DCT
Hello everyone,
Dave’s Computer Tips is founded upon the principle of providing useful, easy-to-understand tips and “How To” articles delivered in plain English. The idea was originated by Dave, of course, and it is hoped that we haven’t strayed from that original goal. The intention was to provide explanations for sometimes complex computer problems in a way that was understandable by the not-so-computer-savvy user by eliminating all the technical jargon and using plain old English as a form of communication. What a concept! 🙂
(Over time, that not-so-computer-savvy crowd has evolved into a very computer-savvy crowd and I always have to keep a careful watch that I don’t miss something our readers will most definitely espy. Lovely keen-eyed devils…)
Quick Tips
I believe, and don’t quote me on this, that the first Windows 10 Quick Tips article was published on September, 7, 2016. I have made a concerted effort to provide a “Quick Tips” article every Wednesday ever since. What I would like to know at this point is if you, dear readers, find them informative and useful to the point where they should be continued? Or have they become long-in-the-tooth and have extended beyond their usefulness?
Doldrums
I find many instances across the internet offering “tips” which are empty of substance, in my opinion. Sure, you can change this or that to your liking, in a thousand ways, but are they earth-shattering? Not really. A little tweak that you won’t ultimately notice? An interface change in the Registry that won’t matter to you a week from now? I simply don’t want to waste your time with trivialities.
The Future
No matter what your opinion may be –positive, negative, or in between– we would like to know so we will be able to continue providing information that will both benefit and interest you. Consider this an end-of-year query. Perhaps you would rather see a different presentation? Maybe you’d like to pose specific questions to our writers in a different format? It’s up to you. How would you like to to get those pressing questions answered?
The Questions
DCT has many resources at its fingertips. You only need to comment on this “poll” to take advantage of those resources. Each one of our writers has their own individual personal experiences and knowledge to share, plus we have access to various affiliates who have always been most helpful when problems with software arises. Then, of course, there is the mysterious, titular Dave, who seems to magically have all the answers at his fingertips whenever we ask.
If you would be so kind, please take a moment of your time and leave a comment expressing your views. Armed with this information, we will be able to better provide you with the types of articles that are important to you. Your thoughts are important to us and they are the only guide we have to being truly reflective of your desires in the future. A new year is upon us– please share… ask questions… we will answer…
Thank you for your anticipated input, and may you have a wonderful holiday experience with your friends and family,
Richard
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I’ve enjoyed the Win 10 Tips (and all your articles) over the years. A quick check of my “Pocket” shows many saves of relevant Win 10 tips over time. Definitely not a computer novice, I have gained some good info from your Tips and would appreciate them continuing. On a couple of occasions, you have saved me much frustration when “Upgrades” decide I no longer need a function I can’t live without.
I always read and enjoy your W10 quick tips. Happy Holidays to You and all that make up DCT!!!! Daniel.
Always look forward to the “Quick Tips”. Usually very interesting and they have saved me some real grief. Please, if you can, continue. If you miss a week now and then, you are forgiven. I know it isn’t always easy to come up with something relevant and interesting. Changes coming out of Microsoft should help that.
A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, your family, and the rest of the staff.
I always enjoy your weekly tips. Keep them coming!
Look forward to the win 10 tips and have come across an interesting problem – wife’s HP all in one chock a block with it’s 32 Gb hard drive unable to update due to not enough room left on it – why on earth bring out a machine like that ?
I enjoy reading what you have to say. I try to help people that live near me and many of the tips have helped me to help them. As a silver surfer it keeps what passes for my brain working. Keep up the good work.
I’m 74 years old and I’ve enjoyed your tips very much. It has helped me many times over the years.
Could I be in the minority? I scroll to Quick Tips first, with every DCT release. I hope this continues.
It would be great to see more self help instruction revolving around security issues that can be resolved within the OS itself, devoid of advice on which “only $39 and this will save your system” software trinkets. I’ve been unwitting prey to many of these claims over the years and wish I had every one of those dollars to take a nice vacation.
I’ve enjoyed DCTs for a long time, and I hope the newsletter can continue well into the future, but I know it represents a great commitment of time and energy on your part. As one of your grateful readers, however, I can report that the articles have educated me and have been helpful in dealing with the many common Windows issues that afflict us computer users. Further, I always appreciate the information on third-party software which can better handle the things MS makes difficult. Finally, it’s entertaining, too! Thank you, and Happy Holidays!
