Q & A Presents: Maui Online! – Hawaii's Only Computer Talk Show!

Once again we look to see if we can predict the future! Our 2022 Predictions Our track record is spotty but the Magic 8-ball doesn't really help with tech questions. Sam and Jonathan have 6 predictions apiece with LD having 5. How did we do? Well, tune in!

Listener mail? Viewer mail? We never agree on that… Viewer Mail – December 2022! Anyhow, we go through your emails to us and answer your questions! We read your atta-boys! We embarrass LD with your well-wishes! It's great! Also, we find out who wins the fantastic Altec-Lansing Bluetooth speaker from our friends at the Kahului OfficeMax!

Emergencies happen. Life throws curveballs. Murphy's Law goes into effect at the worst possible moment. Planning For the Rough Spots What do you do when you or a loved one has a medical emergency (or worse)? Life doesn't stop for anyone, so we talk about keeping things going while trying to navigate a tough situation.

LD Reynolds has long been a fixture in the Maui radio scene. Welcome Back, L.D! DJ, engineer, show host, HAM operator, and more! We talk to him about his illustrious past, his history, and how we all met! He's a beloved part of the show and we wanted to share his awesomeness with you.

Do you like shopping? Sure you do. And it's shopping season. Which means shopping frauds and scams! Season of Scams The bad guys are hard at work trying to separate you from your hard-earned money. Oh, and we have a big tangent on Twitter (sorry). https://consumer.ftc.gov/scams https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/ https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/heres-how-to-avoid-online-holiday-shopping-scams/ https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/mystery-shopping-scams https://www.fdacs.gov/Consumer-Resources/Scams-and-Fraud/Online-Shopping-Scams      

How old is your computer? Is it time to get a new one? Is It New Computer Time? Many of us have computers that are getting close to their end of life and the holiday shopping season is looking very good this year! But are you going to get the newest, cutting edge stuff? Or are there better deals to be had?

Normally Dr. Armstrong comes every third Saturday of the month. However, we were able to get him AND Tracey onto the show. Five people? At once! Talking space stuff? Yes! Rockets? Yes! Artimis? YES! Reaching for the Stars We're overly excited about all this so join us!

Dr. Armstrong and Tracey joined us for this show! Moar SPACE! We talk comets, black holes, ask if LD fell asleep, and more!

When the holidays hit folks will take photos. Photos and your Computer! Lots of them. Maybe you want to adjust the lighting, perhaps get rid of red-eye, or just sharpen it a little. Getting those photos ready for printing and framing, making cards or calendars and just sharing around is a great thing but doesn't require Photoshop! So we're talking about alternatives to Photoshop that are better suited to normal folks like us! Photoshop Elements is the Diet Coke of Photoshop meant for consumers. https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-elements.html Windows Photos and MacOS Preview are included with your operating system and can do many basic tasks. Even your smart phone has built-in tools in its photos apps. GIMP is a free, open-source program but has a bit of a learning curve. https://www.gimp.org/ Paintshop Pro is a longtime alternative. https://www.paintshoppro.com/ Corel offers a whole suite of graphics tools, including a photoshop alternative! https://www.coreldraw.com/en/ Affinity Photo is a professionally aimed program with a budget friendly price. https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/ And do you want better photos? Starting with how you take them will help! https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/10-quick-tips-to-fix-your-bad-photos https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-take-good-photos-with-your-phone/ https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/10-easy-tips-and-tricks-for-better-smartphone-photos

We're getting into the holidays but it's also Cyber Security Month! Phishing Scams Are you akamai about phishing? When the baddies try tricking you into giving you all your information? Be it through email or text message or anything you need to be vigilant. https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams https://www.cisa.gov/cybersecurity-awareness-month https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-two-factor-authentication-app/ https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-password-managers/

