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8 Jan 2021 - Podcast #725 - (19:54)
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If you worked from home for much of 2020, find that you're still doing that this year, and your employer provides a computer, you're lucky. But maybe you have to use your own computer, and now it seems absurdly slow. Likewise for your children who may be learning from home. Maybe it's time to replace that old computer.
The first and most obvious question is whether to buy a Windows computer or a MacOS computer even though there are other options such as Chromebooks and Linux. But most people will choose either Windows or MacOS.
Because of the way Apple designs its computers, you'll have limited choices. There's just one manufacturer and not a lot of models. So you're limited to various MacBooks, a couple of desktop all-in-one models, the behemoth Mac Pro, and the tiny Mac Mini. Each of those has only a few options in terms of processors, memory, disk, and screen. Only the Mac Pro (starting price $6000) offers a relatively wide variety of options. If you max out the processor to a 2.5GHz 28‑core Intel Xeon W processor with Turbo Boost up to 4.4GHz, 1.5TB of DDR4 ECC memory, a graphics subsystem with two Radeon Pro Vega II Duo that each have 2x32GB of HBM2 memory, and an 8TB solid-state drive, your bank account will shrink by about $52,000. Oh, and you'll need a couple of monitors to go with that. Of course, there are much more modest configurations and most people will be satisfied with a Mac Pro in the $10,000 to $12,000 range. These are special machines for special purposes.
Windows computer buyers have many more choices to make, so that's where we'll spend our time.
There are dozens of manufacturers and, if you include independent shops that still build desktop systems, there may be thousands. I'm going to make one overarching assumption at the beginning: You'll be looking for a notebook computer. There are still dozens of manufacturers, but it's best to limit the search to just the larger companies: Acer, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Microsoft, and Toshiba.
All of those companies make a wide range of computers and no company is inherently better than any of the others. Each makes powerful, high-end computers, and most also manufacture limited, low-end computers. That's why it's important to look beyond the brand name.
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Think first about what kind of processor you need.
The two primary choices here are Intel and AMD. The CPU is responsible for most of the work the computer does, so take some time to learn about the various options. Both AMD and Intel make high-quality CPUs. The primary points to consider are clock speed and the number of cores.
Low-priced processors will be slower and with fewer cores, and the best-performing CPUs will have a high number of cores, high clock rates, and corresponding high prices. At the top of the heap, you'll find AMD's Ryzen 5 processors and Intel's Core i7 and Core i9 devices. If the tasks you perform need the fastest possible processing and you can justify the expense, that may be what you need.
Many people will be satisfied with one of the mid-range processors, such as Intel's Core i5 and maybe even an Core i3 or AMD's Ryzen 3. A computer that uses one of these processors will be slower than one with a top-of-the line processor, but if your primary uses are word processing, email, web browsing, and modest spreadsheets, you'll save a lot of money and see little difference.
The low-priced processors such as AMD's Athlon and Intel's Celeron are generally best avoided unless you're on a strict budget or have limited needs.
You'll have choices for clock speeds and the number of cores in each general group of processors. The speed is measured in Megahertz and faster numbers are better. Whatever the speed is, you may see a reference to Precision Boost on AMD processors or Turbo Boost on those made by Intel. These processors monitor the load put on them by all running applications and can temporarily increase their speed. This is called "overclocking" and it will make the processor run hotter. Heat is the enemy of all electronic components and should be avoided
Each core in a CPU appears as a separate processor, and processors are typically able to handle two threads on each core. A four-core processor with two threads will act like a computer with eight processors. More cores will provide faster operation and sometimes a CPU with more cores but a lower clock rate can perform better than one with a higher clock rate but fewer cores.
Next, consider the type of graphics card you want. The choices are much more limited in notebook computers than in desktop systems, but notebook systems do have some options.
Virtually all desktop and notebook computers include "integrated graphics" on the motherboard. This means that the computer can be used without a dedicated graphics processing unit (GPU).
Integrated graphics systems are less capable than a true GPU and they generally use some of the computer's RAM, but the integrated systems are generally sufficient for viewing even 4K videos and for photo editing. Those who do a lot of photo editing or video editing will want a true GPU because it will substantially improve the performance of the photo and video applications.
A huge number of options are available for desktop systems, but notebook computer buyers will usually have a choice of only a few optional GPUs made either by Nvidia or AMD. If graphics are of supreme importance to you, consider buying a "gaming" computer because it will come with a powerful and fast GPU. Just because the manufacturer calls it a gaming computer doesn't mean that you'll need to play games with it.
Think about how much memory you'll need.
