Wednesday 22nd April 2020
Printing
This Blog
Now
that we have more than one blog post in one month, this revealed a bug which
resulted in the Print button at the bottom of the blog post only printing the first post of the month. To get
around this problem I have now listed the blog posts by week (rather than by
month) so there is still only one per view.
BBC
Local News Location
Just
following up this question from last time, I could not find any solution to
Brian’s problem of being unable to permanently set his location on the BBC
Local News page. Brian has 2 Windows 10 systems with Chrome. When he selects a location on the Local News page of the BBC web site, he does not get the Yes button which would allow him to save it on either of his machines. I also have Windows 10 with Chrome and it works. So this one remains a mystery.
KOMP
Also
following on from last time, we discussed how some, perhaps older or disabled people might
not be able or willing to cope with modern technology and yet could be missing
out on some of its benefits in terms of keeping in touch with family etc. A
company called “No Isolation” based in Norway has produced a device called
“KOMP” which aims to overcome this problem. Karen Dolva, CEO of No Isolation
states that their aim is “to make sure no one has to suffer from loneliness”.
KOMP
first launched in Norway in 2017 and is now available in the UK. KOMP is a
simple video device that does not use passwords, does not use a touch-screen
and only has a single button to operate. It can receive photos and messages
from loved ones using the app on their smartphone and it can also perform a
two-way video call. You can read more about the device on No Isolation’s web
site at:-
Also,
AbilityNet, a charity which supports older and disabled people, has an article about it here:-
Once
set up, KOMP is completely automatic. The single button allows the users to
switch it on and off and control the volume. KOMP cost about £600 and requires
an Internet connection so there is a cost, but it does not require any prior
knowledge of technology to use it. Obviously it would initially need to be set up by one of the other family members.
As John pointed out, other devices such as an Amazon Echo Show would be cheaper and perform some of the same tasks, e.g. video calling and messaging.
Coronavirus
Contact-Tracing
We
discussed a proposed app last time which is being developed by NHSX, the
technology division of the NHS and social care. Since then, Apple and Google
surprised the world by announcing they were working together on a system to
facilitate contact-tracing. The plan is to build the necessary infrastructure
into iOS and Android – see this announcement from Google published on 10th
April:-
While
some people have voiced concerns over the privacy and security of such a
system, it appears to be completely anonymous. Essentially, each phone with
this system would generate a large random number, known to no one, as its ID.
This ID would be combined with the date and time (in 10-minute intervals) using
irreversible cryptography to create a ‘rolling proximity identifier’ which your
phone can transmit using Bluetooth LE. Phones nearby would receive and store
such identifiers. Nothing in the broadcast proximity identifier contains any
information about you or your phone. However, if you subsequently get diagnosed with
Covid-19, you can then upload all the proximity identifiers you have broadcast
over the last several days to a server. All phones would check the server
periodically to see if any identifiers they have stored match those which have
been uploaded to the server – if they do, it means they have been near a
Covid-positive person and should self-isolate.
Steve
Gibson, a well-known security expert, provided a detailed explanation of how this
works in his weekly podcast, Security Now, on 14th April which you can find
here (start 1 hour 19 mins and 12 sec in):-
Calling
Phones From Smart Speakers
Amazon
Echo (aka Alexa)
This
site explains how to use your Alexa device to call UK landline and mobile
numbers:-
As I understand it, these calls are free.
If
you know someone who also has an Amazon Echo device, you can call on that.
Examples of things you could say after the wake word (normally "Alexa") include:-
Call
Michael’s Echo
Call
Michael’s mobile
Call
Michael on his home phone
Call
Michael on Skype (see https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA34874/what-is-skype-calling-with-alexa)
Make
a phone call
If
you have more than one “Michael” in your contacts, Alexa will ask you which one
you want.
If
you say “Make a phone call”, Alexa will ask which number you want to call – you
can then say the mobile or landline number (sometimes, you may need to include
the “+44”).
Google
Home/Nest
Google devices work in a similar way to the Amazon Echos. This site explains more about using them to make phone calls:-
Facebook
Portal
As
far as I know, the Portal can NOT call landline and mobile phones. However, it
can make and receive calls to/from WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger on mobile
devices.
