Newsletter Archives

• What is OneDrive Personal Vault, and should you use it?

  Posted on September 16, 2024 at 02:43 CDT by Lance Whitney • Comment in the Forums

  ONEDRIVE

  

  By Lance Whitney

  Personal Vault offers an extra layer of security for sensitive or confidential files stored in OneDrive. Here’s why and how I use it.

  I use Microsoft’s OneDrive. I know some people find fault with it, partly because it doesn’t always work properly and partly because it requires an intrusive Microsoft account. But as someone who has to juggle multiple computers and mobile devices, I rely on OneDrive not just for backing up my files but also for syncing them across all my devices.

  Because my documents, photos, and other important files are housed in OneDrive, I need a way to secure them from unwanted access.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.38.0, 2024-09-16).

  OneDrive Newsletters, OneDrive, Personal Vault, Privacy, Security, Windows 10, Windows 11

• How I learned to use my PC with a broken wrist

  Posted on August 5, 2024 at 02:45 CDT by Lance Whitney • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.32 • 2024-08-05

  WINDOWS

  

  By Lance Whitney

  After fracturing my wrist in a recent fall, I had to figure out how to use the accessibility features built into Windows to work and write.

  Despite my writing about the Windows accessibility features in a host of articles over the years, it wasn’t until this accident that I actually had to use them every day.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.32.0, 2024-08-05).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Windows Accessibility, Dictation, Mouse Keys, Newsletters, Speech Recognition, Sticky Keys, Voice input, Windows 10, Windows 11

• Security information for an end-of-life operating system is lacking

  Posted on July 8, 2024 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Lately, I’ve been working on painting the trim on my house.

  We have old-fashioned caulked windows. To make sure that the caulk doesn’t crack with the weather, maintenance is required. That means painting.

  I like doing it because it gets me off the computer and thinking of other things. Painting the house is great for appearances and — more importantly — protects it from weather and other damage.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.28.0, 2024-07-08).

  On Security 0patch, CISA, Clickbait, CVE-2024-27867, CVE-2024-30078, Headlines, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Security, Windows 10, Windows 11

• MS-DEFCON 2: Continuous dribbles

  Posted on June 6, 2024 at 02:45 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.23.1 • 2024-06-06

  

  By Susan Bradley

  When will it stop raining?

  Remember the old Star Trek episode titled “The Trouble with Tribbles?” Well, we’ve got trouble with dribbles, leading me to raise the MS-DEFCON level to 2.

  Changes are coming to Windows, both 10 and 11, but not necessarily to everyone. I find this to be the most annoying part of recent updates to Windows. This “you may see it; you may not see it” is part of nearly all recent changes. If you want to trigger this after installing the June updates, you’ll just have to be patient.

  Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (21.23.1, 2024-06-06).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON AI, Alerts, Dribbled updates, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 2, Patch Lady Posts, Siri, Snipping Tool, Windows 10, Windows 11

• How to get through Microsoft’s sneaky Windows setup

  Posted on May 13, 2024 at 02:43 CDT by Lance Whitney • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS

  

  By Lance Whitney

  Trying to set up Windows 10 or 11? Microsoft steers you toward certain features and settings that will benefit itself more than you.

  Here’s how to make the right choices.

  In my job as a technology writer, I often must run through the Windows 10 or 11 setup to test and document the various steps. The process can be tricky because you have to make specific decisions along the way. And Microsoft likes to push you toward certain options that are in its best interests but not necessarily in yours. That’s why you have to be on guard during the entire process so you make the best choices for yourself.

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

  Windows Configuration, Game Pass, Newsletters, Windows, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows setup

• Microsoft removes Win10 File Explorer features without notice

  Posted on January 8, 2024 at 02:45 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.02 • 2024-01-08

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Microsoft’s updates for Windows 10 in November and December 2023 made significant changes to the File Explorer interface and its search functionality. But the Redmond software giant has posted no written information about the differences or how users can configure them.

  Some of the modifications revert File Explorer to the configuration it had in Windows 10 19H2, the version that existed way back in November 2019.

  Ironically, you may find that you actually prefer the old behaviors to the new ones.

  But that isn’t the point. The point is that changes of this magnitude cry out for written explanations from Microsoft.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.02.0, 2024-01-08).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Public Defender Digital Markets Act, EU, European Union, File Explorer, KB5032278, KB5033372, Newsletters, Regulation, Search, Windows 10

• How Xbox and Windows work together

  Posted on December 11, 2023 at 02:44 CST by Simon Bisson • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS

  

  By Simon Bisson

  Windows, Xbox, and the cloud are changing the shape of gaming. And maybe Windows itself.

  Microsoft’s Xbox gaming console is, at heart, a very specialized Windows PC built around a custom AMD processor and designed to be a living-room gaming and media platform. Because developers can use the same tools to build Xbox and Windows apps, it is as much a replacement for gaming capabilities of the discontinued Windows Media Center edition — with applications from most streaming providers, as it is a built-in Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) support.

  But there’s more to the relationship between the two platforms than that, with Microsoft starting to blur the boundaries between its two consumer platforms.

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

  Windows Cloud Gaming, Gaming, Newsletters, Remote Gaming, Stream Deck, Windows 10, Windows 11, Xbox

• Microsoft Photos, Photos Legacy, and Windows 10

  Posted on December 4, 2023 at 02:42 CST by Ed Tittel • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Ed Tittel

  An investigation into the backport of the new Microsoft Photos app into Windows 10 raises some interesting questions. Not all have answers.

  A funny thing happened to Windows 10 late this summer. Microsoft proclaimed in April that no new feature upgrades would happen for this older but still vigorous Windows OS, an unexpected feature release for Windows 10 silently upgraded the Photos app. This “new” version turns out to be the same as the Photos app in Windows 11. At the end of October, yet another Photos app, called Photos Legacy, appeared in the Microsoft Store; it supposedly matches the original version bundled with Windows 10.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.49.0, 2023-12-04).

  Windows 11 Newsletters, Photos App, Photos Legacy, Windows 10, Windows 11
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