Upgrading to Windows 11, An Odyssey

I currently have two PCs running Windows 10 that can't be upgraded to Windows 11, and with Microsoft recently sunsetting Windows 10 it was way past time for me to get a new machine, so I did. It's state of the art and I love it, but it's brought about a whole new set of challenges for me.

Both of my existing PCs, a desktop and a laptop, are old and tired, and between the two I have about a terabyte of docs, pics and videos, plus all kinds of old outdated software, so I wanted to start fresh and combine everything into one system running the latest software. Easy, straightforward plan, right? Mostly.

In preparation for the cutover, I copied all of the data I wanted to keep from both PCs to an external hard drive and then started to set up the new laptop. Microsoft makes things relatively easy to set up a PC now, if you want to play by their rules. I, however, do not, and herein lies the problem. I wanted to set the new PC up with local accounts, and they make that awfully hard to do these days. They want you to sign into new PCs with your Microsoft account, there's no local account option anymore, at least not any that are easily accessible, and they want you to live and play in the cloud. No thanks, not a fan. I don't want all of my data being sucked up into the cloud for a multitude of reasons. Number one is privacy, you really don't want things like your tax docs and medical records floating around in the ether. Number two is that I have way too much data, it would cost me a small fortune per month to store a terabyte of data on OneDrive, so I planned accordingly and got a PC with a huge solid state hard drive. Reason number three is that I like to be able to use my PCs offline, I don't want to be dependent on network availability to access my stuff. Three strikes and you're out, so it's local accounts for me, and OneDrive gets turned off.

To accomplish this in Windows 11, you need to interrupt the OOBE (Out Of Box Setup Experience) at just the right moment with a "shift - function - F10" keystroke, that apparently takes more finesse than I possess, but I finally got it to work after a couple of reboots. This key sequence brings you to a command prompt and from there you need to enter: Start ms-cxh:localonly This command causes the PC to reboot and allows you to set it up without a network connection and create local accounts. Of course, Microsoft fights you the whole way with annoying little pop-up suggestions like "Log in to your Microsoft account to get the full user experience", and "You're not protected, let us back up your files and settings". Doesn't matter that my data is still nowhere near the new computer, I'm just "not safe" by their way of thinking. So frustrating.

Anyways, I got past all of that and created two local accounts: an admin account for installing things and a standard user account for everyday use. I've found that this is the best method for protecting your device, if you accidentally download malware while on the user account, it can't install without you raising your privileges by logging into the admin account. It's a nice little safety valve.

Next, I started removing all of the bloatware that comes on a new PC, this is important to do before you install the things you really want and need. Case in point; Microsoft puts a trial copy of Office onto all new machines and because I purchased a full copy of Office Home edition, it had to go. You would think the Office installer would take care of things like that, but it doesn't, and you can't do a clean install of Office until you remove it, so I did. I also got rid of, or hid, a bunch of other non-essential crap, and changed all of the settings to my liking. Making progress!

The next step was downloading and installing my new copy of Office Home 2024. I thought this would be pretty straight forward as well, but surprise; it is not.

Office 2024 requires you to be logged into your Microsoft account to both install and use it. This means that even if you're set up as a local user and you've purchased a full copy of Office, you need to be logged into Microsoft whenever you use Office products. It also turned OneDrive back on, backed up my settings and files, and it used my Microsoft credentials to log me into Edge; "get points and bucks for your search data!" Again, no thank you. Frustration levels rising...

Easy fix though, I went back into OneDrive and turned it off, again, amid more protestation, and I logged out of Edge. This still leaves you logged into your Office products and able to use them, so I'm good with that to some degree. There was a small benefit to this extra step they forced me into; when I logged in it triggered the Windows 10 ESU (Extended Service Updates) and my old machines started receiving patches again, so I guess letting it back up my settings and files on a relatively empty machine was worth it. I was shocked at how fast it glommed onto my new machine and backed it up unbidden though, but it is what it is. It is nice to have a little protection on the old devices while I cut over.

Office wasn't done surprising me yet, though. I told you it's been a long time since I'd upgraded, so long that my old copy of Office came with Outlook, and that's no longer the case. You can only get a full copy of Outlook with the Office Business Edition now. With the Home version, you need to download "New Outlook", which is part of the Office 365 suite and is a web-based product. Why I would want to install Office 365 on top of my full copy of Office Home still eludes me, although Microsoft suggests that it will make all of my other devices more productive... The layman's translation to that is that they want access to all of your phone's data as well. Speaking of access to all of your data, New Outlook wants you to give Microsoft permission for them to access all of your contacts and emails. I don't know about you, but I have hundreds of business, personal and organizational addresses, and it would be wrong for me to hand that data over to a third party, it would be a breach of trust. My provider already has access to it, why would I give it to someone else just to use a third-party mail client? Not gonna do it, wouldn't be prudent.

I do like to have an email client though, as it allows me to combine all of my accounts into one view and it also gives you more features and flexibility than webmail alone. After a little research I've narrowed it down to a couple of options to replace Outlook. I'm currently experimenting with eM Client as an alternative. So far, so good, I'll keep you posted as I plod along. I really wish that there was an Apple Mail app available for Windows, it's got them all beat for privacy, functionality and ease of setup in my opinion, but there isn't.

One more tip before I wrap this up, and this is important; if you're an iTunes user, you are much better served going directly to Apple's website and downloading the Windows 64 bit version of iTunes instead of installing the Apple Music, Apple TV and Apple Devices apps from the Microsoft store. When you install the apps, you can have a really hard time syncing your devices, especially if you still have any iPods. The Apple Devices app, which you need to manually sync any Apple device, including iPhones, has some awful ratings, some mentioning bricking of phones. The Apple TV and Apple Music apps themselves both work fine, but when either one is installed, they eviscerate iTunes, turning it into a podcast and eBook only shell of itself, and forcing you to download the third app, Apple Devices, for synching, and that's just too risky for me. I'm not using any 1-star rated app to back up and manage my phone. There are literally thousands of reviews from unhappy users about the Apple Devices app for Windows. Stay away, stay far, far away.

So, this exercise in modernization and consolidation has turned into a GIANT project for me, but I've learned a lot. It doesn't have to be so difficult for you though, if you want to roll with the program and set up as a "cloud first device". That's just not what I want, and when I pay this much money for a whole new setup, I want some say in the matter. I understand Microsoft's reasoning, they're basically giving you the Windows OS for free, and making their money from subscription services and packaging deals. Personally, I'd rather pay for my software and own and use it as I see fit. One thing I've learned is that nothing is free in the IT world, you either pay cash money for something, or you pay with your personal information, and in my opinion, your PI is much more valuable than money these days. It's a conundrum we all have to face in this digital age. 

At the very least, it would be nice if they gave you the option to set the machine up locally without having to break out of the setup. If you're not aware of this requirement beforehand, it's a difficult thing to recover from, and that's their thinking, I guess. It feels slippery and disingenuous to me, and I'm really glad I did my homework before I unboxed. An opt out for OneDrive would be greatly appreciated as well, it's annoying and frustrating. The average user isn't going to deviate from the network centric setup, only the fussy old users like me, so they wouldn't be losing any revenue. It would just be the right thing to do. 

