Techbyter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) With Bill Blinn

An inexpensive vector graphic program might be just what you need, even if you use Adobe applications for other tasks. A disk drive suddenly goes off line and all efforts to revive it fail. Panic time? Not exactly. In Short Circuits: A plug-in for Chrome makes the N ew tab more useful, maybe to the point that some people will use it! A misbehaving mouse problem was resolved (I think) with an easy Registry patch. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Free tax preparation that really is free if you meet certain conditions, predictions that we'll see a lot more artificial intelligence used by stores, and retailers will also increasingly make use of the Internet of Things.

Do you use a smart phone to control things in your house? Thermostats, TVs, maybe the light switches? A voice command can turn devices on or off, but they can also create some nasty problems. Video editing once required a large room full of high-priced equipment. Then, in 1991, version 1.0 of Adobe Premiere was released to compete several existing programs. Desktop video editors changed everything. In Short Circuits: This week the Guardian newspaper published an article by the guy who invented the World Wide Web. Tim Berners-Lee says the web has fulfilled some of what he hoped it would do, but improvements are needed. If the headline "Smart Phones Will Read and Write Better Than 32 Million American Adults in Next Decade" doesn't frighten (or at least concern) you, it should. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Members of the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) seem to be making changes faster than we can deal with them, and a new IOS and Android app is being promoted to help with snakebite victim

It's official: Windows as a service and Microsoft says there will be no annual fees. When you buy a device with Windows 10 on it, upgrades will be provided without cost for as long as you use the computer. Writing in the San Jose Mercury News, Troy Wolverton has outlined some common-sense steps needed to protect net neutrality. We'll take a look at the key points. In Short Circuits: For the second time in a little over 2 years, RadioShack has gone bankrupt and is planning to close more stores. Facebook outlines its plans to reduce the impact of fake news -- not by removing content, but by providing more. In Spare Parts (only on the website): The latest version of the Raspberry Pi is being sold in the US only at Micro Center and the pricing is unusual. The National Institute of Standards and Technology hopes to be able to measure something that has been known, but unmeasurable, for centuries.

Whether your computer is meek and mild mannered or a screaming powerhouse, it's a good idea to buy the best peripherals you can afford. Adobe's experience design application, XD, brings designers a way to create websites and screen-based applications that need to perform well on every device from an index-card-size phone to a giant TV screen. In Short Circuits: More than half of mobile device users had to reset at least one password in the past two months. Trying to put an end to robocalls -- 2.3 billion of them in January alone! In Spare Parts (only on the website): The US Department of Justice and police in several other countries have charged 19 people with fraud that cost victims more than $13 million, someday in the future you might be able to visit a virtual amusement park in the past, and with phones getting larger, LG has just released some of the smallest and lightest notebook computers.

Have you asked Cortana for help? After more than a year of ignoring her, I'm trying to decide if I want to keep her on full time. Sometimes a Google search for help with hardware, software, or a service can lead to more trouble. In Short Circuits: Microsoft's annoying messages that badmouth browsers other than Edge can be stopped, but only with a large hammer. The German city that led the way toward adopting open-source software now plans to return to Microsoft applications. In Spare Parts (only on the website): According to Ars Technica: Malware comes to Macs, thanks to the same Russian hackers who meddled in the US presidential election and if you can spare a little blood, a company says it can make recommendations that might improve your health.

Affinity Photo has been around for while on the MacOS, but it's new to Windows. We'll take a look at the features and one important shortcoming. Frustrations abound when a hard drive appears to be failing, but no symptoms can be found. In Short Circuits: Google is planning to do something that should have been done long ago to shut down malicious websites. An issue that shouldn't be even slightly political is being made to seem political as the big internet service providers eye big profits. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Finding legitimate news can be a challenge, but there are many reliable sources on the internet and Forbes Magazine has some suggestions. A start-up company wants restaurants to get rid of their laminated floor plans and grease pencils because there's a better way to seat people.

