How to fix low mic volume on MSI and other PCs
My wife's MSI GE75 Raider 10SE laptop recently had a quirky audio issue: the mic volume was really, really low. It didn't matter if she used the integrated mic, or an external one. I set out to solve the problem, and determined that it wasn't faulty hardware. Instead,...
Surprise! Big Data doesn’t care about your right to Free Speech
In a shocking revelation that simply re-affirmed what everyone already knew, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals again ruled that internet platforms have nothing to do with the First Amendment because they're private corporations. Well, duh! In a ruling on February...
EEK! #7 – High Voltage DC is still alive!
We all know that AC won the war vs DC back in the day. But did you know high-voltage DC is still around? What's more, it's actually become quite useful! Some countries have recently installed million-volt DC power lines that span thousands of kilometers! While HVDC...
Mac malware surged in 2019 – true or false?
Macs were in the news again this week as Malwarebytes released a report claiming that for the first time ever, malware on Macs outpaced that of Windows-based PCs in 2019. It sounds like a total nightmare for Apple users! But hang on a sec... Malwarebytes released the...
The Power Problem with Electric Vehicles
These days, it's all about Going Green. And what could be more green than an electric car? Zero emissions, baby! Well, sort of... While the acceleration may be awesome, the range leaves something to be desired. And range is directly related to power - specifically,...
Help! My computer is turning off even though I have a battery backup
So, you buy a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for your puter. You hook it up. Then, a power outage or brownout hits... POOF! Your puter reboots. "Hang on", you think, "Wasn't my battery backup supposed to prevent this?" Yes, it was... But there are a few things you...
Can aluminum foil protect you from your phone?
There are quite a few smartphone cases, Faraday bags, and other little gizmos out there that claim to protect you from the phones RF waves. A common method that people use is to line one (or both) sides of their phone case with good old aluminum foil. So, the question...
Fix Windows 10 won’t boot – Stop Error 0xc000021a
So there you are, minding your own business. You try to restart your Windows 10 puter, and you end up with the new Sad Face Blue Screen of Death! At the bottom of the screen, you see: Stop Code: 0xc000021a No matter what you do (like the automatic Startup Repair), you...
Why haven’t space suits changed much in 45 years?
When we watch sci-fi shows, we see these uber-fancy futuristic space suits. Yet when we look at the actual real space suits in use by astronauts today, we see the same big puffy white suits that look unchanged since the Apollo missions in the late 60's and early 70's!...
Windows 7 is going bye-bye – Upgrade to Windows 10!
If you're still using Windows 7, I've got bad news for you: On January 14, 2020, extended support for Windows 7 will end. That means Windows 7 will no longer get any updates or security patches. In other words, it's officially a "dead" version of Windows. And that...
Is Wi-Fi 6 really that much better?
There's a new flavor of Wi-Fi in town: Wi-Fi 6! In case you're confused, I'm talking about IEEE 802.11ax, the successor to 802.11ac (which is now called Wi-Fi 5). Are you confused yet? While I'm not a terribly big fan of wireless stuff, Wi-Fi 6 does include several...
Help! My USB stick is read-only in Ubuntu Server
If you use Ubuntu Desktop, using a USB stick is a piece of cake. You just plug it in, read/write files, and yank it out again. But what about Ubuntu Server? Try the same thing, and you end up with a USB stick that can only be accessed by root. Well, that's probably...
No more WiFi, Part 2: Home Powerline Networking and MoCA
So you've read all the studies about our Wireless Wonderland, and you'd like to go wired. You've also watched my first video, No More WiFi: How to wire your home for internet. You're not big on drilling holes and running cables everywhere, so you decide to use...
Scottie’s Holiday 2019 Tech Not-Shopping Guide
It's that time of the year again! Time to try to figure out what to buy everyone for Christmas - er, I mean, "The Holidays." Naturally, techie toys are highly valued gifts. But ya know, I have a better idea: Don't buy anything! Instead, give the gift that's becoming...
The Biggest threat to Privacy: Browser Fingerprints
A lot of people these days are talking about protecting their online privacy. We have hearings going on, threats of breaking up Facebook and other Big Tech companies, data leaks, and so on. Many people are going so far as to boycott Google (which is easier said than...
Fast USB 3 sticks that won’t break the bank
Ah, the USB stick. They're supposed to be handy for transferring files between computers. Unfortunately, most of the time they end being painfully slow. If you're frequently waiting several minutes for that large file to copy to your USB stick, then you're using the...