More memory is generally better, but if you follow my earlier tongue-in-cheek description of a maxed-out Mac Pro with 1.5TB of RAM, you'll be wasting several thousand dollars. Take a look at specifications for the applications you'll use most often. Software manufacturers sometimes list minimum acceptable memory and recommended memory. Use the "recommended" option and think about how many applications you'll have open simultaneously.
To get a good picture of how much memory you'll need, launch the programs that you'll use most often, then open the Task Manager to see how much memory those applications use.
Sum all the values in the Memory column and add some for the background processes shown below the applications list and the Windows processes shown at the bottom of the list. This will provide an approximation of the amount of memory your processes require. So if the applications you usually run consume 24GB, installing 32GB of RAM is reasonable, but 64GB is probably overkill and 128GB would be a waste of money.
Consider the storage options: Mechanical and solid-state, internal and external drives.
Unless you're dealing with severe budgetary restrictions, don't even think about choosing a computer with a mechanical hard drive. A 500GB solid-state drive is usually sufficient for Windows and all the applications, but data storage may be limited. Because large SSDs are still expensive, choosing a modest SSD boot drive and adding one or more external mechanical drives is often a good compromise.
Determine whether you need an optical drive or not and, if so, whether it should be built in.
Few people need a built-in optical drive these days because software is no longer distributed on physical media. If you have CDs and DVDs that you still need to get data from, an external USB optical drive is a good choice for a notebook computer. For desktop systems, installing an optical drive will usually cost less.
The notebook computer will have a built-in screen, but most people will find it easier to work with at external monitor or two.
There may be someone who, after using a large external monitor, wants to go back to a small built-in monitor. I have trouble visualizing such a person. This is also true for those who have used a computer with two or more monitors. Going back to just one seems like a step in the wrong direction. So make sure that the computer has at least one HDMI or DisplayPort port, and it's better if there are two.
How many ports and what kind of ports should the computer have? A few weeks ago, I described the need for a USB hub or a dock if the computer doesn't have enough.
USB 2 and USB 3 ports are common, but you'll have more flexibility for future expansion if the computer has a Thunderbolt 3 port because it can be used to add a dock that offers a variety of USB 2, USB 3, DisplayPort, and Ethernet connections. Fortunately, all but bargain basement systems have Thunderbolt 3 today.
It's hard to imagine a modern notebook computer that omits Wi-Fi, but it's important to check the specifications. Also, if you use the computer primarily at a desk, maybe you should also have an Ethernet connection.
If the computer doesn't have an Ethernet port, it's easy to add one with a USB 2 or USB 3 adapter, or by adding a dock that includes Ethernet.
If you buy a new computer in 2021, I wish you many days of happy computing.
Now that vaccinations are available for Covid-19 and the politicians who claimed the pandemic was phony are elbowing their way to the front of the line, the scammers aren't far behind.
"As the country begins to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, there's no doubt scammers are already scheming," according to Medicare.gov. If you're old enough to qualify for Medicare, the cost of the vaccination is covered. Medicare also covers COVID-19 tests, COVID-19 antibody tests, and COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatments.
Whether you're eligible for Medicare or not, scammers are out there and Medicare offers three suggestions that apply to everyone:
The key points here are that the scammers want you to pay for something they can't provide. Medicare: "Be alert for scammers. Medicare covers the vaccine at no cost to you, so if anyone asks you to share your Medicare Number or pay for access to the vaccine, you can bet it’s a scam." The same is true if you're covered by an Affordable Care (Obamacare) plan or by private insurance: You can't pay for early access.
Windows 10 users have been complaining for several months about having to repeatedly enter their password in Outlook and other Microsoft 365 applications. Although Microsoft hasn't yet fixed the problem, they now offer a workaround.
The problem seems to be most prevalent on Hewlett Packard systems that are running the HP Customer Participation Utility, and it began appearing as computers received the May Windows update, version 2004. Microsoft outlines the answer on its support site. If you have to repeatedly enter a password for Microsoft 365 applications, the workaround is relatively simple.
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Start by opening PowerShell as Administrator, which can be accomplished by right-clicking the Start button and choosing "Windows PowerShell (Admin)". Then copy and paste the following command and run it by pressing Enter. Note that the command is all one line without any carriage returns. Copy and paste from here:
Get-ScheduledTask | foreach { If (([xml](Export-ScheduledTask -TaskName $_.TaskName -TaskPath $_.TaskPath)).GetElementsByTagName("LogonType").'#text' -eq "S4U") { $_.TaskName } }
If you haven't noticed the problem, PowerShell will probably return nothing, but write the names down or copy and paste the names of any listed tasks into a text editor if PowerShell returns any.
