TECH TALK: Helpful Tips on Windows 10 Creative Update, Podcatchers and Live Streaming on Facebook
John Vrooman | April 10, 2017
If you’re running the Windows 10 operating system on your computer, at some point after April 11, 2017 a new version of the Windows 10 operating system (called Windows 10 Creative Update) will start becoming available to users via Windows 10’s built-in Microsoft Update service. I would recommend that Windows 10 users take a few minutes to learn more about the changes and new features the update will introduce to their computer system(s). By taking some time to learn about the changes that you can expect to see, now…you’ll be better prepared to use and deal with them later. To help in this regard, I recently came across a couple of articles at pcworld.com and thurott.com that do a good job of identifying and discussing some of the more notable updates/changes you should know. The following links will lead you to these articles…
The Other New Features Coming With The Windows 10 Creators Update
Tip: If you don’t want to wait for the Windows 10 Creators Update to show up as an available update on your system, you can get it now. The following article will provide you with the information needed to be able to download and install the update without having to wait for it any longer. Personally, I followed the instructions provided in this article and my update went smoothly.
http://www.theverge.com/2017/4/5/15199352/microsoft-windows-10-creators-update-manual-install-now
iOS & Android Podcast Apps
Cumulatively the number of podcasts (audio) and video podcasts that are available these days is enormous. You would be correct in assuming that along with the growing number of podcasts, the number of people who listen to/watch podcasts and video podcasts (let’s cumulatively call them “shows”) is also growing. I’m confident that just about everyone could find numerous shows that would interest, if they took the time to look. My recommendation to anyone who discovers some shows that they want to listen to/watch on a regular basis is to find and learn how to use a podcast management app (a.k.a. a “podcatcher”). The better podcast apps make finding, subscribing to, managing, and listening to shows much easier. Additionally, podcast apps typically offer additional features, such as volume boost, playback speed adjustment, and automatic “cleanup” of listened to shows, etc. If you go to the app store for your mobile device/operating system you can find many podcast apps by simply searching for the word “podcast.”
If you would be interested in reading a review of some podcast apps, the following should help…
Apple iOS device users can visit the following link that leads to a review of a few iOS podcasting apps…
http://www.macworld.com/article/3176868/mac-apps/ios-podcast-apps-review-roundup-castro-23-overcast-3-and-pocket-casts-65.html
Android device users can visit the following link that will lead you to a review of a few Android podcasting apps…
https://thetecharena.org/best-android-podcast-app
A Windows 10 Printer Fix
Do you have a printer that you can’t remove from Windows 10’s list of printers? (A fix to the problem)
I recently decided to do some computer maintenance. One of the items on my maintenance to-do list was to uninstall/delete/remove some printers that were in my list of printers that I no longer used or accessed. Long story short, the “normal” printer uninstall/delete/remove process didn’t work on one of the printers that I wanted to remove. To find a resolution to the problem I did some Google searches using “Windows 10” and variations of phrases such as “can’t remove printer.” The link that’s at the end of this section will lead you to the article I referred to that provided me with a fix to the problem. Apparently, the issue of encountering a printer that’s difficult to remove from Windows 10 is a fairly common problem. Here’s the link…www.windowsreport.com/cant-remove-printer-windows-10/
Live Streaming on Facebook
If you’ve been thinking about doing some “live streaming” (live video) from your Facebook page, I came across a great quick overview style blog post at one of my favorite social media and digital marketing blogs (razorsocial.com). The title of the post/article is “A Tools Guide to Live Streaming on Facebook” and it does a nice job of covering basic tools, discussing bandwidth considerations and offering some getting started help. If you have a suitable video camera, microphone, lighting and upstream bandwidth, the article will likely get you online in no time. Here’s a courtesy link to the article… www.razorsocial.com/tools-and-tips-for-going-live-on-facebook
If you have comments, suggestions, tips, questions or just want to say “Hi,” you are invited to contact me at john@johnvrooman.com. I always enjoy hearing from you!
John Vrooman keeps an eye out for cool new hardware, software, apps, gadgets; SaaS solutions; social media developments, trends as well as personal/SMB productivity and related solutions. He gathers information for his column from a diverse range of resources and he enjoys sharing his discoveries with others. He has been authoring this column since August 2000 and welcomes feedback from his readers.