[Assam] Low-Tech Fixes for High-Tech Problems
Ram Sarangapani
assamrs at gmail.com
Sat Feb 21 14:19:20 PST 2009
Thanks C'da. That was quite informative. The next time we go for a new
computer, I think I will seriously consider iMac.
--Ram
On Sat, Feb 21, 2009 at 11:26 AM, Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net> wrote:
> Ram:
>
> Actually PCs are far more popular and widely used for CAD work. I happened
> to find a Mac based CAD program, Archicad, far easier to work with, way
> back in the early 90's than the industry standard PC, based Autocad. But
> most other graphics uses, Mac is THE machine.
>
> G4s and G5s are old technology already, even though they both are excellent
> machines with the IBM PowerPC processors. The new generation of Macs use
> Intel Core-duo processors. I use such an iMac for everything but CAD. To
> use the iMac for my CAD I will have to upgrade the software, which costs a
> bundle. That is why I am stuck to using the old G4's for it.
>
> BTW, a G4 with a 1.25 mHz processor can outdo the best of PCs, besides
> being far more stable ( actually it never crashes) . A G5 is even faster and
> has more bells and whistles.
>
> Since G5s and G4s are old tech., you can get a G4/1.25mHz and 80 gig HD for
> as little as $ 300 in eBay ( does not include the monitor). You can buy a
> G5, loaded, for $ 500 to 600.
>
> Yes, the new Macs with Intel Core-duo processors are a lot more expensive.
> The iMacs start at about
> $ 1,200. MacPros go for close to $ 3,000, but that is a very high end
> machine that one would hardly have any use for normal work. An iMac can do
> everything you can imagine. It also can be used as a PC just by re-starting
> the machine, holding the Option key down, as long as you load the Windows
> software on it. What is neat about the iMacs is that the whole computer is
> integrated with the Apple Cinema Display-the best of the monitors. You don't
> have to buy a monitor separately.
>
> c-da
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> At 11:02 AM -0600 2/21/09, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
>
>> I agree C'da. The freezer method for the hard drive does seem a bit off.
>> But
>> I kind a like the 'key fob to your chin' method to search for your car in
>> a
>> huge parking lot. No harm there I would guess.
>>
>> A few months ago, we were thinking of the Mac G4 (instead of the usual PC
>> replacement). Never used Mac before, and also the Mac is more pricey than
>> the PC. But, of course, I hear the Mac is what one needs for CAD. One of
>> my
>> friends owns a printing company, and all they use are macs for graphic
>> design etc.
>>
>> --Ram
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Feb 21, 2009 at 9:26 AM, Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> I am, sure some, if not most, of these tricks do work. Recently there
>>> was a
>>> large list of ordinary household things that can be used for solving
>>> numerous problems in our local newspaper.
>>>
>>> I will caution netters about the following however:
>>>
>>>
>>> > Crashed Hard Drive
>>>
>>>> >
>>>> > If - no, make that when - your PC's hard drive crashes and
>>>> can't
>>>> be read,
>>>> > don't be too quick to throw it out.***** Stick it in the
>>>> freezer
>>>> > overnight.*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> > "The trick is a real and proven, albeit last resort, recovery
>>> technique for
>>> > some kinds of otherwise-fatal hard-drive problems," writes Fred
>>> Langa on his
>>> > Windows Secrets Web site. Many hard drive failures are caused by
>>> worn parts
>>> > that no longer align properly, making it impossible to read data
>>> from the
>>> > drive. Lowering the drive's temperature causes its metal and
>>> plastic
>>> > internals to contract ever so slightly. Taking the drive out of
>>> the freezer,
>>> > and returning it to room temperature can cause those parts to
>>> expand again.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Recently the hard disk in my Mac G4 -- very early one -- started acting
>>> funny. This is the machine I do my CAD work--very important! I realized
>>> that
>>> it was about to die. Promptly I got me an used G4 - much faster one,
>>> from
>>> eBay and transferred all my data from the ailing old machine. But there
>>> was
>>> this archive of old e-mails that somehow did not get loaded on the newer
>>> machine--or so I thought. By now the old hard disk has finally breathed
>>> its
>>> last -- it would not boot up any more. I called around to see what it
>>> might
>>>
>> > take to get the lost e-mail files recovered by a professional. Very
>>
>>> expensive! So I read up on do-it-yourself hard-disk revival tricks in
>>> Google. The freezing technique was widely touted. There were other ,
>>> even
>>> more primitive ideas, like dropping the hard disk on a hard floor from
>>> about
>>> a foot above.
