COMPUTERS, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY

[Big Kev]

Possibly a reflection on the declining importance of "Computers" in our lives that this thread hasn't had a post in 11 days Now we all have computers in our pockets that make telephone calls as a sideline......

Retirement being forced on me from my creeping disability was probably a good thing.

You make a good point there Pluggy, they are just an everyday 'tool' now.

[Stanley]

I still rely on my old fashioned desktop designed and built by a bloke I know....

[plaques]

Talking laptop computers, my laptop the one I'm typing on at the moment, has fallen foul of some mechanical problem where one of the hinges opening up the screen is either broken on the pivot or won't stay in engagement when opening. Lots of clicking and straining exposing the screen edges. Much care needed in adjusting the screen angle etc. Anyone come across this before?

[Tripps]

Good point Plugs. I came across this yesterday, and thought of your post.

No need for a television

PS having seen with a certain amount of 'joie maligne' that both Amazon and Fedex have abandoned plans for 'last mile' delivery for parcels by autonomous robots - I was tempted to start a thread for healthily sceptical Luddites - but I'll leave it for now. I'll wait for autonomous cars to fail for that.

The autonomous robots looked good in America with open access to properties and large level yards (garden) access - and no local toe rags to steal the contents of the device, but I guess that a more realistic environment meant the end of the project. Hooray.

I wonder how the delivery of vaccines to hospitals by drones is going, and here's another little gem of modern technology which needs filing under 'what could possible go wrong' . Drones

[Tizer]

I wonder if they do one of those Nebulas with a slot for old 35mm slides?

[Stanley]

For a long time I was trying to find a player that would take the old 5 1/4" floppies but in the end gave up and binned all the old correspondence.

[PanBiker]

For a long time I was trying to find a player that would take the old 5 1/4" floppies but in the end gave up and binned all the old correspondence.

Ha! You should have asked me, it's not long since I deposited a 5.25" drive at the recycling centre. Problem would not be the drive but interfacing it to a current generation computer. No doubt converters would be available from China.

[Tripps]

Computer to the rescue. . . .

Everything turns into a saga with me - famous for it.

Ordered tablets - not arrived after six days so phoned chemist. Unable to connect - it's them OK -but cuts off before anyone speaks.

Rang Surgery - "yes we've had exactly the same problem - not really sure what to suggest"

Lateral thinkking cap on. Looked on Streetview - found number of the garage next door to the chemist. Rang them and my NBF Darren walks round - but his mobile cuts out as he walks in the door, however contact is eventually established - Chemist denies any problem with their phone and totally denies getting my prescription. Says " best to start again".

Surgery counters with - yes the Chemist has got the prescription. and here's the 14 digit barcode reference number. Ask them to trace it.

Number passed on - and a nice conversation with the Chemist (who is from Shipley) - about Saltaire. She will investigate.

Later Terse message - "OK we have your prescription and it will be with you tomorrow".

No hint of "sorry for the inconvenience". I try hard to suppress any thoughts of Yorkshire stereotypes - because that would be quite wrong. I expect it was somehow probably my fault

[Stanley]

If it was David I have the same fault! Sounds exactly like my interaction with our 'Well' pharmacy.... Even down to the phone cutting off after the obligatory invitations to come and have a jab.....

[PanBiker]

I have given up on Well Pharmacy. I order any meds via the My GP app and get them delivered by one of the online suppliers. Doesn't take any longer and seems to be totally reliable. I even get texts and emails to tell me they have received the prescription and when they have dispatched.

[Big Kev]

I'm guessing I must be lucky with Whitworth's (opposite Well Pharmacy). Can't remember having any issues with prescriptions or telephones, I have called before to check they've received a particular prescription before setting off to collect.

[Pluggy]

Talking laptop computers, my laptop the one I'm typing on at the moment, has fallen foul of some mechanical problem where one of the hinges opening up the screen is either broken on the pivot or won't stay in engagement when opening. Lots of clicking and straining exposing the screen edges. Much care needed in adjusting the screen angle etc. Anyone come across this before?

Yes very common problem with laptops. Either the bracket holding the friction hinge or the laptop frame has broken. Fixing the problem is a real pain the backside. Getting the thing in bits can be a major undertaking. When you've fixed / botched / replaced the broken bit its a good idea to slacken the friction hinge so it doesn't put as much stress on the hinge fittings / laptop frame when you open or close the lid. This problem probably kills at least a third of laptops. If its been made in the last say 6 years the frame / bracket is probably stuck with double sided tape to the screen assmbley rather than screws. Made to be quick and cheap to assemble rather than practicality or even possibility of repairing down the line.......

