How many times have you brought your computer with a minor problem to a computer repair service like best buy geek squad, and your computer has been diagnosed with all kinds of problems by one of their so called geek? I bet you have.

The problem with your computer might be as easy as tight up a loosen IDE cable, but a geek squad technician will tell you that the motherboard is fried, and you will need to change it, and then they will tell you the power supply is faulty, and you will need to change it also. The price tag for the repair and replacement parts can go as high as the price for a brand new computer, but you need the data on that computer, and you are left with no alternative but to shell out the money for the repair.

You might be quiet about these kind of rip offs because it seems every computer repair shop does the same, and unfortunately you don’t have the expertise to fix the problem yourself. But your are no fool, and you suspect something is quite not right when paying such a high price for a computer solution. As a geek myself I can assure you that your guts are 100 % right. So, what’s wrong with these people that charges me so much money to repair my computer you might ask?

The problem is that these people see you as a consumer and not as a person. Their business model is to suck up as much money from you as possible. They see every opportunity in you to sell you anything they might think they can get away with it, even though you don’t need it. They are not professionals much less geeks, they are parasites waiting for you to feed on. Let me tell you, before I got into the computer field ( that was back in high school) I got ripped off by these so called computer professionals too. I worked at a restaurant during that time and let me tell you, it was not nice to give my paycheck to one of these slob just to fix a simple problem with my computer.

Watching those videos and thinking that those facts are everyday events at those places, you wonder, do these people have lost their ethics? Do they think they have divine knowledge a god right seated angel have whispered to them so they don’t feel morally guilty when ripping off people this way? As you can see, these people don’t know anything about computers. A techie that is capable enough be be called a techie should be able to catch the problem shown in the first video as soon as the computer is turned on.

The problem in the second video is more subtle but it shouldn’t take very long for an experienced technician to diagnose the problem.

Am I saying that you shouldn’t charge when repairing computers? Not at all. I’m just saying that you shouldn’t take advantage of people, remember that they need to work to get the money. Some of them don’t even have good jobs, have kids, family, debts. Don’t make their lives even harder. Be reasonable in your prices. What’s reasonable you might ask? For me reasonable computer repair prices in Boston are 25 to 30 dollars per hour, depending on the problem. If the technician has a local shop and pays rent, 50 dollars per hour is reasonable. People should not pay for consultation or diagnose of a problem. Period.

Is that degrading your work or devaluing your knowledge? I don’t think so, being reasonable and honest on the work you do, is not degrading or devaluing your work. Rest assured that people know that you depend on your work to live and support your family, and they will be happy to pay you and come back when having computer issues when you are reasonable with them. Just remember they are not responsible for the lifestyle you think you deserve.

Do people have alternatives to geek squad like rip off places when needing computer repair service? Sure they do. Even though they think they don’t, but there are many real computer geeks that might do the job for you for a reasonable price, and if the problem is easy, they can do it for free. Where can you find those geeks, and how can you make sure he is what he says he is? You can spot real geeks in local newspaper classifieds, or poster ads on your local streets. Geeks normally have day time jobs, but try to supplement their income by doing side work on the evenings or weekends, also you can ask family or friends about someone they might know that has done good computer work for them at a reasonable price. This is how I get many calls. Word of mouth.

How can you know the person is a geek? Ask them if they work in the computer field. And if yes, ask them where. If he works for a company in IT he mostly likely is a geek. Working in a company he needs to justify his paycheck, so he might know something, but keep in mind that there are some rotten IT departments in companies, so ask him many questions like, how many years has he been working in the IT field, and why is he doing side work while having a day work? An honest person should have an answer for all those questions. Once you find a good techie, stick with him.

What do you think about this, do you think charging people $250 to tight up a loosen IDE connector is reasonable? Post your opinions on the comment section.

