Techbyter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) With Bill Blinn

Even basic smart phones can create remarkably good videos and more people are editing videos at home. As a result, there are lots of applications, both free and paid, designed to take the place of editing suites that once cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to build. In Short Circuits: New features in Adobe’s audio editor, Audition, are rare, but three improvements in the 2023 version will wow audio editors, while others will wonder why they’re such big deals. • Aptos is Microsoft’s new typeface for Microsoft 365 subscribers, but before going all in on Aptos, it’s a good idea to consider some of what Microsoft isn’t talking about and thinking about Microsoft’s motives. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): 2003 was the end of the line for TechXNY, previously called PC Expo. Once a show that filled New York City’s Javits Center, the final program was confined to a small corner.

It’s a good idea to check out any file you receive as an attachment, even if the file seems to have come from someone you know. Jotti’s free malware scan will show the file to more than a dozen antivirus applications so you can make an informed decision. In Short Circuits: Sometimes modifying a computer setting fixes a problem even when you’re absolutely certain the setting cannot have any effect on the problem. I’ll tell you about one of those I encountered recently and, although it couldn’t possibly fix the problem, it did. • There’s a new and improved clock for Windows 11. It restores some features that were present in the Windows 10 clock and adds several new features, including the ability to display multiple clocks on multiple screens. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, I said your computer’s hard disk will fail. That’s less likely these days, even for mechanical drives, but complacency is still not your friend.

Being able to tell the difference between truth and lies is increasingly difficult, especially on the internet, but also with organizations that claim to be presenting facts. We can’t escape bias, but we can at least try to be aware of it. In Short Circuits: Mouse Without Borders, a relatively new feature in Microsoft’s PowerToys utilities, solves a problem you may never have encountered. For those who have experienced this problem, the solution is absolute genius. • If you’ve ever wondered about your home’s risk from flooding, wildfire, wind, or heat, the RiskFactor website can answer the questions. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, I offered what I thought was a great solution to spam. Fortunately, nobody implemented the plan. It was shortsighted in the extreme.

Whether you’re a graphic designer or not, Adobe Express has something for you. Professionals can use it to give themselves more time for custom creativity and non-designers can leverage Express to perform tasks they couldn’t do by themselves. In Short Circuits: Although Python has been available as a paid add-in for Excel, it will soon be included in the application. Currently it’s available only in the Beta channel for Microsoft 365 Insiders. • Installing and using more than one web browser can improve your experience because most browsers offer features not available in the others. How many browsers do you use? Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, Corel was pinning its hopes for the future on an office suite that was based on WordPerfect.

Buying a new computer includes some of the same processes and decisions needed when buying a new car, and it’s important to base the buying decision on facts instead of on emotions. In Short Circuits: Sometimes antique computer-users like me say old DOS computers seemed faster than today’s Windows machines. That’s not entirely inaccurate and the Windows Task Manager helps us understand why. • Safe Mode is useful when your computer has a problem, even if it can’t boot normally, but getting into Safe Mode is a little more complicated than it used to be. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, my preferred email client was The Bat, a remarkably advanced email application from Moldova that continued to be my favorite for many years.

Disk partition managers are essential tools for technicians, but they can also be useful for any computer user. Third-party partition managers include more features than the one that came with your computer and might be free. In Short Circuits: The Employee Retention Credit Act was established at the height of the covid pandemic to help businesses that paid their employees while the operation was shut down. The Internal Revenue Service warns about scammers who are now using the ERC to defraud companies. • The developers of the DuckDuckGo search engine are working on a browser and it’s currently available in beta for Windows and MacOS computers. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, some said the internet would save humanity and others said the internet is evil and will destroy us. Did we ever get that sorted out?

