Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Why is the keyboard on my iPad split in half?

Posted on September 17, 2017

Question from Linda: My 4 year old got her hands on my iPad and now the onscreen keyboard is split into two halves.

I tried typing with it like this but I just can’t because it feels so unnatural.

I’ll be forever in your debt if you can tell me what I need to do to get it back to normal! Can you?

Rick’s answer: This actually happens a lot Linda, and it’s almost always by accident based on the desperate pleas for help I receive on a fairly consistent basis.

Your message prompted me to finally write this post explaining how to fix the split keyboard issue. [Read more…]

Just for fun: How close are we to the planet Mars?

Posted on September 17, 2017

Most everyone knows that our universe is an amazingly vast place that the human mind will likely never be able to truly comprehend, but relatively few realize just how far it is even to our closest planetary neighbors.

Take for instance the distance to that favorite fodder for countless science fiction books, the planet Mars.

Many of us have been fascinated by the “Red Planet” for our entire lives, but actually going there would take a lot longer than a typical vacation would allow. [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I reset my iPad back to the factory settings after it has been jailbroken?

Posted on September 14, 2017

Question from Christy L.: Hi Rick. I’ve been reading your tips for over a year now and I love them. Thank you for posting them.

Now, it’s my turn to ask for help. I hope you can tell me how to fix a serious problem with my iPad.

I loaned my son my iPad 2 to use while he was waiting for his Macbook to get back from the repair shop. While he was using it one of his friends showed him how to jailbreak it. Now it runs real slow and the battery drains in half the time it used to take.

I was told that resetting the iPad back to it factory default settings would fix the problem. Can you tell me how to do that? I can’t afford to pay Apple to do it for me and it’s no longer under warranty.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I “flip” the contents of my screen 90 degrees?

Posted on September 13, 2017

Question from Tammy G.: Hi Rick. I have a problem that I need your help with, and it just might be one you’ve never seen before.

In order to display more of my Facebook news feed without having to scroll so much, I asked my husband to build a stand for my 23″ wide screen monitor that allows me to use it on its side in a portrait orientation.

The problem is the screen contents are now laying on their side to where you have to turn your head sideways to read it. This image shows what I’m talking about: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I keep my Android tablet from turning the screen off while I’m reading?

Posted on September 12, 2017

Question from Joey: Hi Rick. I have a problem that I need your help with.

I use an el-cheapo Android tablet that I bought at a closeout store to read a couple of news websites every morning. It does the job just fine, but the screen keeps turning off on me before I can finish reading a long article.

I have the screen timeout set to the maximum setting, but the screen still blanks out on me while I’m reading. Is there any way I can keep the screen lit up until I finish my daily reading? It’s annoying having to turn the screen back on ever few minutes.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]