GoRedwings19's Computer Help Hotline

So I've been using the new Screen Time feature in iOS12 to lock the kids' iPads and phones overnight to remove temptation and alleviate bedtime arguments. Was working well. Until I notice today that a couple of notable apps (Clash of Clans, Netflix) are no longer blocked on Alec's devices even when Screen Time is active. Hmm, that seems ... mysteriously convenient. I reset everything (including the master passcode) on his stuff and on my phone, which is the main controller. No change. So I then manually add these apps to the "Always Allowed" list, then manually delete them. No change. Try this with a couple of other apps and it works just as you'd expect -- add them…

My sister is in the market to replace her (now failed) Macbook Pro, and balked at the >US$2K price tag. What is the current go-to? iPad Pro? What about outside of Apple? Hackintosh? I have an ASUS myself, using the reasoning -- just by the laptop from the company that makes the boards for other companies.

I haven't really used a Windows computer much* in the past 10 years but now have a Surface Pro 3 and thought I might end up using it on trips when I want a tablet with me. My hope is that I can successfully install Ubuntu on it in the future and maybe someone can figure out how to get the Type Keyboard working with Ubuntu. For now, I'll probably be sticking to Windows so I need software advice. What is the best/fastest/least buggy... 1) Virus Scan (I assume I will need one of these). I am leaning towards Avast or Sophos right now. 2) Pdf reader - Chrome reader it ok but it would be nice to have one not tied to the browser. I tried Sumatra but it is a litt…

I would like to install Windows on an external hard drive and run via boot camp on my iMac so that Yumi can run Autocad Architecture on it (her computer is dying). I assume that thunderbolt is fast enough that I won't see any difference between running it on an external drive vs my main HD. Is that true? Can you recommend a reliable and fast HD that runs has thunderbolt connection?

Does anyone know of a place to buy a windows 10 enterprise license key for cheap?

I need migrate a domain on a Windows Server 2003 domain controller to Windows Server 2012. Has anyone done this successfully?

So I need to vent/laugh... I make my living in IT support for a large corporation and you would think that should rub off a bit on my parents. Nope! My stepdad is 78 and hasn't used a computer in 10 years and smart phones, forget about it. He decides to buy an Ipad and enlists the help of some guy at a bar (not me). What shows up is a fully loaded Ipad pro ($1000 +). Not bad so far right... He obviously wants to set it up right away (enter me). I'm walking him through the process and we get to the point where he needs the wifi info. He doesn't know the router name, asks my mom and she's unsure. I know what they usually choose for names and can see the ro…

Samsung has unveiled the video studio's dream storage unit. How many would Bad Robot need? https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/2/20/17031256/worlds-largest-ssd-drive-samsung-30-terabyte-pm1643

I thought that I might take advantage of Black Friday/Cyber Monday to replace my laptop. This HP Pavilion has the features I'm looking for and is only a little more than I hoped to pay. However, I'm so out of the Windows laptop market these days that I have no idea if this is a good deal or not. Could anyone please comment on whether I should get this or maybe suggest alternatives? Thanks in advance.

I need to purchase a slim SATA ODD for a slim HTPC case. I'll need DVD, CD, and Blu-Ray read support (best accuracy is what I'm looking for). Write support is not as important but CDR, DVDR would be needed at least. I'm really looking for the best slim ODD to finish ripping my CD, DVD, Blu-Ray collection to storage.

Looking at setting up a on premise IP PBX system at our new hospital and was wondering if anyone here has experience in that field? Also need some recommendations on a firewall/router solution and PoE switch.

I've just replaced my old Iphone 5 battery because the original one was below 65% capacity. I purchased it from iFixit, which is supposed to be good quality, they have an EU store. The replacement process went pretty much forward and flawlessly until I switched the iPhone on. It wouldn't light up. I thought the battery could be empty, so I plugged it into the charger, then the "connect into iTunes" logo appeared: I plugged the iPhone into the MBP, started iTunes, it asked if I wanted to restore factory default or update. I chose update the first time. The thing is now giving some error and won't either update nor restore to factory default. I've repeated the se…

My computer got hit by malware yesterday, which took all day to eliminate. Since there wasn't a lot of specific info online, I thought I'd post this in case it hits anyone else. Most of the web results point to 2012 recommendations that are out of date. This particular redirect hijacks your address bar and search results (for all your browsers) to SearchMagnified or SearchingMagnified, obvious bogus domains that will no doubt take you to further exploit sites. It also redirected direct links and bookmarks to these sites. I looked through the list of browser settings and add-ons (I don't run any), running processes, installed software, and even the hosts file and…

Mmm,.. I love it when these guys compete! This is the first I've heard that the desktop market hasn't withered into nothingness. I'm holding off on upgrading my 6 core Mac Pro until the 2018 models are designed and marketed so the release of these cpu's is music to my ears.

