Artificial Stupidity: Your amazing AI future
When you imagine your future with the amazing technology of AI, chances are it doesn't look like what's happening today. In fact, it's not even close. If you're sick of hearing about AI while lamenting the lack of actual, cool uses for it, you're not alone. On top of...
Is Firefox Content Blocking screwed up?
Recently, Mozilla introduced a fabulous new feature to Firefox: Content Blocking! The idea is that Firefox will automagically block the tracking processes of web sites to increase your privacy. By default, this tracking should only be enabled in Private Browsing Mode,...
Big Data, spying, & 5G pushers: Who are THEY??
We hear a lot of about "THEY". Big data violates our privacy, new potentially dangerous tech like 5G is pushed by "them", and so on. But just who is this "they", anyway? It turns out, the answer is: It's complicated! The best place to look is the big data/spying...
Roll your own Router with OpenWrt – but not with a Turris
Everyone has a home router, whether they know it or not. For most of us, our router is the DSL / Cable / Fiber "box" given to us by our ISP. You can, of course, add your own home router in between your home network and your ISP's box. This provides an extra level of...
GPS vs Smartphones: Which is better?
These days, everyone just uses their smartphone for GPS navigation. GPS is also present in most cars. In the olden days, we had dedicated GPS gizmos for navigating. You can still grab a GPS-only device these days - and for fewer bucks than you might think. But is it...
How to wipe old hard drives before tossing them out
When the time comes to upgrade your puter, you may end up with a leftover hard drive or SSD. Obviously, you're going to need to recycle the drive... But what about the data on it? There are a million ways out there to erase a drive before sending it to the great bit...
Just how EVIL is Chinese tech?
We hear a lot these days about China and the E-vils of their techie toys. Obviously, there is also a lot of political nonsense going on here given China's economic rise on the world stage. But how bad are Chinese toys - really? I mean, everything is Made in China...
How to manually Shuffle music files on your not-fancy MP3 player
Bluetooth speakers are pretty popular these days. Unfortunately, I don't carry a smartphone around with me. That means my "wireless speaker" is actually an Anker SoundCube Mini - complete with microSD card for storing and playing all my MP3 files. No smartphone or...
How to use Ethernet for your Smartphone or Tablet
Many people have asked me how to use ethernet instead of WiFi with their tablet or smartphone. While the idea is simple enough, getting ethernet to actually work with your gizmo can be anything but easy… Some devices simply won't work with certain USB-Ethernet...
VICTORY! Reactivate Windows 10 after a hardware upgrade
Regular readers are aware that I have been doing battle with re-activating Windows 10 after performing numerous major upgrades on various puters. I had another opportunity recently to upgrade yet another machine... This time, the entire computer was replaced - except...
Is a microwave oven a good smartphone Faraday cage?
Ever since I made my Stylish Smartphone Faraday Box videos, countless people have told me to just use a microwave oven, or just use an empty potato chip bag. Well, no… And yes! It depends. The truth is that Faraday cages don't block signals - they attenuate (or...
Windows 10 1809 Update: What you need to know
It's that time again! A new update to Windows 10 was re-released a few weeks back, and it appears that it's FINALLY rolling out to end users. You may have heard that this update was the October 2018 update. It was, but then there were "a few problems" like people's...
At long last, LANscanner works on Windows 10!
Way back in early 2009, I wrote a post entitled: How to Determine the Master Browser in a Windows Workgroup Since then, quite a number of people have downloaded and used my little LANscanner program for displaying the IP addies, MAC addies, workgroup, and Master...
The real reason for Airplane Mode
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard CletusAir flight 353 with non-stop service to Mos Eisley." "Please return your seatbacks and tray tables to their upright position, fasten your seatbelts, turn off and stow all portable electronic devices, or put them in airplane...
How to safely clean the dust inside your laptop
Has your laptop ever started to sound like a vacuum cleaner? Cooling fans start spinning like crazy. If things get bad enough, your CPU can even overheat, halting the laptop and giving you a scary-looking error message. To avoid such mayhem, you should dust inside...
How to safely clean the dust inside of your computer
We all know what happens when your puter gets all dusty inside: it gets noisy! Cooling fans start spinning like crazy. If things get bad enough, your CPU can even overheat, halting the system. To avoid this mayhem, you should dust inside your computer twice a year....