Tag: life

9 Things I Learned After Switching From Chrome to Microsoft Edge

Photo by Salvatore De Lellis on Pexels.com

This past weekend, I made the switch from Google Chrome to Microsoft Edge. It was a reluctant switch for me after using Chrome almost exclusively since 2012, but it was worth it. I noticed right away the major changes Microsoft made with Edge that I didn’t have with Chrome, and I want to showcase that.

My personal past grievances with Microsoft Internet Explorer were what made me reluctant to switch in the first place. They had started making the browser better since their Windows 10 launch in 2020 and it has (for better or worse) shaken off the past reputation IE has had. In fact, I have only used Internet Explorer to download Chrome. Well, not anymore

My switch to Edge happened because I knew a couple of people who had told me their CPUs were working too hard when using Chrome. After switching to Microsoft Edge, they noticed that their CPU wasn’t working as hard. That was a big change when I made the switch. I’ll get into that later, but here are other things I learned after making the switch

Switchover was easy

I’ll be honest — when I started using my current computer in October 2021, I used Microsoft Edge to download Google Chrome. I have used the browser a few times because my PDFs open there. However, the switchover was easy and painless because it copied what I had with Chrome. I’m talking about bookmarks, extensions, passwords, and even the current tabs I had opened on Chrome.

Microsoft Rewards

Another thing I noticed right away was the daily Microsoft Rewards tasks. I had been doing this every morning for the past week and in my opinion, it’s a great way to earn points by using Bing while learning about new things, even though I’m a Google person at heart. You can earn points by solving a puzzle, taking part in a daily poll, answering quick questions, searching certain items, and sometimes you get bonuses. You can even set a goal with those points. I set my goal of receiving a $10 Amazon Gift Card, which can be redeemed for 10,500 points (at the time I have 1050 points. That’s 10% for you math illiterates). Overall, I like this feature and I think you should give it a shot

Sleeping tabs save resources

This was a very noticeable thing for me, and this feature sets itself apart from Google Chrome. If enabled, Edge will put your tabs to sleep after a certain amount of time, from 30 seconds to 12 hours. I have mine set to 30 minutes. You can access it by going to Settings > System and Performance > Optimize Performance. From there, you can turn on “save resources with sleeping tabs” and you can then set a timer for when your tabs stay active. This has been a huge help as Chrome keeps your tabs awake throughout your time on the browser (and it will even reload after just 5 seconds of inactivity. I had to download an extension to stop it from happening)

Vertical Tabs

I was reluctant about this feature at first because I’m so used to having tabs on the top of the browser. I gave it a try and it felt as if I had decluttered my browser. You can even pin it for easier access, which is up to the user in hand. I decided to switch to vertical tabs and even pin them because I like to easily switch between them and the constant hovering over them gets annoying for my day-to-day operations. This is entirely up to you, but I would recommend it

Easy on CPU

This was a major reason I switched over. If you have been noticing that your CPU has been working overtime to keep Chrome running, you will be very surprised when you switch over to Microsoft Edge. It’s less taxing on your CPU and your computer fan will be very happy. This was the case for my mom, who had to switch over because her computer fan was working overtime and it was making a lot of noise. I even noticed it with my CPU. If you’re looking to lower your CPU output, this is the browser to use

Websites as Apps

I’m not too keen on this one because I thought they were apps that you can pin to your sidebar so that you can open them with ease. It turns out that they actually pin to your taskbar. My taskbar is cluttered as it is, so that was a huge no from me. If you’re up for it, go ahead, but I wouldn’t use it if I were you

Collections

The one thing my Microsoft Edge account did not copy over from my Chrome account was the Chrome Bookmarks. The bookmarks were great, but they didn’t have a way of organizing them. I just started using the collections feature after reading about it and how it’s better than keeping your tabs open indefinitely. It works like Bookmarks, but you can make more than one. So far I made two collections — one was exclusively YouTube videos I have saved since Saturday. If you’re into organizing, this feature is for you.

Bing is King

As mentioned earlier, I am a Google person at heart. The vast majority of my searches over the years were on Google. However, going to a new tab and searching on the browser bar will take you to Bing’s search page (you can get 5 points per search up to 55 points). It’s a minor inconvenience but it is Microsoft after all, so they have to promote their products. Just like Chrome and the Google search engine

Math Solver, Citations, Web Capture

I actually found this feature while setting up Edge and it immediately caught my eye. I added the math solver (which is useful for a math person like me), a citations button (to help me cite sources for important pieces), and a web capture (to take a picture of my screen when needed). There are also buttons for sharing, performance, web select, history, downloads, and more. Those can be found by going to Settings > Appearance > Select which buttons to show on the toolbar.

