2023 January eBytes
How much RAM does your Windows 11 PC need?
This discreet dock transforms my laptop into a fully featured desktop PC
Clear the Clutter: How to Free Up Space on Your iPhone or iPad
Lost a phone? Here's how to track the location of an iPhone or Android device
The Best Free Software
Linux Mint 21.1: The better-than-ever Linux desktop
2022 was secretly the year of Chromebooks. Here's why
These Are the Best Tech Products and Services We Tested in 2022
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How much RAM does your Windows 11 PC need?
There's quite a difference between the minimum system requirement and a practical minimum.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-much-ram-does-your-windows-11-pc-need
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This discreet dock transforms my laptop into a fully featured desktop PC
The Sandberg USB-C All-in-1 docking station is up there with the best of the best.
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Clear the Clutter: How to Free Up Space on Your iPhone or iPad
Is the storage full on your iOS device? Here's how to figure out what's taking up the most space on your iPhone and iPad so you can decide what to delete.
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-free-up-space-on-your-iphone-or-ipad
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Lost a phone? Here's how to track the location of an iPhone or Android device
Wondering how to find your lost phone? Or perhaps you'd like to make sure a loved one gets to their destination safely? Let this guide for iOS and Android show you the way.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-gps-track-a-phone
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The Best Free Software
You want powerful software? You don't have to pay for it. Everything you need to be productive and secure on your PC is on this list, and it's all totally free.
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/best-free-software
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Linux Mint 21.1: The better-than-ever Linux desktop
This long-term-support version of Linux Mint is a great Linux desktop for both beginners and experts.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-mint-21-1-the-better-than-ever-linux-desktop
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2022 was secretly the year of Chromebooks. Here's why
From redefining sustainability to debunking the biggest ChromeOS myths, no single year has contained more major milestones for Google's lightweight notebook devices than 2022.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/2022-was-secretly-the-year-of-chromebooks-heres-why
Don't Fall for These Common Chromebook Myths - Chromebooks are much better than their reputation would lead you to believe.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/dont-fall-for-these-common-chromebook-myths
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These Are the Best Tech Products and Services We Tested in 2022
After 12 months of testing, rating, and writing hundreds of reviews, we present our annual collection of the most exceptional technology products in 15 important categories. If you're still shopping for holiday gifts, don't hit 'add to cart' without consulting our expertly curated list.
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-tech-products?
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Links - News, Tips, & Downloads
What Is an Apple One Subscription? - Are you paying for multiple Apple subscriptions? An Apple One bundle can help you save on Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and more. Here's how to decide if it's worth the upgrade.
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/what-is-apple-one-subscription
AirTag vs. Tile: Which Bluetooth Tracker Should You Choose? - Whether you've lost your keys, phone, or wallet, an AirTag or Tile can help track them down. But which one is best for you? We tested Apple's AirTag and all four Tile trackers to help you decide.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/airtag-vs-tile-which-bluetooth-tracker-should-you-choose
5 ways AirTags can simplify your life (beyond tracking keys) - Apple's AirTag is great for tracking bags and keys, but these five use cases are both creative and, in many ways, make this tracker even more useful.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/five-ways-apple-airtags-can-help-you-beyond-tracking-keys
Organize Your Apple Photos: How to Create, Edit, and Share iPhone Albums - Stop scrolling through thousands of iPhone snaps. If your Apple Photos app is a mess, here's how to organize your iPhone pics into shareable albums.
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/organize-apple-photos-create-edit-share-iphone-albums
The Best Phones for 2023 - Whether you're looking for an Android or iOS smartphone, or a simple feature phone, these are our top picks for a variety of budgets across the major US wireless carriers.
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-phones
Here's How to Easily Declutter Your iPad's Home Screen - Free up some valuable real estate on your iPad's home screen with this simple tweak.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/heres-how-to-easily-declutter-your-ipads-home-screen
These Are the 9 Best Gifts I Ever Bought My Older Parents. Here's Why - Can you make your parents happier and healthier in their golden years? I couldn't help but try.
Organize Your Apple Photos: How to Create, Edit, and Share iPhone Albums - Stop scrolling through thousands of iPhone snaps. If your Apple Photos app is a mess, here's how to organize your iPhone pics into shareable albums.
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/organize-apple-photos-create-edit-share-iphone-albums
You're definitely not making the most of your password manager - A password manager can do a lot more than store your passwords for you.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/youre-definitely-not-making-the-most-of-your-password-manager
How to Send Your Face Back in Time With MyHeritage's 'AI Time Machine' - Just don't blame us for the results.
