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28 Feb 2020 - Podcast #682 - (19:19)
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Anyone who’s been waiting for solid-state disk drives to become affordable has now waited long enough. Prices will doubtless continue to drop, but they're low enough now to be within range for even frugal shoppers.
The easiest way to make an older computer faster involves replacing a standard mechanical drive with a solid-state drive and that’s easier than ever now because of the prices.
Half-terabyte and one-terabyte drives are the most common sizes for notebook computers. Solid-state drives are manufactured in two primary form factors: One that exactly matches the 2.5-inch cases used for mechanical drives and a longer, thinner shape that’s used in some portable computers.
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The new shape, called M.2 Type 2280SS is 3.15 × 0.87 × 0.05 inches. This compares to the traditional 2.5-inch 7mm SATA cases that measure 4.06 × 2.76 × 0.28 inches. Prices are about the same regardless of form factor.
Crucial, SanDisk, and Western Digital all manufacture SSDs in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB sizes and at competitive prices. Expect to pay around $50 for a 250GB drive, $80 for a 500GB drive, and $110 for a 1TB drive. The larger 2TB drives are still a bit pricey in the $200-$250 range. Compared to dirt-cheap mechanical drives, SSDs still appear to be expensive. Western Digital offers a 5400 RPM 3.5-inch form factor 4GB drive for just $90 and even 6TB Toshiba 7200 RPM drives are selling for less than $200. High-RPM drives have faster data-transfer rates, but consume more power and run hotter. The 5400 RPM drives are common in notebook computers and 15,000 RPM drives can be found in locations where heat and noise are not a factor.
Just as mechanical drives are available in a variety performance ranges, so are solid-state drives. It’s safe to say that any solid-state drive from a well-regarded manufacturer will be a lot faster than any consumer-grade mechanical drive that’s in the computer.
Replacing a hard drive is a relatively easy do-it-yourself project for desktop computers and most notebook computers, but it’s a project to be avoided if the computer is a tablet or any device that has a case with no screws. These devices are held together with close-fitting parts and glue; they can be disassembled, but only by someone who has adequate training and specialized tools.
Desktop systems are easy. Comparatively speaking, there’s much more space inside and some late-model desktop systems require no tools to open the case. Notebook computers are more complicated, but many of them have an access plate that can be removed to reach the disk drive.
Disk drives bought direct from SanDisk and Crucial may include installation instructions and the manufacturer should have a downloadable manual that explains how to upgrade memory or disk components. If not, YouTube probably has a video that shows how to swap the disk drive in your computer.
Before replacing the drive, it’s essential to prepare the new drive. Free and commercial disk cloning applications can be downloaded. The free version of Paragon’s Hard Disk Manager is a good choice to clone the drive, but some disk manufacturers include cloning software or offer it as an add-on. You’ll also need a cable to connect the new drive to a USB port for the cloning operation.
Sometimes the best way to make a computer faster is to replace the computer. If you’re bothered by slow performance and the computer is more than five years old, replacing it is is a good choice. You’ll still need to move applications and data (and maybe the operating system) from the old computer to the new computer.
If that’s the case, PC Mover from LapLink provides everything needed — including a cable. LapLink has been in business for more than 35 years, so the company’s experience dates back to the days of DOS. Besides just moving the operating system, applications, and data, PC Mover can install any pending operating system updates and update applications that aren’t current.
Three years ago, my wife needed a new computer and I gave PC Mover a try. The application did exactly what it said it would do and nearly everything migrated perfectly. I did need to reinstall a photo application and tweak the application that backs up files from Phyllis’s computer to mine, but this was by far the fastest and easiest migration I had ever experienced.
PCMover can use your own wired or wireless network or a USB connection between the two computers, but the best option is a special network cable between the Ethernet ports on the two computers. Using the cable makes the transfers at the highest possible rate and doesn’t bog down your home network. Each screen also displays prominently a phone number for assistance. Given the complete and accurate instructions provided at every step, I wonder if anyone ever calls the help line.
I have heard that any time spent with a cat is never wasted. On the other hand, any time spent waiting for a computer is wasted.
Nikon introduced an updated version of its Coolpix 900 at the Consumer Electronics Show and the camera was an instant hit with attendees.
One reason: The camera comes with a zoom lens that's the equivalent of 24mm to 2000mm on a standard 35mm film camera. That's an 83-times zoom range and to put that in perspective, many point-and-shoot cameras have a 3-times zoom range and a few exceptional cameras have 10- or 20-times zoom ranges.
