Computer Club Topic Documents
As mentioned last time, I have produced a number of documents consisting of information from previous Computer Club blogs covering a common theme. You can find these on my website at:-
bit.ly/rogersdocs
Click/tap the Computer Club tab.
Since the last meeting, I have added the following documents:-
- Cloud Storage (Inc OneDrive, Google Drive & iCloud)
- Network Extenders, Powerline Adapters, Mesh Routers
- Windows – Local vs Microsoft Account
- (Deleting) Cookies
Internet Explorer – The End - Almost
We have been following the slow termination of Microsoft’s old web browser, Internet Explorer, since June 2022 - see blog:-
https://computerclub100.blogspot.com/2022/06/
At the Club in March this year, I mentioned that IE had been removed from Windows 10 by the February Update. The IE icons in Windows 10 remained, but they then launched Edge. This month was planned to see the removal of IE icons – the ‘visual references’ as Microsoft call them. However, it now looks like this might not happen – see this article from Neowin:-
https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-ie11-to-live-on-under-exceptional-scenarios-unaffected-by-windows-updates/
Hopefully, the majority of users are using Edge, Chrome, Firefox or another modern browser rather than using the old IE, so very few people will be affected by this.
The internal workings of IE are still retained within Edge, even in Windows 11. This allows sites to be loaded in IE Mode if necessary. See this How to Geek article for instructions on how to do this:-
https://www.howtogeek.com/791890/how-to-use-internet-explorer-mode-in-edge/
Windows 11 – Moment 3
We haven’t discussed Moments before. Microsoft are only issuing major Feature Updates once a year – these are the updates that change the version number. So, in autumn this year, there will be an update from version 22H2 to 23H2. These version updates are important, because they determine how long the system is supported with security updates.
However, since version 22H2, Microsoft decided to release small updates which add or change some feature, so although these are updates to features, they are not Feature Updates! These minor feature updates are known as Moments. I haven’t mentioned previous Moments, as I felt they were very minor:-
Moment 1 in October 2022 included adding tabs in File Explorer, right-click on the Taskbar accessed Task Manager, and Android apps via the Amazon app store.
Moment 2 in March this year included Taskbar optimisation for tablets and Bing Chat integrated into the Taskbar search box.
Moment 3 was released yesterday as part of the Patch Tuesday update. This will provide a “copy to clipboard” option when a 2FA code appears (as mobile devices do) if you are using the Phone Link app, and allow seconds to be displayed in the Clock. However, probably the most notable change is to the behaviour of the Print Screen button.
Since the earliest days of Windows, pressing the Print Screen (PrtScn) button on the keyboard has copied the current screen to the clipboard. Now, the default behaviour of the Print Screen button will be to launch the Snipping Tool. You can still revert back to the original behaviour by going to Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard.
Note that Alt+PrtScn will still copy the currently active window to the clipboard, as it has always done.
To show seconds on the system clock, go to Settings, Personalisation, Taskbar, Taskbar behaviours and tick Show seconds in system tray clock.
Update Previews
When you go to Windows Update in Settings in Windows 11, you may see a Preview Update. These are released in the fourth week of the month and are a preview of the up-coming Patch Tuesday update which will be released in week two of the following month. I would not recommend the average user should install these previews, but if you are feeling adventurous and want an earlier look at up-coming features, you can give it a try.
Normally, Preview Updates will not install automatically, but, in Windows 11, you can now turn on Get the latest updates as soon as they are available in the Windows Update settings which will add fixes and new features as soon as they are released.
Vodafone 3G Switch-Off
As we have previously discussed, the 3G mobile network in the UK will progressively be turned off – see Computer Club blog for October 2021:-
https://computerclub100.blogspot.com/2021/10/
Vodafone are the first to do this starting this month, and this has sparked concerns that people with older devices will lose the mobile connection and some may not be able to afford to upgrade their phones, although 2G will remain active. See this Vodafone article:-
https://www.vodafone.co.uk/help-and-information/3g-switch-off
Brian asked about the symbols H and E which you sometimes see in the status bar of your phone. This web site explains what the various symbols mean:-
https://www.envirofone.com/en-gb/buy/advice-centre/mobile-network-guide
Allan asked about the very recent proposed merger of Vodafone and Three. This would form the largest mobile network in the UK, but this will be subject to approval by the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority). This BBC article dated today has more:-
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65842845
Neeva Shuts Down
Some of you may remember that we mentioned a new search engine called Neeva at the Club last October – see heading New Search Engine:-
https://computerclub100.blogspot.com/2022/10/
It was completely independent of Google and Bing and promised ad-free search.
