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Thank you, Albuquerque! You have voted Computer Corner as one of the Best of the City for Best Local Computer Expert. We are humbled and use this award as further motivation to serve you well.

In this issue, we will review how we are celebrating Thanksgiving, Small Business Saturday, and we are announcing our Grand Re-Opening! Thanksgiving Store Hours and Small Business Saturday As many of you know, Black Friday is traditionally a "big box store" event and many employees are asked to work long and hard hours during a traditional family holiday. To allow our hard working staff to spend time with their families, we will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 25-26, of Thanksgiving week. Thanksgiving weekend is also a traditional time to start shopping for Christmas. After celebrating with family for two days, our staff is prepared to support your Christmas shopping efforts. As such, we will be open on Saturday, November 27, to celebrate Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday is a national response to "Black Friday" and is designed to encourage the support of local small businesses. Did you know that between 2000-2019, 10.5 million new jobs were created by small businesses? Our Thanksgiving Week hours are as follows: Monday, 8am - 5pm Tuesday, 8am - 5pm Wednesday, 8am - 6pm Thursday, Closed Friday, Closed Small Business Saturday, 8am - 5pm Sunday, Closed Need incentive? Visit us on Small Business Saturday and take advantage of one of these special offers: 10% off Services Free Kaspersky Anti-Virus license with the purchase of a new system. Note: customer gets to choose one special offer. ************ Computer Corner Grand Re-Opening For the month of December and January, we will be celebrating our Grand Re-Opening! We invite you to visit and celebrate with us! What are we celebrating? The launch of our webstore on December 1 Finalist for "Best Local Computer Expert" by Albuquerque the Magazine New website Refreshed brand to celebrate the history AND future of Computer Corner Weekly raffles for amazing products As always, please send feedback.

In this issue, we will review some highlights of Windows 11, the options for upgrading, and Microsoft's continued support of Windows 10. ************ Windows 11 Overview A thorough overview of Windows 11 can be found here. ************ Key Points about Windows 11 Windows 11 is NOT a required upgrade. Windows 11 is FREE to any Windows 10 user. Windows 10 will be SUPPORTED through 2025 - you can stay with Windows 10 for an additional FOUR years with full support. You can check your system's compatibility with Windows 11 with this free tool from Microsoft. Windows 11 is only compatible with 8th generation CPUs or newer and its hardware (RAM and Hard Drive) requirements are much more stringent. We are recommending 16GB RAM and an SSD because Windows 11 is so much more resource intensive than Windows 10. You may have to wait. Microsoft has said existing PCs may not be upgraded until early 2022, so the standard upgrade process will be slow and gradual even for existing PCs. Our recommendation for early adopters: if you are interested in Windows 11, you can bring your system to Computer Corner and have our technicians test your system for both CPU compatibility and hardware (RAM and Hard Drive) compatibility. Not sure what to do - nervous about upgrading? Be patient. No need to upgrade right away. Since Windows 10 is supported through 2025, don't rush to upgrade. Wait till the first update to Windows 11 is released or wait until Windows 11 becomes more universally adopted. Curious about Windows 11 and your system is compatible? Be sure to back up your data. You can have Computer Corner upgrade your system for you or you can download your update direct from Microsoft (when invited by Microsoft). You have TEN DAYS to downgrade back to Windows 10 if you don't like Windows 11. If you wait longer than 10 days, you'll have to reload your system to Windows 10 from scratch. ************ Updates About Computer Corner Computer Corner was named to the Flying 40 Fastest Growing Tech Companies in New Mexico, by the Albuquerque Journal, for the ninth year in a row (2013-2021)! Thank you for your continued support. We have hired two new people for our staff. Dylan Mingus is our Technical Services Associate in the Showroom and will be working with service customers to manage communication and updates on service tickets while also advising customers interested in purchasing a computer. Anthony Wanjon is our Procurement and Sales Associate. He will manage incoming deliveries, special orders, shipping, deliveries, and he will help us launch our upcoming webstore by the end of the year! ************ REMINDER: New Business Hours Computer Corner has expanded business hours during the week, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. We are open till 6pm to allow customers to visit us after work or on their way home. Our new hours are as follows: Monday, 8am - 5pm Tuesday, 8am - 5pm Wednesday, 8am - 6pm Thursday, 8am - 6pm Friday, 8am - 6pm Saturday, Closed Sunday, Closed As always, please send feedback.

