BRUCEB NEWS
Zero Click Searches & Google AI Mode
AI is taking over online searches. At the moment, that’s good news - the AI summaries are increasingly reliable and helpful. In the long term, they might be so good that paradoxically, they contribute to the enshittification of the internet. It’s a big, complicated,...
The End Of New Product Announcements
In the last two months, there have been major announcements of new products by every computer and phone manufacturer on the planet. You don’t know about any of them, do you? On...
Store Your Files In The Server In The Sky
It’s time to move your files to the cloud. Box, Dropbox, and OneDrive now all have plans that support an important feature: You can store your files online and access them with...
Something You Know, Something You Have: Better Security With Two Factor Authentication
Two factor authentication adds an extra step to the process of logging into your accounts. It's inconvenient. It makes you safer. Until recently two factor authentication was...
Saving Passwords In Google Chrome Is Better Than Nothing (And That’s A Good Thing!)
Google has improved the password management built into the Chrome browser. It’s . . . okay! Not bad! Better than nothing, absolutely. Saving passwords in Chrome is easy and kind...
Why You Should Be Using LastPass
The most important thing you can do to improve your security is to use LastPass. It’s more convenient and more secure than a notebook in the desk drawer or any password system...
The Password Lecture
We have to talk about passwords. We're going to start exactly where you expect: with a lecture about your sloppy habits, as if you're a kid who's about to be sent to the corner....
OneDrive Can Automatically Back Up Your Documents, Pictures And Desktop Folders
Microsoft has made it easier to protect your Documents, Pictures and Desktop folders using OneDrive. OneDrive has become more reliable and many of you already have enough storage...
Logging In To A PC With A Microsoft Account Is Overrated
With the collapse of the Microsoft consumer ecosystem, there are fewer reasons all the time to sign into Windows 10 with a personal Microsoft account. I'm finding I frequently...
Security Alert: Chrome Extensions And Notifications Are Being Used For Adware
Adware has started to turn up again, using Chrome extensions and notifications as a way to display annoying ads and muck up the time we spend on our computers and phones – as if...
The Samsung Ecosystem: When Technology Is Driven By Jealousy
Samsung is a global electronics company with hundreds of thousands of employees. It is the world's largest information technology company, consumer electronics maker and...
The Microsoft Ecosystem: Evolution And Extinction
Microsoft does not have an ecosystem for consumers or small businesses in 2018. There is very little synergy between Microsoft products and almost nothing locks us into Microsoft...
The Google Ecosystem: You Will Be Assimilated
Google is an advertising company. Its incentives are all tied to maximizing engagement with places where you will see ads served up by Google’s ad network. But that has more...
The Amazon Ecosystem: The Company That Wants To Sell Everything To Everyone
Amazon seeks to be the middleman in every financial transaction on the planet. Its incentives are all tied to making customers happy in every context where Amazon can take a...
The Apple Ecosystem: Life Behind The Greatest Wall
Apple is a company that sells premium smartphones with very high profit margins. Its incentives are all tied to profits from selling iPhones. The other products, the iPads and...
All Your Loyalties Are Belong To Us: How Technology Companies Lure Us Into Walled Gardens
Five giant technology companies have set up walled gardens full of shiny devices and enticing services. All of us live in their gardens. We’re not completely locked in. We move...