Don't get me wrong, I really love my new machine and some of the new features. Windows 11 is streamlined and fast, and not that hard to get used to, all things considered. This latest crop of machines is amazing.as well, so this isn't a Microsoft or big tech hit piece, I just feel that it's important that they know we want, and need, more input into our own setup processes and PI management.

OK, I'm done grousing for now, I've droned on long enough. Stay tuned though; I have some updates and reviews coming up of the actual system I ended up going with, as well as a few apps I'm test driving. First, I'm gonna go take a couple Tylenol and lie down for a while...

Avid Power Cordless Tire Inflator

Ever try to find an air pump that works at a gas station? When, and if you do, it usually requires $2.00 in quarters or a credit card, and the hose is a pain in the ass to loop around to the far side of your car before your time runs out. Tick-tock, you better hurry up before you need to feed it again... I hate it. That's why this Avid Power Tire Inflator is a must have device.

I have a really nice full sized air compressor; it's an older Sears model with a myriad of attachments that's really been worth its weight in gold over the years. It's just the ticket for running air guns or pneumatic tools, but it's big, heavy, and needs power. You also need to bleed the air tank before you put it away to prevent rust and prolong the life of the tank by removing accumulated moisture. The other drawback to it is that it doesn't have an automatic shutoff at a preset pressure, and that makes it a pain to correctly inflate tires, or anything where precision is important. You constantly need to stop and check the pressure with a tire gauge, and then either bleed or resume pumping. Great tool, but not for every job.

The Avid Power Cordless Tire Inflator is the right tool when you need portable precision. Power it on, preset your desired pressure, lock it onto the valve stem and squeeze the trigger. That's it, it shuts off automatically when the desired pressure is reached, and it's very accurate, I've checked it repeatedly with my tire gauge and it's always right on. It's dual powered as well; it comes with a 20V rechargeable Li-Ion battery and a 12V DC adaptor with a 9.8' cord so you can plug it into your car if its battery dies on you. Nice.

Battery life has been great so far. I bought it back in the spring and have used it on my yard and hose carts, two bikes, three vehicles (topping off all 4 tires on each, and a couple were really low), footballs, basketballs, and a plethora of pool toys, all on the initial 4-hour charge. Even though the battery still read half full, I recharged it this month. You don't want to completely drain Li-Ion batteries if you can help it, best to keep them topped off on a regular basis so they're ready to go when you need them.

But wait, there's more! This bad boy stands on its own, so you don't need to hold it all hunched over while it fills, and it's got an led light so you can easily find those valve stems in the dark. It comes with 3 different nozzles, the rechargeable battery, a battery charger, the 12V adaptor, a clear, concise user manual and a nice case to keep everything together and ready to go. It also comes in a variety of colors, but I like the safety yellow for portable tools from a visibility standpoint, these eyes are getting old lol.

One word of caution when ordering; The link supplied above is for the whole package I've described, and it's very reasonable at $59.99. There are other packages at lower price points, but don't cheap out. You need all the accessories, and the case.

So, pull the trigger, so to speak, and get one of these before the real cold weather sets in. You don't want to be confounded by thermal contraction as a direct consequence of the ideal gas law (PV = nRT). TB12 would be the first to tell you; It's science, man, you can't get around it. That is all.

Not Such Deep Thoughts; The Summer of My Discontent Edition

 

Every so often my mind gets filled to overflowing with random thoughts, and the only way to exorcise them is with one of these long, rambling, brain dumps. I'm at that point right now, well past it, actually, you'll see why as you read on. So here we go. Strap in, because it's going to be a long, strange trip...

Summer, that's my time of year, except this Summer... I swear, as soon as I hit 70, my extended warranty expired. I'm like an old car with too many miles; everything is breaking at once. If I'm not at the Dr's office, I'm on the phone with one, or I'm having some procedure done. Clogged stents, skin grafts, hernias, eye injections, you name it, I'm having it done. This Summer. That means no vacations, no sun, no swimming, and no lifting anything over 5lbs. It's a super buzz kill, but it's not really so bad in the big scheme of things. It'll be good to get everything taken care of and behind me, and Fall vacations can be very nice, although I'm not making any plans just yet. I don't want to jinx things.

It's a Family Affair: On the plus side, my family has been here for me, and not everyone is so lucky. My wife, our sons and our nephews have all been picking up my slack, and I really appreciate it, but Dad loves his work, and it kills me to sit idly by while everyone else does it. Hopefully things will get back to some semblance of normalcy soon. In the meantime, I take pride in knowing that I must have done something right to merit so much love and attention. Thank you, I love you all, more than you can imagine.

Night Moves: Because we can't really schedule anything, and I have to stay relatively cool and dry, we've found some work arounds to get in some fun and positivity. I've become a creature of the night, and of impulse. If it's a nice night, we go for a walk, if there's a good band in town, we roll. We've even squeezed in a few Sox games. Spontaneity is the key, and laughter, music and happy times are the best medicine for all of life's ills.

Low Rider: For a while now I've been seeing an ad on TV for an eye injection that shows a woman driving around town in an orange 65 Mustang convertible. The commercial's soundtrack is Low Rider, and every time I see it, I say to anyone within earshot "Hey, that looks exactly like my car and that's one of my favorite cruising tunes." and then I think to myself; "That's really weird because it's such a unique and specific set of circumstances, right down to the Hula Girl dashboard ornament. I hope this isn't some sort of evil portent." Well, guess what? It was. I've had to start getting eye injections, and they are not fun. In retrospect, it almost feels like it was a predetermined event, and that's more than a little spooky.

The Universal Cat Distribution System: While we're on the subject of predetermined events, I'm a firm believer that cats are agents of fate, and that they choose you, you don't choose them. You can't convince me otherwise. We've always had cats in the house, sometimes too many, but always at least one. This past year the last of our cats passed, and we've been wrestling with the idea of getting another one for a while now, but the timing just hasn't been right. Enter Rudy. Rudy is a neighborhood cat that's been lurking around for years but has always been a little elusive and standoffish. We'd see him in the yard stalking wabbits, but he never came too near the house. Shortly after Noelle passed (she came to us through the UCDS as well, btw), Rudy started coming up on our porch and just hanging out. I'll go out to sit in the shade and he'll come sit beside me. We chat, we nap, and sometimes he gets up on the arm of my chair and nuzzles and licks my ear. We call him our rental cat. We know his name because his owner has attached both a name tag and an Apple Air Tag to his collar. He's a man about town, after all, so his owner has him tricked out for safety. She's stopped by to say hello and to check up on him as she tracks him via the Air Tag and knew that he hung out here. She wanted to see what he was up to, and she was amazed that he was so chummy with us, it's not usually his style. I told her that I thought, A. He knew I needed a little Cat Zen in my life, and B. He wanted to introduce us. It turns out I was right on both counts, Rudy comes by every day to hang, and sometimes the neighbor does too.

Sleeping With the Television On: I'm watching way too much TV lately. How do I know this? Well, before a recent procedure the nurse gave me a little lorazepam in my IV to relax me, and the last thing I remember saying before I drifted off was "Piper, no!" in what I thought to be my best Victoria Ratliff voice, then I laughed myself to sleep. 

Reality Bites: Reality TV, that is. It's basically a primer for behaving badly to other humans, and most of us are good enough at that already.

