Rick's Daily Tips - Tech Tips, Tricks and Tutorials

Advertisers and publishers hate ad blockers, but they have only themselves to blame for them.

Posted on May 27, 2018

The recent explosion in the number of Internet users installing ad blockers has greatly reduced the amount of advertising revenue being earned by many online publishers.

Truth be told, I use ad blockers on all my browsers myself, and I doubt if I’ll ever surf the web without them again.

Publishers hate ad blockers because the ads they place on their websites never make it to the reader’s web browser. And as one would expect, every blocked ad represents a loss of revenue.

But guess what? The publishers have no one but themselves to blame for this huge loss of income. To understand why that is, it’s important to consider the history of online advertising… [Read more…]

Q&A: Is it ok to use Gmail for my business email address?

Posted on May 27, 2018

Question from Gabe P.: I recently retired after a long career in public service and I’m planning to start a second career as a professional photographer.

I’ve already lined up a few shoots through word-of-mouth but I’m planning to put up a business page on Facebook and have some business cards printed to promote my photography services.

The question I have is do I need a private email address (something like gabe@example.com where example.com is my own domain name) or will a Gmail address suffice?

I have always heard that having your own domain name presents a more professional image but I’d really rather not have to pay for a domain when I don’t plan to have a website.

What is your opinion on this? Would a Gmail address work or should I spring for a domain name?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Silence a ringing phone immediately by pressing any physical button

Posted on May 27, 2018

Have you ever been in a setting where complete silence was expected only to have your smart phone start ringing?

Whether it was during a church service, an important business meeting or in a packed movie theater, it was probably quite an embarrasing event.

In all likelihood you panicked and started fumbling around trying to get the phone out of your pocket so you could tap “Decline” as quickly as possible to make the ringing stop. That’s never a pleasant experience! [Read more…]

Have Amazon text you when your order has shipped and again when it’s been delivered

Posted on May 27, 2018

If you shop at Amazon you’re probably familiar with the emails they send letting their customers know when an order has shipped.

But did you know you can have them text you as well? They will, and it’s very easy to set up.

Simply sign up for “Shipment Updates via Text” and Amazon will send you a standard SMS text message when your package has been shipped and you’ll receive another text when it has been delivered.

You will also receive a text message if a problem arises with your shipment (an unexpected delay for example). [Read more…]