Rick's Daily Tips

Drone durability secrets: Materials that defy the elements

Posted on October 20, 2023

In the ever-expanding area of aerial technology, drones have gained significant traction due to their diverse applications, from photography and surveillance to package delivery.

Yet, amidst these soaring ambitions, the drone’s ability to endure harsh environmental conditions remains a paramount concern. For instance, Skydio X10 has the best sensors for a drone this small, piloted by the most advanced AI in the sky.

This article delves into the critical aspect of drone durability, exploring the materials that empower these flying marvels to withstand the elements. [Read more…]

How to play games on your phone without the annoying ads

Posted on October 19, 2023

Do you find the ads that are displayed while you’re playing free games on your smart phone to be distracting? Most people do, so you’re certainly not alone if you do as well.

There’s a simple way to block the ads on most free games.

Simply put your phone into Airplane Mode to temporarily turn off the phone’s radios and you’ll be able to play many games without getting distracted by the flashing ads.

Why does this work? It’s pretty simple, really… [Read more…]

Q&A: How do you restart a frozen iPhone?

Posted on October 19, 2023

Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter

Question from Joan: I got my first iPhone a few weeks ago. It’s a used one that my sister gave me after she bought a new one.

It seems to be ok but last night it froze up on me. I couldn’t figure out how to restart it like I could with my previous Android phones.

The battery was pretty low so I ended up just letting the battery die on it.

I turned it on after the battery finished charging and it seems to be working ok now.

My question is, how can I make it restart if this ever happens again? [Read more…]

How to change the default search engine in Microsoft Edge

Posted on October 18, 2023

Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter

When it was first released, Microsoft’s Edge web browser used Bing as its default search engine, and there was no way to change it.

Well, Edge still comes with Bing set as the default search engine, but you can now switch it to Google or one of several other popular search engines.

If you like using Edge but would prefer to search with something other than Bing, you can follow the steps below to change the default search engine to the one you like best. Just follow the steps that match the device you are using. [Read more…]

My favorite tool for completely ‘wiping’ a hard drive

Posted on October 17, 2023

Due to security concerns about data theft and identity theft, it’s important to completely erase a hard disk before giving it away, selling it, or even tossing it in the trash.

The thing is, simply erasing a bunch of files doesn’t actually remove those files from the hard drive.

It merely deletes the pointers that Windows uses to identify and locate the deleted files. [Read more…]