This article will show you how to use the remote shutdown command tool in Windows to remotely shut down, restart, or logoff a local or networked computer. This can be very useful sometimes if you have multiple computers at home or on your network that you want to quickly shutdown or restart.
You can perform a remote shutdown from the command prompt using the shutdown command and it’s associated switches, from the remote shutdown dialog box, or from a batch file. I’ll try to go through all three in this guide.
Remote Shutdown Overview
Firstly, in order to remotely shutdown a computer on your network, you’ll need to make sure you have Administrative access to that computer
. If you’re on a home network, the best way to do this is to make sure all computers are in the same workgroup and that they all have at least one Administrator account with the same user name and password.
You can also have different Administrator account names across computers, but then you’ll need to make sure you add the Administrator account of one computer to the account list on the other computers. You’ll also need to know all the names of the other computers on the network. You can do that by going to Control Panel and then clicking on System. Then click on the Computer Name tab.

Remote shutdown is useful for managing multiple computers
at once and especially useful for helpdesk technicians when they have to fix remote computers.
Remote shutdown via Command Prompt
The shutdown command is most flexible when using it from the command prompt because you can add a bunch of switches to it, which allow you to customize the behavior. Go to Start, then Run, and type in CMD. In the black command window, type in shutdown /? to see the list of switches.

You have to use at least one switch in order for the command to do anything. Basically you would type in shutdown -X -Y -Z where X, Y, Z are letters in the list above.
Here are a couple of the most command switches and what actions they peform:
-l: Logs off the computer
-s: Shuts down the computer
-r: Restarts the computer
-m \\computername: remote shutdown of a computer
-f: Forces programs to close immediately
So for remotely shutting down another machine on your network, you would type into the command prompt the following commands:
shutdown –m \\computername –r –f
This above command will restart the computer named computername and force all programs that are still running to die.
shutdown –m \\computername –r –f –c “The computer will restart, please save all work.” –t 60
This command will restart the computer named computername, force all programs that are running to die, show a message to the user, and countdown 60 seconds before it restarts.
Remote Shutdown via Shutdown Dialog
If you don’t like all those switches, etc, or using the command prompt, then you can bring up the shutdown dialog box. You can open the dialog window by clicking Start, click Run, type CMD and typing shutdown -i and in the blank DOS window.

A window similar to the one below will appear:

Click the Add or Browse button to add computers to the list. You can then run the commands on the entire batch of computers. If you click Add, you’ll need to enter in the network name of the computer in the format \\computername. You can even add your own computer to test it out and make sure it works.

Of course, you need to know the actual computer name, which I mentioned how you can figure out above. You’ll also need Administrative access. You can determine this by going to My Computer and typing \\computername into the address bar and seeing if you can get access without having to be prompted for a password.

So add as many computers to the list as you like and then set your options. You can shutdown, restart, or logoff. You can also display a warning for however many seconds you like. You can type in a comment at the bottom which will be displayed to users. That’s it!
Remote Shutdown via Batch File
Finally, you can create a batch file so that you can do all of this by just clicking on a file! Or you can even schedule the batch file to be run at specific intervals using Windows Scheduler.
Just go to Notepad and type in the commands you would have typed into the command prompt:
shutdown –m \\computername1 –r
shutdown –m \\computername2 –r
shutdown –m \\computername3 –r
This will restart three computers on my home network. You would of course replace computername1 with the actual names of your computers. Then simple save the file with a .BAT file extension. Enjoy!!

San Francisco Chronicle (Online)

Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. mobile-phone company, will start selling Apple Inc.’s iPhone next year, ending AT&T Inc.’s exclusive hold on the smartphone in the U.S., two people familiar with the plans said.

The device will be available to customers in January, according to the people, who declined to be named because the information isn’t public. Natalie Kerris, an Apple spokeswoman, and Jeffrey Nelson, a Verizon Wireless spokesman, declined to comment.

The iPhone, which has been the sole domain of rival AT&T in the U.S. since June 2007, will give Verizon a boost in its competition for smartphone customers, UBS AG analyst John Hodulik said in an interview. Verizon customers, who numbered 92.8 million at the end of the first quarter, may buy 3 million iPhones a quarter, he estimates.

“Apple is going to dramatically increase the number of devices it sells in the U.S. when exclusivity at AT&T ends,” said Hodulik, who is based in New York and rates Verizon shares “neutral.” “It’s hard to ignore the quality issues that AT&T has faced.”

Verizon Wireless, which is building a high-speed fourth- generation network, plans to unveil several devices that will run on the new technology in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam has said.

