The third reader-requested topic looks at\u00a0daisy-chaining<\/em>\u00a0charging devices \u2014 say, charging your phone from your laptop while the laptop itself is charging from a wall socket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full story in the\u00a0<\/em>AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.32.0<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(2021-08-23).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Also in this issue:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Click here for the\u00a0Askwoody Free<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0signup; 100% free!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Click here for the AskWoody Plus<\/strong><\/a> signup; no set price \u2014 pay what you think it\u2019s worth!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Permalink: <\/em><\/strong>https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=5766<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n COMMENT \/ QUESTION<\/strong> on THIS ITEM?<\/strong> See the<\/em> Comment box<\/strong> at bottom of this page!<\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A reader strongly disagrees with Fred\u2019s recent recommendation about using virtual private networks (VPNs) to increase online security; that reader\u2019s colorful letter leads off this column. Today\u2019s second reader-requested topic covers battery-monitoring apps for PCs and smartphones, including the extensive (but hidden) battery health report that\u2019s built into every copy of Windows 10. The third reader-requested topic…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[29,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-askwoody-plus","category-langa-com-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paaiox-1w0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5553,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/25\/excess-cpu-heat-during-laptop-recharging\/","url_meta":{"origin":5828,"position":0},"title":"Excess CPU heat during laptop recharging?","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2021-01-25","format":false,"excerpt":"A\u00a0reader is concerned: His laptop\u2019s CPU temperature rises during battery-charging sessions. Why would the CPU heat up from battery charging? Relatedly, what are normal CPU temperatures, anyway? What\u2019s a safe temperature rise? Plus:\u00a0A tiny freeware app that\u00a0prevents\u00a0PC overheating! Read the full story in\u00a0AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.3.0\u00a0(2021-01-25). Also in this issue:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AskWoody Plus"","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fred Langa","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5790,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2021\/08\/02\/reader-feedback-on-driver-software-updaters-and-more\/","url_meta":{"origin":5828,"position":1},"title":"Reader feedback on driver\/software updaters, and more!","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2021-08-02","format":false,"excerpt":"CCleaner \u2014 the popular system-cleanup tool \u2014 recently added automated software and driver updaters to its features. A subscriber set out to see whether they\u2019re any good. Plus: Another subscriber\u2019s laptop is stuck at 79% battery charge and won\u2019t charge any higher; and a third seeks advice on how to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AskWoody Plus"","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ccleaner-driver-update.png?fit=400%2C278&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5145,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/05\/why-is-there-no-considerable-technical-development-in-laptop-and-phone-chargers-over-the-years\/","url_meta":{"origin":5828,"position":2},"title":"“Why is there no considerable technical development in laptop and phone chargers over the years?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-06-05","format":false,"excerpt":"(Answer requested by Prapat Saxena) I disagree with the premise of your question. Most charging is by USB these days. When USB 1 came out in 1996, it supported 5 volt\/0.5amp charging; 2.5 watts. Today's newest USB charging supports up to 20 volts\/5 amps; 100 watts. And there are now\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/USB_icon.png?fit=417%2C200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1214,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/03\/a-reader-asks-why-wont-my-laptop-charge-when-its-running-it-only-charges-when-its-off\/","url_meta":{"origin":5828,"position":3},"title":"A reader asks: Why won’t my laptop charge when it’s running? It only charges when it’s off.","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2018-12-03","format":false,"excerpt":"Q*: \"How do I fix my laptop? When it is turned on and I plug it in, it will not charge, and will only charge when it is plugged in while turned off. What's going on?\" A: The most common cause for this is an aging battery that draws too\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1721,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/01\/25\/a-reader-asks-my-laptop-only-charges-when-it-is-plugged-in-while-turned-off-if-turned-on-it-runs-but-wont-charge-what-do-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":5828,"position":4},"title":"A reader asks: “My laptop only charges when it is plugged in while turned off. If turned on, it runs but won’t charge. What do I do?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-01-25","format":false,"excerpt":"If this is a new problem --- if the laptop used to charge normally --- your battery is likely showing its age. It's now requiring more power to recharge, and is overtaxing the power supply, leaving you with an either-or choice --- charge the battery or run the PC. A\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5621,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2021\/03\/22\/a-trio-of-wide-ranging-reader-submitted-questions\/","url_meta":{"origin":5828,"position":5},"title":"A trio of wide-ranging, reader-submitted questions","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2021-03-22","format":false,"excerpt":"This week\u2019s top reader-submitted questions cover quite a spread of topics, starting with some unexpected lithium-ion battery behavior. Then we examine the reasons for a reader\u2019s deep misgivings about the safety and reliability of cloud-storage services, and we\u2019ll wrap up with a super-simple, three-click solution for a notebook PC whose\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AskWoody Plus"","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fred Langa","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5828"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5829,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5828\/revisions\/5829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Fred](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?resize=110%2C110\")
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