2025 February eBytes
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Microsoft is forcing Windows 11 24H2 update on all eligible PCs, but is it stable enough?
Google Ships First Beta of Android 16: Here's What You Get
What to Expect in Windows 12: Leaks, Rumors, and More
What Is DeepSeek? China Shocks AI Industry With 'Sputnik Moment'
Apple Photos vs. Google Photos: Which Is Best for Organizing and Editing Your Pictures?
We have named the 12 winners for the official Best of CES 2025 awards
Is your live TV streaming service still worth it? I reassessed the options for us both
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Microsoft is forcing Windows 11 24H2 update on all eligible PCs, but is it stable enough?
Computers running the Home and Pro flavors of Windows 11 23H2 and 22H2 will gradually be updated, whether you like it or not.
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Google Ships First Beta of Android 16: Here's What You Get
Google's release notes highlight support for tablets and foldables and lock-screen 'Live Updates.'
https://www.pcmag.com/news/google-ships-first-beta-of-android-16-heres-what-you-get
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What to Expect in Windows 12: Leaks, Rumors, and More
More AI-powered features and a modular system design are just a couple of the leaks and rumors swirling around Microsoft's not-yet-announced Windows 12.
https://www.pcmag.com/articles/what-to-expect-in-windows-12-leaks-rumors-and-more
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What Is DeepSeek? China Shocks AI Industry With 'Sputnik Moment'
After Silicon Valley stocks tumble and users flock to download the app, DeepSeek temporarily cuts off registration for anyone without a +86 mainland China phone number.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/what-is-deepseek-china-shocks-ai-industry-with-sputnik-moment
DeepSeek vs. ChatGPT: 5 Questions That Put These AI Chatbots to the Test - While the chatbots offer similar answers, the free version of China's ultra-efficient model has no messaging limits. But privacy concerns might have you sticking with ChatGPT.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/deepseek-vs-chatgpt-5-questions-that-put-these-ai-chatbots-to-the-test
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Apple Photos vs. Google Photos: Which Is Best for Organizing and Editing Your Pictures?
Apple and Google both offer apps that not only store your photo collection but also let you edit and do some wild things with your images. Here’s how they stack up.
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We have named the 12 winners for the official Best of CES 2025 awards
Our experts sifted through thousands of CES exhibitors to find the best tech. ZDNET, CNET, PCMag, Mashable, and Lifehacker combined to select the winners.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/we-have-named-the-12-winners-for-the-official-best-of-ces-2025-awards/
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Is your live TV streaming service still worth it? I reassessed the options for us both
Cord cutting was supposed to save us from the cable monopoly, but those monthly bills keep going up. Are you really getting your money's worth out of that $90-plus subscription?
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Links - News, Tips, & Downloads
The Best Phones for 2025 - Whether you're looking for an Android smartphone, an iPhone, 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
The best Samsung phones you can buy: Expert tested - The Galaxy S25 series has arrived, and here's how it stacks up with the other best Samsung phones we've tested and recommend at ZDNET.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-samsung-phone/
Finally, Bluetooth trackers for Android users that function even better than AirTags - Chipolo's One and Card trackers are perfect for people who often lose their keys and wallet. You can buy them in either single units or multipacks.
How to set up God Mode in Windows 11 - and the wonders you can do with it - God Mode provides easy access to an array of Windows settings from one single window. Here's how it works.
The Best Free Software for 2024 - The right apps make everything easier. We've got more than 50 top-notch picks to help you be more productive, more creative, and more secure on your PC. And they're all free.
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/best-free-software
The Best Smart Glasses Out Right Now - Upgrade your eyewear with glasses that can function as cameras, headphones, and AR displays. We've tested all the major models and have everything you need to know to pick the best smart glasses for you.
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-smart-glasses
7 ways to get more out of your Bitwarden password manager - Bitwarden is one of the best password managers on the market, but are you using it effectively? Here are a few tips to ensure you are.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/7-ways-to-get-more-out-of-your-bitwarden-password-manager/
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
Unlock Alexa's Hidden Potential: 6 Secrets to Supercharge Your Digital Assistant - Did you know you can customize almost everything about Alexa?
I invested $50 in Bitcoin in 2022, and it's been a ride. Here's how much I have now - Bitcoin dropped, crashed, and burned - then it skyrocketed. My $50 investment went through the wringer. Here's how 2024's halving event and political shifts turned massive losses into unexpected gains.
How to Organize Your Files in 4 Simple, Foolproof Steps - Our veteran productivity expert details her method for managing digital files: It's simple to implement, and since it's foundational, it will help you organize practically everything in your life.
https://www.pcmag.com/explainers/how-to-organize-your-files-in-4-simple-foolproof-steps
I invested in a no-fees video doorbell, and it's paying off for my smart home - The Eufy Security E340 dual-camera video doorbell can help protect deliveries from porch pirates with no subscription fees required.
97 Hidden iPhone Tricks You Probably Don't Know - Think you know Apple's iOS inside out? There's plenty more to uncover with our huge collection of expert tricks and tweaks to help unlock your iPhone's full potential.
https://www.pcmag.com/explainers/iphone-tips-tricks-ios-secret-expert
The Best Cheap Laptops for 2025 - These top-rated low-cost Windows laptops and Chromebooks make short work of everyday computing (and sometimes more). The best part? Many of them ring up for less than $500.
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-budget-laptops
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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 to buy a new smartphone.
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member.Article on Best Samsung Phones. https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-samsung-phone/
I usually recommend the basic level to those who do not do much with their phone. The mid level for most people. The top end if money is no object or you need 8K video, AI on the device, or other specific feature. Replace the phone every 3-5 years or when the OS no longer gets major upgrades.
