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News13 – Giving Life to the Old Laptop/Computer – Linux!

In October of 2025, Next Year, Microsoft has announced that Windows 10 will reach its End of Life. That does not mean it will stop working, but it indicates that Microsoft will no longer provide security updates to the Windows 10 Operating System. The Company has been on a Push for the past year to get users to update for free to Windows 11 from Windows 10 However, Not everybody could do it.

Your System would need to Support the Trusted Platform Module 2.0 for tighter Security. In Some cases Manufacturers have TPM 2.0 devices that can plug into Motherboard that will add that support but they didn’t include them. We were excited to do this upgrade on a board in our studio, however after ordering the proper TPM2.0 module, Windows 11 would not support our 6th Generation Processor. Something to check first. For this system we would need a New Motherboard (Which we went ahead and purchased – Asus P790), Processor, Memory and Windows Install!

So instead, Older Systems have been finding a viable solution when using it for Work or School, Linux or Ubnutu. We have taken a couple of Laptops. one that is not that old and installed the Free Wunbuntu – It looks just like Windows 11 and performs just as well. We can run Chrome, Edge. OpenOffice, Steam and most programs with Wubuntu and it’s free.

As always, there is No Company behind Linux. To help out those programmers, It is Developer supported so users can spend 35 bucks for extra tools and further development. On an Older laptop, which was running Windows XP until yesterday, We installed Cinnamon Linux Mint 22. This Distribution of Linux based on Ubuntu has been getting a lot of praise. It is zippy and has a lot of features, and a wonderful creative team. Again, Donations can help! If you want to try a live distribution your can install it to a DVD or Flash Drive and run it without installing it to a hard drive, not as peppy but cool to get a look at it.

Find Winbuntu at https://www.wunbuntu.org and Linux Mint 22 at Linuxmint.com.

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New Show Posted! #405 – Getting Rid of the Bloat!

In this Weeks TechtalkRadio Show, We learn a little about Shawn’s Bucc-ees Outfit his mom got him and how Shawn has been traveling for work. Taking a flight on Delta, Shawn was happy to find out that Delta Airlines will hand out trading cards. The guys talk about tracking aircraft if you are traveling or a friend or family member is, you can easily follow the flight using websites and apps such as FlightAware or ADSBExhange. Andy talks about how the web can also help locate aircraft you have possibly flown in and tells the story of how while in Civil Air Patrol he co-piloted a Cessna 172 and was able to locate that aircraft today with the tail number. Microsoft faced an outage earlier in the week on its X-Box Live Service and it serves as a reminder for having physical media instead of relying on the cloud. This applies to Movies and Series we have come to rely on from streaming services.  The guys share a couple of ways to make sure you can view your content that you have purchased using MakeMKV and Handbrake as possible resources.  Shawn built a Raspberry Pi Media Player for handling digital playback. For Games, so many have only been released Digitally and the guys talk about the last versions they bought for consoles and PC. Shawn tells us about a great Website for Older games, GOG Games has older titles for purchase – Andy wants to get a copy of one he played a lot, RedneckRampage. 

Andy started a new project this past week to downsize from the massive Cooler Master HAF932 to a smaller case. This was all in part to begin to move to Windows 11. Using the Asus Z-170A after purchasing the TPM 2.0 Header the goal would be to Upgrade to Windows 11. Andy gets the Fractal G Mid Tower Case and gets everything moved and cleaner. After deciding to do this, he realized with the 480GB with only 60GB left, he would have to update the Drive as well for more space. Andy updates to a 1TB but has an issue in cloning the drive and find Partition Wizard Mini Tool was the solution he needed. This does pose the question of instead of cloning an older drive, reinstalling Windows from scratch gets rid of the bloat. Some points to consider regarding the software are discussed. 

