Newsletter Archives

• Windows 11, or a Mac?

  Posted on January 27, 2025 at 02:45 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 22.04 • 2025-01-27

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Microsoft is ending all security and feature updates for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. (There are exceptions, but they require fees.) Some of my readers who resist upgrading to Windows 11 — which can require a whole new PC — are instead considering the previously unthinkable: buying a Mac.

  This kind of speculation has been spawned, in part, by Apple’s introduction of the new 2024 Mac mini last October. If you buy computers based on their cuteness factor, brace yourself. The latest mini is adorable. At only 5 inches (12.7cm) square and 2 inches (5cm) high, it’s a shiny little block of aluminum that you can fit into one hand.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.04.0, 2025-01-27).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Public Defender Apple, Apple M4, Mac mini, Newsletters, Windows 11

• What are we doing, and why?

  Posted on January 27, 2025 at 02:44 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  APPLE

  

  By Will Fastie

  Now you know what I alluded to a few weeks ago: Windows fanboy Brian Livingston is writing a comprehensive series about Macintosh — specifically, the Mac mini.

  No, we’re not changing course. This newsletter covers all things Microsoft and Windows and will continue to do so.

  But as I have noted in my news coverage of Apple over the last few years, there has been a seismic shift in personal computing as Apple transitioned into its own silicon. This cannot be ignored, especially because Microsoft has made strong efforts to make its software solutions available beyond Windows’ borders and into the Apple folds.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.04.0, 2025-01-27).

  Apple Apple, Apple M4, Apple Mac, Mac mini, Newsletters, Windows 11

• MS-DEFCON 2: Kicking off the new year

  Posted on January 9, 2025 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 22.01.1 • 2025-01-09

  

  By Susan Bradley

  We’re less than a week away from the first round of updates for 2025, not just for Windows but for all our devices.

  Although things have been relatively quiet at the end of the year, especially because many of Microsoft’s developers take extended time off over the holidays, we’ll soon be in the thick of patching. That’s why I strongly recommend deferring updates until we have time to study and test them. Therefore, I’m raising the MS-DEFCON level to 2.

  Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (22.01.1, 2025-01-09).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON Alerts, Center Stage, InControl, KB5014754, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 2, Patch Lady Posts, SMB Signing, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows 11 24H2

• The state of Windows 11

  Posted on December 23, 2024 at 02:45 CST by Lance Whitney • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.52 • 2024-12-23

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Lance Whitney

  With Windows 11 now three years old, where does it stand today?

  I’ve been running Windows 11 almost since its debut in 2021. At first, I limited it to just test environments. Slowly, I expanded its reach to my two main laptops and a couple of virtual machines. Only my desktop PC is still on Windows 10, mostly so that I can still easily access and use it. But when I replace my desktop next year, the new PC will be running Windows 11.

  Here’s my take, based on my own experiences with it — and how I think Microsoft has handled it.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.52.0, 2024-12-23).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Windows 11 Microsoft, Newsletters, Windows 10, Windows 10 End of Support, Windows 11, Windows 11 24H2, Windows Updates

• What isn’t coming to your computer or phone

  Posted on November 4, 2024 at 02:42 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley • Comment about this article

  Just because features such as Microsoft Recall and Apple Intelligence are available does not mean you’ll be forced to use them.

  If you remember, Microsoft Recall is a technology that allows users to go back to a point in time and review what they were doing and which webpages they were viewing. Originally planning to release it in June, Microsoft pulled the plug and went back to the drawing board because of strong customer pushback with respect to security.

  Microsoft won’t be rolling out Recall to test on the insider versions of Windows until December. Originally it was supposed to roll out with Windows 11 24H2.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.45.0, 2024-11-04).

  Patch Watch Apple Intelligence, Copilot+ PCs, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Recall, Windows 11, Windows 11 24H2

• S0 sleep in Windows 11

  Posted on October 28, 2024 at 02:43 CDT by Ed Tittel • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Ed Tittel

  Managing sleep and power states can be challenging on Windows PCs.

  Things can go sideways when it comes to waking up various elements of Windows — most notably, network connections. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve had to disable, then re-enable, network adapters because they didn’t work after waking up from sleep.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.44.0, 2024-10-28).

  Windows 11 Hibernate, Newsletters, Sleep Mode, Windows 11

• Managing your hardware with PowerToys

  Posted on October 21, 2024 at 02:45 CDT by Mary Branscombe • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.43 • 2024-10-21

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Mary Branscombe

  Find your mouse pointer, customize your keyboard layout, and shift your focus between multiple computers.

  As screens get bigger and interfaces get busier, spotting your mouse pointer on the screen has gotten trickier. Instead of waggling your mouse or cranking up the cursor size so that it hides what you’re trying to click on when you do find it, you could turn on what used to be called “mouse sonar.” From Windows XP on, there’s been an option in the control panel to show a highlighted ring around the mouse pointer when you press and hold the Ctrl key, just like a target in a submarine’s periscope.

  These days, that feature is actually part of the first PowerToy I’ll discuss, but it now comes with several other helpful options.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.43.0, 2024-10-21).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Windows 11 Keyboard Manager, Mouse Utilities, Mouse without Borders, Newsletters, PowerToys, Video Conference Mute, Windows 11

• Are you ready for Windows 11 24H2?

  Posted on October 14, 2024 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  If you are like many others, the answer is no. And for good reasons.

  24H2 is a big, disruptive update — a complete operating system swap. That’s both good and bad. For the good, if a PC is throwing off any Windows Update errors, allowing 24H2 to install should clear those up by fixing any corrupted files.

  But for the bad — aside from the disruption — installing 24H2 is a long process, taking at least 30 to 60 minutes, perhaps longer. It’s not quick, like running the 23H2 enablement package.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.42.0, 2024-10-14).

  Patch Watch Copilot, CVE 2024-38124, CVE 2024-43468, CVE 2024-43533, DirectAccess, KB5044273, KB5044277, KB5044281, KB5044285, KB5044293, KB5044615, KB5046400, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, SQL, Windows 11, Windows 11 24H2

• 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

• User interface annoyances

  Posted on September 9, 2024 at 02:43 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Will Fastie

  The user interface for Windows 11 is changing almost monthly, and sometimes even more quickly.

  It’s not clear why, nor are the benefits of the changes explained. Many of the changes arrive silently and are noticed only when something doesn’t work as expected.

  Here are a few of my personal aggravations.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.37.0, 2024-09-09).

  Windows 11 Excel, File Explorer, Newsletters, Office 365, OneNote, Outlook, User Interface, Windows 11, Windows Lock Screen, Word

• 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

• ARM is really important for Windows 11

  Posted on July 22, 2024 at 02:43 CDT by Mary Branscombe • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Mary Branscombe

  Microsoft is pushing people to Windows 11 to get AI features. Today, that means Windows 11 on ARM — even though the AI isn’t ready yet.

  When Microsoft announced the generative AI features in Windows 11 that Satya Nadella claimed would change the whole PC experience, the first thing that struck me about Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs was how very far Windows on ARM has come. The new flagship devices that will run controversial, premium new Windows features such as Recall — and are supposed to make us think of Microsoft as “the AI company” rather than “the Windows company” — are, at least initially, powered by Snapdragon X Elite processors. Those are ARM architectures.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.30.0, 2024-07-22).

  Windows 11 AI, ARM, Copilot+ PCs, Intel, Newsletters, Qualcomm, Snapdragon X Elite, Windows 11, Windows 11 24H2
• « Older Entries

  Newer Entries »