Rick's Daily Tips

Keep your phone(s) powered up during power extended outages

Posted on March 29, 2024

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Most homes no longer have land-line telephone connections these days due to the proliferation of cell phones.

While switching to cell service only can be a good move, it often creates a problem during extended power outages.

The homes in my neighborhood occasionally go without power for days at a time, which makes keeping the batteries in our cell phones charged up a challenge.

Chances are you sometimes struggle with the same problem. [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I change the text size in Firefox?

Posted on March 28, 2024

Question from Amelda: I hope you can help me. My cat jumped up on my keyboard and something happened to my screen.

Now, whenever I visit a website in Firefox the letters on the screen are so tiny I can barely read them.

How can I get them back to normal size? Everything is fine when I use Edge, but I really prefer using Firefox.

Rick‘s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Can I install a floppy disk drive in my computer?

Posted on March 28, 2024

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Deidra: Hi, Rick. I have a question for you.

Is it possible to install a floppy disk drive in a Dell Optiplex 7050 SFF computer?

[Read more…]

How to recover lost files after emptying the Recycle Bin in Windows 10

Posted on March 28, 2024

Emptying the Recycle Bin in Windows 10 is a very simple process. However, while it seems too easy to run, it can cause more harm than good.

You may be dealing with a jammed storage right now and want to create more space by deleting files. This is an okay idea.

When you delete files that are taking up space, they will go to the Recycle Bin automatically. And, since they still utilize space in the Recycle Bin, you may want to follow them there and empty the Recycle Bin once and for all.

If this is what you did and you are wondering where some of your files are, then that needs urgent attention. Which is why we have prepared this article. [Read more…]

Scam alert: Beware of ‘Fake News’ on Facebook (and elsewhere)

Posted on March 27, 2024

A recent study found that almost half of all Americans get their news from Facebook.

That’s a startling number, and it’s even more startling that almost two-thirds of millennials use the social media giant as their primary news source.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with an Internet company delivering the news of the day.

However, the almost constant barrage of “fake news” stories that show up in our Facebook Newsfeeds makes it hard for many users to recognize which stories are true and which are fake.

Luckily, there are things you can do to identify and avoid fake news: [Read more…]