Top Marks I.T.

December 19th  2011..

 Live TV on iPad

iWatch (;-) Live TV on my iPad (Also works on iPhone & iPod Touch). Go to the App store & search TVCatchup, download the free App, create an account (e-mail address & password only). TV picture is generally superb. There is more info at the TVCatchup website. 

December 13th  2011..

 iPad SpeedTest Tool!

iPad as diagnostic tool? Not something I had expected when I started using my iPad(1) for Home Visits but now almost daily I will use the free 'SpeedTest.net' iPad App to instantly check BroadBand speeds for my Bexhill customers. I can check WiFi & check speed before a Laptop or Desktop machine has had time to boot up!

December 13th  2011..

Favorite iPad App !

This is the main screen for my favorite iPad App 'Djay' by 'algoriddim' Winner of the Apple 2011 iPad developer showcase award. I love this app as a music lover & creator of 'Playlists'! This is a must if you like your playlists continuous & perfectly cross faded then this is just brilliant. It can act as live DJ for spontaneous DJ sessions or Auto mix mode to take care of your existing playlists. I particularly like the fact that you can run an 'Automix' in pre-defined or random order but interrupt the auto mix with one or several 'add lib' track choices & the DJ software will simply revert to the auto mix when you are done & need to 'go circulate' with the party guests!

December 08th  2011..

More PSU Faults !

Yet another desktop PC in the workshop with Power Supply problems today. This high spec hp machine's PSU must feed Optical Drive, Hard Drive, Removable Hard Drive bay, Card reader, graphics card pin, motherboard 20 pin & 4 pin! A busy (& Crowded) machine to work on. The case also had inbuilt WiFi antenna's very cleverly secreted in the 'rubberized' lid.

December 06th  2011..

Beware Bogus Calls!

Just had another of these Attempted Scams reported to me by a long term customer (Copy Below) ...

"I am used to the odd telephone call "about your computer" and I usually end the call by saying I do not have one. Today I received a caller who asked for me by name, Asian sounding woman, who said she was from Microsoft and I had malware on the hard drive of my computer and wanted me to go to the machine. As usual I said I did not have one but she replied and said that someone in my house was using a computer.  Now I wonder how does anyone link my name and telephone number to me having a PC.
I asked her again who she was and she said she was from Microsoft Windows.  I refused to do anything and asked her for her telephone number so I could phone back.  She repeated about needing me to go to the PC and I put the phone down.  I assume it is a scam, certainly cannot see Microsoft calling 100 million users, but this is a very dangerous new scam as it is tempting to assume she is from who she says.
 
I do order items on line and can only assume that somewhere there is a company who is prepared to pass on name and telephone number. I would very much like to find out who.
 
Be careful.'

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 [ Link ] Local Press release: Computer scam alert

[ Link ] Avoid scams that use the Microsoft name fraudulently

November 29th  2011..

iOS App Updates

In my daily Bexhill home visits, more & more are dealing with iPads.I personally love the iPads & have used my iPad(1) on every home visit since early summer of 2010. Something I have noticed however on many occasions is the various 'Apps' not being updated. Even though the Apps Icon on the home screen is displaying a red circle containing a number that is drawing the user's attention to the number of Apps that require updating. To deal with this & ensure that your Apps are up to date, free from bugs & have the latest features, tap the Apps icon, tap the 'Updates' option (Bottom Right) of screen then from the list select the App(s) to be upgraded. I tend to do this one at a time and only when connected to a WiFi network.

November 28th  2011..

Workshop Network

The workshop is a separate brick built building.

I run a cat 5 cable from the  house into the workshop. The ethernet runs to a Linksys 3 port switch/print server then onto the 1st of  two 8 port Netgear ethernet switches + Wireless Access point. I have bench space & monitors for 8 desktop machines and/or laptops. At the moment I am almost up to capacity & those two 8 port ethernet switches are proving their worth!

Every job gets a unique reference & report sheet. That way I can keep track of which stage each machine is at any given time. Anyone who has followed my 'Twitter Feed' will know that music features in many of my 'Tweets'! That is due to the inevitable waiting as machines install or download software! Thankfully I am kept company in the workshop by background music - Streamed over the same network of course!

November 27th  2011..

Stuck CD/DVD Drawer?

Have you ever pressed the CD/DVD drawer open button only to be met by a dull thud? I have many, many times and a perfectly functioning CD/DVD drive just refuses to open - very frustrating! All drives have a 'secret release' button that is only accessible by inserting a < 1.0mm 'Key' or other object.  The picture (right) shows one of my collection of 'Magic' drawer release tools. Often once released, a little 'Mr Sheen' or other silicon based furniture polish applied with a cloth (not sprayed directly into drive) around the front edge of the drawer will give the drive a new lease of life!! - Works for me, many times. Never tire of the reaction of home visit customers when I ask if they have some 'Furniture Polish' & Kitchen Roll.

November 25th  2011..

Wireless Deadspots?

Earlier this week I used the kit opposite to extend the WiFi signal in a large old house with 'Real' brick dividing walls! Previously we'd run trials with Netgear 'powerline' & 'Netgear Range Extenders' with limited success. So far the 'Devolo' kit is working very well & far out performing the Netgear set-up.

November 24th  2011..

Temporary Devices (2)

Another favourite device of mine is the USB 2.0 to Gigabit USB / RJ45 Lan adapter! Essential kit when 'Clean Installing' the OS before the OB LAN / WLAN drivers are installed & you need to get On-Line to download the drivers. A quick & simple solution to getting a connection during re-builds or other maintenance/fault finding operations!

November 23rd 2011..

Temporary Devices (1)

Sometimes the only way to get things running again & start fault finding or OS Re-Install is to temporarily hook up a working optical drive to the machine in the workshop. This Dell desktop PC was refusing to boot from the disc drive despite being told to do so in the BIOS! This was due to a faulty optical drive, so hooking up to a 'known working' spare provided a means to load the OS & other software!

November 22nd 2011..

Smart Transport?

6x Desktop PC Towers & 2 Monitors collected for return to workshop for data clearing & recycling.  Hard Drives can be cleared, removed & destroyed.

October 2011..

Noisy Computer Tower?

Is your Tower getting a bit noisy? This (almost new) machine had a very noisy fan (1 of 4), this one hidden away in the PSU or Power Supply Unit. A few minutes dismantling & a drop of 3-in-1 oil carefully applied to the bearing under a rubber grommet hidden by the manufacturers sticker - Silence!! The picture below right shows a close-up of the offending bearing hidden under rubber grommet, itself hidden under manufacturers sticker!

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October 2011..

Noisy Computer Tower?

Just a few drops of 3-in1 on the hidden bearing (right) and the Power Supply Unit was 'Better than New'!

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October 2011..

Take care with those SSID's

There's a first time for everything & with computer maintenance/fault finding I've long since been surprised at something new on home visits. But today was a first for me when setting up a wireless printer. My customer had previously set up their router themselves & (without realising) entered their private home land line telephone number as the SSID !! Not until I explained that their ex-directory phone number was being broadcast to everyone within a 100 meter radius of their router did they realise what was going on.

Well, that was a first for me & now changed to something a little less personal & potentially troublesome to the router owners.!

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