Windows 10 Recommended Settings

Now that you’ve got your free upgrade to Windows 10, here are some settings you should probably change and why.

If you don’t have a touchscreen and never want Windows 10 to run in Tablet Mode, click on Start - Settings - System and then click on Tablet mode about half way down the list. Turn off the touch-friendly setting at the top. Under When I sign in change the drop down box to Go to the desktop and change the drop down box to Don’t ask me and don’t switch under the automatically switch setting. Click the gear icon to go back to the main Settings page.

If you’ve got a laptop you travel with and don’t want it connecting to Wi-Fi networks without your permission, go to Start - Settings - Network and Internet - Manage Wi-Fi settings and turn off Connect to suggested open hotspots, Connect to networks shared by my contacts, and Paid Wi-Fi services. Click the gear icon to go back to the main Settings page.

To turn off ads on your Start menu, go to Start - Settings - Personalization - Start and turn off Show suggestions in Start. While you’re here, also turn off Show recently added apps and Use Start full screen. Click the gear icon to go back to the main Settings page.

To control your privacy settings, Start - Settings - Privacy. Whew, there are a bunch of them. Don’t worry; you can turn all of this off if you want to. The only exceptions are:

If you’re using Skype, then leave the camera and microphone settings and other Skype settings on.

If you’re using the built-in mail app, then leave the Mail and Calendar and People settings on.

Leave the Radio setting on, unless you’re not using Bluetooth for anything.

Under Feedback & diagnostics go ahead and change usage data to Basic to protect possibly user-identifiable data from being sent if your system or an application crashes. Go ahead and turn off all the background apps, too.

Useful websites

Oh no - you’ve got guests coming over in half an hour! Looking through the refrigerator, you find a bunch of stuff that you suspect (OK, you know) has been in there a while. What’s still safe to eat?

Head over to Still Tasty at http://www.stilltasty.com to find out if that artichoke, those banana peppers, and those shallots are still good. Not that I know what you could make with those ingredients. You should probably go to the store more often.

No idea what movie to stream for your guests tonight? Head over to A Good Movie To Watch. Let the site know which services you subscribe to; Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu. You’ll get a list of highly-rated, little-known movies picked by hand, not an algorithm. agoodmovietowatch.com

As seen on a T-shirt

If I’m ever on life support, unplug me. Then plug me back in. See if that fixes it.

– From Bad Idea T-Shirts

Do you have a computer or technology question? Greg Cunningham has been providing Tehachapi with on-site PC and network services since 2007. Email Greg at [email protected].