Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
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Question from Dorenda: Hi, Rick. I have a question about charging my phone.
I lead walking tours through the streets of my historic home town and I only have a few minutes here and there when I can plug my iPhone in for a quick charge.
Someone told me my phone will charge faster if I turn it off before I plug it in. Is that true? [Read more…]
Did you know that at least some of the apps on your phone are probably tracking your location even if the app doesn’t need location data in order to perform the task it was intended for.
Of course a Maps app has a legitimate need to track your location, for obvious reasons.
So does an app that keeps you up-to-date on where to buy the cheapest gasoline in the area you happen to be driving through. [Read more…]
Question from Andy: My girlfriend and I have a bet that’s riding on your answer to this question:
Is a six digit PIN really all that more secure than a four digit PIN?
It don’t seem like just two digits could make that much of a difference. She says it makes a big difference if someone ever tries to break into my phone.
So who’s right? [Read more…]
Have you ever received a telephone call with your own number showing up on the Caller ID?
Yeah, me too. And it’s quite frustrating to say the least.
When that happens the natural instinct is to answer the call and give the scammer a piece of your mind, but that’s a very bad idea.
If you’re a Windows or Mac user you probably know that restarting your computer in Safe Mode is a great way to troubleshoot software problems that are difficult to track down when everything but the kitchen sink is running on the machine.
In a nutshell, booting a device into Safe Mode ensures that only the most essential parts of the operating system and the most basic hardware drivers are loaded into memory to make it easier to track down those most stubborn issues.
Luckily, Android devices can be booted into Safe Mode as well. [Read more…]