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A comment from Bryan
Devotion beyond the call of duty - that sums up my accolade to our 'Dynamic Duo' - namely Darcy & TC for the extent they went to recently to give me the service they had undertaken to do. To set the scene I live in N.Z. which has a time zone approximately 20 hours ahead of their area. Therefore it is not easy to seek a time which is suitable to both parties
.
I had two requirements, namely to have 'Ashampoo' installed, and also 'Thunderbird'. The 'Ashampoo' service was no problem. TC fixed that smartly but then explained that Darcy is geared to handle 'Thunderbird' and suggested an 'unattended access' arrangement by which it could be handled without me being inconvenienced by an after midnight call. This was arranged, but thwarted due to my laptop switching off even though it was, and still is, calibrated to never actually switching off i.e. 'Never' being used.

In an endeavor to seek a solution I advised that I was quite prepared to be available at a set time, but within a very short time I had a 'chat' call on the screen from Darcy (at about 10 p.m. NZ time) asking if it was convenient to install 'Thunderbird' then! - and some 50 minutes later it was all done. From my deductions, having regard to the time and the fact that 'daylight saving' had just commenced, I assume that it was about 5 a.m. where they were. That was just so fantastic that their devotion to their friends and customers went to that extent. Quite frankly, being well over 85 years of age, I felt humbled by the consideration shown. It is indeed most comforting to know that we have people from afar, whom we haven't actually met, who are prepared to go the extra mile as they did on this occasion.. Need I say more?

Kind regards and a grateful thanks - that was indeed a very nice gesture & much appreciated. Bryan

A comment from Sarah
Just wanted to give a little more in appreciation of your hard work getting my screen repaired wonderful service in a world of deceit many thanks. Sarah

A comment from Martin
Thanks so much for getting my Chrome browser cleaned up an working again. Also thanks for optimizing and cleaning up my computer. I had no idea it was in such bad shape. Running great now thanks to you! Keep up the great work. Martin

A comment from Carleen
What a great idea unattended support is. I had a problem with my computer (actually several). Darcy came one and set up an unattended. She told me she'd get to my computer as soon as possible - no appointment necessary. The very next morning I woke up and my computer was fixed! So thankful to you for your excellent service. Carleen

A big Cloudeight "Thank you!" to Bryan, Sarah, Martin, Carleen and everyone who took time out to write to us this week. We appreciate your kind words and your support very much! EB & TC

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Introducing Anytime Support! Available Now At No Extra Cost With Any Of Our Annual Support Plans!

If you have a Cloudeight Direct SeniorPass or Season Ticket you are now eligible for Anytime Support at no extra cost! All you have to do is request us to set up Anytime Support for you. We can schedule a time with you and setup "unattended access". it only takes about five minutes to set this up. Once this is done, we will be able to log on to your computer any time you need us - as long as your computer is on. You will not need to be sitting at your computer! And we'll be able to give priority scheduling on those who have Anytime Support set up. This service is included with your SeniorPass or Season Ticket at no extra charge! Ask us about this service.

Colin is ready to abandon Gmail because of missing emails
Just a word of caution when using Gmail's Labels. I compartmentalise a lot of my emails I wish to keep and use the Gmail Labels to facilitate this.

Of late however I have found, or not found as is the case, some emails I have sent into various sections. They have disappeared. I don't know if there is a solution to this but it is. to say the least, rather annoying.

By the way it happened in the older versions of Gmail too. Does Thunderbird have a similar function as I may be very tempted to abandon Gmail because of this.

Our answer
HI Colin. Labels in Gmail are not really folders; they are just labels so you can find emails that have similar content more quickly. If you saw an email with a filter, and then could not find it, it was probably archived - but it is still there (not deleted). Emails are only be deleted if you specifically delete them from your inbox/all mail folder.

If you look in "All Mail" you will find that everything is there in that folder, including all archived mail

In Thunderbird, all labels will look like folders - so Gmail works very nicely in Thunderbird.

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Gerry wants to know what we think of iDrive backup
I know you like and use Ashampoo but was wondering what you think of iDrive backup system. Thanks!

Our answer
Hi Gerry. It doesn't matter whether we're talking Ashampoo backup, Windows Backup, Windows File History or any other backup program - the only full backups we recommend are local backups. Those are backups you keep at home on external drives.

There's a place for cloud backups, no doubt, but backing up your entire hard drive or making image backups and storing them on the web is not only impractical, it also means the backups continually using up your bandwidth and computer resources.

#1 ) Practicality

Most of us have 1 TB hard drive with hundreds of gigabytes of data. While most of us have fast connections, the average is about 15-20 mbps. That's megabits per second, not megabytes per second. A megabit is 1/8 (0.125) megabyte. So a connection speed of 20 mbps of 20 is 2.5 megabytes per second (MBps). And that does not mean you can actually download at that speed. Your internet connection speed is only one consideration: Site traffic, the site's servers, and site's location are all factors. So even if your download speed shows 20 mbps (2.5 MB per second) your actual downloads speed will almost always be slower.

