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-- Home About Privacy Policy Surface Download URLs Barbs Connected World Surface Pro (2017) For me, this is a dream machine read more Multi Factor Authentication App Backup and Usage Strategies read more Change Your Hue Light Colors with Alexa read more Microsoft Authenticator 2 Factor Authentication Microsoft Authenticator helps keep me safe. The baddies are out there, and I know my logins are protected. Easy to setup and a real pleasure to use! read more Turn on your lights when Dona Sarkar tweets a new #flight for Insiders read more My NOAA Doppler Radar Mosaic Imagery App has retired Published January 28, 2021 My most successful Windows App, NOAA Doppler Radar Mosaic Imagery has had a great run over the 6 years it has been available in the Microsoft Windows Store. NOAA has changed their source to a totally different model (they’ve been changing the target date frequently but it looks like it has finally happened). My app used the same sources as Doppler Radar National Mosaic – NOAA’s National Weather Service (which is also no longer working because the NOAA source used the now dead and discontinued Adobe Flash to power the animations) – the individual sectors lead to pages like New Radar Landing Page (weather.gov) NOAA’s new implementation is at NWS Radar (weather.gov) which is a totally different way of viewing this information and it is interactive and allows you to specify your location as opposed to static stations. My advice is to use the new Chromium Edge, find your location and then use the install site as app menu and use it as a replacement. I hope you enjoyed using my app; I also hope that using Edge’s ability to install as app will work for you as a replacement. To use Edge Chromium to set the NOAA site up as an App, navigate to the new NOAA site at https://radar.weather.gov/#/ and specify your location. Then select the three dots … on the upper right to open the menu, then Install this site as an app. If you are a Google Chrome user, select the 3 dots …, then More tools, then Create shortcut. And if you are a Firefox user, select the three dots … then Use This Site in App Mode Microsoft Surface bulging batteries continue to anger and frustrate customers Published August 17, 2020 The bulging/expanded Surface battery issue has been growing. And it’s obvious that, while Microsoft won’t discuss this openly, that they are well aware of the issue. And trying to close the barn door after the horse has escaped. The issue starts for most customers with a yellowing of the screen which can eventually end up as a battery bulge. Reports of the issue started in November 2017 https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/all/yellow-tint-on-surface-book-screen/816b04a3-f6a4-4be5-a4e7-09983fd57230 and it’s obvious from the more than 20,000 views of this thread that this is a problem. Typical of the problem is this post: https://answers.microsoft.com/message/ed420496-2e24-4f05-a646-a2b21d8151e1?threadId=816b04a3-f6a4-4be5-a4e7-09983fd57230 “ Well, I’m having the same issue. My screen is yellowing and the battery is causing the display to bulge making this “premium Microsoft product” unsafe and unusable. I contacted Microsoft support who let me know I’m outside the extended warranty period. Which was graciously extended because they know there’s a defect with these. Support offered me a same generation, refurbished model for CAD $1,000. So, another $1,000 for another Surface Book that will eventually have the same problem. This issue absolutely needs legal action. ” Running a search on Microsoft Communities specific to Surface Book and bulging reveals multiple threads like https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/all/surface-book-battery- swelling/42e3f18c-ac08-4eba-aa85-50e5acf220f8 where there are over 8600 views and 398 “me too’s” indicating others with the same issue who may not have posted in the thread. In this case, the original poster with multiple Surface Books with this issue writes: “ I now have multiple Surface Books (1st gen) that the batteries in the tablet part are swelling and warping the screen. My Surface Book can’t even close the lid due to the battery being so large. My screen is bulging out. We’ve already retired two Surface Books due to the screens peeling off and I have found 2 more where the screens are starting to curve. We are now looking at replacing all 15 remaining Surface Books due to potential fire hazards. What a shame. It was such a nice piece of hardware .” Microsoft has locked a number of these threads, which results in new threads being created. And there are still customers unaware of the “issue” who start new threads like Carol’s below. Similarly, Surface Pro 4 owners are reporting this issue. Microsoft IS providing free, out of warranty refurbished Surface replacements for any customer with this issue, but only if within three years of the original purchase date. This would seem to indicate that the expected lifetime of a Surface device is three years and at this point, a majority of SP4 and Surface Book first generation customers are past the three years and fear that the refurbs they would have to pay for would develop the same issue. So what has Microsoft said and/or done about this issue? https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4571474/surface-caring-for-battery states battery expansion does not present a safety concern but also states “you should stop using the device” which seems contradictory, but similar language is used by HP: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c05640567 Here is Microsoft’s statement: Microsoft has recently (and very quietly) also introduced functionality for the newest Surface devices called “Lifespan Saver” that claims to reduce the risk of battery expansion. They’ve also added a “Battery Smart Charging” feature that also mentions battery expansion. It is impossible to determine from the release notes in the Surface Update History for Surface devices exactly when this feature was added . But they’ve obviously recognized the issue with battery bulging afflicting Surface Book (original) and Surface Pro 4 owners (yes, a few Surface 3’s and other devices can develop this issue – I’ve had to junk a Surface 3 myself because of this). More and more customers report that, since they are stuck working at home due to COVID-19 work from home scenarios, that they are using their personal Surface devices more than ever before and there are increasing reports of bulging batteries on the MS Forums and elsewhere. Even iFixit has weighed in on this issue https://www.ifixit.com/News/32723/got-a-surface-book-or-surface-pro-4-watch-out-for-screen-bulging-batteries Note that https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4571474/surface-caring-for-battery now documents the Lifespan Saver as follows (and the table on the bottom of the page pointedly states this feature is only available for Surface Pro 7, Surface Book 3, Surface Laptop 3, Surface ProX and Surface Go 2): Battery Lifespan Saver – Battery Lifespan Saver is a feature designed to help protect your battery from the cumulative negative effects of consistent and recurrent use at high temperatures or high states of charge. This feature complements Battery Smart Charging by monitoring battery conditions continuously. If these adverse conditions are detected, Battery Lifespan Saver implements a limited number of permanent reductions in charging voltage. Although this will result in a small incremental permanent loss to battery capacity, it will maximize the total lifespan of your battery by limiting conditions that would otherwise accelerate battery deterioration, significantly reduce battery capacity, or lead to battery expansion. Also now documented is Battery Smart Charging (but it is unknown as to when this feature was added as it is not specified in any of the release notes in Surface Update History and it applies to all devices except Surface 3): Battery Smart Charging – Battery Smart Charging is a feature that helps protect your batt...