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Rick

Quick cell phone address book tip

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:

  • Always enter the area code for your entries…yes, even all the local people you add. When you travel out of your home area, you can’t dial from the phone book feature if the area codes aren’t entered.
  • You don’t have to enter the Read More »Quick cell phone address book tip

Linux + Gmail = Computing Bliss

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 Read More »Linux + Gmail = Computing Bliss

Email of the Week – 024

Mailing Letters
photo credit: Smithsonian Institution

QUESTION

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.

ANSWER

Normally, I don’t read or answer questions written to me in all caps. Not because I think the person is Read More »Email of the Week – 024

Slow computer or slow Internet?

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 Read More »Slow computer or slow Internet?

My business benefits from folks not reading my articles & tips

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 Read More »My business benefits from folks not reading my articles & tips

Cellular coverage at big events

This weekend, I had the opportunity to take my son to the Sundance Film Festival. We are doing it on a shoestring by standing in line for stand-by and wait-list tickets and camping in our VW van at an RV park. So far, it has been great fun…except for cell coverage.

No matter what carrier folks use, they are complaining about slow network speeds, dropped calls, and inability to send texts. This isn’t unique to Sundance or Park City, Utah. Almost any time a largeRead More »Cellular coverage at big events

Rick Answers His Email – Episode 073

Walt (who paid to be first), Ed, Ryan, Les, Ezzo, Janesse, Richard, Joe, Phyliss, Robert, Amber, Diana, Dave, Randall, Jack and Eve asked about Gmail backup, XP desktop problems, recapturing space on a flash drive, file sharing, missing taskbar, trojan horse problem, freezing Vista Control Panel, generating a password, online backup, drive cloning, problems accessing a certain web site, Comodo… Read More »Rick Answers His Email – Episode 073

Yet another reason why I recommend using anything but IE

Internet Explorer has been the single largest factor in computer security problems over the past 10 years. Consumer education and awareness follows closely behind. Combined, these two factors create a security nightmare. This story outlines yet more evidence to problems stemming from Internet Explorer and its monetary effect on companies like Google. Remember that the AOL and MSN browsers use… Read More »Yet another reason why I recommend using anything but IE