Into Tomorrow Quickies

Jack asked: “I recently installed OneNote on my laptop, thinking that it might be the program I want to use. It’s not, but guess what… I cannot find an uninstaller for that program. How do I get OneNote off my system?”     We’re guessing you’re using Windows 10. It used to be easier to uninstall OneNote, but under Windows 10, Microsoft really wants you to keep it. To get rid of it you’ll need to open the Start menu, search for PowerShell, right click on the result and click on Run as administrator. That’s where things get too complicated for radio, you’ll be better off coming to our website for the command you have to type to uninstall it, but in case you’re feeling brave, here it goes: Get-AppxPackage *OneNote* | Remove-AppxPackage And you’re done, Windows should boot OneNote from your computer. They just don’t make it as easy as they make removing other programs. Microsoft will tell you that this is caused by OneNote being promoted from an optional app to being part of the Windows 10 operating system itself, and the result of this promotion is that you’re not uninstalling an app, you’re removing part of the operating system. That doesn’t make it any less annoying to remove, but I guess we can understand the reasoning.

Mike asked: “Last year, I purchased a gaming computer for my son that had Windows 8. It upgraded to Windows 10. If I wanted to upgrade the motherboard in this computer, will I have a problem with my Windows 10 License?”   Mike, unfortunately you almost certainly will. Microsoft doesn’t share much about how it detects whether a computer is the same that received the license in the first place or not, but generally small predictable changes like getting a new hard drive, or expanding your system’s RAM, don’t trigger any alert. A motherboard however is a much more serious change. Windows will almost certainly fail the activation process Windows will almost certainly fail the activation process, Microsoft ties Windows to hardware and to them a new motherboard is more likely to be a new computer than just a new part, but that doesn’t mean you’d be forfeiting the license completely. After your son’s computer fails to automatically activate Windows, you’ll be given the option to type in your license number manually, that will fail too, then you’ll be warned that you’re running a non-genuine copy. Don’t worry, you should be able to go to Services and apps, then Windows, and finally Setting up. From there you should be able to either chat or talk on the phone with a Microsoft representative that can remotely activate your Windows 10 for you.It’s a little more unnerving than just having things work on their own, but it’s not too rare a situation, and it will probably go your way.

Marlee asked: “I need video editing software that is easy to use and doesn’t take the hours of a part time job, to use at work.”   if you’re not looking to create very complex videos, your best bet may be to stick the simpler free software. It’s possible that your computer even came with one. Unfortunately, Microsoft decided not to bring Movie Maker to Windows 10, but you have several free options that can take its place. Avidemux is multiplatform, it has been around for a very long time, and it’s supposed to be very simple. On the opposite side of that, you have Lightworks, which is also multiplatform and it’s extremely capable, but you’ll lose some of the simplicity if you want to use the higher end features. If you’re willing to spend some money, you can try CyberLink PowerDirector. Keep in mind that even when you use a comparatively simpler program, editing videos is always time consuming We should mention that the old Windows Movie Maker still works on the newer versions of Windows, it’s just not supported by them. If you want to make a video today, it may be a good free choice, if you want a program you can use indefinitely, you should probably skip it. Keep in mind that even when you use a comparatively simpler program, editing videos is always time consuming, there’s no way around it. It will take a some time to make the video look good, especially before you know how to use the software you’re working with. Movavi isn’t free, but it isn’t expensive either at $39.95, and it is extremely easy to use. It reminds us a lot of Windows Movie Maker, if anything it’s even simpler to use than Movie Maker was, with a nice drag-and-drop interface for almost everything. You can download a free limited version from their website (movavi.com) and try it before you buy it.

Frank asked: “I’ve got an xBox One that I purchased. I’m trying to figure out how to get my data off my xBox 360, to the xBox One.”   If you happen to be have Xbox Live Gold, you can just go to your Xbox settings, then storage, then each game, and copy or move your data to the cloud. Then when the Xbox One syncs with the cloud it should bring with it your settings, and saved games. Here’s the problem that Microsoft glosses over on their documentation: If you have a free Xbox Live account, you can’t copy your game data to the cloud, that means that you can either move on and start over, or pay for a Gold account. If you have a free Xbox Live account, you can’t copy your game data to the cloud As far as we know, right now there’s no option to copy to a USB drive to transfer between system or anything other way to do it. Now of course that’s just your settings and saved game files, not the games themselves. The actual games you will need to reinstall. There isn’t any way to transfer directly from an Xbox 360 to an Xbox One. If you’re wanting to play your Xbox 360 games on your Xbox One, remember that not every 360 game is compatible. Be sure to check your specific titles before trying to play older games on the newer console.

