Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Why are new computers slower than really old ones?

Posted on January 14, 2026

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Question from Larry: I was digging through some junk in my basement and found my old 1990s era Gateway computer with Windows 3.1 on it.

Just out of curiosity I hooked it up and was surprised to see it come on and boot up.

I spent several minutes just fooling around with it and I noticed how fast it was running.

I have a four month old Dell laptop that has an Intel i5 CPU and 8GB of RAM but it seems to run a lot slower than that 20+ year old Gateway.

Why would a modern computer with supposedly much better hardware run slower than a PC that’s over 20 years old? [Read more…]

How (and why) to make sure System Restore is turned on in Windows

Posted on January 14, 2026

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Have you updated your PC to Windows 11 at some time in the past?

If so, there’s a very good chance that the System Restore utility was turned off during the update process.

What’s more, I’ve seen plenty of PCs that came from the factory with Windows 11 that had the System Restore utility disabled.

As you probably know, System Restore is a powerful tool that can help you get your Windows machine back into working order if something ever goes haywire with your Windows installation.

When turned on, System Restore (usually) makes it easy to roll your Windows installation back to a previous (working) state if something ever goes wrong during a program installation or some other serious issue arises.

In other words, this awesome tool can really can get you out of rather serious jams. [Read more…]

SEO Funnel Strategy: From Traffic to Conversions

Posted on January 13, 2026

SEO in 2026 ain’t what it used to be. Back in the day, you could just stuff some keywords, snag a few random backlinks, and call it a day. But the game has changed, fam. We aren’t just chasing clicks anymore; we’re chasing resolutions.

With AI Overviews (SGE) taking up prime real estate and Google basically becoming an answer engine instead of just a search engine, your funnel strategy needs a serious vibe check. [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I wire two switches to control one light fixture?

Posted on January 13, 2026

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Question from Dewey: Hi Rick. I have a wiring question that I hope you can help me with.

I want to install a light fixture on my back porch and use two switches to turn it on and off. One switch will be located outside on the porch and the other switch will be on the inside wall next to the door.

My question is how do I wire this up so that either switch will control the light without having to touch the other switch? [Read more…]