Rick's Daily Tips

Rick’s Daily Pick: Beelink SER3 Mini PC with W11 Pro

Posted on August 14, 2026

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

My “Pick” for today is this compact, but fantastic Beelink SER3 Mini PC with W11 Pro.

I’ve been using mini PCs exclusively in my office for over three years and I doubt if I will ever go back to a full-size or mid-size desktop computer.

The power and capabilities they pack into these things is nothing less than astounding. In a nutshell, you get full desktop power in a machine that’s about the size of a brick.

This little gem from Beelink is an exceptional value for the money in my humble opinion. It comes with an AMD Ryzen 3 3200U CPU, 16GB DDR4 RAM and a super-fast 500GB NVME SSD. The Windows 11 Pro is a nice bonus as well.

Click here to check out the Beelink SER3 Mini PC with W11 Pro at Amazon.

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

Picture of the Day: “Mixture of clouds and sun over a Tennessee farm”

Posted on August 14, 2026

Today’s POTD features a colorful summertime scene from a farm in rural Greene County, Tennessee. 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 – August 2026

Posted on July 31, 2026

Note: The links on this page are affiliate links.

August’s winner will receive a fantastic Ambient Weather WS-2000 Smart Weather Station with Wi-Fi Remote Monitoring and Alerts.

If you’re a weather buff like I am you’ll love this personal weather station. It’ll keep you up-to-date on what’s happening outside your own home in real time.

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 August 31 and the winner will be notified by email. The winner will be selected at random.

Good luck!

Scam alert: Be wary of disaster relief donation scams

Posted on August 14, 2026

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Horrible events like hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes and raging wildfires tend to bring out the very best in humanity.

Millions of generous individuals and companies typically donate billions of dollars in relief funds for the victims of these disasters.

What’s more, armies of volunteers travel to the affected areas, with more waiting to go in just as soon as they receive approval from officials.

But unfortunately, scams are everywhere and large-scale natural disasters tend to bring plenty of scammers of out of the woodwork.

[Read more…]

Q&A: Can I connect a full-size computer keyboard to my tablet?

Posted on August 13, 2026

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Question from Danica: Rick, I recently purchased a 10″ Android tablet and I really like it.

It came with a keyboard cover but the keys on it are way too small for me to type without making lots of mistakes.

Is it possible to use a regular full-sized computer keyboard with a tablet? Is there one I can just plug into it?

Thanks in advance for your help. [Read more…]

Q&A: Can you use a portable power station as a UPS for your computer?

Posted on August 12, 2026

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Question from Roland: I’m hoping you can answer some questions for me about portable power stations.

The power went off on my street and stayed off for over 7 hours. My almost new 1,000 watt UPS only kept my computer and monitor running for about an hour.

My cousin (who is also my neighbor) has a 500 watt Jackery portable power station and he said it kept his computer running for over 5 hours, and his computer has a bigger monitor.

Like I said before, I have three questions: [Read more…]