Rick's Daily Tips

5 reasons why I’ll never buy an expensive phone

Posted on August 26, 2026

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Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

As you probably know, one can easily spend north of $1,000 for a new top-of-the-line smartphone these days.

And truth be told, you could well be one of the countless individuals who regularly spend that much every time you buy a new phone.

Let me say right out of the gate that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

This is America after all, and we’re all entitled to spend our hard-earned money on whatever suits our fancy. [Read more…]

How to quickly search the web for any word or phrase on a web page

Posted on August 25, 2026

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Have you ever been reading something on the Internet and encountered a word or phrase you wanted to learn more about?

If so, you probably did something like this to do a web search on that term: [Read more…]

How to instantly get the current time in any city or town

Posted on August 24, 2026

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Have you ever found yourself calculating the current time in some far off locale, only to discover later that your calculation missed the mark by a mile?

I ran into this problem myself several times back in my Army days. But luckily, things have changed since then…

Thanks to our friends at Google we can instantly get the current time for virtually any city or town on the planet. Here’s how: [Read more…]

Q&A: How long can used solar panels be expected to last?

Posted on August 23, 2026

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Question from Blaine: I was reading through some of the past “Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletters” and noticed one was sponsored by a company selling used solar panels.

I’ve actually been pricing solar panels for a while with an eye towards taking a small hunting cabin that I own off-grid.

I checked out the used panels offered by your advertiser SanTan Solar and their prices are only a fraction of the cheapest prices that I’ve been able to find for new solar panels.

I have a couple of questions for you if you don’t mind: [Read more…]

Q&A: Is it legal to spoof someone else’s phone number?

Posted on August 22, 2026

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Question from Brenda: I’m so frustrated with all the calls I’m receiving from scammers who have spoofed someone else’s phone number!

I’ve always heard that’s illegal so why are so many people doing it?

So tell me, is spoofing illegal or not? [Read more…]