IPhone Gains

Verizon Communications Inc., which co-owns the wireless company with Vodafone Group Plc, slid 9 cents to $28.62 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading at 4 p.m. AT&T fell 49 cents to $24.46. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, dropped $12.13 to $256.17 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Peter Thonis, a spokesman for Verizon Communications, and Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman, declined to comment. Tenille Kennedy, a spokeswoman for Research in Motion Ltd., didn’t return a call seeking comment.

The iPhone has helped AT&T add subscribers even as the U.S. mobile-phone market nears saturation. There are enough wireless devices for more than nine out of 10 people, according to the CTIA wireless industry association.

In the first three months of this year, about a third of AT&T’s iPhone activations came from customers who were new to the carrier. Without those 900,000 new subscribers, the company may have posted a loss in contract customers that quarter, analysts said.

Still, Dallas-based AT&T has battled customer complaints about its wireless service, especially in New York and San Francisco, and dedicated an extra $2 billion to upgrading its network this year.

BlackBerry, Android

For Apple, a partnership with Basking Ridge, New Jersey- based Verizon Wireless is a victory over rivals such as RIM and Motorola Inc., whose smartphones are currently promoted by the carrier.

“For Apple it means a larger addressable market,” said Andy Hargreaves, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon. “It’s also good news for Apple in that it will spread the load on the wireless data networks, which will be good for their customers.”

Motorola, which makes Droid phones that use Google Inc.’s Android operating system, fell 27 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $6.80 on the New York Stock Exchange. Google dropped $17.82, or 3.8 percent, to $454.26 on the Nasdaq. RIM, maker of the BlackBerry, declined $3.22, or 6.1 percent, to $49.75.

Apple has sold more than 50 million iPhones since the phone’s introduction in 2007. The latest version, iPhone 4, sold more than 1.7 million units in the first three days after its June 24 debut, a record for the product. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs said the company didn’t have enough supply to meet demand. Many stores, including retailer Best Buy Co., sold out.

A release at Verizon in the first quarter will help Apple’s sales in the U.S. grow to at least 15 million units next year from 11 million in 2010, Barclays Capital analysts said in a note today. The company’s suppliers have been ramping up production of components for a phone on Verizon’s CDMA network, according to the research report.

After easy transfer restore your outlook profiles/accounts are not there. I had reinstalled office 2007 on the new system and restored using easy transfer from old to new computer settings. I was under the impression profiles would be moving. In addition to moving the .pst files you also have to restore the following registry setting. The best way of doing it is to export the setting. On the old computer open regedit.Start-run-type regedit-enter. Then look for this setting: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles. Copy it to a thumbdrive or some kind of portable device then go on the new computer and double click on the reg setting to restore it on the new computer.

You need to ensure you reinstall office first, do not start outlook until after you have migrated your .pst files and the registry setting above.

I worked an issue in which several machines had the volume icon missing from the bottom right. I followed the steps to restore the sndvol32.exe from a working XP machine into a broken one and it worked.

Windows XP – Volume icon missing

I have XP Home,and for some reason,my volume control icon is missing from my taskbar. When I opened “Sounds and Audio Device Properties”,and checked the “place volume icon in the taskbar”,I get a pop-up announcing that “Windows cannot display the volume control on the taskbar because the volume control program has not been installed.To install,use add/remove programs in the control panel”
Where do I find this volume control program to install it?
This may all be my fault,as I have been trying to remove some freeware that stubbornly refuses to be unistalled,and also,I have been trying to modify the Startup menu so Thunderbird (which I recently installed to replace Outlook Express) would launch at Windows startup,but all that is another story.
Anyway,I sorely miss the volume control icon!

