Rick's Daily Tips - Page 3 of 545 - Tech Tips, Tricks and Tutorials

Why I recommend replacing Notepad with Notepad++

Posted on January 21, 2019

The Windows Notepad utility is one of the handiest little programs there is, but it comes with a number of frustrating limitations.

But even with those limitations I found myself using it several times a day simply because it’s so convenient.

But no more. I long ago switched to a wonderful free Notepad replacement app called Notepad++.

Notepad++ does everything the standard Windows Notepad does, only better. I won’t list all the great features here, but there are three features that really made it worth the switch for me: [Read more…]

Q&A: Am I connecting too many devices to my laptop’s USB ports?

Posted on January 21, 2019

Question from Ariel: I have an HP dv6000t laptop that originally had Windows XP on it.

While my son was in for Christmas he installed Linux Mint on it after reading your article about replacing Windows with Linux.

I mainly use this laptop for reading my cooking groups on Facebook and printing the recipes that interest me.

The Linux is working out great but I’m having a problem with the USB ports.

This laptop has three USB ports and I’m using all of them for my printer, a mouse and the external hard drive that he copied my pictures onto.

The printer and mouse work fine but when I plug the hard drive in the laptop instantly freezes up. As soon as I unplug the hard drive the laptop starts working again.

Do you think I’m using too many USB ports? I really need both my printer and my mouse but I need to access the photos on the external hard drive too.

Any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: What’s the funniest experience you ever had while working as a computer tech?

Posted on January 21, 2019

Question from Kevin: I’m a retired computer tech and I have lots of funny stories to tell from my working days. I’m sure you do as well.

What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you while working as a tech?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Review: HP Pavilion 27xw 27-in IPS LED Backlit Monitor

Posted on January 20, 2019

With all the programs, web browsers and apps we’re running these days, it seems like our computer screens are never quite big enough as we try to squeeze more and more windows onto our screens.

But that’s changing very quickly now as monitors are growing larger while prices remain the same, and even drop.

I received a beautiful 27″ HP Pavilion 27xw IPS LED Backlit Monitor for review, and since I had never used a monitor that was larger than 23 inches before it was a real eye-opener. [Read more…]

Q&A: Why can’t I read RSS feeds with Google Chrome?

Posted on January 20, 2019

Question from Andrew. T.: Rick, I have a weird problem and I’m hoping you can help me solve it.

Since I switched from I.E. to Google Chrome I can’t read any RSS feeds. All I see is gibberish that looks like computer code.

I really like Chrome, but I really need to be able to read RSS feeds. Is there any way to fix this? Thanks in advance.

Rick’s answer: Andrew, for whatever reason Google decided not to have Chrome support formatted viewing of RSS feeds by default, and there isn’t an entry in the settings menu for enabling RSS feeds.

But don’t despair, the folks on the Chrome team have provided a handy extension that will display your RSS feeds correctly. Here’s how to install it: [Read more…]