TechByter Worldwide (formerly Technology Corner) with Bill Blinn

Rental software -- whether delivered as "software as a service" or on a subscription basis -- offers advantages for those who want their applications to be updated continuously, but not everyone likes the idea. There are alternatives. In Short Circuits: The Federal Communications Commission has voted to end Net Neutrality even though more than 75% of voters oppose the move. One final possibility e...

Photo Raw 2018 from OnOne brings several powerful new features to an application that can work with Photoshop or Lightroom as a filter or work independently of them as a file organizer and raw image converter. In Short Circuits: How to avoid nasty surprises from a disk drive by using Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology that's included on most modern disk drives. Improvements in an...

Whether it's Windows, MacOS, or Linux, your operating system probably bugs you about updates more than you'd like -- but ignoring update requests is a bad idea. After getting off to a strong start, Firefox faltered when Google introduced Chrome. The latest version of Firefox is out and it's worth looking at no matter which browser you use now. In Short Circuits: Uber tried to cover up a data breac...

TechByter Worldwide will return next week. This link will take you to last week's program.

Alien Skin has released a major update for its Exposure application, expanding its stand-alone capabilities by providing better photo management tools. We'll take a long look at what's new and why it's important. In Short Circuits: Do you have some old digital photos from the early days -- pictures you can't use because the quality is so low? Well, maybe an on-line service will be able to improve...

When it's time to move your applications, settings, and files from an old computer to a new one, you can do it the hard way or spend a few tens of dollars and automate the process. Maybe you seen websites that offer to multiply your Bitcoins by 13 times in less than an hour. If you believe that, please contact me because I have some desert property beneath the Brooklyn Bridge that may also appeal...

Users of Snagit should be sure to check out the latest version and anyone who needs to capture screen shots for documentation, illustration, or education but isn't using Snagit, should take a look. All the experts say passwords are dead, but it seems that whatever will replace them hasn't been invented yet. In Short Circuits: Google has updated Chrome to fix a security problem. If you use Chrome,...

Version 1709 of Windows may already be on your computer, so let's consider how to find out and look at what's new. I'll also have tips on how to get it if you don't have it and (for some users) how to avoid it for a while if you want to wait. A flurry of phony messages from Burger King, Donald Trump, Sam's Club, Walgreens, Amazon, and more all say they have gift certificates for me. In Short Circu...

Twelve thousand people attended Adobe Max this week, where Adobe introduced the largest number of changes since the advent of Creative Cloud. Camtasia, the screen recorder from TechSmith has been updated with new features that may seem minor, but only until users compare the new compatibilities with what came before. In Short Circuits: When you need to send a file securely, there's a new way to do...

Adobe's recently released Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements bring some powerful new features to the consumer-focused applications. Phishing emails are becoming increasingly dangerous to businesses and steps being taken there often have applications for home users who want to be safer. In Short Circuits: Alien Skin's Exposure X3 adds new ways to adjust photographs. It's a plug-in for Photosh...

It's been 40 years since Apple introduced the Apple II, a computer that remained in production until 1993. In June, frustration with a OneNote synchronization problem drove me to Evernote. Now Evernote's flaws have driven me back to OneNote. I'll explain. In Short Circuits: Google announced a bunch of new hardware this week and artificial intelligence is everywhere. Equifax has increased the numbe...

With a bit of effort, you can run the Linux command line from Windows 10 and that function will be enabled automatically following the next Windows update, but maybe you'd like to take a closer look at Linux to see whether it might serve your needs. This week we'll consider how to do that. In Short Circuits: We haven't looked at specific email frauds for a while, so we'll see a phony mystery-shopp...

How we obtain news is changing. Use of print newspapers and magazines is declining as is the number of people who watch television news. Old media wants a place at the new table and is working hard to earn one. An update to Adobe Spark this week makes it possible for any Creative Cloud user to create graphics with their own branding instead of Adobe's. In Short Circuits: Users of utility program C...

Apple has announced 3 new phones, 2 of which will be available almost immediately, while 1 won't ship until later in the year. There's also an updated Apple watch and improvement to Apple TV. How do you hold a smart phone when you're capturing video? There's a good chance that you're holding it the "wrong" way, but what's the "right" way and why? So many utility download sites display misleading d...

Darkrooms, drafting tables, and video suites used to be where photographers, designers, and video editors spent their time. Then they were able to move much of the work to desktop computer. Now some of the work can be done outside on a tablet or even a phone. How about a 400GB memory card for your phone or tablet. You could buy one today and it's expensive, but not as expensive as you might think....

Photographs lie. The malicious ones are unethical, but sometimes they're just gentle fibs or changes made in the pursuit of artistic vision. Those are fine and we'll look at a tool designed to enhance the truth. Would you buy a thumb drive with 16 built-in slots for microSD cards? Do that and you could carry 2 terabytes of data in your pocket. In Short Circuits: There's a new toll free area code a...

Microsoft Word and Outlook can be combined to create an email merge, but there's not a lot of functionality. A plug-in from Russia helps greatly. One of the largest backup providers for home users and small businesses is dropping its home product, so prices will be going up. Why that's not all bad. In Short Circuits: This week I discovered what is apparently a common Windows problem that I'd never...

Seven years ago, I seem to have thought that Apple's Ipad was a silly device. Maybe at the time it was, but I've just bought one and if it was once silly, it no longer is. On Monday, 21 August, scientists say most people in North America experience at least a partial solar eclipse. Does anyone doubt this prediction? That raises another question about science that I'd like to explore in what is ess...

Lynda.com is an excellent resource for learning about photography, programming, marketing and search engine optimization, and a lot more. But $35 per month might not fit into your budget. How about free? To avoid malware, we have to be smarter than the average scammer. They're getting smarter, so we need to be more adept at spotting signs of fraud. In Short Circuits: You can get into the malware b...

If you use your scanner more than a few times a week, the application that the manufacturer provided is probably disappointing you. There's a better way. The University of Waterloo in Canada is working on research that people may eventually find on their phones to improve selfie photos. In Short Circuits: The end is near for Adobe Flash; please hold your applause until 2020. Microsoft has hiked th...

Smart phones are handy devices. They help us find where we're going, remind us when we have to be there, keep track of our acquaintances, take pictures, send and receive email, and occasionally even allow us to make phone calls. But they can also be security hazards. Computer experts tell users not to apply a BIOS update unless they're sure it will solve a problem they're experiencing. I know this...

It's all about photography this week, starting with how you can identify the best camera in the world. Then we'll take a look at some of the questionable tactics used by crooks who pose as legitimate camera sellers. In Short Circuits: The photography theme continues as we consider some additional factors when choosing a camera. And then why a camera with more megapixels might not be as good as one...

Do you have an in-car GPS system that you need to buy annual updates for? If so, that system is obsolete. The Federal Communications Commission is working to eliminate "net neutrality". Let's consider opinions from conservatives and liberals who say that this is a technology issue, not a political issue. In Short Circuits: Is it time to upgrade to a solid-state drive? If you're concerned about cos...

Things start to get complicated when students enter middle school and even more so as they progress to high school. A student who starts college this fall may have some help. XP seems to be the operating system that cannot be thrown off the island. It's no longer thriving, but it's still surviving. In Short Circuits: Have you received an urgent message saying that someone is trying to register you...

Something new to beware of: Destruction-ware came calling this week, disguised as ransomware. Upcoming targets are likely to be power grids and other essential services. In Short Circuits: Sometimes it seems that we're standing at the base of a mountain, watching an avalanche begin far above us. Now what? The rapid spread of malware can be slowed, but only if we all work together. Think of it as v...