Rick's Daily Tips

Rick’s Daily Pick: X-Sense Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm w/ 10-Year Sealed Battery

Posted on November 4, 2026

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

My “Pick” for today is this fantastic X-Sense Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm w/ 10-Year Sealed Battery.

Tired of changing the batteries in your smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm every 6 months? Are you afraid you might forget to change the battery, leaving your home and your family unprotected?

The battery in this high-quality combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarm is good for 10 years. Ditch the hassle and the worry by replacing your outdated alarms with this.

Click here to check out the X-Sense Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm w/ 10-Year Sealed Battery at Amazon.

Did you miss (or want to revisit) one of my earlier picks? You might find it right here.

Picture of the Day: “Sunny Day on the Farm”

Posted on November 4, 2026

Today’s POTD features a curious cow staring at the camera (or perhaps the camera man) on a beautiful sunny Fall day in rural Washington County, Virginia. I hope you like it.

Are you interested in trying your hand at landscape photography? Well, this is a great camera to get hit the ground running with! (#ad)

Enjoy these Pictures of the Day? Sign up for my free Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter and you’ll never miss one (or any of my tech tips either)!

Monthly Tech Giveaway – November 2026

Posted on October 31, 2026

Note: The links on this page are affiliate links.

November’s winner will receive a fantastic SentrySafe Fireproof and Waterproof Large Safe with Digital Keypad.

Your computer backup drive(s), your important documents, your expensive jewelry and your other valuables are worth protecting. This is an excellent way to do it.

All subscribers to the Standard edition of my Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter have an equal chance to win.

Premium subscribers have two chances to win (their email addresses are added to the “pot” twice).

Not a subscriber? Just enter your email address in the sign-up form on this page.

Once subscribed you’ll be eligible to win each month’s drawing – starting with this month. Better yet, opt for a Premium subscription for double the chance to win!

The drawing for this month’s prize will be held on November 30 and the winner will be notified by email. The winner will be selected at random.

Good luck!

Q&A: Can I save money by building my own laptop?

Posted on November 4, 2026

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Question from Adam: I read an article the other day that explained the advantages and disadvantages of building your own computer from scratch as opposed to just buying one.

It really caught my attention because I’d really like to build my own PC and save some money, but the article only discussed building a desktop computer. What I really need is a laptop. [Read more…]

Q&A: Does Windows still leave traces of deleted programs behind?

Posted on November 3, 2026

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Question from Vince: Hi, Rick. I need a little info and advice about Windows 11 if you don’t mind.

I’ve been using Geek Uninstaller to delete programs ever since I read your post explaining how Windows leaves bits and pieces of a program behind when it deletes it.

I updated my Windows 10 computer to Windows 11 and I was wondering if Windows 11 leaves traces of deleted programs behind too. I’m hoping Microsoft has finally fixed this?

[Read more…]

Q&A: Can a broken light pole fry a computer?

Posted on November 2, 2026

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Question from Elaine: I came home from work yesterday evening and the power company was replacing a light pole in the neighbor’s yard that had been broken off by a wrecked car.

It took several hours for them to get the power back on, and when they did my Dell desktop computer wouldn’t come on.

When I press the power button nothing happens. No noise of any kind, and no lights – nothing.

I know the outlet is working because I plugged a lamp into the same power strip and it’s working fine.

Do you think the broken light pole fried my computer somehow? And if it did, can it be fixed? [Read more…]