>>>
>>> I tried the freezing technique. Did not work! I dropped it too. Still no
>>> luck. Called around professionals across the continent one again. Found
>>> one
>>>
>> > in California that charges the least amount--$ 300. I told him about
>> my
>>
>>> do-it-yourself attempts. He told me that it was a VERY BAD idea to do
>>> so .
>>> Apparently early hard-drives might have worked with the freezer
>>> treatment,
>>> not today's more precision designed machines. Besides, once you bring
>>> the HD
>>> out of the freezer it begins to condense moisture inside, that REALLY
>>> messes
>>> it up bad.
>>>
>>> So much for the freezer treatment !
>>>
>>> But the good news is that, I did NOT lose the e-mail archives. It got
>>> loaded in a folder that I did not know existed :-)!
>>>
>>> The newer G4 is able to run Mac OSX 10.5, which has Time Machine on it.
>>> Time machine does automatic back-up of everything on to a portable hard
>>> drive.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> At 12:22 AM -0600 2/21/09, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
>>>
>>> Someone sent this to me. Don't know if these work, but seem
>>>> interesting.
>>>> There is one about re-using the cell phone dropped in a toilet..... my
>>>> solution - I would lose the phone.
>>>>
>>>> --Ram
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *February 19, 2009*
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> *****Basics*
>>>>>
>>>>> *****Low-Tech Fixes for High-Tech Problems *
>>>>>
>>>>> *****By PAUL BOUTIN*
>>>>>
>>>>> BEHIND the cash register at Smoke Shop No. 2 in downtown San
>>>>> Francisco,
>>>>> Sam
>>>>> Azar swipes a customer's credit card to ring up Turkish cigarettes.
>>>>> The
>>>>> store's card reader fails to scan the card's magnetic strip. Azar
>>>>> swipes
>>>>> again, and again. No luck.
>>>>>
>>>>> As customers begin to queue, he reaches beneath the counter for a
>>>>> black
>>>>> plastic bag. He wraps one layer of the plastic around the card and
>>>>> swipes it
>>>>> again. Success. The sale is rung up.
>>>>>
>>>>> "I don't know how it works, it just does," says Mr. Azar, who learned
>>>>> the
>>>>> trick years ago from another clerk. Verifone, the company that makes
>>>>> the
>>>>> store's card reader, would not confirm or deny that the plastic bag
>>>>> trick
>>>>> works. But it's one of many low-tech fixes for high-tech failures that
>>>>> people without engineering degrees have discovered, often out of
>>>>> desperation, and shared.
>>>>>
>>>>> Today's shaky economy is likely to produce many more such tricks. "In
>>>>>
>>>>> > postwar Japan, the economy wasn't doing so great, so you couldn't
>>>> get
>>>>
>>>> everyday-use items like household cleaners," says Lisa Katayama, author
>>>>> of
>>>>> "Urawaza," a book named after the Japanese term for clever lifestyle
>>>>> tips
>>>>> and tricks. "So people looked for ways to do with what they had."
>>>>>
>>>>> Popular urawaza include picking up broken glass from the kitchen floor
>>>>> with
>>>>> a slice of bread, or placing houseplants on a water-soaked diaper to
>>>>> keep
>>>>> them watered during a vacation trip.
