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Riding Shotgun with Rick

3 Reasons NOT to upgrade or buy to Microsoft Office & 5 Alternatives

Microsoft has primarily moved to a subscription model for its Office suite…costing you recurring fees. After 25+ 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 people. Don’t be pressured or swayed into purchasing it.  Here’s why: 3 Reasons NOT to upgrade… Read More »3 Reasons NOT to upgrade or buy to Microsoft Office & 5 Alternatives

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 frustrated with what users were stuck with, I looked into options. The best option I could come up with was Ubuntu. Ubuntu is an Open Source (click link to read definition) and free operating system. The first version I discovered in 2007 was Feisty Fawn (7.04). It impressed me immediately. It loaded fast, looked usable (simple), and didn’t try to wow you with too much fluff…it just worked, and worked well. Sure, it wasn’t as refined as Windows, but it also blew the doors off of Windows in performance andRead More »Ubuntu 10.04 released tomorrow, manual today

How to start page numbers from a number other than 1 – Video Tip

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.

Rick Answers His Email – Episode 077 – Videocast

This week, I answered questions from Jane, Nancy, Jim, John, and Diane. I answered questions about downloading CCleaner updates, protecting a laptop from theft, reinstalling Google Chrome, correcting a spontaneous scrolling mouse, and downloading Quickbooks from the Internet. Enjoy, and remember I will answer any question from anyone who makes a donation after they submit their question here.

Rick Answers His Email – Episode 076 – Videocast

This week Rita, Jim, and Ted asked questions and paid to have them answered. They asked about online backup, Outlook problems in Windows 7, and printing problems in Firefox. Here are their questions and answers:

Windows 7 – 4 month report

Technically, I’ve been using Windows 7 (in beta and final form) for more than a year, but for today’s discussion I want to review what I’ve seen with it since its public release in October.  Since then, I have helped many computer users setup their new Windows 7 laptops, desktop, and netbooks (probably around 125-150 new systems in total). I also helped around a dozen or so computer users upgrade from XP or Vista to Windows 7.

After this hands on experience, I’ve started to see some trends about Windows 7 that I like and some that I don’t like. Maybe some of this information will help you with the purchase of your next system.

Windows 7 is Vista done right (in the speed department)

On the surface, many computer users familiar with Windows Vista will think they are simply looking at Windows Vista. And overall, they would be right. Except for the small user interface changes with the Start menu, taskbar changes, system tray overhaul, and the way you can interact with open Windows, Windows 7 looks and feels like Vista. Under the hood, however, is where Microsoft Read More »Windows 7 – 4 month report

Rick Answers His Email – Episode 075

Harold (who was first because he paid a dollar), Alan, Patsy, Ceil, Rickenstien, Doris, Verlyn, Laurel, John, Richard, Jim, Tom, and Pat. They asked questions about Gmail’s chat window, Excel, JAVA, printer problem with no details, inserting video into PowerPoint, saving photos from email, getting contacts off of iPhone to another phone, how to delete email without opening it, opening… Read More »Rick Answers His Email – Episode 075

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

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?