Go Get Yourself Some Cheap Sunglasses: Speaking of primers, here's a little pool care tip that's worth passing along. I already mentioned that I've been getting a lot of help with my chores of late, and I was showing someone how to shock the pool with liquid chlorine the other day. One thing I've learned is that it's difficult NOT to splash chlorine on yourself when you're doing it, and that's a bad thing. Bad for your clothes, bad for your skin, and really bad for your eyes, it can be dangerous stuff. The splash back happens when the jug glugs, and I've found a way to prevent that. Mostly. You set the gallon jug down on the pool coping about an inch back from the edge of the pool, then gently tip it forward until a steady stream of chlorine comes out, maintaining contact between the leading edge of the jug bottom and the coping at all times. This keeps the jug steady and allows a more controlled pour, it's a trick that's about 98% effective. I said 98% effective, that still leaves plenty of room for error, so always wear your crappy clothes and a pair of cheap sunglasses when you shock. Always.

How 'bout them Red Sox:  The Sox have been a constant source of joy for me of late and help my mood immensely. This team is fun to watch, the operative words here are "team" and "fun". In order to win, you need to work as a team and enjoy what you do. These guys personify that on both counts. I think trading Devers was key to their current success. Like it or not, sometimes addition by subtraction is a real thing, and this is one of those times. When you're paying someone a gazillion bucks, they need to be flexible and do what's best for the team, simple as that. When they don't, it creates unease and malaise with the rest of the collective. There was a lot of talk that the Sox got very little in return for him, but I disagree. They got someone to pick up his entire salary, which is unheard of. They also got rid of a problem child that was dragging everyone down, and they ended up with a cohesive and productive team. That's a huge win in my book. Huge. Can they go all the way? Who knows, but you can bet it will be fun to watch.

Are You Ready for Some Football? I know I am. Preseason starts for the Patriots this Friday night, and I'm juiced for it. I really like Vrabel. He's not Belichick, but no one is, and Bill was going to move on at some point regardless of the Foxboro dynamics. Change is inevitable, it's right up there with death and taxes on the "things you can't avoid" list. Promoting Mayo was a mistake; he just wasn't ready, and that's on Kraft. Dumping him and hiring Vrabel was a pretty good course correction, but it never should have come to that. Vrabel brings a nice mix of discipline and knowledge, and the players seem to respect him. Jumping into the fray at the joint practice with the Commanders the other day and coming up bloodied, that will go down as locker room legend. These guys will listen to him and play for him. That's a lock. Did they get enough weapons in the off season to help him turn the tide and stop the bleeding? We'll see soon enough. I think they have a good foundation, and if I were a betting man, I'd put my money on them having a 10-win season this year, and I'd be very happy with that. The team had hit rock bottom, so there's nowhere to go but up. I hope...

Ok, this is getting a little long winded, told you I had a lot on my mind. One more thing though before I let you off the hook:

A Note to our Mobile Readers: If you view this blog on a mobile device, you're not seeing the blog's sidebar, and consequently you're missing out on some good stuff. There's links to schedules and broadcast info for all things Boston sports. There's also tech, sports and music news feeds, plus links to Boston media sources. It's one stop shopping for the discerning New Englander, or anyone with a love of the area and its teams, all served up hot and fresh.

It bums me out that all of that content gets left out of the mobile view, it feels like the site just isn't complete without it. I've tried turning off "responsive view", that's the setting that lets blogger decide what you see based on your device, but the web view page just shows up too small to read on a phone, so I switched it back. I've also tried changing the blog's theme and layout, all to no avail. I guess responsive view just hates sidebars lol. Seriously, I see why they do this; you want your posts to pop, and nothing pops when it's all too small to read. So, until I figure something out, you have 2 options to see the sidebar and all that good info:

The first option is to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the mobile page view and select "Website View". The page view will change and show you the whole blog, sidebar and all, but as I said, it's small, so you'll need to expand the view to read it. Not perfect, but it's a work around.

The other option is to visit the site on a PC or tablet, then it will display as originally intended.

Of course, there's a third option as well, there's always a third option. You can just carry on and not see the sidebar, it might not interest you in the least. I just thought it was worth mentioning. That is all.

NOAA Weather Radios and Why You Need Them

 

It sure seems like Mother Nature has lost her mind of late, or maybe she's found it, and She's trying her hardest to give us all the boot before we finish her off, like shaking off aggravating fleas, so to speak. Either way, it's a good time to remind everyone that they should have at least two good NOAA weather radios on hand, a tabletop and a portable model, both with battery backup and both with SAME technology.

A Weather Radio may seem like a low-tech and superfluous solution, but it's not. I can hear you saying to yourself as you read this; "No thanks, I watch the Weather Channel, plus I've got my phone for alerts, and that works just fine for me." Problem is that may not always be the case. Sometimes you're in an area with poor cell coverage, or even worse, none at all. Cell towers can be down in an emergency as they often involve extended power outages and destructive forces, and sometimes emergencies happen in the dead of night, when you're dead asleep. That's where these devices really shine, and why you need them. They’re loud, automatic, and work everywhere. Ours is so loud it scares the crap out of us even in a deep sleep, and that's what you want in an emergency. Plus, the broadcast is free, once you buy the radio, you're protected, no subscription necessary, unlike your phone.

So, now that I've proven to you that they're a necessity (I hope), here's what you need:

You should have a tabletop model for your home that plugs in to AC power and has battery backup, because you want it on all the time. You also want SAME technology, which allows you to tailor the reporting areas and categories, so the alarm/siren isn't going off for stuff that's either too far out of your area, or your area of interest. The Midland WR120B NOAA Weather and Emergency Alert Radio is a very good choice for this one. It's affordable, easy to set up and gives you very clear and readable information, both alerts and up to the minute weather reports for your area. It also has simple color-coded warning lights. There are no AM or FM bands on this one, but I'm good with that. If that's a deal breaker for you, the next model up, the Midland WR400, does have both AM and FM, plus a few other tricks up its sleeve. It's a little more expensive, and a tiny bit harder to set up and read, but it's a very good option as well.

For a portable, you want something like the Givoust 8000mah NOAA radio. This one makes the top of every camping and emergency preparedness list out there. It has excellent reception and battery life, plus the batteries are rechargeable via USB, solar and crank power. It also has SAME technology. and it has an "Alerts Only" setting, so you can keep it on without running down the power. It also has AM and FM bands, a couple of lights, and multiple charging ports for your phones. It's perfect for both travel and to have on hand at home for those really long power outages.

NOAA weather radios not only broadcast the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast but also the Emergency Alert System (EAS), so these radios will alert you to a myriad of things besides just severe weather: Natural disasters, AMBER alerts, terrorist attacks, chemical releases and spills, nuclear power plant emergencies, the list goes on and on, and that SAME technology I mentioned earlier allows you to custom tailor which ones trigger the siren feature, e.g. I don't want to be woken up for a Required Monthly Test, no thanks, lemme sleep, but a nuclear meltdown? Yes please, shake me and wake me. I'm not gonna lie, self-preservation and sleep are my things, and always in that exact order. Note: most of the emergency events are on by default and can't be disabled, but that's a good thing, as my friend Martha always says. The tailoring you do will be mostly area related. Here's a link to the list of EAS Alerts received by these radios, you can see it's pretty comprehensive and there are very few types you'd want to mess with: EAS Selectable Alerts

So, a tabletop and a portable Weather Radio will run you less than a Hundo combined, and I'd say that's a pretty cheap price for both safety and peace of mind. Order them now, don't delay, it's not nice to fool with Mother Nature, she always comes out on top.