John asked: “I was wondering if there is a website I can try to use and experiment with Windows 10 before I download it. I have until the end of the month and I was hoping there was a website where I can practice with it before I download it.”   There’s a website that shows you demos of different things you can do with Windows 10, but unless you install it, you can’t play around with it. Operating systems are infinitely more complex than websites and a website probably wouldn’t give you too much of an idea of what it’s like to use a different one anyway. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to either install first and learn second, or learn on someone else’s computer. Windows 10 is rather good and we have no objections to it Or you could just go along with the advice from tech outlets that you trust. Like most other tech media sources, we are telling you that Windows 10 is rather good and we have no objections to it. Now that doesn’t mean people haven’t had horror stories attempting the upgrade, they certainly have. And if it blows up on you, we’d be very sad to hear that, but you know that any software upgrade comes with a certain amount of inherent risk. The fact that we don’t object to Window 10 doesn’t mean we don’t object to how Microsoft recently started upgrading computers without permission. We most definitely do object to that kind of behavior, but that doesn’t have anything to do with Windows 10 itself. Windows 10 is very much like the best parts of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 combined into one operating system. In particular the new file manager, while it takes some getting used to, we find to be an improvement over older Windows systems. We hope this helps you decide whether to take the plunge or not.

Donald asked: “Is there a way to take all the photos that I’ve uploaded to facebook and download them all to my computer? Is there a way to do that officially through Facebook, or if not, an unofficial way that someone has come up with?”   Donald, you can download a copy straight from Facebook’s settings and under General click on “Download a copy of your Facebook data.”   That will download everything, not just your photos, but all of your Facebook activity. If that’s too much for you, you can always create an IFTTT recipe to download the pictures for you, or use a service like Odrive to sync them to your computer. Keep in mind that Facebook may have stored your pictures in a lower resolution Keep in mind that Facebook may have stored your pictures in a lower resolution to save storage space, so you may not be getting back full resolution images. If you use Chrome look into an extension called Download FB Album Mod, it can take care of the download for you very easily.

Gloria in Detroit, MI listens on CKLW and asked: “I had a Blackberry once, I learned to use it and I used it very well. And I loved it. It and I were just made for each other. Then my stupid phone company no longer supported it and made me go to the touchscreen. I hate it. I want rid of it. I want to go back to Blackberry. I don’t know who to ask or how to figure out how to do it. Can you tell me if it’s even possible for me to get a Blackberry. I really despise the touchscreen phone.” Blackberry smartphones are disappearing faster than pizza slices at a Colorado smoke shop. You just can’t find them any more. Now having said that, if you already have one, you might still be able to get it connected with your wireless provider. The technologies used for the radios haven’t really changed. Of course, you won’t be able to get software updates, since Blackberrys aren’t supported any longer, and that means you’re going to have problems going forward. Blackberry currently makes the Priv, which is an Android phone with a sliding keyboard, and quite frankly it’s the most modern phone out there with such an option. All the other phones with keyboards on them are ANCIENT and simply not worth having. You can buy the phone direct from Blackberry for $699 or you can buy it through the wireless carriers with their normal finance deals. According to Blackberry’s website, the Priv is available through AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, with Sprint coming soon. Retailers like Best Buy, Amazon.com, and Newegg.com are also supposed to have it. If you don’t want to buy a Priv, your only option for a physical keyboard is one of the bulky, clunky keyboard cases that will fit the phone you have. There’s none of them we can really recommend. They all work to varying degrees of success, but there are issues with each one we’ve ever tried. Blackberry still sells the Blackberry Classic and Passport. We should mention that Blackberry still sells the Blackberry Classic and Passport. They’re both closer to what you’re used to than modern phones are. You can buy them at the carriers that still support them or at Blackberry.com, but keep in mind the operating system they run is slowly being abandoned even by Blackberry itself, so don’t expect much. It should give you roughly the experience you had with your old phone, though, so it may be just what you want.

