Kevin Allen

Some user interface elements are just too darn small. Here's how to fix that       Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET   Windows 10 has had some issues with display scaling on high-resolution screens -- you may have noticed that some of your legacy apps on Windows 10 have (or had -- they've been slowly fixing this) minuscule user interfaces, with icons and text so tiny you can barely see them, let alone click them. Well, I have some good and bad news for you. The good news is that there a..

Google looks to take a more measured approach to spending.Bloomberg via Getty Images Google has become known as the "moon shot" company, but there are signs it's starting to come back to earth. The search giant has become the talk of Silicon Valley for its costly projects, ranging from driverless cars, Wi-Fi-enabled balloons and radar-based chips. The goal: Find a new source of revenue and potentially change the world along the way. Google isn't giving up on those efforts, but its approach to spending is beginning to change. The company has been slower to add to its headcount and..

APPLE PATCHES DOZENS OF FLAWS IN IOS 8.4, OS X 10.10.4 by Dennis Fisher  June 30, 2015 , 2:28 pm   Apple has released new versions of iOS and OS X, both of which include a significant number of security patches, several for bugs that can lead to remote code execution and other serious issues. Version 8.4 of iOS contains fixes for more than 30 security vulnerabilities, including bugs in the iOS kernel, WebKit, and CoreText. Apple also patched the vulnerability that leads to the Logjam attack, an issue with servers that support weak Di..

Look around your house and chances are you that have a least a few devices equipped with Universal Serial Bus (USB) cables. On average, some 3 billion USB ports are shipped each year, by far the most successful type of peripheral connection. In years, though, USB is getting competition and it now trails behind the new Thunderbolt standard both in speed and ease of use. This is the gap that the latest in USB development, the USB Type-C,finalized just earlier this month, intends to fill. Before you can understand USB Type-C, however, you need to know the difference betw..

  Free public Wi-Fi is incredibly convenient, but security can be an issue. Here's how to minimize the risk, whether you use a laptop, smartphone, or tablet. by Lexy Savvides     @lexysavvides June 3, 2015 4:33 PM PDT ​           Stuck without a data connection on the road? Free public Wi-Fi is one of those little luxuries that can make travelling easier, but you do need to exercise caution in how you use it. Here are some tips on what to look out for whe..

A new notification prompts Windows 7 and 8.1 users to reserve an upgrade to the upcoming OS, due to debut July 29. by Lance Whitney @lancewhit June 1, 2015 7:24 AM PDT   You can now reserve your free copy of Windows 10, if you meet the necessary requirements. Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET   Microsoft is now pushing Windows 10 via a notice suggesting you reserve a copy. On Monday, the software giant announced that Windows 10 will officially roll out July 29. That means it will be available on any PCs you p..

The next iteration of the software maker's operating system is slated to arrive in two months. by Nick Statt @nickstatt June 1, 2015 1:00 AM PDT   Nick Statt/CNET   Microsoft has set a release date for Windows 10 to arrive in the summer. The software maker announced Monday that it will begin offering its newest software to power PCs and tablets as a free upgrade on July 29. Windows 10 Mobile, the company's companion software designed to power smartphones, is expected to arrive later this year. Windows 10 will be fr..

    Stealthy Linux GPU malware can also hide in Windows PCs, maybe Macs Lucian Constantin May 11, 2015 8:32 AM A team of anonymous developers who recently created a Linux rootkit that runs on graphics cards has released a new proof-of-concept malware program that does the same on Windows. A Mac OS X implementation is also in the works. The developers are trying to raise awareness that malware can infect GPUs and that the security industry is not ready for it. Their goal isn’t to tip off malicious hackers, but the source code..

~ By Martin Brinkmann on May 8, 2015 in Google Chrome - Last Update: May 9, 2015 8 Google's Accessibility team has released two new Chrome extensions recently that improve the browser's accessibility in two specific ways. Animation Policy is a Chrome extension that gives you more control over animated image formats in the browser. Animations run in a never ending loop in Chrome by default which is not always the best usability experience especially since there is no quick option  to stop the animation once the image has loaded fully in the browser. Animation Policy prov..

