Rick's Daily Tips

Review: Hello FAX – Send FAXes for free without a FAX machine

Posted on December 8, 2014

Most folks probably think FAXes are about as obsolete as Morse Code in today’s digital world, but the fact is there are still times when we need to send and/or receive an occasional FAX.

But that doesn’t mean we need to keep a physical FAX machine plugged in and waiting 24/7.

In fact, we no longer need a FAX machine at all in order to send the occasional FAX. Instead, we can use one of several popular online FAXing services.

I recently found myself needing to send a FAX for the first time in years, and since I had ditched my old FAX machine several years back I found myself scrambling to find a good online FAX service. One that really stood out to me was a service called HELLO FAX, so I decided to give it a try. [Read more…]

Q&A: What’s the fastest web browser for a slow Internet connection

Posted on December 5, 2014

Question from Camille I.: I have cable Internet through Charter and it’s usually pretty fast, but during the evenings it sometimes slows to a crawl. I read somewhere a while back that some web browsers work better on slow Internet connections than others. Can you recommend one?

Rick’s answer: I sure can Camille. For overall speed it’s hard to beat Google Chrome, but if you have a slow Internet connection Opera running in turbo mode is amazing! What makes Opera so much faster over a slow connection than other browsers is their data proprietary compression system. [Read more…]

Display notifications from your Android device on your computer screen

Posted on December 3, 2014

Have you ever found yourself in a situation similar to the following?

You’re expecting an important text message that you really can’t afford to miss, but you’re at work and you simply don’t have time to pull your phone out of your pocket or purse every time it buzzes to see if it’s the message you’ve been waiting for.

Well, now you don’t have to.

Desktop Notifications is a free Android app / Google Chrome or Firefox browser extension combo that lets you display all of your Android device’s notifications right in the corner of your web browser! [Read more…]

Do you use Facebook to promote your business? Get ready to start paying. A lot.

Posted on December 3, 2014

If you use Facebook to promote your business, come mid-January you’ll have to start paying to promote your posts if you want them to be seen by your followers.

For some time now, Facebook has been using their “EdgeRank” algorithm to reduce the number of followers who see unpaid posts in their newsfeeds, prompting many business owners to pay to promote their posts to a wider audience.

Thanks to Edgerank, as of today small business owners can choose not to pay to promote a post and it will still be seen by approximately 16% of their followers. But that’s about to change pretty soon. [Read more…]

Q&A: Can I recover accidentally deleted files from a USB pen drive?

Posted on December 2, 2014

Question from Ken L.: Rick, I need help big time my friend. I accidentally deleted all the files from my USB pen drive and I REALLY need to get them back. I checked the Recycle Bin and they aren’t in there. Is there anything I can do to get them back?

Rick’s answer: There’s a good chance that you’ll be able to recover at least some of your lost files Ken, and maybe even all of them if luck is on your side. Here’s what you need to do: [Read more…]