“Can I charge a laptop or smartphone on a generator?”

(Answer requested by Ayesha Fatima.) Almost surely, yes. Most good-quality generators of recent vintage produce electronically-stabilized, sine- or pseudo-sine wave AC power that’s usually fine for any purpose, up to the stated output limits of the generator. (Check the owner’s manual.) But cheap no-name generators, and many older units, may use mechanical voltage/speed governors, and/or…

File Explorer stutters, loses focus

Writing from Bridgewater, CT, AskWoody subscriber Bill Chinn wonders why his copy of File Explorer gets confused. “Hi Fred! I have recently had an ongoing issue with the behavior of File Explorer in my version of Windows 10 Pro. “It seems that every time I open File Explorer and begin scrolling through the directories, after…

New Zealand: Index of Posts

Several readers have requested an easier way to find my recent New Zealand posts, so here you go! Day 1: https://langa.com/index.php/2020/02/28/new-zealand-day-1/ Auckland to Coromandel: https://langa.com/index.php/2020/03/03/new-zealand-auckland-to-coromandel/ Te Whanganui-A-Hei… and Hobbiton https://langa.com/index.php/2020/03/04/new-zealand-te-whanganui-a-hei-and-hobbiton/ Rotorua: https://langa.com/index.php/2020/03/05/new-zealand-rotorua/ Te Puia Maori center: https://langa.com/index.php/2020/03/10/new-zealand-te-puia-maori-center-and-a-night-in-a-rural-maori-family-lodge/ A night in a rural Maori family lodge: https://langa.com/index.php/2020/03/11/new-zealand-a-night-in-a-rural-maori-family-lodge/ On to Lake Taupo:https://langa.com/index.php/2020/03/12/new-zealand-on-to-lake-taupo/ Lake Taupo, cont.: https://langa.com/index.php/2020/03/13/new-zealand-lake-taupo-cont/ Taupo…

47 years ago today…

The world’s first cell phone call took place 47 years ago today, using a prototype Motorola DynaTAC 8000X — the first fully-portable, commercial cell phone. A full charge took roughly 10 hours and yielded 30 minutes of talk time (no data, of course). When it went on sale, it cost $3,995; equivalent to almost $10,000…

“If a cable is ‘fast charging,’ does the power brick have to be ‘fast charging’ as well?”

(Answer requested by Chris Parson.) Absent proprietary weirdness (e.g. nonstandard plugs or connectors), no. Charging speed is driven primarily by the charger and device’s battery. A “fast-charging cable” is simply one that’s rated to safely carry the higher voltages and amperages that fast chargers employ. That usually means the “fast” cables have somewhat heavier-gauge internal…

“Is it possible for laptop heat sinks to stop working?”

(Answer requested by Sameer Chakma.) No, if you mean your question literally: At its heart, a computer’s heat sink is usually just a piece of inert metal. There’s nothing to break or stop working. But I suspect you mean: “Is it possible for a PC’s heat-removal system to malfunction?” and that answer is a definite…

Mar 30 newsletter now available

The newest AskWoody Plus newsletter is now available! In this issue: ON SECURITY: COVID-19: The challenges of working from home BEST OF THE LOUNGE: The telemetry of data collection LANGALIST: Win10 update breaks a USB modem? PATCH WATCH: Win10 optional updates placed on hold BEST UTILITIES: Freeware Spotlight — A Thousand Words Don’t miss out! Consider joining — there’s no set cost; you…

New Zealand: Wrap Up

The previous New Zealand posts covered where we went and what we did — a uniformly good trip throughout. Most of the logistic and mechanical elements of traveling in New Zealand were also positive. As mentioned previously, phone and data service was seamless for us — no new SIMs, data plans, or phones needed. However,…

New Zealand: Last Day/Auckland

After a good night’s sleep and breakfast at Naumi, (see previous New Zealand posts), we checked out of the room, left our bags with the bell staff, and Uber’ed into Auckland for a day of pleasant, touristy sightseeing. We started at the Sky Tower, which offered sweeping 360-degree views from two different levels, as small rainshowers…