Before I sent this,I found what I thought was the solution in Windows Help and Support files:

Volume Icon Is Not Displayed in the Notification Area, and You Receive an Error Message When You Try to Add It
View products that this article applies to.
Article ID : 319095
Last Review : January 23, 2004
Revision : 1.0
This article was previously published under Q319095
SYMPTOMS
On a Windows XP-based computer, you may experience one or both of the following behaviors: • The Volume icon is no longer displayed in the notification area at the far right of the taskbar.
• When you try to add the volume control icon to the notification area (in the Sounds and Audio Devices utility in Control Panel, click to select the Place volume icon in the taskbar check box on the Volume tab), you receive the following error message:
Windows cannot display the volume control on the taskbar because the Volume Control program has not been installed. To install it use Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel.
As a result, you cannot start the Volume Control program and adjust the volume and sound level settings of your computer.
CAUSE
This behavior can occur if the Sndvol32.exe file is damaged or missing.
RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, extract a new copy of Sndvol32.exe from the Windows XP compact disc to the system_root\System32 folder on your computer’s hard disk. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your computer’s CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. Press and hold down the SHIFT key as you insert the CD-ROM to prevent it from starting automatically.
2. Click Start, and then click Run.
3. In the Open box, type cmd, and then click OK.
4. Type the following lines at the command prompt, pressing ENTER after each line, where CD-ROM drive is the drive letter of the computer’s CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive that contains the Windows XP CD-ROM, and system_root is the path and folder name where the Windows system files are located (generally C:\Windows):
CD-ROM drive:
cd i386
expand sndvol32.ex_ system_root\system32\sndvol32.exe

Note that there is a space between “ex_” and “system_root” in this command.

For example, if your computer’s CD-ROM drive is drive E, and the folder that contains the Windows system files is C:\Windows, type the following lines at the command prompt (pressing ENTER after each line):
e:
cd i386
expand sndvol32.ex_ c:\windows\system32\sndvol32.exe
5. Type exit to quit the command prompt.
6. Verify that you can start Volume Control and that the Volume icon is displayed in the notification area (if you selected this option).

MORE INFORMATION
By default, the Volume icon is not displayed in the notification area in Windows XP.

For additional information about how to display the volume control icon in the notification area, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
279435 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/279435/EN-US/) HOW TO: Display the Volume Icon in the Notification Area in Windows
For additional information about icons that are displayed in the notification area, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
310578 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310578/EN-US/) Windows System Tray Icons
For additional information about how to troubleshoot sound problems, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
307918 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307918/EN-US/) HOW TO: Resources for Troubleshooting Sound Problems in Windows XP

I had issues with a Windows 7 machine having a blank screen with no icons or desktop items loaded after login onto to the system. I tried several things which none of them worked.

I deleted the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Shell key rebooted and the key recreated itself. The problem went away and it as not come back.

Unless you have one of those 2tb HDD in your PC, space is something that one is always looking to clear on a computer. If you look deep enough you will found out that there are two files called pagefile.sys and hiberfil.sys that occupy over few GB of hard drive space. If you are the kind person that does not use Hibernate, then this article is for you.

When you turn off your computer using hibernate, the operating system needs to store all your current running program states onto hard disk so that programs can resume where they left off when you power up your PC again. To achieve this, the OS need to save all the information into a file called hiberfil.sys. Windows OS (7, vista, XP) usually stores this as a hidden file under your C directory or your main OS partition.

So if you never use hibernate, than its time for you to get your hard drive space back.

[Note: Hibernate mode is not sleep mode. When hibernating your computer completely shuts down, however, under sleep mode your PC is not completely shut down; it still consumes a small amount of power.]

The best way to delete hiberfil.sys or disable hibernate:

* Go to Start menu, type “cmd” open up command prompt
* Type “powercfg.exe -h off” [make sure you are an Administrator]
* ENTER
* Type “exit”
* ENTER

RESTART YOUR PC and you are all set

After restart you should be able to see more free space on your hard drive.

I have just purchased a gaming router but really have not purchased any routers over the past three years. Most home users think that the current technology is plenty fine 802.11g or n. Most home users are also set back by some of the complexity around setting up home networking. Cisco and Belkin are out there trying to get new customers, focusing on providing additional services in order to make the home/routing setup experience easier. Belkin has opted to make routing choices easier to grasp, like their Surf Line, Share, Play and Play Max wireless routers. Applications are also included to self healing or troubleshooting applications to detect and fix an issue for the user. The Print Genie also helps the users in order to setup printers etc. If you do a lot of downloads, torrent traffic, Xbox or gaming consoles on your network, go for the “Play Max Router” from Belkin.