>>>>>
>>>>> Today, Americans are finding their own tips and tricks for fixing
>>>>> misbehaving gadgets with supplies as simple as paper and adhesive
>>>>> tape.
>>>>> Some, like Mr. Azar's plastic bag, are open to argument as to how they
>>>>> work,
>>>>> or whether they really work at all. But many tech home remedies can be
>>>>> explained by a little science.
>>>>>
>>>>> *****Cellphone Losing Charge*******
>>>>>
>>>>> If your cellphone loses its battery charge too quickly while idle in
>>>>> your
>>>>> pocket, part of the problem may be that your pocket is too warm.
>>>>>
>>>>> "Cellphone batteries do indeed last a bit longer if kept cool," says
>>>>> Isidor
>>>>> Buchanan, editor of the Battery University Web site. The 98.6-degree
>>>>> body
>>>>> heat of a human, transmitted through a cloth pocket to a cellphone
>>>>> inside,
>>>>> is enough to speed up chemical processes inside the phone's battery.
>>>>> That
>>>>> makes it run down faster. To keep the phone cooler, carry it in your
>>>>> purse
>>>>>
>>>> >>> or on your belt.
>>
>>>
>>>>> This same method can be used to preserve your battery should you find
>>>>> yourself away from home without your charger. Turn off the phone and
>>>>> put
>>>>> it
>>>>>
>>>>> > in the hotel refrigerator overnight to slow the battery's natural
>>>> tendency
>>>>
>>>> to lose its charge.
>>>>>
>>>>> *****Remote Car Key*******
>>>>>
>>>>> Suppose your remote car door opener does not have the range to reach
>>>>> your
>>>>> car across the parking lot. Hold the metal key part of your key fob
>>>>>
>>>> >>> against
>>
>>> your chin, then push the unlock button. The trick turns your head into
>>>>> an
>>>>> antenna, says Tim Pozar, a Silicon Valley radio engineer.
>>>>>
>>>>> Mr. Pozar explains, "You are capacitively coupling the fob to your
>>>>> head.
>>>>> With all the fluids in your head it ends up being a nice conductor.
>>>>> Not
>>>>> a
>>>>> great one, but it works." Using your head can extend the key's
>>>>> wireless
>>>>> range by a few car lengths.
>>>>>
>>>>> *****Dry Ink Cartridge*******
>>>>>
>>>>> If your printer's ink cartridge runs dry near the end of an important
>>>>> print
>>>>> job, remove the cartridge and run a hair dryer on it for two to three
>>>>> minutes. Then place the cartridge back into the printer and try again
>>>>> while
>>>>> it is still warm.
>>>>>
>>>>> "The heat from the hair dryer heats the thick ink, and helps it to
>>>>> flow
>>>>> through the tiny nozzles in the cartridge," says Alex Cox, a software
>>>>> engineer in Seattle. "When the cartridge is almost dead, those nozzles
>>>>> are
>>>>> often nearly clogged with dried ink, so helping the ink to flow will
>>>>> let
>>>>> more ink out of the nozzles." The hair dryer trick can squeeze a few
>>>>> more
>>>>> pages out of a cartridge after the printer declares it is empty.
>>>>>
>>>>> *****Cellphone in the Toilet*******
>>>>>
>>>>> It could happen to anyone: you dropped your cellphone in the toilet.
>>>>> Take
>>>>> the battery out immediately, to prevent electrical short circuits from
>>>>> frying your phone's fragile internals. Then, wipe the phone gently
>>>>> with
>>>>> a
>>>>> towel, and shove it into a jar full of uncooked rice.
>>>>>
>>>>> It works for the same reason you may keep few grains of rice in your
>>>>> salt
>>>>> shaker to keep the salt dry. Rice has a high chemical affinity for
>>>>> water
>>>>> -
>>>>> that means the molecules in the rice have a nearly magnetic attraction
>>>>> for
>>>>> water molecules, which will be soaked up into the rice rather than
>>>>> beading
>>>>> up inside the phone.
