Windows 10 Homegroups: the Easy way to Transfer Files

Need to transfer files quickly from one Windows 10 computer to another? Create a homegroup. You’ll be given a password, open up another Windows 10 computer, select join a homegroup, enter the password. Presto, now you can instantly transfer files back and forth.

A Secure Home for Less Than 200 Bucks

For less than 200 bucks, you can protect your home with a camera/sensor unit that will alert you to intruders, film them in the dark, back up the videos to the cloud, and let loose with a 95 DB alarm if a bad guy is detected. It’s smart enough to know the difference between a […]

Keep the Hackers Out of Your New Toys

Many of you got new internet-connected goodies over the holidays. Make sure they’re not open doors to hackers. If the devices are capable, update each one to the latest version of firmware. Look for a setting to check for updates, and apply them if available.

4G Capable Tablets and Chromebooks FTW

One of the handiest devices to come along in a while is the tablet and/or Chromebook that comes with 4G network capabilities. WiFi isn’t always available, and being able to hop onto a mobile network mainly used by phones means the internet is never very far away. Make no mistake: WiFi is the preferred way […]

Is Vinyl Really Better?

I hear a lot of reminiscing about how much better vinyl sounds than digital. All I can say is that those people either weren’t there in the day, or else they have bad memories. Record albums all have a measurable degree of warp, and it induces infrasonic sounds that used to blow out woofers. They […]

Send that Retired Computer to a Good home

Donating older computers (within reason) is good for everyone. There’s no call for anything pre-Pentium, except for possibly a museum, but Goodwill and the like can put computers ten years old and newer to good use. Make sure you wipe your files, though. A good tool for that is Disk Wipe (http://www.diskwipe.org/). It’s 100% free, […]

Trace Your Family Tree for Free

One area where the internet has changed everything is genealogy. What once took days of research in the library, and hundreds of miles of travel to other libraries, can now be accomplished in a few hours. Case in point: I signed up (for free) at wikitree.com, and entered what information on relatives I could. Wikitree […]

Get Your Money’s Worth with Amazon Prime

Are you using Amazon Prime? Did you know that it includes streaming video? Many people only know about the free two–day shipping, but if you have a Roku, a smart TV, or the Amazon app on a mobile device, you have access to a slew of TV series, specials, and movies at no additional charge.

RIP Net Neutrality?

Well, US net neutrality is dead. Or is it? A suit is being filed that says the FCC doesn’t have the power to de-classify access to the internet as a utility, which they have been seeking to do since 2014. Regardless, let’s try not to panic. A few hundred million people vs. a small handful […]

Put That Phone to Work!

Are you using your smart phone to its full potential? What’s your favorite hobby? Do you have an app on your phone to assist you? Example: Do you love fishing? Do you have an app helping you?? Apps take things like weather conditions, tides, moon phase, and time of year involved to tell you what’s […]