BRUCEB NEWS
AI Hype In Overdrive
There was a full-page ad in the New York Times on Friday for the new Samsung “Bespoke AI” washer/dryer combo. Seriously. Of course “AI laundry” is marketing crap. I’ll bet some business advertised “Crypto Ovens” a couple of years ago. It’s meaningless and stupid. AI...
What Are All Those Unfamiliar Tiles In Your Office 365 Menu?
In the early 1990s Microsoft was the dominant company in personal computing but its products did not recognize or incorporate the brand new concept of something called the...
Augmented Reality: You’ve Been Using It All Along
In the last article, Pokémon Go And The Future In Front Of Your Face, I painted a picture of augmented reality that sounds like science fiction. Smart contact lenses, information...
Pokémon Go And The Future In Front Of Your Face
Pokémon Go was the most downloaded app in its first week of release in the history of Apple’s iOS App Store. Everyone has been playing Pokémon Go. It is the biggest example yet...
What To Do When Excel Opens . . . Very . . . Slowly . . .
Followup 07/2017: A Possible Fix For The Excel Slow File Opening Bug This bug only affects a small number of people, but it’s an interesting one because it’s been a problem for...
Windows Tip: Drag And Drop With The Right Mouse Button
Always use the right mouse button to drag and drop. That’s it. That’s your tip for the day. Ta ta! Back on Thursday! Oh, all right. I’ll give you some details since you ask...
The Pain Of Windows 10 Updates
Windows 10 updates are driving me crazy. Well, so are lots of things, but the update process has become a persistent annoyance. Let me gripe about my experiences a bit, then I’ll...
Scan Documents And Create PDFs With Your Phone
It has become easy to use your phone for quick scans and to create PDFs on the fly. Find an app to use and remember it when you get a receipt or document that should be scanned...
The Future Is Full Of Chromebooks
I’m not good at predictions. Tim Cook, the CEO of the largest company in the world, called me a twit during a global presentation a few years ago because I made a poor...
Procrastinator Alert: Last Chance For Windows 10 Upgrades
Windows 10 will celebrate its first birthday on July 29. That’s the last day to upgrade a Windows 7 or Windows 8 computer to Windows 10 for free. Here’s the latest Windows 10...
As Ignorable As It Is Interesting: Increase Productivity With The Sounds You Won’t Hear
“Ambient music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting.“ - Brian Eno,...
Microsoft, LinkedIn, And Identity Management
(Warning: this article gets pretty geeky by the end. Feel free to look away. I’ll try to make the next article about a Dancing Kitten app or something.) Last week Microsoft...
Outlook 2016 And The Mysterious Disappearing Folder Pane
Here’s the story of an odd Outlook 2016 bug that you might run into. Microsoft has been urging everyone with an Office 365 license for the Office programs to update to Office...
How To Change The Login For Your Microsoft Account (And Why You Should)
(2020/10/12 - click here for an updated, shorter version of this article.) “I read your article about personal Microsoft accounts and business Office 365 accounts,” my wife said...
Understanding Microsoft Work And Personal Accounts
(2020/10/08 - click here for an updated, shorter, less snarky version of this article.) Microsoft has two different types of accounts. Many of you have credentials – an email...
Shopping For A New PC? Look For Signature Edition
Here’s a shopping tip if you’re looking for a new desktop or laptop PC: check the Microsoft Store for Signature Edition PCs. Signature Edition PCs are shipped with Windows 10 –...