Rick's Daily Tips

Review: Lenovo ThinkCentre M710e Business Desktop Computer

Posted on September 20, 2018

It seems that most computers on the market these days are either general purpose computers or gaming PCs.

But did you know there’s still a thriving market for business-oriented computers?

The typical business PC is something of a cross between general purpose machines and gaming rigs.

Business computers need a hefty amount of processing power and RAM but they don’t really need a powerful graphics card like a gaming PC.

The Lenovo ThinkCentre M710e Business Desktop PC (#ad) hits that sweet spot quite well. Take a quick look at these specs: [Read more…]

Q&A: Why are some computers noisier than others?

Posted on September 18, 2018

Question from Lexie H.: I was out shopping for a new computer today and I noticed that some computers make more noise than others.

The salesman I was talking to said it’s normal for some models to be louder than others but he couldn’t explain why that is.

Can you tell me why some computers are really loud while others are really quiet? Also, are the louder ones better or worse than the quiet ones?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

You’ll be receiving a text message from the President on October 3. Yes, really.

Posted on September 18, 2018

Just a quick heads-up: In all likelihood you’ll be receiving a pair of SMS text messages from the President of the United States on Wednesday, October 3, 2018.

You can get all the details on these special text messages by visiting this page on the FEMA website, but if you just want the gist I’ve summarized it below.

The header of the message will read “Presidential Alert“, and the text of the message will be delivered in two parts…

Part 1 will test the Emergency Alert System (EAS), and it will read as follows: [Read more…]

Q&A: What’s the best laptop hard drive I can buy for $100 or less?

Posted on September 18, 2018

Question from Andy: The 750GB hard drive in my laptop has started making strange noises and I’m afraid it’s about to go out on me. I need to replace it ASAP but I don’t know which drive I should buy to replace it with.

I’d really like to get an SSD to make the laptop run a lot faster, but my budget for the drive is only about $100 (or preferably less).

I checked around and the largest SSD I can get for that price is way too small for my needs. I really need something that’s at least as big as the drive that’s in the laptop right now.

Can you help me find the fastest hard drive I can get for $100 that’s at least 750GB?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]