Note that Microsoft's workaround for this problem is to disable the offending tasks, so you'll need to decide whether the scheduled task is essential to your normal operations. If so, you'll need to continue entering the password for Microsoft 365 apps until Microsoft issues a fix. The HP Customer Participation Utility, for example, is a group of applications that allow users to participate in market research that's designed to improve HP products and for customers to report problems encountered on their HP machine so that the company can create patches to fix them. But it also displays what HP calls "benefits" such as special offers.
So once you have a list of one or more applications that were returned by the PowerShell command, and you've decided that repeatedly entering the Microsoft 365 password is more of an annoyance than disabling the tasks would be, it's time to open the Task Scheduler. (That's the Task Scheduler, not the Task Manager.) The easiest way to do that is to press the Start button and type "schedule". Select Task Scheduler from the list.
Make sure (1) "Task Scheduler (Local)" is selected at the top of the left column, then (2) scroll all the way down, and (3) examine the "Active Tasks" section for the names of any tasks that are on the list you created.
Take care that you modify only tasks that exactly match those on your list. Modifying a scheduled task that's essential to normal operations will make normal operations, well -- less normal. When you locate one that you'd like to disable, double-click it. The task will then appear in the top section of the window. Right-click it and choose "Disable". After changing all of the tasks that were listed, restart the computer.
Microsoft 365 should ask for a password following the reboot, but then it should remember the password from that point forward. Keep your list of tasks, though. When Microsoft issues a patch that resolves the problem, you'll probably want to revisit the Task Scheduler and turn the disabled tasks back on.
Microsoft may be a company that a lot of people love to hate, but its employees say the company has high standards for diversity.
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Comparbly, a company that allows employees to rate the company anonymously on a variety of factors, says that Microsoft won 11 awards in 2020, including Best Company for Diversity, Best Company for Women, Best CEO, Best Company Culture, Best Company Perks & Benefits, Best Company Compensation, Best Company Happiness, Best Professional Development, Best Leadership Teams, Best CEOs for Women, and Best CEOs for Diversity.
Last year, the company picked up awards for Best Company for Women, Best CEO, Best Company Culture, Best Company Perks & Benefits, Best Company Compensation, Best Company Happiness, Best Leadership Teams, Best CEOs for Diversity, Best CEOs for Women, Best Marketing Team, Best Company in Seattle, and Best Company Outlook.
Based on 37,551 ratings and 2,118 participants, Comparbly says employees at Microsoft are very satisfied with their work experience. The overall culture score, 75/100 or A-, incorporates employee ratings based on their feedback on the Manager, Diversity, Meetings, and more.
The original Chromecast device from Google made dumb TVs smart and smart TVs even smarter, but there was one glaring deficiency: No remote control. Amazon's competing Firestick has a remote control, which gave it a competitive advantage. I switched from a Firestick to Chromecast when I got a Google Nest Mini smart speaker, but not having a remote control was annoying.
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Installing and setting up the device was uncommonly easy: Just plug it in to an HDMI port on your television, attach it to a power source, turn on the television, and follow the on-screen instructions. The only way this could be easier would be for Google to have someone deliver it, take it out of the box, and attach it to the television.
Controls on the front include a power button and an input selector. The input selector doesn't work with my Samsung television. Above these are buttons for YouTube and Netflix. Above those, buttons to go to the Home screen and to mute the television. Directly below the 5-way pushbutton control at the top are a button that returns to a previous screen and a special green button that, when pushed, turns the device's microphone on so the user can issue voice commands to the Google Assistant. The volume up and down buttons are on the right side of the control.
The remote control alone is enough to justify upgrading for a a lot of people, but this device adds 4K Ultra HD even though it costs considerably less than Google's original 4K Chromecast device. Of course, you need a 4K television if you want 4K content, which is still somewhat limited. When it's not attached to a 4K television, the Chromecast device matches the set's highest resolution. You'll find lots of other capabilities (many of which require paying a fee) built in.
Corel had run off the tracks and was trying to succeed with software for the Mac and for Linux even though its strengths had always been on Windows computers. I wrote about one oddity: "Take a multi-page Draw document and move from page to page. Under some circumstances, each subsequent page gets smaller and smaller until they just ... fade ... away. Should I call this a "bug" or a "surprising feature"? What's interesting is that I cannot reproduce this effect at will. It's intermittent. It's an annoyance, but the rest of the program works so well that I'm willing to live with this quirk. It may be related to Windows 2000, or maybe to something else that's running on my 3 test machines. I've seen the problem on each computer, but I've not been able to find anyone else who's seen it."
Corel still exists and still has some useful applications, but it's far less prevalent than it was 20 years ago.