Rick's Daily Tips

Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!

Q&A: Is the Windows 10 on my PC a retail version or OEM?

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Windows-10-logoQuestion from John G.:  I’ve been reading your blog posts for a long time Rick, and several of them discuss the difference between retail versions of Windows and OEM versions.

Thanks to you, I now know the difference between the two. What I’m not sure about is whether the Windows 10 on my own computer is retail or OEM.

I know it used to be OEM because Windows 8 came pre-installed when I bought the computer. But I recently installed the free Windows 10 update and I was told that updating to Windows 10 automatically converts your Windows installation to a retail version. Is that correct?  [Read more…]

Today only: Save $20 on Amazon Prime!

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amazon-prime-logo2

Important: This post is no longer relevant since it discussed a one-day-only discount on an Amazon Prime membership.  Also, the current annual price for an Amazon Prime membership is $119.

Original post continues below…

Regular readers of this blog know that Amazon Prime members get free 2-day shipping on millions of Prime-eligible products plus a ton of other awesome perks.

If you’ve been wanting to try Amazon Prime for yourself, this is the day to take the plunge.

Today only (Nov. 18) you can get your very own Amazon Prime membership for only $79. That’s $20 off the regular price!

Sign up today and you’ll receive all of the fantastic Prime benefits plus free 2-day shipping just in time for your Christmas shopping.  [Read more…]

How to disable Web Search in the Windows 10 search box

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Windows-10-logoUpdate: Windows 10 no longer allows you to opt out of including web results in your local searches so this post is now moot.

Original post continues below…

By default, the search box in Windows 10 will return search results for your query from both your local computer and the Internet.

As is typically the case, some folks love the integrated search feature, and others hate it.

Personally, I prefer to use the Windows search box just to search for items on my computer. For web searches, I prefer to use Google.

If you would prefer to keep your local and online searches separate as well, you can easily disable the Web Search feature in Windows 10. Here’s how:  [Read more…]

How to prevent Microsoft from using Windows 10 to spy on you

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Windows-10-logoDid you know that Microsoft uses your computer’s Windows 10 installation to spy on you?

Windows 10 has a “Telemetry and Data Collection” tool that gathers several kinds of user data from your PC and sends it back to Microsoft via the Internet.

Personally, I don’t much like that.  [Read more…]

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