The Best Phones for 2025 - Whether you're looking for an Android smartphone, an iPhone, 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
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Q. From a PCC Member - I received the attached solicitation yesterday from T-mobile to be a 5G home ISP. At our rural home the only i-net services available are via phone DSL or satellite. Our present DSL provides ~ 18 Mbps download and 1.0 Mbps upload, which are the maximum speeds available at this locale. In an attempt to quantify the 5G network used on my Galaxy S-21 phone at home I turned the phone WiFi off, forcing it to use only the 5G network it accesses here (I hope). Speed tests showed downloads occurring at 230-330 Mbps and uploads at 6-7 Mbps, so a significant improvement over the DSL speeds. I’m presently paying $40/mo to Century Link for DSL and believe I am locked in at this price for life (if there is such a thing). The T-mobile solicitation has a price of $45/mo, including fees, and also suggests no price increases on i-net service. I’m presently running a cat5 cable to my shop for WiFi, so not sure how the 5G gateway would work in the shop, since the gateway would be in the house, about 100 ft away.
Questions: Are there downsides to going 5G i-net that I am unaware of relating to weather, storms, etc? Am I missing something obvious that renders the 5G a no-brainer to steer clear of? Will the quoted 5G speed difference provide a significant and noticeable benefit when we are using our PCs? I ask because the present 18 Mbps service provides perfectly satisfactory streaming capabilities, and I believe this might be the most challenging data-intensive consumption we have? Neither my wife or I have any complaints about the present service, but perhaps we are just used to it and don’t appreciate how much better our computing lives could be. Or is the rate-limiting step our PC processing speeds?
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. The 2025 Survey just completed shows 14% DSL, 18% Fiber, 23%% 4G/5G, and 45% Cable. I know several people who have the service and are very happy with it. To get the fastest 5G speed you need to be within two blocks of the 5G tower. The further away or if you only have 4G the slower the speed. Check the speed at the location you plan to put the modem/router. Most existing copper phone lines for DSL are being replaced with Fiber. Not sure when you might get it.
The monthly cost depends if you have other phone plans with them, so check that out. I do not believe they charge a rental cost for the router. The router usually has two Ethernet ports out so you can plug in without using WiFi. Sounds like your current needs are very limited. A single 1080p TV stream needs 5-10 Mb. If you have multiple TVs, security cameras, video calls, want 4K or 8K streaming, and other internet connections need a better connection. If you deal with photo and videos being uploaded, you can cut your time from maybe an hour to upload to a minute or two.
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Q. From a PCC Member - I can't figure this out and tried a few suggestions that i googled...I have Win10. It seems this MS program (or whatever?) "Anti-malware Service Executable" runs and causes my CPU usage to go to 100%. It almost completely stops everything from working. The usage drops after 5 to 10 minutes, but then seems to run again at times and slows everything down again. Have you ever run across this issue?? Do I need this program or whatever it is???
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. I am positive that what you describe is caused by Windows and the other software on the machine doing updates, installs, virus scanning, and 100s of background processes. Anti-malware is part of the Windows virus scan which can take lots of time to run if your PC has not done a complete scan. If you turn off the PC before it completes the next time you start it up it will download and install anti-virus definitions and start the scan again from the beginning. Also, if your PC has been off or only on a short time since last Wednesday, your PC is doing a major update to Win 10 now. Every Tues-Wed Microsoft does minor security patches to Windows. Once a month it does major updates and usually once a year it pushes out major updates. Because of AI, there have been lots more updates to Win 10 and 11 features and functions. On my laptop it can take an hour or more to download, install, restart, and cleanup after. You can use your PC while this and many more things are going on, but it will be very slow. I recommend for a desktop PC to leave it on all the time. You must disable Win power save sleep mode because nothing can run in that mode. You can turn off your monitor, but make sure the desktop is on and not asleep. Then you can tell Win to look for and install updates at 2 AM every day and it will never bother you and be instantly ready to go.
Not sure if you have installed any other anti-virus, but multiple anti-virus means multiple updates, installs, and scans. If you do have any other, I recommend you uninstall it and use the anti-virus in Windows. All anti-virus will try to run in the backgroud, but if you are not doing anything on the PC it will use as much of the CPU up to 100%. Even after the scan completes there are 100s of other Windows events that start and run. Examples: Disk indexing is always reading your hard drive (it can be turned off), all photo packages are always scanning for new photos, if you have Microsoft OneDrive it is always scanning your local drive and the Microsoft cloud (I do not use the OneDrive sync and uninstall it), and 100s of other things going on.
Uninstall software and services you do not use and leave the desktop on and it be the fastest it can be. For my laptop that I do not use that often, I make sure to turn it on several hours before I need to use it, otherwise it will run slow till everything gets updated and run.
New PCs use Solid State drives which make them 10-100 faster than the old hard drives. My desktop is a SSD and I still leave it on all the time, so I can walk up and use it at any time.
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Q. From a PCC Member - I would like to backup my gmail to my external hard drive. Can I do this? Most of this backing up is in preparation for a 'purging project'..... the hope is that if I have backup files, I can more easily get rid of stuff. In other words, I don't plan to keep doing backups of gmail...just a one time thing.
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. To backup information, including your email, you can use Google Takeout: https://takeout.google.com/
If you look at the list of things you can backup you will see "Mail" as one of the options. In your case this will not work for what you want since it creates a file in a special format that can only be used to restore or move the entire email to another mail system. It is not in a format where you can see each email and read or print it.
A purge project is great to do. There are ways to select all the emails or multiple when deleting. One option is just delete emails and they go to Trash and stay for 30 days until they are permanently deleted. The 30 days is usually long enough to see if you need them. If you need something like 90 days, create a new folder called something like "Delete April 2025", move emails to it, then in April delete the contents since you have needed any of the emails. There are other options to print emails to PDF files to save if you have just a few.
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