Remember to Minimize

Every now and then, I like to bring up tips that appear elementary, but are seldom used. This week’s tip falls into that category. In my travels, it surprises me how many computer users forget that more than one computer program can be run at the same time. The trick is not necessarily running multiple programs, but keeping track of where they are. If you are using a word processor, for example, and you want to check a...

Read Newspapers Online

I enjoy walking to get my newspaper each morning and reading it at the breakfast table. However, I also enjoy reading my old hometown newspaper and a paper I used to read in college. The Internet makes it possible to read a large majority of newspapers from around the world. If you know the name of your newspaper, the first thing to try is: Click ONE time in the Address bar of your browser (long white box at the top of the...

Avoiding the Mysterious Duplication of Files ̵...

Today’s quick tip is a video tip explaining why files seem to duplicate themselves, and what you can do to avoid and correct the problem. I receive desperate calls about this phenomenon many times per month, and it as always, the computer isn’t doing anything wrong or on its own…it’s all about the mouse. Take a look:   The video (under 3 minutes) contains audio as well so turn up your...

If you read nothing else on my site…

I haven’t had much time to post new content on my site lately, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a TON of great tips that will save you time and money on the site. In fact, I made it even easier to find the tips that I think will give you the most bang for your browsing buck. If you look to the right of any page here on HelpMeRick.com, you will see a place to sign up for the free email newsletter...

Must read article for ALL computer illiterate user...

I detest the phrase computer illiterate, but unfortunately hear it almost daily in my work. I think the better way for a computer user who feels inadequate around the technology and the terminology is to refer to themselves as time challenged. Since illiteracy can be thwarted with a healthy dose of education, that leaves making the time to obtain that education the stumbling block. However, I used that too often uttered...

Rick’s guide to trouble free computing

In January, this web site and my business turned 16 years old. In that time, I have worked on thousands of computers ranging from the oldest DOS machines to the newest gaming and Mac monsters. My youngest client in that time has been 5 years old and my oldest was a 94 year old author writing a book for the first time on a PC. When your work in any field for a certain period of time, you start to spot patterns and...

1-click access to your favorite websites – V...

Please DO NOT use the address bar as a repository to return to sites you use all the time…eventually they will get lost. The address bar history maintains a small amount of your recently visited site and can easily be wiped out via an update or disk cleaning and maintenance tools. Instead, use the Favorites (Internet Explorer) or Bookmarks (Firefox and every other browser). Favorites/Bookmarks are designed to save and...

HelpMeRick.com Podcast with Rick & Adam – 05-...

Super fast editing from Mr. Adam this week allows us to reveal a podcast with some cursing, incredible stories of horrible customer service, technician incompetence and more!! Listen and then leave your comments and questions below!! Podcast: Play in new window | Download

More on Fake Security Ads and Scareware

Trying to explain why and how fake security infiltrates my client’s computer is difficult. Instead of trying to explain it each and every time, which can be daunting, I am going to suggest this article as a reading assignment. If you use Microsoft Windows, and you want to minimize the possibility of becoming infected by this almost unstoppable force, you MUST read, digest and then put into practice the information found...

Incredible Customer Service from SFBags.com

Disclosure: I am in no way being paid or have been paid to write this article from Waterfield Bags, SFBags.com or any other entity. This article simply outlines my dealings with this extraordinary company. I love gadgets…no surprise. My budget for gadgets is quite low, so I treat every gadget I purchase with the utmost care. Part of that care involves housing the gadget in an appropriate container…usually a bag of...

How to fix Microsoft Outlook email address lookup ...

Microsoft Outlook’s time is up…actually it has been up for many years. The interface gets worse and worse. The fact that very few of us work solely on one device makes it more irrelevant. And the fact that transferring of data gets more and more complex is absolutely unconscionable in this day and age of technology. Case in point: Today, I worked with a client who uses Outlook 2007 or 2010 on 4 different computers...

5 Quick and Easy Steps to Spring Clean your PC

Spring has sprung and along with your other spring cleaning chores add these five computer cleaning techniques to keep your computer clean, cool, and happy. Desktops: Unplug all of your cables (label them if necessary) and take the tower outside. Open up the side (usually thumb screws or a latch on the back of the computer) and blow the dust out of the system with a can of compressed air. I recommend starting from the top...

Burning CDs with Picasa for Linux

Unfortunately, Google has not updated Picasa for Linux in almost 18 months. However, it remains a solid product for Linux users who want to easily manage their photos. I’ve tried F-Spot, but it just doesn’t seem intuitive or robust enough for everyday use. Anyway, I was helping one of my many clients using Linux Mint as their only operating system, and he needed to know how to burn CDs from Picasa. Here’s...

How to install, customize, & delete Windows 7...

Last week I was showing a client how to use Windows 7 gadgets to give him updated weather information for cities where friends and family lived. He was extremely appreciative and it reminded me that I don’t always post fun things to do with our computers and gadgets would be a fun how-to to post. So here it is! Windows Vista also had gadget capability, but as with almost everything else it had, it was not well...

Major browser updates from Microsoft & Mozill...

In the past month, Microsoft released Internet Explorer 9 (Vista and Windows 7 only) and Mozilla released Firefox 4. Both browsers ratcheted up the speed and rendering of web pages, but both still contain some bugs that you don’t want to deal with yet. As with all major upgrades to any program, I always recommend sitting out on the hoopla for a couple of months or so. This seems to be very applicable to these two...