Rick's Daily Tips

Rick’s Daily Pick: Apple 2026 MacBook Neo 13-inch Laptop with A18 Pro chip

Posted on September 7, 2026

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

My “Pick” for today is this fantastic, but affordable Apple 2026 MacBook Neo 13-inch Laptop with A18 Pro chip.

If you’ve been waiting for Apple to release a MacBook that’s truly affordable for the masses, this is it. I believe it’s one of the greatest values in the entire Mac world.

Click here to check out the Apple 2026 MacBook Neo 13-inch Laptop with A18 Pro chip at Amazon.

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

Picture of the Day: “Bubbles”

Posted on September 7, 2026

Today’s POTD features a very colorful bubbly scene from Dollywood. I hope you like it.

Have lots of treasured photos of your own that you’d love to display in your home but you have limited wall space? A digital picture frame (#ad) is an excellent solution. Check them out!

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 – September 2026

Posted on July 31, 2026

Note: The links on this page are affiliate links.

September’s winner will receive a fantastic CyberPower 1500VA/1000W Sinewave UPS Battery Backup / Surge Protector.

This will keep your computer, modem and router online for a full hour after your power goes out, preventing a dangerous instant shutdown that could damage your computer gear and cause you to lose any unsaved data that’s currently in the machine’s RAM.

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 September 30 and the winner will be notified by email. The winner will be selected at random.

Good luck!

This is your best protection against malware (and it just might surprise you)

Posted on September 7, 2026

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Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Regular readers of this blog know many of my posts stress the importance of running regular scans with a really good antivirus/anti-malware app to keep your system free of digital nasties.

But as important as anti-malware software apps are at keeping your PC malware-free, the best protection against viruses, spyware, ransomware and other malicious forms of software has nothing to do with your computer itself.

The best tool you can ever have in your security arsenal is you! [Read more…]

Q&A: Is it safe to plug a 300W inverter into my car’s cigarette lighter socket?

Posted on September 6, 2026

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Question from Carl: I bought this 300 watt 12VDC to 120VAC power inverter to run my coffee pot and a couple of other items while I’m camping.

While I was researching a related topic online I found a couple of articles that said not to plug an inverter larger than 200 watts into a car’s cigarette lighter because it’ll burn the inverter up.

That’s a problem because the inverter I bought only came with a cigarette lighter plug. You can’t remove it and there’s no place to plug in cables that can connect it directly to the battery.

What I need to know is will my 300W inverter really burn up if I plug it into my car’s cigarette lighter socket? [Read more…]

How to instantly silence any ringing smartphone

Posted on September 5, 2026

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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 embarrassing 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.

[Read more…]