Rick's Daily Tips

Review: Samsung SE-208DB/TSBS USB External DVD+/-RW 8X Optical Drive

Posted on March 19, 2018

samsung-se-208db-tsbs-usb-optical-drive — (#ad)

These days many laptops are shipped without a built-in optical drive. And in my opinion, that’s a good thing since our video and musical entertainment is now streamed to us instantly over the web.

Not having to include an optical drive means the computer manufacturers can sell their laptops for less while also reducing the laptop’s over-all weight.

That being said, many folks still have program installation files, music and movies on CDs and DVDs. If you’re one of them, you know that not having an optical drive at all is simply not an option for you. [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I turn off the typing sounds on my Windows 10 tablet?

Posted on March 16, 2018

Question from Chris D.: I bought a tablet with Windows 10 on it, and I love it. But there’s one thing about it that’s driving me absolutely batty.

Every time I type a character on the onscreen keyboard it makes a clicking sound, and it’s quite loud when I’m using it in class.

Can you tell me how to make it stop making those clicking sounds when I’m typing?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Warning: Chrome and other browsers might soon stop trusting your blog’s SSL/TLS certificate!

Posted on March 13, 2018

Is your blog encrypted with an SSL/TLS certificate? If it isn’t, it really needs to be, and quick!

But that’s a story for another day. This post is a warning about the security certificate that you could be using on your blog right now.

Google has announced that their Chrome browser will soon stop trusting certificates issued by Symantec and several Symantec-owned companies (Thawte, VeriSign, Equifax, GeoTrust, and RapidSSL).

In a nutshell, if your blog is secured by certificates that were issued by one of these companies your blog won’t be displayed in the upcoming versions of the Chrome browser.

What’s more, the other major browsers are expected to quickly follow Chrome’s lead.

Instead of seeing your blog, your visitors will see this warning in Chrome (or something similar if they’re using a different browser): [Read more…]

Q&A: Would replacing 64 bit Windows with 32 bit Windows make a machine run faster?

Posted on March 12, 2018

Question from Ronnie G.: I bought a pallet of what appeared to be mostly junk for $28 at a storage auction. To my surprise, one of the boxes on the pallet had a like-new Microsoft Surface 3 in it.

This device came with 2GB of RAM and 64GB of flash storage. I know the RAM can’t be upgraded so I should never really need a 64 bit Windows.

My question is would replacing the Windows 10/64 bit that’s on it with 32 bit Windows 10 speed things up any? This machine isn’t a snail, but I’d like to make it run faster if I can.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

5G mobile Internet coming to laptop and desktop PCs in 2019

Posted on March 12, 2018

If you’re a frequent traveler you probably own a 4G mobile hotspot device for connecting your laptop to the Internet when there’s no reliable Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet connection available.

Those hotspot devices sure come in handy when you need one, but it can be a hassle traveling with an extra piece of hardware just to ensure that you’ll always be able to get online when you need to. [Read more…]