So, let's say you keep local backups and you have a bootable rescue disk so you can access your backup even if your hard drive fails and you have to install a new hard drive. If you have a local image backup you can install a new hard drive and use your image backup to "image" the hard drive and you'll be back up and running in an hour or two. And everything will be exactly as it was before the old hard drive failed.

But let's change the scenario. Imagine you're using a cloud backup for everything and your hard drive goes belly up. What are you going to do? You're going to have to download hundreds of gigabytes of data which may take you an entire day or more.

2.) Use of system resources & bandwidth

Using a cloud backup service to back up hundreds of gigabytes of data to create full image backups means (no matter what gimmicks they advertise) part of your bandwidth will be used by your cloud backup and every cloud backup program, like iDrive, requires that you install a program or dashboard on your computer and that program will continually run all the time while your computer is running.

With local backups, you can set them to run at the interval you choose - for instance once each week. And while local backup programs do use resources while backing up it's only for a limited time and only when scheduled. And they use no bandwidth.

So... Cloud backups are useful as 2nd or 3rd backups (redundant backups) for your personal files like pictures, documents, music, etc. You may have a lot of personal files, but generally all your personal files won't take up nearly the space that backing up your entire hard drive does..

Cloud backup program 'OneDrive' comes with Windows 10 and backups your personal files "in the cloud" although OneDrive space is limited. If you have Office 365 you'll get a lot more space. And you can also purchase additional space.

Google Drive is another cloud backup most everyone has. If you have a Google account you get 15 GB of storage for each Google Account. You can store a lot of personal files on 15 GB of storage space.

Cloud backups are practical for personal files, but not for backing up your entire computer and/or creating and storing image backups.

That's our take on iDrive and others similar to iDrive such as Carbonite.

Rex wants to know about Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809)
Hi TC/Darcy, I guess you must have a lot of complaints about Windows10 1809 upgrade. In the update history it shows as needing a restart to finish install but after many restarts the system is still at 1803. I ran the troubleshooter many times applied the fix and received three fixes successful notifications all to no avail. Do I leave it alone and wait for it to install or run the Repair function from the Repair disk or maybe switch to Linux. Looking forward to your comments on this subject. Regards,
Rex

Our answer
Hi Rex. Yesterday (05 October 2018) Microsoft pulled Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809) due to some serious problems with it.

Since as of today, Windows 10 version 1809 (October 2018 Update) is still not available, we you wait a while before you try updating.

Please read our article here.

As far as Linux goes, it has a steep learning curve for Windows users - and despite Linux lovers' accolades about how much better it is than Windows - it's far from perfect. I've used it on test machines on an off for several years; I'm not impressed. It falls into the category of "better than nothing". This is my honest opinion of Linux. There are a large number of different versions of Linux of which I've tried three.

Hope this helps you, Rex.

Gladys wants to know if she can upgrade a non-genuine copy of Windows 7
A question please: Would I be able to upgrade to Windows 10 if this Windows 7 is not genuine? Gladys

Our answer
Hi Gladys. You can't legitimately upgrade a non-genuine Windows 7 to Windows 10. You'll end up with a Windows 10 you can use for 90 days then it will expire. Your best bet is to call Microsoft Customer Support at 1 (800) 642-7676 (or Australia local 13 20 58) and explain that you have a Windows 7 computer that says Not Genuine and it was that way when you got it. They will provide you with product key (in most cases).

Don't mention that you want to upgrade to Windows 10 - they'll tell you- most likely- that the deadline has passed, but as we showed a couple a months ago, you can still upgrade (and do it legally) right from the Microsoft site using the Update assistant. See our InfoAve article for more information on upgrading Windows 7 (or Windows 8x) to Windows 10 free of charge.

If you need help, let us know. We hope this helps you.

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How to Enable Text Prediction and Spell Checking in Windows 10
Windows 10 Version 1803 and newer

Text Prediction has been a feature of Android and Apple tablets for a long time. It saves time and automatically corrects spelling errors. For a while now, Windows 10 has also offered text prediction, but it was limited to the onscreen keyboard (software keyboard) that is mostly used on Windows 10 tablets.

In Windows 10 Version 1803 (April 2018 Update), Microsoft enables Text Prediction for users of desktop and laptops who mainly use the hardware (standard) keyboard.

If you’re using Windows 10 Version 1803 here’s how to enable text prediction for your hardware keyboard (desktops & laptops):

4] In Typing under Hardware Keyboard turn both switches to “On” (see screenshot below):

Text Prediction works on any Windows 10 App – Edge, Notepad, WordPad, etc. But woe! It does not work on any 3rd-party apps, like Chrome, Open Office, and so on.

