Techbyter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) With Bill Blinn

Removing unwanted key functions from the keyboard can be accomplished with a Registry Edit, but there's a better option for those who fear touching the Registry. And for those who do edit the Registry, there's a non-Microsoft editor with some clever tricks. In Short Circuits: Asus has moved to correct a problem with their Live Update application that was used to push malware to hundreds of thousands of computers. We'll take a look at some of the most persistent high-tech myths. Artists who use a sketch pad to start a project and then have to transfer the art manually to a computer will be happy with a paper notebook that connects to Adobe Illustrator. In Spare Parts (only on the website): If you'd like to share less information on-line when you're shopping or sending emails, a service called Blur may help. • The Information Security Forum releases an assessment each year; the latest edition predicts some serious problems in the next 2 years.

You've doubtless heard of the dark web and may consider it to be a place to avoid because illegal activity takes place there, but there's good to be found, too. After all, The Onion Router was a project undertaken by the US Navy in the 1990s. In Short Circuits: Merchants of angst are predicting that GPS systems will fail on 6 April. They will do no such thing, but older GPS devices might be a bit confused on that day. What happens if a Windows update causes problems for your computer? Uninstalling the update is relatively easy, but you'll want to avoid having it be reinstalled. That's relatively easy, too. In Spare Parts (only on the website): IBM owns The Weather Company and says that system updates will lead to more accurate and faster reporting of conditions as well as more reliable forecasts. • Facial recognition is a big deal, but one British company is using machine learning to obscure faces in videos.

If your computer is a few years old and you'd like it to be faster, the right change may no longer be to add RAM. Instead, maybe it's time to consider a solid-state disk drive. In Short Circuits: Now would be a really good time to confirm that your browser is fully up to date. That's true for any browser, but this week it's particularly true for Chrome. Microsoft is beginning to bad-mouth its own Office suite in an attempt to convert users to Office 365. The scourge of Robocalls continues to worsen, primarily because of inaction by the Federal Communications Commission, so we have to be vigilant about calls we receive. In most cases, it's not difficult to identify scam calls. In Spare Parts (only on the website): When you need to share a file, Firefox Share from Mozilla is ready to help even if you don't use Firefox. • Avast says your computer is in danger and, although they overstate the threat, a threat does exist. • Adobe's update to its experience design application (XD) this month includes a lot of worth

Brave is a browser that promises faster and more secure operation. It seems to follow through on both promises, but there are some features that infuriate newspaper and magazine publishers. In Short Circuits: Flat maps have been lying to us and technology can be used to eliminate the lies by more accurately representing the land masses of the globe on flat monitor surfaces. Microsoft wants to get rid of passwords and has taken some steps toward doing that, but it won't happen soon. The National League of Cities says that more than 40 cities in the United States have pilot projects or are considering pilot projects for self-driving vehicles so that they can evaluate positive and negative outcomes. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Kroger says that a second of its divisions will stop accepting Visa credit cards. • The federal government has lots of websites with millions of users even though they receive barely passing grades for usability.

In podcast 631, we took a look at some blunt changes to the "toast" notifications that Windows 10 serves. If you'd like finer-grained control, I'll explain how to get it this week, along with some other tips and tweaks that can change how Windows works. In Short Circuits: It's been 30 years since Tim Berners-Lee proposed what would become the WorldWide Web (now just "web") and the European Organization for Nuclear Research has made it possible to see what the work-in-process looked like. Fenando Stalin says I should open a file that explains how $1850 for "my uncle" will be delivered. Do you think I opened that message? A day later, several scam messages appeared and they all seemed to use the same goofy template. This makes spotting phonies easier. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Those who once owned high-end audio gear may have had VU meters on their amps. Now you can add some old-school VU meters to your computer. • IBM and SEAT have announced an application that will help city dwellers know about th

French software publisher DxO has updated PhotoLab 2, which was released late last year. Although its photo organizing tools are relatively weak, some special capabilities make it well worth considering -- either as a Lightroom plug-in or as a standalone application. In Short Circuits: At least eight apps slipped through Microsoft's security procedures to be featured in the Microsoft Store and these apps secretly use your computer to generate Monero cryptocurrency. If you're tired of being interrupted by all those pop-in messages that Microsoft calls "toast", there's a way to remove most of them so you can work without being bothered. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Wi-Fi router manufacturers are making more devices that operate on 3 bands so that mesh coverage will work throughout even extremely large houses. • Advances are being made in wide-area Wi-Fi systems that can bring fast service to less-populated areas where cable-based systems aren't economically feasible.