Unfortunately, but perhaps not that surprisingly, it was not able to attract sufficient customers to make it viable and it was shut down on 2nd June this year. See this article by The Verge for more:-
https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/20/23731397/neeva-search-engine-google-shutdown
Google To Close Inactive Accounts
In a blog post on 16th May, Google announced that, starting later this year, they will close inactive accounts:-
https://www.blog.google/technology/safety-security/updating-our-inactive-account-policies/
Google promise to send a number of notifications to account holders over several months before an account is deleted. The earliest an account would be deleted is 1st Dec 2023. Google have published a revised Inactive Google Account Policy:-
https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/12418290
Apple's My Photo Stream Ends
Thanks to Cherry and Linda for bringing this to my attention.
Apple is closing its My Photo Stream feature on 26th July. My Photo Stream was a free service which held up to 1000 photos for 30 days in iCloud. This facilitated photos being synced between devices during those 30 days without permanently storing them in iCloud, thus saving space in iCloud. However, I suspect most people will have iCloud Photos turned on, which automatically uploads all your photos to iCloud – you may have to pay for more than the free 5GB of iCloud storage for this to work. You can check if iCloud Photos is on by going to Settings, Photos. You can purchase 50GB of iCloud storage for 79p per month.
If you don’t have iCloud Photos on and are still using My Photo Stream, no further photos will be uploaded to iCloud after the 26 June. 30 days later, on 26 July, these photos will be removed from iCloud. No photos should be lost, as the originals will be on at least one of your devices.
See this 9to5Mac article for more:-
https://9to5mac.com/2023/05/26/my-photo-stream-shutdown-icloud/
Cloud Storage is Not a Backup
Talking about cloud storage led to a brief mention of backing up. If you just store your photos in iCloud, this is not, on its own, a backup. A backup means a second or multiple copies of your data. So, keep copies on more than one cloud service, or store them locally, perhaps leaving a physical copy (e.g. USB stick or hard drive) with a friend or relative.
While cloud storage services such as iCloud are very secure, there have been cases where an account was compromised by a hacker, and this resulted in it being blocked by the service provider. So, saving multiple copies of your photos and other data in multiple places is the answer.
Netflix Password Sharing
While sharing your Netflix password with other users (e.g. family members) has been very common, Netflix are clamping down on this practice. This Radio Times article explains more:-
https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/netflix-password-sharing-new-rules-uk/
Essentially, the password can only be used with one household. If your account is being used by another household then either:-
- They can transfer a profile and create a new membership, or
- You can add an extra member who does not live with you for £4.99.
See this this article from The Times Money Mentor for more details:-
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/money-mentor/article/netflix-uk-password-sharing-account-news/
Bard Open To All
Bard, Google's AI chatbot, is now (from 10th May) open to everyone without the need to sign up on a waiting list. To use it, just go to:-
https://bard.google.com/
Hardware For Windows 11
Brian asked what the hardware requirements are for Windows 11 as he is contemplating replacing the motherboard in his desktop system.
The key requirements are an 8th generation Intel processor or AMD equivalent and a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) version 2.0. The minimum RAM is 4GB, but I would recommend at least 8GB. You can see this Microsoft site for details:-
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-11-specifications?r=1
You can check the compatibility of processors on this site for Intel:-
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/minimum/supported/windows-11-22h2-supported-intel-processors
And this site for AMD:-
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/minimum/supported/windows-11-22h2-supported-amd-processors
A major hardware change will also mean that the machine will no longer be recognised by Microsoft's activation servers, so it will not automatically re-activate. So, before changing the motherboard, you need to ensure that Windows activation is linked to your Microsoft account. You can check this by going to Settings, System, Activation, Activation State and check that it says Windows is activated with a digital licence linked to your Microsoft account. This Windows site explains this and goes on to explain how to then re-activate Windows after a hardware change by using the Activation troubleshooter:-
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/reactivating-windows-after-a-hardware-change-2c0e962a-f04c-145b-6ead-fb3fc72b6665
Also note that the new motherboard comes with new firmware (i.e. UEFI 'BIOS'). Make sure that both TPM and Secure Boot are enabled in the BIOS.
Suspect Emails
Tony queried whether it is better to unsubscribe or just ignore suspect emails. If you click on the 'From' email address (not just the display name) and check it looks valid, then unsubscribing should stop that organisation sending any more. If the address looks dodgy or you are just not sure, it's probably best to just delete it.
Next Session
Wed 12th July 2023 at 2pm by Zoom