This is a point-and-shoot camera that sells for about $800. It weighs a little over 2 pounds, shoots both JPEG and raw formats, and offers a 1/4000th of a second maximum shutter speed. It can also create MPEG4 and H.264 videos.
At this point, you're probably saying WOW! As well you should. But there's something else you should know, and that's the sensor size. Any camera with such a huge zoom range will have a small sensor. That's a given.
The Coolpix P950 has a 1/2.3-inch sensor (6.17 x 4.55 mm), presumably from Sony. The sensor size is close to the sensors found in phones such as Google's Pixel 4 and Apple's Iphone 11. Although Canon still manufactures most of the sensors used in its cameras. Sony supplies sensors to just about every other camera manufacturer, and that includes Nikon.
The sensor size is important because it plays a large role in determining the quality of the images. Larger sensors produce better images, period. Or maybe question mark. The quality of images from smart phones is little short of phenomenal despite their tiny sensors. Larger sensors still produce better images, usually perform better in low light, have a greater dynamic range, and capture more information. But sometimes good enough is good enough and the advantages of a gigantic zoom range might well eliminate any concern about the sensor size.
The sensor is a new-style complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) device with backside illumination (BSI). A back-illuminated sensor allows more light to be collected at the pixel level. This improvement enhances low-light performance and reduces noise. That means today's BSI CMOS sensors are able to produce images that rival those of larger sensors from just a few years ago. Larger sensors are still better, but smaller sensors have been improved so much that, for consumer-grade cameras, it no longer matters.
Oh ... and if you have a few more bucks burring a hole in your pocket, there's the Coolpix P1000 (for $1000) that has a 125-times zoom range. That's the film camera equivalent of 24mm to 3000mm. The P1000 was introduced last year.
"Toilet paper for your PC" is the slogan used by PC Decrapifier. It's an application that claims to speed computers by removing non-essential applications. It seems safe enough because it won't remove an application unless the user tells it to. That assumes that the user will have enough information to make an intelligent decision, but such a user would probably use the Windows Apps and Features component to select and remove applications.
PC Decrapifier is free and doesn't need to be installed or uninstalled. Just run the file you can download from the developer's website.
The application takes several minutes to examine installed applications and then offers three panels suggesting applications (1) that many users remove, (2) that are "popular" targets for removal, and (3) everything else. My primary computer showed no applications in the first two categories, but a lot of applications in the third category.
Despite the warning at the top of the third panel, some users are likely to believe that applications shown here can be safely removed. The warning from PC Decrapifier is explicit: Careful! We may not have enough info and/or don't recommend removing these. Applications on that list include Adobe Creative Cloud applications, WordPerfect's Office Suite, Microsoft Office, and a lot of additional helper applications that even a knowledgeable user might not recognize. Removing some of the applications shown in this list would eliminate essential components of desired applications as well as applications that are important to the user.
This isn't an application that I could recommend using regularly, but it can be helpful with a new computer. Manufacturers include applications that many users don't want or need. The developer says "The PC Decrapifier is a program designed to suggest and remove unwanted software. It can be used to clean off most of the annoying software that is typically shipped with new PCs." The user still needs to be cautious when selecting applications to remove, but it's at this point that PC Decrapifier has its greatest potential.
The developer's website lists the top 50 applications users remove. These include the Amazon 1Button App, a variety of HP applications, antivirus applications, various EBay applications, Norton Online Backup, and other apps the user didn't sign up for with the new computer.
It doesn't matter whether you use a $6500 Canon EOS-1D X Mark III camera with a $2100 Canon EF 100-400mm zoom lens, a $400 Nikon D5300, a $130 Sony DSC-W830, or a smart phone when you take pictures. There are two much more serious considerations.
The first consideration is your ability to see an image. Some people seem to have an innate ability to see good images, but anyone can learn. Lynda.com (now "LinkedIn Learning") can help with that and a library near may offer free access from home. Ben Long, Julieanne Kost, Chris Orwig, and a variety of other talented photographers can show you how to develop an eye for photography.
The second consideration is what you do with the photograph once you've clicked the shutter. This is important because every photograph can be improved over what came out of the camera.
Film photographers often spent more time in the darkroom than they did creating the initial exposure. Basic cropping, dodging, burning, and lots of techniques developed by photographers such as Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Yosuf Karsh, and others brought out each image's potential.
Today no darkroom is needed and on-screen editing goes far beyond what the photographers of the 1900s ever dreamed of. Programs such as Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, and Camera Raw can be used to tweak the exposure and color balance, darken overly-bright areas, fix a blemish on a face, or remove a person from landscape image.
