Ask Paul: March 16 (Premium)

Here's the latest edition of Ask Paul, which has some tough and often unanswerable questions this week.
Problems with Microsoft Edge
Simard57 asks:
I have often encountered Edge "sticking" to the top of the desktop. If I click another app, Edge remains at the top. I have to minimize (or close) Edge to see what is under that window. Is there some way to reverse this so Edge is not so stubborn?
Sorry, there's no real way to troubleshoot this from afar. I've certainly experienced this issue with various apps, usually poorly-made desktop applications. But I don't recall it happening with Edge. Sorry.

I assume my advice to just use Chrome is not of interest. :)
Patching for Spectre/Meltdown
rvanallen asks:
Have used Gibson's excellent "InSpectre" tool ... but still showing Meltdown (protected), Spectre (at risk). I suspect my Dell Inspiron 620 tower to be too old and the reason it's not on the radar or Dell's updates page. Granted, the PC is "long in the tooth" but believe there are many users in the field with older type hardware facing similar. So how bad is this situation in real life? Will Microsoft be using Win Update for these type older machines at some point? Intel certainly seems to be taking a low profile. We should probably be thankful for Microsoft's efforts to help.
As another reader pointed out in response to this question, the patch(es) are specific to each processor family and generation, and if there isn't a patch available for your particular CPU, trying to install a patch for a different CPU will not help/work.

The best course of action here is to check-in via Windows Update and your PC maker's (Dell's in your case) software update mechanism from time-to-time. I tend to do this about once a week, I bet, and I've noticed an acceleration in firmware-related updates across multiple PC makers in recent weeks. I suspect this is tied to these security vulnerabilities, but regardless, we'll be installing patches, and new versions of the patches, all year.

As to the risk, there are vague reports of exploits, but I'm not aware of any real-world examples of this harming anyone.
Android quality
AnOldAmigaUser asks:
You have noted that Android is a dumpster fire, but your use of any technology does not necessarily reflect that of what others have called "normals". Do you think that the problems with Android effect normal users as well, and they just put up with it? Or is it that your use case just throws gasoline on the smoldering issues, igniting the conflagration? Or both?
This is a weird example of me using a personal technology product "less" than is normal, I bet. I don't commute to work, and I don't keep my phone by me at all times typically. So I probably use my smartphone much less than most "normals."

As a decades-long Windows user and a life-long technology fan, I've often pondered why it is that we, collectively as a user base, put up with quality problems. Years ago---probably decades ago now---I point...

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