Five Reasons Why Companies Should Not Institute BYOL

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Anthony

Recently I’ve heard rumours that a handful of companies in the UK are considering adopting a “bring your own laptop” (BYOL) policy for new hires. Such a policy would make providing your own laptop a prerequisite for employment as a means of cutting company costs. In theory, it sounds like a good idea when you consider that most employees have their own laptops anyway. But practically speaking it’ a bad idea. Below are five reasons why companies should not institute a BYOL policy.

1. Control – One of the main reasons companies issue laptops to employees is to retain control issue. They want to be able to determine how a computer is used, how it connects to various networks, and the types of software and data stored on the hard drive. The minute a company institutes a BYOL policy it loses that control. As long as an employee does his job, it’s none of the company’s business how he uses his laptop otherwise.

2. Loss of Productivity – If employees start bringing their own computers to work you can bet productivity will go down. When they have a few minutes they’ll be editing their photos, updating their music collections, checking in non-work-related e-mail, and so on. Before you know it those few minutes eat into production significantly.

3. The Entitlement Mentality – Employees taking advantage of their employers through helping themselves to office supplies and other things is already a problem. If you start requiring your workers to bring their own laptops you’d better be prepared for a bigger problem. Many will assume they’re entitled to help themselves in exchange for the company having the free use of their laptops.

4. Software and OS Issues – While it’s true that Windows dominates the desktop and laptop market, not everyone uses that OS. I, for one, would not even consider putting Windows on my machine simply because my Linux system is not compatible with my company’s software. I use Linux and I have no intent of giving it up on my own personal laptop for my company’s benefit.

5. Liability Issues – Are companies prepared to assume added liability to protect their worker’s laptops? You can bet if a computer gets stolen during a business trip the employee is going to expect his company to replace it for him. This also opens up the doors for widespread fraud.

Articles and posts written on the Laptop Repair blog represent those of the author and not those of Laptop Repair UK Ltd or CircuitUK Limited.


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Replacing Photo Albums with Laptops

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Anthony

It’s interesting to note how generational norms divide different groups of people in terms of how they view laptop computers. One of the easiest ways to explore this dynamic is in the area of digital photography. In the old days, our parents and grandparents used to take pictures with analogue cameras, send the film off to be developed, and then assemble the returned prints in a photo album or scrapbook. Every now and again those photo albums would be pulled out for an evening of shared memories.

In today’s digital generation, albums are becoming rarer in favour of digital storage methods. The benefits are obvious: smaller space requirements, more durable storage media, and no loss of image quality over time. But the one thing digital photography lacks is the experience of togetherness provided by sitting on the sofa with an old photo album. If that experience is something you enjoy, there is a way to do something similar without giving up the digital medium.

In my family, we have pretty much abandoned the old photo album and replaced it with CDs and DVDs. We assemble our photographs and videos into 8 to 10 minutes movies which we burn to DVDs. Then, instead of getting together around a photo album, we dim the lights, cuddle up on the sofa, and watch our movies. The best thing is that this method allows us to pause and contemplate memories provoked by a specific photo or video. Just like with using a photo album, we can go as quickly or as slowly as we want to.

We use the Ubuntu Linux operating system in our family, so the software we use will be different from what Windows or Mac users might employ. Nonetheless, we use GIMP to manage and manipulate photos, KDEnlive and OpenShot to create the movies, DeVeDe to convert the AVIs for DVD use, and K3B and Brasero to burn the discs. Some of these programs have Windows and Mac versions available if you’re interested. If not, there’s tons of software available for both platforms.

If you still prefer photo albums and scrapbooks, that’s great! However, if you’d like to go digital and you’re concerned about losing the simple pleasure of album viewing, there’s no need to be. With some creative software and a little bit of imagination you can create wonderful home videos you and your family will enjoy for years to come.

Articles and posts written on the Laptop Repair blog represent those of the author and not those of Laptop Repair UK Ltd or CircuitUK Limited.


