Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: How’s the best way to keep my iPhone charged up during a 3 day camping trip?

Posted on August 27, 2015

Question from Eileen J.: Hi Rick. My husband and I are planning a three day camping trip in the Alabama woods for a little over a month from now.

I know I’ll end up spending a lot of time Facebooking and playing games on my iPhone while we’re there because I always get bored after just a couple of hours.

My problem is my phone’s battery always dies on the first day and I don’t have a way to charge it back up. Can you tell me the best way to keep it charged for the entire three days without having to spend an arm and a leg?

We’ll have a usable cell signal where we’re going, but we won’t have an electrical outlet to plug a charger into or handy access to our vehicle for using a car charger. Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I install the free upgrade to Windows 10 on my new laptop?

Posted on August 25, 2015

Question from Anicka T.: I recently noticed that Amazon was selling the ASUS ROG G751JL FHD laptop for $200 off, so I orderd one. I received it this morning.

When I ordered it Amazon said it qualifies for the free upgrade to Windows 10, but I don’t see the icon to click to upgrade it, and I don’t see an upgrade for it in Windows Update either.

Is there something special that I need to do in order to install the Windows 10 upgrade?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

30 years of Microsoft Windows

Posted on August 24, 2015

It’s hard to believe, but the operating system that we all tend to either love or hate is now 30 years old.

Microsoft released Windows 1.0 way back in 1985, and now 30 years later Windows is still the 800 pound gorilla of the computer world. [Read more…]

Apple repairing some iPhone 6 Plus devices due to blurry images

Posted on August 23, 2015

iphone-6-plus Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus has earned a reputation for taking amazing photos with its integrated iSight camera, but some of the phones have been found to capture blurry images.

The problem is caused by a defective component in some of the iSight camera modules that were installed on phones sold between September 2014 and January 2015.

If your iPhone 6 Plus is producing blurry photos, enter its serial number on this page to see if it qualifies for a free replacement iSight camera module. If it does, you’ll find information on that page explaining how to go about having your phone serviced.

Install this critical update to Internet Explorer ASAP

Posted on August 22, 2015

Microsoft has announced that certain versions of Internet Explorer are vulnerable to being hacked due to a security flaw in the software code.

Machines running one of the affected versions of I.E. can be compromised by allowing a hacker to remotely execute malicious code on your system.

If Internet Explorer is installed on your system (and it almost certainly is), you’ll need to ensure that this update is installed ASAP even if you never use Internet Explorer to browse the Internet. [Read more…]