Rick's Daily Tips

Review: Timeusb 12V 100Ah Pro LiFePO4 Battery

Posted on July 11, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

About a year ago I decided to put together a basic solar power system to power my home office so I could keep working during our somewhat frequent short-term power outages.

Being new to the world of solar power, I spent quite some time researching how it all worked and what types of components are needed to build a basic off-grid solar power setup.

It actually ended up being quite simple as there are only a few parts that are really needed to make it work. [Read more…]

Q&A: Should I buy an ‘All-in-One’ computer or a regular desktop PC?

Posted on July 10, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Wilma: My 6 year old desktop computer died and I’m in the process of shopping for a new one.

I really like the look of some of the All-in-One computers that I’ve seen.

And I also like the idea of not having to deal with a tower box or a bunch of extra cables, but I really don’t want a laptop.

I’d love to hear your honest opinion of All-in-One computers. [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I set Google Play to only auto-update apps over Wi-Fi?

Posted on July 10, 2023

Question from Kara: I have an Android phone that always auto-updates my apps over my cellular data connection without any warning.

The problem is I sometimes use up my data allotment before the month runs out.

I realize that downloading updates don’t use up a lot of data, but they do use some, right?

How can I set my phone to only auto-update my apps when I’m connected to Wi-Fi? [Read more…]

Q&A: Is it ok to use Gmail for my business email?

Posted on July 9, 2023

Question from Gabe: I recently retired after a long career in public service and I’m planning to start a second career as a professional photographer.

I’ve already lined up a few shoots through word-of-mouth but I’m planning to put up a business page on Facebook and have some business cards printed to promote my photography services.

The question I have is do I need a private email address (something like [email protected] where example.com is my own domain name) or will a Gmail address suffice?

[Read more…]

Q&A: Why is my PC’s hard drive making a clicking sound?

Posted on July 9, 2023

Question from Nancy: Rick, my desktop PC has started making a faint, but noticeable clicking sound when I first turn it on.

It only clicks for about 8-10 seconds, then it boots up normally and runs fine until I shut it down.

It’s hard to tell for sure, but I took the cover off the side of the computer and the clicking sound seems to be coming from the hard drive.

I haven’t downloaded anything recently or made any changes to the system that I’m aware of.

This machine came with Windows 8.1 but it’s been updated to Windows 10.

Do you have any idea what I can do to stop the clicking? [Read more…]