How to upgrade Ubuntu in place on WSL / WSL2
If you're using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), you may be wondering how to upgrade your flavor of linux in place. Whether you're using WSL or WSL2, you could just go to the Windows Store and download the whole new shebang. In my case, I was using Ubuntu 18.04 LTS,...
Thunderbird v102: Don’t push the button just yet!
The other day, I heard about the new version of Thunderbird: v102.0. Naturally, being a techy nerd who loves updates, I installed it. BAD IDEA! There are a few bugs, but one in particular results in corruption of e-mails and even losing entire blocks of new messages....
Is Google’s LaMDA AI sentient, or just clever programming?
In recent news, a guy at Google claimed that one of their AIs, LaMDA, had become sentient. Well, that's quite a claim! So, I decided to read the entire transcript of a chat with LaMDA and see what all the fuss is about. Turns out, it's not so simple... YouTube:...
10 tips to speed up your PC
Who doesn't want a faster PC? Well, it's easier than you think. Most of the time, the way we use our puters is what slows them down. By making a few minor adjustments to how you work, you can get the most bang from your existing PC - without forking over bucks for a...
Windows can’t see your USB-connected Android phone or tablet
This one's a lot of fun! You connect your Android phone or tablet with a USB cable to your PC. You expect to be able to browse the files on your phone, or transfer photos/video. Nope! Nuttin'. Nada. ZILCH. It worked before, so what happened? Better yet, how do you fix...
How Big Tech Privacy actually works
A recent revelation from inside Facebook has called into question all these privacy laws we now have... Or more specifically, how companies are actually implementing (or not) these laws designed to protect our data. The truth, as usual, probably shouldn't surprise...
NVMe drive missing or not booting? There’s a simple fix!
On the one hand, NVMe drives are blazingly fast. On the other hand, getting them to work with Windows - or even your BIOS - can be a bit of a nightmare. I recently upgraded several computers that had SATA SSDs. I wanted to upgrade each one to an NVMe drive. So, I used...
The quietest gaming keyboard in the entire universe!
Despite the prevalence of touch devices these days, chances are you still have an "old fashioned" computer with a keyboard. Many keyboards are very quiet and comfortable to type on, but they don't last very long. Enter the Gaming Keyboard! It's old school durability...
Fix “UPDATEBIOS.exe – The application could not be started” error on MSI PCs
If you have an MSI puter that you upgraded to Windows 11, you probably noticed an annoying little error. Every time you boot up, you got a popup window that states: UPDATEBIOS.exe could not be started. Do you want to view information about this issue? So of course you...
Windows 11 DOES have new features! Who knew?
If you have no idea why you might want Windows 11, you're not alone. Microsoft is terrible with the whole marketing thing. Nevertheless, I happened to discover by accident a handy new feature in Win 11 just the other day. How many more are hiding in the shadows just...
Foot Pedals: The input device you didn’t know you needed!
Everyone knows about keyboard and mice... But the foot pedal?! What the heck? Surprisingly enough, it turns out that they're not so expensive and very easy to set up - if you use the right software. Speaking of software, it's exactly because of NCH's Pedable...
Make Thunderbird work with your Gmail account
If you use Thunderbird to download e-mails from your Gmail account, it may stop working soon. You may remember a similar thing happening not long ago. Google insisted that POP3 mail accounts were, "not secure enough". So, you had to go through a convoluted process on...
The color printing nightmare is OVER!
Printing in color has been a total nightmare as long as I can remember. If it wasn't the initial cost, it was expensive replacement parts for a color laser printer. Then toner cartridge price went through the roof. And let's forget the dreaded "laser line" problem...
How to make your PC work with Windows 11
Windows 11 has been here for awhile, but it's not available to everyone. There is a list of requirements that are quite confusing - and changing. What's worse, certain Win 11 requirements seem like they're too much trouble to fix. I mean, who wants to risk converting...
Make it stick with Superglue Secrets!
Who doesn't love superglue?! Well, I suppose there are some people who glued their fingers together one time... Anyhow, superglue is still super-useful. There are just a few tricks you should keep in mind for best results. You can save a ton of money and even unstick...
querySelectorAll: Who needs jQuery anyway?!
If you've ever created a website, you've surely used jQuery. It's a lovely JavaScript library that lets you do all sorts of whiz-bang Web 2.0 stuff while shielding you from the underlying plain vanilla JS functions. But hang on a minute - do you really need jQuery?...