Free Over-the-Air TV Is Elevating, Thanks to New Tech - The present and future of OTA is bright.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/home-entertainment/free-over-the-air-is-elevating-thanks-to-new-tech
Your Old Tech Doesn't Belong in the Trash. How to Recycle Outdated Gadgets for Free - Upgraded to a new device on Black Friday? Don't throw your old gadget away. Here's what to do instead.
'This Changed How I Use My Computer': Let Me Introduce You to Ctrl+Shift+T - After you hear about my favorite keyboard shortcut, your life will be changed, too.
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Ask a Question - Send any Tips & Downloads, Ask a Question, For Sale, or articles to: TheMiningPCC@gmail.com
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Q. From a PCC Member - Looking at getting a new Android smartphone. What format are the photos stored in? Can I move my photos on a SD card to my new phone?
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. Most older phones stored photos as .JPG which are the most standard compressed photo file format. Newer phones have settings to save photos that are not compressed in several different formats like .RAW and the Apple HEIC format. Most Android phones will take an SD card, so they can be moved. You should be backing up your photos to a cloud service like Google Photos or Amazon Photos. You should also backup locally using a flash drive or external drive. The default backup to the Google Photos cloud decreases the quality unless you change the setting to the highest quality. Google provides 15 GB of free storage. If you have an Amazon Prime Account I suggest you use the free unlimited high quality backup. Most new phone setup will move everything to the new phone. Because new phones come with more memory you may not need the SD card.
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Q. From a PCC Member - Where are photos sent in a text message saved?
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. They are only your message system unless you do a Save to a folder on your phone. I do the same for photos sent in eMails.
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Q. From a PCC Member - Bought a new monitor that is 2K 2560 x 1440. I can only get it to run at 1980 x 1080. Is it a graphics or windows problem?
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. A laptop or desktop has a graphics card that only supports certain resolutions. The higher the resolutions like 4K or 8K cost double or triple what a 1K costs. Newer mid range and higher end graphics also support multiple monitors.
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Q. From a PCC Member - Cobian Reflector backup, should I be doing a Full Backup and then Incremental? Also, do you know if it can save multiple versions of backup files, I thought I was able to in the old version and do not see it in the new?
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. Reflector Incremental backup will do a Full backup if your backup drive/directory is empty. It does not use or rely on the update flag to only backup files changed from the last backup. I have not used or needed multiple versions and do not see an option. Most of my edits are done on Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive and let it handle versions.
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Q. From a PCC Member - I bought the Microsoft Office 2021 you recommended for $29.99. How does the license move it to another computer?
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. First thing you want to do is save the License Code you got to setup Office. I have a directory on my PC called PC with files, instructions, and codes that I use and update with info for when I get a new PC or reinstall Windows. When you get a new PC you do the same steps where you download Office and then enter the code on the new PC. That will then check your Microsoft account and turn off your old PC and activate the new PC. If you ever lose the code and have your new PC, Chat with Microsoft Support and they can deactivate the old and give you a new code.
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Q. From a PCC Member - I recently purchased a used HP laptop (3 yrs old) with Windows 10 and I also purchased the MS Office on StakSocial that you recommended on Black Friday weekend. Do I try to upgrade to Windows 11 first (and how), or download the MS Office first?
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. You could do it either way, but I recommend you update to Windows 11 first.
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Q. From a PCC Member - In the PCC Q&A meeting they were not seeing the screen I was sharing?
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. In Skype you need to change your view to "Content” View.
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Q. From a PCC Member - Do you know of a website that gives honest info on sites that are frauds
or scams? A site we are having trouble with is: www.DILOUSS.COM.
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. What trouble do you have with it? It is not a virus, scam, or fraud, it is just a website like millions of web sites. If you do not want to visit it, don't click on it.
There is not a site with all scam info. Millions of new scam websites are created every day, that is why you must be using antivirus software that checks, blocks, and warns of bad sites. Example below from the free Windows Defender security. Antivirus software gets updated every day for new sites and scams to look for. That is the best way to protect your PC. You also have to do your part by using safe browsing and reading emails. NEVER click on anything you do not know or trust. Only use bookmarks you have created for your trusted sites. Let's say I get an email about an Amazon product or my Bank. I rarely use any link in an email. I use a browser and click on a bookmark I have saved for Amazon or my Bank and used for over 20 years. If an email or pop-up ad says I have won a prize, I NEVER click, it is a scam. You can always do a Google search for info like Social Security to see if it is a scam.
Member Responds - That site keeps charging various amounts to my wife’s credit card. We don’t know what the site is? Our card will not accept charges from them. They have been charging our card for months. Good to know they are not a fraud site. I will try calling them again.
Tom Kreuzer Responds - The web site does not contain a virus, but that does not mean they are a good company. Not sure what they do. It may just be a front to bill people. If you do contact, make sure not to give them any info or numbers. You did the right thing by contacting your credit card. If they do not stop billing you should get a new credit card number and cancel the old number. They could sell your old number to other people and start charging.
