Tech Questions & Answers Archives

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…]

Q&A: What’s the difference between Bluetooth and WiFi?

Posted on September 4, 2026

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Question from Marvin: After using a flip phone for years, I finally decided it was time to upgrade to a smart phone.

I found a good deal on a new iPhone so I bought one. I like the phone ok, but some things about it are really confusing.

For example, my phone’s user manual says it supports both Bluetooth and WiFi wireless connectivity.

What is Bluetooth and how is it different from WiFi? [Read more…]

Q&A: What exactly is a GaN charger?

Posted on September 2, 2026

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Question from Darla: I went online to search for a new wall charger for my phone and iPad and I noticed that some of them were labeled as GaN chargers.

I had never seen that before (but it’s been years since I bought a new charger).

What does the GaN mean? [Read more…]

Q&A: If I remove a computer’s hard drive will any data be left behind?

Posted on August 29, 2026

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Question from Karen: I have several old computers in my basement that I want to recycle.

I’ve always heard that you need to destroy a computer’s hard drive before you recycle it to prevent someone else from maybe getting your files.

My question is will removing the hard drive from a PC completely eliminate any possibility of someone finding my old files.

[Read more…]