Techbyter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) With Bill Blinn

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.

Anyone who wants to create a website needs to start by selecting either an application that edits website code or a service that offers site design tools. Many choices exist, but the two primary contenders are Dreamweaver and WordPress. In Short Circuits: A virtual private network on your computer is on the way to becoming essential, and Google’s VPN service that’s part of Google One might be sufficient. • The internet is full of useless attractions that are amusing. Among them are the ability to ride public transit systems online. Come along for a ride on New York City’s 7 train. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): Is Linux an existential threat to Microsoft? Twenty years ago, it’s what Microsoft considered its number one danger.

Windows has features that, while not quite annoyances, don’t work the way you’d like. The Ultimate Windows Tweaker fixes a lot of these not-quite annoyances, and it’s free. In Short Circuits: When I bought a new keyboard, I noticed a lot of extra keys. Some of them are surprisingly useful. • Trying to print a website page is often an exercise in frustration because website pages are rarely designed for printing. PrintFriendly is a clever website, and a browser extension, that makes website pages printable. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): Iomega, the company that filled a storage gap with high-capacity Zip and Jaz disks tried online storage as the need for disks faded, but success eluded the project.

When I set up a new computer, MacroExpress Pro is one of the dozen programs that are installed immediately. Those who don’t need all the power of the pro version may find one of the three more basic options useful. In Short Circuits: DPReview has been an essential resource for anyone who uses digital photography, but Amazon has ended its quarter-century run and soon all traces of the site will be gone. • Although Google was an early leader in artificial intelligence, ChatGPT and others took the lead and Google is trying to reclaim its leadership position. So now we have Bard, by “invitation” only. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): Unicode was fighting for recognition in 2003. The advantages were obvious, but it wasn’t catching on quickly. Today it’s everywhere.

Reinstalling Windows 11, as I did a few weeks ago, gave me the chance to rediscover some of the “features” Microsoft offers that don’t work quite the way I want them to. Let’s look at some annoyances that are easy to fix. In Short Circuits: Maybe you consider the seemingly never-ending announcements and notifications from Windows 11 to be an annoyance, too, and you have have more control than you may think. • Adobe has a free artificial-intelligence tool designed to fix less-than-perfect audio, making it possible to create a podcast even if the recording environment is noisy. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, light-emitting diodes were expensive, but they saved money with lower operating costs. Now even the initial expense is lower.

So many people complain about Windows, but then don't take the time to figure out how to fix what's bothering them. It's usually not difficult, so let's consider some of the annoyances that can be fixed with minimal effort. In Short Circuits: If you have a computer that's running slow and you've already replaced the mechanical hard drive with a solid-state drive, adding memory might help. • A common bit of humor has old people who need tech support calling on their six-year-old grandchildren for help, but it doesn't have to be that way. Some recent research says that we older folks are dealing with technology a bit better and the pandemic is part of the reason why. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): By 2003, manufacturers had managed to create cameras that were good enough to start the massive migration from film to digital.

You probably already know about the importance of keeping your computer, notebook, or tablet clean and up to date just as you ensure that your car is maintained properly, but what about your smartphone? In Short Circuits: When you're on vacation with the kids, having some motion pictures along can make travel time easier, but nobody wants to carry a stack of discs. Legally it's a gray area, but you can rip DVDs and Blu-ray discs to smartphones and tablets. • The Kerbango internet radio was introduced at PC Expo in 2000, but the project was discontinued a year later before even one unit could be sold. Now internet radios are being manufactured by several companies. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): I've had only minimal success using Windows Restore points over the years, but it worked the way it was supposed to once in 2003.

If you need to be able to capture screen shots, but the Windows Snipping Tool is insufficient and commercial applications are too expensive, there's ShareX. In Short Circuits: Anyone who has tried to schedule a Google Calendar event on the last day of each month has found that it's not possible. There's a workaround, though. • Does your Windows computer share too much information with Microsoft? You can tell it to shut up, but proceed with caution. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, Windows XP users complained that their computers were much slower after they installed Service Pack 1.

ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence applications are responsible for a lot of questions about the future. Will AI help us humans, create insurmountable problems, or be no big deal? In Short Circuits: Music lovers who have trouble finding a local station they like will be happy with StreamWriter, a free application that not only plays music from thousands of radio stations but also makes it easy to record streams for later listening. • It's easier than ever to run Android apps on a Windows 11 computer, so let's look at how it's done. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): Before Microsoft captured desktop computers with Word, a small company in Utah built Wordperfect into a world class application. By 2003, the battle was essentially over.

Many businesses issue two or more computer monitors to each employee because they've discovered a modest hardware investment improves productivity. Maybe it's time for home users to have more than one monitor, too. In Short Circuits: Users of Adobe's Creative Cloud can download and test beta versions of more than a dozen applications. The betas run alongside the installed release versions. • A handy utility application from McAfee leaves behind some software that may slow your computer and how to get rid of the extra app isn't obvious. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): Although most computers purchased today come from China, in 2003 the change was just beginning.

Version 2 of Affinity's Photo, Designer, and Publisher apps give users surprisingly powerful features at a modest cost. In Short Circuits: PortableApps, one of my favorite programs, has recently added more applications including a lot of useful utilities and the ability to use specific typefaces wherever you are. • T-Mobile continues to be the poster child for accidentally exposing information from its clients -- this time 37 million of them. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, broadband was available to only about 10% of US families. Now it's around 80%.

Until now, Adobe's Lightroom and Lightroom Classic offered no way to add more than a single mask to an image. That's no longer the case and the change gives users the ability to make modifications that would previously have required using Photoshop. In Short Circuits: Netflix has been trying to find a way to limit password sharing and is testing one option in South America. • How long will the disk drive in your computer last? There's no way to tell for sure, but the annual disk drive report from cloud backup company Backblaze offers some useful clues. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): In 2003, airlines were just beginning to introduce electronic tickets, but it wasn't until 2008 that the conversion was nearly complete.

The internet has lots of rabbit holes that are good for passing time, enjoyment, and (sometimes) education. Let's take a look at a few. In Short Circuits: An email that appeared to be from a high school classmate asked for a favor. It's been several decades since we graduated and the request seemed odd. Then it got odder. • If you prefer to maintain a clean Desktop, you might find Microsoft's repeatedly adding an icon for Edge a bit annoying. I'll explain how you can make it stop. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): Adding a photo to an email today is trivial, but 20 years ago it wasn't and a $40 program offered to help.

Microsoft OneNote has been around since 2003 and it's one of a small set of applications that I use every single day. OneNote stores all kinds of information and makes finding it easy when you need it. In Short Circuits: This seems to be the year of the phony prize. All you have to do is fill out a quick survey and you'll receive a $100 gift card or a $200 set of tools or the latest model IPhone. Sadly, they're all scams. • And speaking of scams, when 16TB solid-state drives are selling for more than $2000, you may be delighted to find one for just $60 on Amazon. You will regret that purchase, though. Twenty Years Ago (only on the website): How about a computer that could run Windows XP and still fit in your pocket? That was big news in 2003.