In this issue, we will review our new business hours and back to school special offered by ACIMA Financing. New Business Hours As of Monday, August 23, Computer Corner will have expanded business hours during the week and we will no longer be open on Saturdays. Our new hours are as follows: Monday, 8am - 5pm Tuesday, 8am - 5pm Wednesday, 8am - 6pm Thursday, 8am - 6pm Friday, 8am - 6pm Saturday, Closed Sunday, Closed Why the change? Our customers often asked us to stay open past 5pm to allow for the drop-off and pick-up of their computers. At the same time, we had customers telling us that they visited on Saturday only because we closed at 5pm during the week. Finally, the demand for Saturday hours has dropped steadily during the pandemic. It is clear that customer needs have changed and we are responding accordingly. We are now open till 6pm, Wednesday through Friday, and continue to be open at 8am for those early risers. To that end, if you wish to schedule an appointment, for any reason, e.g. to drop off a machine for service, to shop for a computer, or to meet with a tech expert, please feel free to email us. We are happy to schedule an appointment that meets your needs. We appreciate your continued support and your flexibility as we work alongside you to adapt to these changing times. ************ ACIMA Leasing - Back to School Special. ACIMA Leasing has a Back to School special that reduces the initial payment from $70 to $35. That means it takes only $35 at time of purchase to acquire a new computer on an ACIMA lease! ACIMA Leasing Application HERE. 90 Day Payments and 12 Month Payments available. ************ Updates About Computer Corner Computer Corner was selected by readers as a Top 3 provider of Computer Services in the Albuquerque Journal Readers Choice Awards! As always, please send feedback.

In this issue, we have information about Tax Free Weekend Specials, the release of Windows 11, and a request to vote for Computer Corner in the Albuquerque The Magazine "Best of the City" Awards. Tax Free Weekend August 6-8 is Tax Free Weekend and ANY computer system priced below $1000 is available for purchase without paying gross receipts taxes! This special weekend occurs once per year and is not restricted to purchases for school. In addition to laptops and desktops, you can also purchase certain computer-related accessories, such as monitors, printers, cables, and much more, up to $500 EACH tax free. We have 46 different systems priced below $1000 to take advantage of the Tax Free Weekend, including: 3 Laptop Models Bundled with MS Office 3 Equus Desktop Models Bundled with MS Office 17 Equus Desktop Models - Custom Built for You! 5 Laptop Models from HP and Lenovo 12 Reconditioned Desktops for Value Shopping 6 Reconditioned Laptops for Value Shopping The reconditioned systems are backed by Computer Corner's warranty and are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Don't delay! Additional "extras" for Tax-Free Weekend: ANY system purchased during this promo will get a free Kaspersky Anti-Virus annual license – a $49.99 value SAVE $10 on the price of an Equus Warranty for a new Equus Desktop or Reconditioned Computer when purchased with ANY eligible system during the tax-free promo Gold Plus System Setup and Data Migration Service is only $150 when purchased with a system - a savings of $30 Select printers and monitors are available for this Tax-Free Event. Our recommendation is to avoid the rush and pre-order now. These simple steps will get you the highest quality computer for the money and help you avoid the lines and the taxes! Shop our store for Tax-Free Weekend eligible systems and peripherals. Fill out the pre-order form, provided by a staff member, to request a quote for your desired products. Be sure to include product numbers and any comments in the "Product" section of the form. Submit your request. Once received, we will contact you by the next business day with any questions or a quote for your tax-free system and accessories. If you approve the quote, simply pay a 75% deposit now to put a hold on products ordered via secure payment link. Come into the store on August 6th, 7th, or 8th to pay the final 25% without tax and take your new system home. Tech Tips – Windows 11. What, When, and How. CNET has a helpful article covering the basics of Windows 11. The release date is expected to be as early as October and is fully expected to be released in the 2021 Holiday Season. Windows 11 is FREE for any system currently running Windows 10. Any system purchased between now and the release date will also be eligible. Microsoft as provided a System Check tool to determine if your system can support Windows 11. But that tool was removed because it didn't provide enough detail as to why a device was not compatible. More information can be found at Microsoft's Windows 11 website. As we get closer to release date, Computer Corner can help you determine if your system can support Windows 11. We can also help you select a new system to take advantage of the Windows 11 features. Updates About Computer Corner Albuquerque The Magazine is running its annual "Best of the City" competition. Your vote matters! We humbly request your vote for Computer Corner as the "Best Local Computer Experts." Voting ends August 1! A vote means you appreciate "tech support with a human touch." A vote means you support our efforts to reduce, re-use, and recycle computer equipment. Please vote for Computer Corner! As always, please send feedback.

