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Since 2005, I have written the weekly column titled ‘COMPUTER SENSE’ that appears in the Business section of the Sunday Norman Transcript newspaper. I hope you find it to be helpful, informative and entertaining. Please email your opinions about the column to the Norman Transcript editor at editor@normantranscript.com, and the Publisher at publisher@normantranscript.com. They need your ideas and feedback. Be sure to include your name and location in your email.

Are search results rigged? Part One

by Dave Moore, CISSP 04/30/2023 Back in the early 1990’s when I started playing with the Internet, things were generally pretty peaceful. In 1994, there were less than 3,000 websites in existence. By 1995, that number had jumped to 23,500, with only 44 million...

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Bad weather emergency communications and power, 2023

by Dave Moore, CISSP 04/23/2023 Every springtime, I reassess the electronics communications gear that is available to help Oklahomans prevail in difficult, severe weather situations. Electronics manufacturers change, replace and discontinue things all the time, and...

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Why computers die

by Dave Moore, CISSP 04/16/2023 “What happened to my computer? What made it stop working?” I hear this sort of question all the time. Sometimes, I have a logical, easy-to-understand answer. Other times, my answer sounds something like this: “I know it sounds crazy,...

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Yes, you need another computer

by Dave Moore, CISSP 04/09/2023 I do not trust computers. Let me rephrase that; I trust computers, but only to do one thing: fail. Computers of all types, whether desktop, laptop, iPhone, tablet, PC, Mac, Android, iPad, cellphone or TV (yes, Virginia, most modern...

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Fun with computers, Part 4: photos

by Dave Moore, CISSP 04/02/2023 When is the last time you put a roll of film in your camera to take some photographs? Can you even remember? If you’re like most people, it’s been a very long time since you used an “analog” film camera to take pictures, if you’ve ever...

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Fun with computers, Part 3: Music

by Dave Moore, CISSP 03/26/2023 The worlds of technology, computing, entertainment and the Internet changed dramatically in 2001 when Apple Computers released the most successful product they had ever made. It was about the size of a modern cell phone, and became the...

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Fun with computers, Part 2: games

by Dave Moore, CISSP 03/19/2023 Ask most people what fun things they can do with their computing devices and a common answer emerges: games. After the words have been processed, the sheets spread and the emails sent, turning one’s high-powered number-crunching machine...

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Fun with computers, Part 1: History

by Dave Moore, CISSP 03/12/2023 I got involved with computers because I thought anything that had to do with technology was fun; therefore, I figured computers should be fun, too. I have my friend Jack to thank for introducing me to computers and getting me started in...

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Do you know where your email is?

by Dave Moore, CISSP 03/05/2023 Next to surfing websites, email still remains the second most popular Internet function. While it may soon be eclipsed by social networking forums offering instant messaging, people still love their email. All that’s left is for folks...

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Microsoft’s Bing robot is a ticking time bomb

by Dave Moore, CISSP 02/26/2023 The push to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) into anything and everything has gotten more intense over the past four or five years, to the point that using AI to make things "better" has become an unchallenged "given." The part...

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No need for Microsoft 365: get LibreOffice

by Dave Moore, CISSP 02/19/2023 Ah, the mighty word processor: perhaps the most used computer program ever. I'm using one right now to write this column. When I learned years ago how to copy, cut and paste words, sentences, paragraphs, and even entire documents, my...

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Fake popups, fake search results, fake phone calls

by Dave Moore, CISSP 02/12/2023 Many times per week, sometimes many times a day, I get phone calls from concerned folks telling me the same story. The story starts with, "I got a call from Microsoft…" But, sometimes, the story begins with, "A message from Microsoft...

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Make your new laptop computer last

by Dave Moore, CISSP 02/05/2023 Laptop (AKA, “notebook”) computers are great. The small size and portability of laptop computers has turned them into the machine of choice for many people, me included. However, laptops have special needs that must be tended to if they...

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Internet dependency: still a bad idea

by Dave Moore, CISSP 01/29/2023 Folks, we have been conned. Isn't that what it's called when you've been led to believe something that turns out to not be true: a "con" job? Derived from the word "confidence," the following "con artist" attributes from the Connecticut...

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New year: time to change your passwords

by Dave Moore, CISSP 01/22/2023 The changing of the year is my reminder that it's time to change my passwords, if I haven't already. No matter what, January of every year is password changing time. Are you in the habit of regularly changing the passwords for your...

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Cell phone crash? Oh, no!

by Dave Moore, CISSP 01/15/2023 Smart phones, iPhones, Windows phones, cell phones, Android phones, it seems that everyone has some sort of a mobile phone. No longer just a "phone," though, your cell phone is actually a powerful computer that just also happens to make...

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Facebook: is it safe?

by Dave Moore, CISSP 01/08/2023 I am often asked, "Is Facebook safe?" Facebook, the most popular social networking website in the world, with 2.96 billion users, claims almost 38 percent of the world's population as members. Just like the world's population, it can be...

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Computer New Year’s resolutions

by Dave Moore, CISSP 01/01/2023 Even though it’s just another turning of the globe, New Year’s Day is supposed to be symbolic of new beginnings, new directions, new resolve and an opportunity to start over. Those being the laudable ideas that they are, consider the...

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Microsoft: No more Windows 8.1

by Dave Moore, CISSP 12/25/2022 If your computer uses Microsoft's Windows 8.1 operating system, and you are not prepared, you may be in for a shock, next month. Support by Microsoft for Windows 8 ended in 2016. Support for its younger brother, Windows 8.1, ends in...

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Goofy Internet Christmas Fun

by Dave Moore, CISSP 12/18/2022 How did Mary and Joseph know Jesus' weight when he was born? They had a weigh in a manger... What goes, "Oh, oh, oh?" Santa walking backwards. How will Christmas dinner be different after Brexit? No Brussels. Who is a Christmas tree's...

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