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The Overcharging Battery Scam

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Anthony

If you’ve had the opportunity to read news reports alleging that laptop and mobile phone charging is wasting electricity in the UK to the tune of £134 million annually, do some research about lithium-ion batteries before you believe everything you read and hear. The recently released study from EON is rife with errors based on a misunderstanding of how today’s batteries work. Some speculate the report was nothing more than a means of getting as the power company pushes its own Energy Fit marketing plan.

EON claims that users of laptops and mobile phones routinely leave their devices plugged in even after batteries are fully charged. That much is true. However, they then extrapolate from that fact the assumption that those same batteries will continue to draw electricity and charge while they remain plugged in. That’s where they’re wrong. Lithium batteries become extremely dangerous when they overheat. In order to combat that, they have been designed with an embedded computer chip to cut off charging when the capacity reaches 100%. This is the only way to prevent overheating.

That means when your laptop battery reaches a 100% charge, the computer chip cuts off the electricity and prevents any more from flowing to the battery. There is no waste of electricity because it is effectively “turned off” by the battery’s built-in safety protections. This isn’t hard to understand, or to verify, so we can only assume that EON is basing its assumptions on old NiCad technology or they are purposely being deceptive. Either way, you’re lithium ion batteries are not wasting electricity through overcharging.

That said, a small amount of power is still being drawn by your AC adapter; enough power to keep the little green or red light on even though your battery is completely charged. This little bit of power in no way equates to the £134 million estimate from EON. Nonetheless, if that bothers you by all means unplug your devices once they fully charged.

As a side note, today’s lithium-ion batteries should be used differently than their NiCad cousins. In the old days, we ran our batteries down to nearly empty before recharging them again. We did so because NiCad batteries build up “memory” which would shorten battery life if we did not allow full discharge cycles. Fortunately, the same protection preventing lithium-ion batteries from overheating also prevents the memory issue. There’s no longer any need to run down your batteries before recharging them.

Articles and posts written on the Laptop Repair blog represent those of the author and not those of Laptop Repair UK Ltd or CircuitUK Limited.


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Five Lessons We Learned from Laptops in 2011

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Anthony

Laptop computers have been a great benefit to society as a whole, allowing people who use computers to take their work with them. They’ve also allowed us to watch DVDs without a television, communicate with friends and family thousands of miles away, and reduce the amount of paper we deal with on a daily basis.

But not everything about laptop computers is good. As we venture into 2012 we would do well to take heed of some of the lessons laptops have taught us over the last year. When lessons are learned, history won’t repeat itself.

1. Identity Thieves Have No Mercy – Laptop theft exploded all over the globe in 2011. Unfortunately, thieves have discovered that far too many people are careless and have taken advantage appropriately. In so doing, they have stolen identities, stolen tens of millions of pounds, and destroyed lives. Lesson learned: don’t be careless with your laptop.

2. Hackers Are Just As Merciless – In 2011 we saw our fair share of celebrities whose e-mail accounts and laptops were successfully attacked by predators. The result? Nude, and sometimes sexually explicit, photos and videos released on celebrity smut sites. Lesson learned: stop using technology to create your own home made pornography.

3. Internet Monitoring Software No Substitute for Parenting – Laptops have given teenagers the ability to lock themselves in their bedrooms to tweet, chat, and post to their heart’s content. 2011 was marked with tragedy as teenagers were pushed to suicide and criminal activity through excessive Internet use Lesson learned: Internet monitoring software is useless; teenagers should be at the kitchen table where they can be seen.

4. 3-D is Not As Good As It Sounds – It was almost destiny that 3-D came to the laptop in 2011. It did with full force — and it flopped with equal force. The fact is spending too much time looking at a 3-D computer screen is bad for one’s health. Lesson learned: just because the laptop manufacturer says something good doesn’t mean it is.

5. You Can Live without It – A couple of American universities wanted to test whether or not their students were addicted to social networking, so they cut off access for 30 days. Not only did students discover they were indeed addicted, they also found they could live without their laptops. Lesson learned: laptops are great tools, but never let them become the centre of your life.

