. These PCs share the same keyboard, display, and mouse; this means I use a physical KVM switch to move between them.

  That’s been important to me. I help many family members and friends with their PCs. Having the KVM setup always allowed me to bring a “visiting” PC to my desk, where I could work on it conveniently. But the nature of that help has changed; I no longer need the physical infrastructure for that.

  Which means I needed a justification for keeping all those PCs around. A few things changed, which resulted in a completely new perspective about my desktop. Let me start with a reminder of how I used the four systems.

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

  Hardware Desktop PCs, DIY, Hardware, KVM, Newsletters, Recycling systems, Virtual Machines, Virtual PCs

• How to safely test-drive Win11 on your current PC, for free!

  Posted on December 6, 2021 at 02:44 CST by Fred Langa • Comment in the Forums

  LANGALIST

  

  By Fred Langa

  The anticipated flood of Win11-occasioned fixes and updates has begun: Microsoft, hardware makers, and software publishers are all scrambling to correct the problems encountered with the original Windows 11 release.

  I think the signs point to a somewhat premature release of Win11, as if Microsoft had skipped or shortened testing of the final “Release Candidate” version, shipping the software before it was adequately vetted in real-world conditions.

  But the fixes are arriving, including work by Microsoft and Oracle to release a 100% free, preconfigured, Win11 Pro virtual PC for testing and evaluation! Read on to see how to use it to safely set up a Win11 test drive on your current PC, plus more on Fred’s early Win11 experiences.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.47.0 (2021-12-06).

  LangaList LangaList, Newsletters, Virtual PCs, VirtualBox, Windows 11

• Is Windows’ ReadyBoost worthwhile in Win10?

  Posted on June 8, 2020 at 01:10 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  LANGALIST

  By Fred Langa

  ReadyBoost is a storage technology that can enhance PC performance by using USB flash drives for fast caching.

  Debuting in Vista, it was once cutting-edge technology. But does it still make sense with today’s PCs?

  Plus: Safely preserving XP, Win7, and other old setups inside Win10.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.22.0 (2020-06-08).

  LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Cache drives, Microsoft ReadyBoost, Preserving Windows XP, Virtual PCs

• Langalist: Remove vendor-installed junkware, vet “Update needed” and booting a Virtual PC

  Posted on May 13, 2019 at 02:41 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Fred continues his LangaList streak, tackling three subjects:

  • How to uninstall pre-installed junk on a Win10 PC
  • Is that “Security update needed” popup bogus?
  • Can you use a Virtual PC to boot your computer?

  Interesting questions. Insightful answers.

  Out this morning in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.17.0, delivered free to all Plus members.

  Tech Help AskWoody Plus Newsletter, junkware, LangaList, Virtual PCs