Hello, and welcome…
Rick’s Daily Tech Tips Update for Sunday, May 26, 2024
Topics covered in this issue…
• Why you really need to have a good backup plan
• Watch your favorite Xfinity channels on any device
• Q&A: Why do ranges and dryers run on 240 volts instead of 120?
• Do this when you get a customer service rep you can’t understand
• May’s Tech Tips Giveaway: TP-Link Deco AXE4900 Tri-Band WiFi 6E Mesh WiFi System
Today’s issue is sponsored by…
Techs in a Sec provides fast, reliable IT Tech services nationwide. Our motto is “Call a Tech, not a Geek”.
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Note: Have something you’d like to tell over 16,500 engaged subscribers? Click here to sponsor the next available issue of this newsletter.
Monthly Tech Giveaway….
We have a winner for April…
Congratulations to Gary M. from Warren City, Michigan for winning the Anker 521 300W Portable Power Station in April’s Tech Tips Giveaway.
May’s winner will receive a TP-Link Deco AXE4900 Tri-Band WiFi 6E Mesh WiFi System (click for details).
The prizes featured in my Monthly Tech Giveaways include a combination of the best items I have received for testing and review and brand new items provided directly by partner companies.
All winners are selected at random. All Standard subscribers have an equal chance to win. All Premium subscribers have double the chance to win (their email addresses are added to the pot twice).
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Today’s featured tech tip….
Why you really need to have a good backup plan
Do you make regular backups of the photos and other important files on your computer’s hard drive or SSD?
If not, I strongly recommend that you start doing it right now.
Have you ever stopped to think of all the important info and files that are currently stored on your machine?
If your experience is typical you probably have hundreds, and possibly even thousands of photos, Office documents and/or other files on there.
If you were to lose all of those files to a drive failure, a successful ransomware attack or some other unforeseen disaster, would you be able to recover from the loss?
Always having a recent backup on hand will allow you to restore all of those precious files if the need ever arises. And chances are, it will at some point.
Luckily, it’s quite easy to back up your computer’s data using software that is already included with the operating system.
If you have a Windows machine you can create a System Image backup with just a few clicks
If you have a Mac you can do the same using Apple’s Time Machine utility.
And don’t forget about the importance of maintaining redundant backups – hopefully somewhere offsite via a second external hard drive that’s stored in a safe deposit box or online with a dependable cloud backup service such as iDrive.
And now, one final note about backups…
Don’t forget that your smartphone and/or tablet likely has tons of photos on it well, and those devices are extremely susceptible to loss or theft.
Luckily, it’s easy to back up an Android device to the cloud. Just follow the instructions on this page.
It’s just as easy to back up an iPhone or iPad by following the instructions detailed here.
The latest from Rick’s Daily Tips Tech Blog…
• Watch your favorite Xfinity channels on any device.
As for most everything else, there’s an app for that.
• Q&A: Why do ranges and dryers run on 240 volts instead of 120?
This post has the the answer.
• Click here to see today’s ‘Picture of the Day’.
Every morning I post a new photo that I find inspiring, intriguing, or just plain beautiful to look at. Jumpstart your day by checking it out.
Rick’s Daily Pick…
Samsung 870 EVO SATA III 1 TB 2.5” Internal SSD
Is your laptop or desktop computer still being bogged down by a slow spinning hard drive? If so, replace it with this little gem and put your machine on virtual steroids.
Today’s post from ‘My Daily Smile’…
Do this when you get a customer service rep you can’t understand
It works more often than not.
Tech news that caught my eye…
• Google scrambles to manually remove weird AI answers in search
• How this drone will take the place of first responders in an emergency
• You can now hum to find a song on YouTube Music for Android
• Bing outage shows just how little competition Google search really has
• Fairwell to VBScript: Microsoft is killing off one of its most iconic programming tools
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Thanks so much, and have an amazing day.
Your tech buddy,
Rick Rouse
https://www.RicksDailyTips.com