Articles and posts written on the Laptop Repair blog represent those of the author and not those of Laptop Repair UK Ltd or CircuitUK Limited.


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Dell Says Goodbye to Mini

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Anthony

Not too long ago I wrote a column predicting the end of the Netbook computer by way of the tablet. As Christmas sales ramped up in November and December (2011) it appeared as though my prediction could be wrong. Netbook sales stabilized as holiday shoppers had grabbed some really good deals being offered by both manufacturers and retailers. But lo and behold, now that Christmas has passed my prediction may yet come to fruition.

Just for the record, Christmas sales are often held up as indications of future trends. Unfortunately that’s seldom the case. Quite to the contrary, Christmas sales more often than not show trends of what’s past rather than what’s coming in the future. Manufacturers trying to unload large stockpiles of merchandise they know will not be wanted in the coming years offer great sales as a way to clean up their warehouses. I submit that’s just what happened with the Netbook computer.

The first to fall is the Dell Mini which has been unceremoniously removed from the company’s product list. It’s no longer available on the Dell website, with the only remaining reference being a suggestion that customers contact a local retailer for ordering details. Dell plans to make no more of these netbooks, concentrating instead on the slightly larger Inspiron 11z. Right now the 11z is the main horse in the small laptop stable for Dell, but I wonder how long that will last.

I still maintain 2012 will usher in the death for netbook computing. Already on the horizon are a couple of serious candidates with a legitimate shot at putting a dent in iPad sales. I won’t divulge these candidates quite yet, but I promise you’ll be seeing and hearing a lot of them in the first quarter of 2012. If they can succeed in capturing a good percentage of the market share that would otherwise go to Apple you can bet other computer manufacturers will utterly abandon netbooks and turn their attention to tablets.

As for the Mini, you can probably get a great deal on one now that Dell has decided to stop making them. If you’re looking for a smaller laptop you can use to surf the web, check e-mail, and take with you on short trips, the Mini might be the right machine for you. Just be warned that you’ll be purchasing a disposable laptop that probably won’t last beyond five or six years.

Articles and posts written on the Laptop Repair blog represent those of the author and not those of Laptop Repair UK Ltd or CircuitUK Limited.


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Your Laptop Could Be a Fire Hazard

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Anthony

As a former computer repair technician I was constantly warning my customers turn their computers off when not in use. For some reason many people believe the myth that it’s more energy efficient to leave your laptop running rather than shutting it off. Where this idea ever came from, and why so many people believe it, I will never know. But thanks to an unfortunate couple in the United States, I have yet another weapon to add to my “shut down your laptop” arsenal.

What is that weapon? The fact that your laptop could pose a fire hazard.

Most of us know that our laptops can put off quite a bit of heat throughout the course of the day. So much so that I’ve heard people complaining of skin irritation on the legs after prolonged use. But what if that same heat were applied to something flammable while no one was around to watch it? That’s exactly what happened to the American couple.

As the local newspaper reported, the couple had left a running laptop on a bed upstairs. The intense heat coming off the computer melted the plastic coating on the power cord, causing sparks that quickly ignited the bed linens. The couple was completely unaware until the smoke drifted down the stairs. But by that time the bedroom was fully engulfed in flames. They ran out the house and called the fire department.

On the positive side the entire apartment building was not destroyed. On the negative side, the bedroom was a total loss while the rest of the unit sustained heavy smoke and water damage. Needless to say the residents of the apartment will suffer heavy financial and emotional losses; losses that would’ve been averted had the laptop simply been turned it off.

So laptop users, it’s time we employ some common sense and stop believing everything we hear. Even without the tragedy of this fire, it doesn’t take extreme amounts of intelligence to understand that the heat coming off your computer can cause problems. Heat damages your laptop battery, reduces the life of your CPU, and causes less than peak performance from your hard drive, optical drive, and memory. It is no different from the heat generated by a car engine.

