Once again fall is upon us and here we are once again in lovely Silver City. Each year it seems to take longer to unpack and set up the house and workspaces than I expect; but, at least we are partially functional and ready to start helping folks with their computer concerns.

With Windows 11 now available as an upgrade and an array of new devices from cell phones to personal computers and quite a few devices in-between, there will be plenty of experimenting and learning to do. Chip shortages or not, the technology sector advances at an incredible pace.

This year, I have seen Unix/Linux devices mature their user interfaces so they can compete directly with Apple and Microsoft offerings for user-friendliness and simplicity. I have worked with a couple of incarnations of Google Chrome (and chrome-based devices) and found them to be fantastic choices for a large portion of users because they are more simple to use, faster responding, and yet still excellent at all things web-based.

Now, more than ever, the user has good choices for most tasks that are well served by computers and other electronic devices. True, some tasks will require considerable expenditures in equipment, training, and patience to achieve an elegant level of operation; however, for many, the costs in all categories will be less than they have been in the past.