Recent Comments


Comment by Jerry Chandler on Try These Free Online Photo Editors (October 12, 2024 01:13 PM)
Thank you so much for the emails. I have learned so much from your post. I really loved the online photo editors. My favorite was "Pixlr" it was grea...
Comment by Dave on Try These Free Online Photo Editors (October 12, 2024 07:21 AM)
I use Irfanview, I find it sharpens and photos can be resized for newsletters, it has a print on picture feature which is very hard to use, does anyon...
Comment by Marge Teilhaber on Try These Free Online Photo Editors (October 12, 2024 03:17 AM)
I edit with Picasa and have the exe file which will hopefully work on my next PC which will have W11. I crop, lighten, and add text to pictures like ...
Comment by Bill K on Try These Free Online Photo Editors (October 12, 2024 12:08 AM)
@Fred Paint.net is my 'Go-To' program on Windows for quick photo prints as well as more elaborate editing duties. I do not recall when Paint.net was...
Comment by Pete on Try These Free Online Photo Editors (October 11, 2024 09:24 PM)
Thanks! You saved me some time! I was just going to look for an editor and now you have provided me with options! Thanks again for coming through!!...
Comment by CGW on Yes, You Do Need a Disposable Email Address (October 11, 2024 08:41 PM)
I've used a variation on this technique for several decades. Akin to the method in Sam's post (Oct. 8), I have a personal .com domain that I use for e...
Comment by P D Sterling on Try These Free Online Photo Editors (October 11, 2024 08:26 PM)
just a note - I use Irfanview on a daily basis as an image editor. I just learned how to merge images in Paint, and it meets most of my needs....
Comment by BillP on Try These Free Online Photo Editors (October 11, 2024 07:22 PM)
I've been using Irfanview for many years as a quick picture viewer with many editing capabilities. It's a lot quicker than uploading and downloading a...
Comment by Fred on Try These Free Online Photo Editors (October 11, 2024 06:34 PM)
paint.net is new and very good and is made by Microsoft. It's basic "Paint" by Microsoft on STEROIDS and is free....
Comment by Pete on A Time Machine for the Internet? (October 9, 2024 05:02 AM)
My wife and I have been on a kick of watching classic movies and the IA has often had quality copies of them. Works best to download fully, then watch...

Try These Free Online Photo Editors

An AskBob reader says: 'I don’t have Adobe Photoshop and I’m looking for a photo editor that I can use on the go. What do you recommend for photo editing when I’m away from my home computer?' It turns out there are quite a few online image and photo editors, and the features they offer are quite impressive. Check out these free web-based image editing tools that are just a click away...

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Posted by Bob Rankin on October 11, 2024 | Category: Photography


Yes, You Do Need a Disposable Email Address

It seems everyone wants your email address -- shopping sites, your bank, your doctor, the grocery store, even the vendors at the local farmer’s market. It’s no wonder our spam filters are so busy! But I do wonder which of the many entities that have my email address gave it away, sold it, or carelessly lost it in a data breach. A disposable email address provides a handy solution to this and other privacy problems. Read on to learn more...

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Posted by Bob Rankin on October 08, 2024 | Category: Email


A Time Machine for the Internet?

Have you ever wondered what the Internet looked like 25 years ago? The Internet Archive has been crawling the Web since 1996, taking snapshots of Web pages and preserving them for posterity. Today, approximately 835 billion Web pages, 44 million books, millions of images, audio recordings, and video, along with a million games and software programs are stored on the IA’s servers. Read on to learn how you can access the Wayback Machine, an amazing resource that offers a window into both the history and the present of the Internet...

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Posted by Bob Rankin on October 01, 2024 | Category: Reference


So You Dropped Your Phone in the...

For a variety of reasons, millions of mobile phones are “drowned” each year. When your phone stops working after falling into the sink, toilet, bathtub, swimming pool, muddy puddle, lake or the ocean, can it be saved? In many cases the answer is “yes,” if you do the right things and don’t do the wrong things. If you're thinking about using rice, silica gel, cat litter, couscous, or instant oatmeal, don't waste your time. Here's what you need to know if your device is dunked, and the tale of my unsuccessful attempts to teach my phone to swim...

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Posted by Bob Rankin on September 26, 2024 | Category: Mobile


Geekly Update - 25 September 2024

Can you prevent Facebook and Instagram from scraping your social media data to train their AI models? Should you hand your phone to the police, when they ask to see your digital driver's license? Is anything being done to stem the tide of phony product reviews on Amazon and other ecommerce sites? And is AI really all about creating God in our image? Get answers in today's Geekly Update... it's jam-packed with the latest tech news. This issue is guaranteed to make you 146% smarter -- you'll see why. Read, think, and comment!

