Rick's Daily Tips

Opinion: Walmart is now sending customers to Amazon for tech purchases

Posted on February 12, 2025

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Have you tried buying an external hard drive, a wireless mouse or most anything smaller than a TV from your local Walmart’s Electronics department lately?

If so, you probably had to track down an employee and ask them to open a locked case and hand the item to you.

Like some other major chain retailers, Walmart has made the decision to place virtually everything worth buying inside a locked cabinet, practically eliminating any opportunity to comparison shop. [Read more…]

Easy ways to stay on top of your financial goals

Posted on February 12, 2025

Ever feel like your money has a mind of its own? You set a goal, make a plan, and yet somehow, your bank account tells a different story. Bills pop up, impulse purchases happen, and saving for the future gets pushed aside.

Staying on track financially isn’t just about good intentions—it’s about having a strategy that works even when life throws surprises your way.

Money management has become more important than ever. With rising inflation, unpredictable markets, and an economy that keeps everyone guessing, financial stability isn’t a given. It’s something people must actively build. The good news? Staying on top of your financial goals doesn’t have to be complicated. Small, smart habits can make a big difference.

In this post, we will share simple yet effective ways to stay in control of your money and reach your financial goals. [Read more…]

Quickly get all of your PC’s technical specs and info with Speccy

Posted on February 8, 2025

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Unless you enjoy “popping the hood” on your PC and getting to know its innards on a first-name basis, you probably have no clue what all is inside there.

Sure, you know there’s a CPU, a motherboard, a hard drive or SSD, RAM sticks and a number of other components, but you probably don’t know many of the technical details about those components.

Computer parts such as the ones listed above vary greatly in terms of speed, capacity, and software compatibility so it pays to have a handy reference just in case you ever need to call Tech Support or install a new piece of software (or even upgrade to a new version of Windows). [Read more…]

Q&A: Can you recommend a really cheap, but reliable SSD for an older laptop?

Posted on February 8, 2025

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Question from Ari: The hard drive in my 6 year old Dell laptop died a few days ago. This has been a great machine and I don’t want to just trash it.

I’d like to replace the bad hard drive with an SSD, but I’d rather not spend a lot of money if I can help it.

After reading your post about replacing Windows with Linux, I’d like to install Linux Mint on this laptop and use it as my primary Internet computer. I won’t need a lot of storage space so a fairly small SSD should be ok.

What I’m looking for a really inexpensive SSD that’s large enough to hold the new Linux installation and maybe a few Chrome extensions. But I’d like the SSD to be as reliable as possible. [Read more…]

6 ways a chatbot can help with your marketing efforts

Posted on February 8, 2025

Artificial intelligence has changed the way businesses conduct marketing. One of the most common applications of AI is through the use of chatbots.

With many teams having AI-powered chatbots in their arsenal, marketing processes have become more efficient, from aiding in customer service to achieving scalability.

Read on to review the different chatbot functions that have made an impact on marketing. [Read more…]