Windows
10 – Version 2004
As
most of you know, Windows 10 has a big “Feature Update” twice a year. The first
one for this year is expected to be released on 12th May (Patch
Tuesday) and will take Windows 10 to version 2004. I mentioned a bit about
this in the 16th March 2020 blog post and you can read more here:-
Removing
Apps from Windows 10
This
used to be done by using the Programs & Feature applet in Control Panel,
but in Windows 10, although you can still do it that way, I would recommend
going to Start, Settings, Apps., Apps & features.
There you will see a list of all the installed apps. If you want to remove an
app, click on it and then click Uninstall and follow any further
on-screen prompts that may appear.
If
you have previously downloaded and installed an app to try it out, you might
subsequently decide you don’t want it and can remove it this way.
A
lot of apps would have been pre-installed when you bought the machine. You can
remove these, but be sure you know what they are and what they do before
uninstalling. If the app is paid-for, you might need a licence number before
you could re-install it or you would have to purchase it again. If in doubt
about an app, you can google to get information about it before you decide to
remove it.
In
general, on machines with large storage drives, there is little to be gained by
uninstalling apps that are not being used.
Apps
that start up automatically could be using resources and even slowing the
system. To see which apps run at start-up, click Start and type Task
Manager and press Enter to run Task Manager. Click the Startup
tab to see a list of tasks which are launched when the machine starts up. You
can right-click on a task to Disable it so that it will not start up on
the next reboot. If you are really sure the task is not wanted, you
could uninstall the associated app.
History
Sidebar
Allan
had an issue with the History sidebar popping up when typing an email. This is
usually invoked by pressing Ctrl+H, so if you accidentally
press the Ctrl key instead of the Shift key when typing an “h”, the History
Sidebar will appear. Just press Ctrl+H again to turn it off.
Language
in Web Sites
Allan, having used his laptop in Spain, was getting some web pages appearing in Spanish. I suggested he check his location settings in Windows 10 by going to Start, Settings, Time & Language. In particular check that the Region and Language settings are UK/English.
Some web pages allow you to select a language and they may remember that choice in a cookie. We looked at the https://www.skyscanner.net/ site which does have a language selection option near the Login button (top right).
You could try using a different web browser. Each web browser stores its own cookies, so that could help diagnose if it is a cookie problem.
You could also try doing a Google search (for anything) and then scroll down the the bottom of the page. There it will show what Google thinks your location is.
Disabling
Google Timeline
Last
time, we mentioned the Your Timeline feature associated with Google maps. This
can track and store your journeys so you can look back at what you did and
where you went in previous days, months or years. If you do not want to be
tracked in this way, you can disable Location History. To disable it on a PC:-
- Go to maps.google.com in a browser
- Click on the 3-bar symbol (top left)
- Select Your Timeline
- At the bottom of the screen, click on Manage Location History
- Turn off Location History
On
mobile app:-
- Tap 3-bar (top left) or Account Circle (top right) – depending on version
- Tap Your Timeline
- Tap 3-dots (top right) and select Settings
- Tap Location History is on
- Turn off Location History
iPhone Battery Replacement
Tony raised this issue. The official answer is to use Apple or an Apple authorised repairer to replace iPhone batteries. This site give details:-
You can use any other trusted repairer who may be cheaper, but this may affect any warranty or any future repair by Apple.
Bluetooth on PC
Linda raised this, regarding connecting a wireless mouse. Although wireless mice and keyboards use a wireless technology, this is usually a proprietary protocol rather than Bluetooth, so you have to use the USB dongle that comes with the mouse/keyboard. You can easily add Bluetooth to a PC if it does not have it built in. This just involves adding a Buetooth USB dongle which can be purchased for around £10. One use of Bluetooth on a PC with Windows 10 is to connect to your smartphone. You can use this to keep Windows 10 unlocked while your phone is in close proximity. Windows 10 also has a Your Phone app which allows you to see recent message and photos from your phone on your PC.
Next Session
Wed
13th May 2020 at 2pm via Google Hangouts.
