Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Can a laptop really have both an SSD and a hard drive?

Posted on September 6, 2020

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Bryan P.: Hi Rick. I found your blog while Googling the answer to a question I have about laptops.

I couldn’t find a clear, straight-forward answer so I hope you can answer it for me.

I’ve been looking online for a new gaming laptop because the one I had (and loved) got stolen a few days ago.

It’s been several years since I’ve shopped for a new computer and I’m seeing something that’s confusing me.

I really like this laptop that I found on Amazon. The sales page says it has both a 256 GB SSD and a 1TB hard drive.

Could that really be true? I thought laptops only came with one drive since they’re so cramped for space.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Should I replace the battery on a 2 year old laptop?

Posted on September 6, 2020

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Brenda G.: I have a two and a half year old Dell Latitude E5570 laptop that no longer works unless it’s plugged into a wall outlet.

I took it to the computer shop here in town and they said the battery is bad but they can order a replacement battery and install it for me for $160.

I really like this laptop but I don’t want to spend that much money for a battery if you don’t think it’s a wise use of the money.

My question is do you think I should have the guys at the computer shop order a battery and install it for me or would it make more sense to just apply that $160 towards a new laptop?

I really respect your opinion and I’ll take your advice regardless of which way you recommend I go.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

How to turn your old smartphone or tablet into an emergency radio scanner

Posted on September 4, 2020

Regular readers of this blog know that you don’t have to just junk your old smartphone or tablet when it comes time to upgrade because there are countless uses for working mobile devices.

In this post I’ll explain how to give your old iPhone, iPad or Android device a second life as a dedicated emergency radio scanner.

You’ll be able to use your “scanner” 24/7 while at home or anywhere that you have access to WiFi (your old phone likely won’t have an active data plan). [Read more…]

Does your blog take too long to load? Here’s how to find out right now.

Posted on August 30, 2020

Now that Google and other major search engines are taking page load times into consideration when ranking web pages in their search results, it’s more important than ever to make sure your blog pages load as quickly as possible.

There are a number of factors that affect how quickly a web page will load, but figuring out how to make the changes necessary to speed up a blog can be difficult in some cases. [Read more…]