   WRITTEN BY DOUG BONDERUD  CATEGORY AppleHow-To's October 24, 2014               You want a new smartphone, but you don’t want to pay too much. Buying pre-owned is one option for getting a great deal on a high-quality device, but now you’re wondering: What’s under the hood? Here’s a quick comparison of mobile operating systems (OS) to help you decide which pre-owned smartphone gives you the best value for your money. iOS If you’re considering an Apple product, iOS is the backbone. Any iPhone ..

You purchased a new computer. Congratulations! Now what? Do you just go along your merry way surfing the web, creating spreadsheets, playing Solitaire or changing your desktop background to a picture showing three furry kittens in a basket? No. There are several essential things you must do when you boot up your computer for the very first time. If you do not do these crucial steps, your computer experience will be less than wonderful in the months and years to come.   What To Do After You Boot Your New Computer So you’ve unboxed the new PC. You’ve attached the monitor and plugge..

This is a video illustrating how to replace your DV5000 motherboard. ..

  Knowing how much memory is in your PC is one thing, but knowing whether that amount is enough is entirely different! The amount of memory your PC needs depends largely on the memory requirement of your software. Here’s how to test your PC’s memory:  Enlarge 1 Load and run several programs simultaneously. You need to make the computer very busy. These need to be big programs, such as Photoshop, Word, and Excel.    Enlarge 2 Switch between the programs while they’re all running. Press th..

For Seniors: How to Free Up Disk Space on Your Computer By Corey Sandler from Fix Your Own Computer For Seniors For Dummies You need to free up disk space on your computer's hard drive to help it run effectively. When you free up disk space, you’re essentially cleaning unused files and fragments of data off of your hard. If you can’t free up enough disk space for your needs, you may even have to replace your hard drive with one that has more capacity. To free up disk space on your hard drive: Choose Start→Control Panel→System and Security and then click Free ..

New update patches a number of widely reported issues. by Andrew Cunningham - Jan 27 2015, 10:11am PST Share Tweet  65     For the first time in forever, the Mac could be noticed by someone. Apple has just released the final build of OS X 10.10.2, the second major update for OS X Yosemite since its release. Version 10.10.1, published just a month after Yosemite's release, focused mostly on quick fixes for the new OS' most noticeable problems. Apple has been issuing betas for 10.10.2 since November, th..

The issues of concern  is whether the conversion will keep all of my info including the recovery partition (or equivalent volume on the dynamic disk), OS and still be bootable as mentioned below My laptop has Intel RAID capability built into the chipset. There is a software RAID built into Windows 8.1, or at least driver mirroring which is what I want. It is also my understanding that you have to have the drive as a dynamic drive and mine is currently basic, so need to know; 1. Does the drive have to be changed to dynamic in order to use mirroring? 2.Is it possible to convert ..

Jialiang Ge [MSFT]  23 Oct 2014 12:38 AM  3 0x80070652 - ERROR_INSTALL_ALREADY_RUNNING Error 80070652 means that a previous installation has not been completed successfully. Restarting computer generally fixes this issue. If this doesn’t take you anywhere you may proceed with these Windows update troubleshooting steps.   Method 1: Check for the updates that have failed to install. While using Windows Update to install this update, get the exact error message by following this step: I. Open Windows Update by clicking the Start button. In the s..

"Failure configuring Windows updates. Reverting changes. Do not turn off your computer" error when you try to install Windows updates   If you have had trouble updating your system with required updates that are supplied from Microsoft, I am here to help get you to a quick and somewhat labor intensive solution. As a side note, I had several folks tell me to just stay at Windows 7 until Windows 10 or something even better comes out. Good advice be damned, I updated anyway only to realize what I updated to was Windows 8 not the "new and improved" Windows 8.1 . My mistake, Windows 8 br..

Google Apps users will need an admin to enable the feature before it can be used on a Chromebook. by Jason Cipriani     @MrCippy February 2, 2015 1:43 PM PST comments 0  facebook 0  twitter 69  linkedin 6  googleplus more more +   Smart Lock setup on a Chromebook.Jason Cipriani/CNET Google recently launched its Smart Lock feature on Chromebooks, where a user can unlock his or her laptop simply by having an An..