How to Activate Windows or Office permanently in 30 seconds
Using Microsoft software can be quite an adventure. It's especially fun when your previously activated copy of Windows or Office decides to de-activate itself! Sometimes, the usual official routes of re-activation are useful. Other times, not so much... Isn't there a...
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...
How to make Chrome less Google-friendly
With Chrome version 69, Google was very naughty. It was quite easy to miss this little tidbit, but it seems Google decided to make Chrome automatically log you in to Chrome itself if you used the browser to log in to any Google web service. Before, you didn't have to...
The Internet of Things and 5G: It’s all BONKERS!
Ah yes, the IoT, or Internet of Things. The future is apparently filled with internet-connected everything, including dust (yes, dust). We're already seeing the beginnings of this brave new world, mostly in the form of smart thermostats, smart appliances, and things...
“Linux on Windows” missing after a Win 10 upgrade? No problem!
Another Windows 10 upgrade is here: the Windows 10 October 2018 update. For those of us using WSL, or "Linux on Windows", that means potential mayhem. When the last Win 10 upgrade version was released, I installed it. I then discovered that my Ubuntu icon no longer...
A crash course in how the internet works
Way back in 1995, I was a freshman at university. I had this new thing called "The Internet" at my fingertips. It was cool, but I wanted to know how it worked. I asked someone, and they wouldn't answer the question - mostly because they couldn't answer! Today,...
How to Remove or Block Cookies in Chrome
I use Firefox as my main browser, which is why I wrote the earlier article Remove individual cookies in Firefox (yes, it changed again). I also use Chrome as a secondary browser since I have 2 screens and too many tabs for one browser! Recently, I had to do some...
How to choose a dumbphone: It ain’t easy!
If you decide to ditch your smartphone, then you have to pick the right dumbphone. "You must choose, but choose wisely." There are many factors that come into play, like where you live and what wireless provider you're using. But it gets way more complicated than...
Surveillance Valley: What you need to know about the Internet
I recently finished reading the book Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet. Now, I've known for awhile that the world of high-tech - and especially the internet - doesn't quite work the way everyone thinks it does. We worship tech...