Tech Questions & Answers Archives - Page 14 of 258

Q&A: Why do people buy Macs when Windows PCs are so much cheaper?

Posted on October 16, 2025

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Question from Marla: My trusty old HP laptop finally quit on me the other day so I’ve been shopping around for a new laptop.

I noticed almost immediately that MacBooks are more expensive than comparable Windows laptops.

And they aren’t just a little more expensive either. The MacBooks seem to be at least double the cost of similarly equipped Windows machines.

My question is why are people willing to pay so much more to buy a MacBook when they can get a comparable Windows laptop for so much less? [Read more…]

Q&A: Should I let my neighbor piggyback off my WiFi network?

Posted on October 15, 2025

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Question from Mallorie: I need some advice Rick, and it’s sort of a touchy situation.

We live in a duplex and our neighbor has a 14 year old son who bought a Straight Talk phone from my daughter.

The thing is she didn’t reset the phone before she sold it to him because he said he’d like to just take over her phone number, and she said that would be fine.

This phone still automatically connects to our WiFi network, and I know for a fact that he uses our WiFi a lot because he told my daughter that he does.

My question is do you think he could cause us any problems by piggybacking off of our wireless network? [Read more…]

Q&A: Do Macs have a ‘System Information’ screen like the one in Windows?

Posted on October 11, 2025

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Question from Keith: Hi, Rick. I hope you can help me figure out what I just bought.

One of my neighbors sold me a used MacBook that she inherited after a family member passed away. She let me have it for $50 just to get rid of it!

She doesn’t really know anything about the model or specs of the machine, and I don’t either because I’m a Windows guy. All we know is it’s a MacBook and it appears to be relatively new.

What I’d like to know is do Macs have a ‘System Information’ screen like the one in Windows that’ll tell me what’s inside this thing? I plan to sell it (hopefully at a profit) so I need to know exactly what’s in it.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Will I be able to use my own laptop while I’m traveling overseas?

Posted on October 11, 2025

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Question from Benjamin: I need some advice, Rick.

I’ll soon be heading to the UK for a six week visit.

I’ll need a laptop to use while I work from my hotel room every day while I’m over there.

The problem is my laptop’s charger operates at 120 volts and there’s no switch to change it to 240 volts like there is with my desktop computer.

Is there any way I can use my existing laptop during my visit to the UK? [Read more…]

Q&A: Can you ‘Undo’ a System Restore on a Windows PC?

Posted on October 9, 2025

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Question from Edward: Hello, Rick. Love your site! I hope you can answer a question for me.

I downloaded a game onto my Dell laptop a few days ago and I immediately started getting lots of pop-up ads on my screen.

I uninstalled the game but I’m still getting the pop-ups. I read in a Windows forum that a System Restore should fix the problem but that there are no guarantees.

My question is can a System Restore be reversed if it doesn’t fix the problem (0r if causes more problems)? [Read more…]