Mark asked: “I have a problem with the stingray technology that police are using right now to surveil our phones and I’m wondering if there’s an app out there that can alert me when my phone moves from one tower to another as I’m driving.”   There are some that kind of do what you want, you can try SnoopSnitch, WireTap and Spy Removal or plenty of others and they will supposedly alert you when they detect an interceptor tower or any that looks like it may not be legitimate. The thing is, you phone will constantly hop towers as you drive, a tower can only do so much work so your phone will just over to another tower when the signal strength is better, of when it can’t connect to one that is overloaded. An app that would warn you of switches would be going off so often that it probably wouldn’t be very useful in letting you know something strange is going on. Also, keep in mind that you know of a version of Stingray, but these devices are typically built and sold by huge companies like Raytheon, and they have no shortage of funds to research better systems, it’s likely that if the government wants to get into your phone, they will. The actual room 641A Just look at AT&T’s room 641a, that was an entire facility dedicated to listening to domestic and international traffic flowing through the AT&T network. 3 whole floors worth of equipment to spy on AT&T communications with their blessing. Even without their blessing the government could’ve done it anyway, look up Operation Ivy Bells for an interesting example dating back to the 70s of the government tapping into underwater cables to listen in on soviet communications. If they don’t tap into wireless data, they may just cut into wires. Those are examples of larger government agencies tapping into communications, but back when those things were happening police departments didn’t have baby tanks to deal with riots, so who knows what the federal government is willing to share in terms of communications. The truth is that it’s probably easier to delegate to locals if the focus is on preventing small homegrown terrorist groups, so the federal government may be more willing to share these days. Your phone is big data sharer Your phone is big data sharer, for example apps can have built in diagnostics tools that report back, Google Maps knows if traffic is congested partly by tracking users and recording how fast they’re moving. If you’re using communications technology, new or old, there’s not much you can do to stay private from the people who have access to the backbones. In any case, if you do use SnoopSnitch or any of the alternatives, don’t take their data too seriously, the people who made them don’t know everything that’s going on behind the scenes. You will get a lot of false positives and not get warned of real snooping.

Rod asked: “I have a Yamaha RN500 receiver that I enjoy. I use the iphone app as well as the Kindle Fire app to control it. But there are times it would be nice to be able to control it from my computer. Is there an app that I can download to my Windows 10 computer that can control this receiver?”   Look into an app called “Yamaha AV Controller,” it’s compatible with Windows 10 and it will let you control most WiFi enabled Yamaha receivers. You can also type your receiver’s IP address into your browser’s address bar and try your luck, some models will just let you adjust settings, but other will let you control the device as well. It may not work, and if it does it probably won’t look as polished, but if it gives you playback options, it may be an easy way to get what you’re after. Just a couple of days ago we got a press release about a brand new Yamaha receiver, the RX-V381 capable 4K passthrough and 4K upscaling. If you’re interested in moving to Yamaha’s latest receiver, it will cost you $300. You don’t need this receiver to use the app we mentioned earlier though, we’re just bringing it up because it was just released and some listeners may be in the market for a less expensive 4K-capable receiver as UltraHD TVs become more and more common.

CKLW listener Gerald in Detroit, Michigan has a question about Android: There are new versions of android that plays nice with x86 hardware. Have you guys had a chance to play with this? I have a lot of x86 machines sitting around and would like to breathe new life into them. Do any of these new Android programs work well with x86 processors?   There are two ways to run Android on your old computers (other than by using an emulator like BlueStacks that is):  You can run Android-x86, a version of Android specifically designed to work on computers, but keep in mind that this is a non-commercial project, so not many computers are actually supported, and the things may or may not go well, don’t expect much. Your other option if you’re using an Intel based computer is to download Intel’s own distribution, the people at Intel are not particularly creative so it’s just called “Android on Intel Architecture” or Android-iA. Unfortunately this version of Android won’t work on every Intel device either, since it was designed to be installed on some tablet computers as a way to give users a second OS. If you just want to breathe new life into those old machines your best bet is probably Linux If you just want to breathe new life into those old machines your best bet is probably Linux. There are tons of different Linux distributions and many of them will play nice with older computers. In the end if you use Linux you will be able to do more and the experience will be less awkward, since you probably don’t have touch screen capabilities on your old computers. Brian in Nashville, Tennessee listens on WTN 99.7 Is there an antenna I can plug into my Asus tablet that will boost its wi-fi reception?   Brian, unfortunately you won’t find an antenna for your tablet. You best bet is probably to try to improve the wireless coverage you get from your router by either moving it to a different location or by adding a wireless extender. If you were talking about a computer, you could look into cards or even homemade solutions, but for a tablet, all you get is a little chip inside the case, and some inner wiring to act as an antenna. Sorry, we don’t have better news, Brian.