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Q. From a PCC Member - Do you know a Microsoft Office 365 Support phone number?
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. I do not have Microsoft Office 365, but when I need support I use the free Chat they have. Below is how I can get to Chat and looks like the phone option would show if I had purchased Microsoft 365. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/home/contact
Type question "OneNote OneDrive files" then click "Get Help"
Click "Contact Support"
Select Products and Services "Microsoft 365 and Office" then click "Confirm"
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Q. From a PCC Member - I use a free VPN when connected to a public Wi-Fi network, either Verizon’s (set through the Verizon Secure app on the phone) or Proton VPN, reviewed in this article: Best VPN 2022: VPNs Tested and Rated by Our Experts - CNET
https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/best-vpn/
Just in case. I suppose it can’t hurt…?
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. More details on VPN can be found in a 3M PCC Presentation I gave in March 2021 and is out on the PCC Website. https://sites.google.com/site/theminingpcc/future-meetings/past-meeting-files
Twenty years ago, when most Internet sites were not HTTPS encrypted or many public and private WiFi were not encrypted, a VPN was needed. That is not a problem today. For a company like 3M it is a great service because it protects all 3M data from 3M devices to 3M servers. When it is not an end-to-end VPN like 3M, network traffic is only hidden/protected from your device to a point on the Internet.
Below are three of the advantages in the article and my response:
Prevents your internet service provider from seeing which apps or websites you are using.
Your VPN has that info and any site where you login knows what you are doing. I find no benefit for me.
Prevents most of those websites and apps from seeing what geographic location you're connecting from.
For some people doing illegal activities or trying to fool sites like streaming services it can help. I find no benefit for me.
Can stop your internet service provider from throttling your speeds.
I have never had my speeds throttled from any of the ISPs I have had. Again, if you are doing illegal activities like bittorrent or dark web you may find a benefit to hide what you are doing. I find no benefit for me.
Some cons are Cost, CPU cycles on your device and VPN to do encryption, more data to send and receive, more jumps in the network, battery life on phones/tablets/laptops, and problems with some sites and devices not working.
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Q. From a PCC Member - You have helped me in the past and I thank you. I am now in the market for a laptop. I have some notes from you from a 2017 presentation but wondering if you have any new updated recommendations. I have very basic needs - need to utilize Microsoft word and excel.
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. I do not have an update on just laptops, but have talked about tech changes in many of the presentations. ChromeBooks are now an option for people with basic needs. Microsoft and other services are available on web sites or apps with the data stored in the cloud. Many new laptops use smaller SSD "Solid State Drive" drives with less needed local storage. Do not buy a laptop that comes with Windows 10 or uses Windows 11 S. Many venders are selling machines at discounted prices that can not be upgraded to Windows 11. These outdated/old models are not supported by Microsoft after 2025.
Couple of articles from sites I trust:
The Best Laptops for 2022
Whether you want a simple budget PC, a productivity workhorse, or a screamer of a gaming notebook, our deep-dive guide has all the advice you need along with our top product picks in every major laptop category.
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-laptops
Best Laptop for 2022: The 14 Laptops We Recommend
The best laptops across all categories from brand name companies, tested and reviewed by CNET editors.
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-laptops
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Q. From a PCC Member - Thanks for your tip about Black Friday Office 2021 for $30. I bought it, and just installed it. I had never heard of StackSocial. Just now I did a search on "is StackSocial Legitimate" A review said it's legit. (as did CNET, of course). I read the review. But I still don't understand how they can sell $300 software for $30. If it's too good to be true.......
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. Thanks for the feedback and comments. In the 3M PCC presentation for Aug 2021 on the many MS Office options, I talked about this as one of the options and it is not a scam. Example: Many PCC members subscribe to MS Office 365 for $70 a year with 1 TB of cloud storage is a better deal for them. In the Nov PCC meetings I also cover sites and apps to check price history. This version usually sells for between $40 and $120. The $30 is the lowest I have ever seen it. Since I was using a very old MS Office 2002 I think I bought for $25, I thought maybe it was time to upgrade after 20 years. Not sure if I will get another 20 years out of this version, but that works out to about $1.50 per year for a new version. On my retiree income I could swing the purchase. The 25% discount from $40 to $30 and the fact that CNet recommended the seller, it was time to upgrade. You are correct that you should not trust pop-up ads or spam emails with low prices and verify before clicking. That was the reason I sent the note to members to trust me and sent people to the CNet article and not directly to StackSocial. I have heard from about 10 people who have made the purchase and had no problem. One person had a problem with the key not working. I told him to call the phone number on the invoice and they sent him a new key that worked fine.
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