PCM27: Five Things to Know About Windows 10 Now -

PC users have been abuzz over the release of Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 10 – either they’ve downloaded it already, are in queue to, or are still waiting to see how it performs before making the tech leap.

Regardless of where you fit in that scenario, chances are you have some questions – you may wonder if you’re going to have to relearn how to use a PC (you definitely don’t), for instance, if it will look completely different from what you’re using, and what this thing called “Cortana” is all about.

On this week’s show, we welcome Sean Michael, an editor/writer at WinBeta.org, founded in 1998 and one of the original Microsoft-centered communities, to discuss a handful of things you need to know now about Windows 10:

Is it safe to download Windows 10 now or should you wait (if you haven’t yet)?
Why are there already updates to Windows 10 already?
What happened to Windows 9?
What is the first thing you need to learn about Windows 10?
What (Who?) is Cortana and how you can use it (her)?
What’s the difference between tablet mode and desktop mode in Windows 10?
How it’s now easier to get software and other media for Windows
How is Microsoft planning to continue support of Windows 10?

Also in this episode, we have listener feedback on Windows 10, talk Apple Music, Android phones, printers without cartridges, plus some great apps to help you clean the clutter and optimize your smartphone.

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First Things First: We Want to Know How Overuse of Internet has Affected You!

PC Mike kicks off this episode with a preview of things to come and – in preparation of a very special upcoming episode – asks listeners to tell us about how Internet addiction/overuse has impacted their lives or someone they know. [spp-timestamp time=”2:45″]

Listener Question: I’m Having Trouble Watching Videos on My Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Can You Help?

A listener calls in with a question about why she is having trouble viewing some videos on her Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Mike offers some advice and possible solutions. [spp-timestamp time=”4:45″]

Listener Question: Any Suggestions to Keep the Connection Between My Apple Watch and iPhone?

A listener asks Mike for advice on keeping the connection between an Apple Watch and iPhone from being lost. Mike offers several possible fixes. [spp-timestamp time=”7:38″]

Thingamajig of the Week: LifeProof Cases, Belkin Netcam

This week’s PC Mike podcast brings you a brand new feature called, “Thingamajig of the Week.” During this segment, Paul Ulreich, Verizon’s Uber User, will talk about tech you might not even know you need. For this week, Ulreich talks about LifeProof protective cases for smartphones and tablets and the Belkin Netcam that streams live video to your connected devices. [spp-timestamp time=”10:15″]

This part of the podcast is brought to you by Verizon, the nation’s largest and most reliable 4G LTE network

Tech News of the Week: Cellphone Dangers, Android Security Problems, Printers Without Cartridges

Study Finds Cellphone Use Can Cause Cancer: A new study finds that cellphone use is damaging to your health and can cancer. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”13:42″]

Android Phones Can Be Hacked with a Text: A new report released this week has found that about 950 million Android phones could possible be hacked by users simply opening the wrong text. It’s being called by some as the biggest smartphone flaw ever discovered (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”16:03″]

Apple Music Bust: Though Apple is claiming 11 million users of Apple Music thus far, many are – to put it kindly – asking why it’s been so frustrating to use. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”18:03″]

Google Drive Being Used By Hackers: Google is under attack by hackers who are using a phishing scam to gain control of the users’ cloud-based Google Drives. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”21:04″]

Epson Releases Printer That Doesn’t Use Cartridges: Epson is bucking the “traditional” business model for companies that make and sell printers (and ink cartridges) by offering a line of printers that doesn’t use the expensive cartridges. (Read more) [spp-timestamp time=”22:49″]

App of the Week: How to Clean the Clutter and Optimize Your Smartphone

Our smartphones and tablets give us access to information and entertainment faster than ever so it can be pretty frustrating when those devices suddenly start slowing down or run low on space.

Fortunately, there are some simple and effective iOS-, Android-, and Windows Phone-based apps to declutter our devices.

Memory & Disk Scanner Pro is for iPhone and iPad and can help declutter your device by determining how system resources are being used. The dashboard displays memory and disk use, allowing users to see detailed information about processes and apps running. There’s even a way to seen how much space is being used by junk files and easily remove them. There is a free version available, but you’ll need to pay 99 cents to use it beyond the trial period.

Android users will want to try the Clean Master app. Clean Master detects and removes junk files. Users can even see details about the junk files to see them categorized by type. The company behind Clean Master says an average cleaning deletes 340MB of space. Clean Master also optimizes storage and memory. The app is free.

And for those Windows Phone users, there’s Cache Cleaner Pro. It reclaims space by emptying a phone’s cache and deleting unnecessary files and unwanted apps. The Windows Phone app is free. [spp-timestamp time=”28:58″]

Introducing This Week’s Theme: Listeners Comment on Windows 10

For many PC users, this week has been all about Windows 10. We asked PC Mike listeners to send us their thoughts on the new Microsoft operating system so far. We kick off our discussion about Windows 10 by sharing some of those thoughts with you. [spp-timestamp time=”34:20″]

Interview: Sean Michael, Editor/Writer/Windows Expert, WinBeta.org

Sean Michael from WinBeta.org joins Mike to discuss five tips Windows 10 users need now. [spp-timestamp time=”44:08″]

For tons more in-depth and technical coverage of Windows 10, check out WinBeta.org.

WinBeta also does podcasts and you can find them here: http://www.winbeta.org/tags/podcast

Online Learning – Free Trial for PC Mike Listeners

I get asked a lot about finding online courses for learning how to use photography software such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom CC, which are both on my recently updated list of tech gear. I talk about how I benefited from taking online courses as well as a special deal available only to PC Mike Techcast listeners at pcmike.com/lynda, where you can even try it free for 10 days and see if online learning works as well for you as it has for me. By the way, they have more than 3,300 courses to pick from – including more than 100,000 video tutorials – in subjects ranging from photography, video and audio to graphic design and web development. With Lynda, you can get:

– Unlimited access to all 3,314 courses – more than 100,000 video tutorials
– Learn new software and stay up to date

Listeners of the PC Mike podcast can get a free 10-day trial. Try any course. Start your trial now and see what you can learn. Just go to https://pcmike.com/lynda to get the free 10 day trial.

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We Need Your Help!

As we begin a new podcast like this, it’s very important to get a bunch of reviews to be able to show well in the iTunes listings. So if you can, I’d sure appreciate it if you’d subscribe and leave me your rating and review.

Here’s how:

First, open up the iTunes app on your computer or mobile device. Click on Podcasts on top
> From the iTunes Podcasts page, use the “Search Store” field up at the top right corner of the page. Type in PC Mike Techcast under the Podcasts category.
> Click on the logo image of the PC Mike Techcast on the search return page
> From there, you can:

1) Subscribe

2) Choose and Click on a star (1-5) that reflects your rating. Five stars means you really like it, one star not so much.

3) Leave a written review.

Thanks to all for the kind reviews we’ve received so far. I read and appreciate every review! If you haven’t left a review please do so. I will be so grateful!

And remember, you can appear in future episodes. Ask a question or voice your comments by clicking the Leave Voicemail tab on the right side of this page here at pcmike.com. You can then use the microphone on your computer to record your question.

Thank you!