GEEK OUT: ACROBAT READER WITHOUT THE SALE PITCH

 PDF is a good portable format and by default Adobe Acrobat Reader is the tool to read PDF files.  Unfortunately, Adobe has ruined the experience by constantly pushing for the purchase of Adobe Acrobat Pro or similar, to allow the users to edit, combine, make changes to PDF files.  Most users are perfectly happy with the reader, at most they need to fill out some forms or sign the document, things the reader fully capable of doing.  Thanks to the following articles, the PDF experience can be made not so unpleasant.

Disable New Interface

Disable Upsell

Hide Tools

The first one is simplest, as it involves using the Acrobat Reader menu.  Just pick the menu item as indicated and you see fewer upsell stuff.

The second link involves adding a key to the registry.  You may need to use an admin account to do it.  As all things with the registry, proceed with caution.  Once you have it done, no more "Try Acrobat Pro!" or such hawking!

The third one involves creating a folder in a critcal spot and moving three files into said folder.  It really provides a clean interface, without all the tools that do not work fully but are constantly shoved into your face.

GEEK OUT: WINDOWS 11 START MENU PINNED ITEMS

 

By default, Windows 11's Pinned Items, shown above in the Start Menu looks very busy.  The items got there because Microsoft thought they would be useful, or whatever.  You don't have to live with it.  I prefer a cleaner list of Pinned Items.  I am just trying to get some work done, I don't need to look at an airplane cockpit full of buttons.  I would remove the icons that I don't need and end up with something like this:

Now it is a lot cleaner, simpler.  But what if I have a bunch of computers to setup and want them all to have the same list of Pinned Items.  Just the useful stuff, nothing to distract the users.  That's where an article like

Backup and Restore Pinned Items on Start Menu in Windows 11

comes in handy.  Technically, when I apply the tip in the article it is not backing up but rather copying settings from one machine to another.  On computer #1, just remove icons to your heart's content, save the file in some place, move on to the computer #2 and replace the file in the same location, done!  Onward to computer #3 etc.  In my case, the file is called start2.bin, so don't follow the article to a tee.  Windows changes all the time, use the article as a guide.