Twin Wolf Technology Group

A sad situation for the dogs.   I can't help but wonder why a business like that  (even if it is non-profit)  would be in a rental property.   Even with the best of landlords and the best of neighbors, 20+ dogs in a rental property is bound to cause issues.   A rental is never permanent and subject to sudden change.   It is just a matter of time.

Hopefully all of the dogs can find better living situations.   I would hope they do not repeat the mistake of getting into a rental situation with such a large number of animals again.

For the curious, let me explain the difference between an "app", an "application", a "program" and "software".   Most people use the terms interchangeably because the difference is either unknown or unimportant.

Software vs hardware is a simple concept.   Hardware is the physical components that make up your computer, tablet or phone.   Software is the set of instructions that make the hardware perform different tasks.   Looking at the four terms, they become increasingly more specific.   In other words, you can have many programs that make up a suite of software - such as Word, Excel, and Power Point programs all make up the Microsoft Office software suite.   The term software includes all programs, applications and apps.

Stepping down, an application is a program with a specific purpose yet contains multiple functions to accomplish a range of tasks.   For example your Word program is an application with a specific task of being a word processor.   It has the functions of creating text documents, spell checking them, sending them to the printer etc.

The confusion comes in when people think an "app" is an "application".   It is not.   An app is specific to a single function.   Because it is specific to a single function, it is not critical to the overall goal of an application or program.   Think of an app as similar to an icon.   You can delete an icon and still run the program/application from another point because you have not deleted the actual program/application.    Generally, apps are touch based.   They may be used to start an application but an app is not the application itself. 

Windows 10 has apps - a touch based way to start an application which may be part of a set of programs within a suite of software.

In other news, Oct 31st is the last day that Microsoft will allows OEMs (Original Equipment Manufactures) to build computers with Windows 7 pre-installed.   While you will still be able to buy computers with Windows 7 pre-installed for a short time, once the supply in the stores and warehouses is gone, your choice for Microsoft will only be Windows 10.

Like every operating system, there are its devotees and its critics.   User experiences vary greatly.   Combining that with the fact that both Apple and Microsoft are changing as technology evolves, and you have a situation where the average person is easily confused.

Realize that what you have and use today is not what you will have and use in the future.   My advice is to keep your knowledge up to date while staying one step back from the leading edge of change.   I will attempt to post important technology updates.  At the rate of change that can be a full time job!

Judy, this has been a problem with many versions of Windows, not just Windows 7.   It is not related to the release of Windows 10, however Microsoft continues to change their policies and update process.   Fixing this issue often requires several steps to clean out and reset the update process.   From a security standpoint, it is important that the updates get applied and the operating system is up-to-date at all times.

Roger,

To solve your issue, you need to get an HDMI to VGA converter.   Amazon has them very inexpensive.   Here is one I would recommend:

https://www.amazon.com/VicTsing-Gold-Plated-Converter-Adapter-Desktop/dp/B016HL4CAY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1477665023&sr=8-3&keywords=hdmi+to+vga+adapter

You plug this into the HDMI port on your laptop and then use a VGA cable to run between the projector and the computer.

Some of my clients have upgraded to Windows 10 and still long for the old familiar start menu layout.  An excellent free download called Classic Shell is available at http://www.classicshell.net

The program works well for those with Windows 8, 8.1 and Windows 10.   It is ad-free and gives the user the ability to completely customize the look and feel to match various older versions of Windows.

I will also chime in here as well.   With regards to any operating system upgrade the first question should always be: What am I gaining that I do not have now and what will I lose.

As business that provides support for all versions of Microsoft's operating systems, I have used Windows 10 since its release.  With that experience my advice has remained the same.  If you currently have Windows 8 or 8.1, the upgrade is very benficial.  It fixes and enhances many features.  If you currently have Windows 7 then my question becomes why do you want to upgrade?  

If the answer to that question is because it is free, then I go back to the original question of what will you gain that you do not have now.   I find very few people can give a good reason.

Given the average life of a laptop is 3-4 years, most people will get the latest operating system when they replace their current computer.

The fear generated by telling the public they will need to pay for Windows 10 in the future assumes there will be no future versions and your current equipment will last a lifetime.  Neither is likely to be true.

For the curious, for the techies, for those that feel they need to have the absolute latest - Windows 10 works well.  For the general public at large... keep Win 7, upgrade Win 8 and know your current laptop will probably last 4 years on average.   Maybe just in time for Windows 11.  Just my advice based on the wide range of users and businesses I support.

Thanks to Hil for bringing this timely topic up.
 

I love your approach.   Here are my thoughts for what it is worth...

I think that there is a huge focus on people coming, visiting or moving here.   Those things get written about a great deal.  It would be hard to offer something new and to stay interesting if that was your theme.    A blog is great when the reader can get a feeling of being with the writer.    It is not about cold facts, it is about the reader experiencing things through the eyes of the writer.

I followed a blog of a gal who was travelling through Colombia.  In her travels she had found the city Medellin to be a great spot to write about.   She wrote about a wide variety of things, not just the local restaurants or night clubs.   It was about travelling out to the surrounding area and discovering the countryside as well as the city itself.    Sadly she ended her blog because she found the love of her life and got married.   Her blog is now about married life and not the travel and discovery she wrote about so beautifully.

Something like that could be very useful here for both the new visitor  as well as us "long-timers".   I love finding and hearing about places outside of  Boquete.    They can be restaurants, recreations spots, little hidden gems, unique stores and even interesting people out in the countryside.    I recently heard from a friend about a couple of waterfalls and swimming area out past Caldera - not the hot springs where most of the tourists go but something much further out of town.  

A blog about discovering those hidden gems and unique spots out in the countryside would be my vote for an interesting and informative blog.

I look forward to reading something new and interesting...   

As Judy states, there should be an icon in notification area.   This is the area near the system clock in the lower right corner.  Often you may need to click the little up arrow to view all of the icons since only a few are shown next to the clock.

If you are unable to find the "safely remove hardware" icon, it could be that the computer is currently set to hide this icon.   Depending on your version of Windows, doing a right click on the up arrow will allow you to get to the settings that show/hide the icons in that notification area.

For Windows 7, do the right click and then click on Customize
For Windows 10, do the right click, select Properties and then select Customize

If all else fail, you have two options.   One is to log off the computer before removing the device.   The other is to be a geek and run the following command.   It will cause the message to pop up that lets you safely remove the device.  

Click the start button, then click Run and then type the following and press enter
rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll

Yes, given the history and tension between the two services, it would be best for everyone if the headline was corrected.