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ware for five years, and said it does not plan to
change the price at the time of release.
In April 2020, Microsoft transitioned Office 365 in-
to Microsoft 365, a subscription service that added
more features to the suite of software tools, but re-
quired a monthly payment of $7 for an individual plan
or $10 for a family of up to six people (that price will
be increasing in March 2022). The company said that
its main focus will continue to be on the cloud, but it
understands that not everyone is ready to take that Eating computers, though still not safe, has be-
step. While you can use Microsoft 365 apps like come less deadly over time. The European Un-
Word, PowerPoint and Excel online for free with lim- ion banned cadmium and lead from computers in
ited functionality, you'll need either a perpetual ver- 2006 and newer circuit boards are less likely to
sion or a subscription to take full advantage of their contain arsenic. In 2009, the Institute of Electrical
capabilities. and Electronics Engineers created environmen-
tal guidelines that companies and institutions can
Some wondered if Office 2019 would be the last per- adhere to, and the even more recent Green Elec-
petual version of the software, since Microsoft 365 tronics Council grades companies according to
came along. But then Microsoft announced its plan how recyclable they are. However, old computers
for a perpetual release of Office in a September blog still turn up at recycling centers. “Sometimes peo-
post. ple will hold onto things for a long time — we get
40 or 50 year old TVs,” says Jason Linnell, execu-
For more, check out how to download Windows 10 tive director at the National Center of Electronics
for free, how to download Windows 11 for free and Recycling. “They might have the lead, the mercu-
everything you need to know about transitioning from ry, cadmium. These are the types of materials that
Windows 10 to Windows 11. you want to prevent from going into the landfill.”
In the future, humans may eat computers on pur-
pose. Right now scientists are developing nano-
One Click computers that patients will be able to swallow like
a pill. These tiny robots will be able to monitor
Shutdown your vital signs from the inside, and may also, in
the future, be able to fill in one of your hundred
hard-to-remember passwords. Prototypes already
Left click on an empty area of your comput- exist for people like astronauts, firefighters, and
er Desktop. When the Menu pops up, click on New, football players, whose caretakers want to make
then Shortcut. The Create Shortcut Dialog box will sure they do not overheat. Scientists are working
on developing computers that are more biode-
open. Type this in the box %windir%\system32 gradable — like this computer chip made of wood-
\shutdown.exe /s /f /t 0. This tells Windows to force based nanocellulose.
any open applications to close and to shutdown with
minimum delay. Click Next in the dialog box. Name Since most of us lack Lotito’s steel-crushing stom-
your shortcut Shutdown or whatever you wish. ach, recycling is the much more appealing (and
Click Finish. Your shortcut should appear on your safer) option. “Things have definitely gotten bet-
ter,” says Linnell. “We have a lot more well-
desktop. The shortcut will have a default icon. Right qualified recyclers.” In some cities, you can even
click on the shortcut and click on Properties. Click be fined for putting old computers in the pile with
the Change Icon button. You will get a default warn- normal trash. Instead, many manufacturers take
ing message. Click the OK button. A list of icons back old products and many cities offer e-waste
should appear. Double click on the icon you want deposit locations. There is no need to eat your
(you know the one). Click Apply or OK. Drag your computer.
shortcut to the Quicklaunch area of your taskbar to You know you’re old when your
make a one-click shutdown or leave it on
your Desktop for a two-click shutdown. resume goes back to your days as
an abacus repair technician.
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