Do you own any electronics that are missing the feet/support pads? It seems pretty common with the laptops brought into my shop. Another device this seems common on is keyboards.

 

Well, I’m going to show you how to quickly and inexpensively (free for most folks) fix them.

First things first, fire up the hot glue gun and let it come up to temp. Bonus points if you have hot glue in black.

Now while the glue gun heats up get your device (a laptop in my case) power it down, pull the battery and clean it. Most of missing feet will have left the sticky tape where they were affixed. Scrape/remove these and then clean out any remaining junk/residue.

Now it is time to apply the hot glue. I’ve tried many methods when I first started doing this years ago and the one that works best for me is to do the whole foot in one shot. Multiple layers may work for someone, but that someone is not me.

The key is to keep the tip of the gun in the glue blob till you are done creating the foot. Remember to build the foot up high enough to match the other feet. Once the pad is large enough remove the glue gun and try to disturb the blob as little as possible. Chances are you will not get your first one perfect. No big deal. Let it cool, remove it rinse and repeat till you like the way it looks.

Also don’t fret too much about all the little web like strings, just clean those off after all is cooled down.

 So here is the new laptop foot after it has cooled down and has had the little bits cleaned off. These work well on most surfaces, but will leave residue on super smooth surfaces if you try and slide it around. On my glass desktops for instance it leaves a little of itself behind but can be easily cleaned off.

Don’t want to do this yourself? Not a problem, all machines I work on get this service at no additional cost.

Happy Computing,

Liam –

If you are like most folks you struggle with password management. There exists great ways to manage your passwords and not so great ways… and then there are the really bad ways, Which as it turns out are the ones I see most commonly. Here is a quick rundown.

Great ways – KeePass setup to auto sync copies across multiple devices

Not great ways (but still better than bad) – here – why is this a bad way? Watch here for a quick video on why

Bad ways – Mostly the ways shown in the video above.

Need help with sustainable password management? Just call me, the programs are free & the training can be done in ½ an hour easily.

Liam –
903 686 0200

Do you have a computer running OSX?

Have you ever needed to remove an app but it did not properly uninstall or leave bits and pieces behind?

If you are looking for an easy way to fix all that here are two great apps for you.

The first, App Zapper, a paid app is as simple as drag & dropping the app you want removed into AppZapper.

The second one, AppCleaner, is free and is also easy to use and understand.

They’re both dead simple,do a great job, and links are below

AppZapper $12.95

AppCleaner

Liam –

Do you need a program to make a resume?

Well you don’t need Microsoft Office or WordPerfect to do it.

You can have it done in for free online in about 15 minutes over at http://cvmkr.com/ just by filling out the appropriate fields and then exporting it to a file that you can print or forward via E-mail.

Need a copy printed out? E-mail it to me at Liam@LiamTek.com and I will print it out two copies for you when you get here no charge.
Happy job hunting.

The World Wide Developers Conference was today. That is “World Wide” as in the Apple world. iOS gets an update. OS X Mountain Lion is discussed and new hardware is announced, most notably the MBP (MacBook Pro) Retina edition. Small footnote the Mac Pro is still kicking, for now.

As far as iOS 6 goes I think some of the changes are long over due, (read turn by turn nav) and some are to just fill out the presentation, for example passbook.

My big concern is the choice to ditch the Google Map base and do maps & nav in-house. Google Maps has a proven track record and is my GPS App of choice. I still cary a Droid X just to use the Google Navigation when the myriad of iOS navigation apps fail me. I’m not sure why apple would abandon Google Maps as the back end other than to further brand their OS and steep the user deeper into the Apple world, which brings us to a decision that has just the opposite effect, the Facebook integration… Why? Yes, it is wildly popular, but that withstanding I see no reason further integrate it into iOS, it just feels shortsighted to me. To be fair I am probably the minority on this issue being that I’m your typical socially awkward geek.  I feel overall that the decision to ditch Google Maps is a fail as is the Facebook integration. We will see.  Facetime over 3G is a no brainer. Canada has had it for sometime now and most networks here in the states can handle the data, I mean we are already doing it with Jailbroken iPhones with Facetime and Skype anyway.

Next up is Mountain Lion,

Dictation. Sounds great, but will it work? And how well?. This will be an amazingly useful feature when alone. Who is going to talk to their computer with other people around? We need this in all current operating systems. Whether voice control will be ubiquitous like in all the sci fi movies or not, we need to have fast and accurate dictation software as a base to build upon for the operating systems of the future.

File sharing through screen sharing will be one of those things that you wondered how you lived without after you use it…. But that being said, has anyone reading this ever used screen sharing?? I doubt it.

