Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Did I just completely fry my PC?

Posted on July 17, 2026

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Question from Theresa: Hi, Rick. I’m really upset this morning because my desktop computer was damaged due to a bad electrical outlet.

What happened was I hired an electrician to install an electrical outlet in my new sunroom so I could move my computer out there.

As soon as I plugged the computer in and turned it on I heard a loud POP and now I can’t get either the computer or monitor to come on.

My brother stopped by and checked the outlet and found that it has 238 volts on it instead of 120.

I have two questions: [Read more…]

Reminder: Password Managers still put your online accounts at risk

Posted on July 15, 2026

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It’s no secret that being connected to the Internet makes our computers and mobile devices vulnerable to hackers.

Passwords have long been used to protect our online accounts from those threats, but those once-trusted passwords are becoming less effective by the day as hacking methods become increasingly sophisticated.

In short, a simple password that’s just a few characters long offers very little real protection against the sophisticated hacking methods that are being used today. [Read more…]

Learn how to do almost anything with YouTube

Posted on July 15, 2026

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Back in the “stone age” (i.e. before we humans had the Internet) learning a new skill was time-consuming and often simply not worth our while.

With time being our most valuable asset, we often found it faster (and therefore “cheaper”) to simply hire someone who already possessed a certain skill to do that essential, yet one-time job for us instead of taking the time to learn how to do it ourselves.

But then along came the Internet, and before we knew it we had countless volumes of information at our fingertips. [Read more…]

AI Song Generator: Create Covers with AI Song Cover Generator by AISong.org

Posted on July 15, 2026

If you’re a content creator, indie musician, or music enthusiast, you’ve probably wanted to hear a song in a different vocal style without hiring a singer or booking studio time. Trying out a new vocal direction for a track — pop instead of rock, a different tone, a fresh interpretation — usually means finding a vocalist, scheduling a session, and paying for it, which stops most creative experiments before they start.

That’s the problem AISong.org’s AI Song Cover Generator is built to solve. As part of the broader AI Song Generator platform, it lets you take an existing track and apply a different AI voice style to it, working as an AI Song Maker for anyone who wants to explore vocal variations without singers, sessions, or studio costs. [Read more…]

The Production Gap: Building repeatable workflows with an AI Video Generator

Posted on July 15, 2026

Any creator who has spent an hour cycling through prompts knows the “casino” feeling of generative media. You input a prompt, pull the lever, and wait to see if the machine grants you a usable clip.

Occasionally, you hit the jackpot: a five-second sequence with perfect cinematic lighting, fluid motion, and zero anatomical glitches. But the trouble starts when you try to generate the second shot.

In traditional filmmaking, you have a set, a lighting rig, and a cast. You can move the camera, change the angle, and the environment remains a constant. In the current state of generative AI, every new generation is a roll of the dice. This lack of continuity is the “production gap”—the space between generating a cool isolated visual and actually producing a cohesive piece of content. [Read more…]