pc tips

A shortcut we stumbled across that seems to be mouse only.  In web browsers Chrome, Edge and Firefox hold down Control key and rotate the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.  Don't forget Ctrl + wheel to get back where you were.

In the early days we unwisely used the same easily remembered password for multiple accounts.  Then Yahoo a sort of pre-Google search engine got hacked revealing users' passwords.  Our Google account has started sending slow to load emails pointing out our vulnerability.  If you have a Google account go Manage your Google Account/Review security tips/Your saved passwords to deal with it.

More PC nostalgia than a PC tip but Finland's Windows95man is wonderful Eurovision daftness with the final this Saturday.  If you think Windows 95 is ancient earlier we stayed with DOS because we thought (correctly) Windows 3.1 far too slow.

We did say Radio 4 Long Wave is not going away but now we're not so sure.  Some of the web thinks it was closing at the end of last month but we can still get it on our analogue Roberts.

As plugs have got smaller in this connected digital world (Apple's lightning and the increasingly ubiquitous USB type C) the tolerances of the physical dimensions must be more critical.  Our experience is the cheaper varieties can be a sloppy fit and consequently less reliable.

Radio 4 Long Wave is not going away but from March (or possibly April) it will no longer have its own programming like the Shipping Forecast and the 198kHz broadcast frequency will still be maintained as an off air standard (see under Tech Spec).

This hadn't occurred to us, use capitals in your hashtags #LikeThis so screen readers can pronounce the words, thanks Robin Paley York.

Adobe Lightroom started telling us the driver for the Intel display adaptor on our HP workstation was out of date and could cause problems.  Windows Update and HP Support Assistant didn't know about the update but not surprisingly Intel Driver & Support Assistant did ... just saying.

Sending large files by email can be a bit hit or miss.  We've found WeTransfer.com very useful, you don't have to open an account, you don't have to pay and your recipient gets an email with a link to download your files zipped into one ... pretty much instantaneous and much less risky than a DVD in the post.

Worth repeating; in Word highlight a word or phrase.  Whilst holding down the shift key press and release the user key F3 ... now do it again ... and do it again, good eh?  Works for other apps as well.

After 25 years the other Alexa (an Amazon company) has retired, Semrush is probably the best substitute.

We were pretty sniffy about new Freeview channel W but it is repeating sitcom My Family though seemingly the ones without Nick.  Don't expect any better from Talk TV going live Monday on channel 237, ironically just ... more here

Facebook have been pratting about with the pix at the top of a page (the cover); it's too big, low res and by default the top half is missing when landing.  We dislike it so much we deleted it and FB then replaced it with a grey wilderness.  We gave up, laid back and thought of England ... and another thing the associated slideshow editor is buggy, clearly Wayne the work experience kid hasn't been properly supervised.