​Microsoft Windows Redstone 1803 Review
Just to get it out of the way and to let new ones know why I post reviews related to Tech,
CompTia A+; 3 DCSE; 2 IT Degrees etc..etc...etc...etc...blah....blah

To the good stuff. I downloaded 1803 the day it was released, Tuesday May 8th 2018. I use a Dell Venue 5130 11" Tablet with attached keyboard. The update downloaded through Microsoft update as a push update. Sadly as with all push Microsoft updates something went wrong.

Unknown to many when an OS update occurs via Microsoft Update Push in many cases one or more features do not install or fail to install and work properly. I did not know the update failed until I manually updated my wife’s Dell Venue 5050. Her tablet did not do the push update due to lack of HDD free space. I created a USB install verison via Media Creation Tool and updated her tablet offline. Within a few hours she started pointing out new 3D features to me. When I looked at mine, those features were not there. So I backed up my data, took the USB stick and did a clean install of Redstone, it went well and all features installed correctly, I even believe Windows Mail is working properly.

So my review:

1) The first issue is in app Scrolling. The #1 App I use is the JW App. Within the app are hundreds of publications and many Bible versions. Since I use the app the most I loaded it first and noticed right away smooth scrolling no longer worked in reading of any publication. The smooth scrolling issues was not limited to the JW App, it also happens in Google Chrome while on the Internet, my wife noticed it on Penterist. I have found no fix.

2) The On Screen Keyboard. This issue has reached a point of total frustration and in my view has become a black eye for Microsoft. The OSK pops up ALL the time. When any page on the Internet loads the OSK pops up, every app I open the OSK pops up, I go to the Desktop the OSK pops up. In fact without m attached physical keyboard the OSK pops up 100% of the time with ANY change on the screen. It is beyond frustrating. I have researched this and can find no fix. I have applied all the suggestions, but the OSK is a test by Microsoft to see how many customers will stick around if tortured.
  
3) Microsoft Photos. Microsoft is NOT listening to their customers on this issue. Although I do like the new toys in Photos, Microsoft has yet to allow arranging Photos by Name. Since its inception Photos has a default defect of being listed by DATE only. If you check forums you will find some off the wall answers from Microsoft as to why they do this, none of which is logical. Either Microsoft can’t code Photos to sort by Name, or they do not know how to code it properly or they just desire to continue to make users upset. I still use Google Picasa since it has many of the same features as Windows Photos and in fact you can download the last version of Picasa released on this site. Picasa will allow you to sort by photo name and folder name. Once you have your photos sorted in Picasa just use the toys in Windows Photo and ignore the rest since Microsoft ignore’s its users.

4) The Timeline Feature. I have not and will not use this feature and I have turned all parts of it off. Why? Timeline does not work in a manner that respects privacy. In a world of “Facebook data mining” a bit of research into how Timeline works is freighting. Timeline works by coping your personal folders and uploading to the Microsoft Cloud (Not your OneDrive). This allows files transfers to resume from a given location. Now consider, A) Microsoft can’t give any assurance that your data will not be compromised and B) since it will upload all your personal data it is left up to Microsoft to decided if it is in compliance with all state and federal laws. Oh you say you have noting to hide, two words, normal family photos. I can foresee a lot of issues arising from Timeline. The foremost is data lose and privacy issues.

5) Log in screen. Tap twice and maybe you will be allowed to enter. This issue as will all the others above are taking place on my tablet as well as my wife’s. We both use a PIN to unlock our tablets. One of the first things we both noticed is that we have to tap at least twice to get the OSK to popup to allow us to enter our PIN. Now above I mentioned the annoying feature of the OSK popping up all the time, this is the only time when you need the OSK and it does not work properly. The first time it happened I thought I would not be able to get in.

6) Battery saver feature. This has not changed either. To stop Windows from Push updates we set the batter saver to “Best Battery Life” this is the ONLY way to stop Windows Update from downloading updates over a metered tethered connection. Yes you can set it not to update over metered connections, but the tablet does not know when it is tethered. So if you charge your tablet and then remove from charger the Batter saver resets and unless you are aware you may use all your cell data. Microsoft MUST allow the user to make this choice and not have it forced on them.

7) Battery life. Like the 1709 update at first release my battery life was about half of what it’s supposed to be. Redstone has done the same thing. My battery typically last 9-10 hours of use, Since the update I am getting about 5-7 hours of use. Please fix Microsoft. 

