Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: How do I turn on the Wi-Fi on my Dell Inspiron Mini 1010?

Posted on July 26, 2013

Question from Larry K.: Rick, I have a Dell Inspiron Mini 1010 laptop running Windows XP and I can’t figure out how to enable the Wi-Fi on it.

One friend told me to slide a switch on the front of the case to the right, but there is no switch to slide.

Another friend told me to make sure Wi-Fi is enabled in the BIOS (it is) and then to press F2 while the PC is booting up. F2 does nothing regardless of when I press it. Can you please tell me what to do? I’m at a total loss.

Rick‘s answer: [Read more…]

How to enlarge the ‘New Message’ window in Gmail

Posted on July 25, 2013

gmail The folks at Google are constantly working to improve their extremely popular Gmail service, and one of the most recent enhancements is a “full screen” New Message window.

To call it a “full screen” window is quite a stretch because it isn’t even close, but it is indeed a vast improvement over a message box that’s so tiny that it makes you feel like you’re typing your message on a smart phone.

Want to give Gmail’s “full screen” message window a try, here’s how: [Read more…]

Q&A: Will switching from Windows 7/32 bit to 64 bit really give my laptop more memory?

Posted on July 23, 2013

Question from Shauntelle G: Hi Rick. I know this is probably going to sound stupid because I don’t know a lot about how computers work, but I have a question. I have a Toshiba Satellite L505 laptop with 3GB RAM and Windows 7.

I was told that upgrading Windows 7/32bit to the 64 bit version would give me more RAM. If so, how much more would it give me? Also, how can I find out which version of Windows 7 the laptop has on it?

Rick’s answer: Hello Shauntelle. First of all, your question isn’t stupid at all. You’ll never know if you don’t ask! Now, for the answer… [Read more…]

Google now accounts for a whopping 25% of all Internet traffic

Posted on July 23, 2013

If it seems like you spend a lot of your “Internet time” using one or more of Google’s popular web services, you certainly aren’t alone. But if you’re like me you’ll be shocked to find out just how many others do the same.

According to a new study by the folks at Deepfield Analytics, Google properties such as Google Search, Gmail, Youtube, Google + and others now account for roughly 1/4 of all the traffic on the entire Internet! [Read more…]

Google takes the Chrome O.S. offline with the new Chrome App Launcher

Posted on July 22, 2013

One of the biggest criticisms of Google’s Chrome operating system has always been the fact that any device it runs on is pretty much useless without an Internet connection.

Well, that criticism has apparently been taken to heart by Google because they have released a great new app that lets you do a number of constructive things with your Chrome-based device even when you’re offline.

The new Chrome App Launcher adds something akin to a “Start Button” to the Chrome O.S. taskbar. Just click or tap it and up pops Chrome’s version of a “Start Menu” from which you can launch any of your installed web-based apps – without ever leaving the Desktop! [Read more…]