In this issue, our primary focus is on Amazon Sidewalk and how to opt-out of the network. Amazon conveniently (for them) opted every user of an Amazon device in to the Amazon Sidewalk network. ************ Amazon Sidewalk Although technology has provided many amazing benefits, most of us prefer to choose how our data is used and whether or not we want to participate in the sharing of information or other resources. It appears that Amazon Sidewalk could be very beneficial, but privacy concerns are real. If you want to skip to the end and opt-out: click here for instructions. What is Amazon Sidewalk? "Sidewalk can also extend the working range for your Sidewalk-enabled devices, such as Ring smart lights, pet locators, or smart locks, so they can stay connected and continue to work over longer distances. Amazon does not charge any fees to join Sidewalk." Your contribution to Sidewalk is a small portion of your internet bandwidth -- 80Kbps, capped to a maximum of 500MB a month. In return, you get access to Sidewalk, and if your internet goes down, or you have a device that's in a location where it has a poor connection, your devices get to tap into that shared bandwidth in order that your devices can continue to send you notifications. Additional information Amazon, Alexa, and Amazon Devices: ZDNet talks about the benefits of the Amazon Sidewalk network. PCMag describes how to manage your Amazon devices with either the Alexa app via your smartphone or via the web browser. CNET has a list of recommended settings for your Alexa devices. ************ Tech Tips – Microsoft To Do Looking for a tool for tracking your tasks? What if you had a free tool that integrates with Planner, Outlook, Teams, to track your tasks? This tutorial will teach you all about Microsoft To Do, part of the Office 365 suite of products. Updates About Computer Corner On June 1, we started using a new point of sale system. Over the first two weeks, the feedback has been positive. Customers appreciate the speed of the new system. After we unveil our upcoming online store, you will be able to maintain record of your purchases and your service history in one location! Also on June 7, we changed our phone system to allow the caller to select "1 for Service" or "2 for Sales" which sends your call directly to the department you’ve chosen. Our goal is to reduce wait times and get you the answers you need faster. Thus far, callers seem to appreciate being able to connect directly with a technician. There is no delay and no complicated phone tree - just select the option you desire and your call is answered directly. As always, please send feedback.

