Reviews Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

Review: Hiearcool USB-C Hub / Laptop Docking Station

Posted on February 8, 2026

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As you probably know, every new generation of laptops seems to be thinner than the one before it.

While being thin is good with laptops, it also results in a few downsides.

One of the most important of those downsides is the lack of ports available for plugging external devices into the machine.

Luckily there’s a simple solution to this lack of available ports…

[Read more…]

Review: Qinlianf 5-Outlet Surge Protector and 4-Port USB Wall Charger

Posted on January 29, 2026

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Have you ever considered the convenience of having a 1680 joule surge protector plus a 4 port USB charger built right into one standard 120 volt electrical outlet? If so, this is exactly what you need and it won’t cost you a small fortune.

I’ve been using several Qinlianf 5-Outlet Surge Protector and 4-Port USB Wall Chargers in my home and office for years and I’ve recommended them several times as the featured tech gadget in my newsletter, but it just occurred to me this morning that I have never written a formal review of them. Well, here you go… [Read more…]

Review: Bestek 150 watt 12V DC to 110V AC Power Inverter / Charger

Posted on January 28, 2026

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I review portable USB chargers on here all the time, and I’m always on the lookout for a car charger that does a little something extra for its owner.

Today I’m going to tell you about a real gem of a charger from BESTEK. [Read more…]

Review: SentrySafe Black Fireproof and Waterproof Safe

Posted on January 19, 2026

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You probably know by now that I’m constantly driving home the importance of creating regular backups of your computer’s hard drive or SSD.

But truth be told, how you store your backup drive is just as important as creating backups in the first place because a backup that ends up getting destroyed in a fire or some other disaster cannot be used to recover your files onto a new computer. [Read more…]

Review: SimpliSafe Wireless Home Security Systems

Posted on October 25, 2025

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It’s no secret that we live in a dangerous world.

Sadly, burglaries and home invasions have become commonplace in recent years, and the problem seems to be getting worse instead of better.

Several major companies have been providing homeowners with home security hardware and monitoring services for decades, but the solutions they offer tend to be on the expensive side.

What’s more, most of them require professional installation.

A while back I started seeing advertisements for SimpliSafe, a “Do-It-Yourself” security system that doesn’t require professional installation. I decided to check them out, and for the most part I was quite impressed. This is what I learned… [Read more…]