That is all.

Protecting Your Digital Photos and Documents

 We all have a ton of data on our devices; important documents, photos of friends and family, stuff you just don't want to lose. Anything can happen though, disaster is always lurking right around the corner. Spill your coffee on your laptop, drop your phone into the pool, your devices can even just up and stop working, and poof, everything is gone in a flash. That's why you need to back up those important files, and you need to do it now. Do not wait until it's too late.

There's lots of ways you can do it, and they're all relatively easy. You can back your files up to the cloud, you can use a backup program that will copy your files to an external hard drive and then do incremental updates to the saved data every time you make a change on your device, or you can just copy and paste the files you want to protect to an external drive. You have lots of options, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. Let's review a few.

Cloud backups can be seamless and easy, but the cloud can get hacked, so I'm not a big fan. I don't want any more of my data floating around in the ether for some bad guy to poach and resell on the dark web, there's enough of it out there already. I'm always getting a notice from some institution or other saying, "We regret to inform you that all of your personal information has been compromised. Not to worry though, we've signed you up for 3 free months of Experian Credit Monitoring Services and DeathGrip ID Theft Protection coverage. Enjoy it on us! (special terms and conditions apply)."

No thanks, I'm good. The best and most reliable way to safeguard your data is to back it up to an external hard drive. I don't like to use automatic backup software to do it though. It's always running in the background, and it slows the crap out of your devices. Plus, it backs up stuff that you really don't need to back up. The file structure it creates on your external drive isn't very intuitive, either. I 'm going to show you a relatively easy way to back up your files, and I guarantee it will take a little bit of the worry out of your life.

My preferred back up method is to copy and paste my primary file folders over to an external drive and then update it on a regular basis. It's quick, easy and painless, and the file structure is simple, it's just a straight up copy of your hard drive. The folders you want to back up (or copy) on a PC are shown below. Note: If you save a lot of stuff to your desktop, you should copy that folder over as well. 

These 5 (or 6) folders hold all of your personal data, and that's all you want to be backing up and storing, cuz that's what's really important here, protecting your stuff, not Microsoft's.

For a reliable external drive, I like to use a simple USB plug and play drive like the Seagate 2TB Backup Plus Slim Hard Drive. It's small in size but big on storage, and there's no power cords to fuss with. It works off of a built in USB 3.0 cable, drawing its power from whatever device its plugged into. It comes with preloaded backup software, but I don't use it. As I mentioned earlier, backup programs always seem to be running when you don't want them to, dragging your device down. I just plug in the USB drive to my device, open it up, ignore the preloaded software and create a couple of folders.

In this example, I've created a desktop backup folder and a laptop backup folder. Inside of each of those folders I create dated sub folders, e.g. "Laptop Backup 07 01 2025". There's plenty of room on these drives to do multiple backups of each device, and you should. Next, I copy and paste my main folders from the device's hard drive to the external drive's new dated folders. Simple as that. You can copy and paste one folder at a time, or do them all at once, your choice.

Once the external hard drive starts to get full, I delete the oldest dated subfolder before I create another one, this way I always have multiple copies of all my files on the external device, and I never run out of disk space on it.

But what about the pics on my phone, you say? The best option is to sync your phone, tablets and any thumb drives or SD cards you have with your PC or Mac on a regular basis. Then when you back up your PC to your external drive you catch everything in one neat package. It's the same principle as above, you don't need any fancy software or devices, just plug your mobile device into your PC or Mac with a USB cable and copy and paste (or drag and drop) the pictures and files over to the computer. Easy peasy. Synching your mobile devices also allows you to safely remove pics and free up storage space on them, something we all need to do.

Bonus Tip: For added peace of mind, I store my external hard drives in our little grab and go SentrySafe burn box. If disaster strikes, all of our docs and pics go with us, even if our devices don't make the cut.

Bottom line, you don't have to do it my way, but you do have to do it. Choose whatever method you're most comfortable with and do it without delay. Do not be that person that calls me on a Monday night in a panic and says "Help, that new upgrade just bricked my device and now I've lost all of my family pictures." All I'm going to do is give you the number for the Geek Squad, and wish you Godspeed and good luck, because you're gonna need it, all of it. 

iOS 26 and the Disappearing Icons

 

Apple confirmed the shift in their Operating System's nomenclature at WWDC25 last week, all of their product's OS's will jump to 26, which while confusing, is understandable. It's good to have a standard that has a built-in benchmark, e.g. "Oh yeah, that change happened in 2026". It's strange that it took them 18 revisions to figure it out, but it will probably be a good thing. That may be the only good thing about iOS 26 though. Their new "Liquid Glass" design with its translucent icons and notifications is weird at best, and impossible to use at worst.

I'm not gonna lie, from what I've seen of it so far, my eyesight is definitely not up to the task. Care will need to be taken when selecting wallpaper as well, so's not to make them even harder to read. Plus, they've revamped the look of some of the app icons, which will be a learning curve unto itself.

Who thought this was a good idea? I know weed is legal now, but maybe the Apple product designers should cut back on their consumption just a little bit. I mean, have fun and all, but come up for air from time to time, it will help you stay in touch with reality. Not sure what I was expecting with iOS26, but this is not it. No sir, this is not it at all.

Hopefully we'll be able to toggle the translucent effect off. I'm also hoping that they work overtime to refine this version before releasing it. That, and that they smoke less weed. That last one is super important.

In the meantime, I'm going to make sure that automatic updates are turned off, and I'm going to keep on checking the setting, cuz those rascals are always turning things on behind my back. Cheeky monkeys.

God Only Knows - BBC Music - RIP Brian Wilson

Quick, What Comes After 18?

If you said 19, you'd be mostly right. Unless, of course, you were referring to Apple iOS, then all bets are off. Rumors abound on the interwebs that Apple is going with a new naming convention for all of their OS's, Mac, iPad, iPhone, literally everything. The scuttlebutt is that they'll all be making the leap to 26, as in 2026. Seems like they've decided to bring all of their various Operating Systems in line with a single naming convention based on the coming year.

Here's a link to a great synopsis from Macworld: Apple Is Reportedly Skipping iOS 19, they explain it much better than I can. I mean, what about the new iPhone, will that jump from 16 to 26 as well? I'm so confused. 

Anyways, we won't have long to wait, Apple's WWDC25 event is happening tomorrow at 10am PT, that's actually 1pm ET for all of us right coasters, and I'm sure they'll put all rumors to rest. Mostly.

If you're like me and you like to torture yourself by seeing brandy new shiny things that you probably can't afford, you can tune in here on their website: Apple WWDC25, or you can catch it on the Apple TV app. What other surprises will they have in store for us? Lord knows, but it should be interesting, and expensive.

 

Repurposing Old Tablets and Smart Devices

While I'm on the subject of iPods, I thought I'd share a few tips on repurposing old smart tech. I have a ton of older devices; tablets, e-readers, mobile devices, you name it, I have it, and I find they can come in handy around the house. You can trade them in when you're upgrading, but you're usually lucky to get 20 bucks for them, and if they're in reasonable shape, that's a bad deal.