Conclusion

Overall, I’m happy to make the switch to Edge because of lower CPU outputs, ways to earn points using Bing, and the number of features that Chrome just didn’t have. I hope this review finds its way to your decision to use Microsoft Edge

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2023 Update

Happy (belated) New Year, friends

First off, my blog hit 1000 views while I was out, so thank you so much to those who came by while I’m still on hiatus. It’s nice to see people reading my older posts and my blog performing when I’m not around (I only started blogging in August 2022)

Secondly, I’ll most likely return to blogging regularly in March. By then, the Eurovision pre-selection season would be over, but I am currently working on an unrelated project and it’s expected to wrap up then. I’ll update you on how I want my blog to go when the time comes.

This is just a short update, but I want you to know that I’m fine. I’m just taking a break to do other things

WordPress Adventures #10: Sportsball Season

I watched a lot of sports this week. My very short recap is coming

My Posts From This Week

As always, we start things off with the previous episode which you can find it here

This week’s anti-MLM post is about MLM companies pretending to be small businesses (surprise, right) in order to get into craft fairs. It’s as you would expect, tho. You can read up on it here

This week’s Writing Prompt is also MLM-related with a side of crypto. The second part will be coming in the next edition, but here’s where it stands right now

And we end things off with Eurovision, where we welcome 4 new entrants to Junior Eurovision and an update on an online contest that I’m taking part in

My ‘Actual’ Adventures

Once again, my actual adventures were had offline. I’ve been catching up with friends and family, planning for a Halloween party (note: there’s no anti-MLM post this Monday), and my followed sports teams are doing pretty good. Kind of. I got one in the World Series (Philadelphia Phillies), the other is undefeated (Philadelphia Eagles), one who is really picking up the pieces since last season (Phoenix Suns), and one who finally got a win (Orlando Magic, my local NBA Team btw).

No posts to share this week. When my spectrum ass finally gets its gear going, I’ll bring it back

WordPress Adventures #9: Offline Edition

As you can tell by the title, I pretty much stayed away from WordPress this week, but I was able to make my posts. Without further ado, let’s go

My Posts From This Week

We always start with the previous episodes, so if you want to catch up, here it is

This week’s anti-MLM episode takes a look at huns using tragedy and death to sell their products. I reacted to 10 posts showcasing everything from anniversaries to more personal tragedies, and you can read all about it here

This week’s Writing Prompt was another last-minute post. I had wanted to do another play, then I wanted to do an AI-style story, and then I wanted to react to some famous quotes, but I ended up with a story about a reporter who also sings on the side who got called to compete in her state’s song selection.

No Friday post again, but we did close out the week with some Eurovision stuff, including the number of countries competing in Liverpool next year

My ‘Actual’ Adventures

As mentioned earlier, I stayed off WordPress this week to focus on other things, but I will have a full slate of posts for the upcoming week. However, I do want to turn your attention to some things I was fixated on this week, including the MLB Postseason, the NBA Season, voting in an online song contest, and reading up on a reporter in Iowa who is an out-and-proud trans (and she’s also terminally online. I’m with you on that, Nora)

No posts to share this week. When my spectrum ass finally gets its gear going, I’ll bring it back

WordPress Adventures #8: Controversies Galore

A short week on WordPress for me, so let’s get going

And if you missed previous episodes, click here

My Posts From This Week

I only did 4 posts this week. The first is the recap of last week’s episode which you can find here

I also dived into the “free” stuff MLM companies love to use to entice people to join, but they came with a lot of costs… literally and figuratively.

I switched up Writing Prompt Wednesday is react to some famous quotes. I don’t think anyone has done that before, so I might do another one next week. Next week, I might have a different title than Writing Prompt Wednesday, so stay tuned

Finally, we got a lot to get to for Eurovision and other similar contests

My ‘Actual’ Adventures

This week, I was busy with work, so I didn’t get to do the things I wanted to do. However… I watched some sports, especially the MLB postseason games. I also watched the final January 6th hearings before the midterms and man, did we get some tea out of that. I also found out that a favorite journalist of mine got into some major trouble in Thailand, and I am disappointed in her. And her cameraman. Don’t film active crime scenes, y’all.

