Scobie.Net

Author: Bill Scobie

  • Comfy Laptops and Private Videos

    Many of us use laptops, and there are ways to make them as comfortable as desktops. Get a stand to angle the keyboard and place the screen at an ergonomically correct position, then pair it with a wireless keyboard and mouse. If you lack extra USB ports, add a USB hub. If you don’t have…

  • Perfect Emojis and a Natural Smile

    If you have a MacBook or MacBook Pro with Apple’s newer “butterfly switch”-type keyboard, and letters or characters repeat unexpectedly or do not appear or if keys feel sticky or do not respond in a consistent manner, you should check in with an Apple-authorized repair place to see if Apple will replace that keyboard, even…

  • Passwords and Private File Syncing

    Got a great formula to make your passwords seem more random or tricky? Password hackers love formulas and most any formula you have learned somewhere is included in password cracking software that is easily available. Take seriously the advice of using truly random passwords, with letters, numbers, and punctuation marks, or random words strung together…

  • Home Pages and Tab Snoozes

    What home or start page to have in your web browser is always a conundrum. Usually you want it to be where you tend to go much of the time. But sometimes it is good to have your home page teach you something. Try setting it to Wikipedia’s home page, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page, with its “Did you…

  • Autoplay, Machine, Emails, and More

    At long last, the current version of Chrome (which you should have if you are using it on a regular basis, since it automatically updates) will block many automatically playing videos so you don’t embarrass yourself in a public space with suddenly blasting audio. Chrome will still play those from sites designed to play videos…

  • Colors, Updates, Backups and Privacy

    Turn Up the Color Noises have colors? They seem to when you are trying to use noise (sounds) to cover up distracting sounds while working. After disabling social media and email alerts, if you find you are still not focusing, try other colors of noise. You know white noise (a combination of all frequencies), but…

  • Ad Blockers, Security Questions, Spam and SEO

    The ad blockers are coming! Google will activate its built-in ad blocker for its Chrome web browser on February 15. This is great news if you use Chrome – yet I would pay attention to what might happen with third-party ad blockers like Ad Block Plus or ublock Origin. There may be issues. One small…

  • Cookies, New Systems, Chromebooks, and Vacations

    Clearing browser history and data manually or automatically can help reduce tracking cookies. Of course, each browser has its own method and to save space, I suggest that you Google or search the internet for “clear browser history” and the name of your browser (Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Edge, Chrome – or another browser you…

  • Upgrade Now, Go Gray, Blast Off & More

    Microsoft is ending their last way to get a free Windows 10 upgrade, the one where you could claim you needed their “assistive technologies” built into Windows. This free upgrade from Windows 7 or 8 ends December 31. If you’ve been holding off but wish to upgrade, do it this month. There is a cute…

  • Top Computer Tips for November

    If you still use Windows Vista or XP and have been relying on Firefox as your up-to-date web browser, Mozilla has announced that Firefox will no longer be supported and fixed, as Microsoft stopped supporting Vista this past April. Small Scanner Using your smartphone as a scanner is rather easy now with free apps available…

  • Windows, Google, Siri and More

    The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update now has a release date of October 17. And why would you care? If you have one of a few supported virtual reality headsets, then you will find support with its Mixed Reality platform. Honestly, there is not much new for most of us. I see changes in some…

  • Edge, Word, Gmail and iPhone News

    Resetting web browsers is often a great way to fix issues with your web browsing, resetting takes things back to original conditions. Soon Edge users in Windows 10 will be able to reset that web browser without much difficulty. If you have the recent “Fall Creators” update, one of the most recent big updates to…