 You're much better served repurposing them to play a role in your IoT (Internet of Things), or "smart house". Old iPads and tablets are a great addition to your kitchen or family room and can serve as calendars, notepads, cookbooks, security camera monitors, music players, or all of the above. My old iPad Air is still in great condition and is an invaluable addition to our kitchen counter. Look up a recipe, quickly respond to a text, check your calendar while you're on the phone and add or update an appointment, you can even see who's creepin' 'round your back door. So many uses. You can mount them on a wall, or just use them in a free-standing cradle, there are a plethora of tablet mounts and cradles on the market, something for every situation.

Same with old mobile phones or iPod Touch devices, they make fantastic smart remotes for your TV's and entertainment centers. My iPod Touch is the primary controller for my Man Town A/V setup. It has my provider's app on it which has a Cable TV remote function, interactive program guide and access to my DVR library. It also has an Apple TV remote app, my iTunes library, and it connects to my A/V receiver via Bluetooth, so my complete music library is always available through my big boy stereo. Plus, it's got a keypad and Siri, which makes searching the guide grids a piece of cake. It also has internet access via Wi-Fi so I can keep track of news and scores. Forget those pricey universal remotes, this puppy does it all. Pro tip: you can also use old mobile phones for the same purpose as long as they have Wi-Fi. Just cuz they no longer have dial tone does not make them useless; they'll still upgrade and be capable of downloading apps via Wi-Fi.

Old iPods or MP3 players can be useful as well, paired with non-smart music systems. I have a Sony HD table radio and a Bose Wave that are both still excellent sounding devices, but both lack any smart features. Rather than upgrade them and trash a perfectly good music system, I use my old 3rd gen nano with them. From an aesthetic and haptic point of view, the 3rd gen Nano, or iPod fatty, as I call it, is my favorite iPod; what it lacks in functionality it more than makes up for in rizz. It's got that old school click wheel and iconic early iPod chrome backplate, it's a sexy little beast. Unfortunately, it no longer holds a charge for sh!t, but it works just fine nestled in a 30-pin dock, which both radios have. It expands the radios functionality, and it's a design statement; it says, "Music lives here". It also says, "We're old", but meh, I could care less. I wear that like a badge of honor.

Anyways, the possibilities are endless, you're limited only by your imagination. Plus, you're keeping it green by keeping things out of our ever-growing electronic waste piles, or the land fill. Double bonus.

So, repurpose those old devices when you can, old tech needs love too.

Apple Needs To Bring Back the iPod

I jumped on the iPod bandwagon early and rode that baby all the way to the end of the line, and it was a sweet ride. The iPod revolutionized the personal music player market. No more big devices to carry around, and more importantly, your portable music library was no longer limited to the number of cassettes or CD's you could lug around with you. Your whole music library, available all the time, right in the palm of your hand. Heady stuff, Jetson-esque stuff, and it still is. Digital data opened up a whole new world for us. Then the iPhone came along, a natural progression, and eventually phased out the iPod completely.

There's still a need for them, though. I love my iPhone, but it's not the right tool for every situation. If I'm going to be anywhere near whirling blades or water hazards, I don't want my iPhone in the vicinity. I also don't want to be constantly draining its battery; I want it charged and ready for when I need it. My iPod Nano is my go-to device for things like yard work, or long walks off a short pier. It's small, sleek, and functional. No dial tone, no annoying spam, no data stealing apps, just a good standalone music player, cuz sometimes that's all you need.

Apple had really hit the sweet spot with the Nano, and the 7th gen was their best device in my opinion, from both a size and functionality standpoint. It has Bluetooth, an FM tuner, a moderate amount of storage, and relatively little else, but it does the trick. If Apple built a new model based off of the 7th gen design with a beefed-up storage capacity, say 64 or 128GB, I'd be first in line to buy one. I'd even grudgingly accept Wi-Fi for ease of syncing, just as long as it didn't increase the size and battery drain by too much and they limit the apps that run on it. No mail, no texts, I want none of it. I'm sure they'd wedge their Apple Music streaming app on there, it's not something I need or want, but I could live with it as well.

I know there are other DAP's (Digital Audio Players) out there on the market, some with incredible specs like the high end A&K's and the Sony's, but they're all very pricey and Android based, and would entail duplicating my iTunes library or just outright converting my iTunes library into an app that works for both Apple and Android devices, but that's a hassle and entails subscription costs. My library is huge at this point with extensive playlists, so that ship has sailed for me. I'm pretty much locked into the iTunes world, warts and all, but I'm okay with that; it's free, familiar and relatively uncomplicated.

Uncomplicated, that pretty much sums up this whole argument. These days people are craving a "do not disturb" kind of device, it's not just nostalgia. There's most definitely a large market for it, and a new iPod is just the ticket. So, give us a new iPod, Apple, I'm begging you. My batteries are slowly giving up the ghost, its time, so let's get cracking.

Email Client Not Downloading Messages

 

Like many of you, I have multiple devices and multiple email accounts, so I use email clients to keep everything organized and available locally. I use Outlook 2013 on my Windows devices, and the standard iOS mail app on my Apple devices. All clients are configured the same to access my providers POP3 and SMTP servers, and all was working well, except on one platform, my Windows desktop. Messages were sending, but Outlook was hanging up when downloading new messages. It would sit and spin on "downloading" for hours, if I let it. Every so often a few emails would download, but it was a painful and incomplete process.

This was a vexing problem because mail was sending on the device, and occasionally, messages were downloading, so everything appeared to be set up correctly, plus the problem was limited to this single device. Hmmm. 

First thing I did was verify a good network connection for the desktop, which was easy for this device, it's plugged directly into a Gig port on my router and upload and download speeds were optimal.

A comparison of email account settings across devices was next, to see if I could find any differences, and I did.

When I first set up my email clients, I used all of the same settings, except on the desktop. The difference was that I had the Outlook 2013 client on my desktop set to "Leave a copy of messages on the server" and I had also checked "delete messages from server after 14 days", a subcategory, as well. On all of the other devices I had only checked "Leave a copy of messages on the server" and hadn't checked any of the deletion options. I had done this so that I could keep my mail server account effortlessly clean, while not missing any messages on any of my devices. My thought, a valid one, was that 14 days before deletion would give me enough time to be sure that I had received all of my emails on all of my devices before they were deleted from the server, and it worked, for a while...

When I unchecked "delete messages after 14 days", my new emails started flowing fast and furious on the desktop, just like on all of my other devices. Nice, like poop through a goose, as they say. Problem solved.

But why was this setting causing me problems? After all, it's something email clients are designed to do. Well, I did a little research and here are the major reasons "Deleting messages from the server" will fail:

A large volume of emails on the mail server can strain both the server and your device, causing freeze ups. Yep, that's me.

Server Issues. This is probably part of the problem as well. My original provider sold my email domain and address to another provider, and that new provider would most definitely not be my email provider of choice, if I had a choice, but I don't. I want to keep my current domain, that email address is ingrained into everything in my life, and I'm not ready to rip it out by the roots and throw my life into turmoil at the moment. Hint: my "new" provider is famous for the phrase "You've got mail". Nuff said?

Outdated or buggy email apps. It's probably time for me to upgrade Outlook 2013 to Outlook 2024, but I'm also in need of upgrading my PC's so that they can run Windows 11, so... I'll wait and do it all at once. *sigh*

Incorrect server settings. They were correct across devices and should have worked. Harumph. 

Slow or poor internet connection. Not my problem, man.

