https://youtu.be/LrAELt6MSPc One of the primary purposes of our computing hardware and software is as a tool which helps us achieve some goal. Whether we're creating a letter, a spreadsheet, a photographic array or an email, our computing devices should make our task easier. Like tools in areas other than computing, there is often a major …
Author: John Grubb
I've been working on computers since 1983! I love helping people resolve their computing issues and sharing preventative measures, as well.
Edge New Tab: Make It Your Own
Like most browsers, Microsoft Edge has a New Tab setting. The image above is my New Tab which shows a picture I took of a FEC (Florida East Coast Railway) train. (You can click on the picture to see a larger image.) Edge now offers you the ability to use one of your own pictures …
Hate Crowds?
Some people hate crowds. Some people hate crowds even more now that we're dealing with Covid-19. Once again, Google is offering a new feature to help. You'll now be able to use Google Maps to see how busy a place is before you go there. The information will appear for places like grocery stores, pharmacies, …
A Real HUMdinger
Do you ever have a melody in your head that you just can't remember its name or the words? Thursday, Google announced a new search feature. You can now hum a tune and Google search will return the most likely song. You don't even have to be all that good at humming! You do, however, …
Try This Search!
Once again, in the past week, I have two long-time customers who fell for a scam. Even though I've talked about the types of scams with which they got involved, they fell for it anyway. Just today, a scammer tried to get almost $700 from one of these customers. With that in mind, here's what …
Shake, Rattle And…
https://youtu.be/YhELpSeeipg https://youtu.be/8B7xr_EjbzE https://youtu.be/EBlWGyp4eOY?t=14 Whether you like the Big Joe Turner or the Bill Haley and the Comets or the Elvis Presley version of Shake, Rattle and Roll, you have to admit it was a very popular song in the 1950s. Did you know that if you use Windows 10, you can do a little shaking …
One In 2,610,602
Today, myself and a few of my friends - about 2.6 million of them - watched the live Apple event. Most of us sat on the edge of our seat waiting to have all the iPhone rumors either confirmed or debunked. But, alas, we had to wait even longer than we thought. Tim Cook, Apple's …
An Apple A Day…
In just two days, it's another big day for Apple. You might recall that back on September 15, 2020, we told you about an exciting day for Apple. ("Today Is An Exciting Day...Well, Kind Of") For those of you Apple techies, it was just that. Apple introduced a new watch, new iPad and a new …
A Tree Grows In
Brooklyn...Harrisburg... Port Saint Lucie It's true: Joyce is from Brooklyn and I'm from Harrisburg (PA). However, the tree above was just planted today in Port Saint Lucie (FL). A dear friend at church, who is 94 and still a wizard of a landscaper, gave Joyce the tree this morning. He came by me in the …
Key Largo?
https://youtu.be/Bhx5tJ8Q8eI In 1981, Bertie Higgins had a Billboard Top 40 hit with the song "Key Largo." (You can hear it if you watch the video above.) I bring this up because someone asked me, after his email had been hacked for the second time, was it possible "that a hacker put a key largo on …
Sure, It Sounds Good
I received this in email today. It's legitimate but it reminded of something we see often in Remote Technical Support. Customers log in and when we look at extensions in Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and other browsers, we find package tracking add-ons. Although it sounds like a good idea - being able to track a …
Crop Away
No, not that kind of cropping! In this post, we'll talk about cropping a photo. Instead of the dangerous tool pictured above, we'll use the nice, safe crop tool found in photo software. Why Crop A Photo? Why would you want to crop a photo? There are a number of reasons including wanting to remove …
Private Vs Public
It's very common for Remote Technical Support customers to log in because their wireless printer is not printing. While Wi-Fi printers are nice - fewer wires, etc. - keeping them on your wireless network is not always easy. There are many reasons these printers can drop off your network and leave you without the ability …
Don’t Do It – You’ll Drive Me Crazy
I know it's tempting. A pop-up appears and lets you know that your computer is missing important driver updates. It goes on to say that if you just purchase, download and install a certain driver update program, you'll be all set. Why, those drivers will speed up your computer and make everything better! Don't do …
Defrag?