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Posted by Bob Rankin on September 25, 2024 | Category: Tech-News


[ALERT] Fake Facebook Profile - What to do?

Today I got a message from an AskBob reader, alerting me that someone had made a fake Facebook profile in my name. The malefactor pretending to be me stole my profile picture, reposted some of my updates, and was already running a scam. Fortunately, that reader wasn’t fooled, and was kind enough to let me know about the bogus account. Sadly, this happens all the time. Here’s what I did, and what you need to know about fake Facebook profiles...

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Posted by Bob Rankin on September 24, 2024 | Category: Facebook


Geekly Update - 19 September 2024

Will these new tech devices allow the blind to see and the deaf to hear? Has Toyota solved the problem of small children being left behind in locked cars? And have AI deepfakes ruined everthing? Get answers in today's Geekly Update... it's jam-packed with the latest tech news. This issue is guaranteed to make you 146% smarter -- you'll see why. Read, think, and comment!

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Posted by Bob Rankin on September 19, 2024 | Category: Tech-News


Here's How to Upgrade Your Older Computer (and when you shouldn't)

Is your computer bogged down with the weight of Cosmic Computer Crud that's built up over the years? Is it struggling to keep up with the latest apps and modern operating systems? Perhaps you wonder, should you junk it and buy a new one, or upgrade its hardware? The answer is highly dependent upon your specific circumstances. Here are my tips and guidelines for making that decision, and some Windows 11 considerations too...

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Posted by Bob Rankin on September 17, 2024 | Category: Hardware


Optimize Your Hard Drive: How and Why

When things go bonkers with your computer, the source of the problem is often in the hard drive. One of the best things you can do to prevent computer problems and improve performance is to keep your hard drive in tip-top shape. Here are some of the most important tasks for hard drive optimization, plus some nifty (and free) hard drive maintenance utilities that make getting them done a breeze...

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Posted by Bob Rankin on September 12, 2024 | Category: Hard-Drives


Geekly Update - 11 September 2024

Everyone knows that Doritos are addicting, but can they also make you invisible? Will a new Apple Watch clone transport you back to 1978? And Surgeon General warnings didn't do much to curb cigarette smoking, but will they make a difference for teens addicted to social media? Get answers in today's Geekly Update... it's jam-packed with the latest tech news. This issue is guaranteed to make you 146% smarter -- you'll see why. Read, think, and comment!

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Posted by Bob Rankin on September 11, 2024 | Category: Tech-News


Is Your Laptop Secure? (find out now)

Laptops are popular because they offer computing with convenience and mobility. But that makes it imperative for laptop owners to take steps to secure their laptops, and the sensitive data often stored on them. There are several simple things that you can do to keep your laptop safe. Read on to learn how to protect your laptop from theft, snooping and data loss...

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Posted by Bob Rankin on September 10, 2024 | Category: Laptops


Will a Smartwatch Save Your Life?

The common wristwatch has had a technological metamorphosis in recent years, changing from a basic timepiece to an advanced, multipurpose gadget that can display notifications, make phone calls, receive messages, and play music. But in addition to those functions, the latest smartwatches can track your fitness, and even your health. With their abundance of sensors, apps, and connectivity, smartwatches are quickly taking over as a necessary component of contemporary life. Even though tracking steps and alerting users to incoming messages may have been their main functions, they now contain life-saving features that you may not have known about. But can a smartwatch actually save your life? Read on to learn some of the amazing things a smartwatch can do...

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Posted by Bob Rankin on September 09, 2024 | Category: Gadgets


Buy a Used Computer: YES or NO?

A thrifty but cautious AskBob reader asks: “With all the rampant spyware, malware, and ransomware, is it safe to buy a used computer for sale at a thrift store, on Ebay, Facebook Marketplace, or Craigslist? How about a refurbished computer offered by Dell, HP, or another well-known vendor? And... what about a used hard drive, or memory chip? Is it ever safe to go with used tech hardware?” Read on for my advice...

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Posted by Bob Rankin on September 06, 2024 | Category: Hardware


How to Do Online Genealogy Research (your family tree)

Are you curious about your relatives and ancestors, or wanting to create a family tree? Are you looking for good software or websites where you can do genealogy research? You've come to the right place! Read on for some of the best online genealogy tools...

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Posted by Bob Rankin on September 04, 2024 | Category: Genealogy


Google Yourself, You Might Be Surprised

Have you ever used Google, Bing, or another search engine to search for your own name, address or phone number? In an age of powerful search engines, social media, artificial intelligence, and changing attitudes about privacy, you might be shocked to see what a casual searcher can learn about you. If you're okay with that level of transparency, then fine. If not, read on for some tips on what you can do about it...

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Posted by Bob Rankin on September 03, 2024 | Category: Privacy



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