Much like its older brothers (sisters?) on Android and Apple devices, as soon as you start typing you will see suggestions pop up. You can choose one of the suggestions by selecting it with the arrow keys – Up/Down/Right/Left.

To find out what version of Windows 10 you’re using, type WINVER in the taskbar search and press Enter.

Note: As of right now, Windows 10 October 2018 Update is on hold because of some serious issues with it. This tip will come in handy soon in next update of Windows and beyond.

One of the most popular types of freeware programs have been clipboard managers. Why? Because until Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809), you could only have one item on your Windows clipboard at a time; whether it was an image or text, you were limited to one item. Period. So, smart developers created clipboard managers that allowed you to store and access many clipboard items. Clipboard managers came in handy for those of us who find ourselves typing the same text over and over like….

Who wants to type that stuff over and over. (Yes EB? Yes I know they probably have people who type this stuff over and over. This is just an example. No pun intended.)

In Windows 10 Version 1809 all you need to do it turn on Clipboard history and you’ll instantly have access to all the items you’ve copied to your clipboard. I t works just like a clipboard manager, but being Microsoft they can’t just call it a Clipboard manager, they call it Clipboard history. Whatever you call it, it works like a Clipboard manager and stores everything you copy and keeps them all neatly organized… see?

But before you can use the new clipboard, you have to turn it on. And how do your turn it on? I’m glad you asked. Open Settings (Windows key + i), click on System, and click “Clipboard” on the menu on the left. See?

Oh yes… don’t forget to turn the switch under “Clipboard history” to “On”.

And if you have multiple devices and you have a Microsoft account, you can access your clipboard from your other devices as well.

You can view your entire Clipboard history by pressing Windows key + V. You can delete single items from the Windows Clipboard history or clear everything at once.

And now, instead of typing something over and over, all you have to do is press Windows key + V and click on the item you want to paste, see?

Don’t be scratching your head… we’re not really attorneys and either is Phillip P. Example. Is he? Aw shucks... you get the idea!

In Windows 10, your PC or device is always kept up to date with the latest features and fixes. This means, for most of us who use Windows 10 Home, we have no control over installing updates. Windows Updates are installed automatically, and you have no choice to select which updates you want or don't want.

We are all aware by now that sometimes a Windows 10 update can cause problems with your PC. In this case, you'll need a way to prevent the problematic update from reinstalling automatically the next time Windows Updates are installed.

If an update is causing system crashes, problems or instability on your PC, you can follow the instructions below, to prevent the unwanted update from being installed:

Go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Updates .and then click on View update history:

To uninstall the unwanted update, select it from the list by clicking on it and then click Uninstall.

Now, you're all set until next time Windows updates, and reinstalls the update you just worked so hard to uninstall. So, you have more work to do, if you want to prevent Windows from reinstalling that trouble-causing update.

To prevent the update from being reinstalled, a troubleshooter is available from Microsoft, that provides a user interface for hiding and showing Windows Updates for Windows 10. You can obtain and run the "Show or hide updates" troubleshooter by downloading it from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download the "Show or hide updates" troubleshooter package now.

When you click on the download link, you will be prompted to open or save wushowhide.diagcab. Save it to your PC, and click to run it.

Opening wushowhide.diagcab will launch the troubleshooter. Then click Next to proceed and follow the instructions provided by the troubleshooter to hide the problematic driver or update.

When the program starts to run, you'll see it scanning your computer for updates. When it's done, you'll see a window like this one.

You'll see a list of available updates. Select the update or updates that are causing you problems. Windows will not reinstall the items you select. You can choose to install the hidden updates later by running the troubleshooter again and "unhiding" the updates.

Keep in mind that this does not stop updates from installing. It only allows you to uninstall updates that have been installed and are causing problems. It does not apply to version updates. Windows 10 version updates have a rollback feature - you have 10 days to go back to the previous version of Windows if a version update causes you problems. See this page to learn how to roll back a Windows 10 version update.

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SeniorPass: A Great Deal for Our Friends 60 and Older!

If you do some or a lot of online shopping and you rely somewhat on customer reviews, I’m sure you’ve also wondered if those reviews are real or fake, especially if you’re relying on the reviews to make a buying choice. There are a whole lot of fake reviews posted by paid trolls and by robots; it can be really hard sometimes to know what to believe.

We discovered a site that may help you sort the wheat from the chaff – the real reviews from the fake one. While the site is far from perfect, this site seems to do a pretty good job weeding out the fakes.

All you have to do to use Fakespot is visit the site and paste any Amazon, Yelp, TripAdvisor or Apple App store product URL (link) in the form and click the Analyze button.

Fakespot can help you when you’re doing online shopping — especially when you’re relying on customer reviews to choose between similar products. But remember, Fakespot is only a guide. But when you add Fakespot to your own research and common sense, you should be able to more easily spot the fake reviews.

Why not give Fakespot a try the next time you’re relying on customer reviews to make a choice.