The Cooler Master HAF932

RealVNC has eliminated the home plans for the service which enabled connecting to other computers. As Shawn pointed out, this was a great way to take care of family members’ computers remotely. The Cost for the new plan is discussed and the problem with TeamViewer and a Security Breach is discussed. DJI is still under the scrutiny of the US Government and the latest is discussed here and how that would affect this that want to use a drone, The Countering CCP Drone Act could ban the sales of DJI products in the US.  Andy gives us a look at the Camp Snap Camera and why many are excited about this very different digital camera. The Screen Free Digital Camera allows the user to experience the taking of the photo and enjoy the moment without looking at what was captured. Gizmodo put together a list of Cool Gadgets for the past month of June, this includes the Insta360 Go 3S which is a small action camera. 

Photo of the Insta360 Go 3S

Shawn shares a Website of the Week with us, A fun site to prank a friend or co-worker with, https://whitescreen.online The Site gives you various options to feature update screens, blue screen, broken screen and many others. 

https://whitescreen.online
Shawn in his Bucc-ees Outfit

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Andy TaylorTechtalkRadio, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

13News Segment – The Summer Storms and Your Tech – Adding a UPS

For the Monday Morning Tech Segment on News13, @techtalkradio decided to focus on the Monsoon Storms and how these storms common to the Southern Arizona Area can affect our electronics.

If you have invested in a big screen television, not connecting it to safe source for electrical power can be a big mistake. As more and more want to enjoy a Large Screen Television with 4k or 8k OLED, Soundbars and Consoles we should be thinking of how it is plugged in. During Monsoon Storms and even other times throughout the year, we get power surges, these surges can take out that 80″ television OLED just as it could a 19 inch tv is you haven’t taken an extra step and purchased a Surge Protector with a High Joule Rating and not just a power strip. It is recommended you use a Joule Rating of 2000-4000 joules to protect your devices and cost wise for these, they can run from 25 to 99 dollars depending on the number of outlets and of course Joule rating. Also important is to remember, these will not last forever. Over time that Joule protecting can deteriorate and a good surge protector can visually let you know when it is time. GE, APC, Monster and CyberPower all produce some fine devices. 

The Look when somethings smells burnt and you used a cheap Power Strip!

Also, if you are going to a coffee shop or even traveling, a nice device from Philips is the Cube, this give you a minor amount of protectiion which is better then plugging directly into the wall. I would recommend having your devices fully charged so you don’t have to plug into an outlet but if you have to, this can help. You could also carry an extra higher Joule Rated product in your laptop bag.

For the Best protection for your PC’s. Macs and other devices, APC – American Power Conversion from Schneider Electric can be a great source with its Uninterruptible Power Supplies.  In this segment we are sharing a Backup UPS from APC – The BN1500M2 which is a Ten Outlet device designed for Home and Small and Medium Businesses. With this you get 10 total outlets, 6 of those outlets with both surge and battery backup as well as 4 surge-only outlets. Also on board are 2 USB ports (Type-C and Type-A) that allow you to charge mobile devices. This is a great solution for your Computer and Routers, the Joule Rating on this is just under 1100. Another point to remember, it is not recommended to plug a UPS into a Power Strip, this could void a warranty or protection guarantee.

From the News13 Set
If Your old dusty Power Strip is showing a Red Light, it is an indication of the need to Replace it.

With a UPS In most situations, if your power goes out, You will be able to finish your work and shut down your system. A High End Gaming PC could be given just under half an hour to finish and then Shut down. The BN1500M2 sells for about 215.00 Find out more on the APC Website including how to protect this devices in the Summer Storms! https://www.apc.com

Andy TaylorTechtalkRadio, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Episode 403 – Can You Smell What the Mall is Cooking!?

