Computers and the Internet – Page 5

UPDATES – NBN SP7 NUC etc

This post is to update various previous posts.

As I have stated I have FTTN (Fibre To The Node), and the node is a little under ½ KM away.

It has now been 12 months and I have had no problems at all. No matter the time of day, I still get 47 to 48 Mbps down and 18 to 19 Mbps up on a 50/20 plan.

My router still shows that my maximum line rate is more than sufficient to get the 100/40 plan and most people in my area are now connected.

I have assisted a number of (mainly older) people with transferring to NBN involving all of the major providers and I have to say that Telstra is the best to deal with but none of them could be described as bad.

Most recently (this week) I helped a friend living in Brisbane and they have FTTC ( Fibre To The Curb) – lucky people. Unlike others who were connected via FTTC earlier, they had an NBN Connection Device posted to them. This small router like box streamlines the process and you no longer have to phone your service provider. You only need to disconnected all phone lines in the house and place the device between the phone outlet and your router and the transfer takes place automatically in just a few minutes.

NUC

I remain very impressed with my Intel NUC. It serves as my main computer and in future this is what I will recommend when people come to me for advice on a Windows home (desktop) computer.

SURFACE PRO 7 (SP7)

I have no regrets with upgrading from my old SP4 and the Surface Pro remains my preference for a laptop. However I concede that (particularly with the mouse and key pad, dock, pen etc) they are expensive and there are any number of price points and excellent choices for a Windows laptop.

Surface Pro 7

I recently upgraded my Surface Pro 4 (SP4) to a Surface Pro 7 (SP7).

The SP4 was purchased in 2015 – Core i5, 256 GB HDD, 8 GB RAM, Win 10 pro – and apart from one issue I have been very satisfied.

At that time I also bought the dock, keyboard cover, blue tooth mouse, Display Port to HDMI adaptor plus a 128 GB SD card to expand the storage. The Pen came with it – I seem to remember.

It had good battery life, is a usable tablet, an excellent and portable laptop, the SD card slot is out of the way under the hinge so the card can be left in permanently and has a touch screen with a stylus to write on the screen and use with PhotoShop Elements. Best of all, it has the Windows Hello camera for sign in via face recognition.

The only negative is that from time to time it would get screen shake. This occurred infrequently and initially I was firmly in “Team Software” as the cause.

The internet was divided into those who thought it was a software/driver problem and those who thought it was a hardware/over heating problem. I joined “Team Software” as it seemed to happen after a major update and could be fixed by re-installing the graphics driver from Intel.

As the SP4 was coming up to about 5 years old, I had planned to update but was waiting for a Surface Pro model with USB C Thunderbolt. Needless to say, when SP7 came out with USB C in place of the Display Port, I was initially pleased then disappointed when I found out it was not Thunderbolt.

However, a few months back the screen shake started to become more frequent and updating the driver did not work but putting in in the refrigerator did. So much for “Team Software”, it seemed that “Team Heat” was right after all. Then coming up to Christmas when the weather was getting warmer, the screen shake got so bad that the computer became almost unusable unless it was connected to a second monitor. Putting it in the fridge worked but the cure did not last long.

Naturally I was not a happy camper and was even more disappointed when, looking for a solution on line, I discovered that Microsoft had been offering a free fix (by replacing with a similar re-furbished model) BUT the offer HAD EXPIRED.

Normally, with something like this it is a case of ‘once bitten twice shy’ but I really like the Surface Pro and also, as JB HiFi had the SP7 on discount, I gave in and bought one. It is the same specs apart from the OS. The SP7 has Win 10 Home and the SP4 had Win 10 Pro. However, I wasn’t using any of the Win 10 Pro features so this was not an issue. Also – and importantly – all of the accessories would continue to work with the latest model.

It is a pity that the USB C is not Thunderbolt but I have a NUC with Thunderbolt and have yet to use even the USB C port. (Thunderbolt was really just ‘future proofing”)

In summary I am very happy with my new SP7 (without screen shake) and I really like the Windows Hello camera to the point that I would not buy a laptop without it. My iPhone also has facial recognition and the only reason I have not purchased a new Web Cam for my NUC is that the Windows Hello Web Cams are still a bit too expensive. U Mart has the Logitech Brio 4K marked down but only by $15.

