Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: How can I get my motherboard’s serial number?

Posted on September 12, 2023

Question from Sharon: Back in 2021 I bought a custom-built Windows PC from a computer store that’s about two hours away in another city.

My daughter lived there at the time and she had recommended them to me after buying one from them.

Anyway, I received an email from them saying some of the motherboards they had used during that time have been recalled due to a potential fire hazard.

They asked me to send them the serial number of my computer’s motherboard so they could check to see if it’s affected by the recall. Can you help me retrieve it? [Read more…]

Take aerial photos and video with your own camera drone

Posted on September 12, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

By now you’ve probably seen some of the numerous videos and photos that have been captured from the air using drones.

I have, and many of them are absolutely amazing.

Now, you can own your own camera-equipped drone, and plenty of models are available for less than $100. And even the ones that cost the least are a joy to use. [Read more…]

Why you should use a ‘burner’ phone on your next vacation

Posted on September 11, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Everyone deserves a nice vacation every now and then, but if you’re like me you’d rather not have to deal with some of the headaches that can arise while you’re enjoying a short break from everyday life.

These days one of the most common vacation headaches is having an expensive smart phone get stolen, lost or damaged while you’re splashing around in the surf or checking out the shops in your favorite resort town.

Replacing a damaged smart phone is a big enough hassle in itself, but even worse is having to deal with the aftermath of losing one altogether or having it get stolen. [Read more…]

How to use your iPad as a laptop

Posted on September 11, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

It’s no secret that Apple’s iPad line of tablets have amazing touch screens and quite functional virtual onscreen keyboards.

However, it’s also no secret that most people find it much easier to type using a full screen physical keyboard and “tapping” doesn’t give you the same level of control you can get with a mouse.

For most typical “tablet” tasks the iPad’s virtual keyboard and touch screen work just fine, but if you do a lot of typing and/or image manipulation you might be better off attaching a physical keyboard and mouse to your iPad so you can use it like a laptop. [Read more…]

Q&A: Can you use the same USB drive on both Macs and PCs?

Posted on September 10, 2023

Question from Kasey: I use a Windows computer at work and a Mac at home. I’ve tried using the same USB flash drive on both computers by I always get an error.

I really need to be able to use certain files on both computers and transfer them back and forth.

My question: Is there any way to use the same USB drive on a Mac and a Windows PC? [Read more…]