If you're tired of using sticky notes, losing track of the notes, and the forgetting to do something important, an application called Remember the Milk will remind you on desktop, notebook, or tablet computers as well as on Apple and Android mobile devices. In Short Circuits: It's easy to become complacent about security for mobile devices and that increases the danger. TechRepublic has some guidelines in a document you can download for free. Adobe's February monthly updates to Lightroom, Photoshop, and Camera Raw bring the cloud-based Lightroom more in line with Lightroom Classic and a new feature adds artificial intelligence to the demosaicing process to improve fine detail in photos. During the week of Valentine's Day, Fontself and Adobe released 5 free new typefaces based on scalable vector graphics. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Tesla acquires a battery maker that appears to have some technology that will improve batteries while reducing the cost. • Maybe you don't consider glass to be a high-tec

Although photographs you take today are digital -- from a point-and-shoot camera, a digital SLR, or a smart phone -- you may still have boxes full of old negatives. There are ways to incorporate these old images into your stored digital images. In Short Circuits: Scammers are becoming smarter, but spotting phony messages is still easy most of the time. Let's consider one scam that looks legitimate at first glance, but takes only a few seconds to unmask. After being on the market for more than 3 years, Windows 10 has finally pulled ahead of Windows 7. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Pandora is now owned by SiriusXM and the company is looking at ways to exploit the combined platform for consumers, content creators, and advertisers. That last one is probably the most important. • Pantone's Color Matching System is the key to accurate color for publications, paints, plastics, and now weddings, too.

Sometimes getting rid of an application you no longer want calls for more than just the Windows Add and Remove Programs function. Fortunately there are several good uninstallers to choose from. In Short Circuits: If you're looking for a program to help with a specific task, Capterra might be worth looking at. The service provides free software reviews. Apple will probably fix the problem soon, but the FaceTime application currently allows callers to listen before you answer a call and, in some cases, turn on the camera. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Pianos used to be gigantic instruments and many still are, but electronic pianos that are no larger than the keyboard of full size pianos are often able to match the sound of traditional pianos. • Would you prefer to see your sports team go down in flames or have to call a plumber? The results of a survey may surprise you and, yes, there is a tenuous connection to technology here.

Thinking about a new computer? Selecting Windows, MacOS, or Linux is the first decision, but there are lots of others: Desktop, notebook, tablet, or convertible? How much CPU power? How much memory? We'll step through some of the choices. In Short Circuits: Once you've purchased a new computer, what will you do with the old one? Adding it to a landfill is the worst possible choice, but there are several good options. If you listen to music on a phone or tablet, there are ways to improve the sound. In Spare Parts (only on the website): On-line trust is fragile and organizations suffer when people have doubts about the security of their personal information. • Adobe Audition and its initial incarnation, Syntrillium Cool Edit, have been around for 25 years and the application continues to improve.

Getting more than you paid for is a welcome change from the usual and there are hundreds of free and low-cost applications that sometimes compete well with commercial programs. In Short Circuits: If you decide that you'd like to try some free applications, the next challenge is how to get theme. Two excellent resources exist. Every Windows computer has a Task Bar and there are ways to make it more useful. Let's consider a few of them. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Is the 10-year photo challenge on Facebook dangerous or just good fun? • Kroger is working with Microsoft to redefine the way we buy groceries.

A plain-text editor is an essential tool for programmers because it will have lots of built-in functions that make writing clean code easier, but even non-programmers can make good use of these programs when writing because they lack a word processor's capabilities. In Short Circuits: How do you find a misplaced smart phone? Most people just pick up another phone and call it, but what if you don't have another phone handy? There's a way to call your hiding phone without using a phone. Taking recommendations from those who provide computer support, even for large companies such as Microsoft, is something that needs to be done with care. Let's consider a case in which the recommendations made no sense. In Spare Parts (only on the website): The Consumer Electronics Show was held in Las Vegas this week, so we'll take a look at three trends. First, larger and more powerful Chromebooks. • Next, docking stations that compete with the computer manufacturers' docking stations. • And finally, Wi-Fi routers that are bec

If you have tens of thousands of digital images on your computer, finding the one you want is probably a time-consuming procedure, but a plug-in for Adobe Lightroom uses artificial intelligence that lets users find images by describing them. And it works! In Short Circuits: Some users who installed the Windows 10 October release in October had problems so serious that Microsoft withdrew the update. Near the end of December, they released it again. Now it works right. There are no significant changes to the podcast for 2019, but the TechByter website has been rebuilt from scratch. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Because there's no way to make electricity move faster, speed gains are achieved by reducing the distance electricity must travel inside computers. This is measured in microns. • Monitor manufacturers will show off tremendously wide screens at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas. • The Linux Foundation continues to expand as one of the primary supporters of open-source software.