I know iTunes can playback pre-emphasis CDs on the fly applying the required filtering to de-emphasize them, but it won't play FLAC files, nor will apply the de-emphasis filter on ALAC files made from pre-emphasized FLAC files. So it's either de-emphasizing the FLAC files using SoX or some other filtering tool and playing back the new corrected files on your preferred software, or using some software that can de-emphasize FLAC files on the fly. Does this even exist? I'd like to know about any music playback software for OSX that can play pre-emphasized lossless files applying the required filtering on the fly. Thanks.

how much faster/slower would a $200 laptop like this be compared to a Core 2 Duo model w/ 2008-2010 tech? http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/inspiron-11-3162-laptop/fndoh101sb

Rather than resurrect a subthread in "what did you do today" or "ye mac thread", I thought I'd start a new one. What is the math software of choice to do DSP, modeling, etc.? I wouldn't mind paying a little bit, but of course I would prefer free, since I'm only a hobbyist at this point. I actually do need it at work (not really, my assessment), but CSC is so cheap they won't spring for anything the customer doesn't put in the contract as 'required'. Shelly posted that she hated the way Mathematica does licensing, and after investigating it, I concur that my infrequent use of it will not justify paying $155/year or $20/month. I might actually be in the Matlab …

I have been planning to get the new Microsoft Surface Pro when it comes out to replace my again Motion Computing slate tablet pc. It seems to have a decent stylus digitizer (although not a Wacom digitizer) and it a good price. However, I just saw this (from http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/tablet-pcs/1297429/microsoft-admits-surface-pro-128gb-storage-limited-to-83gb). "Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet, which is due to launch with a headline-grabbing 128GB of storage space, will only have 83GB of room for users' files. According to a statement from the company given to Softpedia, the 128GB Surface Pro device - ... - a chunk of its 128GB capacity is taken up by the operat…

What are the suggestions for high end 15" Windows laptops for someone who does a lot of graphics? It is for a friend of mine.

I reinstalled Chrome (because it was acting up, and nothing short of deleting it entirely was making it better), and can't seem to find my script blocker. I thought it was called NoScript...tried uMatrix, but that doesn't seem to remember my whitelist. Am I using it wrong? Is there a better one? Where is noScript? Any better recommendations? I should also probably add something similar to my Firefox -- any recommendations? I'm still using The Great Suspender in Chrome -- that's still a godsend. Anything similar in Firefox?

I have an old ipad 1 and phones (Google Nexus and Samsung S3) that I never use. What should I do with them? Is there a place I can donate them or should I just recycle them?

Well, I'm finally getting around to moving to the new computer that I bought last summer. I'd appreciate it if you could recommend virus/malware checkers for Windows 10 Home Edition. The information available on line is somewhat contradictory. I'd definitely trust the info I'd get here that what's out there. Thanks.

I suddenly find myself inundated in projects, all with different final deadlines, and all with multiple progress points. For instance, I have a project I want to complete by May 1, but in order to do that I'll need to complete part A of it by March 30th, and part B by April 14th, and send out part C by March 21st, etc. There is obviously lots of project software out there, but most seems geared toward groups, or has too many features. I am looking for simple - no need for discussion boards, bug tracking, user management, etc. Does anyone know or use something that works well?

My Mac mini (2011) died. No warranty. I was using it with attached USB drives and a Drobo I replaced it temporarily with a laptop I had lying around and re-attached my existing drives to it to serve files. This is a temporary solution. Before I had the mini I had a Netgear ReadyNAS with two drives in it. I need to serve out video, back up photos and other important files from across my local network, and run Crashplan and such. Maybe Plex? I was thinking of building a FreeNAS box myself, because it's the kind of thing I like to do. Then I stumbled across the FreeNAS Mini. Overkill? Probably. But that's when my middle name again reared its head: "Pay For Con…

My mac mini (mid 2011 with an OWC SSD has started to slowly flake out during start up. Just about every other start up I get the white screen with the flashing folder icon, indicating that the mini can't find the start up disk. So far I have reset the PRAM and completed a reinstall of OS X from the web by doing the command R at start up. The mac also needs to be restarted after a multi hour sleep period as it goes into pinwheel and does not reposed until restarted. I'm trying to hold off on a new mini until the new 2016 models are released later this spring (at least that is the rumor) Any thoughts, could it be a bad logic board battery or just a …