Rick's Daily Tips

Scam alert: Be wary of disaster relief donation scams

Posted on August 14, 2026

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Horrible events like hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes and raging wildfires tend to bring out the very best in humanity.

Millions of generous individuals and companies typically donate billions of dollars in relief funds for the victims of these disasters.

What’s more, armies of volunteers travel to the affected areas, with more waiting to go in just as soon as they receive approval from officials.

But unfortunately, scams are everywhere and large-scale natural disasters tend to bring plenty of scammers of out of the woodwork.

[Read more…]

Q&A: Can I connect a full-size computer keyboard to my tablet?

Posted on August 13, 2026

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Question from Danica: Rick, I recently purchased a 10″ Android tablet and I really like it.

It came with a keyboard cover but the keys on it are way too small for me to type without making lots of mistakes.

Is it possible to use a regular full-sized computer keyboard with a tablet? Is there one I can just plug into it?

Thanks in advance for your help. [Read more…]

Q&A: Can you use a portable power station as a UPS for your computer?

Posted on August 12, 2026

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Question from Roland: I’m hoping you can answer some questions for me about portable power stations.

The power went off on my street and stayed off for over 7 hours. My almost new 1,000 watt UPS only kept my computer and monitor running for about an hour.

My cousin (who is also my neighbor) has a 500 watt Jackery portable power station and he said it kept his computer running for over 5 hours, and his computer has a bigger monitor.

Like I said before, I have three questions: [Read more…]

Q&A: Can you limit someone to using just one specific app on an iPhone?

Posted on August 11, 2026

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Question from Gwen: I installed a kid’s game on my iPhone that teaches the child how to do basic math in order to solve a series of mysteries.

The recommended age range for the game is 4 to 7.

My daughter turned 4 a couple of months ago so I believe she should be able to successfully play the game.

The thing is I don’t want her to be able to do anything with the phone except use this one app. Is it possible to set it up this way?

[Read more…]