$20 upgrade for all your Macs. Ok $19.99, whatever, I think this might be the biggest selling point of Mountain Lion.. Will they sell a ton just because it is so “affordable?”  Probably. Would all the updates gotten people to jump that $29 hurdle for each and every machine? Of-course it would, for the hardcore fans that are already submitting their orders as I type this. Heck, they probably would of paid $39 or $49 for an incremental update. The average user on the other hand? I doubt it. Now on the other hand a $20 update that you can use on all your OS X machines? That is nothing.  That is a very low risk/low entry barrier with potentially  high rewards for multiple machines… This might be the reason that Apple post better earnings than Wal-Mart…

Hardware time –

Mac Book Pro with a Retina display? Yes please. Until now the highest resolution screens came in the form of 30 inch models that weighed in at 2560 x 1600 and I love mine. But to get even more in a display that is half the size? Hell yeah.. Sign me up. Now for the negatives and why I will be passing on this version for the time being. No ODD (Optical Disk Drive.) Not normally a deal breaker right? Right, but with the removal of the ODD there is now nowhere to add a second internal hard drive. That is a big bummer for me as I have become accustom to having 2 internal drives, an SSD for speed and a standard HDD for storage. They did put that extra space to some good use though in the form of a larger battery with a higher capacity. This is overall a good decision because most people don’t need or want a second hard drive in their MBP, Again I’m just an outlier on that one. Which brings me to the other big gripe and the thing that when combined with the aforementioned items, and the extra $$$ for the Retina version, totals to a deal breaker.  The port support. USB 3, great. I love the speed of USB 3. HDMI built in great, one less adapter to carry around. Thunderbolt, cool it is wicked fast and can be used for lots of stuff. Was there really a need for 2 of them though? I  mean I use the crap out of my MBP and I own a repair shop, but I almost never use the Thunderbolt port. So was there really a need for a second one?  The interface is just not that popular or ubiquitous yet. No Ethernet jack. Big sad face here for me. I like a wired connection. Maybe leave out the 2nd Thunderbolt port and save my antiquated ethernet? Please? I suppose that on this one I am again just the oddball person that likes having a hardline connection, But I hope not. Could that second Thunderbolt port be for the next gen iPhone to more quickly sync with your iTunes? I wouldn’t put it past Apple to do something like that. Especially if it helps the port become more standard fare in Laptop and Desktop PCs. Or maybe they will only include a Thunderbolt cable for the new iPhone and sell a $45-60 adapter to use it with older USB only machines.. Who knows?

As it has always been with Apple, only time will tell.

Liam –

I posted about the recent WWDC a couple days ago with some initial thoughts, and now I have more. Mostly about the new MacBook “Pro”  I put quotes around the pro, because there very little that is professional about it in my opinion. Professional machines have always set themselves apart by being more powerful, portable, reliable, repairable, upgradeable, versatile, and more customizable…. Well I think Apple fell short with this version.

I’ll assume you have read my thoughts on the MBP from my recent WWDC post here. If not skip the the hardware section and catchup, I’ll wait…

OK, now that you are caught up I have some more gripes. The price of this machine says Pro all the way. Heck Pro is even in the name of the machine, though they moved it to the bottom of the shell, removing it from under the screen where it has been for ages.   SSD (solid state drive) says Pro as well, but it is a propritary interface. This means that it will be mucho bucks to upgrade. It also will complicate data recovery for those people unfortunate to still not be backing up their data. As far as RAM goes you can get 8 or 16GB with your new MacBook “Pro” Well that sounds pretty professional you might say? Sure but how about if you want to start at 8 and save some money now and upgrade to 16 later when the prices come down? You can’t… that’s right, the RAM is soldered to the board.

The screen. Well there is no denying it will be the selling point of the Retina MBP for a while. It is great tech to be sure and will help push all the other companies in the right direction. I repair a fair number of MacBook screens and glass and they are not cheap. Expensive parts and lots of labor to swap the glass or screen. With the new version It just got worse. The display is completely fused together, so instead of a moderately expensive lcd or glass repair you will be replacing the whole top lid which includes the screen, the isight webcam, and the wifi & blue-tooth antennas. That will be a huge chunk of the original cost of the machine.

And finally we have the last piece of the repair unfriendly puzzle, the battery… The battery is no longer held in place with a few screws and the bottom casing. It is now glued in place, so heavily glued in place that it had the folks over at iFixit who do machine tear-downs for a living throwing the towel in with battery removal.

So for those of you keeping score, here is where we are:

+ Lighter

+ Faster with the integrated SSD

+ Best screen ever*    * – may not actually be the best screen ever, this could just be me wanting higher resolution screens all around. Also they need a matte version

+ Thinner   – I wouldn’t really call this a plus as machines are pretty thin anyway and at some point they start becoming less strong

+ Larger battery

+ Quieter  – They used some new ventilation and a redesigned fan style to make the fan noise less evident.

+ USB 3.0  & HDMI  –finally, Welcome to October 2009 Apple – 

– Almost no upgrade path

– No optical drive

– No ETHERNET? REALLY – Can you tell that this bothers me?