In this issue, we have two items of interest about tech news plus a fantastic tutorial on how to use OneNote. We also have a few items of interest about Computer Corner. We are going to be experimenting with different formats for the newsletter. In this issue, we have two items of interest about tech news plus a fantastic tutorial on how to use OneNote. We also have a few items of interest about Computer Corner. We are going to be experimenting with different formats for the newsletter. Please let us know what you think. Got chips? Michael Villella, our Purchasing and Sales Manager, has been scrambling to fill our warehouse with product. Why? The chip shortage is real and not expected to improve. Bloomberg has an in-depth article about why this seemingly simple problem is not easy to solve. With the chip shortage causing prices to increase, consider a pre-owned system! Our pre-owned system inventory is a fantastic source of high quality systems at below-market prices! Crypto Crash! Our friends at Morning Brew discussed Elon Musk's influence on the Bitcoin market. So, what's the big deal? What is crypto and why should you care? Dusty Dial, from our Inside Sales Team, shares this video about Cryptocurrency. It is a simple overview of this buzz worthy and confusing topic. Tech Tips – Microsoft OneNote OneNote is a simple and effective way to take notes, store important documents, and organize your life! This tutorial will teach you all about Microsoft OneNote, part of the Office 365 suite of products. Updates About Computer Corner New Fancy Point of Sale System! On June 1, we will be unveiling our new point of sale of system. As you can imagine, we are nervous. Please be patient with us during the first two of week of June, as we will be learning! The good news is that this point of sale system will sync with our upcoming webstore, allowing you to keep a record of your purchases and your service history. Change to Phone System. Also on June 1, we are making a slight change to our phone system. When you call, the system will answer and ask if you’d like to talk to Sales or Service. It will then route you to the department you’ve chosen. Our goal is to reduce wait times and get you the answers you need faster. As always, please send feedback.

As the new owners of Computer Corner, we want to introduce ourselves to you, share some of our plans for Computer Corner. This first message is long overdue. I wanted to wow our loyal newsletter readers with amazing news about a new webstore as part of our first message. Unfortunately, we aren't quite to ready to launch and I have failed to write to you sooner! I apologize for the lack of communication. This will be the first of several regular messages over the next several weeks to keep you informed about news and updates at Computer Corner. In the meantime, you can always email with me feedback at corner@compcorner.com. I also regularly monitor the message box on our Google site and our Facebook page. Now, on to our first message! As the new owners of Computer Corner, we want to introduce ourselves to you, share some of our plans for Computer Corner. We’re Brian and Kathryn (Kat) Fletcher, married for nearly 19 years. I (Brian) co-founded another company here in town, FootPrints Home Care, in 2005, which was a customer of Computer Corner for many years (including the purchase of more than 30 custom build Equus desktops)! After I stepped away from managing and leading FootPrints, we approached the Petranoviches about buying Computer Corner last summer because we’ve admired the company for a long time as a pillar of the community – we intend to continue that tradition. What's NOT Changing Quality Assurance: we are continuing the quality assurance and customer service polices that have been in place for many years. In addition, in key areas, we are improving our QA/QC efforts with the help of key long-time employees. More on these updates to come in future emails. Equus Computer System: we are still selling and supporting our flagship Equus product, trademarked to Computer Corner. We think it’s amazing that you can get a custom-built Equus computer in less than an hour’s time. Recycling Program: we continue to accept computers and tech products for recycling to help "reduce, reuse, and recycle," so that we limit the dumping of computer products in our local landfills. What Has Changed Store Hours: one of our first decisions was to expand our store hours, which had previously been reduced to due to Covid-19. We are now opening an hour earlier at 8am on weekdays. Our new hours can be found in the footer of this email. Schedule Stability for Staff: the primary reason for expanding our hours to 8am was to provide a predictable and reliable schedule for our employees. This change has been well received. New Hire Part I: we have hired Delia M. as our full-time Sales Team Assistant. If you call us, you will likely get the opportunity to speak to Delia. She is a great addition to the team and is a welcoming voice on the phone! New Hire Part II: we have recently hired Irie Z. as our full-time Service Advisor. Irie's role is to guide our customers through the entire service process, from diagnostic to recommended services to reviewing the results of the work done. He is focused on helping our customers understand their options so they can make informed and confident decisions about their service options. This is just the tip of the iceberg, but as you can see, we are investing in our staff to ensure that you experience the highest levels of customer service. If you feel we are not meeting your expectations, please email me directly at corner@compcorner.com. In addition, we are working on implementing a webstore soon, updating our website, offering remote diagnostic services, and becoming a Dell and Apple authorized service center. We also plan to offer managed technical services, especially for small businesses who may not have their own IT staff. We have plans for much more and I'll be updating you as we go. We look forward to working with you and encourage you to reach out to us with questions and ideas. Brian Fletcher President Computer Corner, Inc.

