Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Why does my mouse pointer shake when I touch the trackpad on my laptop?

Posted on January 11, 2018

Question from Kyle H.: I have an Acer laptop with Windows 7 and I’ve had a problem with it from day one.

Every time I touch the trackpad the mouse pointer starts shaking and it’s really irritating.

This has been going on ever since the day I bought the laptop and Acer hasn’t been any help at all.

Do you know why it’s doing this or if there’s anything I can try to maybe get it fixed?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Microsoft has ended Mainstream Support for Windows 8.1

Posted on January 11, 2018

Do you still have a laptop or desktop PC that’s running Windows 8.1?

If so, you should know that Microsoft ended the “Mainstream Support” cycle for that version of Windows on January 9.

In a nutshell, that means they won’t be releasing any new feature updates for Windows 8.1.

However, they will continue releasing security updates and major bug fixes throughout the “Extended Support” cycle (which is scheduled to end on January 10, 2023). [Read more…]

Review: SkyBell Wi-Fi Video Doorbell lets you ‘answer’ your door from anywhere in the world

Posted on January 10, 2018

Don’t you just hate it when you’ve settled in for the evening and your doorbell rings?

Or while you’re away on vacation, do you worry about burglars ringing your doorbell to see whether you’re home or not?

The ingenious SkyBell Video Wi-Fi Doorbell (#ad) lets you easily handle situations like these without even having to get out of your easy chair – or even while you’re lounging on some faraway beach!

When someone pushes the button to ring your doorbell, you’ll be instantly alerted via your Android phone or iPhone.

And thanks to a built-in camera, speaker and microphone, you’ll be able to see the person standing at your door and carry on a conversation with him/her from anywhere in the world via your smartphone. [Read more…]

Dashlane wants to completely control your passwords. I believe that’s a very bad idea.

Posted on January 8, 2018

Password managers are quite popular these days, and Dashlane is one of the most-used providers of that service on the web.

Well, the folks at Dashlane have just published a new blog post about a great sounding initiative they’ve developed called “Project Mirror: Kill the Password”.

I won’t go into the details of how Project Mirror will work because you can get all that info in their blog post should you choose to read it. But I will tell you that I don’t like it. [Read more…]