Are you burned out on social media? The constant negativity, drama, insane conspiracy theories and multi-level marketing invitations from friends? Perhaps you need a break or need to make an escape. We talk about doing that on Facebook and Twitter! Escaping Social Media Facebook How to temporarily deactivate your Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/help/214376678584711?helpref=faq_content How to delete your Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/help/224562897555674/ How to download your Facebook information: https://www.lifewire.com/back-up-your-facebook-data-2655254 Twitter How to backup and deactivate your Twitter account: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/10/how-to-download-a-backup-copy-of-your-twitter-data-or-deactivate-your-account/ The official how to deactivate, delete, and download your Twitter account: https://help.twitter.com/en/managing-your-account/how-to-deactivate-twitter-account Effects of Social Media and Mental Health https://www.cnet.com/health/mental/heres-how-social-media-might-be-hurting-your-mental-health/ https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health https://www.unicef.org/stories/social-media-bad-teens-mental-health https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/becoming-resilient/202108/how-social-media-affects-mental-health-in-adolescents

At some point of your computing life, professional or personal, you'll need to migrate from one computer to another. Migration Woes Guess what? It's not necessarily fun or easy. So Jonathan will fill us in on troubles, pitfalls, and more that can come up in the process!

Have you ever had a story stuck in your head? Something you wanted to get out but never got around to? Or you wanted to write your memoirs for your family. Well, next month might be the opportunity you've been waiting for! National Novel Writing Month has been helping folks write their first novel since 1999! Some Words… And what do you want to use for this endeavor? Well, a word processor! Microsoft Word: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/word Scrivener: https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview Google Docs: https://docs.google.com LibreOffice: https://www.libreoffice.org/ And links for writing! Hawaiian diacritical marks: https://www.hawaii.edu/askus/1767 https://www.nanowrimo.org https://blog.nanowrimo.org/post/33839278502/hidden-nanowrimo-resources-at-your-local-library https://www.dictionary.com/ https://www.merriam-webster.com/

Ready for some brand-new chips? New Processors for 2022! Intel and AMD have offerings for the upcoming holiday season. And who is the value leader this time? Who is driving the lower prices? And why does this matter? Well, join us as we talk about that! For further reading you can go to these sites! www.tomshardware.com www.anandtech.com www.arstechnica.com

Desktop computers, laptops, tablets and phones all have something in common: YOU! Ergonomics! The way you use them and the way you hold your body while using them matters! That's why ergonomics matters. Tired of that pain in your neck or crick in your back? It might be how you're using your technology. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/office-ergonomics/art-20046169 https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-set-up-an-ergonomic-workstation https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/standing-workstation/art-20088544 https://rmi.colostate.edu/ergonomics/officecomputer-ergonomics/laptop-tablet-and-smartphone-ergonomics/ https://www.uhs.umich.edu/computerergonomics https://www.thoughtco.com/setting-up-ergonomic-computer-station-1206666 https://ergo-plus.com/office-ergonomics-position-computer-monitor/

The Supreme Court has a big case coming up. Section 230, and Why it Matters And geez, we have to talk about it. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/10/scotus-weighs-first-case-testing-big-tech-liability-for-recommending-content/ https://www.eff.org/issues/cda230 https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/06/section-230-the-internet-law-politicians-love-to-hate-explained/ https://theweek.com/supreme-court/1017215/the-supreme-court-and-the-internets-future-explained https://news.yahoo.com/how-the-supreme-court-could-break-the-internet-as-we-know-it-161539011.html https://publicknowledge.org/two-years-later-broadband-providers-are-still-taking-advantage-of-an-internet-without-net-neutrality-protections/

As the years go by your family's old memories become increasingly important. Tips on Archiving Preserving them is something you might want to learn but where do you start? We talked about saving your old photos and recordings today!