So when you’re not using your computer, turn it off. If you can’t stand to wait 20 seconds for it to boot up, computer use is not something that should be part of your daily repertoire.

Articles and posts written on the Laptop Repair blog represent those of the author and not those of Laptop Repair UK Ltd or CircuitUK Limited.


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International Travel and the Security of Your Laptop

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Anthony

One of the results of the 2001 terror attacks on the United States has been increased airport security; security which now includes the inspection of electronic devices among incoming international travellers. Unfortunately, one of the dirty little secrets is that most countries allow the random inspection of electronic devices without suspicion of wrongdoing. That means if you regularly travel overseas with your laptop you may have it seized and inspected one of these days.

There are a couple of things you can do to protect your data from spying eyes, but keep in mind that none of these solutions is perfect. At the end of the day you’ll have to decide how much you’re willing to risk just to protect the information you carry with you.

Using the Cloud

For a lot of business travellers the Cloud has proved to be invaluable. By putting all of their documents and data on the cloud before departing, they can then take laptops that contain nothing more than the necessary software itself. Once at their hotel they can access the cloud and download that important data for use while they’re conducting business. They reverse the process before departing, just in case a security agent gives them trouble at the airport.

Encrypting Your Folders

If you don’t have access to a cloud computing environment you can encrypt sensitive folders and password protect them. This is fairly easy to do in Linux and MacOS X, though somewhat more difficult for Windows. By encrypting and password protecting your folders you might get lucky with a security agent who has too much work to do and can’t be bothered trying to force you to give him the necessary information to get in. On the other hand, it might give agents the idea you’re trying to hide something important, which could just complicate matters.

Only Carry a Flash Drive

If you’re creative you can use a flash drive to contain your entire operating system and valuable data. There are several Linux distributions that make it fairly easy. Doing things this way allows you to simply carry a flash drive in your pocket so that no matter where you go, all you need is a loaned computer from one of your business associates. Simply plug your flash drive in, boot from it, and you have everything you need right there.

Articles and posts written on the Laptop Repair blog represent those of the author and not those of Laptop Repair UK Ltd or CircuitUK Limited.


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Cash-for-Laptops: a Good Deal?

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Anthony

Recently the which? website published a post regarding the cash-for-laptops operations that are springing up all over the UK. If you’re not familiar with these operations, they are companies willing to pay cash to take old laptops off our hands. These companies market their service by claiming you can get top price by selling to them. But is that necessarily true? According to which?, probably not.

Which? offers data they compiled by contacting some of these companies and comparing the prices they were offering to what consumers were getting on eBay. The results were surprising, to say the least. Just as an example, a 13-inch MacBook from 2009 got an offer of just £67 from one company while the same computer sells on eBay for around £350. Similar numbers were found on models from Acer, HP, and Toshiba. Regardless of the laptop queried, eBay was providing a better price than the cash-for-laptops outfits.

This all makes perfect sense when you think about it. A cash-for-laptops scheme is designed to turn a profit for its operators. Like any retail business, they have to buy goods at a lower cost so that their mark-up covers their overhead and generates a profit. What they can’t sell outright they dismantle for parts that are sold to repair shops, used parts warehouses, and so on.

On the other hand, an eBay seller has the advantage of knowing that those who look at his laptop are there because they’re in the market for a used computer. Potential buyers are prepared to pay decent prices because they want a laptop that’s already working and ready to go as soon as it arrives. As long as the computer being sold is in fairly good condition it’s not hard to get a good price. As a buyer however, there are a couple of things you should look out for.

A picture paints a thousand words, so make sure you can see the laptop before you bid on it. You should also check with the seller on the operating system, whether a license comes with it, and whether or not the computer has been in the repair shop in the past. You want to know the hard drive size, memory, screen size, and so on.

As for you sellers, do the right thing and don’t rip off your customers. Be honest with descriptions and forthright in answering questions.

Articles and posts written on the Laptop Repair blog represent those of the author and not those of Laptop Repair UK Ltd or CircuitUK Limited.