Bluetooth Earbuds / Earphones

Unfortunately I have the type of ear shape that will not hold Apple Airpods or any similar type earbuds. They fall out.

While Apple supported the 3.5mm stereo jack, I had almost unlimited choice but I usually made do with those ultra cheap “hook over the ear / earhooks” corded ones for a few dollars at Woolworths. These do not have a mic but so what. I just answer the phone the normal way. They do the job for listening to podcasts and music and it doesn’t matter much if they get broken or lost.

I did own a pair of over the head Bluetooth headphones but I rarely used them. The corded cheap ones did the job and you don’t have to remember to charge them.

All that changed when Apple did away with the 3.5mm jack. Even today there is not a great choice for corded headphones with the lightning connector. Beats have them but they are all “in ear” types and expensive. As yet I have not been able to find reasonably priced “Earhook” types with a lightning connector – at least not from an Australian retailer.

I do have the lightning to 3.5mm adaptor so it is not a great crisis. (Although, the adaptor costs more than the Earphones.)

A friend of mine ( I will call him “G”) has a similar problem so we decided to test Bluetooth earphones. I went ultra cheap and he went ultra expensive.

MY CHEAP SOLUTION

Jam Live Large Wireless Bluetooth In-Ear Earbuds from JB HiFi. Current price is $49-95 but I got them on special for $40. They do the job, sound OK, battery lasts a long time (7 hours) and have a mic BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY they have ear hooks. They are also joined by a cord so you cant lose one of them. They charge via USB.

I am very happy with them. They work as advertised and sound OK to me. Be aware that I have no appreciation of sound quality so take my statement that they sound OK with a grain of salt. They are not noise cancelling or anything fancy like that but I like that you can hear what is going on around you. It saves from getting run over by a car or hit by an ankle biter on a bike on his/her way to school and riding on the footpath. My only minor complaint is that it is a bit fiddly to get the charging plug in. But this is because I am ham fisted with big fingers.

FRIEND “G” – EXPENSIVE SOLUTION

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless for around $500. (Although he got them for about half that with Flybuys.)

These are “top end” and all of the reviews confirm this.

G has used them for nearly a year. He reports that they are great, work really well and sound excellent. However he is “not a great fan”.

His reasons –

They are in ear types which don’t appeal to G very much. He says that you are certainly aware your ears are blocked.
The App is good but when you turn on “transparent hearing” to hear local noise, you also get whistling wind noise and can hear your own footsteps.
The right earphone tends to fall out regularly when walking.

So G has now also opted for a cheaper solution. He bought an “Apple AirPod” knock off from Kogan

Kogan W8 True Wireless Earphones (White)

The usual price is $59 (delivery included) but he got them on special for less.

He reports that he is pleasantly surprised. They have excellent sound, hang securely in his ears ## and are not noise cancelling so you remain aware of your surroundings. They can also operate with only one piece as well. (## They would not work for me. They would fall out.)

The negatives he reports are; (The first one made be laugh).

You look like an absolute dork, just like the Apple ones ,
They flash a bright led blue light every 5 secs.

CONCLUSION

Even if your ears are the correct “Apple Approved” shape and can hold AirPods, why spend the money.

NBN

At long last this part of the state is (slowly) getting connected to the NBN.

I am getting FTTN (Fibre to the Node) and, according to the NBN Web Site, it is due this month. I am hoping that the lines will support the NBN 50 (50Mbps down) speed which will seem very fast compared to my current top “speed” of 2.0 to 2.5 Mbps down and up is measured in Kilobits.

A friend was lucky enough to get FTTC (Fibre to the Curb)and he got connected last week. FTTC will support the top speed of NBN 100 (100Mbps down) but he opted for NBN 50 which is more than enough for his needs.

He decided to stay with Telstra and contacted them by phone to make the arrangements. He reports that they were quick and efficient and a new “Smart” modem was delivered within 48 hours. Then it was just a matter of disconnecting the old modem and plugging in the new one.

After changing his WiFi password on his devices it was “all systems go”. A speed test showed he was getting 45Mbps down and 18 Mbps up.

TELEPHONE

For the record his fairly old phone works after being plugged into the NBN modem. It is not one of those original Telstra Phones that don’t need to be plugged into the power, but still it is probably well over a decade old.