So what is nice?

1) The augmented reality video feature. That is super cool. I uploaded a 1st attempt video to my YouTube channel. Yes the Creators Update (1709) had some of these features but the bread got toasted in Redstone. I made an augmented reality video of a dino chasing my dog.

2) The add 3D effects to Photos. My wife discovered this feature and it was one feature that failed to work on my Push update. This feature is really cool and if you update for any reason make this the reason, I am sure Microsoft will be adding effects. The only downside is on a tablet th demands are intense so my app crashes. But I can see a lot of fun with this feature.

3) Since I had my Dell Venue and since the release of Windows 10 Microsoft Mail has NEVER worked properly. So far it appears to be working. I hope it continues to work properly.

4) I like that Homegroup is gone. It was cumbersome. In order for it to work all connected devices MUST be set to the exact same time. And it was difficult for a remote device to reconnect unless you cleared DNS cache. Just regular file sharing works fine.

Windows 10 has come a long way. It’s still no Windows 7 as far as stability, reliability and ease of use. Windows 10 has it’s privacy settings in too many places. Although in Control you will find a section called “Privacy” the fact is that not all one should be concerned with is in that area. Microsoft did remove nearly 2GB of worthless code, which makes the OS lighter. But it is evident on some issues Microsoft refuses to listen to the average user.  

So will we ever see Windows Photos sorted by Name?
Will Windows Mail continue to be stable?
Will Windows 3d Effects stop crashing?
Will Microsoft give users the ability to control how the OSK pops up?
Will Microsoft fix the battery issue?
Will Microsoft fix the Battery Status issue?
Will Microsoft make smooth scrolling a reality?

Stay Tuned, these and many more unanswered and unknown questions will or will not be answered in the next Windows update.

​There is no doubt that ebay has proven to be a source of income for many for decades. However I feel the end of eBay is now upon us. Starting spring 2018 eBay is implementing some serious changes, all of which will hurt sellers. To add insult to what eBay is doing the SCOTUS is considering a case to allow all states to collect sales tax from eBay sales. If that passes in June, which I believe it will, all eBay sellers will have to register as business in the local communities. Which in turn means that eBay sellers will e required to pay income tax.

So what is eBay changing?
1) Starting March of 2018 they have increased the percentage of all fees. This will cost sellers.
2) Starting January the USPS increased rates on all mail over 1lb or over 1st class. Many items sold on eBay are over 16oz and require to be sent Priority, in the past a 1lb item cost me about $6, now the starting rate is $8-$9. This increase must be passed to the buyer. When the sales tax issue passes that will likewise have to be passed to buyer.
3) Starting mid-summer eBay will start to force sellers to agree to a new TOS to continue selling on eBay. Many sellers will simply click agree without reading the terms and in turn it could cost them.
eBay will start the phase out of PayPal and the conversation to their own payment system. All those wishing to sell on eBay must in time use this new system. In the terms is a legal term that will in time hurt sellers. “FULL BANKING INTEGRATION”. 
If you look up the full meaning of the term, eBay requires sellers to allow them full and total access and control of their bank account. This is due to several factors. Ebay intends to force all sellers to offer 30 day money refunds. So the money from a sell can be frozen for 30 days. Also by allowing full access eBay can count your funds as an asset, this will increase their worth on paper and encourage share holders during a time of change and instability. Once the change over to the new payment system in completed all buyers will pay via debit/credit cards. So if a buyer opens a case against a seller and the buyer loses all the have to do is a charge back up to 90 days and they get to keep the item.

When these changes are completed a small to midsized seller will not be able to make enough money on eBay to justify selling. Between the increased fees, shipping cost, payment changes and taxes the cost of a “used” item could be more than new. In one statement eBay said they are wanting to copy Amazon’s model. The thing that eBay does not realize, there are Amazon buyers/sellers and then there are eBay buyers/sellers. Sellerrs on eBay sell on eBay because of eBay’s model and buyers buy on eBay because of their model.

I have chosen to close my store on May 25th because I can’t afford to sell on eBay any longer after that time because I would have to agree to the new terms in June. 

I was trying to place a freeze on my credit, in Tennessee there is a fee to place a freeze to protect yourself from what Equifax did.

​The Equifax Data Breach – What About Me?
The most surprising piece of information to come from the Equifax Data Breach is learning how many people had no idea who or what Equifax was and that they felt it did not involve them. The second thing that took me by surprise was some of those who understood who Equifax was or after learning who they are have a complacent “oh well” attitude about the data breach.
So just how can the data breach affect you? Before we answer, let’s first understand what was taken that belongs to you?

