The time for keeping names, addresses, phone numbers and other information in a paper format has passed - a long time ago. That old address book we used to keep with scratched out phone numbers or addresses just won't cut it any longer. Enter the electronic address book. But wait. A new problem arises when …
Category: Info
Caveat Emptor!
When it comes to buying a computing device, do you make your purchase based primarily on price? Not to be blunt, but if you answered "Yes" to that question, you're making a mistake. There are so many other considerations when you go to purchase a new computer, tablet, smartphone or similar device. In truth, price …
All Good Things Must Come to An End
No, I'm not standing out on the corner with a sign that says "The End Is Near!" Rather, I'm expressing this phrase as it relates to the computer world. Pretty much all software eventually gets discontinued. It happens all the time. Right now, though, we are approaching some pretty significant software expiration dates. Here's what …
Home, Not Home
This post is really an FYI! I just want people to understand that I'm not ignoring them. Here's what happens: I will post something to Social Media or to my blog or I'll send out a Question of the Week email or something else along those lines. When I do that, I often get messages …
No Hand-holding!
If you live in Florida or if you're coming to Florida to see our famous mouse (or other attractions), it's important for you to know a change that takes effect October 1, 2019. If you're not familiar, Florida already has a "no-texting-while-driving law." (See my post, "Florida's New Texting Law.") However, effective October 1st, you …
Apple Problem?
It seems like forever. Apple users were able to justify the cost of their Apple product, if for no other reason, because it was safer than a Microsoft device. Think about it. While there were tens of thousands of viruses for the Windows Operating System, there were, maybe, a hundred or so for the Mac …
Class Action
"In September of 2017, Equifax announced it experienced a data breach, which impacted the personal information of approximately 147 million people. A federal court is considering a proposed class action settlement submitted on July 22, 2019, that, if approved by the Court, would resolve lawsuits brought by consumers after the data breach." That's a quote directly from …
There’s A New Browser In Town
For some time now, Microsoft has been working on a new browser - Microsoft Edge. Wait, I know what you Windows 10 users are thinking: "We've had Microsoft Edge since the first version of Windows 10!" Yes, that is true. But, this is the new Microsoft Edge built on the Chromium architecture. That's the same …
Don’t Fly With This Mac
In my June 25, 2019 post, I relayed information about a MacBook Pro recall because of battery problems. (Battery Recall) If you own a MacBook Pro laptop which was manufactured between September 2015 and February 2017, that computer is now banned from US airplane flights. It doesn't matter if it's a carry-on or in luggage, …
CP, Where Have You Gone?
If you're a Windows user who has been used to working with the Control Panel, you might want to know how to find it in Windows 10. Here's a two-minute video to show you the procedure: https://youtu.be/nJ80KYLdniE
Disappearing Icons?
In my video about changing your Windows 10 password, some people asked, "What happened to your desktop icons?" In response, I've created a brief video explaining how my icons were gone and how I could get them back. Just click below! https://youtu.be/VB_mCNvemqQ
Cornucopia of Caution
For this post, I'm going to highlight some of the words of caution I've given customers over the last few weeks: Warning Phone Messages * Neither Apple nor Microsoft will call you on the phone to tell you that there's an issue with your computer or it's not up-to-date. They will try to convince you …
Tag, You’re It!
When Joyce was proofing some blog posts for me, she brought up the "Tags" that appear at the bottom of each post. She asked me to explain to everyone why those tags are there. Tags are used to aid in searching. For instance, at the bottom of our blog "Who Shot Liberty Valance" you'll see …
Speaking Of Screenshots
In our last post (Who Shot Liberty Valance?) we explained how easy it is to take a screenshot in Windows 10. Here's a screenshot for you: In the picture above, I've circled "Access Site" in red. If you are an Xfinity xFI** customer like we are, you might see this screen when you click on …
Primed To Save
Today and tomorrow are Amazon Prime Days. There are some awesome savings if you're a Prime member. Just click on the banner above to start saving!