Cisco also is in the game with their easy Valet service router line. Two versions are available from Cisco. The Valet Cost and the Valet Plus. The cost is aimed at Home with most wireless clients. The Plus is geared toward mixed wireless/wired environment. The Valet comes with a router and USB Valet sticks that lets you configure the wireless settings on your laptop or desktop in three easy steps. If you are wanting for something easy and the ability to be on the network in 90 seconds this is a good system to purchase. Like on most things do you own research and read customer reviews before making any purchases. Good Luck!

I can’t see it, I really can’t, what is the hype with Apple overpriced products?
So here there are, some Apple alternative products.

Iphone= Google Nexus or the Samsung Mythic

The Nexus has a powerful processor. However, the only bad thing is Google!! the applications are there, but
rather plain and with less life and glamour when compared to the Iphone or even the Droid.
I can’t see Google giving up though on this first try. I am certain future releases will be much different.

The Mythic, well very different for a mobile phone to incorporate a full TV Tuner and Flo TV service. Touch screen as responsive as the Iphone.
Price compared to the Iphone but obviously it packs something other phones do not have. AT@T and Sprint carry it.

IPod Touch= MS Zune HD or the Sony X series Walkman

Zune HD is the best non-iTunes player on the market, great OLED screen Touch functions, fast wireless browser, why even go for the Apple!

X Series, nice but pricey! Wireless, fast browser, and free music, Sony gives you free music downloads on this!

We can bring up computers, desktops or laptops, but I don’t wont to embarrass Apple more than necessary.

We you confront their laptop lineup it gets stepped on by Dell, Asus.
Desktops, Lenovo, Dell and even Acer cleans them out!

NO comparison, unfortunately, you can do a lot more with MS OS and compatible applications are a scale of 1 to 100.

Don’t believe Apples, claim to virus or vulnerabilities, the reason why there are more Windows vulnerabilities is because in the world Apple is out numbered 10 to 1000 when comparing global sales of hardware. Therefore if you are a hacker which will give you larger fame? exactly! think on that Apple!

I bet you Apple is not running adds on this!! I always believed Apple is way overrated so buy wisely.

Apple has said that it has found 17 labor violations at its factories. The one garnering most attention is the use of underage employees.

Apple has released its 2010 Supplier Responsibility report (PDF), revealing that three of its suppliers have hired underage workers. Though these employees were either no longer working
at the factories or no longer underage at the time of the audit, Apple’s inspectors found records of 11 employees who had been hired prior to reaching the legal age. However, child labor was not the only violation uncovered by the audit.

Apple also found more than 50 factories that forced employees to work longer than Apple’s maximum 60-hour weeks. Some facilities were depriving staff of benefits such as sick leave. All told, the inspectors uncovered 17 violations; a ‘core violation’ is considered the most serious class of violation. “It refers to any practice or situation that we consider to be contrary to the core principles underlying Apple’s Supplier Code of Conduct,” Apple said.

Three of these violations were cases of falsifying records. That is, factories tried to cover up other violations by presenting inspectors with records that had been tampered with. One had tried to cover up hiring underage workers in the past, while the other two tried to cover up the fact that employees were overworked and not awarded days of rest. One facility falsified these records two years running. The company was caught in both 2008 and 2009.

Apple also found a staggering number of facilities that were not paying staff correctly:

At 48 of the facilities audited, we found that overtime wages had been calculated improperly, resulting in underpayment of overtime wages. At 24 facilities, our auditors found that workers had been paid less than minimum wage for regular working hours. In most of these cases, the facility’s pay structure for regular hours depended on attendance-related bonuses to meet minimum wage requirements; without these bonuses, there was no guarantee that the minimum wage would be met. We also found 15 facilities where the facility’s pay structure was unnecessarily complex and could result in underpayment of wages.

Other violations include excessive recruitment
fees and three cases where suppliers contracted with non-certified vendors for hazardous waste disposal.

When a core violation is detected, Apple requires that the facility remedy the situation immediately, as well as implement management systems that ensure continued compliance. The facility is also placed on probation for a period of one year, ending with a reaudit to ensure the violation has not reoccurred.

Apple inspected 102 facilities across China, the Czech Republic, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States.

Source : Tom’s Hardware US