SPLITTERS

He only has one phone line into his house and it has the old “610” type socket.

Previously he used a splitter to connect to the RJ11 sockets on his phone and modem.

For the NBN he left the splitter in place and connected the new Smart Modem to the splitter using the ADSL Plug.

The speed test confirmed that this did not affect performance but it is important not to plug into the “Phone” outlet as, apparently, it is the Splitter’s “Phone” line that has the filter.

This is good to know as I have an outside central splitter that was installed by my Home Alarm company.

The Alarm company has since moved over to the Mobile Phone system but at least I know that I can just keep using the current internet outlet and it won’t be necessary to get the outside splitter removed.

WIN 10 PC RESET–Surface Pro 4 Screen Flicker

As I have mentioned before, doing a re-install of a computer Operating System (OS) is not the nightmare that it used to be. Both Microsoft and Apple have streamlined the process and in the case of Windows 10, a PC Reset can even be easy particularly if you pre-plan.

A full explanation of all of the Win 10 options can be seen here https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/12415/windows-10-recovery-options

In “All Settings / Update and Security / Recovery / Reset this PC” you are given the choice to “Keep my Files” OR “Remove Everything”. I have never had a reason to use the “Remove Everything” option and in most cases the “Keep my Files” will be all that is needed. This option keeps all your files but removes traditional programs that you have installed including Microsoft Office. It keeps some of the Store Apps but even when these Apps are not put back automatically, when you re-install from the store they come back with your settings intact.

The following are my tips:

Tip No 1 – Use Microsoft Store Apps when you can.

I have learnt, via trial and error, that wherever possible you should get an App from the store rather than installing a program. The only problem here is the lack of choice in the Microsoft Store, BUT things are improving.

For example, you can get iTunes in the store and my advice is to use this version, rather than downloading from Apple. When you do a “PC Reset / Keep my Files” you have to go to the store to re-install, but the store knows that you own the App. Moreover, it re-installs with your settings, even in my case knowing that, with my Surface Pro 4, I have my iTunes library/ Media file on an SD card with an allocated Drive letter inserted in the card slot under the hinge. It also comes back with Playlists, Podcasts etc..

It is the same with things like the Money App that re-install with your personal settings/ Watchlists and so on.

Tip No 2 – Make list of non-store programs to be re-installed including location of install media and / or Web Sites – with Activation Codes.

If you have to download a program from the internet, make sure that you only re-install from the program’s home site. I will not use any of the download sites and if I can’t find the home site I will not install. If you want VLC go to https://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Use Wikipedia to get the URL if you don’t know it.

When you do a PC Reset, Windows provides a list on the Desktop of the programs that it has removed. However, I only put back the essentials like printer software and other programs that I always use and re-install anything else when needed. With my scanner/printer I keep the install .exe files in a folder in my Downloads. These things rarely change. UPDATE – CARE! Don’t store in Downloads as Disk Clean-up now deletes Downloads.

Tip No 3 – Have your Email Passwords handy.

I use the Mail App and on completion it automatically installs the Email for your Microsoft Account (that you sign into the computer with) IF you have used a Hotmail/Live/Outlook Email for your Microsoft Account. (You can use any Email address for your Microsoft Account and if say you use a G mail address it won’t put back that G Mail.)

You will have to re-input all other Emails. The only one I have any issues with is my Yahoo Email. It comes up with a flag to “Fix” but if you just keep clicking “Fix” and re-inputting the password, it eventually repairs itself. Also, if like me, you have Email on your own Domain name, be sure to keep the server / port details so you don’t have to go looking for them.

Tip No 4 Back Up First

You should be doing a back up in any case so this is a “no brainer”. I just use the inbuilt Win 10 Back Up to an external drive. So, go to All Settings/ Update and Security / Backup (attach your back up drive if applicable) and run a backup FIRST.

Comments

The thing that takes the longest time for me is re-installing Office 365, but this is down to my SLOW internet.

Otherwise it is a simple process made even easier when you pre-plan.

SCREEN FLICKER

I did have, however, one particular concern with the Surface Pro 4 (SP4) and it occurred for the first time when I did a PC Reset a couple of days ago. The issue was with “Screen Shake/ Flicker” which, if you search on line, appears to be a problem for a number of SP4 owners.