1. Your full name
2. Your Social Security Number
3. Your driver’s license number
4. Birthday
5. In some cases your credit card number

Two pieces of what was stolen is considered irreplaceable and no means to ever get it back, your birthday and Social Security Number, this is lifelong damage. To impress this on you, you can never undo this damage and for the remainder of your life you will have to be aware that at any time someone else could become YOU!
So back to the question about the effect on you; first the obvious, if your information is used a person can open up new credit accounts in your name, buy a car, house, computer, whatever. In turn the bill is sent to you and the purchase goes on your report. At this point you have to prove it was not you, which can cost a lot of money and will cost a lot of time. But more can happen with the above information that Equifax allowed to be stolen. If you are getting a Social Security check for retirement or disability a person can have the check redirected to another bank, they can cause problems with your mortgage, get into your online accounts like PayPal, eBay, banking, Amazon and others. The information stolen is considered the gold mine, mother lode of information and in no way should be taken lightly. This is a life changing breach.
When my son was 14 he had his Social Security Number and address stolen, within days over $30,000 in credit was acquired. I had to clean it up and it took over 6 months and in the process I discovered who did it and learned it was done by someone I knew “as a joke, to see if they could”. But that experience taught me that prevention is easier than clean up.
So what can you do?

1. Go to annualcreditreport.com and get your free credit report. This is a federal mandated site where each American is allowed to get 1 free copy of their report from each of the top 3 credit agencies each year. You will not be charged or asked to enter any payment information. Once you have your report, take the time to read and study it carefully. Look for “recent” and new activity. Since the breach is about 7 weeks old as of the time of this posting, anything older that looks odd is for other reasons. But anything since the breach that you did not do needs to be addressed quickly
2. Once you have your report in hand go to transunion.com and place a freeze on your credit. You only need to do this with one (1) of the agencies they will then share that freeze information with the other two. Understand fully what a freeze can and cannot do. A freeze will prevent ANYONE (even you) from opening any new credit accounts. No one can open a new credit card account, or buy a car etc. But what it will NOT do is protect your Social Security Check, bank accounts or any online accounts. YOU must take further action on these other accounts.
3. Call or go to your bank to add any other protection they have. I have all of my accounts monitored, checking, savings, credit cards, and mortgage and auto loans. I get several text and emails every month, but I also get them if anything looks out of sorts. I called my bank, US Bank, and discovered with everything I have in place they offered two more layers. Now they advised me that it will make it harder on me when I call or log in, I have no choice, I added the additional protection.
4. For online accounts add all the layers of protection offered. Look back at what was stolen and what was not stolen. Over the next few weeks we will see a shift to protection, what was not stolen will become what will be at the top of protection. So those 3 secret questions, use them, and make them hard to answer. Also the alternate number, use it. Many sites request a phone number as a layer of protection here is how that works. If you log in from an unknown IP address (an Internet connection you have not used) a text message with a code will be sent to that cell phone number you listed. So if you get a text message with a code and you did not log into that account, then you know someone is trying. So make a list of all you online accounts, go through all of them adding all the layers of protection possible, but keep a list of the information so you don’t forget.
5. As to the Federal Social Security program. There is nothing you can do and no additional layer of protection you can add. It is doubtful that the Social Security Administration will get the additional funding to add any protection as well. This one area will become the weakest link and probably the first to fail. It’s the nature of any government agency, don’t prevent failure wait for it. In the same line is the IRS. With the above information your tax return check can be redirected or someone else can file your return. Again doubtful this will be protected at the IRS.
6. Some final common sense steps. Clean up what personal information you are sharing on Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc) remove or delete ALL personal information. These sites will tell you it’s safe, but these sites are by design to share your personal data. A person on Facebook can have their profile set to private, but Google still indexes it and if you know the correct keywords to place into Google you can pull up anyone’s profile. So remove personal information.
7. Delete unused logins from sites you no longer use. Many of us create profiles on shopping sites or other sites and then never go back. Go to these sites and delete those profiles. On the sites you do use, log into your profile and remove as much personal information as you are able and don’t store payment information.
8. Lastly contact an attorney. Don’t do so with the motive of getting rich, but with the motive of obtaining legal protection from the data breach so you will not be held in account. I used one called Morgan and Morgan. I’m not going to post their contact information as this is not an advert. But find someone and start the process of protection. By having it in place if your data is used you will be better off to fight for your protection.

