AOL 9.0 Installs Software Without Disclosure

AOL 9.0 Installs software without disclosure, changes Internet Explorer's toolbar, pdates software automatically and fails to uninstal completely.

Yuck! Full details are here on StopBadWare.org.

Fredericksburg VA Laptop Repair

Looking for Laptop repair in Fredericksburg, VA?

This week a customer, Angela, called in from Fredericksburg. She had a Dell Inspiron laptop with a broken power jack. Dell wanted over $400 to replace the motherboard. Angela told us that she called every computer repair place around her in Virginia and none of them could replace the broken part.

The she did a search on the Internet. She found our nationwide lapotp repair page. She instantly knew she had to send her computer to us. Ground shipping got her laptop here in 24 hours and cost her $12.

A few days later we called her to let her know that her laptop was completely repaired. (The power jack repair is $149 flat here). The following conversation took place:

Angela: "It is done already?!"
Us: "Yes. It is all wrapped up and ready to ship."
Angela: "And the laptop works again?!"
Us: "Yes. Works as good as new."
Angela: "And it is only $149?!"
Us: "Yes, that is correct. $149 for the repair covers both parts and labor. Return shipping is $15. The total is $164."
Angela: "Wow, I can't beleive it! How come nobody in Virginia wanted to fix it?!"
Us: "It isn't that they did not want to fix it- this is more of a specialty service, and most stores tend to not work on laptops. Here we have the equipment needed to perform these types of repairs on laptops. Traditional computer repair shops can replace hard drives, and simple components like that, but when it comes to board level repairs, well, tht is our niche."
Angela: "Well thank you very much! I hope that none of my laptops ever break again, but if they do you all will be the first to know about it!"

Another satisfied customer.

Laptops come in from VA (and all over the country) on a daily basis. We get a LOT in from VA just because we're so close. It probably makes customers feel more relaxed knowing their laptop is only 150 miles away. But, we're a very honest company that has done biz online for several years. We're actually interested in helping computer owners out.

F-Secrue's Rootkit Eliminator

Now THIS is a decent product:
http://www.f-secure.com/blacklight/blacklight.html

I wonder if Vista has anything to help protect system files. To date, most OSs do NOT.

F-Secure BlackLight Rootkit Elimination Technology detects objects that are hidden from users and security tools and offers the user an option to remove them. The main purpose is to fight rootkits and all kinds of malware that use rootkits. The F-Secure BlackLight Rootkit Elimination Technology works by examining the system at a deep level. This enables BlackLight to detect objects that are hidden from the user and security software.

Breaking News: Apple to recall 1.8 million notebook batteries

This just in. Apple to recall 1.8 million notebook batteries.

The batteries used Sony cells, just like the recalled Dell batteries.

Sony says they do not plan on issuing any more recalls.

The news is not on Apple's site yet.

Cookie moster Laptop Bags

The title says it all. Cookie Monster laptop bags are available here:
http://www.barrysfarm.com/index.php?p=36#

Dell Inspiron 1000 power plug problems

We have been seeing a lot of Dell Inspiron 1000 laptops coming in with power problems lately. They are becoming one of our more popular repairs.

The Inspiron 1000 has a power plug that is a little different from most inspiron laptops out there.

A woman called in from West Virginia and told us that every store in her area refused to work on her machine. Which is good. It is better than a store attempting a repair that they can not do. She was told to replace the machine or to get a new motherboard for $500. Her instincts told her that someone must be offering a fix for the 1000 plug problems and she went online and found us.

For $149 her laptop was repaired. While it was apart the cooling system was also cleaned up helping prolong the life of the machine. This is a standard repair that we do for end users and other computer stores all over the US every day.

Visit our power jack repair page here to find out more about getting these types of problems fixed.

Asus W3J with bad power connection fixed

This week an Asus W3J laptop came in with a bad power connection. Sparks and sizzle sounds were coming out of the laptop. We haven't had many Asus laptops in with this issue yet, but we will.

We're big ASUS fans here, but haven't had a chance to work on many of their laptops (yet). To us it wasn't much different from any of our other repairs. The power jack actually resides on a little board that is replaceable. Our customer was in a hurry and rather than replace the part we repaired the broken jack. On this particular laptop the center pin was broken and touching things inside of the laptop. The center pin is the one bringing power in and every time it touched something grounded inside, ZAP!

If your laptop is experiencing this problem, please note that we perform this repair for a $149 flat fee. Details are here on our power jack repair page.

Dell Adapter Recall

With all of the hype going on about the Dell battery recall, some people are asking about their AC adapter. There is a lesser know recall which covers older adapters.

From the Dell site:
The adapters were also sold separately, including in response to service calls. The adapters were shipped to customers between September 1998 and February 2002. The words "DELL," and either "P/N 9364U", "P/N 7832D", or "P/N 4983D" are printed on the back of the adapters.

