When Your Gateway Page Won't Open (with HTTPS eror)

 The latest version of the Chrome web browser may refuse to open your network administration page because its address is http:// instead of https://. You can set your router to use https - but how do you open the administration page if Chrome won't let you? 

A quick solution is to first confirm your router's address - is it X.X.0.1 or 1.1? Use Ping to confirm.

Type the correct URL in Crome and go to Chrome Settings/Privacy and Security/Site Settings, find insecure content and make it Allow. Then close and you should be able to use http.

When web pages are slow to load

Recently I experienced an unexpected problem in my Chrome browser. When opening a web page, there would be a delay, then a message that the site couldn't be opened and then after a further pause, the page would open correctly.

After running through all the usual checks (restarting my cable box, router and PC), it appears the problem was caused by a change in the Domain Name Server (DNS) by my internet service provider (Spectrum). So the pauses came when my browser had trouble resolving an internet address on the provider's DNS.

One way to see this is to run the Chrome Connectivity Diagnostics.

I could have called my ISP and enjoyed the usual delays while going over the problem, but it was easier to just switch my PC to a more reliable DNS, in this case Google's. 

Simply open the Control Panel, select Network and Sharing Center and then click on Change Adapter Settings. In the window that opens, right-click on the icon that connects your PC with the internet and select Properties. Next, select "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" and again select Properties. In the window that opens, select "Use the following DNS server addresses." Type in Preferred 8.8.8.8 and Alternate 8.8.4.4, then click OK and the problem should be resolved.

Test it by calling up a web address. You can also run the Chrome Connectivity Diagnostics again to verify that the problem is resolved.

If your Windows PC failed to change from DST

 Daylight Saving Time ends on Nov. 1 each year. Your smart devices should have moved back an hour, but if your Windows 10 PC did not, then the time server it's set to may be down.

To fix it, open Control Panel and click on Date and Time, then the Internet Time tab. Click on Change Settings. Most likely it's set to time.windows.com, which at midday on Nov. 1, 2020 was not working. Switch to another choice, such as time.nist.gov, and that should fix the problem.

American Dirt is a Riveting Tale of Our Times

Few novels have kept me awake late into the night, but this book did. It's a fascinating story that pulls the reader right in. You are there.

American Dirt is an American tragedy, a mother and her young son fleeing a Mexican drug cartel that killed 16 members of their extended family. They survived because they were able to hide and now they must flee, leaving their life and possessions behind.

Their flight becomes the migrant's story, a gritty journey by foot and atop freight trains while avoiding the watchful eyes of the cartel.

What sets this book apart is the writing. Author Jeanine Cummins makes the reader part of the story. You are there and you see the places, feel the fear, witness the atrocities and find good people willing to  help. And above all, you feel this mother's love as she tries to shelter her son.

American Dirt is an international story of our times and well worth reading.

The publisher is FlatIron Books, an imprint of Macmillan Books.

Will Congress Make Us Less Free?

Watching the Senate impeachment trial, it's becoming evident that if the Senate refuses to call witnesses and dismisses the House articles, then the President's instructions to his administration to defy House subpoenas will stand.

If that happens, the Congress will have ceded power to the Executive branch, which means the branches will no longer be equal. That opens the door to Trump or any other future tyrant to do whatever he/she wants - the very definition of tyranny.

In effect, the Congress will have made Donald Trump king, abdicated its responsibilities and made the United States less free.

Hulu Live Has a Big Problem That Limits Cutting the Cord

Recently I tried to cut the cord from my cable company and selected Hulu Live as the best streaming TV service since it has most of the channels we watch.

But I can't do it. It seems Hulu Live's software locks out a good part of the market. This is a stupid move on Hulu's part and could be resolved with better software.

The problem begins with my new LG large-screen TV. According to Hulu, LG uses webOS 2.0 and 3.5 is needed for streaming - and apparently they're unwilling to modify the Hulu Live software to fix this problem.

Alternately, LG could update its smart TV software, but this isn't really LG's problem. So until Hulu gets smart and embraces the whole market, some of us - and our cash - are going to be left out.

Meantime, if your smart TV will stream Hulu but not Hulu Live, that's probably why. A fix is to add a streaming device like an Amazon Fire stick, though that's not why you bought a smart TV.

A Fresh Journey Through the Obama White House

A new author has brought a fresh perspective to the book world. Her writing is smooth and carries us along effortlessly.

She is Beck Dorey-Stein, and From the Corner of the Oval immerses us in her five years as a stenographer for President Barack Obama. She brings us along as she records press conferences and flies on Air Force One.

Along the way, she shares her intimate personal life with the men she loved and the friends she worked and partied with. It's an unusual inside glimpse of a young woman's life in Washington, the White House and the countries the president visited.

As a stenographer, the author regularly worked in the Oval Office and other areas of the White House, and we share her journey as she dashes from her office at the top of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Unlike other memoirs, this is not a jumble of memories but a clear grouping of chapters by years from 2011 to 2017.

Despite Dorey-Stein's worries about her skills as a writer, she has written a very readable book that holds the reader's attention and guides us effortlessly through her experiences. Making the story even more enjoyable, this book is very well edited, without the all-too-common errors that plague many of today's releases.

Let's hope she continues writing through the new phases of her life. This is an author to watch.