Wiley Computer Works

Tech note: The Windows 10 Version Update 2004 has been released by Microsoft. This means you will see a LOOONG multistep update on your computer, and it's legit. The exact time WHEN you'll see it will be random, although you can force it to run at a time that's better for you if you'd rather not risk it happening on its own at an inconvenient time. After it's done, 99% of my clients will see a message that says "Classic Shell needs to configure itself for the new operating sy...Continue reading

Tech note: 1803, Microsoft’s semi-annual version update to Windows 10, started auto-updating in computers under my care this weekend. Never mind what new features it has because they don’t matter to the average user, and never mind that it’s called The Spring Creators Update because that is also a meaningless attempt to be relatable to the average over-40 user by using non-tech-speak in the same way that Apple uses Sierra as the name for their OSX 10.12 and Intel uses Ka...Continue reading

Data Backup Recommendation (As of Dec. 2017) www.iDrive.com (This is time sensitive due to a special offer from iDrive described below.) The most RELIABLE way to backup your important computer files is by using an online service, which is now often called the cloud. ...Continue reading

Microwave Oven Recommendation Panasonic with Inverter Technology Now here’s something you don’t expect to get from a computer company. But every once in a while, we encounter something worth a mention in some other subject. Over the decades at home we’ve had a series of mostly Walmart-purchased counter top microwave ovens, each of which worked for a few years and then, usually, something would eventually go wrong with the controls. So, we would replace it with whichever mod...Continue reading

The Hollywood Darling Shutdown This means closing your laptop computer’s lid while the computer is on, which by the way, can also happen inadvertently before it’s really all the way off. A Hollywood Darling Shutdown is how it’s done quickly by the hip and trendy stars on TV and in the movies in the interest of time and moving the story forward. So, of course, since they do it, you do it, too, without even noticing. ...Continue reading

What cell phones do I recommend? This will be partly scientific and partly my own biases. The two I recommend are the Motorola Z2 Force Droid and the Samsung Note 8. (Or, to save money, the Motorola Z Force Droid is still available as of this writing. It’s the predecessor to the Z2 and what I got before the Z2 was available and which I still have.) Also get the Gadget Guard screen protector for whichever high-end phone you get. The high-end screens run anywhere from shatter-r...Continue reading

If you're looking for a color inkjet printer that will also do photos, try the Brother MFC-J985DW. While It officially retails for $200, as of this writing you can find it for $150 on Amazon and Staples, plus it comes with "super high-yield INKvestment" cartridges rather than half-filled little starter cartridges (compared to regular yield cartridges, which are two levels down from super high-yield INKvestments, so the starters are three levels down from them). That in itself... is worth $70, and the cost-per-sheet with this ink is less than $.01 for black-and-white and less than $.05 for color (both the lowest I could find). INKvestment is Brother's latest ink technology and gets you 3000 black and 1500 color pages per cartridge change (which is $20 for the black and $50 for the three colors). In addition, it has a document feeder, along with USB and wireless has wired Ethernet (which is getting harder to find), a separate tray for 4x6 photo paper, manual bypass for envelopes, and is more compact than the average printer. So it looks like the sweet spot in photo printing, and it also looks like a good printer for regular old non-photo documents, too, at a non-business volume. Whatever printing needs you have, I recommend getting a Brother one way or the other. They've been consistently the best for well over a decade. The MFC-J985DW looks like an ideal photo printer that I hadn't noticed before. http://www.brother-usa.com/MFC/ModelDetail/4/MFCJ985DW/spec

The old and new cell phone towers at Forest Meadows. Big difference! Almost ready to go. Should help a lot.

One for the books. 26 hours scan. 3 million files deleted. 60 GB purged. Typically this takes only 2 minutes with 20K files deleted and 2 GB purged. Only the second time I've seen this glitch, and no explanation for why it happened. Firefox is a good browser. The computer is running fine now.

It’s about time that I actually wrote something techy and useful on my WCW FB page, after four years of it being here. Let’s start things off with some current news. There’s a major Windows 10 update available called 1709 (the term I use for it), but it’s also known as The Fall Creator’s Update (which I think is a weird name that’s not specific enough) and Build 16299 (which I think is too specific and difficult to remember). What makes its number 1709 useful and easy...Continue reading

Hey Everybody! Wiley Computer Works has a facebook page!