Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Can I use two Internet connections with one router?

Posted on June 13, 2022

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Emile: I’m in the process of opening my own third-party remote customer service business.

What I mean is my company will handle telephone and Internet-based customer service for companies that prefer to outsource that service.

I already have contracts with two companies and I’m slated to go live with the service in two months so I need to have all the technology in place by then.

Can you help me with an issue I’m struggling with? [Read more…]

Linux replacements for 17 popular Windows programs

Posted on June 12, 2022

A while back I wrote a post explaining how to give an old PC new life by replacing Windows with Linux as a means of extending the useful life of older PCs.

After that post was published I received a number of emails asking for a list of Linux programs that can replace the Windows programs they’d leaving behind if they made the switch.

I decided that it might be a good idea to publish that list in its own blog post, and here it is: [Read more…]

Q&A: Are business-class PCs worth the extra cost?

Posted on June 10, 2022

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Aaron: I recently started shopping for a new desktop PC to replace my beloved Gateway that served me well for over a decade until it got destroyed by lightning.

I was looking at HPs and Dells and noticed something that’s a little confusing to me. Maybe you can clear it up.

[Read more…]

Q&A: What does HughesNet mean by ‘Unlimited data with no hard data limits’?

Posted on June 9, 2022

Question from Kellie: Right now we have a DSL Internet from our local phone company.

It was pretty good when they first installed it, but it’s been terrible for the past year.

We’re wanting to switch to something else because my download speeds are averaging less than 2Mbps and they refuse to do anything to make it faster.

We really need the higher speed because our family does a lot of video streaming (or at least we try to).

Sometimes the Internet stops working at all and stays out for days at a time. I’d sign up for cable Internet but it’s not available in my area.

I’m hoping you can clear something up for me. [Read more…]

Q&A: Can you retrieve a Windows 10 license key from a bad hard drive?

Posted on June 3, 2022

Question from Keith: I updated my Windows 7 computer to Windows 10 a while back, and like a dummy I didn’t write down the license key for it.

The hard drive in this machine went bad and I replaced it with a 1TB SSD. The bad drive appears to be completely dead because it doesn’t make any noise at all.

I have already installed the SSD I and downloaded the Windows 10 files onto a thumb drive with the instructions they provided.

The thing is, I’ll need the license key to activate Windows 10 after I install it, right? [Read more…]