TechSmith just released a minor-version update of its flagship application, SnagIt, but the improvements are surprisingly robust for what's considered a minor release. I store random thoughts and small stories that show up and have some promise, but aren't big enough for their own segment. When the batch is large enough, I compile them and give them a fancy title. That's what you're in for this week. In Short Circuits: Popcorn Time Ransomware starts by apologizing to you, but you'll still spend nearly $1000 to get your data back. There's a better way. A new company promises to help us identify and eliminate fake news. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Most companies seem to concentrate more on the loss of customers than on the loss of data if their systems are breached; if you're a Facebook advertiser, you might want to take a look at an app from ConsumerAcquisition.com; and maybe you remember when computers were fragile, but some of today's computers can survive a misadventure at a construction site.

Criminals are buidling more convincing tricks that attempt to get users to revel their login names and passwords and it's easy to be fooled. Google offers 2-factor authentication and if you use any Google services, it's a good idea to take the time needed to set this up. In Short Circuits: A new record was set for the number of data breaches in 2016, but the real record was set in the number of records that were exposed. Sears has an exciting new application that helps you buy ... tires. Well, maybe "exciting" isn't quite the right word, but it is useful. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Better late than never, Facebook finally tries to take on the scourge of fake news and there are efforts to design ways to give remote employees and third parties an easy-to-use method for secure access to corporate resourses.

There's just one topic in the main section of the podcast this week and it's an important one. The data on your computer is at risk and crooks are working to find a way to get at it. In Short Circuits: Bogus pop-up warnings in browsers are increasingly common. Shutting them down is easy if you know how. When several unexpected directories with strange files appeared on my computer, I was concerned, but there was no real threat. In Spare Parts (only on the website): The Economist magazine and Kaspersky Lab ran a competition that challenged college students to find a way to use blockchain technology to make on-line voting safe and tablet computers continue to evolve even though the market segment is becoming mature.

Keeping track of passwords is impossible without help. That's why everyone needs a password manager and there are several good ones. We'll take a close look at the one I consider to be the very best. Even if you're not of AARP age, the organization and Microsoft have put together some useful tips for avoiding all kinds of scams. In Short Circuits: Yahoo will get a new name when it's acquired by Versizon. If it's acquired by Verizon. There's one quick, simple step anyone can take that can eliminate a call to tech support. I'll explain. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Translating websites into multiple languages is time consuming, expensive, and difficult. A new service aims to change that. It's likely that we'll hear the terms "Microsoft" and "Linux" together more frequently in the future.

If you got a new computer for Christmas or one of the other end-of-year, winter solstice holidays, I have a list of free and low-cost applications that are worth thinking about adding. Microsoft thinks about listening to editors' opinions about Word. Might the company listen to others who want to provide input about operating systems and applications? In Short Circuits: How much computer can you get for $150 to $250? Not a lot, but it might just be enough. Despite what Apple CEO Tim Cook said a couple of years ago, the PC (meaning desktop machines whether they run Windows or MacOS) is not dead. Sales increases are on the way. In Spare Parts (only on the website): As you add more Wi-Fi enabled devices to every corner of your home, you'll need a Wi-Fi signal that reaches every corner, an Irish on-line training center will provide training for Adobe applications and student discounts for Adobe software.

A 10-second look at what's new on the website this year, then trying to figure out whether a Chromebook would be a good choice or not. My attempt to find a way to use Evernote ended abruptly and I'll explain why. In Short Circuits: The Wild West atmosphere of the internet continues and the situation won't get better anytime soon. Might there be some middle way to give police access to data on electronic devices in certain kinds of cases? In Spare Parts (only on the website): An attempt to train emergency responders using virtual reality to make the exercises both more realistic and more safe, and Microsoft Teams has been released in test mode for enterprise customers.

Landscape Pro isn't something for your garden. Instead, it's a new application that will improve your photos, and not only landscape photos. If you'd like to look like a video or HTML5 genius, Adobe's free on-line Spark application will do the trick and, if you're a Creative Cloud member, you'll get some extra benefits. In Short Circuits: Tis the season ... for fraud with a capital F. You'll find brazen attempt to separate your money from you can creep into even generally safe areas like Amazon. Fraud fighter Malwarebytes has combined all of its products into a single application that does everything its separate applications did before, and it threatens to displace standard anti-virus applications. Yahoo has admitted yet another breach of its security system. This time it's one billion records and it happened three years ago! In Spare Parts (only on the website): Replacing passwords with eyeballs, a small tablet that might be willing to take a bullet for you, and a look at how widespread malware is on popula

