Printer Installations Continue to Grow

It really shouldn’t take 15 minutes and more to install a new printer…especially on a new computer! This kind of time commitment is becoming all too frequent lately from all manufacturers, but HP seems to be the worst. If you want to save time on your printer install and prevent your computer from becoming lethargic afterwards, try these small tips the next time you install a new printer. Uninstall all previous...

Longest hiatus is over

Image via Wikipedia Due to many circumstances, busy scheduling, and a couple of short trips, I have been noticeably absent from posting new articles here at HelpMeRick.com the last few months.  Thanks for continuing to search for and use the information found within these virtual walls to help make your computer life just a little easier. During these past few weeks, I have helped many, many people with their...

You DO NOT have to download CA from Bresnan

Many of my customers received the email pictured below, and didn’t fully read the email. Although, poorly worded and written in an alarmist way, it does say “Your current free version…“. Insinuating that if you are currently using their free and extremely slow security product, then you do need to update. However, I do not recommend that Bresnan customers use this security software as I’ve found...

Why are Facebook games easier than general compute...

Twice in the past week I came across clients who consider themselves computer illiterate (I abhor this phrase, but that’s a whole different issue.yet could operate Facebook games like a professional gamer.  The two folks (one woman, one man and both well over 70) have difficulty understanding how email operates in terms of servers, providers, etc, have not learned how to copy and paste, think that Google is THE...

Downsizing my tech

I repurposed my EeePC Netbook for my nephew with a copy of Qimo Linux for kids and it works great. Not only does my nephew now have a computer that is secure & virtually trouble-free, but it also comes packed with great learning resources & games. It also allowed me to reduce my computers by one. I now carry my Toshiba 13″ laptop that dual boots Ubuntu & Windows 7. The change required me to get a new laptop...

Correcting Many Microsoft Word Problems

One of the most common problems Microsoft Word users encounter is not being able to start Word or it starts extremely slow. When you double-click the Microsoft Word icon and either nothing happens at all or it attempts to start and then presents an error screen. Or, Word may open, but very slowly and then have trouble opening or saving documents. All of these symptoms have a common cause. And although frustrating, the...

Computer Help Show Podcast – 07-21-10

I forgot that I had this in my pocket! We have  to have the worst openings to any show on earth, but in a way, it is the way we start all of our shows and then have not were to go but UP from there!  And it was a fun show with lots of information about the iPhone antenna non-issue, smartphones in general, computer recommendations made simple, Internet problems and solutions and much more!! Hit the play or download button...

iPhone 4 Hysteria

In August of 2008, I traded in my trusty Palm powered device (the Treo 755p) for the iPhone 3G. Having used the Palm operating system for almost 10 years, it was quite an adjustment at the time, but a welcome one. The iPhone 3G has served me extremely well since then. The past year or so, however, Google has made some pretty substantial in-roads into the smartphone market with the Android operating system. While powerful and...

Newsletter now changed

If you are a long time listener/newsletter subscriber, this article and the newsletter changes probably won’t affect you. Just in case, however, it wouldn’t hurt to take a look at this short 2 minute how-to video describing the changes and how to sign up for the new service. And if you can refer at least one of your tech buddies, family members or co-workers to sign up for the email updates, I would be most...

How I use Xmarks.com to sync & backup my book...

Almost ten years ago, I wrote and recorded a tip describing how to backup your bookmarks (favorites). At the time, very few households had more than one computer. Now, 2 or more computers are common place and multiple browsers are used as well along with smartphones and using public or work computers to access our information. To have access to all my bookmarks from any location, I settled on Xmarks.com. Xmarks is a free...

Re-thinking my mobile tech

Right now, I carry an iPhone, an Asus EeePC netbook (running Ubuntu 10.04 NBR) on a daily work day basis. When I travel, I carry the iPhone and usually the EeePC. I also own a 13″ Toshiba laptop that I dual boot Ubuntu and Windows 7, but I only use the Toshiba only for teaching and presentations. My thought process is: Should I sell both the Toshiba and the netbook and get a thinner, lighter laptop? Just sell the...

Optical Mice

Over the past few weeks, it seems that a large share of my clients were still using older, mechanical mice (the one’s with the ball underneath). I say older because almost all new mice are optical mice…either infrared or laser. These mice replaced the ball rolling against rollers in the mouse housing (that could quickly become dirty and cause erratic behavior of your pointer) with a light source that tracked your...

3 Reasons NOT to upgrade to Microsoft Office 2010 ...

Microsoft will release Office 2010 in the next few weeks. The upgrade price will likely cost around $130 for the home edition which includes Word, Excel and Powerpoint. The professional versions cost as much as $500 depending on what package you get. After almost fifteen years of using Microsoft Office and watching others use Microsoft Office, I can say without hesitation that it is a waste of hard earned money for most...

Ubuntu 10.04 released tomorrow, manual today

Microsoft released Windows Vista a little over three years ago, and it hit the market (and customers) like a rock right between the eyes. Hardware configurations were too underpowered, hardware support was horrid, and tons of third party software did not work with it (including some of Microsoft’s own). Supporting this abomination was even harder. Out of the clouds, however, came sunlight because being enormously...

How to start page numbers from a number other than...

My daughter needed to know how to start automatic page numbering in Microsoft Word 2007 with a number other than one for a school publication. She and her classmates couldn’t figure it out, so she asked me. I put together a quick video to demonstrate the technique for her, and decided to share it with you as well. Enjoy.