Posted on July 10th, 2017 by Joy Schwabach
A reader wrote us to say he’s barely able to connect to the Internet wirelessly, even though his phone is just 20 feet away from his AT&T router. Two bars is the best he gets. We told him to call AT&T, since they’ll replace his router or add a booster for free; it’s part of the monthly contract. However, that may not work. What he’s opened up is a much larger problem that many people experience, and it’s definitely worth going into. It is a trickier subject than it first appears. The subject of radio broadcasts (which is what your wireless modem is doing) and receiving them is a special field of its own in electrical engineering. Antenna design can […]
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Filed under: browsers, Internuts, web, wireless | Comments Off on WI-FI BLUES
Posted on February 13th, 2017 by Joy Schwabach
Which is the safest way to browse the web: Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox? According to the blog “How to Geek,” Edge has a slight edge. Many say Firefox has the last word on privacy and we find that’s it pretty private. In 2015, Firefox instituted “tracking protection.” It removes all tracking elements from pages you visited using the “private browsing” feature. To use private browsing in Firefox, hold down the “Cntrl” (or “Cmd” on the Mac) and the “Shift” key. Then tap the “P” (for private) key. It was news to us that advertisers and websites can track you in Google or Microsoft’s browsers even if you use the “incognito” or “InPrivate” modes. All those modes do […]
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Filed under: browsers, Internet, Internuts, Mac, troubleshooting, web | Comments Off on THE RIGHT BROWSER
Posted on August 15th, 2016 by Joy Schwabach
Five topics: Getting Better Directions, Better Searching with Google Chrome, Fun Doggy website, Political website tells you which candidate you’re most like, What Cortana can do
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Filed under: browsers, Google, Internuts, maps, web, Windows | Comments Off on COUNTING THE WAZE
Posted on October 10th, 2015 by Joy Schwabach
Chrome users no longer have to worry about so-called “Flash ads” playing automatically, ever since Chrome killed Flash. But what about other videos that start up out of the blue?
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Filed under: browsers, Google, Internet, web | Comments Off on WAIT, I DIDN’T PRESS PLAY
Posted on September 15th, 2015 by Joy Schwabach
“Chrome Kills Flash.” This reads like a headline from a new comic book, but it refers to ads and pictures that use Adobe Flash to make them pop up from the Internet. (The late Steve Jobs often said how much he hated Adobe Flash.)
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Filed under: browsers, Google, web | Comments Off on CHROME KILLS FLASH
Posted on June 1st, 2015 by Joy Schwabach
We recently switched from Google’s “Chrome” web browser to “Opera” because Chrome started giving us problems. Now there’s a solution from Google called “Software Removal Tool.” Get it at google.com/chrome/srt. What it does is scan your browser for anything that slows it down. This includes extensions; these are small programs like “AdBlock” or “Gmail Offline.” Extensions slow your browsing. If there’s one you have to have, you can always put it back on. Chrome seemed to work slightly faster after we tried this. (We get so impatient sometimes.)
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Filed under: browsers, Google, web | Comments Off on BUGGY CHROME
Posted on January 20th, 2015 by Joy Schwabach
We thought we’d never stop using the Google Chrome web browser after switching to it ten years ago. But recently we switched to Firefox because Chrome was feeling buggy. Then Firefox started feeling buggy. So Joy has switched again, this time to Opera. It’s fun, fast and less buggy. You can call it up on a search and simply download it.
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Filed under: browsers, web | Comments Off on A BETTER BROWSER
Posted on September 22nd, 2014 by Joy Schwabach
Bob’s XP computer was so slow, Joy tried to talk him into restoring it back to its factory settings. Bob wouldn’t do it.
Because what it means is you’re clearing the hard drive. You’re taking it back to the beginning, when the Universe was dark. All your files, all your programs, will be gone. Did you back up the files before you reset it to factory specs? No? Too bad. Do you still have the disks to reinstall the old programs? Who does?
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Filed under: browsers, troubleshooting | Comments Off on SPEEDING UP A SLOW COMPUTER
Posted on May 30th, 2014 by Joy Schwabach
Opera Coast is a new web browser for iPhone and iPad. Swipe your hand to the left to go back to sites you recently visited. Tap the home button to get your list of favorites. The “Stuff We Like” feature helps you find popular content quickly.
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Filed under: browsers | Comments Off on NEW BROWSER FOR IPHONE AND IPAD
Posted on July 1st, 2013 by Joy Schwabach
Quite a few people seem upset over the possibility that their online activities are being tracked by the government. Yahoo acknowledges they have answered around 13,000 tracking requests from the feds in the last six months, and Facebook and Microsoft have similar numbers. Google’s “Chrome” browser has an “incognito mode,” but warns that you could be under “surveillance by secret agents.” (Can you imagine what a boring job that must be?) Mozilla Firefox has denounced government tracking and offers add-ons, such as “DoNotTrackMe,” to cover your embarrassing parts. In an upcoming release, they’ll block the most intrusive tracking cookies by default.
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Filed under: browsers, Google, security, spyware, web | Comments Off on YOU TRACKING ME?
