Tech Questions & Answers Archives

Q&A: Is it safe to keep my laptop plugged into an outlet all the time?

Posted on February 17, 2020

Question from Chris E.: Hi Rick. I’ve asked this question of several people who should know and received conflicting answers.

I guess this is one of those things that boils down more to opinion than science.

I’ve been reading your blog for quite a while now and I think you really know what you’re talking about, so I thought I’d ask your opinion on it.

So here’s the question: Is it safe to leave my laptop plugged into a wall outlet for extended periods of time even when the battery is fully charged? [Read more…]

Q&A: Is there an app that will override the data cap on my Straight Talk phone?

Posted on February 17, 2020

Question from Erin J.: I have a Straight Talk smart phone and I have a question about the amount of data it’s using.

I always buy the $45 card and I still often use up my 25GB of data several days before the month is over. I absolutely hate it when they switch my phone to slower speed.

Is there really an app that will let me avoid the data cap on my Straight Talk plan?

My friend told me there is one but he says he can’t remember the name of it. I searched the Google Play Store high and low but couldn’t find it in Google Play.

I think he might be just trying to pull one over on me. Am I right or is there really an app that will do this?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Can I recover photos from a memory card that I accidentally formatted?

Posted on February 16, 2020

Question from Gabby H.: Rick, I made a really stupid mistake and I’m hoping you can help me out of a jam.

I’m not a pro photographer or anything, but I do love taking pictures, and I take a lot of them. I use a Canon Powershot camera with two SD cards (I swap them out when the first one becomes full).

What happened is I accidentally formatted the wrong card and wiped out a ton of pictures that I really want to keep. Is there a way to get those pictures back?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Are all the Facebook scams you write about real? It’s hard to believe there could be so many of them!

Posted on February 15, 2020

Question from Ellen: I’ve been following your blog for a while now, Rick.

It seems like you write about a new Facebook scam or hoax at least a couple of times a week.

I always forward them to my sister to make sure she sees them, but the other night she asked me to stop.

She said there can’t really be that many scams on Facebook because they keep them cleaned up.

I got to thinking about it and it does seem like there are an awful lot of them. Are you sure they’re all real?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]