Techbyter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) With Bill Blinn

After 7 months with a Surface Pro tablet, I can recommend it, but perhaps not as enthusiastically as Microsoft would like. If you're a reader who likes to read books on a tablet and you also like to save money and read work by new authors, I have a suggestion. In Short Circuits ... Why can't girls write code? Actually, they can and Girls Who Code has just released several YouTube videos aimed at destroying myths and stereotypes. GoDaddy is acquiring FreedomVoice and will soon be in the telephone business. Will Microsoft's evil never end? The company clarifies its Windows 10 policies and is immediately accused of being sneaky. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A new app lets you turn your smart phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot, LinkedIn says the breach that occurred 4 years ago allowed crooks to harvest 100 million more user names and hashed passwords than previously thought, and how big should a flat-panel display be in a classroom -- or should schools be using something else entirely?

Xara Web Designer adds site development features that will delight visually oriented designers. You may think that you know who invented e-mail, but the story is probably a bit more complicated than you expect. In Short Circuits ... If you want to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, now is the time to do it. The offer ends this summer. Watson will take on cyber crime. Marketers who talk AT people instead of WITH them may soon find themselves with declining market shares. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A new top-level domain name for your mom, Western Digital finalizes its acquisition of SanDisk, and the market for wearable electronics is big, growing fast, and will be huge.

How to create a high-quality video using just your smart phone. The New York Public Library opens a treasure trove of high-resolution historical images on its website, usable by anyone without cost. In Short Circuits, Opera builds an ad-blocker into its browser, what follows Moore's law might have something to do with Schrodinger's cat, mobile devices get smarter, and "Unplugged" could be coming to YouTube in 2017. In Spare Parts, only on the website: Spreadsheets are useful, but they're not always the best choice; ShareIt, a Chinese sharing app, claims 500 million users; and InformationWeek names the 100 companies it says make the best use of technology.

Don't underestimate the importance of backing up your important files more than once. Let's consider the on-line CrashPlan backup system. Not all tablets run Windows or OSX; now there's one that comes with Ubuntu Linux. In Short Circuits, You need a password manager and then you need to be careful not to divulge your master password to the bad guys and a new e-mail program for smart phones could be worth downloading even though it's not exactly perfect. In Spare Parts, only on the website: The FBI says it isn't going to share the Iphone hack it bought from hackers for more than $1 million with anyone and particularly not with Apple. Software used to rescue children from sex trafficking. Maybe a decent swipable keyboard is coming to Microsoft devices. Activist investors are named to Yahoo's board of directors. And this week, a bonus track following the program close. Be sure to wait for it.

I've been looking at a low priced, but uncommonly robust, video editor that unfortunately crashes a bit too often. Still, it might be a good choice for some. In Short Circuits, Maybe Microsoft has finally convinced Intel to fix the video device driver crashes that have plagued Surface users. It appears that Amazon has just challenged Netflix to a duel. Western Digital and Veritas have a private cloud backup system and some high-performing disk drives in a new Gold line. Listening to FM radio on your smart phone is about to get better. In Spare Parts, only on the website: If you're hungry and you're in one of 24 cities served by DoorDash, you can have food delivered from many local restaurants. Scotch maker Johnnie Walker wants us to learn more about the carbon footprint Web surfing creates (yeah, I'll have to explain that). And a couple of acquisitions caught my attention this week.

Microsoft is preparing for Windows 10's first anniversary by incorporating the Linux command line. Google may be dropping its "free" fiber in Kansas City, but its paid offerings go far beyond what traditional cable companies provide and for far less. In Short Circuits, Tips for protecting yourself from ransomware, Microsoft sues the feds in the ongoing battle over privacy versus security, and the BBC says that streaming audio can lead to the purchase of vinyl records. In Spare Parts, only on the website: Toshiba has a new processor that promises better video in your automobile, IBM is working with Box to provide on-line storage in Europe and Asia, and updates to StorageCraft's Image Manager to make backups more robust.

Operating systems and applications come with more annoyances than you can shake a stick at, but I have a stick and I'll shake it at a few of the annoyances I've squashed recently. In Short Circuits, Some cautions about my previous favorite backup application, Carbonite, but no clear winner yet as a successor. Danger from Firefox plug-ins you expect to help or protect you. Samsung starts the year well with the Galaxy 7. In Spare Parts, only on the website: Turning old electronics that you no longer want into useful materials instead of fodder for landfills, D-Link now offers two power-over-Ethernet routers that are designed for surveillance applications, and Nokia is pushing what it terms a "passive optical LAN" as a better solution than copper wire for local area networks.

Nine illustrated tips for preparing to take better pictures, on a vacation or anytime. In Short Circuits: The FBI works around Apple. Finding ways to balance security and privacy in the workplace. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A short history of fraudulent e-mails, Windows 10 is now on 270 million computers, Hololens is shipping if you have $3000, and Bat developer Ritlabs is now in the top 1% of Microsoft developers.

Apple seems to have prevailed in the first round of its battle with the FBI over an encrypted phone, but nobody is really a winner. Disk drives with moving parts may be dead, but they don't know it yet. In Short Circuits: Hospitals are being attacked by malware. Longtime Intel CEO Andy Grove has died.The surprise from Adobe that wasn't a surprise. A warning from the US Treasury that wasn't. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Marketing pros may be replaced by robots, trying to make tech support more personable, fand a plan to make genetic research more accessible.