Please continue with the Windows 10 Tips. I don’t always use them all, but I always read each one carefully.
I find the Windows 10 tips informative and most useful. Please continue to present them. I am a member of a senior computer group in my community and I distribute them to other members. (With attribution, of course.)
Sincerely; Hal Wexler
I read each one with great anticipation. I actually file them and go back as needed, I hope you will continue to publish this as you see best. Thank you and Merry Christmas
Along with everyone who has already posted, I also read all the tips you put out, Richard. Please keep them coming. Thanks. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I always read your quick tips and often comment on them. I save many of them as .docx files and print them out for future reference. Gets to be a PITA sometimes to get them into Word, but I make the effort. Mainly because of the Quick Tips column I have donated to Dave’s Computer Tips; you are worth it!
One suggestion: Could you possibly add a “print” button for us oldsters who like hard copy?
Otherwise, please keep them coming! I think with the 6 month monster updates that MS dumps on us all, you will find plenty of fodder for future articles!
Thank you for your time and effort and have a great holiday seaon!
Hi KenW,
Your browser already has a “Print” option. CTRL + P in Firefox. Should be in the “File” menu on any browser you use. If the Menu Bar is not showing, tap the ALT key to display it.
Thank you,
Richard
I’m still on Win 7 on my desktop, which is my primary user. I have Win 10 on a laptop, which I seldom use. Please keep the Win 10 tips coming. I really enjoy them. I know, that time is close to having to fully migrate to Win 10. Could you include a link in the tips email which points to a site which contains all of the Win 10 tips published?
Hi Bill,
In small grey print, below the Related Articles section, you will see the Categories and Tags.
For this post, the Tags include “poll” and “quick tips”. By clicking the “quick tips” link, you will see all the Quick Tips articles which have been published using that tag.
I cannot guarantee that the list is complete, however, since I may not have remembered to use that tag on every article.
Another option would be to use the DCT search function for “Windows 10 Quick Tips”.
Richard
Not every tip will be useful to everyone. Some of the tips you disparage are news and useful to someone, Still, your tips do tend to be of high quality and are part of the reason I keep reading your newsletter. Thanks for the effort.
Well I’m waiting for Richards book to come out ! That is if folk still read books?
But seriously, I always find useful and well explained hints and “easter eggs” in these columns.
My request might be about the things we can do to make the Windows updates less of a head-ache for those who find it so.
I’ve been apparently very lucky as every update has been flawless.
But I’ve no idea why and I can’t give any hints.
Merry Christmas to you all at DCT and a Happy and informative New Year.
Keep ’em coming. I may not learn something new each & every time, but more often than not, I get something of great value from the tips.
Each Sunday I look forward to your articles, tips & tricks, just wish you would have as many of them as you had in prior years.
Anywho, a very happy holidays to you & the staff.
Dan
Great resource for all. My computer history started in the 1960s before DOS. These articles are timely and necessary especially for the Creator upgrade which downgrades DOCX. by removing all prior versions of Office. Folks will need an alternative such as LibreOffice which is FREE. Hope you can provide articles to help.
Even though I have more than 50 years of experience I find your articles useful and informative.
How about articles about Open Source software that are helpful for solving PC needs?
Hello, Just a note to say “keep up the good work’. I’ve been using computers since 1986. I’m amazed at all the changes in this time, especially the last few years.
I do have one question I hope you can answer. I’m not sure if it is one of Microsoft s ‘marvelous’ updates or what. About 3-4 weeks ago, I started having this problem. When I restarted my computer in the morning and signed in, I found that all of my icons had somehow rearranged themselves to the left side of my monitor screen. It also had deleted an number of files that were in some of the folders on my desk top. They were in the download folder and I’d made shortcuts to the desktop. The folder was still on my desk top, but empty. I could not find any of the files in the download file. I then rearranged them to my liking–documents to the left, computer programs to the lower right corner, and work programs to the upper right corner. This has happened a number of times since. It’s a pain in the A$$ to have to keep rearranging them.
I do my best to keep all my programs updated and run my A/V and Malware programs regularly. Thank You Very Much, Tom
Hi Tom,
Thank you for your comment.
I cannot speak to the missing icons, but as far as the arrangement of icons goes, do this:
Hope this helps,
Richard
They are very useful. Keep them coming!
The first thing I read is W tips. Thanks for all your valuable information.
Thanks, Brenda! I’m glad they help you.