Rick's Daily Tips

Alta Vista search engine to close for good on July 8

Posted on July 1, 2013

Those of you who have been using the Internet since its “Stone Age” days probably remember using a search engine called Alta Vista at some point during your online life. Back in the day, if you wanted to find something on the web, you more or less had two viable options: Yahoo or Alta Vista.

While Yahoo pretty much started the “indexing the web” business, Alta Vista soon became a formidable alternative (and my personal favorite) way of searching for whatever folks needed to find. But then along came the juggernaut that is Google, and the rest is history. And as of July 8, Alta Vista itself will be history. [Read more…]

How to record calls made via Skype

Posted on June 29, 2013

Every now and then we find ourselves needing to record a phone call either for archiving purposes, legal reasons or for any number of other reasons.

Back in the day when landlines ruled, recording a call was easy. You simply plugged a cassette tape recorder into the phone jack via a special adapter and pressed the Record button.

But times have changed. Most calls these days are made either via cell phone or with a computer using an extremely popular service called Skype, neither of which work all that great hooked up to a cassette recorder.

There are several apps available for recording cell phone conversations, but only a handful for recording a conversation over Skype. The purpose of this tip is to clue you in about a couple of my favorites. The one you use will depend on whether you’re running Skype on a Windows PC or a Mac. [Read more…]

App Lock – Secure your Android phone’s apps and settings with a password

Posted on June 29, 2013

app-lock Have you ever loaned your smart phone to a friend and then spent the day wondering if he was reading your emails or looking at your pictures? Have you ever let your child play a game on your phone only to find out later that the settings had been changed? Do you refuse to let anyone else touch your phone because of concerns like these?

Thanks to a free app called App Lock, you can now let someone else use your Android smart phone without having to worry about them accessing your personal information and photos or changing the phone’s settings. [Read more…]

How to make Windows 8.1 boot directly to the Desktop

Posted on June 28, 2013

windows-8-1 Microsoft released Windows 8 with some changes that quickly proved to be extremely unpopular with seasoned Windows users, and as a result the sales of both Windows 8 itself and new PCs that come with it pre-installed never even made it out of second gear.

But to the company’s credit, they listened to their customers and reversed a couple of the most bone-headed decisions in the Windows 8.1 update.

The first and most appreciated change was putting the Start button back in its rightful place. The second (and to me at least, even more important) change was giving users the ability to bypass the reviled Start Screen and boot directly to the Desktop. The instructions that follow explain how to set Windows 8.1 to do just that: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I set my default search engine back to Google?

Posted on June 27, 2013

Question from Anita W.: Hi Rick. I recently read your post letting everyone know that I.E. 10 is now available for Windows 7 so I downloaded it and gave it a try. All in all, I think it’s a major improvement over I.E. 9.

I’m having one problem however. When I installed I.E. 10 it changed my default search engine from Google to Bing. How do I change it back? Thanks a bunch!!

Rick’s answer: Anita, I also think I.E. 10 is a major improvement over I.E. 9, but as you found out the switch isn’t always hassle-free. Unfortunately, it’s standard procedure for Microsoft to stealthily replace your default search engine with Bing. Luckily, it’s very easy to change it back. Here’s how: [Read more…]