Phishing messages are becoming harder to spot and that makes them more dangerous. From the free Slate application, to Lightroom and Photoshop, and on the Dreamweaver and other apps, Adobe turned on the release fire hose this week. In Short Circuits: One more step remains in the approval process for Western Digital and SanDisk to merge. Increasingly office workers are working from places other than the office. After I figured out what was causing an Amazon video not to play, I explained what I did to Amazon support and the technician then told me to do exactly what I'd already done. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A new way to think about retirement, Kaspersky says its new protective applications for business networks seek out targeted attacks, and the creator of the annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony will be the keynote speaker at a conference on the Internet of Things.

An old-school spam cropped up in my e-mail in-box this week and caused me to think about advances that spammers have made. In Short Circuits: Microsoft has updated the enterprise version of Windows Defender to provide faster responses to attacks and that has some pundits ... worried. A malware attack on Apple's OS X operating system again shows that Macs can be attacked. The Federal Communications Commission will vote on a plan to make broadband more affordable for low-income households. In Spare Parts (only on the website): At the education section of the South By Southwest Festival, talk about how open education resources are becoming increasingly important in classrooms and Microsoft partners with the NCAA to provide insight into the upcoming March Madness and we hope they don't drop the ball.

Firefox is a good browser that can be made even better with add-ons. I'll have information about some of the most popular ones. In Short Circuits: After you get add-ons installed in Firefox, you have to convince the browser to stop disabling them every time there's a new version of Firefox. It's been a busy week in the FBI versus Apple controversy with court rulings, comments by the defense secretary, and an admission that the FBI caused its own problem. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Corporate data is threatened not only by outsiders but also by employees, contractors, and business associates. Peach Fuzzer is designed to find flaws in automated systems before they hurt someone. Huawei and Leica say they will re-invent smart phone cameras. And Microsoft offers Xbox users a (virtual) $2 million Lamborghini.

Have you ever wondered what's tracking you as your browser wanders around the Internet? Now you can find out. In Short Circuits: Privacy and security are big topics now, in part because of the FBI's request to have Apple develop a way to break into one of their phones, but we'll also consider some new hardware that includes encryption by default. Both Webroot and ESET have new reports that outline the scope of malware and other threats. Hint: It's not getting any better. Google pulls the plug on Compare. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory say some new research provides clues about how diseases move through a population, something new from Amazon (free training), and bit.ly (the little company that started out just shortening links) is all grown up and making a big move.

A story of criminal and political intrigue as attempts are made to destroy RitLabs, developer of the popular e-mail program, The Bat. In Short Circuits: I'll show you a picture of an amazing spam with a link that shouldn't be clicked by anyone, but probably will be. How to avoid having to enter a long and complex password whenever you log on to a Windows 10 system. The average age of hackers these days is 17. Is your teen among them? Apple says it will not comply with a court order. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Bluehost updates 2 million WordPress sites and then offers the update script to everyone, including competitors, warnings about malware called Red Sheriff, and a review of the 2016 Golden Mousetrap Awards.

Not too long ago, password managers were just nice to have. Now they're essential. In Short Circuits: Computers and the Internet are changing how we interact with the nation's health-care system and the latest version of Windows 10 in the Fast ring merits a yawn, but that's not a bad thing. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Scammers are now targeting children and China-based WeChat handed out money (with an ulterior motive) in Times Square around the Chinese New Year.

A new feature in Adobe Lightroom that I mentioned last week is every bit as exciting as I thought it might be. Words and pictures follow. Network attached storage is coming to homes and offices, and a new NAS box from Synology comes with impressive specifications. In Short Circuits: Seagate is looking at a class action lawsuit resulting from a high percentage of failed 3 terabyte drives, Microsoft wants you to have Windows 10 for free and doesn't want to take NO for an answer, and Internet data privacy gets a score card with a low grade. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Slow crooks down and you might be able to keep them out of your computer and IBM plans to acquire Columbus-based Resource/Ammirati.

Vacation time is just around the corner and, if you're thinking of upgrading your photo gear for summer fun, I have some ideas. In Short Circuits: Adobe updated Lightroom this week and there's a really cool feature that I'm looking forward to trying. Facebook hints that it may develop a video-only service. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Chrome may be one of the safest browsers imaginable, but that doesn't mean you can forget about rogue software. And the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team is warning about a threat called "Dorkbot".

An in-depth look at Microsoft's Edge browser is first, followed by a consideration of Bing as a better search engine than Google. In Short Circuits: AOL considers a name change, a new kind of answer site that's more interested in questions, and an application intended to keep your cats from forgetting their medical appointments. In Spare Parts (only on the website): Microsoft's latest Fast Ring version of Windows 10 is out with few visible changes, but with stability improvements that will allow new features in upcoming builds. Leica has a new $3000 camera you can throw into the lake. And a code of ethics for software engineers from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Society and the Association for Computing Machinery.

The latest version of Adobe's Creative Cloud adds so many new improvements, tweaks, and features that just trying to list them all is impossible, but I have some information about some of them. In Short Circuits: Microsoft support for most versions of Internet Explorer other than version 11 ends, along with support for Windows 8, if the system hasn't been updated to version 8.1. We'll look at security threats to watch for in 2016. Adoption of Windows 10 is running ahead of expectations and more than 200 million Windows 10 computers have been activated. In Spare Parts (only on the website): A system is being developed to allow self-driving automobiles to help each other. AT&T says it will help the Federal Communications Commission modernize it's "business". If you want a dog, but you really don't want a dog, you're now able to buy a robot dog.

If you connect to the Internet using a public Wi-Fi hotspot, you're exposing yourself to a significant risk. While trying to find a way to reduce the risk, I found a way to make Wi-Fi connections secure. In Short Circuits, we'll take a look at malware that can shut down electric generating plants, consider talking to your Volvo automobile, and compare the Oculus Rift to Microsoft's HoloLens. Spare Parts (only on the website) It's January, so the Consumer Electronics Show is running in Las Vegas.