Newsletter Archives

• Tooling around with computers

  Posted on March 6, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Ben Myers • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.10 • 2023-03-06

  HARDWARE

  

  By Ben Myers

  Whether you maintain your own computer, run your family IT department, or manage lots of computers, having the right tools makes the work so much easier.

  No matter which task you need to do, tools are essential — whether a spoon to stir your morning coffee or a hammer to pound a nail. So it is with computers, which need to be taken apart, put back together, cleaned, and sometimes connected to other devices to get the job done.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.10.0, 2023-03-06).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Hardware Cleaning, Newsletters, Repair, Tools

• Does an old personal computer become useless?

  Posted on November 14, 2022 at 02:45 CST by Ben Myers • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.46 • 2022-11-14

  HARDWARE

  

  By Ben Myers

  Come take a ride in my souped-up DeLorean for an adventure in the days before Windows.

  You see an old computer and ask, “Why hasn’t it been scrapped?” But don’t look at just the PC — look at what it does within some total system. That’s what this story is about.

  The ride takes many twists and turns on the path to where we are today. Progress over the last 20-plus years is hard to believe.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.46.0, 2022-11-14).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Hardware Drivers, Hardware Upgrades, Industrial Control, MS-DOS, Newsletters, Repair

• Restored desktop computers must work flawlessly

  Posted on August 8, 2022 at 02:43 CDT by Ben Myers • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE

  

  By Ben Myers

  Test, test, and test again — just to be on the safe side.

  In my last article, I covered the basic and essential tests needed to assure that a computer was in generally sound operating condition. As the late-night TV pitchman always says: “But wait! There’s more!” More testing, that is.

  There are still electronics that need to be working right for the entire computer to be fully functional. Along the way, you need to do at least a visual inspection to see that all the ports and connectors — in back, in front, and even on top of a computer — are not damaged.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.32.0, 2022-08-08).

  Hardware Hardware, Newsletters, Repair, Support, Testing

• The right to repair

  Posted on June 27, 2022 at 02:45 CDT by Max Stul Oppenheimer • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.26 • 2022-06-27

  Look for our special issue on July 4, 2022!

  LEGAL BRIEF

  

  By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

  Purchasing a product gives you broad rights to do with it as you please.

  Those rights are not unlimited. For example, you can’t drive your new Ferrari through town at 120 mph; you can’t use your new hammer to smash anyone’s thumb but your own.

  Those rights are also limited by two legal constraints: you cannot infringe on someone else’s intellectual property rights, and you cannot use the product in a way you promised not to by entering into a contract to that effect.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.26.0, 2022-06-27).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Legal Brief Hardware, Legal Brief, Newsletters, Repair, Right to Repair