You can't turn around without hearing about the Coronavirus, and how it's affecting lives all around the world. I have no idea what the next month will bring, but I've been keeping a close watch on the news as far as tech is concerned, and have some advice for everyone.

Supply chain issues - At the moment, there are no  shortages of components such as SSD's and RAM to upgrade computers. Anticipating that might change, I have stocked up on SSD's, so I'm in good shape if you would like to upgrade your current computer system. By the way, Windows 10 continues to activate for free, so if you are still using Windows 7 please contact me as soon as possible to arrange an upgrade.

Many computers, phones, and tablets are assembled in China, where factories have been closed for weeks. If you are in the market for a new computer, you are probably best off buying something already in stock or assembled, rather than choosing a custom built machine, which might be subject to manufacturing delays. If you are in the market for a new iPhone or iPad, buy now from what's in stock at the store, as Apple is forecasting shortages in the future. 

Home tech issues - If Corona spreads as expected, there is a good possibility you might be working from home for a while, or your child's school might shut down temporarily or offer online classes. Now is a very good time to make sure all your home tech is in good working order - upgrade your network if necessary, make sure printers, scanners, webcams and headsets are working properly, and tune-up or upgrade existing computers. If you need assistance setting up or testing work-from-home software, let me know. 

Tech support - I should continue working as usual, but if things get bad, I might have to limit home visits. I will continue  drop off services as always, but plan to begin offering remote services, where I can connect directly to your systems to solve technical issues. I am currently testing a number of different remote options, and will add a link to remote services to my website as soon as I've made a decision. Regardless, don't hesitate to call if you have any technical issues!

We all use multiple portable products these days, and there are a lot of myths about how best to maintain a battery. 

Regardless of how well you care for your device's battery, batteries are by their very nature a consumable - eventually they will no longer hold a charge, and need replacement. The goal is to keep that day from coming for as long as possible, so h ere are my best tips to make your devices's batteries last as long as possible.

Myth -  I should let my battery fully discharge before charging it.

Reality - Modern LIon batteries come with a certain number of charge cycles - that is, how many times the battery can be completely charged and then discharged. Typical batteries come with 300-500 charge cycles. After a battery has completed its set number of charge cycles, it will no longer hold a charge. Therefore, in order to keep your battery working for as long a time as possible, you want to avoid full discharges and minimize the number of times the battery performs a full charge cycle. Keeping your battery between 40% and 90% charged is optimal.

Myth - Keeping my laptop plugged in will overcharge the battery

Reality - Batteries have built in sensors that keep them from overcharging, so you are better off keeping your laptop plugged in all the time than using the charging cycles. Some manufacturer's, like Lenovo, offer battery limiting software which will prevent the battery from charging beyond 90%. This is a good strategy for extending the life of your battery, so use that feature if it's available.

However, if your laptop is plugged in 100% of the time, eventually the length of the charge will degrade. So, it's best practice to use the battery at least some of the time. 

Myth - Charging my phone overnight will ruin the battery

Reality - This one is a little complicated. Like laptop batteries, modern phone batteries have built in technology to keep them from overcharging. You are perfectly safe plugging your phone into a charger and leaving it there. However, phone batteries last longest if they are not charged fully to 100%. So, if you plug your phone in before you go to bed, but you get up in the middle of the night, you might just want to disconnect the phone from the charger. 

Spent batteries are hazardous waste, so it's to all of our advantage to make them last as long as possible. Thinking in charge cycles, and trying to limit the number of complete cycles your battery goes though, is your best bet to keep your battery healthy for as long as possible.  

Every month I post several articles of interest on    my Facebook page . For those of you who don't follow me on Facebook, here are some of the stories I've featured in the past few months.

• Don't want to put your clean hands on a dirty cell phone? Here's how to clean and sanitize cell phones and tablets.

• If you need your WiFi to reach every corner of your home, replace your current router with a Mesh WiFi system.

• Are you confident you can tell if the product you're buying on Amazon is real or fake?

• Avast Free Antivirus was exposed for collecting and selling user's personal information. Free comes at a price, and truthfully, there is no need to use a "free" antivirus - the built in AV on Windows 10 is perfectly sufficient. 

• Disposing of an old computer? Make sure you remove and destroy your hard drive using one of these methods.