This data breach affected everyone in my household and we are all doing the above, we have no choice, Equifax took our choice away, they stole our right of protection. Even with doing all of the above your data can still be used. The Social Security Administration has considered adding 4 additional numbers to existing Social Security numbers, perhaps they should. States should issue new driver’s license numbers and send the bill to Equifax. And Equifax offering 1 free year of credit monitoring is a joke. The loss of this kind of data is lifetime. Equifax should be made by court order to offer all affected free lifetime credit monitoring and protection. No matter what you do the effect on your data will last for the reminder of your life and currently Equifax is attempting to brush if off as minor with their “offers”. All we can do at this time is fight to keep our head above water, but consider this, Donald Trump is in the same boat as everyone else who was breached, what would you do with that data?

You have a Dell Venue 5055 and have somehow bricked it, meaning it's worthless and will not boot. Recently my friend Kerry was asked to repair a Dell Venue that was in a non-boot loop. It would flash in a millisecond the TPM error. I looked at it and we both studied many forums, all said it was toasted. This is the error where the TPM is not allowing you to get to BIOS or install any OS. No attached keyboard, nothing will allow you in. The TPM was created to prevent a theft from reinstalling the OS and using the tablet. Well, Kerry found a way.
There is a serious disclaimer from him, read it, you are seriously doing this at your own risk.



Disclaimer: This repair involves advanced micro-soldering techniques. And you could run the risk of destroying your Bios chip. Perform this repair at your own risk.
1.       Remove back cover and unplug the battery.
2.       Remove the shield covering the processor and memory.
3.       Locate the Bios chip in the smaller field under the shield.
4.       The bios will be marked: Winbond 25Q64FW1G

​Photo 1

Plug the battery back in hook up a USB Keyboard, and power on the tablet. When the dell logo comes on, short the wire to pins 3,2,1 in that order while pressing F2 repeatedly.
-          After you have shorted all three pins, the tablet should boot into bios.
 
6. Once in Bios, go to Intel PTT settings in Security and turn it off. That is TPM2 settings.
 
Photo 4

​This article covers the topic of reinstalling Microsoft Outlook after receiving the .pst file error.
You have installed Microsoft Outlook, either 2003, 2007, 2010, or newer and something went wrong after you have been using it for years. Nothing major enough to do an OSRI, Operating System reinstall, but perhaps a Microsoft product was being typical Microsoft and your copy of Outlook had to be removed and reinstalled.
So you uninstall it and then clean out all remaining files, you delete the files in the <User> Appdata folder and then deleted the Outlook folder in the <User> Documents. You then run a cleaner to ensure all fragments of Outlook are removed in hopes of removing the error that caused you to uninstall the program.
So now you reinstall Outlook and once its installed you click to open it but NNNOOOO! its looking for the former .pst folder. The .pst folder is the folder that was created when you first installed Outlook that stored your user information. There are several .pst folders, one is in your <User> name Documents folder and some are in the <User> appdata folder. But even if you leave these fodlers intact you may still encounter the error that Outlook can’t find the .pst data folder. It is totally annoying and you will not find a direct answer on Microsoft’s website or most forums. What you will find is a bunch of useless ramblings against Microsoft and crying about how the folder is structured. It drove me crazy that not one forum I read and not one post on Microsoft had the answer. So being a brave IT dude I decided to explore and test. What I’m about to tell you WILL fix the problem but you must follow these steps, regardless of the threats that you see on your screen from Microsoft.

1. Reinstall Microsoft Outlook.
2. Open Outlook.
3. Click >CANCEL< on all error messages and “Can’t find .pst data file” messages. Just don’t bother click cancel.
4. If you did #3 above something wonderful happened. In your >CONTROL PANEL< an Outlook Mail Icon was created. So guess where we are going.
5. Open the >CONTROL PANEL< NOT the >SETTINGS< in Windows 10 but the old >CONTROL PANEL<
6. Make sure >VIEW BY< in the upper right hand corner is set to >LARGE ICONS<
7. Look for >MAIL< everything is in alphabetic order, click to open that icon.
8. Look at the 3rd entry >PROFILES< Don’t mess with the top two, waste of time.
9. Click >SHOW PROFILES<
10. Make sure “OUTLOOK” is highlighted
11. Click >DELETE<
12. Confirm etc…etc…etc…Close all windows.
13. Open Outlook and you will now be prompted to create a profile and set up mail accounts.

