repair

Report: Apple paying 15 percent refund on broken 27-inch iMacs

For those who've had repeated problems with their 27-inch iMac, it appears Apple is ready to make it up to you, somewhat.

Gizmodo is reporting several readers who've been given a 15 percent cash refund for having to return a broken 27-inch iMac. It's been widely reported that customers have complained of receiving 27-inch iMacs with cracked, flickering, or yellow-tinted screens. But Apple has yet to comment on the record about the problem, so roughly $300 (assuming it's a $2,000 model) given to customers certainly comes across like an acknowledgment or even an apology for … Read more

Clean your computer's clock

This program, like many others, promises to clean your Registry, make your computer run faster, and, if you're lucky, do your dishes, too. At least when it comes to cleaning your Registry, Advanced Registry Optimizer seems to do a pretty good job.

The scan process was easy to initiate and was done in about 3 minutes, although don't forget that the scan time depends on the computer system. A smart-looking row of five tabs and their labels makes navigating the program options stress-free, and the lack of lag on the system was much appreciated. The user interface has … Read more

ShopJimmy salvages TV parts, reduces e-waste

Flaws in shipping sometimes result in cracked, shattered, or dented televisions. Useless? ShopJimmy.com doesn't think so. The Minnesota-based company had a revenue of $3 million this year by salvaging functioning parts from damaged televisions.

Every week, ShopJimmy receives between 800 and 1,000 broken TVs to disassemble in search of sellable parts for small repair shops.

"We're looking to limit the random e-waste that ends up in landfills," said Ryan Zarlengo, marketing director at ShopJimmy.com. The company is also sparing resources by lowering the demand of brand-new replacement parts (which are far more expensive … Read more

A quick note about the ubiquitous troubleshooting suggestion, repairing permissions

Though many issues with your Mac may indeed only require a simple trip to Disk Utility's repair permissions function, sometimes users find that a list of permissions are found to need repairing and never do. In a recently updated article, Apple outlines many of these permissions messages that you can safely ignore.… Read more

FAQ: Should I buy that extended warranty?

It's getting to be that time of year again: The leaves change, the temperature drops, and we redecorate our living rooms, desks, cars, and backpacks with shiny new electronics.

A recent survey by the Consumer Electronics Association found that respondents plan to spend, on average, $222 each on gadgets this holiday, an 8 percent increase over last year. And among teens and adults, computers and video games are the most wished-for items this year after clothing.

One of the grand traditions that goes along with buying electronics is being asked at the register, "Would you like to purchase … Read more

Make a Windows 7 system repair disc

Windows 7 seems great at first, but what if something should go wrong. Hard drives do crash! It's not pleasant, but you should think about what you'd do in a data disaster. You need some sort of protection. And Windows 7 makes it easy to create what it calls a System Repair Disc.

Here's how:

Click the Windows button aka "Start."

Type "System repair" in the search box.

Then choose Create a System Repair Disc.

Put in a blank CD or DVD and choose the correct drive from the drop-down.

Press Create Disc.… Read more

A great mix of maintenance tools

Cocktail is both useful and fun for inveterate Mac tinkerers and would-be power-users (that is, power users who aren't hard-core enough to use the command line). This multipurpose utility can help you keep your computer happy and healthy, giving you access to scores of tweaks and optimizations pulled together from various utilities, preferences, third-party hacks, and command-line tools.

Cocktail can help you with routine maintenance and customization across your disks, system, files, network, and interface. Cocktail is organized around these five areas, with highly customizable options for everything from clearing caches and repairing permissions to changing the appearance and … Read more

BOL 1064: Urine in the sky with diamonds

That beautiful silvery comet you saw in the sky recently was actually astronaut urine. No joke. We also avoid talking about pee for most of the show. Bing is still on the rise and Facebook is making money. Wow. Things are looking up all over. Just be careful when you look up. There's astronaut pee up there.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1064

Facebook grows and makes money http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8258117.stm

Bing grabs 10 percent of search market http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10354394-75.html… Read more

Zune HD torn to shreds

You know your gadget has truly made it when the folks at Rapid Repair take the time to carefully dissect it. After all, why waste an afternoon figuring out all the ways consumers might need to repair the Zune HD, if you don't think anyone's going to buy the thing.

Fortunately, it looks like the Zune HD lends itself well to any DIY repairs (unlike a certain competitor). To see the Zune HD's guts splayed like it's in some kind of technological slaughter house, check out our full tear-down gallery, courtesy of Rapid Repair.

Ten ways to break your laptop

It's a well-known fact that circuit boards and liquids don't mix, but there are more bizarre ways to break your laptop. A Massachusetts-based computer repair company has listed the top 10 ways that people deep-six their laptops--MacBooks, in particular.

In many respects, a laptop is an accident waiting to happen. Often there is no more than a thin piece of plastic between the user and disaster. And Apple MacBooks are particularly vulnerable at Starbucks these days due to their increasing popularity over the standard-fare Dell laptop.

But spilling coffee on your keyboard is one of the less colorful … Read more