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,...
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....
Do smartphones really hurt normal social relations?
As regular readers/viewers know, I'm not a terribly big fan of smartphones. For more info, see my video Why I ditched my smartphone. In response to my musings, many people have said that they don't think people buried in their smartphones all the time is causing any...
Wireless Trolls: How to win against electrosmog naysayers
You know the drill: you try to tell someone about some study showing the health effects of WiFi, 5G, or whatever, and then it hits... Maybe they come back with one of several standard cop-outs, maybe you're called crazy, maybe they ask what happened to your tinfoil...
Episode 4: Windows 10 activation issues are driving me NUTS!
Oh for the love of Pete... Yes, I ran into even more Windows 10 activation issues recently. I didn't even do anything wrong. This time, it was a spontaneous message that my Win 10 Pro on my main desktop puter was not activated - just, well, because... It turns out...
Why oscillating multi-tools don’t cut you
It's time for something completely different! I've wondered for awhile why oscillating multi-tools don't cut skin. I know there are many explanations out there, but it appears that many people were in the same boat: We kind of understand, but not really... Well, that...