Rick's Daily Tips

Should you buy a used laptop?

Posted on January 14, 2013

As a general rule, I don’t recommend buying a used laptop computer. Why? There are several reasons:

1 – The prices of new budget laptops have dropped to the point where they can now be considered disposable items. Why pay $200 for a used laptop that might have all kinds of hidden problems when you can pay $350 and get a brand new one with a warranty.

2 – For various reasons, the useful life of a typical laptop is around 5 years. After that you’re running on borrowed time, and paying for the privilege rarely makes sense. [Read more…]

How to remove Java from your PC

Posted on January 13, 2013

java Java is a programming language that was used heavily by web developers back in the early days of the World Wide Web, but over the years it has largely been replaced by newer, safer and more powerful technologies.

A smattering of websites still use bits and pieces of Java code (not to be confused with Java Script) to accomplish certain tasks, but this is becoming ever more rare by the day.

Although Java is rarely used these days, most users will still find that it has been installed on their computers. This is now a huge problem because of a serious security hole in the Java core that has recently been discovered. You can read more about the flaw and why the Department of Homeland Security is recommending that Java be removed from all PCs right here if you’re interested.

If you’d rather skip the “why” and get straight to uninstalling Java from your computer, you’ll find instructions for doing so below. Be sure to remove all instances of Java found in the list of installed programs if you see more than one. [Read more…]

WhoAreYou – Visual Caller ID, Call Blocker, and Text Blocker for Android phones

Posted on January 12, 2013

whoareyou Do you hate getting calls from “Unknown Number” or texts from phone numbers you don’t recognize? Do you ever wish you could block a phone number from ever calling or texting you again? Well, you’re in luck if you have an Android based smart phone.

A free App called WhoAreYou puts you in control of who is or isn’t allowed to call or text you, and it lets you know who is calling or texting even if that person isn’t on your contact list. Pretty nifty, huh?

If you receive a call or text from someone you simply don’t want to ever hear from again (i.e. your ex, a telemarketer, etc.) just tap the “Ditch” button and they’ll be history (at least as far as your phone is concerned). [Read more…]

Connectify – Turn your laptop into a Wi-Fi Hotspot

Posted on January 12, 2013

As I explained in this post, it’s easy to create a Wi-Fi hotspot with your Android smart phone. And thanks to an awesome program called Connectify (price starting at $25), you can also create one using your laptop!

If you’re wondering why you might need to a create a Wi-Fi hotspot when you already have a wired high speed Internet connection, there are several reasons: [Read more…]

How to enable the Hibernate option in Windows 8/8.1

Posted on January 11, 2013

As I have mentioned in previous posts, Microsoft made some pretty drastic changes when they designed the look and feel of Window 8.

In this post I’ll show you how to activate another popular feature they decided to “hide” by default: The option to place the computer into Hibernation mode at shutdown.

First of all, I’ll spend a few moments explaining what Hibernate mode is and when you might want to use it instead of Sleep mode or simply clicking Shutdown. There are three primary ways of powering down your PC: [Read more…]