So, "Deleting messages from the server" was the issue that was hosing up my desktop, for a number of reasons, all stated above. To fix this in Outlook, go to "Email Account Settings", highlight the account you want to change, then click on "Change", "More Settings" and "Advanced". At the bottom of the advanced box, make sure that "Leave a copy of messages on the server" is checked, and that all of the subcategories that delete files from the server remain unchecked. It should look like this when you're done:

For now, I'm managing deletions on my mail server using the webmail interface from my provider. It's kind of painful; I'd prefer that it happened automagically, but it's a work around until I can clean up my mail server, and upgrade Outlook. There is another benefit to using Webmail occasionally btw, managing your spam filters at your mail server instead of on your individual devices is a much better solution in that constant battle with spam. Win, win.

One last thing, a friend was having the same issue with their Apple email client on their iPhone, messages either not downloading, or taking forever and then downloading in fits and starts. This same fix worked for them, so this problem is not unique to Outlook.

I think we all need to clean up our inboxes a little... 

That is all. 

Apple iOS/iPadOS 18.3 update - Security, Performance and Email Issues

 The iOS 18.3 update was chock full of surprises, not all good, and from the chatter I'm seeing online, I'm not alone in that opinion. It was a frustrating experience to say the least. Most notably for many, the mail changes were the worst part of it. Mail in iOS 18.3 now automatically categorizes your inbox for you and only shows you what Apple has deemed important in your inbox by default. You can change it back, kinda sorta, but life is hard enough without Apple making half of your inbox appear to disappear overnight. A change like this needs to be optional, not automatic, but it wasn't, so here's a brief summation of the changes you'll see, and some suggestions to regain order.

First things first though, a new update for iOS and iPadOS, 18.3.1, is already out, and you should install it immediately. It addresses both performance and security issues introduced by 18.3. According to Forbes, it's an emergency patch that fixes a security issue that’s already being exploited, and “an Apple Intelligence bug that may have been introduced.” the iOS 18.3.1 update fixes a flaw in Accessibility where a physical attack can disable USB Restricted Mode on a locked device. “Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals.” What this means in a nutshell from a security standpoint is that anyone could plug a device or cable into your USB or Lightning port and copy your data, even if your iPhone or iPad is locked. Yikes, this needs to be addressed as quickly as possible.

The 18.3.1 update also fixes recent performance issues introduced with 18.3. So far it seems quick and stable, but the jury's still out. Fingers crossed.

Okay, now let's get to the email "enhancements" that they've introduced. It reminds me of their threads change, Apple seems bound and determined to reimagine email, not sure why, but they are. I’m a straight up chronological inbox guy, anything else tips over my brain. If you're the same, here's what to do.

In the top right corner of your inbox(es), you should see an ellipsis (...), tap on that and change the setting to List View from Category View. This will repopulate your inbox(es) with all of your email messages. If you have more than one email account, you'll need to do this for all of your inboxes.

You can also get rid of those inbox category icons as well by turning off contact photos in Settings/Apps/Mail. They still show up in the emails themselves, but this gets rid of them in the list view. I don't need or want to see stars, moons and clovers anywhere other than in my bowl of Lucky Charms. Note, actual contact photos will still show up in your emails, as do their little category icons, this fix just removes them from your inbox for a cleaner view.

Next, emails that Apple deems "needs responding too" appear at the top of your inbox now. This is a similar fix to getting rid of the contact icons, go to Settings/Apps/Mail, then turn off “follow up suggestions” and they'll go away. Basically, turn everything on that page off except "notify before delete", unless you like living dangerously lol.

There's also a new feature, or bug, in Calendar. After entering a new event, Apple Intelligence picks up on any text messaging or email regarding the event and prompts you with calendar inbox messages. Ideally this is a good thing, but when I enter an event like "Lunch at 12:30 with John Doe", I don't need a message that says "Text from John Doe says lunch at 12:30" in my calendar inbox after I've created the event. It used to prompt me with the text details while I was creating the event, telling me after the fact is just superfluous and annoying. Perhaps the next update will return this feature's usefulness, we'll see.

Lastly, these updates will toggle on Apple Intelligence by default, even if you previously had it switched off. If you'd like to keep it off, go to Settings/Apple Intelligence and Siri, and toggle it off. It's still in beta, so I keep it off. I did turn it on briefly when I test drove one of the new intelligent features, Image Playground. Kinda cool, it generated a pretty funny profile sketch for me that's mostly right. Mostly. Lord knows how intelligent it actually is, and what info it reports out (see bug notice above), so I turned it back off. I'll be sticking with my own lack of intelligence for now.

It shouldn't be this hard, Apple. Offer me things, don't force me to recover from them.

That is all.

Change Is Upon Us Once Again

Certain happenings usher in change. After the horrible events of 9/11 we were rolling out TVs everywhere people gather; work, stores, schools, every public space suddenly had a TV, or 20. No one wanted to be uninformed, and businesses didn't want their workers, or shoppers, leaving to find out what was up. I still remember that first mad scramble, rolling out AV carts previously used for video training and fitting them up with antennae and cable feeds. Constant video bombardment was on the rise, and was here to stay.

The Covid-19 crisis will change things in the same fashion. It's already started, telecommuting and video conferencing is the top priority in every business in the world right now, everyone is busy beefing up networks and infrastructure, no small task, as virtual meetings and working from home become the norm. There will also be an increase in HIPPA compliant Telemedicine, and Telehealth in general, as our medical professionals grapple with the task of treating the sick without endangering other patients or themselves.

We’ll see a shift in our interpersonal relationships as well, FaceTiming and Skyping with friends and family will become much more mainstream. Downloads of the Zoom Video App increased 90% since the start of the pandemic as people struggle to stay in contact while staying safe. Social platforms will need to integrate more video chat capabilities as well, or be left behind.

Jobs will be created to meet the new demands; cell carriers and internet providers will need to retool their infrastructure, something that’s been sorely needed for a long time now, and App development will be on the rise as well. A brave new world awaits, we just have to hang in there, have faith, and roll with the changes. And boy will there be changes.

For now, stay safe, hug the ones you love a little tighter if you can, Facetime the ones you can’t and tell them how you feel. We’ll get through this together, even though we’re apart.

Election 2016 Aftermath

I see people posting to social media and hear them talking about how the protests we are seeing in this election's aftermath are happening because butt hurt sore losers can't deal with reality, and I disagree with that line of reasoning. It's not about accepting the results of the election, it's about sending a message to those in power;

Regardless of who won the election, human rights matter above all else.

A popular refrain is that these are the "everyone gets a trophy people" that are complaining, and it is not. It's the people that have to constantly deal with fear, with people that crap all over them and their lives. We've elected a VP who has espoused that you can "reprogram" people who aren't heterosexual, and a president who feels that he can trash people who don't meet his standard of "attractiveness", among other things, without consequence. They don't worry me as much as the people they have emboldened, though.

Amongst my own friends I still see people posting that our current president needs to go back to Africa, and that everyone that doesn't accept both Trump and God needs to leave THEIR country. Facebook posts pale in comparison to things we're seeing in the news, but they are a good indicator that the problem is deeply ingrained, even amongst the people we know and love.

Please don’t misunderstand me, I think we can move forward with this administration. Trump, after all is said and done, is a lifelong liberal elite Democrat. He saw a path to the nation’s highest office, and used his salesman’s gift to make it a reality. He only gives lip service to conservative ideals, and I think that the hue and outcry we’re hearing now from the anti-Trump voters will be nothing compared to the outcry we will hear when his backers wake up from their angry fever dream to realize it.