In this Weeks TechtalkRadio Show, Justin, Shawn and Andy begin the discussions with a focus on the busy news cycle towards technology after a chat about the Summer Heat and cooling. Justin tells us about the split systems which can do a good job keeping areas cool but also a portable AC Unit. If trying to cool with a Swamp Cooler there are some considerations as they aren’t the best working along Electronics. Another consideration is where a PC or Mac is placed can also affect the performance, years ago companies sold cabinets to hide towers, and these were just not proper airflow. Justin determines he needs to delve into doing more home repair and has been watching videos on YouTube which have been very helpful. Andy used YouTube to help replace a Garbage Disposal Unit. Justin shares the best way to search for the project you want to do. The Crew pivots to the news of Adobe and how the FTC has directed a lawsuit at the company for its difficult process to cancel subscriptions with fees to the consumer when cancelling. Andy shares how he remembers from Aldus Photostyler to Creative Suite you could buy the package and use it till you wanted the new features. The Terms of Service have also been, as covered in last week’s show, Andy has a connection to Photographer Ron Hazelwood on Facebook and reads a post Ron shared regarding the TOS. Other points to consider include PDF’s which could contain sensitive documents. Ron mentions a possible alternative for working with photos, Affinity Photo 2. The Company can be found on the web at https://affinity.serif.com

      Justin opens this segment with a discussion on social media and how the Surgeon General of the United States may consider a Warning Label like what we have seen on tobacco. Shawn had pulled away from Socials a couple of years ago and tells us how during the show he reactivated the account to use an Extension to save photos he was tagged in. The extension called Tagged Photo Exporter available in the Google Chrome Store and Shawn tells us how this works. Shawn and Justin both agree on the addictive nature on social platforms and share why many others feel the same way. How will parents need to respond to this and how will this help alter the time spent while the child is online. Shawn and Justin share how they have applied these guidelines.      

Shawn tells us how he believes in the distant future, a Youth Digital Rebellion and tells us what that means. His wife shared a story how a friend’s child had loved the idea of online shopping, in person. While it doesn’t play as good on the radio, Andy shares a Meme about how times have shared. Andy shares the reminder of your digital products in the car or trunk of the vehicle. A good reminder to take the gear to a cooler area and the pull the Dash Cams instead of leaving them in the hot sun. Wells Fargo has caught employees using Mouse Jigglers and the guys talk about this story circulating the web, PC World has put together a great article on how to turn off Recall on Co-Pilot + PC.s. Shawn reminds us about how this is supposed to work and how it is being used.  

Shawn shares a Website of the Week with us, A great site for those that enjoy board games. https://www.boardgamearena.com The Site allows you to play board games with your friends. 

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Andy TaylorTechtalkRadio, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

News13 Segment – Great Sound for Your Ears!

In this Segment from News13 KMSB Fox 11, We share a product that will be great for Productivity but Also for the Gamer! How many people are gaming?

Recent Numbers show that as of January 2024, there are over 3.4B gamers worldwide, finding the tools to get an edge over other gamers is always a win! Just Unveiled a Couple of Weeks Ago, Our Friends at SteelSeries https://www.steelseries.com have shared with us the newest in their popular line of Headphones, the Arctis Nova 5x Wireless! Amazing sound with a very comfortable price point!

This New Headset not only features comfort but also compatibility with Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and both PC and Mobile With the Nova 5 Companion App, users will have access to 100+ Audio Presets for Xbox and PlayStation Titles. This Bluetooth Wireless headset is available to work with high-speed 2.4GHz or Bluetooth 5.3 all by just tapping a button. Another great feature is the battery life, users will count on a 60+ Hour Battery Life, using USB-C Charging, charging for 15 Minutes can get you 8 hours of use!

The Nova Companion App with 100+ Sound Configurations

Rich sound with great Bass delivered to the earcups, with the Bluetooth Wireless configuration you can also receive phone calls while playing your favorite title. The SteelSeries Clear Cast Microphone also can present crystal clear crisp sound in voice chats while gaming and of course on Phone Calls as well. Users can also find AI Powered Noice Cancellation which can clear up any room noise. And while we have seen other headsets in the higher price category, this Arctis Nova 5x Wireless sells for only $129.99 Find out More at SteelSeries.Com As the Company says, Wear these and play “For Glory.”

And We have this Cool little device from Eurpmask for Hanging the Headphones! A 3-1 PC Gaming Controller and Headphone Stand which can hold most controllers and headphones sells for under 17 bucks!