One last though, the above is NOT to be used in an attempt to restore user data .pst files. The above will delete, remove and destroy all precious user data .pst files. The above method will create all new profiles and all new .pst files. DO NOT use this method if you are attempting to restore existing user data .pst files.

​Apple, Android or Windows 10; when buying a tablet primarily used for Theocratic purposes it can be difficult to know what the best option is. In the beginning there were only two choices, Android or Apple and both had their good and bad features. But then in 2016 Microsoft got it right with Windows 10, which is now running “Creator” and soon the much anticipated Redstone. So if you are one of Jehovah’s Witnesses making the choice can be a challenge. This article will look at all three options and I will attempt to present a natural approach to each.

ANDROID: In the beginning most chose Android, Samsung was the brand that most migrated to. A Samsung running Android was cheaper than an Apple and it had far more options for apps. Android runs the JW App well and is quick and they are still far more affordable than an Apple. However that may be changing. Recently Samsung changed their naming method and when considering both the 8” and 10” there are a possible 98 different Samsung tablet names to choose from. In many of them the only difference is in what limits are placed on the OS. There are some lower priced Samsung tablets that do not have a rotation option if you go from horizontal to vertical. Some of the differences are hardware and then a combination of hardware and software features. When I was using Samsung I went from a Tab 2, to a Tab 4 to a 2013 Note. Each of those was a fully featured Samsung tablet in its time. The Tab 4 was my favorite, however to get those same features today will cost far more than I paid several years ago. Samsung has made their own tablet field so complicated that many give up and buy the most costly just because they believe they will get the entire package. In short Samsung has now become as costly as Apple. But using an Android for Theocratic reasons come down to will it run the JW App? Yes, so if you want an affordable tablet to run o nly the JW App a cheap Android will do.

APPLE: To start I am not a fan of Apple products, but only because they are locked into their own restrictions and Apple will charge you your first born child for those restrictions. (I am not speaking of any systems that have been jailbroke.) Apple tablets are costly and beyond the reach of many on budgets. They also do not have a large built in storage system so much of your personal data remains on the cloud. Another drawback is when Apple does a major OS update you will not be able to migrate all of your data to the new OS or a new tablet. I am aware of several who have older Apple tablets and used the provided ePub software to make notes and now they have learned they can’t migrate their notes to the latest Apple OS. These ones are at a loss. For a serious student this can be a very daunting and disappointing occurrence, in effect you lose all your personal study data. Also recently Apple lost their patient lawsuit against Android so the door is open to both Android and Windows to create similar versions of the same apps. Also Apple recently announced that they are requesting from the government to disallow owners or techs that are not Apple Certified to work on their own systems. If this request is granted than for every aspect that requires any work on an Apple device one would have to call a certified Apple tech. The cost can reach unaffordable quickly. However Apple products appear to be very easy for the elderly and tech challenged to manage easier. I have seen ones try to use an Android or Windows system and was unable to “catch on”. But when given an Apple device they were able to manage quickly. So it appears that Apple tablets are easy enough to learn that they work well for the elderly and challenged.

WINDOWS 10: As I mentioned above I started out on an Android system, but sooner or later we must give up the toys or go from milk to meat. I currently use a 11” Dell Venue. It runs Windows 10 Creator and Windows has come a long way with 10. It is as if Microsoft finally got it right. Windows 10 Creator is a fully functional OS, no RT or Windows S, it has the full features of a desktop OS. With the Creator update it has some toys that Apple has and Redstone will have more. Windows 10 has the same hardware features as a laptop so if you shop for one have the same mental attitude as if shopping for a laptop, because you can do far more with a Windows 10 tablet then you can with Android, also the last benchmarks between Apple and Windows, Windows based systems can out preform Apple in the hardware department. Windows 10 runs the JW App and very quickly, the response time is fast for opening, however in a recent update to all versions of the JW App, the App looks for an Internet connection when loading. This added feature causes a delay in all versions but if you attempt to tap anything in the App while it is looking for the connection it may crash. I am hoping this feature will be removed. Windows 10 also runs the full DVD version of the Watchtower Library that is the DVD disc with everything on it. So you get the JW App and the WT Lib all on one tablet. So when you study you can copy can paste notes straight from the WT Lib to the JW App, it makes studying so much more entertaining.
So in short