I was aware that this problem exists, and it apparently is a driver issue for the Display Adaptor. I immediately went to Device Manager/ Display Adaptor and tried to update the driver but got the notification that the most recent driver was installed. I then went to the Intel site and downloaded their driver, but I got the same notification.

I was starting to panic a bit as the flicker was bad enough to almost make the screen un-readable. However, I found this solution on line – and it worked. Go to Device Manager/ Display Adaptor and un-install the Intel HD Graphics 520. Then do a complete shutdown by holding down together the power button and the volume up buttons for 15 seconds. (Turning it off with only the power button does not fully shut it down.) Then when I started it again, it found the “new” hardware (the Intel HD Graphics 520) and installed the driver. This fixed the problem for me at least.

UPDATE – SCREEN FLICKER

This page contains the official Microsoft Instructions for a complete shutdown and restart of Surface products.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/4036280/surface-force-a-shut-down-and-restart-your-surface

Procedure to reinstall Display Adaptor:

Go to Device Manager / Display Adaptor and right mouse on the Intel Display Adaptor and click “Uninstall Device”. (It will default to the Microsoft Basic Display Adaptor)

Complete a hard shutdown and restart as per the Video (40 seconds in for SP4/3 & Surface Book) – Hold down the Power Button for 30 seconds, release and then hold down the Power button and the Volume Up together for 15 seconds. (Note if you press longer than 15 seconds the UEFI will come up – just click/tap Exit and Restart)

The Windows Hello camera will not work on the restart so press the Space Bar and log in with your PIN.

Go to Device Manager/Display Adaptor/ Microsoft Basic Display Adaptor – Right Mouse / Update Driver. Select the Search Automatically option and download and install the updated Driver. This will take a few minutes.

Device Manager/ Display Adaptor will then show the Intel Adaptor and Windows Hello and everything else will work as per usual.

NOTE! I am beginning to accept opinion that the screen shake problem has more to do with heat than Display Adaptor drivers. Last time it happened it was a hot day (about 37°C) and I had the SP4 located next to a TV that gives off heat. So I detached the keyboard and put the SP4 in the fridge for 15 minutes and the issue went away. Be careful with this and don’t put it in the freezer. The temperature range for SP4 is 0°C/32°F to 35°C/95°F – So a fridge should be OK for a short period but not a freezer. This is just my opinion so anything you do is at your own risk.

Win 10 Photos–continued

The Win 10 Photos App has improved to such an extent that it is my first option for editing of images. Although I have Photoshop Elements, I use the Photos App more frequently particularly when I want to make quick adjustments or save a still image from a video or an iPhone “Live” photo.

The App lets you drag through the video or “Live” photo to select the desired frame to save.

Note: It saves the still image as a .jpg in the same folder called “original name + moments”

Another very handy edit is the “Enhance your photo” function that quickly and automatically corrects light and colour with a vertical line that can be dragged left or right to make further manual adjustments.

There are many more manual adjustments that can be made, but I find that the automatic “Enhance” function does all that I ever need.

Be aware that with the “Crop” function you have to click on “Aspect ratio” and select “Custom” as the default maintains the original aspect ratio.

This App is probably all most people will need and the automatic “Enhance” is a life saver for me as I am hopeless with manual adjustments to photos.

SSL CERTIFICATE

After much procrastination, I finally bit the bullet and purchased an SSL Certificate for my domain. Therefore the URL will now be https://www.whysun.com

WINDOWS 8–ON LINE IS THE BEST AND CHEAPEST WAY TO UPGRADE

See my previous post on 27th Oct 2012.

After the straightforward and easy upgrade to my main desktop machine (using upgrade discs that I bought from a retailer) I decided, as it was so easy and inexpensive, to upgrade the old laptop on which I had been running the preview version. As mentioned previously, this is an Asus M5200AE notebook with a 1.73 GHZ Pentium M CPU & 1GB RAM.

This time I used the “on Line” upgrade assistant.

