Reviews Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

Review: Pawtec External USB 3.0 Aluminum 8X DVD-RW Optical Drive

Posted on January 22, 2019

Many new laptops now come without an optical drive built-in, and that’s fine if you no longer have a need to play music or movies from DVDs, install software that’s distributed on discs, or back up your data onto blank writable DVDs.

But what if you still need access to an optical drive on occasion?

The easiest way to solve this problem is to purchase an inexpensive external USB optical drive. Just like external USB hard drives, these drives simply plug into an open USB port, allowing you to do everything you could do with an internal optical drive without the burden of the extra weight.

I recently had the opportunity to check out the Pawtec External USB 3.0 Aluminum 8X DVD-RW Optical Drive, and I really like it. [Read more…]

Review: HP Pavilion 27xw 27-in IPS LED Backlit Monitor

Posted on January 20, 2019

With all the programs, web browsers and apps we’re running these days, it seems like our computer screens are never quite big enough as we try to squeeze more and more windows onto our screens.

But that’s changing very quickly now as monitors are growing larger while prices remain the same, and even drop.

I received a beautiful 27″ HP Pavilion 27xw IPS LED Backlit Monitor for review, and since I had never used a monitor that was larger than 23 inches before it was a real eye-opener. [Read more…]

Review: CSS Hero – Easily customize your WordPress blog even if you’re clueless about working with CSS

Posted on January 14, 2019

Do you have a blog that’s powered by WordPress?

If so, you probably know that WordPress is the most powerful and most customizable blogging platform there is.

By selecting a quality theme and customizing it to your liking you can give your blog its own distinctive look and feel – in other words, give it its own personality.

The thing is, to really customize all the various aspects of your blog’s theme you’ll need to make changes to its style.css file.

In a nutshell, the style.css file contains the Cascading Style Sheet (aka CSS) code that controls virtually every aspect of how your blog will look and respond to visitors when they arrive at one of the pages on your blog.

The following short snippet from this blog’s style.css file will give you an idea of what I’m talking about: [Read more…]

Review: Dell XPS9360-5000SLV-PUS 13″ Laptop

Posted on December 26, 2018

These days most people seem to be looking for the thinnest, lightest and most powerful laptop they can find.

If you happen to be one of them, the sleek new Dell XPS9360-5000SLV-PUS Laptop just might be exactly what you’ve been looking for.

Thanks to its virtually borderless super-thin bezel, this attractive ultrabook has one of the smallest footprints you’re likely to find in a laptop with a 13.3 inch screen. And it weighs in at just 2.8 pounds!

But don’t let the small size and weight of this machine fool you. This is one powerful laptop! Check out this quick run-down of the specs: [Read more…]

Review: Dell XPS9360-7758SLV-PUS 13.3-Inch Touchscreen Laptop

Posted on December 8, 2018

Most laptops used to be weak, watered down PCs that sacrificed power for portability, but that’s no longer the case.

Today’s modern laptop and notebook computers are plenty powerful enough to do most anything that even the fastest desktop PCs can do.

Even as laptops get more powerful by the day, they are also getting thinner and lighter, making them easier than ever to take along with you as you travel for work or pleasure.

The Dell XPS9360-7758SLV-PUS 13.3-Inch Touchscreen Laptop is a perfect example. Even though it’s strikingly thin, measures just 15×12 inches and weighs less than 3 pounds, this machine has all the power that one might need in a laptop. Check out these awesome specs: [Read more…]