Mozilla has been working on a new version of Thunderbird for a while and the combination of improvements, new features, and ongoing debugging make it well worth looking at regardless of which email application you’re using now. In Short Circuits: Sometimes Microsoft does something so astonishingly ignorant that it’s hard to believe management was aware of it. I’ll describe what seems to be the dumb and petty decision to pull support for the OneNote Clipper from Firefox. • Usually I recommend against extended warranties, but sometimes they can be a good value, particularly with expensive mobile devices that can easily be damaged. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): Spam was a big problem in 2003, but back then we had no idea how bad it could be.

Internet access is slower and more expensive in the United States than in many other countries, so it’s important to figure out how much speed you need and then to confirm that you’re getting what you pay for. In Short Circuits: The Windows package manager, WinGet, provides access to more apps and utilities than the Microsoft Store does, but it’s a command line function that’s cumbersome to use. A graphical user interface, WinGetUI, makes it much easier. • Generative Expand has been added to Adobe’s Generative Fill in the beta version of Photoshop. Even in early days, these are powerful features that look like magic. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): Scams have been around forever and this week we’ll take a look at one from 2003.

Sometimes saving money is a really bad idea. For example, doing without a backup system for the files on your computer because you don’t want to spend $100 to $200 per year. How much are your files worth to you? In Short Circuits: The utility CURL has been around since 1996, but it was just added to the Windows operating system this year. It’s a command-line function and it’s old, but it still performs some useful functions. • When it’s time to kick back and play with the computer, there are thousands of options. Let’s take a look at just a few. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, somebody floated the idea of a disposable digital camera. It failed to become a huge success.

Scammers are always trying to find new ways to extract money from people they can fool. New variants of old cons are common, and for the past several months phony feedback surveys have been big. Most scammers can be defeated by treating any offer with a bit of suspicion. In Short Circuits: Early personal computers had the command line and no graphical user interface until the mid 1980s. The command line is still useful and we’ll look at a few such instances. • When you need to copy text on paper, there’s a better option than using your smartphone’s camera app. It’s like having a scanner in your pocket. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): SCO, the Santa Cruz Operation, became one of the most hated high-tech companies in history. By 2003, its greed had upended the company, but its lawyers were still busy.

When pointing your browser at a website, the browser needs to find the site’s IP address, so it calls on a domain name service server. Using a better DNS server can improve the browser’s response time, but only by a bit. There are other reasons to use DNS not from your internet service provider. In Short Circuits: Adobe’s Firefly (generative fill) function, even in beta, has shown itself to be surprisingly good at some tasks. It can also be used to create an oil-painting effect on a photograph. • After working with Beeper, a universal chat application, I’m ready to talk about its advantages and (because it’s still a beta app) some of the areas that need refinement. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, hardware and software for video editing were still expensive, but the future was clear.

Microsoft 365 might be the best office suite for you, or maybe Google’s offerings would be better. Or perhaps you don’t need a suite at all. Let’s ponder that. In Short Circuits: Correspondence today heavily favors email and text messages, but sometimes you might need to send a real paper letter in an envelope using the US Postal Service. You can, even if you don’t have a printer, an envelope, or a stamp—and without leaving your house. • Formulas can save time for spreadsheet users, but often the time saving is minimal. The primary benefits are better accuracy and reliability; and to increase comprehension, don’t neglect conditional formatting. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): Digital cameras from 2003 often had noticeable delays between when the user pressed the shutter release and the camera captured an image. Digital SLRs eliminated that.

When you set up an account on a Windows 10 or 11 computer, it can be a Microsoft account or a local account. Some pundits maintain that Microsoft accounts should never be used, but I don’t like the word “never”. There are good reasons to use a local account and good reasons to use a Microsoft account, so let’s look. In Short Circuits: Scammers are finding that artificial intelligence is a marvelous tool they can use to hoodwink victims, but AI can also be used to identify scams. • There’s an easy way to modify Windows 11 settings and version 2 of the Windows 11 Fixer adds some options. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): Scams have been around since the beginning of civilization and spams existed before the internet was created. Twenty Years Ago, only on the website, looks at attempts to eliminate spam in 2003.

