Rick's Daily Tips

This is my #1 tip for taking great photos

Posted on March 5, 2024

Countless books and how-to articles have been written explaining how to take great photos, but in my opinion there is one photography tip that trumps all the rest…

Take LOTS of pictures!

Yes, it’s true that an experienced professional photographer can adjust a few camera settings and frame the shot based on little more than intuition, then come away with a winner after snapping just a few exposures.

But not everyone is a pro, and that’s fine. You don’t have to be a professional photographer to have others believing you might be a pro. [Read more…]

Build a battery backup that will power your computer for hours instead of minutes

Posted on March 4, 2024

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Regular readers of this blog know I’m a huge proponent of Battery Backup devices.

Truth be told, they are absolutely essential if you live in an area that’s served by an unreliable power grid, especially if you work from home and need to keep your computer gear up and running during frequent outages.

[Read more…]

Try this first if a newly-installed program doesn’t work as expected

Posted on March 4, 2024

The Internet has forever changed the way we acquire new software to run on our computers and mobile devices.

Gone are the days when we had to visit a retail store and buy a disk.

Now all we have to do is perform a quick Google search to find what we’re looking for and then click “Download” and install it.

But even though it’s easier than ever to find and download useful new software, things still go wrong during the installation process on occasion.

[Read more…]

Q&A: How do I make Desktop icons open with one click?

Posted on March 3, 2024

Question from Marie: I have a neurological disorder that makes it hard for me to double-click because my hands shake so bad.

When I bought my computer they set it up for me so that I could click on a desktop icon and it would open with a single click.

Ever since the last update was installed I have to click on an icon twice to get it to open. That’s very difficult for me.

How can I get the single click to start working again?

[Read more…]

Reminder: You don’t have to pay sales tax on gift cards

Posted on March 3, 2024

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Gift cards are very popular as birthday, anniversary, and holiday gifts, and for good reason…

They virtually guarantee that your money will end up buying something the recipient will like.

If you plan to buy gift cards to give away as gifts (or even to purchase something for yourself), make sure the cashier doesn’t try to charge you sales tax on the purchase of the card. [Read more…]