Wednesday 8th February 2017
News
Creators Update
(I demonstrated some of the new features using a Preview version of this update).
The next major update (codename Redstone 2) is due out in April. Called the Creators Update, it includes new
features for 3D modelling with a new version of Paint called Paint 3D. A smartphone app will allow a physical object
to be 3D-scanned using the smartphone’s camera.
The file created can be edited in Paint 3D and the resulting
model printed on a 3D printer. None of
this affects the average home user who will just see a few changes to the layout of
Settings, Windows Defender and Edge. Edge has a new Preview Bar feature which shows thumbnails of all the web pages in current tabs. I
am re-writing my Windows 10 & Edge document to incorporate these changes
and I hope to have that completed by the next Club in March. In the meantime you can read a little more about it on this Microsoft web page:-
Amazon Echo
While demo'ing Edge, an advert for the Amazon Echo Dot popped up and I was asked what this was. Essentially, the Echo is a voice-controlled virtual assistant. It can answer questions, rather like Siri or Google Now, you can order things from Amazon, play your Amazon music and control smart devices around your home. The Dot is the 'little brother' of the full-size Echo, but the only difference is the size of the speaker in the unit. Either device can connect to other speakers using Bluetooth. You can read more about it in numerous reviews such as this one:-
Opening Web Pages in a New Tab
Sometimes you might want to open a web link in a browser in a new tab (rather than over-writing the current page). You can do this (in all browsers) by right-clicking on the link and selecting Open link in new tab. You can also do this by clicking on a link with the middle button (scroll wheel) of your mouse.
Google Translate
We had some discussion about the Google Translate app which is available on iOS and Android devices. This will translate both typed and spoken language. It will also translate text using the device's camera - useful to translate a menu or a sign, for example. It is a free app, so give it a try.
Laptop Charger
Brian G's laptop had popped up a message saying it was plugged in but not charging. To diagnose whether this sort of problem is the battery or the mains adapter, you can, if you have a voltmeter, measure the voltage at the plug which connects to the laptop. This is usually a small round, co-axial plug. You need to check the voltage between the inner and outer parts of the plug. The voltage will be stated on the adapter, but it is usually around 18 or 19 volts. If you don't have a voltmeter, you can disconnect the laptop from the mains, remove the battery, and then reconnect the mains adapter without the battery in place and see if the laptop works. If it does, the problem is probably the battery.
Fixing Things
You can search the web, or particularly YouTube, for details on fixing household devices and computers. A useful site is:-
This has instructions for taking apart and repairing a wide range of equipment.
Recovering Deleted Files
Having recently recovered some 'lost' photos from a hard drive, I mentioned a utility call Recuva which I used for this. I used the free version, but there is a professional version (for £19.95) with more features. It is best to remove the hard drive from its system and then connect it to another machine as an external hard drive - hard drive docks are available for this purpose. You can download Recuva from:-
Free Microsoft Office Online
We have mentioned this before, but it might be worth reminding you that
you can use Microsoft Office apps, such as Word and Excel, free online. These free versions have less features, but
are probably sufficient for a lot of users who only want to produce the odd
letter or fairly simple documents.
You can get the full version of Office by subscribing to Office 365
Home for £59.99 per year or £5.99 per month for the 1-PC licence, or £79.99 per
year or £7.99 per month for a 5-PC licence. This would give you Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Publisher and
Access. Alternatively, you can purchase
Office 2016 for Home and Students for a one-off price for £119.99 and this
includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote for 1-PC only.
But before you spend your money, why not try the online version for
free to see if that is adequate for your needs.
You need to have a Microsoft Account (aka a Hotmail Account, aka a
Windows Live Account). Office online is
accessed through your web browser and requires no installation or set up. You can run it on any machine with a browser
(e.g. a Chromebook), it does not have to be a Windows PC. If you already sign in to any Microsoft
services (e.g. Outlook.com) just click on the apps symbol (an array of 9 dots)
to select the Office app you require.
Alternatively, you can go to www.office.com
and select your app and sign in from there.
By default, your files will be stored on your OneDrive (Microsoft’s
cloud storage), but you can click on File, Save As to download a copy.
I wrote a document on Office Online a couple of years ago, so it may be
a bit out of date, but you can see it in this month’s documents – use the link on
the right.
If you do want to install an office suite on your PC, the other
alternative is LibreOffice which is completely free and is very powerful –
comparable with the full paid-for version of Microsoft Office. You can download LibreOffice from https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download/
Next Session
Wed 8th March 2017 1:30 to 3:30pm.
