Rick's Daily Tips

Display notifications from your Android device on your computer screen

Posted on December 3, 2014

Have you ever found yourself in a situation similar to the following?

You’re expecting an important text message that you really can’t afford to miss, but you’re at work and you simply don’t have time to pull your phone out of your pocket or purse every time it buzzes to see if it’s the message you’ve been waiting for.

Well, now you don’t have to.

Desktop Notifications is a free Android app / Google Chrome or Firefox browser extension combo that lets you display all of your Android device’s notifications right in the corner of your web browser! [Read more…]

Do you use Facebook to promote your business? Get ready to start paying. A lot.

Posted on December 3, 2014

If you use Facebook to promote your business, come mid-January you’ll have to start paying to promote your posts if you want them to be seen by your followers.

For some time now, Facebook has been using their “EdgeRank” algorithm to reduce the number of followers who see unpaid posts in their newsfeeds, prompting many business owners to pay to promote their posts to a wider audience.

Thanks to Edgerank, as of today small business owners can choose not to pay to promote a post and it will still be seen by approximately 16% of their followers. But that’s about to change pretty soon. [Read more…]

Q&A: Can I recover accidentally deleted files from a USB pen drive?

Posted on December 2, 2014

Question from Ken L.: Rick, I need help big time my friend. I accidentally deleted all the files from my USB pen drive and I REALLY need to get them back. I checked the Recycle Bin and they aren’t in there. Is there anything I can do to get them back?

Rick’s answer: There’s a good chance that you’ll be able to recover at least some of your lost files Ken, and maybe even all of them if luck is on your side. Here’s what you need to do: [Read more…]

Review: Adobe Photoshop Touch for iPhone and Android

Posted on December 1, 2014

adobe-photoshop-touch Before I begin, let me be upfront and tell you that I love Adobe’s photo editing software. In my opinion, while they tend to be a little pricey, Photoshop, Elements and Lightroom are the best image editors out there. That’s why I downloaded Adobe Photoshop Touch with high expectations.

Photoshop Touch promises to bring many of the most used (and most useful) features of the full-blown Photoshop program to your mobile device, and Adobe pretty much succeeded in that regard. But that being said, I found several important features and tools difficult to use on a tablet and smart phone. [Read more…]

Thank ‘Windows 8.1 with Bing’ for all the $200 Windows laptops that are now on the market

Posted on November 30, 2014

If you’ve been computer shopping recently, you’ve no doubt noticed the plethora of laptops priced around $200. It seems they’re everywhere these days, and even the big name-brands are selling them.

If you’re wondering how the computer manufacturers can afford to sell a Windows laptop for $200, it basically boils down to one reason: Microsoft’s release of Windows 8.1 with Bing.

At its core, Windows 8.1 with Bing is exactly the same operating system as the standard Windows 8.1, but two things differentiate Windows 8.1 with Bing from standard Windows 8.1: [Read more…]