Hewie's Views and Reviews

A month ago I wrote about increasing the available space on my C-Drive, an SSD card. While I have a D-Drive, which is a 1 TB hard drive, it is used for data. My computer is 3.5 years old and the SSD card was down to about 8GB of available space, which is dangerously low, especially with an impending operating system upgrade. In that article, I talked about deleting a 30 GB partition with outdated recovery software and combining it with the main partition for added storage. See “Making Room…

I was starting to panic. My C-Drive on my main computer was becoming unsafe as I was using up all its free space. The drive is a 225GB SSD card. I was down to 8GB free. I also have a 1 TB hard drive that is dedicated to data and designated as D-Drive. As I saw the shrinking drive develop, I changed the default locations for such items as Documents, Downloads, Videos, & Pictures to the D-Drive. Other than Windows and programs (Apps), there is not much else on the…

We are in the process of cutting the cord. Yesterday, I changed Internet providers. Today I will be terminating our current Internet provider & our cable TV. We will now have fiber optic (Fios) at 150Mbps up and down.

Over the last several weeks, we have tested SlingTV, YouTubeTV, Hulu, & DirectvNow, utilizing the 7-day free trial that each provides.

I have been using a free phone service from Google, Google Voice, for many years. Through some discussions with other members of my computer user group, I was introduced to the ObiHai Obi200. This $50 device enables me to connect my Google Voice number to my house phones

The recent revelation of the Meltdown & Spectre vulnerabilities has created a lot of discussions. For the non-techie, it is extremely confusing. Even for the techies, it is confusing. The issue is not a Windows issue, nor a Mac issue, nor a Linux issue, nor a ChromeOS, or an iPad issue. It is not an Intel or an AMD issue. It has to do with the way computer processors (the main chip in all computers, tablets & phones) are all being programmed to speed up computers. This includes almost every computer manufactured in the last 20 years.

Some of you may have noticed that I have been posting a lot about K-12 schools using Chromebooks. I have started a website called Chromebooks 4 Seniors at http://cb4s.net where I am featuring articles dedicated to Chromebooks. Grandparents, parents, and businesses are quickly learning that Chromebooks are much easier to use, cheaper to purchase & easier to maintain. My theory is that if K-12 students can use them, why can’t we?

Touchscreens are everywhere. I no longer have any of my “toys” without one. My desktop computer has a 23″ Hannspree touch monitor. My Dell 15″ laptop, Microsoft Surface 3 and the 11″ Chromebook have touchscreens. Of course, the iPad, the 2 Android smartphones, and our old iPhones are touch. Like many of my friends & neighbors, my fingers are not as easy to control and precision is not always the norm. I attend a lot of trade shows and local events where businesses have booths where they give away advertising…

  Most of my presentations are to adults, especially senior citizens. While my training and initial teaching was for elementary and middle school students, I also taught on the college level. I also have been a presenter to computer & technology user groups for 30 plus years. Presenting and teaching to seniors requires a different approach. I found an article by Dr. Liz Hardy, “Effective Teaching Techniques for the Older Adult Learner,” which should help others to present or teach boomers and older. Dr. Hardy talks about 5 Effective Teaching Techniques…

Chromebooks were the computers of choice in 58% of the k-12 schools last year. It appears that the number will increase and it is predicted that Chromebooks will account for 70% of them in just the next few years. It is my opinion that if school kids, especially at the elementary school level, can easily use these computers, then senior citizens should be able to do so. Those seniors who want to use the technology, but who feel overwhelmed with Windows, Macs, or iPads can feel comfortable quickly.