When the NSA Investigated Furbies

By Michael Gregory On In Fun Stuff

If you were conscious and in the Western world in the 90s, you were likely aware of so many must-have holiday toys, but perhaps one of the most famous (and nightmare-inducing) was the Furby. Equal parts annoying and creepy, it was the Tickle-Me-Elmo of Christmas 1998. Now, I didn’t ask for one, because I had been incredibly underwhelmed with the previous year’s mega-hit, the Tamagotchi, and figured it wasn’t as smart or fun as the commercial made it seem. I did have several friends who got one, and the consensus is that after a few days, it ended up with the batteries removed or in a closet with a blanket over it, like a cross between a gremlin and a parrot.

Microsoft’s New Default Font

By Kristin Imperio On In Tech Tips

Almost a year back, we wrote about Microsoft changing its default font to Aptos (fka Bierstadt). While some of you may have already embraced this adjustment, some of you might not be quite ready. In our field, we see how challenging it is to accept these changes. So, if you’re wanting to go back to Calibri (or heck, Times New Roman!), here’s how:

In the classic version of Outlook for Windows, the plain text font can be modified via Composing and reading plain text messages at File > Options > Mail > Stationery and Fonts > Personal Stationery.

Some Quick Tips for Speeding Up Your Computer

By Will Jay On In Tech Tips

I don’t have a whole lot of exposition for this one. I’m just going to drop a few quick tips so you can have some extra time to mow your lawn/walk your dog/clip your toenails/etc.

  • If you’re looking to get some extra mileage out of an old computer or your newer computer doesn’t seem to have as much pep as you think it should, you can go into Task Manager and check the Startup tab to see if any applications are set to start up automatically with your computer. Here are some general rules of thumb for those who aren’t tech-savvy.
    • Video conferencing apps (Webex, Zoom, GoToMeeting, etc.) generally don’t need to start up automatically unless your company uses it for phone/internal communication.
    • Storage applications like OneDrive and Dropbox should be set to start up automatically if you actively leverage them. Also, note that Sharepoint is reliant on the OneDrive application, so leave that enabled if you have SharePoint folders synced.
    • If you can’t identify a program in the list based on name, it’s usually best to leave it enabled.
  • Uninstall Mcafee and install a different antivirus. It tends to bog down computers more than other antiviruses and comes preinstalled on many computers, especially consumer-level ones. Bitdefender is generally a safe bet as a premium replacement.