Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
Question from Janine: Hello, Rick. I have just finished reading an article that discussed an app that places your phone into “Airplane Mode” whenever there isn’t a cell signal available.
Please don’t think I’m a dummy because I’m not, but I had never heard the term “Airplane Mode” before reading that article.
Can you tell me what it means? What do phones have to do with airplanes?
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Well, here we are in mid-April, and that means summer will be here before we know it.
We just had a late blast of wintry weather here in Virginia, but we’ve already had some really nice “summer” days and there will be plenty more coming down the pike real soon.
Here’s something you need to remember as you’re out and about enjoying the heat of the coming summer: If you get hot, your mobile devices will too. [Read more…]
Hackers have been relentlessly attacking PCs that run Microsoft Windows for years while largely ignoring computers running other operating systems.
Why? Because they enjoy inflicting misery and financial loss on as many people as possible while expending the least effort.
It’s simply the age-old principle known as economy of scale at work. Since there are more Windows PCs out there than anything else, they aim their malicious attacks at them in order to get the most “bang for their buck”.
While PC’s are still huge targets, now that smartphones and tablets are in virtually every pocket in America the hackers have turned their attention to those devices as well.
With that in mind, let me tell you about a free app called Lookout Mobile Security that offers outstanding security protection for iPhones, iPads and all types of Android devices.
If you live in an area plagued by frequent power outages, keeping your cell phone and other mobile devices charged can be a real challenge.
I wrote a post a while back explaining how a spare battery backup unit is a great tool for keeping your devices charged up.
But if you’d rather not have to deal with keeping another battery backup charged and at the ready, there is a great alternative available: a solar powered USB charger
One major advantage of solar chargers is the obvious: As long as the sun shines you can keep a charge on your devices’ batteries. Of course that’s also the main disadvantage – no sun, no charging. But most models have a built-in backup battery for charging your devices during times of darkness or heavy cloud cover. [Read more…]
Do you use your mobile device primarily for texting? If so, a free app called HeyWire will let you text until the proverbial cows come home for free!
With HeyWire you can purchase a cellular plan that comes with a very low number of included minutes and texts and save a ton of money each month.
HeyWire uses your device’s data connection to send and receive SMS messages. The user interface is very attractive and easy to use (it works pretty much like the one you’re using now) and you can learn to use it in 2 minutes flat!
It doesn’t matter whether you use an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Windows Phone or an Android device, there is a free HeyWire app ready and waiting for you to download, install and begin using it in minutes. You can even use HeyWire to text from your laptop or desktop computer’s web browser! [Read more…]