After less than a week of touring behind the scenes at his new gig, we’re already seeing him walk back all of the major campaign promises that got him where he is. Why is that? Because it doesn’t take very long to realize that the job of the presidency is unimaginable to anyone who hasn’t been POTUS. You just need to dip your toe in the water to know that the water is deeper and the current is stronger than anything you could have ever imagined. Trump will roll with it, he has the ability, he has the smarts. He will need to narrow his focus and concentrate on what is really important, and he will have very little time or energy to "mean tweet" going forward. But stopping the "mean tweets" isn't all that needs to happen.

What has to happen for this country to move forward is that our new President, along with all those gators in the Washington swamp, on BOTH sides, have to make it clear that they support everyone in this great country, no matter who they worship, or kiss, or vote for. And that intolerance has to end.

Both parties, from the top all the way down to the voters, have to understand that we all need to compromise to get along.

That’s the big change in our country, the big difference that has created this mess we’re in; both sides have become intolerant of the other, and they emphasize that point by voting out any politician who compromises with people they disagree with. This is what creates the gridlock and the problems, and stops our country from moving forward. We have met the enemy, and it is us.

Without compromise there can be no change. We are never guaranteed that we will have candidates for any office that we agree with, never, but things need to move forward none the less, and for that to happen, people need to vote, compromise needs to happen, and tolerance needs to rule the day.

I leave you with two of my favorite closing expressions, both are constants from friends that I value, 2 dyed in the wool New England locals who never fail to make my day, and I think they sum things up pretty well;

"Thanks for listening" and "Go easy"

  

Trump Declares Hummus Un-American

On the stump today in Sioux City, Iowa, Donald Trump declared that Hummus was un-American and urged his supporters to immediately boycott the product.

"I have it on good authority that this is a very popular food in most parts of the Middle East, very very popular, and many people have told me, so many people, that hummus is primarily what is eaten by Islamic terrorists. It's huge"

He went on to say that carpet bombing the vast hummus fields in the deserts of Iraq and Iran would be a death blow to Isis.

"We can only make America great again when we've eliminated hummus completely."

Local Iowa supermarkets were immediately overrun by Trump supporters, who gathered up all the hummus they could carry. Large piles of hummus containers were stacked up in parking lots, doused with gasoline, and lit on fire.

We interviewed one supporter who said; "We need to do whatever The Donald says, cuz he's our only hope to make America white... I mean great... again. Smell that smoke? It smells like victory!"

To this reporter it just smelled like burnt garlic with a hint of lemon.

Contemplating the Duck

When my stress level hits Defcon 1 and I think I'm going to pop a blood vessel, nothing mellows me out like contemplating the duck.

I sit and watch his random journey around the pool; sometimes he zooms along, propelled by the filter jets, and other times he moves at a more leisurely pace, slowly spinning and rocking as he reaches the outer limits of the current, only to be scooped up by the next jet and sent rocketing away again.

Will he spin left or right when he gets caught in the next eddy?

Will the siren song of the skimmer call him to its bosom, or will he zoom past on another lap?

It’s all so arbitrary, and yet so familiar and calming.

The smell of the yard and gardens mingling with the faint odor of chlorine, the trees rustling on a gentle breeze, the duck spinning and drifting. Is that the cardinals I hear?

My mind spins and drifts with the duck, and the stress of the day drops from my shoulders with each passing moment.

Spinning

Drifting

Decompressing

The Road to Super Bowl XLVIII

We just saw an amazing weekend of football, and the Conference Championships coming up this weekend promise to be even better. Two old school elite quarterbacks squaring off in the AFC, and two young up and comers squaring off in the NFC. No matter which teams come out on top this week, we’re guaranteed to see a matchup of the old and new guard at the Meadowlands on Super Bowl Sunday.

This will also be the first Super Bowl to be played outdoors in cold weather, the first played outdoors on artificial turf since Super Bowl X, and the first hosted by two states (New York and New Jersey). Pretty cool. I’m hoping the Patriots win this weekend and are able to be a part of this historic Super Bowl, and I think they stand a pretty good chance.

Of course, the game can go either way; both QB's are amazing, both teams are hot and playing hard, but that being said, I believe the Pats will edge out the Broncos and continue their march to the Meadowlands. After many false starts and personnel changes, this team has finally found its identity as a hardnosed, hard running, power football team with an elite quarterback and coach. If the Pats can get the running game going it will open up the play action, and it will keep Peyton off the field. A healthy dose of Blount Force Trauma, passing with surgical precision off the play action, and some really smart defense are the keys to their success.

You also have to take into account the intangibles. Brady is money in the big game, Belichick is a chess master who can neutralize the opponent’s key players and make adjustments on the fly, and the Pats are an inspired team on quite a few levels.

You have the whole "next man up" attitude that Bill has fostered throughout the season; no matter who goes down, the next man up fills the role and shines, and the team takes great pride in this.

The team also draws inspiration from the fan base. The organization is always bringing in local heroes to talk to the team. Great examples from this season are the Marathon victims and Sam Berns, who passed last Friday. There’s no greater motivator then every day heroes, and it seems to be having a pretty big influence on this team. You have to admire the whole Patriots organization, not just for the amazing turnaround, but also for how they give back to the community.

Lastly, there’s a whole lot of pressure on Peyton this week; he’s been known for giving it up in the big game, and there’s no other coach and QB tandem that have vexed him more throughout his career. Some would say his legacy hangs on this performance, and that’s a whole lot of weight to carry.

This will be a fantastic game. Peyton and the Broncos are formidable foes, and as I said before, it can go either way, but the Pats winning it all wouldn't surprise me in the least, and taking them for granted in this game would be a big mistake. There's a real parallel between the Pats season and the Red Sox season, and we all know how that turned out; last place team of cast offs, who against all odds turned the league upside down and became world champs. Oh yeah, that was sweet.

So, my prediction for this Sunday is Pats over Broncos in a close and hard fought game, somewhere in the neighborhood of 31 to 28, Pats. I’m also picking San Fran over the Seahawks in an equally close game. Both NFC teams are good, but I just don’t think that Pete Carroll has what it takes to close the deal and win the big one.

Pats vs. Niners at the Meadowlands, count on it.

#winitforsam #bostonstrong #gopats

That is all.

Common Problems with Networked Multifunction Printers

Before I upgraded to a network printer, I used to use a manual USB switch to flip my old printer back and forth between devices. With the fixed location desktops it wasn’t such a big deal, but when it came to our laptops, it was a real pain; you had to be physically next to the printer to plug into one of the USB ports, and that kinda took all the fun and portability out of the laptop.

With networked printers you can print from anywhere. Using the laptop in another room? No problem, just connect to the Wi-Fi and bam, your printer is mounted on your device. You can even print from other networked devices like smartphones and tablets the same way, something that wasn’t possible in the old USB printer days. Wicked awesome.

So, what’s the down side, you ask? Well, I’ve found a couple of problems that you probably won’t find listed in the installation manual.