Listener David in Sarasota, Florida wants to know about video output solutions on his computer: I have a brand new top of the line Dell Alpha computer. It only has I believe 4 USB ports and one HDMI. I’m a disc jockey. This is the computer I use to do my DJ and karaoke work. With my old computer that this is replacing, I would go VGA out to a distribution amplifier and I could go out to a monitor that I use for the singers, and I could go out to a projector, or another monitor. I tried to use the same thing with the Dell Alpha. I took my distribution amplifier to a VGA to USB adapter. It would not work. I need to find what kind of adapter or device to go out the USB output of my computer, where I can split the signal and go to my VGA monitor and another VGA or another video source, through either an adapter or whatever. I’m using the HDMI output for my main computer monitor. I did not try using the HDMI output for the second monitor, because I’d rather use it for my main monitor. What can I do?   What you need is a USB to VGA adapter, which is likely what you already tried. If that didn’t work you may need to check that you have the right drivers for it, you may need an update. Keep in mind that even if it does work, USB connections are usually pretty slow for what a display needs and you may find you get a very jumpy picture instead of the smooth movement you expect. You may find hubs with additional display ports that you can use, but again, anything that is not built to output video may do a poor job at it. The faster the port the better though, so a USB 3 adapter will be much better than a USB 2 adapter, and a Thunderbolt adapter should just work fine if you happen to have one of those ports.. You may be able to stream to an external display if you happen to have WiDi enabled devices. The truth is that you seem to need a new video card with one more output.

Jeff asked: “I’m looking at buying a new laptop and I want to know where i can get the most bang for my buck. I do play a little bit of gaming, some 3D gaming. not a whole lot. Mostly Facebook and e-mail. Where’s the best place to go?”   It all depends on how much value you place on being able to play those 3D games. Facebook and email can easily be handled by anything, even a Chromebook. Gaming is what’s going to raise your price and your laptop’s bulk. It all depends on how much value you place on being able to play those 3D games. If you don’t mind doing a little legwork, you can get some deals by going to each of your preferred manufacturers’ sites and searching for their low end gaming machines. They won’t be cheap, anything with “gaming” in the description will likely start at $700 if not more. If you want to do less work, NewEgg has a section on gaming laptops and it’s probably a good site to go to get a general idea of what’s out there, since you can filter by price or features that you’d prefer. Surprisingly enough, the somewhat revived TigerDirect Business (TigerDirect regular doesn’t exist anymore) does have a section on gaming laptops. It may be a bad place to buy, since you have to register as a business, but it may be a good place to browse and see what’s out there.

Consumer Reports joined Into Tomorrow this week to share their thoughts on Google Cast: Google Cast is Google’s latest foray into the Smart TV platform business, following the short-lived Google TV and Android TV. But does it succeed where those platforms did not? Consumer Reports electronics spokesman James McQueen is here with a review. Recently, we reviewed the 65-inch Vizio P65-C1 SmartCast TV and we think it would take some viewers time to get used to Google Cast. That’s mainly because there’s no onscreen menu or streaming apps on the TV itself. Instead, you control the TV through the SmartCast app, loaded on the tablet that comes included, or with your own phone or laptop. The set also comes with a rudimentary remote control that you can use for basic functions. One advantage we found is that there are already hundreds of Cast-enabled apps, which provide more content choices than you get with most proprietary TV-based streaming platforms. And we expect Google Cast to get more frequent updates and improvements than most systems built by single TV makers such as Samsung or LG. But there’s also a disadvantage: While you can access Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube through Google Cast, right now it doesn’t directly support Amazon or Apple iTunes. Whether Google Cast is a better option than a conventional smart TV platform depends on who is using it. If you only have one or two streaming services and prefer a conventional remote control, it’s probably not the best option. For more info on this story, visit ConsumerReports.org. For Into Tomorrow, James McQueen – Consumer Reports Rory recommended Facebook for it’s “Safety Check” feature: After the massacre at a night club in Orlando last weekend, Facebook’s “Safety Check” let Rory know some of his friends were safe, and he shared his experience with the feature with us on this week’s Favorite Apps segment. Rory

Dave talks to Jason Dorsey, iGen and Millennial expert and researcher  at the Center for Generational Kinetics

Dave talks to Grant Hall, CEO of Nuvyyo about Tablo, a next-generation DVR that plugs into a digital TV antenna to capture free, local HDTV broadcast programs.