Microsoft

Gary recently reformatted his hard drive as part of annual maintenance. Now, though, he is having issues using an online database using his Microsoft account. If he uses a different account, it's fine. Leo says that it could be that Microsoft is copying settings the online database doesn't support. And Microsoft is making it harder to use Windows 10 with a local account. Leo also says that the database is misconfigured. Gary also can't use Internet Explorer, which the database requires. Leo says that Microsoft has killed IE, and as such, it's no wonder Gary is having issues.

Timmy has heard that Microsoft is going to kill support for Windows 7 on January 14th. Is that going to be a security problem? Leo says essentially, yes. You'll be on your own as Windows 7 goes end of life. You can get Windows 10 for free in most cases if you still own Windows 7, and Microsoft is hell-bent on getting everyone to WIndows 10. Also, after January, most other browsers and other software updates will stop supporting Windows 7 as well. But if you take it offline, you can still use Windows 7. Just not for the internet. 

Caller wants to know why her and her sister's phones are so slow. While their husband's are faster. Leo says if both you and your sister are using a specific app, that could be running in the background and slowing things down.

She also has an issue where in Office 365, the font size is so small, she can't read it. Leo says you can change the font. It's in the settings. But the caller says they've taken that option out of Outlook in Office 365. Leo says that can't be. 

Absent that, change the zoom. That'll at least let you read it.

Jim updated to Windows 10 vs. 1903 and now he's lost sound support and can't record. Can he downgrade? Leo says he could, but not for long. Microsoft is going to force it on him sooner or later. There is a known issue with sound in gaming. Leo recommends updating to the subsequent updates after 1903. KB4515384 is a technote that talks about fixing sound issues in games, and Leo suspects it should solve Jim's problem. 

Grant is interested in a Virtual Reality desktop experience. Microsoft was looking to push that idea with their Hololens for VR, but Leo believes they are backing off on that idea as people believe there's still a ways to go with VR. Having to wear VR goggles for so long can potentially make you sick and that you can't see the world around you. Augmented Reality, or Mixed Reality as Microsoft is calling it, is a possible fix around Microsoft is pushing since it overlays information onto your display while enabling you to still see the world around you.

Manny has a 17" Dell laptop running Windows 7. With Microsoft stopping support for it in January, he's concerned about it. Should he turn it into a Linux laptop? Leo says that if you can put Windows 10 on it for free, then it would give it a few more years. But if you have to buy Windows, Leo would advise not doing that and going with installing Linux on it. Leo likes PopOS by System 76. If that doesn't work because it's a bit heavyweight, then Xubuntu or Lubuntu is designed for older machines.

Bruce can't get the latest Windows Update 1903 on his HP laptop. Microsoft says that this BIOS is too out of date and as such, it'll fail and roll back. Is there a way to block it so it won't keep doing it? The problem is, that Microsoft has stopped supporting 1803, which is where Bruce is stuck, and as such, he won't get security updates starting at the end of the year. That's a real concern. He tried putting it on a metered connection and that does stop it, but he's worried about security. He still wants the security updates.