This is the way to go. It only cost AUD$39-99 for Win 8 Pro and I took advantage of the offer to get WMC for free. (Not that I will use WMC on it but hey it’s free!) The Microsoft Australian link is http://windows.microsoft.com/en-AU/windows/buy?ocid=GA8_O_WOL_DIS_ShopHP_FPP_Light

As soon as I finished, I created an Image and Repair/boot Disc on DVDs using the old Win 7 Image back up which is still available in Win 8. Install discs are offered in this process as an optional extra but the cost is $25. Why pay when it is so easy to make your own discs. (Type “recovery” in the Charms search and click on “Settings” and you will see “Windows 7 File Recovery”. Open this and it is the familiar Win 7 control panel to make a system image and recovery discs.)

It could not have been easier. As first it runs a check of your system to identify any potential problems and then proceeds with the upgrade (retaining your data). Also you can pay by credit card or PayPal during the procedure.

The only issues I had with the old laptop were:

I needed to go to Realtek to get a driver for the sound (Vista / Win 7 driver worked)
The card reader does not work but I have not made any effort to find drivers

AND the DVD Drive that was not working with the Preview Version of Win 8 now works. For $39-99 I have an adequately working Win 8 Notebook. (According to Microsoft, 2GB Of RAM is the preferred minimum but it goes OK with 1GB).

Windows 8 Update

I have been playing with Windows 8 now for a few days. My initial enthusiasm has waxed and waned a little as I ran across problems. I must mention that without the information available on Paul Thurrott’s Winsupersite http://www.winsupersite.com/windows-8 , I would have been more than a little frustrated at times. Tekzilla (http://revision3.com/tekzilla) and Windows Weekly (http://twit.tv/ww) have also been of great help.

Nevertheless, despite some ups and downs, the more I get used to it the more I like it. In particular, I have been trying to use the Metro interface as much as possible rather than using the familiar desktop. I really like the Metro interface even without a touch screen. In regard to this, there was a very good suggestion on Episode 250 of Windows Weekly (http://twit.tv/show/windows-weekly/250) that something like the Apple Magic Touchpad would be an ideal substitute for a touch screen.

There are always three ways to interact with the computer with Win 8 i.e. Touch, Mouse and Keyboard. In the absence of the “Touch” option, I have downloaded a full list of the Keyboard Shortcuts and the mouse works pretty much as you would expect but with the additions of “corners”.

Many of my tiles have “come to life”, but the X Box ones are still “dead”. “Live Tiles” is something I really like and in addition you can set it to show up to 7 Apps on the Lock Screen with one in full detail.

So far I have only come across a couple of significant concerns (but I am only playing around with it and not using it full time):

Internet Explorer ( Metro) – I just can’t make sense of IE (metro) and I have set IE to always open in the Desktop. Instructions are here http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows8/windows-8-consumer-preview-internet-explorer-10-secrets-142451
Spell Check - There is still no spell check built into the OS. WordPad was updated for Win 7 and it also comes with Win 8 but again without spell check. However, if you download Windows Live Essentials and install Windows Live Writer (WLW), you get spell check with this program. (I am using WLW to write this blog post but you could also use it for non blog purposes and, after a spell check, cut and paste into WordPad – Or buy Office, which I suppose is the reason there is no spell check in WordPad.

Other Discoveries

I was watching the latest episode of Tekzilla and, thanks to the Tekzilla crew, I now know what the “Share” Charm is for.The Share charm is used to send links, photos, etc. to people via Email and / or Social Networks without leaving the app you have open. For Example if you are looking at pictures in the Photos App, you click on the Share Charm to send the photo to someone via Email.

However at this stage not many Apps appear in the Share Charm. I expect that this will expand in due course

I will keep “playing” and post more as I come across things of interest.

WINDOWS 8

I have downloaded and installed the Consumer Preview (or pre release test) version of Windows 8.

My first reaction is positive.

It is different in many ways from Windows 7 but “under the hood” it remains familiar to a Win 7 user. I am still learning, but from what I have seen so far, I will probably be upgrading after it is officially released sometime later this year even though I have been more than happy with Windows 7. I will, however, buy a touch screen for my computer before I do so as a lot of the new features are designed for touch. I will also get an SSD for my boot drive.

The install process has been automated so it performs an upgrade from Win 7 or Vista without losing any of your programs or features. You run a compatibility test first and are given warnings about anything that will not work. The only major warning that I got on my Core i7 machine was that Microsoft Security Essentials won’t work. However this is not a worry as the anti virus/malware program is now fully integrated into Win 8.

