When does the Windows calendar end?

In previous Windows versions the calendar often ended at the at of the current century, but recently I noticed a different pattern...

Right, in previous Windows versions the  31/12/2099 was the last date in the calendar. But not only for Windows, also for older Sony PlayStation or Nintendo consoles. Check out this Wikipedia article for that.

In Windows 10 you see something different: If you scroll through the calendar you can always go until exactly 100 years in the future. But if you want to change the system time entirely the final date looks different:

Last date is the 31/12/2047. And I'm still talking about a 64 bit Windows version here. Speaking about 32 bit, there was another limit: 19th January 2038. Read more here: The year 2038 problem.

In short: The counter for 32 bit integer system runs out at this very date. It can cause issues in databases and file system. It needs to be changed to a format using 64 bit, which is going to have a time span for almost 300 billion years. But all that could run into an issue for software being programmed in 32 bit, even though all OS and CPU would support 64 bit by then.

At some point the issue is going to be addressed and solved...

To sum up 64 bit system allowed a wider range in future OS versions. There won't be an end - there's always a solution...

Free YouTube to MP3 Converter no longer free?

As I got asked on why the Free YouTube to MP3 Converter got so slow and is filled with Premium requests... I had to check myself and indeed: The free version is no longer as it was before.

I actually did not notice it myself since I was still using version 4.1.28 and the current version with that big change is 4.1.60 or even older. The included mp4 download is still free and working, but any other format needs now a premium version or is slowed down - no matter if you use the Free YouTube to MP3 Converter or the Free YouTube Downloader.

For years DVDVideoSoft offered these features for free and recently they changed the way of the usage of premium features.

In their forum this very question was asked and the answer is that this step was necessary in order to maintain the quality of the software. Surely understandable, but it will definitely shrink the numbers of users.

For now there's still a way out: Remove the latest version and look for an older version like I had before with 4.1.28. After the test I no longer had a proper installation file of that, but but found 4.1.1 which is still enough for me.

As long as the update does not run automatically (and if, you need to stop it) it seems that you can still continue using the older version - for now...

Chinese Tencent Software Removal

Suddenly you see a Chinese software popped up in your taskbar. But what is it and how do you get rid of it?

The user who contacted me previously tried to install a certain software by using a crack which seemingly failed and installed this 'tool' instead.

It caused lots of unnecessary pop ups in the browser and slows down the system in general. 

But the good news is that you can get rid of it. The bad news is, it's all in Chinese and if you don't know that language it could be difficult.

For me, knowing a bit of Japanese, helped to figure out a few characters. Like 出 means something like 'leave', 'go out' helped to close the software in the taskbar.

Once it's closed, you can proceed with uninstalling the software.

Once it's closed you need to go to the folder as seen in the screenshot above and scroll down to find a file called uninst.exe.
In the next step you need to be cautious in what you select:

• Seeing the next window, select the left option (not the green one!)
• At the next orange window you see three checkboxes - select the last one and proceed with clicking on the red button
• A last checkbox appears and there you should select the left button to complete the uninstall process

After a reboot it should all be fine again, but better check in the control panel under 'Programs & Features' if there's anything left (mostly at the bottom of the list written in Chinese). Try to uninstall other possible software like this as well.

Moreover, I also would suggest to scan the device for some possible malware remnants - my recommendation is Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.

So, try to stay free of certain software in the future!

Facebook now suggesting possible future users

That Facebook uses the WhatsApp contacts to suggest possible friends is known by now. But today I saw something new...

It's called 'Add Friends Who Aren't on Facebook Yet'. And you can swipe through seeing different contacts from your phone - with phone numbers and even contacts which only had an email address.

So according to that message you can already send a request to a someone how is not on Facebook yet. Another way to get more users.

Let's see what else comes up in the future.

WiFi solutions in New Zealands hostels

In the past few years I made it to several hostels around the planet and the supply of WiFi most went into the same direction, but in in New Zealand I got to see something different...

I've been to several hostels in Europe, US and Asia and the WiFi has always been free and even the password was often visible written on the wall. If that's a safe solution is another topic, but in New Zealand I faced another situation: In three hostels I've already been had always solutions for paid WiFi - only free in certain scenarios:

1) Only paid + extra free WiFi for certain hours on one floor
Exactly, no free WiFi in the dorms, just in the floor of the reception - but not in the evening. Interestingly the access code for that password was changed every few days (some sort of safety at least). You could pay for WiFi either per day or per week. 

2) 2GB per day / per device
A free WiFi solution - but with limited data. Everyday you had to go to the reception and ask for a voucher with a password - valid for 24h after the first login. And it's only for one device at a time.


3) 30 minutes per day / per device
The first solution with unlimited download - if you are quick enough. But after thirty minutes you need to pay if you want to continue. You could cheat around it by changing the MAC address of your device, but still not ideal...

Generally speaking NZ seems to be a bit behind in comparison to other countries. I'm not the only one surprised by this as a talked to other travelers coming here. On the other hand there are still diners, buses or even public spots within cities with free WiFi...
Maybe the solution to pay for extra WiFi still works well for the accommodation owners...