Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Why can’t I view RAW images in the Windows Photo Gallery?

Posted on December 31, 2014

Question from Carrie E.: I got a Nikon D5200 camera for my birthday a few months ago. It’s my first DSLR and I’m sort of overwhelmed with all its features and capabilities, but I love it!

I’m having a problem that I hope you can help me find a solution for. I’m reading a book on DSLR photography and it explained the advantages of shooting in RAW format. I gave it a try but none of the my RAW photos are showing up in the Windows Photo Gallery. Can you tell me how to fix that? Thanks.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Clear stuck print jobs with the click of a button

Posted on December 26, 2014

printer If you use Microsoft Windows you have surely experienced the frustration of trying to clear a stuck print job at one time or another. There are several ways to do it, but none of them are very intuitive or easy to remember.

A nifty little free program called Print Queue Cleaner makes clearing a stuck print job literally as easy as clicking on a button.

Print Queue Cleaner is a tiny utility that runs as a stand-alone program. It doesn’t have to be installed so you can just keep it right on the Desktop and use it as needed. You can also keep it on a USB flash drive and take it with you wherever you go! [Read more…]

Free ebook: “Windows 8 for Dummies”

Posted on December 24, 2014

windows-8-for-dummies-cover Like it or not, Windows 8/8.1 is here to stay until Windows 10 hits the market next year, so we might as well get used to it unless we’re willing to switch to Linux, a Chromebook or a Mac. (#ad)

When Microsoft set about designing the look and feel of Windows 8, they wanted to make it a radical departure from previous version of Windows. And they sure did a great job at it! In fact, many experienced Windows users feel completely lost the first time they boot up Windows 8.

In addition to doing lots of things differently than previous versions did them, Windows 8 also includes a ton of new features, settings and menus that never existed before. And to make matters even worse, there is no user manual in the box, which means you’re going to have to learn all about Windows 8’s mysterious pieces and parts all on your own. [Read more…]

Important: Apple has released a critical security update for your Mac’s OS X operating system

Posted on December 24, 2014

Apple has just released a critical security update for OS X on Macs that are running Yosemite, Mountain Lion or Mavericks. They also warn that operating systems that are left unpatched will remain wide open to hackers.

Unlike Microsoft, Apple rarely releases security updates (because frankly, they rarely need to), but the bug patched by this update is a very serious one. [Read more…]

Make new browser tabs open immediately instead of in the background

Posted on December 23, 2014

new-browser-tabs The ability to open a web page in a new browser tab instead of a new window is one of computing’s most popular upgrades of all time.

But there is one annoyance with tabbed browsing that really gets on my nerves, and that’s how new tabs open in the background instead of opening out in front where you can see them without having to first click on the new tab.

Getting Internet Explorer and Firefox to open new tabs immediately is simply a matter of changing a setting. [Read more…]