Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: How can I force Google to always show American search results?

Posted on February 10, 2023

Question from Brett: I need your help with something if you don’t mind, Rick.

I travel frequently on business, often to other countries (mostly to western Europe but occasionally to South and Central America as well).

The problem I’m having is every time I click on my bookmark to load Google it takes me to the Google site for whichever country I’m in at the time.

I really need for my browser to load the Google search results for the United States at all times because only those results are relevant to the research I do for my job.

Do you know of a way to force Google to always show the American search results no matter which country I’m in at the time? [Read more…]

Q&A: Can I make my PC shut down at the same time every night?

Posted on February 10, 2023

Question from Kenny: I use my computer to watch a few TV shows every night before I go to sleep. The last show goes off at 11pm.

The problem is I often fall asleep before the last show goes off and my computer stays on all night. I don’t like that.

I’d really like to have the computer shut down automatically at 11pm.

How can I make it do that? [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I find out how much data each app on my PC is using?

Posted on February 9, 2023

Question from Gary: My ISP has notified me that I have exceeded the monthly data allotment for my Internet plan and that I might have to pay extra this month.

I don’t understand this because I only use the Internet for about 1 to 2 hours per day and I don’t do much streaming at all other than watching an occasional YouTube video.

I only have one computer using my WiFi connection. No phones or tablets use WiFi, just this one computer. There is nothing connected via a wired connection either.

I’m hoping you can help me find out what’s using all that data? [Read more…]

Blog stats: The differences between Hits, Page Views and Visits

Posted on February 9, 2023

Many new bloggers take a look at their blog’s traffic stats and become confused while viewing the stats for “Hits”, “Page Views” and “Visits”.

Even worse, they often become more confused when they see other bloggers/webmasters bragging about how many “hits” their sites receive every month.

If you find all of this traffic terminology confusing as well, I’ll try to clear it all up for you with this post. [Read more…]

8 tips to make remote learning and video conferencing safe

Posted on February 9, 2023

Most educators can’t imagine their daily lives without video conferencing. It’s useful for everything from online lectures to sprint meetings for the whole team.

Because of its design, it can reach more students without requiring them to be physically present in classrooms. However, keeping outsiders out of video conferencing is just as crucial. [Read more…]