top of page
tech sense
John Bell
Nov 254 min read
Tech Sense: More Tech Gift Ideas
More Tech Gift Ideas Currently it is getting close to Thanksgiving, near the end of November and I am writing my December...
2 views
John Bell
Nov 64 min read
Tech Sense: Holiday Tech
Holiday Tech I find myself near Halloween thinking about the end-of-year holidays, not the ghoulish season at the end of October. This...
10 views
John Bell
Sep 235 min read
Tech Sense October 2024: Android
Android Android 15 will be released to Googles Pixel phones this month (October), it is has inspired me to review some of the features in...
16 views
John Bell
Aug 274 min read
Tech Sense September 2024: Back to School!
Back to School 2024 It is August and as I am writing this if school hasn’t started already, it will begin shortly. Last year I worked as...
6 views
John Bell
Aug 44 min read
Tech Sense August 2024: Summer Potpourri
Summer Potpourri This month I thought I would hit some short topics, light reading for the vacation season. Since we just completed...
3 views
John Bell
Jul 74 min read
Tech Sense July 2024: Space 2024: Part 2
Space 2024: Part 2 I have had an interest in space since I was a young boy and watched John Glenn’s launch into orbit on TV. I used to...
6 views
John Bell
May 294 min read
Tech Sense June 2024: Space 2024: Part 1
Every now and then, I move away from computer technology and look at a different area. This month we look at what is going on in space.
5 views
John Bell
Apr 264 min read
Tech Sense May 2024: World Password Day 2024
World Password Day 2024 World Password Day occurs on the first Thursday each May. This year it is May 2nd. The day makes a good reminder...
4 views
John Bell
Apr 25 min read
Tech Sense April 2024: Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Pi It has been a little over two years since I wrote about the Raspberry Pi Computer. I missed Pi Day this year because I was...
94 views
John Bell
Feb 295 min read
Tech Sense March 2024: Printers part 2
Printers – Part 2 This month we continue with our discussions of printers. As I mentioned last month I am in the market for a new...
33 views
John Bell
Jan 235 min read
Tech Sense February 2024: Printers
Printers This month I thought I would start writing a series on computer peripherals. Peripherals are those add-on devices that go along...
17 views
John Bell
Dec 20, 20234 min read
Tech Sense January 2024: Late Holiday Shopping
Late Holiday Shopping Ok, so this could be for those late shoppers looking for technology stocking stuffers or it could be for those that...
1 view
John Bell
Nov 21, 20234 min read
Tech Sense December 2023: Programming Languages
Programming Languages First Program In 1976 I wrote my first computer programs in Fortran, a language that had been created in the 1950’s...
21 views
John Bell
Oct 25, 20235 min read
Tech Sense November 2023: Ghosts of Christmas Past
Ghosts of Christmas Past So, it is October and I find myself writing the annual Christmas column so it will be published before Black...
3 views
John Bell
Sep 27, 20234 min read
Tech Sense October 2023: Using our Tools: The Spreadsheet
As long promised, I am now ready to begin my “Using our tools” series on the spreadsheet. Dan Bricklin developed Visicalc, considered by...
1 view
John Bell
Aug 8, 20234 min read
Tech Sense August 2023: Back 2 School 2023
Back to School 2023 Another August and another school year. Welcome to our annual Back to School Edition of Tech Sense. The last two...
2 views
John Bell
Jul 4, 20235 min read
Tech Sense July 2023: Phishing
Phishing This month I thought I would revise an article I wrote about three years ago. This year I am thinking about my vacation and...
2 views
John Bell
May 23, 20234 min read
Tech Sense June 2023: June Potpourri
June Potpourri Last month I had the opportunity to do a presentation for the Laurel Senior Friendship Club. We designed this as a...
7 views
John Bell
Apr 28, 20235 min read
Tech Sense May 2023: World Password Day 2023
World Password Day 2023 May the 4th be with you. This year World Password Day occurs on Star Wars Day. It seems like such a long time...
23 views
John Bell
Mar 29, 20234 min read
Tech Sense April 2023: Using our Tools: The Word Processor pt. 3
Part 1 of this series is available here. Part 2 of this series is available here. Word Processing Part 3 This month we conclude our...
6 views
John Bell
Feb 27, 20234 min read
Tech Sense March 2023: Using our Tools: The Word Processor pt. 2
Part 1 of this series is available here. Word Processing Part 2 This month we continue our “Using our Tools” discussion of the Word...
11 views
John Bell
Jan 25, 20234 min read
Tech Sense February 2023: Using our Tools: The Word Processor
Using our Tools: The Word Processor This month we continue the “Using our Tools” series with the Word Processor. Word processing was one...
8 views
John Bell
Dec 19, 20225 min read
Tech Sense January 2023: Using your Tools: The Browser pt. 3
Part 1 of this column can be found by clicking here. Part 2 of this column can be found by clicking here The Browser Part 3 So here we...
13 views
John Bell
Nov 29, 20224 min read
Tech Sense December 2022: Using your Tools: The Browser pt. 2
FYI: Part 1 of this column can be found by clicking here. The Browser Part 2 This month we will continue our “Using our Tools” series and...