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Avoiding “Laptop Injuries”

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Anthony

Earlier this year I received an e-mail from a colleague informing me she would be away from the computer for a while because she had developed carpal tunnel syndrome in both arms. The pain was so severe she could not type any longer. The doctor recommended she find another way to write (she’s a professional writer, like me) or choose a new career path.

This scenario is not at all uncommon for individuals who spend long hours in front of the computer.  Unfortunately, computer use – and particularly laptops – promotes bad posture which can result in several different types of injuries. So in the interests of public health, I offer you the following suggestions for avoiding laptop injuries. I practice these things myself and they do work for me.

Position of the Laptop – Sitting on the sofa with a laptop resting in the lap is perhaps the worst thing you can do. This puts your hands in an unnatural and forces you to constantly look down, putting stress on your neck and shoulders. Use a table or a laptop desk instead so that you can sit in a more natural position.

Feet and Arm Support – Your feet should flat on the floor with your knees at a 90° angle. This is the most natural position and it will keep the amount of stress at a minimum. As for your arms, they should be supported either on your table or desk or by using a chair with adjustable arms. Your elbows should also be slightly lower than the level of the keyboard so that you’re reaching up instead of down.

Changing Positions – It’s very helpful to change positions several during the day by alternately standing and sitting. I’ve accomplished this by splitting my work between my dining room table and the kitchen counter. If you don’t have this option you can accomplish the same thing by getting up and walking around for 15 minutes or so every couple of hours.

Rest Your Eyes – Lastly, many people who work on computers all day come home with headaches and blame it on stress. Yet staring at the computer screen is a more likely cause. Rest your eyes by taking the focus off the computer screen and looking at objects in the distance. You might try gazing out the window, looking down the hall, or focusing on the sprinkler system in the ceiling.

Articles and posts written on the Laptop Repair blog represent those of the author and not those of Laptop Repair UK Ltd or CircuitUK Limited.


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Hackintoshing: What’s The Point?

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Anthony

Have you ever heard of “Hackintoshing?” If not, you’re not alone. This obscure practice involves finding a laptop that might possibly be Apple compatible and installing OS x on it. My only question is: what’s the point?

First of all, Hackintoshing wouldn’t have even been possible while Apple was still using Motorola CPUs exclusively. But now that they’ve branched out it’s technically possible to install OS x on a laptop whose hardware is compatible. I say “technically” because finding a laptop with compatible hardware is no guarantee you’ll get a machine working well enough to use it as a daily computer.

Apple is not stupid, in case you didn’t know.

They made their mark on the technology industry by taking the word “proprietary” to new levels. They won’t leave so many flaws in their OS as to allow people to buy cheap PCs for a couple of hundred pounds and make them fully working Apples. Not when they can charge £1000 for the baseline Apple laptop knowing that fan boys all over the world will throw down such an absurd amount of money.

I understand hostility towards Microsoft and an unwillingness to purchase their products at any cost. I also understand the security risks in using Microsoft-based OSes. And yes, I am intimately familiar with the blue screens of death, hardware incompatibilities, and software so obscenely priced that it’s very attractive to pirate it. But you don’t have to Hackintosh to get away from Microsoft. You have a great alternative in GNU Linux.

Before you roll your eyes and begin cursing at your computer screen, keep in mind that Linux has now been around in one form or another since 1991. Granted, Linux-based OSes weren’t very usable prior to about 2004, but they’ve come a long way since then. Just using Ubuntu as an example there are now at least 12 million users around the world between homes, businesses, and Internet servers.

Friends, if you want to Hackintosh because it’s fun and you like the challenge, have at it. But if you’re seriously looking for an alternative to Microsoft without paying the Macintosh price, Linux is your answer. With 12 million users on Ubuntu, 8 million on Red Hat and Fedora, and millions more using any one of the other hundreds of distributions, Linux is no longer the OS of hobbyists.

It just works.

And that’s the truth.

Articles and posts written on the Laptop Repair blog represent those of the author and not those of Laptop Repair UK Ltd or CircuitUK Limited.


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