After a two month hiatus, we finally got the show recorded today. And we are happy we did…tons of great calls today spanning everything from lost passwords to high speed Internet access. We squeezed in some social networking talk including the new Google Buzz, smartphone talk (yeah, we know…it’s a constant topic for us), and much more. Download the podcast or listen now!
Don’t forget to tune in live next month on March 17!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
photo credit: evelynishere
If you use a cell phone (you do, don’t you?), you should also be using your cell phone’s phone book (address book) feature. In it, you can store phone numbers, of course, but you can do so much more. Since there are a bazillion different cell phones on the market, I can’t possibly give you step-by-step instructions like I usually do.
You can keep these little hints in mind when using your phone’s address/phone book feature:
photo credit: Ashley Dinges
Visitors who stop by HelpMeRick.com with any frequency the past 4-5 years know that I’m a huge cloud computing (using applications on the web versus installing programs) junkie. Today, I was reminded of one area where desktop applications still provide a better experience than the web…card, board, and casino games.
A client was frustrated with trying to play pyramid solitaire on a site that “used to work”. Thus one of the problems with web based gaming. Here are the other shortcomings of online gaming Continue reading: The web isn’t best for everything
Picasa made some nice changes last year with the upgrade to 3.0, then 3.5. My favorite has to be the new streamlined import feature. Admittedly, the previous import wizard was a little clunky and took a few times to become comfortable.
Not so with this newest version. To import photos using the newest version of Picasa, follow these steps:
Last summer, I wrote an article about a senior citizen client of mine who constantly struggled with her older Windows XP machine. Updates would cause problems, the printer would stop working, security woes plagued her. She turned out to be my poster child for using Linux (in her case Ubuntu 8.10). Check out the article (by the way, she is still doing fantastic with her computer and Ubuntu).
Today, I visited another of my Linux clients. This couple came to me about six months ago (they are both seniors as well and self-described computer newbies). They explained that computers frighten and intimidate them, but they felt compelled to have one so they could stay in touch with their kids and grandkids. They strongly desired to have a machine that was simple to use, maintain, and was safe. After much discussion, they decided to take my advice and dump their nearly 12 year old computer and Continue reading: Linux + Gmail = Computing Bliss
photo credit: Smithsonian Institution
Name: TERRY JAMESON
From: LARKSPUR CO.
OS: Windows XP
———————-
RICK,
I WOULD LOVE TO USE FIREFOX, BUT IT SHUTS DOWN CONSTANTLY. THE INFAMOUS BOX COMES UP AND STATES THAT IT HAS “ECOUNTERED A PROBLEM AND NEEDS TO SHUT DOWN.” I HAVE TRIED TO UPDATE IT SEVERAL TIMES, BUT IT CONTINUES TO BE A PROBLEM.
Normally, I don’t read or answer questions written to me in all caps. Not because I think the person is Continue reading: Email of the Week – 024
photo credit: Heliøs
A common problem I hear throughout my week is “My computer is slow.” I finally learned to ask, “Is your computer slow, or is your Internet slow?” The computer user usually pauses, thinks and often responds that it is his or her Internet that is slow; not the computer.
When I sit down at a client’s computer, I can quickly determine the health of a computer based on how quickly I can perform simple tasks like checking background processes, determining how current and what security products are being used, free hard drive space, and how much RAM is installed on the machine. Generally speaking, if a computer was bought any time after Continue reading: Slow computer or slow Internet?
This is a re-release of an almost 2 year old tip that you probably missed…it will save you boat loads of time!!!
Firefox 3.0 was released last week after a long development period. The Mozilla folks put together an extremely good package and made genuine improvements in speed and features…a rare accomplishment in today’s software arena where programs get larger and less usable.
The feature I use the most, so far, is the incredibly fast Continue reading: Firefox 3.0 Bookmark & History Search – Video Tip
photo credit: Bennett 4 Senate
Since 1996, I made it my mission to share every bit of pertinent digital knowledge that I acquired with anyone willing to visit the site. It astounds me to this day how many computer users refuse to read and refuse to learn. Truly, 40-50% of the house and business calls I make every week would evaporate if the computer user had read my articles and tips on a regular basis and followed their advice. This is especially true regarding security problems computer users encounter.
One comment I receive constantly goes something like this, “I have looked at your site (or listened to you on the radio) and don’t understand any of it.”
One of my other missions was to not only make my information available, but also Continue reading: My business benefits from folks not reading my articles & tips
HelpMeRick.com started as a monthly tip site for beginners in 1996, and now supports our popular call-in computer show, and hosts thousands of useful computer tips and links.
Even if you are an experienced computer user, use our site as a resource to provide help to the friends, family members and co-workers you provide tech support for every day.
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