[plaques]

Yes very common problem with laptops. Either the bracket holding the friction hinge or the laptop frame has broken. Fixing the problem is a real pain the backside. Getting the thing in bits can be a major undertaking. When you've fixed / botched / replaced the broken bit its a good idea to slacken the friction hinge so it doesn't put as much stress on the hinge fittings / laptop frame when you open or close the lid. This problem probably kills at least a third of laptops. If its been made in the last say 6 years the frame / bracket is probably stuck with double sided tape to the screen assembly rather than screws. Made to be quick and cheap to assemble rather than practicality or even possibility of repairing down the line.......

.
As you say it looks very fiddly. I'm not prepared to tackle the job myself but it looks like there are three bushes that are secured through the hinge and onto a lid backplate. The bushes have dropped out and the screws + washers have gone AWLO the last bit is a guess. I've talked to the laptop man at the bottom of Langroyd Rd and he doesn't do them. 3B Systems, Carr Rd Nelson says they will have a look. Other than that its taped up solid in position and still useable.
Thanks for taking an interest. Ken.

[Stanley]

Makes me think that my old fashioned tower under the table is a sensible choice even though it does take up so much room. I don't know what I'd do if it failed me.....

[Stanley]

All is not well in the world of big tech as stocks fall. See THIS report on the fall in Meta shares but the other companies are not immune.

[PanBiker]

My Brother LED laser multifunction printer, needed a new drum about a month ago so I ordered a replacement. I went for a compatible rather then a genuine Brother drum. I installed it and it has been a bit faint in the printouts. I checked the toner level on the printer which reported OK. I was having serious doubts about the cheaper drum unit!
Today, about a month later it reported a low toner error. I have a spare toner cartridge so I installed that. Please to say that has lifted the print quality back to full contrast so it looks like the drum is OK after all. Toner must have been low enough to not fully coat the toner transfer roller of the new drum but not enough to trigger the low toner alert. Winner.

[plaques]

Can't resist a challenge. My Acer laptop needed taping up a bit more securely so I took the opportunity to take the front screen cover off and see what was broken. Bad news really. The studs holding the hinge to the lid backplate had broken free letting the hinge float about. The options as I see it are a new lid or a bodging job with copious amounts of Araldite (that if it bonds to this type of plastic or even some bolts through the lid itself. Will see what the professions say.
The broken studs.

Acer 1 .jpg

What it should look like.

Acer 2 .jpg

[PanBiker]

One thought, have you tried Ebay for a spare? Maybe a cheap one for spares or repair as long as the hinges are OK

[Big Kev]

A gel super glue will probably do the job, Gorilla do a good one and I've stuck a few things together with it. It was available in Aldi a while ago. Araldite is good but it takes a while to set I believe.

[Tripps]

Push the boat out. We're too old to be messing about with Araldite.

Get a 'new' one - of course I mean refurbed from Ebay. There's lots of choice most with a 1 year warranty and good feedback. Say £150 ish.
You can run to that. As Sean Bean says in the tea advert "Do it for Yorkshire" and refute all the jokes.

Lenovo are good.

[plaques]

Push the boat out. We're too old to be messing about with Araldite.

To some extent that's the way I feel. the laptop is just over two years old a Lenovo. Not cheap but nothing is now-a-days. A repair isn't a pushing issue. It works quite well and I have space to put it away with the lid open. Also I have a spare laptop I can use. So some dark winter evening I may get the sticky stuff out. Meanwhile there is the economy to sort out.

[Big Kev]

P's laptop is at least 7 years old, it won't run Windows any more but it's still plodding on with Ubuntu on it. I have a 5 year old desktop machine I built out of old bits that were being thrown away, it runs very well on Windows 10 and Photoshop CS6.

[Stanley]

I'd ask Stephen.... He's always had the answer for my computer problems....

[plaques]

I'd ask Stephen.... He's always had the answer for my computer problems....

Stephen (Pluggy) has already commented to which I fully agree. I've looked at the hinge fitment and design and in my opinion they are designed to fail. The stud rising from the lid to the hinge has a sharp corner, there is a insert into to stud which reduces its cross section to paper thin and finishes with another sharp corner. All stress raisers guaranteed to fail at these points. Gluing with the correct type of glue may work but have I got the drive for this type of buggering about. Probably No. For a temporary move (read for ever) I shall make some simple supports to tape on the back of the lid to give it more support and leave it open.

[PanBiker]

Nothing wrong with that as a last resort fix, similar to the band aid plaster on spectacles of times gone by.

I have also related previously the forlorn farmer who came into the shop with a box which contained the remains of his beloved Bush transistor radio that he had run over with his tractor! Case was non existent, speaker crushed, metal chassis was bent, various transistors and capacitors crushed, volume control and various other bits left in the field! He pleaded me to fix it so I said I would have a go. I rebuilt it in a shoe box, replaced all the broken bits and fitted it with a new volume control, a toggle switch for the power and a big knob on the outside for the tuning, It was a bit of a challenge to say the least. It went on for years after that, pressed into service on a shelf in the milking parlour, he said the cows gave better yield if you played them music. Happy farmer and customer..