>>>>>
>>>>> It is a low-tech version of the "Do Not Eat" desiccant packets that
>>>>> may
>>>>> have been packed in the box the phone came in, to keep moisture away
>>>>> from
>>>>> the circuitry during shipping and storage.
>>>>>
>>>>> *****Longer Wi-Fi Reach*******
>>>>>
>>>>> If your home Wi-Fi router doesn't reach the other end of the house,
>>>>> don't
>>>>> rush out to buy more wireless gear to stretch your network. Instead,
>>>>> build a
>>>>> six-inch-high passive radio wave reflector from kitchen items, like an
>>>>> aluminum cookie sheet.
>>>>>
>>>>> >
>>>>
>>>> Follow the instructions at *freeantennas.com/projects/template*<
>>>>> http://freeantennas.com/projects/template>.
>>>>>
>>>>> Place the completed reflector - a small, curved piece of metal that
>>>>> reflects
>>>>> radio waves just like a satellite TV dish - behind your Wi-Fi router.
>>>>> It
>>>>> focuses the router's energy in one direction - toward the other end of
>>>>> the
>>>>> house - rather than letting it dissipate its strength in a full
>>>>> circle.
>>>>> No
>>>>> cables, no batteries, no technical knowledge required. Yet it can
>>>>> easily
>>>>> double the range of your network.
>>>>>
>>>>> *****Dirty Discs*******
>>>>>
>>>>> You need to clean a skipping DVD or CD, but as a bachelor you don't
>>>>> have
>>>>> any sissy cleaning fluids? Soak a washcloth with vodka or mouthwash.
>>>>>
>>>>> Alcohol is a powerful solvent, perfectly capable of dissolving
>>>>> fingerprints
>>>>> and grime on the surface of a disc. A $5 bottle of Listerine in your
>>>>> medicine cabinet may do the job as effectively as a $75 bottle of DVD
>>>>> cleaning fluid. Also, swabbing your copy of "Lost Weekend" with Stoli
>>>>> instead of fussing with a Discwasher kit is a lot more manly.
>>>>>
>>>> >>>
>>
>>> Too Much Flash
>>>>>
>>>>> If your cellphone's built-in camera flash is much too bright, washing
>>>>> out
>>>>> photos, tape a small piece of paper over the flash. Experiment with
>>>>> different colors and thicknesses of paper to tone down the flash from
>>>>> superbright white to a more pleasing glow for evening photos.
>>>>>
>>>>> > Crashed Hard Drive
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> If - no, make that when - your PC's hard drive crashes and can't be
>>>>> read,
>>>>> don't be too quick to throw it out.***** Stick it in the freezer
>>>>>
>>>> >>> overnight.*
>>
>>>
>>>>> >
>>>> > "The trick is a real and proven, albeit last resort, recovery
>>>> technique
>>>> for
>>>>
>>>> some kinds of otherwise-fatal hard-drive problems," writes Fred Langa
>>>>> on
>>>>> his
>>>>> Windows Secrets Web site. Many hard drive failures are caused by worn
>>>>> parts
>>>>> that no longer align properly, making it impossible to read data from
>>>>> the
>>>>> drive. Lowering the drive's temperature causes its metal and plastic
>>>>> internals to contract ever so slightly. Taking the drive out of the
>>>>> freezer,
>>>>>
>>>>> > and returning it to room temperature can cause those parts to expand
>>>> again.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> That may help free up binding parts, Mr. Langa explains, or at least
>>>>> let
>>>>> a
>>>>> failing electrical component remain within specs long enough for you
>>>>> to
>>>>> recover your essential data.
>>>>>
>>>>> That's the spirit of folk remedies: They may or may not work, but what
>>>>> have
>>>>> you got to lose?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>
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>>>> assam at assamnet.org
>>>> http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
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