Managing Your Child’s Internet Usage

While the entire world has been in quarantine for the last few months, many of us have had to stay home with our kids out of school. For some, that means we’re working as they’re doing school work, or enjoying some of their free time online.

Microsoft Office Holdout

My name is Brett, and I am a Microsoft Office holdout.

In fact, I am writing this blog in Word. Last week, I decided to write directly into our blogging system, but flew too close to the sun and lost an hour of work.

The First Five

There’s nothing quite like a fresh install of Windows.

It takes time. It takes patience. And, at least once during the process, I want to strangle someone at Microsoft.

Once I’ve updated all my device drivers and let Windows Update do its thing, I launch into a fresh, unadulterated Windows desktop. it’s the equivalent to that new car smell. You know it’s not going to last more than a week or two, but you might as well enjoy it while it lasts!

Dear Microsoft

Dear Microsoft,

Windows and I go back a lot of years together. Too many to count, but let’s just say my first PC gave me the choice to login to Windows 3.11 or MS-DOS. While our relationship has been mostly great (XP, 7), it’s also been bumpy (ME, Vista) at times. But I’ve stuck with Windows as my primary computing platform because it’s versatile, familiar and supports the programs I rely on each day.

Windows Downgrade Rights Frequently Asked Questions

Microsoft has a program which few people are aware of that allows users of select Windows editions to run older operating systems. They call this “downgrade rights”, and even among those who are aware of this option there is often confusion about what all it covers and how to take advantage of it. This brief FAQ is intended to address some of the more common issues that can come up, and link to further details for those who need them.

Microsofts Windows 10 Push

As many of you have noticed, Microsoft has been pushing really hard to get people to upgrade to it’s latest operating system. This is a blog post I wrote to present my take on why they are trying so hard.

In Search of the Best Browser

I have a love/hate relationship with browsers. And by browser I mean Google Chrome.

There’s not another program on my computer I use more than Chrome. I live in Chrome. But it also frustrates me more than any other program. A few years ago I would have launched a dozen separate programs in order to do my work. Today, every tool I need to do my job for Puget Systems, with the exception of a VOIP program, is rendered through Chrome. So when Chrome gives me problems it affects a lot more than just browsing Facebook or Reddit.

My 4-Month Test Drive of Windows 10

We are now less than a week away from official arrival of Windows 10: the operating system that’s so extraordinary, Microsoft to give it a higher number.

I’ve been the unofficial guinea pig at Puget Systems running Windows 10 Insider Preview builds for over four months now. In the past, I’ve installed beta builds of Windows in a VM or setup a dual boot system giving me an eject button in case of disaster. But that’s not what I did with Windows 10. Instead, I went five blades. No VM, no dual-boot, no parachute.