Two Items For Today
I'm interrupting our series on Google Photos to bring you two items for today. Because of a special event, we will be closing at 2:00 p.m. today. We will be open normal hours tomorrow and Friday.We have one laptop left of the two we purchased as closeouts. You'll recall the info: 15.6″ HP LaptopIntel i5 …
Google Photos – Introduction
In my last post, "It's All About Placement" I explained how placing a photo inside the text area of an email isn't always a good idea. I also mentioned that attaching a photo might not get the job done either, because it's so difficult to tell whether you should trust an email attachment. Instead, I …
Laptop Special
Normally, I don't use the blog to advertise computer specials - I usually do that in the Question of the Week email. But, I wanted to share this one with you. It's a closeout and I bought the last 2 and they'll be coming in at the end of the week. Here's the info on …
One For The Good Guys!
It was three years ago last month when I posted this video: https://youtu.be/RK2i8RtCP60 In this blog, I've written these posts about scammers who scare you into letting them onto your computer: Are Foreigners On Your Computer?Anti-virus Not Working?Fake NewsGift Cards=ScamBad Anti-virus?The Weakest Link In The ChainLet's Go Phishing!A Different Kind Of FishingWindows License Key Expiring?SE …
Florida’s New Texting Law
If you're one of our Florida customers or if you just want to visit Florida to play tourist (watch out for the big mouse in Kissimmee), you need to know about the new texting and driving law which goes into effect today, July 1, 2019. Our local paper, TC Palm, has an excellent article on …
Memorial Day & Summer Hours
In honor of those who served and paid the highest price for our freedom, we will be closed on Monday, May 27, 2019. If you are an RTS PLUS customer and have a computer emergency, please use the special number to call us. You will probably need to leave a message but we will get …
Microsoft And Beyond
If you know me, you know I love anything computer-related and I'm always fascinated as to how things happened along the way. In that vein, I'm currently listening to Paul Allen's book, "Idea Man." Whether you love or hate Microsoft, this book is a must-read. (Or must-listen, if you're into audio books like I am.) …
Which Word?
In recognition of #triviatuesday, I'm going to post something that's just fun today! (You can't be serious about computing ALL the time!) Post your answer in the comments at the bottom of the blog. From all the correct answers, I'll give away something from our seminar chest of prizes What will it be? Who knows! …
Email Archives
Here at Keystone Computer Concepts, we offer as much free training as we can. This blog is a prime source of our educational info. Still, did you know that we have archives of our Question of the Week emails? If you're not on our email list (you should be!) or if you've deleted a QOTW …
And On That Note…
In the last two posts, I shared information about Office 365 apps. Today, I want to mention another Microsoft app that is technically part of Office 365 and Office 2019 but is actually a free app available through the Microsoft Store - OneNote. It's one of the most under-used Microsoft apps yet it's one of …
Scrambled Eggs & Data
In my last post (Delete Your Laptop?), I mentioned that one of the ways to protect your laptop is to encrypt the data. In simple terms, encryption scrambles the data so it can't be read without an encryption key or password. If you have a laptop with an encrypted hard drive, even if hackers remove …
Delete Your Laptop
Computers have certainly come a long way since I sat down at my Commodore 64 in 1983. That's especially true when it comes to laptops. Today, we can carry a laptop, either Mac or Windows PC, that has more power and abilities than those original computers that filled entire rooms. They are light and thin, …
What’s That Small Port On My New Computer?
Recently, when I've sold and delivered a new computer to a customer, I explain to them that their new device has a small port called a USB-C. As you can see in the picture above, the port and cable are rounded unlike the traditional USB which is more rectangular in shape. Also unlike the old …
Change Is Not Always Bad!
We've initiated three new blog-related changes. First, our entire blog is now secured with our SSL certificate. No matter what page of our blog you are on, you will see the locked padlock and the "s" as part of the https//. What this means is more security while you're on our site. Speaking of security, …
It Can Happen To Anyone!
Yes, even to computer companies! Yesterday, around 2:00 p.m., our Internet went down. This will happen from time to time and it usually comes back up in 5 minutes or so. Not yesterday! We were down, down, down! As you can see from the picture above, we had to resort to doing things without the …