The Latest From Kevin The Tech Guy for October 24 2025
This week: my new YouTube-first direction, how to join my upcoming paid newsletter, why that Rogers lawsuit text was real, and what really caused the big AWS outage.
Over the two years, I’ve experimented with a bit of everything. How-To Guides, newsletters, thought pieces, and videos, trying to find the right balance between what I love doing and what people will pay for. It’s been a lot of trial and error, but I sincerely hope I have finally found a direction that feels right.
The simple truth is that YouTube needs to come first. That’s where people actually go when they’re searching for help with their technology. Whether it’s Windows, Mac, or iPhone, I can reach far more people by showing them what to do instead of just writing about it.
So that’s the plan going forward. I will change it up on a weekly basis. Some weeks will be a how-to video, other weeks will be a couple of YouTube Shorts, and I’ll do Ask Kevin videos as well.
Writing has always helped me think things through clearly, and it still has a place in what I do, but in a more focused way.
From now on, my writing will mainly support my videos. Summaries of my videos. I will publish my free Substack newsletter for three weeks each month. I’ll share what I’ve done lately, quick reflections, and other tips.
For those who want to support my work directly, I will soon offer a paid monthly newsletter (next week). This allows me to share more detailed commentary and personal opinions about where technology is heading and what’s actually worth paying attention to.
Paid subscribers will also receive occasional bonus blog posts and think pieces.
I am discontinuing my paid how-to guides currently available as PDF downloads. The need is there, and I loved creating them. However, given the time and effort involved, it is no longer a practical and realistic use of my time. Part of the issue is also that some people have difficulty with the purchase process, downloading the files, and opening them.
Video is simply a better medium for what I’m trying to teach, and everyone knows how to use YouTube, so my focus will be on doing that. Every tutorial I make will now have that same step-by-step clarity, just in a visual, more accessible format.
This new structure keeps things simple and realistic:
Regular YouTube videos covering Windows, Mac, and iPhone.
A weekly free newsletter that ties everything together.
A monthly paid newsletter with deeper reflections and commentary.
I have a couple of other ideas I’m excited about and working on that will tie in nicely with this plan, and I’ll announce those if and when they happen.
This is a setup I can maintain, and one that lets me keep helping people while still enjoying the work, and yes, making money. If that sounds like your kind of content, I’d love for you to become a paid subscriber and support me on this journey as I strive to always make tech refreshingly simple.
I mostly took a break from recording and writing this week to help my Mom prepare for her winter-long house and pet sitting. That included a couple of how-to guides for her.
Next week, I’ll post a video about my thoughts (paid Substack subscribers will see it first) on the trendy push to get people to use Linux that I DO NOT agree with as Windows 10 support “ends” (it didn’t). For now, check out my blog post and video about enrolling in the Extended Support program for free, and you’ll get another year of security updates. You’re fine. Don’t panic and don’t fall for those preying on your emotional reaction.
Something Useful
That text you got about a Rogers lawsuit isn’t a scam | Hanomansing Tonight
According to the CBC, many Canadians recently received a text message about a class-action lawsuit against Rogers, and while it may look like a scam, it was actually legitimate.
The lawsuit stems from the major Rogers outage in April 2021, which left millions without phone or internet access, including some who couldn’t reach 911. The Superior Court of Quebec authorized the case and ordered Rogers to hand over phone numbers so the law firm Lex Group could notify affected customers by text.
If you were a Rogers customer during that outage, you’re automatically included, so there’s no need to sign up or pay anything. If you prefer not to participate, you must opt out by November 23, 2025.
Rogers argues that it already compensated customers for the one-day loss of service and that the case shouldn’t be nationwide. The lawsuit could take two to three years to resolve, but if successful, customers might receive some monetary compensation.
Something Fun
Why One Company Can Break the Entire Internet
Earlier this week, AWS (Amazon Web Services) had a major outage that took down many websites and apps (Reuters) worldwide for several hours. The problem came from a software bug in Amazon’s automation system that manages its DNS and databases in the US-East-1 region (Virginia). That bug caused parts of the internet to lose track of where to find AWS servers, which broke services that rely on them.
By later that same day, Amazon fixed the issue and everything was mostly back to normal. The outage showed again how a single failure at a big cloud provider can ripple across the internet, since so many companies depend on AWS for their apps, websites, and devices. It will be interesting to see what lessons are learned from this and what changes are made.
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Closing Thoughts
With this new direction, you’ll get clear, visual step-by-step YouTube videos, and thoughtful insights through focused newsletters.
This week’s newsletter includes two news stories I think you’ll find useful. The first looks at the text message many Canadians received about a Rogers class-action lawsuit. It turned out to be real, not a scam. If you were affected by the 2021 outage, you’re already included and don’t have to do anything unless you want to opt out. It’s a good example of how official messages can sometimes look suspicious, especially when they arrive by text.
The second story explains what went wrong during the AWS outage that briefly interrupted access to several major websites and apps. A software error in Amazon’s systems caused the problem, and while it was fixed quickly, it showed how dependent many services are on a single provider.
That’s it for this week. Thanks for taking time out of your day to check out my home business and newsletter. Have a good weekend. :)