8 views
John Bell
Nov 3, 20224 min read
Tech Sense November 2022: Shopping for Holiday Tech
Shopping for Holiday Tech 2022 In some ways I am feeling the way Costco must feel when they start to put Christmas merchandise out in...
14 views
John Bell
Sep 30, 20224 min read
Tech Sense October 2022: Using your Tools: The Browser
Using your Tools: The Browser We have been back to school for a few weeks now and I thought it might be time to learn how to better use...
11 views
John Bell
Sep 1, 20224 min read
Tech Sense September 2022: Back to School!
Back to School 2022 School is about to start again, and for the first time in a long time we are expecting a more normal school year with...
4 views
John Bell
Aug 1, 20223 min read
Tech Sense August 2022: Finding Ebooks
Finding eBooks This month I am on vacation as I write the column. As a result, I will be revisiting a topic I last touched on in 2019 to...
7 views
John Bell
Jul 10, 20224 min read
Tech Sense July 2022: Upgrade
Upgrade This month I thought I would briefly cover a variety of topics, staring with updates you may want to consider for your home and...
8 views
John Bell
May 27, 20225 min read
Tech Sense June 2022: Computers and Cars
I have been writing this column for several years now and it is hard for me to believe that I have never written about computers and...
8 views
John Bell
May 6, 20224 min read
Tech Sense May 2022: World Password Day 2022
World Password Day 2022 World Password Day is on May 5th this year and is observed by updating your passwords and verifying your security...
8 views
John Bell
Mar 28, 20227 min read
Tech Sense April 2022: Q & A
Tech Sense Q&A Every now and then I get questions that I put aside and answer when I have room left in my column. I have accumulated a...
14 views
John Bell
Mar 1, 20224 min read
Tech Sense: Pi Day March 14
Pi Day - March 14th Monday, March 14th is also known as Pi Day. Pi is of course the number that represents the ratio of a circle’s...
73 views
John Bell
Dec 31, 20214 min read
Tech Sense: A Safer New Year
A Safer New Year I believe that the New Year is a great time to improve your security posture, so with that in mind I have a few...
5 views
John Bell
Dec 1, 20214 min read
Tech Sense: Holiday Shopping Ideas 2021
Another Holiday season and we are feeling the economic impacts of nearly two years of COVID. There are shortages of many popular...
5 views
John Bell
Nov 2, 20214 min read
Tech Sense: Potpourri 2021
Potpourri 2021 This month I thought I might touch on several short topics before we go into the holiday season. Windows 11 Windows 11 was...
5 views
John Bell
Sep 26, 20213 min read
Tech Sense: Wireless
Wireless This month our topic is wireless technologies. We will try to briefly cover three wireless technologies that we find in our...
10 views
John Bell
Aug 31, 20214 min read
Tech Sense: Back To School 2021
Back to School 2021 School starts again shortly, are you ready for the new reality? We are not certain where our students are going to...
2 views
John Bell
Jul 28, 20213 min read
Tech Sense: Space 2021
Space 2021 A number of significant achievements have occurred in space technologies in the past couple of months and I thought I would...
4 views
John Bell
Jun 24, 20213 min read
Tech Sense: Chip Shortages
Chip Shortages I thought for this month’s column it might be interesting to explore the chip shortage which is having an impact on...
5 views
John Bell
May 28, 20213 min read
Tech Sense: Ransomware
Ransomware I am writing this in May of 2021. As I drive down US 1 here in Beltsville the gasoline prices have all jumped from about $2.40...
8 views
John Bell
Apr 30, 20214 min read
Tech Sense: Another World Password Day
Another World Password Day I have been writing this column for just over five years now and I have written five columns (one was in two...
4 views
John Bell
Mar 28, 20213 min read
Tech Sense: The USB Port
The USB Port As I see it part of the purpose of this column is to give the readers insight into technology. This month I thought I would...
14 views
John Bell
Feb 25, 20214 min read
Tech Sense: Pi Day March 14
Pi Day - March 14th March 14th is Pi Day. Pi is the number that represents the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. In...
15 views
John Bell
Jan 31, 20214 min read
Tech Sense: How Search Engines Work
How Search Engines Work Happy New Year! Welcome to 2021, hopefully a better year. Last week I was asked how search engines like Google or...
5 views
John Bell
Jan 1, 20214 min read
Tech Sense: Free Gifts for the Privacy Minded
Free Gifts for the Privacy Minded The holiday season is upon us as we work, play, shop, and go to school online. For many of us hours and...
13 views
John Bell
Nov 25, 20204 min read
Tech Sense: Holiday Shopping Guide 2020
Holiday Shopping Ideas 2020 It's November again and time to prepare for holiday shopping. It seems that many companies are running “Black...
6 views
John Bell
Nov 2, 20204 min read
Tech Sense: Phone Phishing
Phone Phishing From last month, phishing is a means to try and fraudulently collect money or valuable information from a person using...
43 views
John Bell
Sep 25, 20203 min read
Tech Sense: Phishing Attacks
Phishing Attacks Continuing our series on security and privacy protection this month, we look at phishing. Phishing is a form of social...
128 views
John Bell
Aug 30, 20202 min read
Tech Sense: Back to School 2020
Back to School Back to school in 2020 is expected to be a lot different from in the past. Currently, Prince George’s County is planning...
5 views
bottom of page