With the latest update my Windows Phone stopped syncing...

It's called an IPO...

I just finished 'One Second After' by William R. Forstchen, about an EMP attack. I just started 'One Year After' by him, and am also currently in the middle of 'The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume One'. I'm also going through the Windows Server 2016 Certification Guides. I alternate between fiction and non-fiction.

The article conveniently neglects to mention that Venusian Global Warming occurred without any human intervention whatsoever...

One thing this tragedy has pointed out, that if you create a so-called 'gun-free zone' you are accepting liability for your patrons' safety. Clearly the Pulse nightclub failed in this responsibility. I personally agree that certain places should prohibit weapons, such as banks, courts, and places that serve alcohol. I view these as reasonable restrictions. The last thing I want to see is some drunk, narcissistic asshole with a gun in a bar. But when you go to a bank or a courthouse, or even Wal-Mart, there is a reasonable expectation that your security is being provided for. Not so in many bars and clubs like this. There may be bouncers at the door who would make great linebackers for the Dolphins, but no trained, armed security. These people were sitting ducks, because they were Gay and because they were in a 'safe' gun-free zone; they were targeted by a nutball jihadist wanna-be who apparently got mad when he saw two gay men kissing in public, and couldn't drag them up to the roof of a building to throw them off of. And all the liberals want to shout is that we need more gun control, an 'assault weapons' ban (which is a term without a definition), guns are BAD. Meanwhile, they are preaching their identity politics to further divide people into groups that are more easily controlled. Just like Stalin and Hitler did.

Why would I want paper statements? Paper fades, gets wet, gets lost, takes up space, is inconvenient when you move, catches fire, has to be shredded... In contrast, eStatements are portable, save trees, and with cloud services, are virtually always redundantly backed up and available remotely wherever you happen to be. I've been using electronic banking for well over fifteen years, and I enjoy the convenience and safety of downloading my statements when I can get to them. You just have to keep in mind the billers online storage limits.

There are certain things that BSD just does better than Linux, and some things that Linux obviously does better than BSD. It should be a good thing if we bring the best parts of both together. BSD is horribly difficult to get running and administer, and Linux could clearly use some help in the performance department. Apple has done a great job of hiding BSD while taking as much advantage as they can. The overall Linux community has failed to take note.

If you're running Windows 8 now, more than likely you will have a free upgrade path to Windows 10, which should take care of the OS for the next 5 years or so, so cost won't be any more of an issue. As far as maintenance, all GNU/Linux implementations will require the same type of maintenance as your Windows clients. Regardless of whether you stick with Windows or move to GNU/Linux, you will need a way to manage the periodic maintenance for security patching, etc. Although many lambaste Microsoft for the number of patches Windows requires, they fail to look under the hood to see where all the patches are actually going, and neglect the fact that with Windows patching you also get .Net updates, Office Updates, SQL Server updates, etc. In the GNU/Linux realm, many of these updates are 'hidden' in the kernel updates, so you see a lot fewer separate patches. So, neither choice is necessarily going to save you money over the other, and neither is going to be necessarily easier to maintain. Which are your students going to be more familiar with and be more likely to use in the real world? That's what should drive your decision making.

I had disappointing results using third-party toners in my HP Color LaserJet 400, so I use only HP to eras now, although I do troll for bargains and lightly used cartridges to save money. I save up several cartridges and then use the UPS label in one of the new-in-box toners to ship them all back to HP under their recycling program. It's just not worth it to me to use refilled cartridges that may be prone to leaking. I've been a laser printer user for well over 20 years, and a certified HP LaserJet technician; I had friends in the refill business that put out good product, but a lot of the refills you get online are just more Chinese crap. If you can find a local source that cares about quality, then go for it; they may also buy your empties. You could also try listing them on Craigslist.

I've been using VirtualBox extensively as I've been taking some Linux classes at the local community college in an effort to brush up on my skills. I've found VB to be a great way to test out new Windws OS's and applications, and the BSD's as well. It would be a shame for this great, FREE, product to die. Sure, I have access to ESXi, and I could go out and buy VM Workstation, but VB does everything I need it to do. It can be a little difficult finding solutions to issues I have (such as multi-monitor support and screen resolutions, BSD wierdness, etc.) and could defintiely be better supported, but as another post pointed out, Oracle is the place where great software goes to die a lingering death...

Major universities all across our nation have long been doing a disservice to their customers, students, by pushing philosophy, psychology and kinesiology degrees on unsuspecting, easily duped children, only to have them turn out in droves for the 'Occupy Wall Street' camp meetings, and Obama rallies. Welcome, finally, to adulthood. Now I'll step off my soapbox, and tell you that your best bet is to start at the beginning and get your lower division requirements taken care of at your local community college, where it will be much cheaper. I've followed exactly this plan over the last two years. I started college in 1981, dropped out in 1985, and occasionally took some classes in the years since. It was only recently as my draught came to live with me to attend college that I finally resolved to get it done. I had to retake 7 or 8 classes, and finish off the English and Math requirements. Then I found a couple more classes required by the university CIS program that I could take at the JC and save a couple thousand bucks, Now I'm in my first semester at ASU and doing pretty well for a 49-year-old. I have a two year plan to finish my Bachelor's degree, while simultaneously taking some Linux courses at another local JC. School is more important than ever, but it has to be the right courses, and for the right reasons. Sounds like you have taken the first step. From here, don't lookmfor the easy way, or the fast way. Do it right.