The sample image is definitely not fine art. It's just a snapshot taken at a park. The original image had some problems: The overall blue cast was the most disturbing. This was easy to correct. I also felt that there was too much room at the top of the image and the composition wasn't helped by a rope on the left size and the pink hat in the lower left. A simple crop fixed all of those problems and I included a slight bit of rotation. Enhancing the color of the foliage in the background accentuated the feeling of Fall and some adjustments to modify contrast gave the image a bit more "pop". The total time required to make these changes was less than five minutes.
A simple crop is often enough to convert a good image to a great image, but improving color balance and exposure can also help. These basic edits take little time and they're important. Adobe's photo applications aren't free, but they're reasonably priced. For $10 per month, you have access to all of the photo applications.
If $10 per month is not in your budget, The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) runs on Linux, Windows, and MacOS computers. Although free, GIMP tends to be somewhat confusing to use.
Affinity's $50 Photo Professional is both powerful and inexpensive. Those who also need to be able to create and edit vector images can add Affinity Designer for another $50, and Affinity Publisher was recently added to the mix for another $50.
Whatever you choose, be sure to use it. Every image can be improved.
Humans are strange. We want privacy but we share untold amounts of information on social media. Data privacy is an important issue for many; even with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation and California Consumer Privacy Act, nearly half of Americans surveyed recently say they would share personal data to obtain better customer service.
Broadridge Financial Solutions surveyed more than 3000 individuals in North America on topics relating to consumer experience and essential communications, and compared results from those who want better security and those who want better service.
More than 84% said they want legislation that increases their ability to protect and control the personal data they provide companies. At the same time, interest in going digital has grown: 45% prefer paper statements, but 67% of respondents switched at least one bill or statement to paperless in the last year.
Broadridge's Matt Swain says data privacy concerns are at a peak, and yet consumers are placing immense value on their experiences and are willing to share more of their personal data if it enhances the services they receive in return. "Data is the bedrock of customer experience and providers of essential communications, like bills and statements, have a significant opportunity to modernize the way they customize consumers' experiences."
The trend toward paperless billing would be even stronger if organizations pushed harder. Only 40% of respondents say they were asked to go paperless when they opened a new account and 29% say that they have never been asked. Of those who elected paperless billing, 72% say their primary motivation was reducing clutter.
Broadridge Financial Solutions provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions to banks, broker-dealers, asset and wealth managers, and corporate issuers.
Secure email provider Agari says it noticed a large drop in business email compromise (BEC) attacks in the final two weeks of 2019. This followed a spike in such attacks earlier in the month.
This seems odd because many businesses operate with reduced staff in the final two weeks of the year as employees take vacation days. One might expect crooks to take advantage of a situation in which corporate staffs might have lower defenses as a result of vacations.
BEC attacks are popular with criminals according to Agari. When the CEO, CFO, or anyone in a role of authority asks a back-office employee to take action, the employee naturally wants to help. Scammers bet on it. Email scams can succeed because the recipient trusts the sender name displayed on the email even though that information can easily be forged.
Individual impersonation attacks have skyrocketed represented more than 30% of attacks between October and December, up from 12% in the second quarter of 2019. Cybercriminals continuously modify their identity deception tactics in phishing and BEC scams to optimize efforts that will net the best financial results.
Audio console applications cost hundreds of dollars in 2000, but there was excitement about some low-priced basic choices.
Sound Forge was priced at $400 and Cool Edit Pro at $400, but both offered more basic versions: Sound Forge XP for $50 and Cool Edit 2000 for $70. In 2012, Adobe acquired Syntrillium, the developer of Cool Edit Pro and renamed it Adobe Audition. It has since been completely rewritten and is a key component in Adobe’s Creative Cloud because it works well with Adobe’s motion picture and video applications.
In 2000 I was excited about Cool Edit Pro: "Audio professionals who need advanced audio mixing, editing, and effects processing capabilities will find Cool Edit Pro to be the right choice." But Cool Edit 2000 also looked like a good choice: "If you have a limited budget or you’re new to audio editing, Cool Edit 2000 is probably the better choice. Without the high-end features, you won’t find yourself getting lost as often. And, if you need some of the high-end features from Cool Edit Pro, you can expand Cool Edit 2000 with plug-ins."
Cool Edit Pro’s descendant, Audition, is the essential application responsible for the weekly TechByter podcast.