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In This Issue |
Joe's Hours |
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Upcoming Holidays: Christmas Dec 23rd to 29th New Years Dec 30th to Jan 5th |
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Joe's 2025 year in review coming soon! Changes in 2025: I have discontinued home visits in select communities that I did not have many clients in. This allows me to service the other communities that I have 100 or more clients. If you are in one of these communities you will be notified of these changes when its time for my next scheduled visit. Effective Sept. 15th 2025, I have pulled my ad from the Royal Highlands newsletter. I ran this ad once a month for 14 years. It helped me build my business in that community. Effective November 17th 2025 I will not be accepting new clients. I am having challenges servicing my current clients, so its not fair to take on additional clients. Effective Fall 2025, I have shut down the Trilogy Computer Club. The Club page has been removed from the Community website. I taught computer classes at Trilogy for over 14 years, starting in a small room inside the guard booth. I was also guest speaker at many local communities, including Kings Ridge. I enjoyed teaching smart phone classes the best. We had alot of fun learning how to use our phones for more the phone calls. I have redesigned my website to reflect some of these changes - https://www.computersbyjoe.com/ Changes in 2026: Rate Increase: Effective January 5th 2026, the first time in may years my hour rate will be going up by $10/hr.
Recently my computer crashed - I traced the problem to Adobe Reader Sync program. Because of this & all of the ads that pop up when you use this product I am no longer installing it on new computer setups. The next time I work on your computer I will be removing this program. Below photo is what the new PDF program looks like. You can view PDF's using Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and other Internet browsers. The PDF opens quicker with no ads!
If you want to remove the program yourself, please follow these instructions:
Please contact me if you have any questions. On an Apple Computer, open Finder, use your mouse to click hold drag n drop into trash icon on dock to remove. Type in your computer password if needed.
Joe's new look! If there is an important message that I need to share with you, it will appear in the Important News Section of the newsletter above.
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My Newsletter has a new format, its a continuous
newsletter. When I started to write this newsletter it was emailed to my
clients monthly. Then I got stopped by gmail for sending out bulk emails
so I decided to post on newsletter on my website instead of emailing it.
It was a great solution and a big time saver!
In time, my clients complained that I changed the newsletter too often so my monthly newsletter became a Quarterly newsletter that then changed to a twice a year format. Now, when I feel I need to share important information with my clients I will post the item right away. That means that my clients should check my newsletter on a regular basis for new articles. If you click on Newsletter Past Issues in the top left corner you can read some of my earlier newsletters. Enjoy! |
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"Stop-The-Scam-Sticker" program. On recent home visits I have been taping these "stickers" that I created to all my clients computers. This is the one that I created for Windows PC computers:
This is the one that I created for Apple Mac Computers:
For remote Windows PC clients, I am emailing the stickers with the invoice to cut out and tape to computers. In my estimate, about 30% of websites in search engines online contain this bad link which turns off your mouse and tries to trick you into calling the phone number on the screen. They get onto your computer, and into your bank accounts, and then the trouble really begins. Never call the number on the screen! Always call me for help.
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The way it works is you give me your zip code, and I search for the right computer at your local stores. Then I email you what I find. You buy the computer that you like. If you buy it in the store, do not buy any additional software or services. Take the sealed carton home, do not let the store set it up. Then on our appointment, I'll give you the code number, and will take over your mouse on your old computer first. You will need a flash drive or external hard drive. I will then backup your documents, photos and important files. I will sync your Internet browsers so you can keep the Bookmarks/Favorites and website passwords. Finally I will confirm your wifi password and your Microsoft account information. Then the fun begins as I walk you through the steps setting up your new computer. Finally, when the desktop appears, I will have you open the Quick Assist program that is already on the new computer, and will take over the mouse and complete the setup.
The final step is to bring over your files that are on the flash drive or external hard drive. I will sign into the Internet browsers and set up everything the way it was on your previous computer. If you are tossing your old computer I will need to return to it to wipe it for you. When you are ready, please contact me for your Remote PC Computer setup.
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Frankenstein Computer - In 1995 I purchased my first Microsoft Windows computer, it was a Gateway. It had Windows 95 operating system on it. It came in a big box that was covered with Cow patterns. At the time I was attending a local college and taking classes on the Mac operating system, which was Unix Programming. But I could not afford a Mac computer so I purchased a $2,000 Microsoft PC. Then my hobby with computers took off. When that PC finally died I went to a local computer trade show with my Father-in-law and purchased the parts of a computer. The metal desktop box, the motherboard, sound cards, video cards, etc. Then we returned home and built the PC computer from scratch. That was a fun hobby that helped to build my troubleshooting skills. When I started my computer repair business in 2011 I restarted my computer building skills. When a client purchased a new computer they would donate the old one to me. I would then wipe the computer, upgrade it using spare parts then donate it clients who needed a new computer but could not afford one. Over 15 years I helped over 30 families. During that time I also built computers for myself out of spare parts. My last computer that I built had 2 1TB SATA hard drives, 32 GB of RAM, and the Windows 10 operating system. When I ran the PC Health check it said the computer was 14 years old. Then in September 2025 it crashed! So for the first time since 1995, I purchased a new computer from Staples. Here are the specs: HP 24" All-in-One Touch-Screen AI Desktop Computer, Intel Core Ultra 5-125H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD hard drive, Mouse & Keyboard. It was a $1,010 computer on sale for $800. I am very happy with my new computer. Its about time!
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Windows News and
Tips
On October 14th 2025, Windows 10 support from Microsoft ended. The only way to keep your computer safe is to unplug it from the Internet. Ten years ago that would not have been a deal breaker, but in 2025 90% of the work we do on our computers is on the Internet. In time, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and other Internet browsers will stop updating. Then some websites, like bank and financial institutions will stop loading, stating that your operating system is no longer supported. This puts you at risk when you use your computer past the Oct 25 expiration. Office 365 will also lose compatibility and functions.
During this time, the bad guys in the world will be sending out bad emails trying to take advantage of Windows 10 users. Since Microsoft will no longer support Windows 10, they will not update your computer to patch it for these attacks. You are on your own. The other thing you will lose if you keep Windows 10, is the Maintenance visits from me. Starting November 2025, I also will stop offering computer checkups and updates on Windows 10 devices. If you are on my Maintenance plans, you will be getting a final email checkup from me. The programs on your computer can no longer be updated, and there is nothing I can do to your computer. Please contact me for guidance using the Rent-A-Geek free Service. |
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October 2025 to be released
Apple has decided to advanced the versions numbers so that all Apple devices have the same operating system number. Normally the new Mac OS would be version 16, but they are releasing the new version as 26. The Apple iPad and iPhone will also be version number 26.
I recommend waiting at least 4 weeks after an update is released before installing it on your device. Give it time for the bugs to be worked out! Click here for more information - https://www.apple.com/os/macos/.
Please note that I have stopped offering Maintenance home visits on Apple Computers running OS 13 or earlier.
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The End
Click on the NO or Cancel Button - Reminder!
Please click the "NO" button on the PC, and the "Cancel" button on the Apple/Mac to stay safe. It is safe to click on the "Yes" or "OK" button in the Admin Account (if you are doing your own maintenance). If you have any questions, please contact me. |
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Click here to view previous issues Note: The content of this newsletter is intended for clients of Joe McDonald only. Not intended for public use.
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| Website
Links: Computer Tips: https://www.computersbyjoe.com/Tips.html Backup: https://www.computersbyjoe.com/Backup.html |
Its like I am sitting right next to you! 
