Rick's Daily Tips

If your laptop’s battery dies faster than it should, check your web browser!

Posted on July 17, 2014

It has recently come to light that Google’s Chrome web browser (which I LOVE by the way) is a battery hog when used on a laptop, and this is something that I had preciously been totally unaware of.

I hadn’t noticed it because I do the vast majority of my work on a desktop PC, but after checking it out by running tests with my laptop, I can tell you that it is indeed true.

Apparently the culprit is something called the “System Clock Tick Rate”. In simplified terms, this is the rate at which the system “wakes up” a sleeping CPU to check to see if anything is going on that needs to be taken care of. [Read more…]

Cut your iPhone’s data usage with a simple settings change

Posted on July 16, 2014

A new feature introduced with iOS 7 makes it easier to conserve your iPhone’s monthly data allotment. You can now tell iOS which apps are allowed to use cellular data and which ones must wait until you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network.

As you probably know, data that’s sent and received via Wi-Fi doesn’t count against your monthly data allotment, so using as many apps as possible only when you’re connected via Wi-Fi can save you a bundle on monthly data overage charges.

It’s easy to tell iOS which apps you want to restrict to using Wi-Fi only. Here’s how: [Read more…]

Q&A: Why does it say ‘Uninstall not Successful’ when I try to uninstall an Android app?

Posted on July 14, 2014

Question from Keith: Hi Rick. I have a problem that’s driving me nuts and I hope you can help me solve it.

I downloaded an app onto my Motorola XOOM but decided that I don’t like it. When I try to uninstall it I get a message that says “Uninstall not Successful”. No matter what I do I can’t get Android to uninstall the app.

I stopped the service and even went into Google Play to try to remove it, but nothing works. What do I need to do to get rid of it?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

New Bell Labs technology transmits data at a blazing 10 Gbps over copper wires!

Posted on July 11, 2014

copper-telephone-wire It’s now common knowledge that fiber optic connections allow breathtaking Internet data speeds. It truly is an amazing technology.

Fiber cables are now being installed in many rural areas that were previously only served by traditional copper lines, but for practical reasons the fiber will stop at the nearest pole for many users.

This means that copper wires will still have to be used for the last few yards of the connection. Unfortunately that means those users will not be able to take full advantage of the speed delivered by the fiber lines. [Read more…]