The adapters shipped with some:
* Latitude CP, CPi, CPiA, CPtC, CPiR, CPxH, CPtV, CS, CSx, CPxJ, CPtS, C500, C510, C600, C610, C800, C805, C810, V700, C-Dock, C-Port
* Inspiron 2500, 2600, 3500, 3700, 3800, 4000, 4100, 4150, 5000, 5000E, 7500, 7550, 8000, 8100, Advanced Port Replicator, Docking Station
* Precision M40

You can visit the Dell adapter recall site here: https://www.delladapterprogram.com/.

Blog post #300

Here it is, blog post #300!

Here's to the next 300.

- AbsoluteRaleigh.com

AOL busted for spamming DIGG

AOL has now been publicly called out for spamming on Digg. It was discussed in a Digg topic yesterday. Despite Calacanis' efforts, the anti-AOL commenter still got +28 diggs. They do the exact thing on Digg that gets people banned from Netscape. (Contains list of 25+ spam accounts).

read more | digg story

Sony wanted $5 to give me a laptop part number

A Sony Vaio PCG-Z1WA came in for a fan this week. This fairly new laptop sounded awful and was cooking away. So, we called Sony to get a part number and a price on the fan.

They priced the fan at $100+ and refused to give us a part number. They said a part number would be an extra $5 for the research. That's ridiculous! I needed to check with our customer to see if he was willing to pay for the overpriced fan. The Sony rep told me to call back if I needed the part and they would "research" it again.

Come on, Sony. It is bad enough these laptops break so easily and that you want $100 for a 50 cent fan but to charge $5 for a part number is just stupid.

IBM has been readily supplying every part number for 10+ years now, it is about time the rest catch up. The hiding of part numbers helps no one. We can also safely say that IBM laptops are succefully repaired around around 50x more than Sony laptops, the Sony parts are very hard to find and way overpriced. Most people that come in here with a dead Sony go buy a new laptop (a different brand).

Breaking News: HUGE Dell Laptop Battery Recall

Breaking News:
Dell is recalling ~4 million laptop batteries! That is HUGE. It is good to see them finally stand behind one of their defective products. The defective batteries were issued between April 1, 2004 and July 18, 2006. The batteries could overheat and explode or catch on fire.

Potentially affected laptops:
Latitude: D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800, D810
Inspiron: 500M, 510M, 600M, 700M, 710M, 6000, 6400, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, 9400, E1505, E1705
Precision: M20, M60, M70, M90
XPS: XPS, XPS Gen2, XPS M170, XPS M1710

To see if your battery is covered go to DellBatteryProgram.com. The site just launched a matter of minutes ago.

Another Dell laptop blows up

Another Dell laptop blows up. This time, it ignites an ammunition box and burns up a truck.

Here is the full story:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/08/dell_fire.html

AMD X2 5200+?

Did AMD silently release a new CPU?

Rumors were floating around earlier this year that the 5200+ would be released in Q3.

Now they’re floating around that AMD has just released a 5200+ CPU. I suppose we’ll find out tomorrow…

AOL Search User #4417749 Identified

Ms. Arnold, who agreed to discuss her searches with a reporter, said she was shocked to hear that AOL had saved and published three months of her searching history.

read more | digg story

Firefox Day September 15

Firefox day is going to be September 15th, 2006.

Invite a friend to download Firefox by Sept. 15 and both of your names (or nicknames) will be saved in Firefox 2 forever.

This may be an error- here is a screenshot of the Firefox Day site saying that Firefox Day is July 15 when it is really Sept. 15.

The site is http://www.worldfirefoxday.com.

Stamps.com servers crashed again

Here we are again on a Friday morning, about 25 packages that need to go out, and Stamps.com servers are down again.

Due to this and their problematic software, we will be switching in the very near future.

Opt out online

Quite a few customers ask us about optiong out of all sorts of things. Below are the links of interest.

AnnualCreditReport.com is the official site to help consumers to obtain their free credit report.

OptOutPrescreen.com is the official Consumer Credit Reporting Industry website to accept and process requests from consumers to Opt-in or Opt-Out of firm offers or credit or insurance.

DoNotCall.gov is The National Do Not Call Registry.


The Mail Preference Service. Some consumers would like to receive less advertising mail at home. The Mail Preference Service (MPS) is designed to assist those consumers in decreasing the amount of national non-profit or commercial mail they receive at home.

The e-Mail Preference Service. DMA members who wish to send unsolicited commercial e-mail must purge their e-mail prospecting lists of the individuals who have registered their e-mail address with e-MPS. Note: Most spammers do not care or may be exempt.

NC's Sales Tax Holiday

This year NC's sales tax holiday falls on Aug 4 - Aug 7. Computers up to $3,500 are exempt from sales tax.

Full details: http://www.dornc.com/taxes/sales/salestax_holiday.html.