Carole and Joe Petranovich founded Computer Corner 38 years ago and it’s been a great experience serving the community all these years. We’re passing the torch on to another great husband and wife team, Brian and Kathryn (Kat) Fletcher. Yes, that's right, we've sold Computer Corner. My husband Joe and I founded Computer Corner 38 years ago and it’s been a great experience serving the community all these years. We’re passing the torch on to another great husband and wife team, Brian and Kathryn (Kat) Fletcher. Yes, that's right, we've sold Computer Corner. Brian and Kat are continuing our dedication to exceptional customer service and high quality. Joe and I will be staying on as consultants for a few months to ensure a smooth transition. We hope that you will continue to support Computer Corner and other local companies, and we thank all of you for your past business and support. We are honored to have served you these past 38 years and it is with mixed emotions that we enter into the next chapter of our lives. Be safe and well! Sincerely, Carole Carole Petranovich, now consultant to Computer Corner About Brian and Kathryn Fletcher: Brian Fletcher has two decades of business, entrepreneurial, leadership, and sales experience in the technology and health care fields. In 2005, with his business partners, he co-founded a local home care company, FootPrints Home Care, and actively managed and led the company through 2020, as CFO and then as President. A winner of the “Most Outstanding Forty Under 40” award in 2014, Fletcher is most proud of the work his team has done to earn multiple “Best Place to Work” awards as well as several awards for quality. Kathryn Fletcher, a teacher and homeschooling mother of four children, will support the business with payroll, benefits management, and will help to support the culture of Computer Corner.

We all make ‘em. (Or at least the most optimistic of us do). Resolutions for the New Year. Let’s face, it they’re hard to keep. Here’s some that are not so hard to keep and that will make your computing lives a bit better. 1. Always back up the data on your hard drive and learn how to restore it, in case of an emergency. Please read my “Back it up, Buddy” blog for more detail. 2. Change your passwords in any banking or financial site at least once a month and never keep them written down next to your computer, or worse yet, stored on your computer. Please listen to the Computer Corner Pod Cast from October 23rd, 2019 about safe passwords (it's an oldie, but a goodie) . http://compcorner.com/radio-shows/. 3. Keep your anti-virus, spyware and malware software up-to-date and set it to perform updates automatically. Please read my blog on the Tremendous Trio of software products (Kaspersky, Hit-Man Pro and Malwarebytes) that I we recommend. These are great products to have, but unlike your anti-virus, you will need to initiate and run Hit-Man Pro and Malwarebytes or set them to run periodically. Use them frequently to scan your hard drive(s). I scan daily and if my computer starts acting strangely after I've been browsing, I scan then, too. 4. No matter how enticing the supposed “news article” about what stars looked like “then and now” is, or how this one little trick will fix all your wrinkles, don’t click on the links. This is where a great deal of your malware will come from. 5. Don’t click on any links or “pop-ups” from the supposed “Windows Corporation” (or Microsoft or ANY company) that tells you your computer has been infected. Even the links from trusted news sites may be full of tracking cookies and malware. We no longer support the belief of President Ronald Reagan that you should, “Trust, but verify”. We prefer this quote from Fox Mulder of the X-Files, “Trust No One”. FYI, there is no computer company called the Windows Corporation…. Unless they are selling the double-paned type. 6. Be sure your computer, monitor and printer are plugged in to a GOOD surge protector. The kind that costs $9 is probably not going to do the trick. Over time damage can occur from fluctuating power, as well as from full power outages and lightning strikes. Don’t take the risk. APC and Tripp Lite are good brands to purchase. Happy Computing! Carole