A new browser from the developers who created Opera may be worth your review because it offers several imaginative features, but beware the bugs. When you want to print a huge image for display on a wall, upsampling is helpful and an Alien Skin application makes quick work of the task. In Short Circuits: Amazon is testing a new kind of grocery store in Seattle, one with no cash registers and no checkout lines. Eight years after starting development of Windows 8, Settings and the Control Panel still haven't been merged. Why? In Spare Parts (only on the website): Crooks have wreaked havoc in 2016 by stealing data and 2017 doesn't look like it will be better. If you're tired of trading privacy for convenience, you might be interested by an anti-social network launched in England. Microsoft calls for new entrants in its grant program aimed at providing reasonably priced internet access in under-served areas. A Japanese supercomputer can transfer 1 terabyte of data per second. That's fast!

You can help crooks plant malware on your computer, but I can't exactly recommend it. I can, however, share some warning signs to watch for. The 2017 version of Adobe Dreamweaver has some exciting new features, but also some disappointing bugs. In Short Circuits: Research suggests that many people are willing to use on-line chat sessions (and even automated "chatbots") instead of working with humans, but still want to be able to reach a real live person when they need one. And real live people are available at AskIT, a free service by CompTIA, an IT industry trade organization. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Lots of Android users are at risk and the culprit is malware known as "Gooligan", and Microsoft has made another large investment in wind-generated electricity for some of its data centers.

Alien Skin's Eye Candy allows photographers to add unique effects to photos, but it really shines in the hands of designers. After using Firefox as my primary browser for more years that I can remember, I started thinking about swapping it out for something else. In Short Circuits: Running out-of-date apps on a mobile device is just as dangerous as doing that on a desktop or notebook computer -- maybe even more dangerous. Shutterstock's on-line editor provides access to more than 1 million images and templates that can be used to create presentations. In Spare Parts (only on the website): The European Space Agency and Germany's SAP combine to provide access to geospatial information for a fee, Comodo offers a free service designed to help corporate IT departments find malware before it bites them, and those who work in the software industry say that they expect to automate themselves out of a job in the next decade unless they learn new skills.

The 2017 version of Photoshop adds surprising features in surprising locations. Microsoft goes after designers and artists with its new Surface Studio, but makes some of the same mistakes it made with the Surface Pro. In Short Circuits: Microsoft patched 68 vulnerabilities on Patch Tuesday, which also happened to be election day. Kaspersky Lab says that there's a shortage of people who want to search out and destroy malware. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Those who had their personal information stolen from the US Office of Personnel Management are now being targeted for malware, financial institutions are under unrelenting attack says a provider of measures designed to prevent attacks, and a bank in Bangladesh will recover $15 that was stolen electronically, but the full theft was $81 million.

If you're a creative in any sort of media, Adobe wants you. Sometimes Windows users need to boot into Safe Mode, but getting there is more complicated than it used to be. In Short Circuits: Microsoft is unhappy that Google released information about an exploit that can be used against Windows users. Have you considered a career in the exciting field of COBOL programming? In Spare Parts (only on the website): One effect next week's election will have on Twitter, GM teams up with IBM to provide more functions (and distractions) for drivers, and Kaspersky Lab says more cybercrime fighters are needed.

Last week's distributed denial of service attack that rendered large parts of the internet useless was only a preview. There's more to come. You might want to consider using a DNS service that's not provided by your internet service provider. In Short Circuits: Alien Skin's SnapArt4 makes it easy to add striking effects to your photographs. Some websites invite hacker attacks. Police in Europe have a plan to fight ransomware. In Spare Parts (only on the website): CyberGhost is another choice for secure internet communications, somebody might be listening to your phone calls, and technology might threaten annual performance reviews.

TechSmith has released updates to both Windows and MacOS versions of Camtasia, with a host of new features in both and narrowing the gap between the MacOS version and the Windows version. Microsoft plans a significant change to how system services are handled in Windows and the result will be improved reliability when the changes are released in 2017. In Short Circuits: About half of all cloud-based malware is designed to deliver ransomware. Research shows that college students underestimate the financial implications of ransomware. And you'll find several new sections on the constantly updated TechByter RSS News Feed page. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A virtual 800-inch screen that you can wear, Shutterstock fights back against Adobe Stock, and all-flash storage is closer to becoming a reality.