Rick's Daily Tips

How to close an app in iOS 7

Posted on December 4, 2013

If you have recently updated your Apple device(s) to iOS 7 you might be confused about the new procedure for closing a running app. It really isn’t that difficult a task, but it also isn’t one that can easily be “figured out” by trial and error.

Follow these steps to close an app in iOS 7:

1 – Double-tap the Home button to display a horizontal row of icons representing all of the currently running apps.

2 – Swipe to either the left or right until you find the app you wish to close.

3 – Tap and hold the icon of the app you wish to close, then swipe upward towards the top of the screen. You should see the icon “fly” off the screen to indicate that the app is now closed.

Make Ubuntu Linux work the way you want it to with Ubuntu Tweak

Posted on December 4, 2013

If you have recently taken the plunge and replaced Microsoft Windows with Linux, you are probably marveling at the increase in your computer’s speed and appreciating the fact that you don’t have to run an anti-virus program. For sure, Linux offers plenty of advantages over Windows.

One advantage it has never offered however is a simple way to tweak your Linux installation to your liking. You can easily use Google to find command line tweaks for most anything that you can think of, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a GUI system tweaker that uses the mouse instead of the keyboard and command line?

Well, if you’re running the “Ubuntu” flavor of Linux you can now download a very good one, for free. [Read more…]

Q&A: Why won’t my external microSD card work with my Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1?

Posted on December 3, 2013

Question from Randy S.: I recently found out that my Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet has an external microSD slot. I found a 4GB card in my desk that I had once used with a digital camera that no longer works, so I took it out and plugged it in.

The tablet recognizes the SD card as being installed, but I get an error message every time I try to save any files to it. Can you tell me what I need to do to get it to work?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I keep my computer’s virtual memory from slowing my programs down?

Posted on December 3, 2013

Question from Dana G.: I read an article the other day that said if your computer uses too much virtual memory it will really slow down your programs and stuff.

My laptop (a Dell w/Windows XP) is running really slow lately, and I was wondering if that could be the problem. And if it is, how can I stop it?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

How to print from a modern app in Windows 8.1

Posted on December 1, 2013

windows-8-1 As you probably know by now, Microsoft made a ton of changes when they designed the Windows 8 user interface, and many of them were quite unpopular to say the least.

Some of the most reviled changes were addressed with the release of Windows 8.1, but there’s one that really irritates me that wasn’t addressed at all: the procedure for printing from a modern app.

Before Windows 8 came along, printing was almost as easy as breathing. All you had to do was either click the Print icon on a toolbar or the Print option on the “File” menu. But since most modern apps no longer have these features we must do it in a completely different way.

Follow the steps below to print from a modern app in Windows 8.1: [Read more…]