I started to download Win 8 onto my main computer but, as I did not want to risk mucking it up, I changed my mind. Instead, I downloaded the .iso and did a clean install of Win 8 (32 bit) on an old computer running XP. It has a Pentium 4 (3 GHz) CPU, Nvidia GeForce 6200 and 1 GB RAM.

I had no trouble loading Win 8 to dual boot with XP and it runs well. Naturally there is no “Touch Screen” functionality.

First up I will address the three things that have been causing the most comments:

Lack of a Start Button
The “Missing” Search function that came with the Start Button in Vista and Win 7
The Metro Interface

Start Button

The Default is the Metro Start Screen. But it is very easy to revert to the normal Desktop via a bottom left “swipe” or “click”. In both cases there is no Start Button. On The Metro Interface you can include tiles for programs you commonly access. When using the Desktop option, the old task bar remains and you can “Pin” things there. However access to all programs and other functions in both Metro and Desktop is now via a bottom right “swipe/click” which brings up a bar that contains buttons for these things. You can also do a right mouse click in the bottom left to bring up a menu that provides links to a number of functions like “Control Panel” , “Explorer” etc. .

Search Function

It is still there and you get to it via a bottom right “click/swipe”. I have been using it and when you get the hang of how it works it is as good as the Win 7 version.

The Metro Interface

It is easy to swap between The Metro Interface and the Desktop (bottom left click/swipe).

The Metro Interface looks like this (see below). As you can see it contains Tiles. The Tiles provide access to programs (or Apps) and you can add or remove them. I am still setting up my Metro Interface and I intend to reduce the number of tiles so I only have tiles for things I regularly use. It is a bit crowded now as the programs for Windows Live Essentials had been installed prior to the image (below) being taken.

Some of the Tiles are active like the Weather one which updates weather information throughout the day. You go into the settings for the App to add places and change from Fahrenheit or Celsius.

However you can easily revert to a more traditional Desktop like this. As you can see it still has shortcuts and things can be pinned to the task bar at the bottom. The clock and other icons appear in the right corner as in Win7.

HIDDEN UTILITIES – CHARMS ETC

I was familiar with the concept of hiding task bars from the latest version of Ubuntu. To see the Launch Bar on Ubuntu 11.10 you hover your mouse (or swipe) the left hand side of the screen. It is similar with Win 8. You can either use a manual swipe if you have a touch screen or use a mouse or the keyboard to access all of the things that you might think are missing. I haven’t worked it all out yet but I am relying on Paul Thurrott at Win Super Site here http://www.winsupersite.com/windows-8 to bring me up to speed.

I can’t say much more at this stage as I don’t have a touch screen and I barely know what “Charms” are. I think they are the buttons that come up when you swipe bottom right. See below – The buttons on the right in the black bar – “Search”, “Share” etc. are “Charms” (I think).

OTHER THINGS

When I installed Win 8 I input my Windows Live / Hotmail sign in details and it automatically synced all my stuff from Windows Live – Calendar / Mail / Contacts / SkyDrive etc..

This means that I have to use my Windows Live details to log onto my computer. You don’t have to do this but I consider it to be a good idea.

The first time I re-started the computer I could not work out how to get to the log in screen. However, by a fluke I pressed the Ctrl button and it bought up the Log In screen. On the other hand it took a few minutes to locate the power button to turn it off. All is well now that I know where to look. (In the “Charms” under “Settings”.)

There are lots of other little things that you discover and here a few screen shots of things I found in Charms/ Settings / More PC Settings:

I included this last one as it shows an excellent feature of Win 8 – The Refresh and Reset functions that should do away with the need for a re-install.

I have to add that not all the “Live” tiles work yet but as I said above this is only an early test version. ( I was anxious to set up the X Box tiles but I got a “not yet available in your region” notification.)

I downloaded the Windows Live Essentials programs and used Live Writer to write this blog on Win 8. No doubt, I still have a lot to learn but I can safely say that I am already “up and running” after only a short period.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

It was easy and quick to install and after a little bit of initial confusion I am learning how to use it. So far I give it a thumbs up.