Computers and Technology

the AlphaSmart works best with rtf files (the word-processor program I use came with the device, AlphaWord). I’m on a Flickr group for writers who use the AlphaSmart devices, and most don’t like the built-in program, and often insist that one should just use text. Text doesn’t allow me to modify text with italics, emboldening or underlines, so I…[Read more]

I was clicking the update link when I open it and using that which does download, but it does not say that it’s an .exe file.

I’ll try this and report back.

Now using X8 even there are newer versions. It does a better job of opening old Word files than Word does. and a better job of converting to a .docx from a .wpd than word ever did.

Go to the link below for an exe program file:

https://support.google.com/earth/answer/168344?hl=en&ref_topic=4363014#zippy=%2Cdownload-a-google-earth-pro-direct-installer

and thanks again : )

Linux is too much of a learning curve for me. It’s bad enough I have to re-tweak browsers like Vivaldi and OperaGX every time they do an update. I don’t enjoy doing that kind of thing and why I don’t look forward to having to do that with Win10/11. It’s also why I don’t use much open source software (other than FLAC for audio…[Read more]

Because a Devil somehow found himself on the “Windows Insider Preview” list, I happened to get the Windows 11 preview update last night. Playing around with it a little right now, but one of the first things I noticed was that the “centered” task bar can be easily reverted to the more “traditional” lower left corner position with one click in the…[Read more]

I generally only use Explorer to eject flash drives and use PowerDesk for file/folder exploring. It has many better features to it. Also have never used any of the “aero” bells/whistles, because I like buttons and the like to be simple and opaque.

But, I’ll come back here whenever I have a new system built and ready to improve :~)

Presumably these will be updated to Work with Windows 11 by the time it hits the streets officially, considering they have been around for a while. Some of them actually came out to help Windows 7 users revert back to a Windows XP look, if you can believe it.

Open Shell (formerly called Classic Shell) will replace the Windows 10 start menu with a…[Read more]

of the OS’s would do is to let us choose the GUI we’re used to using. If I want to use Windows 11 with the GUI of Win7, that should be an easy thing to do. The guts of the OS isn’t important to anyone but an IT professional, so don’t bother us with the bells and whistles. Let us opt into that shit if we want it, not the other way around.

I am…[Read more]

Pro doesn’t. I will NEVER get a M$ account.

I’ll probably keep using 7 until it doesn’t work anymore.

My main computers are now triple boot-7, 10, and Linux Mint. I use separate SSD’s for each OS and just select which one I want to boot from in BIOS.  I keep all my data on a separate hard drive(currently 3 TB) so data is accessible no matter…[Read more]

Meh. More crap I’m not allowed to uninstall.

I’d switch to Linux if I could.

I haven’t figured out Windows 10 yet.  How many classes will I need to operate Windows 11?  It looks complicated.

No thank you.

Right over the cliff you go.

Looks like some minor interface tweaks. They copied MacOS on the new centered taskbar, and Linux on the “weather widget”.

If what’s underneath is the same bloat & spyware of Windows 10, that’s not really an improvement. But as it is with any version of Windows since 95, there’s always a…[Read more]

In all politeness, you first!

As a matter of fact, it fits the corporate advertising model which Google is attempting to propagate the Internet into.

When the internet was first conceived, it was a medium for information. Now it is a place to advertise and sell something. Just look at the results you get when you do a search.