Tech Tips, Tricks and Tutorials
Have you ever tried to call someone with an important message only to discover that your cellular signal was too weak for the call to go through?
Chances are you have, and you know how frustrating it can be when you can’t place an important call.
The next time that happens, try contacting the other party by sending them a text message instead. [Read more…]
Question from Janine M.: Hello Rick. I have just finished reading and article that discussed an app that places your phone into “Airplane Mode” whenever there isn’t a cell signal available.
Please don’t think I’m a dummy because I’m not, but I had never heard the term “Airplane Mode” before reading that post. Can you tell me what it means?
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Question from Mary S.: Hi Rick. I need to know how I can set my Facebook privacy so that only my Friends can see my photos, albums and etc.
I recently got a private message from a total stranger saying he enjoyed all my albums and pictures. That really upset me!
I need help changing my privacy settings so people that are not my friends won’t be able to see my pictures. PLEASE HELP???
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
When using Microsoft Windows, there are times when we need to find the entire path to a file’s location on the hard drive (i.e. the file’s pathname).
For example, some of the tips I post on this blog require entering a file’s full pathname into a text field of some sort.
Back in the Stone Age of personal computing when the DOS operating system ruled the roost, determining a file’s pathname was easy.
Since you navigated to a file from the command line, once you found the file you were looking for, it’s full path (minus the filename itself) was displayed right on the screen. All you had to do at that point was append the filename onto the end, and you were done!
But with Windows, the full path to a file is rarely displayed at all. [Read more…]
Question from Oliver G.: I have an old Dell XPS 17 laptop that is now running Ubuntu Linux.
This machine still works perfectly but the battery won’t hold a charge anymore.
Since it’s so old I don’t really want to buy a new battery for it.
Would it be ok if I just removed the battery and ran it straight from the charger?
I never travel with this machine so I never really need to run it from a battery.
I plan to use this laptop until it dies, then replace it with a new Windows laptop. I’ve always had good luck with Dells, but I’d love to hear from you if you think there’s a better brand.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
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