Favorite Posts From the Week

Normally, I would end with some of my favorite posts, but because I haven’t gotten the chance to read other blog posts, I will leave this blank. I hope to have this feature back next week

Why is this true?

NEW: You can listen to my blog post here

So I found this tweet on October 5 and I feel like that speaks to my existence.

A tweet from ADHD Jesse reads “My phone has this great feature that reminds you when it’s time to wind down so you can get to ned on time, and I’ve developed a great nightly ritual of dismissing it without giving it a second though. It’s as effective as my first alarm in the morning, which is to say, not.” I quoted his tweet and asked, “Wait, why is this true?”

I might or might not have ADHD, but I can tell you that I am on a spectrum. I felt different than other kids in school, so I think we know where we are going with this. Anyway, I ended up following ADHD Jesse because his tweets speak to me in a way that IRL people can’t. Just today, I made my own observation based on my experiences in life

A tweet I made this morning reads “I’m the type of person that can switch from work to play real quick but takes forever to switch from play to work. And I also know people who take a major issue with that”

Yeah, this is more of my experiences in school and at work. I can switch from work to play real quick because I want to take that break to recharge, but then when it comes to switching back, it takes me a little longer because my brain doesn’t compute it as quickly as others can, and I have dealt with people (teachers, other students) who take a major issue with this minor problem.

Speaking of, why do people love to take something minor and make it major? They have to know people don’t give a shit about said non-issue, but they will go out of their way to make people care. For example, Joe Biden. Yes, the man is almost 80. My grandmother is 80. Yes, I get that we need younger faces leading the Democratic Party. That is not lost on me. But come on, I’ve seen Joe in action. He’s as fit as he is, but no, he’s 80 so he can’t think straight. So what? I’m 33 and can’t think straight most days either, so why is this an issue? I can understand that if there is a situation where critical thinking is required, then yeah, I can see that argument.

I feel like using someone’s age, intelligence, and judgment against them in a situation where it’s not needed is an ad hominem attack and it does nothing but make the judgmental person feel good about themselves.

All I’m saying is this… if a person wants to disparage someone else because of how slowly they get back to the grind after a rather short break, then they can exit stage left. That behavior says more about them than it does about the person they’re angry at. And yes, it’s a chemical imbalance, not incompetence.

I might do a blog post about these flexes which are really red flags because some people need to be checked

Post Hurricane Ian Update

NEW: You can listen to this blog post here

If you’re wondering… I’m doing okay. My home lost power at 6am yesterday and came back about 2 hours ago (at the time of writing).

Volusia County got hit hard by Ian, but compared to the damage done in Southwest Florida, where Ian did significant damage, I can say that I am blessed that my family and I are alive and well, my other family in Orlando and Port St. Lucie are also doing okay.

With that, this will be an impromptu random Friday post. I scheduled some posts that will go out this weekend and on Monday (although I have to work on Monday’s post over the weekend). If you’re reading this, your girl is fine

EDIT: I did this post using Reader because, at the time, my power had been restored, but the wifi wasn’t. Now that I got wifi again, I’m just posting this update on my laptop. Anyway, tomorrow we go back to our regularly scheduled programming.

WordPress Adventures #4: Increasing Quality A Little At A Time

Sorry for the generic picture, tho.
NEW: You can listen to this blog post here

Fewer posts, more quality… that’s how it goes, right?

I’m not gonna do a day-by-day post like I did in the last three editions. Instead, I’m going to recap my posts for the week as well as some posts I feel like sharing from my favorite bloggers

My posts from the week

Obviously, I start with a recap of last week’s episode, where I reviewed a survey app and gave a long tutorial. (The 3rd WordPress Adventures Episode)

This week’s anti-MLM post about how MLMs leverage marriage for and against couples was published on Monday as part of the anti-MLM Monday series.

I made a post via inspiration from a fellow WordPress blogger as well as two digital artists (one is my sister). I also discussed three cases of high-profile plagiarism, two of which are from journalists. I will admit that upon making this blog I never actually thought about people stealing content for clout. After I finished it, I’m also taking measures to protect myself.