Whether you need to replace a notebook computer that has a built-in screen or find a new monitor for your desktop system, it’s important to think about screen size and resolution. In Short Circuits: Renaming one or two files is easy, but when you’re faced with hundreds of files that need to be renamed, it’s time to call for the Bulk File Renamer. • Generative Fill, which Adobe also refers to as “Firefly”, can make image modifications in seconds that previously would have taken hours. I have an example. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, Microsoft had a security problem with version 9 of the Media Player.

Whether you need a huge camera with a lot of heavy and bulky lenses, just a smartphone, or something in between depends on how you approach photography. Let’s explore that. In Short Circuits: Most new computers come with solid-state drives. If you have an older computer that you’re not yet ready to retire, now would be a great time to upgrade the boot drive to an SSD. • Beeper is a new approach to messaging, whether you use Messenger, IMessage, Twitter, or one of the other services. Beeper puts them all in one location. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): Scams are as old as the internet. In 2003, I was grumbling about scams of the day, an activity that has persisted for two decades.

A VPN is essential whenever you use a mobile device with a public Wi-Fi hotspot, but it can also improve privacy and security at other times. It’s important to understand the trade-offs, though. In Short Circuits: Some internet crooks are stupid and I like to make fun of them, but there’s no shortage of crafty criminals. We all need to be aware that they exist and to beware of their tricks. In other words, be wary. • I’ve been trying to find time to talk about some of the enhancements Adobe has added to the Creative Cloud suite, but blockbuster additions to the photography programs kept getting in the way. Today some of the other apps take center stage. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, Nikon loaned me a digital SLR camera. I had been using digital cameras since about 1999, but they were more like point-and-shoot cameras than the single-lens-reflex cameras I had used since the 1960s. The D100 was my first extended experience with the new breed of cameras and I was immediately sold.

Your browser blocks ads and pop-ups, you use incognito mode, and you don’t allow sites to access the computer’s hardware. Safe, right? Your browser can still be fingerprinted and you can still be tracked. In Short Circuits: Canary is an email application that runs on Windows, MacOS, IOS, IPadOS, and Android. In addition to artificial intelligence for creating or responding to messages, the app strengthens security and the versions work about the same on all platforms. • Artificial intelligence makes it possible for one person to sound exactly like another. The dangers should be apparent. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, legislators were wrestling with the effect the internet would have on intellectual property, and specifically how copyright would apply. I was still trying to figure it out.

Small specialized apps generally known as “utilities” can solve problems and add capabilities not provided by the operating system. We’ll look at new functions in PowerToys utilities from Microsoft and from two individual developers. In Short Circuits: Adobe released Firefly a few weeks ago for people to try and now the AI component has been added to the beta version of Photoshop that’s available to Creative Cloud subscribers. • When testing files that might contain malware, maybe you’d like a second opinion. What about fourteen opinions without having to install anything? Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, Kodak saw a future that did not need film and was attempting to rebrand itself as “the picture company”.

Instead of massive home stereo systems, most of us now listen to music on our computers. Adding a software equalizer can improve sound, even on less-than-perfect sound systems. In Short Circuits: Photoshop Camera is free and it may be the best way to have fun with the camera that's in your smartphone, but it's not compatible with every device. • Meta has agreed to a $725 million settlement to end a class-action suit. Any US citizen who has used Facebook in the past 16 years could get a piece of it, but it will be a small piece. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, a company named Webshots offered a way to put photos on phones. The company is still around, and it has expanded a bit.

Even if your scanner came with a scanning application, using the scanner will be easier and more productive if you buy a copy of VueScan. In Short Circuits: I’ll tell you about some of Adobe’s new photo suite features soon, but one that stands out above all the others is a game changer called Denoise. • Geoffrey Hinton, Google’s former chief artificial intelligence scientist, retired abruptly and has begun warning us about a time when AI will be smarter than humans. Let’s consider that. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, I was preparing to buy my first digital single-lens reflex camera and was excited about its performance and features.