The Latest on Windows 11, Converting an Old PC into a Chromebook, Sharing Webpages Without Ads, Saving, Recovering Storage Space on Your iPhone

Back on June 24th, 2021, Microsoft unveiled its next operating system “Windows 11.” Although this new operating system is not scheduled to become available until this fall, Microsoft has announced the minimum computer hardware specifications/requirements for this new version of Windows. As I am writing this, Microsoft has not yet formally released its “PC Health Check” app that when run will test a computer system to see if it’s compatible with Windows 11’s new hardware requirements. Although I have come across some websites that provide a link to a version of the PC Health Check app that is supposed to accomplish the goal, the link to the tool from this web page www.tinyurl.com/yz7qqy3b is not yet active [7/7/2021]. Tip: The link is (will be) located about three-quarters of the way down the above webpage.

In the meantime, an alternative software tool called “WhyNotWin11” can be used for the same purpose and is available (for free) from the following web page…www.tinyurl.com/3zeuwwkn

If you are not interested in using a software tool to determine whether a computer is Windows 11 compatible, the following Microsoft.com article titled “Find Windows 11 specs, features, and computer requirements” offers a detailed list of Windows 11 computer specifications and requirements…www.tinyurl.com/ttp6e53m

You can watch the Microsoft Event where Windows 11 was announced and see some of its new features demonstrated by visiting the following webpage…www.tinyurl.com/73pur7v2

If you discover that your current computer is not compatible with Windows 11, you might want to review a techpp.com article titled “How to Install Windows 11 on Unsupported PCs without TPM 2.0 [Detailed Guide].” Although the article is geared towards more advanced Windows users, it may be something that can help you get Windows 11 installed on some initially incompatible computers and help you avoid having to get a new one for a while. Here is a link to the article…www.tinyurl.com/umsr6ss2

Another (similar) article titled “How to install Windows 11 previews on unsupported PCs” can be reviewed at the following webpureinfotech.com webpage…www.tinyurl.com/3vmn8use

Want to Convert an Old PC into a Chromebook?

If you would be interested in converting an old PC into a Chromebook (for free), check out Neverware.com’s “CloudReady Home Edition.” Before installing the software, I would recommend that you first browse through Neverware.com’s website to learn more about the product (especially the “Resources,” “Support,” and “Company” areas of the website). FYI: Neverware and CloudReady are now part of Google and the Chrome OS team. When you are ready to learn more, here is a courtesy link to the site…www.neverware.com

iOS Tip: How to Share Webpages Without Ads

Sharing webpages with others is a common practice. Unfortunately, ads are often included along with the shared articles. Fortunately, there is a way to share articles without also sharing ads (in many situations) if you use the Safari web browser and its built-in “Reader View” feature/capability! How? For step-by-step instructions, please visit iphonelife.com and review the blog post titled “How to Share Web Articles without Ads on iPhone or iPad with Reader View.” Here is a courtesy link to the article…www.tinyurl.com/23hfrs9m

iPhone and Mac Photo/Video Size Tips

Are you running out of file storage space on your iPhone or Mac? If so, you are not alone. Fortunately, there are some things that you can do to help you to 1) better manage your remaining storage space, and 2) reclaim some currently used file storage space. If this topic interests you, I suggest that you visit and review the following two idownloadblog.com blog posts.

1) “How to reduce video size on iPhone and Mac.” Here is a link to this article…www.tinyurl.com/hyu3ukv3

2) “How to reduce photo size on iPhone and Mac.” Here is a link to this article…www.tinyurl.com/3xs2924h

Voice-to-Text Dictation Developments

Not that long ago I covered some voice-to-text (dictation) solutions in this column. Since then, some new developments have occurred and I want to direct your attention to them. The first development that I want you to be aware of is that Microsoft Dictation is now available on iOS! To learn more, check out the following Microsoft.com blog post titled “Introducing Microsoft Dictation for iOS”…www.tinyurl.com/hjrffcw

If you use Microsoft Outlook and want to learn about dictating e-mails within the app, check out this article titled “Dictate your e-mails in Outlook…www.tinyurl.com/vhfhzj28

If you use Microsoft 365, an article titled “Dictate in Microsoft 365” offers dictation help for several Microsoft 365products. If this sounds like a topic you want to explore further, simply visit…www.tinyurl.com/5b6vn5jt

The following link leads to an article titled “Three new voice features for Outlook mobile—now on iOS, and coming soon to Android.” The article highlights three new features that are discussed and briefly demonstrated via a short video that is embedded within the article. To get to the article and video, visit the following link…www.tinyurl.com/55pa3bnp

Yes, You Can Access and Use Apps While Talking on Your iPhone

I know that many Smartphone users know that you can access and use other apps on your phone while on a call. However, I also know that many people either don’t know that or are reluctant to try accessing other apps while on a call. To help address this situation, I found a helpful iphonelife.com article titled “How to Use Another App While on a Phone Call with Your iPhone” that addresses the issue quite nicely. Here’s a link to the article…www.tinyurl.com/azewa3j8

If you have any comments, suggestions, tips, or questions, you can e-mail John at john@johnvrooman.com.