Security threats continue to mature and become harder to spot. We'll listen as Cybereason's chief security officer, Sam Curry, suggests what we'll see on the security horizon in 2019. In Short Circuits: The Windows 10 October update has been released, again, this time without a propensity to occasionally delete files and folders. If you don't yet have version 1809, you can force the issue or just wait for Microsoft to deliver it. If you feel a certain sense of deja vu when considering the ways communication techniques are changing, perhaps you recall what was called "ransom-note publishing" that cropped up when inexperienced users gained access to design tools in the 1980s. In Spare Parts (only on the website): This year's Darwin Awards (as they relate to passwords) have been released and the White House is no longer the top winner, but a visitor to the Oval Office did take the #1 slot. • Renting a car in China is difficult: Foreigners also need to hire a driver and National Car Rental sees an opportunity the

Adobe's InDesign 2019 adds several new features that are close enough to magic for designers to wonder where Merlin is hiding. The two most remarkable enhancements use artificial intelligence to size and position images and to modify page contents if the page size needs to be changed. In Short Circuits: Renaming your computer is as easy as renaming your cat and sometimes it's a good idea because the computer's default name will be useless. You're on your own with the cat. Crooks who use phishing emails are getting smarter and that means that we users need to get smarter, too. Updates to Adobe's photography applications in December are subtle, but some of them will make profound workflow changes -- at your discretion. In Spare Parts (only on the website): This is the time of the year for phony shipping messages. • If you're looking for cheap air fares, one on-line service says the key to success is flexibility. • A new service aims to make log-ins from mobile devices easier and thereby to improve financial per

The latest version of Acronis TrueImage includes image backups, disk cloning, file and directory backup, and active defenses against ransomware. It's available as a subscription with or without on-line backup or as an application with a perpetual license. In Short Circuits: Microsoft may or may not rename its hapless Edge browser, but one big thing will change: Soon it will be based on Google's Chromium rendering engine. OneNote has been one of my favorite Microsoft applications for many years, but development has been halted as of the 2016 desktop version and the replacement is a much inferior Windows 10 app. Fortunately, users can still obtain the older, better version. One might wonder why Marriott waited 71 days to announce that customer information was exposed to crooks for half a billion people who stayed at the company's Starwood hotels. In Spare Parts (only on the website): With no action likely from the government to provide high-speed internet access in rural areas, Microsoft is expanding its progra

Although it's far from being my favorite Creative Cloud application, Adobe Illustrator 2019 adds some features that will please users and may even convince me to give it some love. In Short Circuits: Checking the safety and validity of a link before following it is always a good idea and a service from Google makes the process fast, painless, and easy. Adding network attached storage to a home network is the easiest way to share files and the price is right now that several consumer-grade routers make it possible to attach a USB drive and convert it to a network drive. More than half a million Android users have downloaded malicious apps that they could have avoided by following 4 easy steps. And yes, I will explain what those steps are. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Dictionary.com has named "misinformation" as the word of the year, but I wonder if "disinformation" might not have been a better choice. • Electric cars aren't meeting sales projections and research suggests that there are a couple of val

DxO's second iteration of PhotoLab adds some superb features, particularly the ones that cut through atmospheric haze and remove digital noise. If you're not yet familiar with DxO, PhotoLab shows why you should be. In Short Circuits: The MacOS Mojave update brings several welcome options, including the ability to create a darker version of the interface, create better screen shots, and enjoy improved security. Most libraries in the US and throughout the world use OverDrive to deliver ebooks and now there's a new reader application called Libby. If your Windows 10 Pro computer told you to downgrade to the Home version of the operating system, it was a mistake. In Spare Parts (only on the website): As the holiday season approaches, on-line scams proliferate. • Crooks have figured out how to use a US Postal Service mail preview feature for identity theft. • Admittedly flu shots are not high tech, but why are so many people not having their children vaccinated? A survey offers some clues.

On1's Photo Raw continues the company's effort to work with Photoshop and Lightroom while competing with those same applications. A new version ships this month. In Short Circuits: The terms "internet" and "privacy" can exist in the same sentence if you're cautious about selecting applications and services to use. Microsoft has reduced the size of Windows 10 updates, but only for enterprise users who have deployed 64-bit computers. Why not for home users? Websites can see dozens of attacks every day by crooks who are attempting to plant malware. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A new version of True Image, the backup application by Acronis, will add the ability to back up cloud-based data files. • USB devices are being pegged as the most significant threat to industrial process control networks, the ones that run the electric grid, refineries, and other essential systems. • Some advertisements on the internet are just 6 seconds long and advertisers are learning how hard it is to communicate a meaningful

SnagIt, the screen capture application that's been popular with documentation specialists and others since the early 1990s continues to receive updates and the 2019 edition adds unusual functions that won't appeal to everyone, but will delight some users. In Short Circuits: Adobe's website application, Dreamweaver CC 2019, receives several new tools that will please advanced developers. Microsoft repeatedly breaks the feature that's supposed to keep external disk drives from disconnecting, but there's a free solution -- not from Microsoft. The Surface Pro 6 tablet from Microsoft is an ideal computer for those on the go, but desk-bound users have better options. Cyber Security Awareness Month may be over, but it's important to keep security top of mind all year. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Apple's big annual event was in Brooklyn this year and the latest Ipad might outshine new Macbooks and Mac Minis. • Girl Scouts of the USA are using on-line video and social media as a recruitment tool. • Several c