-
Another Way To Scam You…
This morning I got this text message: There is only one problem: I do not now, nor (to the best of my recollection) have I ever banked with Scotiabank. Don’t look now folks, but the bad guys have found another way to try to steal your money. Text Message Phishing. This one is easily spotted.…
-
The Safety of Ottawa…
Yesterday MacLean’s Magazine posted their index of the most dangerous (crime-related) cities in Canada. Ottawa, where I currently live, placed a comfortable 145th on the list. I’m good with that – I do not expect to be jumped by a group of marauding bandits when I walk down the street. What I found interesting about…
-
Electile Disfunction
Tomorrow our friends to the south (I’m in Canada… for the more geographically challenged, I am referring to the United States of America. Yes, I know about Alaska being part of the USA and being to the north… can we just get on with it? Thank you.) are going to the polls. The mid-term elections…
-
Remember
It is that time of year again. The debate over when to put up Christmas decorations has begun. The minute Halloween is over, people rush to put them up. Within a few short days, we go from Orange and Black with spooky melodies to Green and Red with cheerful melodies. I hate it. I have…
-
PowerISO: Doing it right
If you would have asked me in the late 1990s when CDs (remember CD-RW?) were starting to replace floppy drives as the primary storage method for desktop PCs and servers if we were ever going to see a day when they were obsolete, the short-sighted young adult that I was would likely have said no. …
-
Surface Pro Battery Woe
Friday afternoon I had a Skype meeting, and as I was settling into the board room at my office for quiet, I realized the battery on my Surface Pro 4 was at 0%. I plugged it in, and got the feedback: “Plugged in, Not charging.” Okay, I would be careful to not yank the power…
-
The Dangling Control Panel
Once upon a time, the Windows Control Panel was an easy to navigate set of icons that consolidated in one place all of the administrative tasks we would need, both as an end user and as a desktop administrator. Things change, systems evolve. The Control Panel that we knew in Windows XP evolved, through Windows…
-
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Windows 10?
Yes, it has actually happened. The title of this article is a callback to The Sounds of Music. My ex-girlfriend (who will not be reading this article) would be proud. On October 4th I wrote an article called Windows 10 1809: What’s New. I was all excited. Two days later I wrote 1809 Recalled. Microsoft has since…
-
Drivers? Drive Me!
By now, it is likely that I do not need to explain to you that a hardware driver is a piece of software that allows your computer (through the operating system) to communicate with a hardware component. You know that, right? Good. You are ready to install a new operating system on your computer. You do…
-
Does Microsoft Listen?
You were all excited to upgrade your existing Windows 10 installation to the Fall 2018 update. On October 2nd you downloaded the bits to Version 1809. You installed it, using the same in-place upgrade process you have been using for years. You realize that you have lost data… crucial data… a lot of it. You…
-
Windows To Go: State of Mitch’s Union
I have been writing about Windows to Go (WTG) since Windows 8 was in beta, and I have not stopped because frankly, I think it truly is an amazing tool. I have never really gone without a WTG key, but there have been times when it has been much more important… namely, when I was…
-
BSOD Issue: Nothing to do with Windows Updates
This week many users were working on their computers and received a Blue Screen Of Death. It started happening right after a Windows Update cycle, so it stood to reason… right? Wrong. In this particular case, a vendor driver (I believe it was with HP) started causing issues. Not good… but not catastrophic. Why am…
-
Face Recognition Issue in Windows 10
Before anyone gets upset, let me be clear that there is no issue with Facial Recognition in Windows 10… at least, not that I am aware of. It is not a security flaw; rather, it is a usability issue that I have with the functionality. I have several computers that I use on a regular…
-
Mitch’s QOTD
Trying to debate religion using logic is like trying to install SQL Server with a monkey wrench. Don’t bother, it won’t work.
-
1809 Recalled
It was launched on October 2nd, but word is that Windows 1809 has been recalled due to bugs. I downloaded it on Tuesday, but it is not currently available, so I have to advise all of my readers to hold off deploying it until Microsoft rereleases it. Microsoft has a tradition of launching major releases…
The World According to Mitch
The day to day ramblings of an IT Professional (and so much more…)
The World According to Mitch 