Best LOW-tech gift for just about anyone
What do you get for somebody when you have NO IDEA what they'd like? And preferably without breaking the bank? Easy: You get them a date calendar puzzle from DragonFjord Puzzles! Even people who hate puzzles quickly become addicted to this thing, and it lasts the...
Is your gizmo eating batteries? Try THIS!
A little while ago, my electronic lockbox / key safe started eating batteries. When I opened her up, I discovered the problem: condensation! Join me for a look at how you can save your own battery-powered devices from the scrap heap... And save some bucks in the...
Do surge protectors really work? Sort of…
With everything getting more expensive these days, you want to be sure your costly electronics stay protected. One of the most common ways is to plug them all into a surge protector. The question is: Do these things really work? The answer is, as usual: It's...
20 Windows tricks to save time (and sanity)
Most people are NOT power users. We all still need to get stuff done... After many years of watching eyeballs widen when I do something on a Windows PC, my wife suggested it was time to make this video! Without further ado, these are 20 time-saving tips and tricks so...
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,...
Printout color is off? Fix it fast!
When you need a color printout, it's nice when the colors on paper look the same as those on your screen. Most of the time, however, that's not the case. Fortunately, there's a quick cheat you can use to get MUCH better print colors... And it only takes a few seconds!...
JavaScript: How to detect when an image is loaded?
Let's say you're writing a web app, and of course you're using JavaScript. So far, so good! But then let's say you need to load some images on the fly, and then do something useful AFTER each image is fully loaded. IOW, maybe you want to adjust the layout of the image...
Why phone SAR ratings are silly
The Specific Absorption Rate, or SAR, of a phone shows how much energy from radio frequency waves is absorbed by body parts - head, torso, whole body, etc. The idea is that phones can be certified as "safe", while also allowing some sort of comparison between...
Windows won’t boot after upgrade? Roll it back!
The Windows 11 22H2 feature release is out in the wild. Unfortunately, there are a few problems with it... On my modern laptop, I upgraded to 22H2 and everything seemed to be going well... Until I did a hard reboot a few hours after the upgrade was complete. I got a...
Hot to fix choppy audio in VLC
VLC media player is free, popular, and just awesome. It'll play just about any audio or video file you throw at it. For video quality, there's an easy fix for choppy vids in VLC. But what about audio? How do you fix choppy AUDIO in VLC media player? Believe it or not,...
When NOT to use Dirty Electricity filters!
Dirty Electricity is when all our wondrous gizmos generate noise that couples to the human body from the electrical wiring in our homes, schools, places of work, and so on. Fortunately, there are simple filters you can get that reduce the dangers from this type of...
How to fix “VCRUNTIME140_1.dll was not found” the right way
Well, this is a fun one. One day, you go to run some application. Instead of loading like normal, you get this weird error stating that code execution cannot proceed because VCRUNTIME140_1.dll was not found. The error message may have a slightly different name, but...
Why your tech is giving you headaches
Who doesn't love technology? Unfortunately, working and playing with our toys often results in bad, chronic headaches that just won't seem to go away. The good news is that by correcting your posture and paying more attention to your body, you CAN end the headaches....
Windows STILL won’t update? Try THIS!
These days, updating Windows is like playing Russian Roulette. Microsoft keeps breaking things, and I have to continually figure out how to fix them. I recently had ANOTHER problem with Windows Update. After trying everything, this is the solution that finally worked...
How to remove Intel VMD without reinstalling Windows
If you have an 11th generation or newer Intel processor, your system might be using Intel VMD. VMD, or Volume Management Device, is a server-ish bit of technology where your processor more or less "hijacks" the management of NVMe disk drives in your puter. When VMD is...
Android vs iOS: Which is better for privacy?
Ah, the eternal battle: iOS or Android? These days, there's a big war going on where both sides are trying to prove that their mobile OS is the safest and most privacy-friendly. So, which is it? Join me for a deep dive into the wonderful world of smartphones......