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,...
How To Close A Hijacked Web Browser
If your computer displays a message while you are browsing the Internet claiming that you have been hacked or infected with a virus, it is a lie by criminals. Your computer is...
What To Look For In The Next Major Windows 10 Update
Microsoft will release the next major update for Windows 10 - version 1703, nicknamed “Creators Update” - starting April 11. There’s something important that I want you to watch....
Gazing Into The Abyss: Republicans Are Selling Out Your Privacy
When you think about the future, you may start to suffer from “abyss gaze,” the depression that settles in when you realize that we’re all doomed. Warren Ellis coined the term in...
Windows 10 And The Slow Devices And Printers Window
Here’s a problem without a solution. On some Windows 10 computers, some of the time, opening the Devices and Printers window in Control Panel takes anywhere from 90 seconds to...
Special! Windows 10! Now With More Ads! Unlimited Time Offer!
Desperation is not pretty. Microsoft has successful cloud and enterprise divisions, but it is obviously true that some divisions of Microsoft are in a long-term decline. ...
Storing Business Files Online: Dropbox, Google & Box Are Sprinting While Microsoft Falls Behind
Microsoft is losing another race. This one should have been Microsoft’s race to win but it is falling behind for familiar reasons: an inability to keep up with the competition,...
Windows 10 Tip: Drag Icons Into The Notification Area On The Taskbar
Want to see an icon in the notification area on the taskbar? Drag it from the overflow area and drop it where you want it. Want to keep an icon out of sight so it doesn’t take up...
Modern Kaiseki And The Joy Of Cooking
Let me tell you about my dinner last Saturday. It was pretty special. It might give you some ideas about food and passion and family. A few months ago our son Andrew invited us...
Apple Has Given Up On Computers
These two things are true. Apple’s revenues in fiscal 2016 from selling computers were more than twenty billion dollars. That makes Apple’s computer division almost as big as HP...
Google Gboard For iPhone: Swiping Is Better Than Typing
Have you started swiping instead of typing? Old news for some people, perhaps an eye-opener for others. Sure, your thumbs can dance like hummingbirds over your phone keyboard but...
Smart Contact Lenses And Our Science Fiction Future
Smart contact lenses are coming. There are no products on the market today and no one can predict how quickly the technology will be ready for public use, but it may be sooner...
Security Warning: Be Suspicious Of Everything (Including Fonts)
If you see the above message - “The HoeflerText font wasn’t found” - it is a lie. If you click on the “Update” button and run the executable named “Chrome_font.exe” or "Chrome...
Tales Of The Unknown, Volume 17: Chrome Remote Desktop
Google Chrome is a web browser. I kind of vaguely knew that it could do other cool tricks. I stumbled on a pretty amazing Chrome app that I’ve been overlooking for five years....
Dropbox Finally Adds New Business Features
Dropbox has begun to roll out important improvements in its services for business. In particular, Dropbox team folders finally make Dropbox a viable competitor for Box for shared...
Chromebooks Will Change The World (Someday. Not Today.)
Chromebooks are poised to change the world. Delicately balanced. Teetering on the edge. Any day now, they’re going to take off. Whoosh! Any day now. Not today. Chromebooks are...