There you are, minding your own business, and the weather decides make things personal. Weather and the Internet Doesn't matter if its hurricane season here or tornado season on the mainland, there are tools that can be used to help. Listen as Jonathan tells how he helped a friend who was Hurricane Ian! https://www.windy.com/ https://www.waze.com/live-map/ https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/  

It's a buffet of news! We're catching up on all the things happening in tech news in the past week because there's been a lot! News Buffet – Part 1 Join Jonathan, LD, and Sam as we discuss various and assorted things. https://www.neowin.net/news/apple-google-and-microsoft-limit-browser-choice-alleges-mozilla/ https://www.howtogeek.com/702485/how-to-opt-out-of-amazon-sidewalk/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/09/google-and-youtube-to-take-on-dolby-with-free-hdr-and-audio-standards/ https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/21/tech/microsoft-windows-11-update/index.html

More news! Once again, we're having our news show buffet where we share all the news that fits! News Buffet – Part 2 None of these are quite a full hour or show on their own, so let's hit the highlights, shall we? https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/21/tech/microsoft-windows-11-update/index.html https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/09/morgan-stanley-pays-35m-penalty-for-extensive-failure-to-safeguard-customer-data/ https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-completely-erase-a-hard-drive-2626173 https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/09/florida-to-supreme-court-let-us-regulate-social-networks-as-common-carriers/

Dr. Armstrong is back for his monthly visit, so let's talk star stuff

More good stuff! Join us as Jonathan, LD, and Sam chat up with Dr. Armstrong from the UH Institute for Astronomy! NASA plays DARTs And don't forget, there's going to be a Star Party next month! About DART – https://gizmodo.com/nasa-dart-liciacube-camera-probe-asteroid-1849545126 The DART mission! https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/16/world/nasa-dart-mission-preview-scn/index.html

New stuff from Apple! Apple's New Line Whether you're wanting the best and newest thing OR want to see last year's stuff go down in price? Well, this is for you! New iPhones, Apple Watches, AirPods and more! Join Jonathan, LD, and Sam as we chime in on our thoughts.

Are you ready for unexpected disasters? Fast Disasters! Kihei had a big rainstorm with flooding. So, what happened? Well, Jonathan rushed home and began his emergency protocols! What are yours? Did you back up? Are you backing up the right stuff? Do you have UPS' for your electronics? Do you have a bug-out kit? Let's talk about it! Join Jonathan, LD, and Sam as we discuss being ready for bad stuff happening!

It's that time again! Viewer Mail August 2022 – Part 1 We go through your emails and talk about them on the air! From Alert Internet Surfer “John Smith”: https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/am_deadlink.html And Jonathan found a fun list of link checkers: https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/broken-link-checker/ Cool stuff in your car! https://www.aamcocolorado.com/computers-in-your-car/ How to back up your Gmail! https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-backup-your-gmail-2378049  

Our friends at OfficeMax/OfficeDepot have given us an amazing Sandisk 2tb external drive which one of you won! Viewer Mail August 2022 – Part 2 More reading from the show: https://earthsky.org/space/galaxies-spiral-arm https://www.interviewbit.com/linux-interview-questions/ https://www.linux.com/what-is-linux/ https://www.wired.com/story/what-is-the-metaverse/

Ghost with the most? Nope! It's pronounced the same way though. Space Grab Bag – Part 1 Remember when it dimmed a bit? We do! And we've got Dr. Armstrong from the UH Institute of Astronomy to chat about it! Plus fusion? Like Mr. Fusion from Back to the Future? Well, not yet… https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2022/08/13/betelgeuse-blew-its-top-hubble-sees-red-supergiant-star-bouncing-after-catastrophic-upheaval/?sh=2c42d928500f https://www.newsweek.com/nuclear-fusion-energy-milestone-ignition-confirmed-california-1733238

Time for more SPAAAAACE! Space Grab Bag – Part 2 Fun stuff that's happening? https://ksltv.com/503099/meteorite-hunters-find-what-is-believed-to-be-pieces-of-meteorite-boom/ https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/nasa-roll-out-giant-us-moon-rocket-debut-launch-2022-08-16/ https://www.npr.org/2022/08/09/1116455607/nasa-scientists-need-your-help-finding-clouds-on-mars https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9215/help-nasa-scientists-find-clouds-on-mars/ https://spacenews.com/nasa-selects-potential-lunar-landing-sites-for-artemis-3/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_trojan Quick reminder: if you get a “free” copy of Microsoft Office in the mail? It's probably a scam! https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/protect-yourself-from-tech-support-scams-2ebf91bd-f94c-2a8a-e541-f5c800d18435

It is time for school! Back to School 2022! And thus time for school supplies. These days that also means a laptop or computer of some sort. Chromebook, Windows, or Mac? What else do you need? What to look for? We hit some of the questions! If you need to get stuff, be sure to check out our friends at Officemax/Office Depot!