The first and most common problem is the “disappearing printer”. This is usually caused by the printer’s IP address changing. If you set the printer up using the DHCP network option, it will pull a random IP address from your router. Most routers will save an IP for use by a device for a short period of time, but if you were to leave the printer off for a few days, this temporary lease expires. Meanwhile, if you have lots of networked devices in your house like we do, i.e. smartphones, tablets, smart TV’s, iPods, something else is liable to grab the IP that the printer had used during setup. Next time you turn on the printer, it grabs a different address, and your devices can’t find it. This can also happen if you swap out your router or switch due to malfunction or ISP change.

There are a few fixes for this one. You can uninstall the printer on your device and then reinstall it, Windows will find it and make note of the new IP. The problem with this fix is that the printer is liable to “disappear” again the next time you leave it off for a while.

The best solution is to either assign the printer a Static (permanent) IP address, or leave it in DHCP mode and create an IP lease or reservation on your router port. If you decide to use a Static address, you need to use an address from the top of your router’s IP address range, a number that your router would never reach when it’s handing them out.

The next problem is with scanning and it’s a problem that’s unique to PC’s with multiple accounts. When you install a device on a Windows 8 PC you need to either be logged in as the administrator, or if you’re using a user or guest account, you need to enter administrator credentials. Once it’s installed, all accounts are able to print with no problem, but scanning is a different story. If you’re not using an account with administrator privileges and you try to use the scanning function, you’ll get a communications error like this:

Don’t panic, the fix for this one is simple. Instead of double clicking on the scanner icon, right click on it and select “Run as administrator” from the drop down. The system will prompt you to enter your admin credentials, and then you’re off and scanning.

Ok, last problem, this one is with faxing. Faxing is old school, I know, but sometimes you just gotta do it. A lot of banks and state and federal agencies insist that you fax documents to them, it’s got to do with them not recognizing the validity of digital signatures. I’ve faxed successfully numerous times, so I know the function works, but recently I needed to fax some documents and I wasn’t having any luck. I’d hear the other end pick up and start its crazy screeching, but after a minute or so my printer would hang up the line and show a “could not connect” message on the little LCD screen. Frustrating.

The most common problems with faxing are a either a staticky line, or a fax machine mismatch. The fix for a staticky line is to turn ECM (error correction mode) on if it’s not already enabled.

The fax machine mismatch problem is remedied by turning off the V.34 option in the fax setup. This setting has to do with the line modulation technique that the machines use during the fax modem handshake, or screech. When they’re wailing their love cries at each other, they’re really negotiating a connection speed. V.34 allows for a transmission rate of up to 28,800 bit/s, heady stuff in the fax world, and if the fax machine on the other end is an old standalone fax and not a new multifunction device, it’s just gonna say “huh?”, and drop you like a hot potato. Don’t forget to turn it back on when you’re done, though. Although 28,800 bit/s doesn’t seem very fast in these days of Gigabit Ethernet, it’s infinitely faster than the faxing alternatives, which can be as low as 2400 bit/s, and that’s slower than a herd of turtles.

Ok, that’s it. I’ve skimmed through these fixes because the specifics depend on your brand of router and printer. If you need more detailed info you can go to the device’s website, but at least now you have a starting point. Happy printing!

That is all.

Not Such Deep Thoughts; Be Gone 2013!

It’s been a long strange year, and one that I’m very glad to see go.

Heading into 2013 I had some trepidations, not that I’m actually triskaidekaphobic, mind you, but that 13 stuck in my mind, and it made me feel a little uneasy.

Well, it turned out that my uneasy feeling was a bit of a premonition. I spent most of 2013 in and out of hospitals, and for a while there I was a little unsure if my life would ever return to normal. It did though, at least to some degree, and I learned a few very valuable lessons along the way.

First and foremost, I learned that whatever befalls us, it could be worse, and I learned this little lesson via a 2013 tragedy of horrific proportions. Funny how life works sometimes, the strange coincidences that happen.

I was in a local hospital, things were going from bad to worse, and the decision was made to move me to a large Boston hospital. It was a Sunday just before a holiday; Patriots Day, otherwise known as Marathon Monday, to be exact. Time spools out, as it always does in these situations, no room at the inn, etcetera, etcetera, you know the drill. Sunday becomes Monday, Monday drones on. My consolation is an 11am Red Sox game and my little magic plunger; relief is just a click, click, click away. About half way through the game word comes that my room is ready and an ambulance is on the way. As they unhook me and get me ready to go, I click off the TV so we can concentrate on what we’re being told, then my wife and I sit there in silence and wait.

When the paramedics arrive they come into the room very quickly and say something really weird; “Turn on the TV”. “Huh?” is all I can manage at first, but within a few moments I come to understand, as much as you can understand something so awful. The paramedics wanted to get right back into Boston so that they could help out, so they hustled us out and into the ambulance, and my wife and I got a ride we’ll never forget.

Things were crazy in the ensuing days, but the one good thing that came out of it all was that I knew that my situation paled in comparison to what others were experiencing, and it made it easy to keep positive and continue on. There’s always someone who has it tougher, always, and that very valuable lesson was seared into my mind.

The other things I learned were less jarring, but no less important.

When you’re not sure what the future holds for you, and you have lots of down time to think, you tend to focus on the things in your life that are the most important to you, the things you’d miss the most if you never got to do them again. You mentally reorder your life; family and friends become very important, work, not so much, and although it can be very hard for a crabby old man like me to remember, you never, ever want to end things on a bad note with someone you care about, or anyone for that matter, life is just too short.

I also learned that little mundane things can become huge life victories, and that’s really helped me to see things differently. I had a really great Christmas, awesome in fact, but the greatest gifts I received this December were not monetary; being able to take a shower without wearing a wet suit, and being able to roll over on my stomach in bed were nothing short of gifts from heaven. That last one was a great gift for my wife also, as I’m one hella-snorer when I sleep on my back. You’re welcome, babe.

Speaking of babes, and thank yous, I also learned how much my wife, family and friends care about me, especially my selfless wife, and there is no finer gift. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

2013 wasn’t all doom and gloom though. We did have that phenomenal run by the Red Sox, who if you ask me were inspired to overachieve by some of the same things that helped me to carry on, and I think our Patriots are borrowing a little of that magic also. No matter what happens or who they lose, the next man up outperforms the last, and they continue to win. There’s something pretty special about that.

I also made it a point to reconnect with as many people in my life as possible. I had plenty of spare time to fill, which made it pretty easy. That, and the fact that my 40th reunion was this year, and it happened to fall perfectly between a pair of surgeries. How lucky is that? It was good to see so many faces from my youth. I find that there’s an interesting side effect that comes from reconnecting with people who hold shared memories with me, regardless of how close you actually were; it reminds me of my family, and how things used to be in my youth, and it brings with it all sorts of bittersweet thoughts and memories. At one point in the weekend we boarded a school bus to take a tour of our home town, and it took all of about 10 minutes for us all to revert back to form, laughing and joking as we travelled back to another time. Amazing.

Anyways, on the whole I’m very happy to say goodbye to 2013, and I’m looking forward to a happy and productive 2014. Back to work, back to a normal life. You can’t imagine how much I’ve missed it.

Hopefully I won’t lose sight of my 2013 lessons learned as I march my way through the New Year. Normalcy tends to breed complacency, and I’ve come too far to revert to form. Life is way too short to be a self-involved wonk.

I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year. Try to take a moment to think about who and what is really important in your life, and what you can do to reorder things a bit, and to let those special people know how you feel. You’ll be glad you did.

That is all.