– Can’t add RAM

– Can’t add a second drive

– Can’t swap the battery

– Expect to pony up $600-$800 if you need to swap the screen, or webcam.

– Can’t swap out the main hard drive (SSD) it is yet another new propiratary style of drive

 

So that about sums it up. They have made the MBP even more like the MacBook Air. Are they pushing people to an unannounced unified MacBook Omni that will come in only the 11 inch, 13 inch, and 15 inch models?  That sure would help maximize their profits while minimizing production costs. The fact they are becoming more and more of a throw away machine also helps with their bottom line.

We have recently seen a pattern of increasingly difficult to service and repair Apple products, the problem is that they still need repairs at the same rate as the models and products they are replacing. Will we soon have the option to buy Apple products pre-broken?   All kidding aside, throw away consumer products should be priced as such, remember disposable cameras?

Now with all this complaining you might think that I’m an Apple hater. The truth is that I am sitting here composing this on my MacBook Pro <— no qoutes here, I’ve got everything that I want in a Professional grade laptop that should reasonably last 4-6 years, A machine that I’ve already added a hard drive  to and changed out the RAM on.

I love my MBP. Truth is I love companies that plan out a purpose for their devices and cater to that demographic. Think IBM business class mashines, or DELL latitude laptops, or even the Apple iPhone. Those are products that know their buyers.

I guess my real gripe with the latest offering from Apple really comes down to the name. It is less PROfessional and more show, unless PRO is meant in mass PROduction, or is it as in PROprietary?

No on second thought it must be Pro as in Profit.

 

Liam –

The Apple iPhone 4S has been out for a few days now, and we know what that means… Broken screens.
Get your broken iPhone 4S screen fixed here. Whether you are with AT&T, Sprint or Verizon, LiamTek
can fix it. We can fix your screen and have you done in no time. Same day iPhone repair you can trust.
Liam –

Bad capacitors are a somewhat common problem with desktop computers from 1999 – 2007. Reports of some bad caps are still coming in now late 2011. Why has this taken so long to fix you might ask? Simple We have to wait for them to fail before we know that they will need replaced. The larger issue is that they only show up bad after use over a period of time. Poor quality electrolytic capacitors test the same as good ones when new. The difference is in the liquid in the capacitor, the electrolyte, will produce hydrogen and cause the caps to bulge and fail prematurely. In computer terms this means that you computer will start acting funny with random problems and eventually die.

What can you do to avoid this? Simple bring it in to your friendly neighborhood computer repair person and let them take a look at it. Most won’t (and shouldn’t) charge to just look at the motherboard.

Liam Tidwell
LiamTek

 

Guest post by: Eric Salce of Gem State Computers

Everyone loves a new gadget, but the pressures of buying a new phone can sometimes be very confusing. For instance you go to the local mall to look around and you are greeted with a hand full of carriers or service providers, and with what feels like hundreds of phones. How do you pick one? By following a few simple steps, you can sort though the stacks of phones, and pick the best one for you.
Step 1: Get flexible with your preconceived notions, Your friends tell you to buy an IPhone, or they tell you Sprint is the place to be, this is good place to start looking, but if sprint does not have service in your area, or you cannot figure out how the iPhone works, then they are not for you.

Step 2: Pick your carrier, not all carriers are created equal. Service is the backbone of any good phone, after all what good is a phone if it will not work. Do a little research what carrier works best where you live, and travel.
Step 3: Do you need a smart phone? Sure Smart Phones are great but they are not for everyone. There is typically an extra charge for the data portion of the smart phone, and if all you want to do is Text and Talk on a phone, they may not be for you, and this will decrease your choices to a handful of handsets.

Step 4: what are the features that you want in your new phone, for most of us, a phone needs to last eighteen to twenty four months. So I say don’t short change yourself, or you may end up regretting it later. You can pick the screen size, If there is a keyboard or not, speed of the phone, and the speed of the internet.

Step 5: Do Some comparing, By now you have you choices down to about five phones, Now do some looking around, and check the reviews for the handsets you are looking into. After all you don’t want to buy a phone that is plagued with problems. Amazon is a great place for reviews.

Step 6: Is the most important, Make the purchase and love your new phone. Most retailers have a fifteen to thirty day return policy, if the phone is not everything you think it should be then return it and get one that will be. After all, the phone will be by your side for the next two years.

As you can see if you take the time to follow these steps you will find that buying a new phone cannot only be stress free but also fun. By taking your time in selecting a phone not only will you not fall into the trap of following the sales person around the store, but also the choice you make will be your own.

Eric Salce

Ever wanted a start screen that would be useful for the vision impaired, kids, or the less technologically inclined? If you have $1.35 and an android phone that is overly complicated for its owner then you have a solution..

BIG Launcher

Big easy to read and touch button or simply A more simplified interface for users who want less..

it can be found on the Android Market

Looking for more useful Android Apps and tips? Checkout Android App Addicts on the Podnutz Network