Search Like a Pro! Your search engine is a vital tool for finding things you want to know about. But how much time do you spend trying to sift through the results? Fear not! We'll talk about how to optimize your search so you can get to the good stuff faster! Better searching in Google: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/2466433?visit_id=637954240335182907-821392750&p=adv_operators&hl=en&rd=1 Better searching in Bing: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/advanced-search-keywords-ea595928-5d63-4a0b-9c6b-0b769865e78a Better searching in DuckDuckGo: https://help.duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/results/syntax/

James Webb is up and taking pictures! Webb and Other Stellar Stuff! And who is excited? WE ARE! https://www.newsweek.com/james-webb-space-telescope-trappist-1-planets-life-1729236 https://blog.sci-nature.com/2022/07/its-official-astronomers-have.html

Internet access is particularly important for most people. Never mind the fun stuff; online learning, bill paying and financial access, medical services and more are part of our daily lives. The Important ACP Program Not being able to get online makes life hard, especially if a business decides they don't want to bother with phone support or local representatives. Guess what? There's help for that. https://www.fcc.gov/affordable-connectivity-program-consumer-faq

We have a special guest, Danno! Dan Visits about VPNs You might remember him as our security and privacy guy. Well he's back! We'll be talking about VPNs, Encryption, and Quantum computing!

Our security and privacy guy is back! More with Dan! We've been talking about VPNs, Encryption, and Quantum computing!

Windows 7 was a great operating system. Windows 8? It depends on who you ask. Most PC users have two upgrade options: Windows 10 and Windows 11. Is it Time? – Part 1 So let's talk about that! Windows Health Check app: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-11#pchealthcheck Windows 10 system requirements: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-specifications Windows 11 system requirements: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-11-specifications https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/windows-11-vs-windows-10/ https://www.tomsguide.com/features/should-i-upgrade-to-windows-11-what-you-need-to-know https://www.pcmag.com/news/reasons-to-upgrade-to-windows-11-now

Is it Time? Part 2 Still not ready? Do you need to stay with your older version of Windows? Well, we continue talking about this subject with an eye on business! Be sure to check out our first out hour!

It's Hurricane season! Prep 2022 No, not like Hurricane fries or popcorn. The less tasty variety: tropical depressions, tropical storms, and full-blown hurricanes with category ratings and everything! As we discussed: What is your level of risk and kind of risk? What is your response plan? What are your disaster supplies? Food and water for 14 days? Medicine? Do you have cash? Cash doesn't need the internet unlike a credit or debit card. Check your insurance! Homeowners, Renter's Insurance, Auto, etc. What do they have to say about natural disasters? Ready for those links? https://www.hawaiianelectric.com/safety-and-outages/storm-center https://www.noaa.gov/hurricane-prep https://www.weather.gov/hfo/HPW2022 https://dod.hawaii.gov/hiema/public-resources/preparedness-information/

Do you have a device with a rechargeable battery? A phone or laptop? Guess what: it can go bad and swell up. And if it swells up? It becomes a hazard!  So, what should you do? Well, we talk about that. Don't Let your Laptop Go Kaboom! Why does it happen? Well, it's a bit of a read: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/heres-why-your-old-rechargeable-batteries-ballooned-in-size/ar-AAWkuyC

We welcome our monthly visit from Dr. Armstrong! June Visit from Dr. Armstrong – Part 1 Ready for astronomy and science? Hey, it's that kind of show! We talk about Starlink, cool pictures local astronomers and students have taken, and more! https://mauinow.com/2022/06/03/maui-teenagers-research-asteroids-and-black-holes-during-uh-astronomy-program/ https://www.newsweek.com/rogue-isolated-black-hole-kick-planets-deep-space-nasa-hubble-1715641 https://astronomy.com/news/2022/03/starlink-satellite-streaks-how-big-a-problem-are-they https://www.space.com/boeing-starliner-oft-2-landing-success https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6b_XwLh8VQ

We continue our talk with Dr. Armstrong from the UH Institute for Astronomy! June Visit from Dr. Armstrong – Part 2 https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up/ https://spacetourismguide.com/june-night-sky/ https://www.instructables.com/Viking-Stargazing-Chairs/ If you make a Viking stargazing chair, send us a picture!

