Rick's Daily Tips

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…]

Q&A: Is it legal to sell ‘free’ software?

Posted on October 24, 2025

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Question from Gordon: I have a very simple question for you, Rick: Is it legal to sell free software?

I’m asking because I just bought a DVD off of eBay that contains several software programs for troubleshooting and maintaining a PC, but I have just found out that ALL of it is freeware that’s distributed under the GNU GPL License. [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I prevent unauthorized (or accidental) purchases from the Google Play Store?

Posted on October 23, 2025

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Question from Michelle: I sometimes hand my phone to my 9 year old son so he can play a game.

Well, I recently found out that he sneaked into the Google Play store and bought several games without my permission.

We had a long mother-son talk and he assured me that he won’t do it again, but I’d really like to make sure he (nor anyone else) can ever do that again. Is there something I can do to prevent this from happening again? [Read more…]

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

Posted on October 23, 2025

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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…]

The evolution of outsourced software testing: What businesses should know

Posted on October 23, 2025

The concept of outsourced software testing has progressed far beyond its low-cost, retrospective approach to being a software quality and speed driver.

What was once the process of sending manual test cases to an offshore location to get cheaper labor is now the process of complete service QA ecosystems that are driven by automation, artificial intelligence, and extensive domain knowledge. With the maturity of development practices, agile, DevOps, and continuous delivery influencing the way products are developed, testing outsourcing has kept up with the speed. [Read more…]