Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
Question from Alan M.: I replaced the 320GB hard drive in my Acer Aspire desktop computer with a Crucial 512GB SSD.
I was able to clone the hard drive’s contents onto the SSD with no problem and everything works great, but when I view the drive in “Computer” it shows up as a 320GB drive instead of 512GB.
What do I need to do to make Windows 7 see the entire 512GB?
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Question from Mona: My son has been wanting a Kindle Fire tablet for a long time and I finally decided to get him one.
My problem is I can’t order one online from Amazon because I don’t have a credit card. I’ll need to pay for it with cash.
Do you know of any stores where I might be able to buy one locally? Thanks.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
With all the mobile devices we carry around with us these days, it really pays to have an external power bank/charger on hand to keep them all powered up and running.
I’ve tested a bunch of portable chargers in recent years. Some of them were great, and others left much to be desired.
I recently had the opportunity to check out the Puridea S4 6600 mAh Portable Charger, a thin, yet powerful device that claimed to be able to charge an iPhone up to three and a half times on a single charge.
The first time I picked up this device I was struck by how thin it is. Unlike most external battery packs, this one is actually thinner than many modern smart phones.
But even with its thin profile, it still seems to be well-constructed and quite durable. [Read more…]
A while back I wrote a post discussing Opera’s addition of a free VPN service that’s integrated right into their awesome Opera desktop and mobile browsers.
I’ve used the free Opera VPN ever since it was first introduced because I really love the convenience of having my VPN seamlessly integrated into my web browser.
Unfortunately, Opera has just announced they’ll be removing the free integrated VPN service from their browsers at the end this month. [Read more…]
If you’re expecting a federal tax refund this year, there’s a free app from the IRS that will let you track your refund right from your smart phone or tablet.
The IRS2Go app will keep you up-to-date regarding the status of your tax refund. You can also use the app to make a payment to the IRS, and a whole lot more.
We all know that wondering when your refund check is going to arrive or when the direct deposit is going to hit your bank account is about as much fun as waiting for test results from the doctor.
Now you can avoid that suspense [Read more…]