Are you in the market for something? Looking online? Going to look at the reviews? Who Reviews the Reviewers? – Part 1 You might want to take those with grain of salt. Also, as promised! Here's the link to PC Magazine's article on securing your account: https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/12-simple-things-you-can-do-to-be-more-secure-online

We're continuing our discussion about reviews! Who Reviews the Reviewers? – Part 2 There are individuals and companies gaming reviews, so what to do about it? And what can you do about it?

Some folks don't like to be tied down. Wires and cables get in the way, get chewed on by pets and more! Bluetooth Devices! We use it for keyboards, computer mice, printers, speakers, and… cars? Well, yeah, actually. Android Auto – https://www.android.com/auto/ Apple CarPlay – https://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/

Your computer is going to get cluttered up. Spring, er, Summer Cleaning! Tons of random junk will accumulate, programs will end up not being used but run in the background, and other things will make your nice computer run like a lethargic turtle. How do you clean up? Well, glad you asked!

Are you into black holes? Hey! So are we! How cool is that? Black Holes and Other Astronomical Stuff Dr. Armstrong from the UH Institute for Astronomy is joining us and we do love it. We talk about black holes, events hosted by the UH Institute, and more! https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-a-black-hole-k4.html https://astronomy.com/news/2022/05/say-hello-to-sagittarius-a-the-black-hole-at-the-center-of-the-milky-way https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2021/04/23/ask-ethan-why-doesnt-every-galaxy-have-a-supermassive-black-hole/ https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2022/04/26/mysterious-swirl-maunakea-telescope/

Jargon! Don't you love it when people talk about stuff but might as well be speaking another language? Astronomical Jargon That's Sam and Astronomy. Some of the stuff is very technical. Some of it defies common sense. Some of it has driven people insane. Thankfully, Dr. Armstrong is here to help! We talk about gravity, black holes, lensing, and more!

USB! USB! What is the state of USB? What is it? All Things USB We're going to try and keep to the most current, relevant stuff, so no history lesson here. There's enough stuff currently and more coming to keep us busy anyhow! If you take one piece of advice from Sam this show, then it should be “label things!” What do all these plugs look like? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_hardware#Connectors Need a chart? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Connector_type_quick_reference Current as of last year: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/09/usb-if-is-once-again-trying-to-logo-its-way-out-of-usb-c-confusion/

You get a new computer and it wants you to make a Microsoft Account. Yay? Do I HAVE to use an MS Account with Windows 11? Why would you want one? Why wouldn't you? How can you NOT have one? Well, we answer that and more! Join Jonathan, LD, and Sam as we talk about that! https://www.extremetech.com/computing/324134-i-will-never-use-a-microsoft-account-to-log-into-my-own-pc https://www.extremetech.com/computing/299341-microsoft-needs-to-stop-screwing-with-local-accounts-in-windows-10

Video cards and GPUs (graphics processing units) are an essential part of your computer! All About That Video! Doesn't matter if you've got a desktop or laptop*, you've got one in there. So we talk about that! And if this gets you asking more questions, you can shoot us an email to ask them at mauionline@q-a.net! Helpful links: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-buying-guide,5844.html https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-cc-gpu-card-faq.html https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/multi/gpu-acceleration-and-hardware-encoding.html

Don't have a website? Don't want a website? Then why would you want a domain? Glad you asked! All About Domains Whether it's to get folks an easy way to your social media presence or to have the custom email address your business deserves, domains have something to offer you. And at a reasonable price! Want to know more? Fear not and tune in!

It is time to read your emails! Yay! Viewer Mail April 2022 – Part 1 We go over your emails, talk about our prize, and chat chat chat! We might even have gotten a show topic from it! Looking forward to our winner? That's coming up!