Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: How do I add a Facebook ‘Like Box’ to my WordPress blog?

Posted on June 12, 2013

Question from Brenda K.: Hi Rick. I have created a Facebook page for my WordPress blog where I post about ladies fashions. I’d like to add a Facebook “Like Box” similar to the one you have on this site to the blog. I’ve searched Facebook from top to bottom and I can’t find and instructions for adding one. Can you tell me how to do it?

Rick‘s answer: Brenda, when I decided to add a ‘Like Box’ to RicksDailyTips.com I had to search high and low for the instructions as well. Find them I did however, and basically all you have to do is fill out a short form and then copy and paste the code provided into the theme of your WordPress blog wherever you want the ‘Like Box’ to appear (usually in the sidebar).

Here’s how to add a Facebook ‘Like Box’ to your WordPress blog: [Read more…]

Would you buy a full-size PC running Android?

Posted on June 11, 2013

Android smart phones and tablets are selling like there’s no tomorrow, and more people are switching from iPhones to Android phones than the other way around. This means that Android based devices are extremely popular, and apparently getting more so all time.

Could Android also succeed as an operating system powering full size computers? Well, we’re about to find out because Acer and Gateway are in the process of testing prototypes of all-in-one PCs running Android. Which of course begs the question: Would you buy one? [Read more…]

Preview websites and thumbnail photos before you click with SwiftPreview

Posted on June 8, 2013

How would you like to be able to see a preview of the web page a link will take you to before you click on it?

Or how about being able to quickly preview the images in online photo galleries just by hovering your mouse over the thumbnails?

A wonderful free Google Chrome extension called SwiftPreview will let you perform both of these tricks!

SwiftPreview is extremely simple and easy to use. Simply install the add-on, then whenever you hover your mouse over a link or thumbnail image, a preview image will be displayed on the screen. If you like what you see, simply click the link or photo and it will open in your browser as usual. If you decide the content being linked to doesn’t interest you, simply remove the mouse from the link or thumbnail and the preview goes away. [Read more…]

Reset your forgotten Windows password with the free Trinity Rescue Kit

Posted on June 5, 2013

If you ever find yourself locked out of your Windows PC’s Administrator account because you forgot the password, you’ll be extremely limited in regards to what you can do with your computer. You won’t be able to install or remove software, add or remove hardware devices, change system settings that affect other users or even access certain files on the PC. Not a good situation to be in!

Luckily, there is a free tool that will allow you to reset your forgotten Windows password. It’s called the Trinity Rescue Kit, and while it performs many other handy tasks, its most popular feature is the Password Reset utility.

Before I explain how to download and use the Trinity Rescue Kit to reset your lost Windows password, I must first tell you the following:

1 – I strongly recommend that you only use the Trinity Rescue Kit on your own PC or on someone else’s PC with their explicit permission. Using it on a work PC that has been password protected by the IT department can get you fired. Even worse, using it on another person’s PC without their explicit permission could land you in jail.

2 – At this point in time, the Trinity Rescue Kit will not reset passwords on PCs running Windows 8, but it works great with Windows XP, Vista and 7.

Now that the “fine print” is out of the way we can get started… [Read more…]

Q&A: Can my hard drive be repaired?

Posted on June 5, 2013

Question from Michael: I have an HP Pavilion dv5t laptop with a 500GB hard drive which recently began making clicking and clunking sounds. After reading your article about hard drives making unusual sounds I realize that the drive is probably in the process of failing.

My question is can hard drives be repaired? This is a 7200RPM model which I understand to be one of the best. (By the way, I have backed everything up so I’m not worried about losing any programs or data.)

Rick‘s answer: [Read more…]