A question that we are asked from time to time is: "We used to have to defrag our computer's hard drive. Do I still need to do that?" The short answer is "No!" A slightly longer answer is "No, especially if your computer has a SSD (Solid State Drive)." If you aren't aware, hard drives …
The End of 2010
Granted, the year 2010 was over ten years ago. But, what I'm talking about is Microsoft Office 2010 (not to be confused with Windows 10). Support for this version of Office ends this month - October 13, 2020 to be exact. If you are using Microsoft Office version 2010 or older (Heaven forbid!), it's time …
Election Hacking?
You may have noticed it's a presidential election year. I don't post about politics in this blog and I won't be approving any comments that have anything to do with those who are running for office. However, what I do talk about in this portion of my website is computing, including hacking which is a …
It’s Alive! It’s Alive!
https://youtu.be/0VkrUG3OrPc No, I'm not talking about Frankenstein and the monster! I'm actually talking about live tiles on the Windows 10 Start Menu. With apologies to my Mac and Linux readers, this post is strictly related to Windows 10. "What are live tiles?" I hear you ask. Great question! Live tiles are start menu tiles which …
Make Emails Stand Out
In my post of September 25, 2020 - Color Code Labels in Gmail - I explained how you can color code labels in Gmail. I made this statement: "Although Gmail doesn’t have the same robust color abilities we find in Microsoft Outlook..." Of course, I received several messages asking me what I meant by that. …
Kind Of A Drag
https://youtu.be/AUyyfC7rsQY Even if you're old enough to remember the 1966 hit, Kind of a Drag, by The Buckinghams, this post isn't about them or the song! Instead, it's about dragging your icons in the Windows 10 Task Bar and the Mac Dock. Did you know that you can arrange the icons on these two areas …
Color Code Labels In Gmail
We’re always looking for ways to organize on the computer, especially emails. Although Gmail doesn’t have the same robust color abilities we find in Microsoft Outlook, it is possible to add color to the labels we create. Here’s how you can do that: If you already have a label created… Make sure you are looking …
USB-C to USB and More
In my post of April 14, 2019 (What's The Small Port On My New Computer?), I introduced the USB-C port now found on almost every laptop, desktop and all-in-one computer. In the seventeen (17) months since that post, I have found myself using the USB-C port more and more. I keep buying various adapters and …
Cool Backgrounds
When I'm conducting a live seminar (remember the pre-coronavirus days?) or when I create a YouTube video, people often comment about the desktop backgrounds I use. For instance, the picture above is a pretty neat background of a vinyl record and the player it's sitting on. Oh, I know some people use one of their …
Searching Tools You Should Be Using
https://youtu.be/f6FhkKBazu0 If you missed our live stream last Saturday, I encourage you to watch the recording of it. Just click on the Play button above! In this video, we explore great tools which will cut your search times, return more accurate information and just make searching so much easier. Of great interest in this video …
YouTube: Show More
If you're a regular reader of this blog and/or a KCC customer, you are aware of the fact that I'm adding more and more YouTube videos to my free training options on my YouTube Channel. What I've discovered, though, is that many of those who watch forget about the information found below the video itself. …
Put This On Your Calendar!
https://youtu.be/u_oHo_mCaTs Time after time, people log into our Remote Support to ask for help in finding something on the Internet. Whether you use Google Search, Bing Search, DuckDuckGo or some other search engine, they all have tools. These tools help you search better, faster, and with more accurate results. I'm going to cover this in …
All’s Quiet…
When I conduct in-person seminars (because of Covid-19 we haven't had any in 6 months), I always love the interaction from those in attendance. Honestly, sometimes the two hours literally flies by because of all the good questions being asked. Although those of us on Florida's Treasure Coast can't meet in person right now and …
Chromebook – Should You?
Earlier this week, I posted a video on our YouTube Channel entitled "Using A SD Card As A Hard Drive." (If you haven't watched it, it's at the bottom of this post.) In the comments, a friend of mine asked if he could do the same thing with a Chromebook. I replied "Yes" and explained …
Like A Bad Highway, Lots of Patches Today
Normally, the second Tuesday of the month is "Patch Tuesday." This is the day that Microsoft releases what can sometimes be a large number of fixes for Microsoft products. The programs being updated usually include Windows, Office and other products like SharePoint. This month, however, since there are 5 Tuesdays in the month, Microsoft is …
3 Gmail Options You Didn’t Know About
If you're a Gmail user, this post is for you. If you don't use Gmail, feel free to read my next offering! Okay, maybe you do know about at least one of these options. Even if you do, this will be a good review. Two of these little Gmail "tricks" that I'm going to share …