I did my first writing prompt, and I thought I did a good job. I actually enjoyed doing this for a number of reasons, among them that I prefer doing this over poems (I cannot do poems for the life of me) and writing prompts, poems, and other writing-based posts are in high demand, so I just wanted to see how it goes. I’m doing another one next week.

Finally, I end the week in the entertainment world.

The ‘Actual’ Adventures

So I re-added the home page because I finally figured out how to customize it to my liking. I might change my theme again now that I got what I wanted out of placing a “blog posts” block when I edited the home page. By the time you read this, I will have a different theme and a real home page, although I’m kinda still working on that, but it’s literally the hardest page I’ve made on here (even harder than some of my posts)

Favorite posts from fellow WordPress Bloggers from the past week

Loving WordPress is Not Hard To Do from Renard’s World

Where in the World: Western Asia Part 6 from It’s Good to be Crazy Sometimes (I may have to go back to read the whole series because this looks fun and I love geography)

Why Do Some People Get Fed Up with Blogging from Renard’s World

Do We Need to Promote Our Blog Posts on Social Media from Renard’s World

The Last Lesson on Life from dkchauhanpoetry

What I Love and Hate about Blogging from lifesfinewhine

Using Your Blog to Help and Inspire Others from Renard’s World

WordPress Adventures #3: I Made a Tutorial???

NEW: You can listen to this blog post here

Sunday, September 4: I worked on a couple of upcoming anti-MLM posts for this blog. One will be out by the time you see this, but the other one will be coming the following Monday, September 12. I am starting research on another anti-MLM post that will be coming the following Monday, September 19. I think you know where this is going. Anyway, if you missed last week’s episode, here it is

Monday, September 5: It’s Labor Day here in the US, so I got down to writing. I started a writing prompt post and a post about stealing content that I will publish next week. Every Monday is Anti-MLM Monday, so this week, we look at manipulation tactics used by huns to recruit and maintain their downline

Tuesday, September 6: I published my 25th blog post, which is about how I turn my post into text-to-speech using anchor.fm, YouTube, and my native Microsoft Video Editor. It’s a long one and even I was surprised by how many screenshots I took to make this post.

Wednesday, September 7: I didn’t do a lot of writing, but since I’m pulling back from posting daily to posting 3-4 times a week, I decided to focus more on using the WordPress Reader, both on the web and on the app. Today, I started following a few anti-MLM blogs and liked some of the posts from those I have already interacted with (and even left a comment). I mentioned in a comment left on someone’s post that though I am the least sociable person, I will slowly make an effort to interact with fellow bloggers here. With that being said, I finished a post endorsing the survey app Qmee and it was published today

Thursday, September 8: Busy, busy day today. Watching the coverage of the death of Queen Elizabeth II for starters. My sister’s boyfriend celebrated his birthday. We were treated to a nice steak dinner, so that was cool. Speaking of, I posted about my personal weight loss journey.

Friday, September 9: It was an off day, but I did publish a post about the NFL season. I must say, I’m excited about it.

Saturday, September 10: It’s Eurovision Saturday, so here’s this week’s ESC post. I’m still waiting for the online song contest on a sports forum that I’m a part of, so I’ll keep you updated about when it starts and ends.

This upcoming week, I will have an anti-MLM post, as well as a post about stealing content and I am also trying out a writing prompt. I did that in a form of a script because I find it easier to start off with than writing an actual story. I’m also taking a couple days off from posting next week to see how the traction goes. I’m starting to experiment here to see how my blog performs.

Weight Loss Update

Photo by mali maeder on Pexels.com

A couple weeks back I posted a blog about the best diet you can possibly have, and I can tell you that in the 6 1/2 months since I started this journey, I have lost 30 pounds.

I started at 296.4 pounds on February 22. I decided to change my lifestyle that day. I switched to vegan foods for breakfast and lunch. I stopped snacking at night. I started exercising even just 30 minutes a day. I walked around the block once a week. I sometimes dabbed into dairy-free and gluten-free products. Essentially, I stopped gorging and started writing down everything I ate each day

6 1/2 months later, on this day, September 8, I now weigh 266 pounds.

I’m not done yet! I’m 16 pounds away from reaching my first major goal of 250, and 66 away from my ultimate 200-pound goal

My smaller goals are in increments of 10. I think it’s important to set smaller goals to achieve your bigger ones. It makes your progress more bearable

So, that’s my weight loss update. If you have yours, let me know in the comments below.

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