Ask MetaFilter

As an elder millennial, I was trained to double-space after periods at the end of sentences. How do I train myself out of it? [more inside]
posted by greta simone at 12:26 PM - 24 answers

I have four large (but not full) hard drives on my desk that are getting old--two 4TB and two 3TB (one of each pair is a backup for the other). One drive holds media files and the other my Lightroom library. Given technology developments, I could fit all of my data on a single 5TB portable drive (I'd get a second for backups). Is this a bad idea, and should I just stick with desktop drives if I don't actually need a portable drive? [more inside]
posted by Admiral Haddock at 7:03 AM - 24 answers

I opened an attachment in a scam email but only previewed it (I didn't download the file) and I didn't click any other links. Do I need to do anything like run a search for malware, etc.? I've heard that's only for if you download the file, give away information, or click a link. but wanted to make sure.
posted by ygmiaa at 1:58 PM - 5 answers

I got my current ThinkPad laptop around 2020 and have never had any issues with it. Yesterday it started just randomly shutting down with no warning. I ran Lenovo Vantage and double-checked to make sure everything (BIOS, drivers, Windows updates) are all up to date. I ran scans with Lenovo Vantage that found nothing off. Starting yesterday the laptop tray will show the battery immediately displaying 100% charged to 0% charged and will flicker back and forth between 0% and 100%. Just ran Lenovo Vantage battery diagnostics which are currently showing "the primary battery is not detected." [more inside]
posted by forkisbetter at 1:33 PM - 11 answers

I am leaving my job as a secretary to the Chair of an academic department. I have sent out calendar invites that go into the future and am hoping there's an easy way to transfer all of those onto my successor's calendar either in one fell swoop or one by one if needed without having to recreate them - with the end result that those invites come from her calendar and she receives the notice if somebody cancels/declines/etc. Is there a way to do this? My googlefu is failing me.
posted by joannemerriam at 10:21 AM - 8 answers

Why does the Android messages website keep crashing Chrome? [more inside]
posted by saladin at 5:30 AM - 3 answers

I am rebranding my business. I created emails and bought URLs to match. Then, I built a website on Google Sites. I thought it would be easy peasy to replace the indecipherable Google URLs for my own, and then the sites would be available for the world to see. But I am having heck of a time. [more inside]
posted by CollectiveMind at 2:21 AM - 8 answers

Just like this question on laptops, my MacBook died recently and I am wide open to new choices. I don’t need a laptop though and actually want a box I can put somewhere on a shelf to use as a home server for media and various messing around, no serious gaming or high end use. Ten years ago, I’d have got a Mac mini - what are my options now?
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 1:48 AM - 8 answers

A while ago, and I think this was on metafilter, someone linked an invective filled and thorough explanation of how color and perception worked especially with regard to computer displays and graphics, including all the different color models and spaces that had been invented over the years. It was very informative and now I can't for the life of me find it. [more inside]
posted by Zalzidrax at 12:50 AM - 4 answers

In other words, please tell me what I want... I need a new laptop computer because my old one can't be updated anymore and that affects access to bank accounts. My old criteria for choosing a laptop don't apply anymore. Maybe I can get something more interesting? [more inside]
posted by SandiBeech at 6:14 PM - 16 answers

Here's a sentence from this week's New Yorker article on game engines: "There are now live concerts in Fortnite, attended by millions of people". What do the words "live" and "attended" mean in this context? [more inside]
posted by Paul Slade at 4:19 AM - 5 answers

it is an internal facing course for our teams. I’m writing the content. Text, images, possibly an embedded video or two, and quizzes would be essential, and generating a certificate at the end (or at least some sort of proof) would be nice. Free is nice, ok to pay a bit.
posted by The Last Sockpuppet at 5:18 PM - 8 answers

What power supply should I use to revive one of these? The manual is very vague, and it’s an antique…
posted by pompomtom at 4:35 AM - 6 answers

Do you know of any contract IT providers in Chicago that are great? [more inside]
posted by wowenthusiast at 3:38 PM - 5 answers

Are there any other mechanical keyboards available for purchase that use Kalih Prestige Silent switches? I know that Varmilo sells them (see this example) but I am not a big fan of the the color schemes. Bonus if they are less expensive than the Varmilo keyboards. I am looking for a tenkeyless (no number pad) model.
posted by dhens at 8:39 AM - 9 answers

I have a strange issue with Facebook events lately. I like to browse Facebook events in cities nearby occasionally. But lately I can't find any events in Philadelphia, PA. I can type in pretty much any other city in the "Location" box on FB Events. I can't find a setting related to this anywhere. This used to work as of maybe a week ago? It's a little difficult to google.
posted by cozenedindigo at 7:35 AM - 3 answers

Help with a story I'm writing. How would you password protect a folder of material you don't want other people to see, in the mid 2010s, if you're only averagely computer-savvy? [more inside]
posted by unicorn chaser at 3:21 AM - 26 answers

I am cleaning up my office, and found two LaCie harddiscs with back-ups from my old work computer. This is good. The first thing I thought is that now I can recover my old photos, not least 600 photos from Japan. But for some reason, I cannot import the pictures from the external disc. [more inside]
posted by mumimor at 2:58 AM - 2 answers

I have been (perhaps overly) conservative regarding system updates on my 2017 Intel Core5 iMac with a 1TB onboard SSD and 8GB of RAM, but am now finding some issues cropping up such as Safari not functioning entirely properly. I am currently running Catalina 10.15.7 and am considering updating to the current system Sonoma 14. Are there any potential issues or advice I should be aware of before I proceed? [more inside]
posted by fairmettle at 8:45 PM - 4 answers

My wife and I are looking for an iOS app to keep track of our discretionary spending. All the budget apps that we’ve found so far are too feature-heavy and complex for our needs. We don’t need something that automatically tracks electronic purchases, categorizes them, makes suggestions or anything like that. Just something where when we spend money, we can quickly open up an app and be prompted to enter the amount and brief description and it’ll auto-add the date. [more inside]
posted by saturday_morning at 10:42 AM - 7 answers