hardware

Here’s a quick video showing you how I fixed the screen on my Canon SD850IS.

I had left it in my bag on a motorcycle ride through NJ and when I took it out to take a quick picture I realized that something in my bag had cracked the screen and make it totally unusable.

I didn’t want to throw away a perfectly good $400 camera, but without the screen modern point-and-shoots are very difficult to use (can’t set the flash, view pictures, zoom level, etc).  Luckily a couple internet searches led me to the Canon customer support line 800-652-2666.  When I called them they were actually really helpful.  I told them what camera I had and what I needed and they found the right screen for me with no hassle.  Best of all the replacement was only around $35 shipped!

Watch the video below for a quick run through on how to replace a screen.  Let us know if you want to see anything else worked on or questions answered in a video with the contact page or just leave a comment below.  I promise I’ll frame the shot better next time!

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Disposing of unwanted electronics by recycling is one step in a positive direction, but considering a product’s over all green potential before buying is even better.  Fortunately, we have some great resources at hand for bringing some green forethought to our purchases.

EPEAT is a global, environmental attributes ranking system whose mark we will come to recognize like we now recognize Energy Star products:

“Desktops, laptops and monitors that meet 23 required environmental performance criteria may be registered in EPEAT by their manufacturers in 40 countries worldwide.” epeat.net

While you are listing out specifications for your new computer, you can now factor in EPEAT’s rankings of Bronze, Silver, or Gold for meeting green standards.

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Life hacker has a great troubleshooting tutorial dealing with how to figure out what’s wrong with your internet connection when you can’t get to a website. Print it out and file it somewhere safe, you won’t be able to get to the website when you need to follow the steps. From lifehacker: how to troubleshoot a flaky internet connection

Not sure what a RAM slot is?  Unclear what a USB port looks like? Sonic840 on deviantart.com put together an incredible collection of images of everything from RAM slots to CPU sockets to power supply cables.

I’ve already printed out a copy and stuck it on my wall over my workbench, I might have to order a full sized print from the creator.

Click here for a full sized version.

http://sonic840.deviantart.com/art/Computer-hardware-poster-1-7-111402099

found via gizmodo

Recycling your computer or cell phone (aka rechargeable batteries) in NYC is very easy,  all it takes is a conscious commitment on your part (ie: remembering to take it with you when you’re headed out the door).

“All NYC stores that sell rechargeable batteries or products that contain rechargeable batteries (with the exception of small food stores) must accept up to ten batteries of the same shape and size as they sell.“  NYC Take It Back Recycling

That’s easy because most of us live by a pharmacy, a wireless provider, or within a reasonable distance to a Staples store.   Most of these retailers participate in  “Take It Back” programs for cell phones and accessories, too.

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Fragmentation deals with hard drives, more specifically the filesystem on hard drives. Almost all  filesystems fragment, but some are better than others. But what exactly is fragmentation?  Hard drives are composed of platters of magnetic media ( think of an old LP record) The files take up a block of space , if there is free space on the drive , the block are contiguous with each other. Perhaps a visual explanation would help here. And this is a basic explanation of the internals of a file system.

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I love my Iphone, it is the greatest phone i have ever had, and I’ve had quite a few.  Its a computer in your pocket, it also happens to be a phone. The variety of applications are great , and there is no end to them it seems. So we hit the darkside of our technological future. Battery life, quite honestly, as good as it is , it is still abysmal. I want a product that I can use for a week, not a day.

This is where 3rd party vendors come in. While there is a plethora of battery products out there for the iphone, the best I have found is Mophie. I ordered the Juice pack air and I love it. Yes, it makes the phone heavier, but it doubles the battery life of the phone. On a busy day I need it. There have been a a few heavy use days when i actually had to recharge both phone and battery. Which bring me to my next topic.

The battery pack doubles as a protective case, it also uses the new European charging standard for phone plugs (micro usb)*.  The case acts as a passthrough and you can sync your phone to Itunes with no problem. It also has a small recessed switch at the bottom. The Iphone actually uses more power when it charges, so leaving it on all the time would drain the battery. When it is fully charged , the battery pack will start vibrating alerting you to shut it off.

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