Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Is there any way I can use an old PS/2 style keyboard with my new laptop?

Posted on August 3, 2018

monoprice-ps2-to-usb-keyboard-adapter — (#ad)

Question from Anita L.: Hi Rick. I hope you can answer a computer question for me.

I’ve been using computers for over 30 years, but believe it or not I just bought my very first laptop. Yay me!!

Long story short, I love the laptop but absolutely hate the keyboard!

I know that I can buy a new USB keyboard and plug it in and it will work, but I have an old Cherry PS/2 style keyboard that I’ve had for many years. I’d really love to use that keyboard because I love the feel and sound of the mechanical keys.

The problem is my laptop doesn’t have a PS/2 keyboard connector. Is there any way I can make this keyboard work with my laptop? Some kind of adapter maybe?

Thanks for your help. Love your site by the way!!!

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

5 awesome ‘Back to School’ tech deals for your child

Posted on August 3, 2018

Guess what? It’s almost time for the kids to head back to school for the new year!

I don’t know about you, but it seems to me like their summer vacation gets shorter every year – and this year’s is just about gone.

That means it’s time to start shopping for some new clothes as well as a bushel of school supplies like spiral notebooks, pencils, glue sticks and sanitary wipes.

But the really serious shopping will be for the tech items the older kids will need. You know, the laptop and other goodies that are pretty much required these days.

With that in mind, here are five suggestions to help you get started… [Read more…]

Q&A: Is a loose power connector on a brand new laptop a problem?

Posted on July 31, 2018

Question from Darla: I bought a new laptop from Best Buy a couple of days ago. It cost a little over $800.

The laptop seems to work fine but there’s one problem. Well at least I think it might be a problem and I need your advice/opinion about it.

The power cable doesn’t seem to fit into the laptop’s power connector very well. It just seems to be “loose”.

When I wiggle the connector around it moves quite a bit but the laptop never shuts down or blinks or anything.

Every other laptop I’ve ever owned had a well-fitting power connection. Do you think this one is defective or is that normal for some laptops now?

I would just return it but I know that Best Buy charges a 15% restocking fee, which in this case would be $120! That’s why I’d rather not return it unless you really think I need to.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

How to easily determine the numeric value of any color on the screen

Posted on July 29, 2018

If you engage in web design, graphic design, photography or any other endeavor requiring the use of colors, you probably need to determine the numeric value of various colors on a regular basis.

I used to use good ole trial and error in order to match the hex value of colors displayed on the screen as closely as possible, but I have long since found a fast and simple way to determine the exact numeric value of any color with just a few clicks of my mouse. [Read more…]

ReactOS – Another alternative for replacing Windows on an older PC

Posted on July 26, 2018

A while back I wrote this post about how replacing the now-abandoned older versions of Windows (such as XP and Vista) with Linux can give an older Windows PC a new lease on life.

I’ve received a lot of great feedback from that post from readers who have given Linux a try. Most of them seem to be happy with it, but many others not so much.

Several folks from the “not so much” group have asked me if there’s a non-Linux alternative to Windows that will actually run Windows programs instead of generic Linux-based alternatives.

Well, as it turns out the answer is yes. [Read more…]