http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living?hl=en
misc.consumers.frugal-living@googlegroups.com
Today's topics:
* What to do when laptop keys stop working? - 4 messages, 4 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/d6266bc229b8004b?hl=en
* Computer crash - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/8bc95c99ebdef045?hl=en
* Contraceptives - bad for the economy! (Sarcasm) - 3 messages, 3 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/5155d02987e6eee7?hl=en
* you don't need any cables or special equipment - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/69d71e234adaf8b9?hl=en
* Is your dentist smart enough? - 1 messages, 1 author
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/10402e312812610e?hl=en
==============================================================================
TOPIC: What to do when laptop keys stop working?
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/d6266bc229b8004b?hl=en
==============================================================================
== 1 of 4 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 8:51 pm
From: gheston@hiwaay.net (Gary Heston)
In article <glj9f9$2lni$1@news.ett.com.ua>, OhioGuy <none@none.net> wrote:
> We have a Dell laptop that has several of the keys slowly becoming
>harder and harder to get them to register anything. It is really
>becoming a distraction. Eventually, I feel the keys will stop working
>entirely.
> I was wondering if anyone ese had ever dealt with this sort of issue,
>and what options there are to fix the problem? For instance, does
>anyone sell replacement keyboards for them?
[ ... ]
You'd have to get a replacement keyboard from Dell. They'd want to have
a technician swap it.
Gary
--
Gary Heston gheston@hiwaay.net http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/
"Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man"
General of the Army (four stars) Ann Dunwoody
== 2 of 4 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 9:02 pm
From: Tony Sivori
On Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:07:47 -0500, OhioGuy wrote:
> We have a Dell laptop that has several of the keys slowly becoming
> harder and harder to get them to register anything. It is really
> becoming a distraction. Eventually, I feel the keys will stop working
> entirely.
>
> I was wondering if anyone ese had ever dealt with this sort of issue,
> and what options there are to fix the problem? For instance, does
> anyone sell replacement keyboards for them?
>
> I'm hoping that this isn't some sort of issue where I have to decide
> between spending $250 to repair the laptop or buying a new one.
When you have nothing to lose, that is, after it quits working entirely,
you can try taking it apart. You may be able to correct whatever
combination of gunk and wear that is preventing the keys from making
contact.
Of course, that would only apply if it is by today's standards a lower
spec laptop that could be replaced with a new one for about the same cost
as professional repair.
--
Tony Sivori
Due to spam, I'm filtering all Google Groups posters.
== 3 of 4 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 9:48 pm
From: The Real Bev
Rod Speed wrote:
> Fix them or if that isnt feasible, replace the keyboard.
>
> OhioGuy wrote:
>
>> We have a Dell laptop that has several of the keys slowly becoming harder
>> and harder to get them to register anything. It is really becoming a
>> distraction. Eventually, I feel the keys will stop working entirely.
>
> Some you can pop the keycap on and clean whats underneath, some you cant.
My IBM Model M will be 21 in a month. I took the caps off, cleaned them, and
removed 21 years of cruft from underneath. Yeah, I realize I could have got
that out by removing the top and vacuuming, but it was kind of satisfying doing
it by hand. Besides, cablemodem service was down for half the weekend.
Laptop/notebook keyboards are hellspawn, as are touchpads. Fortunately I
discovered how to disable the touchpad on the Acer.
> Dunno about Dell keyboards specifically. Dell should be able to tell you if
> you call them.
>
>> I was wondering if anyone ese had ever dealt with this sort of issue, and
>> what options there are to fix the problem? For instance, does anyone sell
>> replacement keyboards for them?
>
> Yes, Dell does and there are some on ebay too for all the common laptops.
>
>> I'm hoping that this isn't some sort of issue where I have to decide
>> between spending $250 to repair the laptop or buying a new one.
I've heard that laptops are the only thing you should ever buy an extended
warranty on because they ALL destroy some part of themselves that costs more
than the warranty within the extended warranty period.
> A replacement keyboard shouldnt cost that.
Those flexible roll-up keyboards are intriguing and seem like they'd be really
easy to stuff into the notebook bag. Anybody used one? I've only seen pictures.
--
Cheers, Bev
===============================================================
Children, your performance was miserable. Your parents will all
receive phone calls instructing them to love you less.
== 4 of 4 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 10:43 pm
From: "Rod Speed"
The Real Bev wrote
> Rod Speed wrote
>> Fix them or if that isnt feasible, replace the keyboard.
>> OhioGuy wrote:
>>> We have a Dell laptop that has several of the keys slowly becoming
>>> harder and harder to get them to register anything. It is really becoming a distraction. Eventually, I feel the
>>> keys will stop working entirely.
>> Some you can pop the keycap on and clean whats underneath, some you cant.
> My IBM Model M will be 21 in a month. I took the caps off, cleaned
> them, and removed 21 years of cruft from underneath. Yeah, I realize
> I could have got that out by removing the top and vacuuming, but it
> was kind of satisfying doing it by hand. Besides, cablemodem service
> was down for half the weekend.
> Laptop/notebook keyboards are hellspawn, as are touchpads. Fortunately I discovered how to disable the touchpad on the
> Acer.
I like touchpads myself and dont bother with a mouse.
>> Dunno about Dell keyboards specifically. Dell should be able to tell you if you call them.
>>> I was wondering if anyone ese had ever dealt with this sort of issue, and what options there are to fix the problem?
>>> For
>>> instance, does anyone sell replacement keyboards for them?
>> Yes, Dell does and there are some on ebay too for all the common laptops.
>>> I'm hoping that this isn't some sort of issue where I have to decide
>>> between spending $250 to repair the laptop or buying a new one.
> I've heard that laptops are the only thing you should ever buy an
> extended warranty on because they ALL destroy some part of themselves
> that costs more than the warranty within the extended warranty period.
I've seen plenty that didnt, including every single one of my own.
>> A replacement keyboard shouldnt cost that.
> Those flexible roll-up keyboards are intriguing and seem like they'd
> be really easy to stuff into the notebook bag. Anybody used one? I've only seen pictures.
Nar, I've never tried one either.
==============================================================================
TOPIC: Computer crash
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/8bc95c99ebdef045?hl=en
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 9:08 pm
From: "Dave"
"Marsha" <mas@xeb.net> wrote in message news:glinnb$qpk$1@news.datemas.de...
> Okay, my motto is panic first and think later. I put the system disk(?)
> in and finally figured out how to boot from that. There were 5 options,
> 1 of which was check memory, which I did first. No memory problems, but
> when it re-started, everything was fine. So even though things are okay
> now, I want to know what happened. I'll try to answer in line as much
> as I can remember when the problem was still there.
>
> Dave wrote:
> > OK, we need a lot more information to help you. First, what type of
> > computer is it? Exact make and model number.
>
> Dell Inspiron 530, bought new 14 months ago.
I hope it's still under warranty.
>
> > What operating system is it running?
>
> Windows Vista Home Premium
Good!
>
> > How, exactly, do you connect to the Internet?
> > Dial-up modem? Cable modem? DSL? If you have a high speed Internet
> > connection, how, EXACTLY is that Internet connection attached to your
> > computer? Is it Ethernet cable? USB? Wireless? Does it connect
directly
> > to a cable modem / dsl modem, or does it run through a router?
>
> Cable modem. Router. Wired. I unhooked it from cable and it still
> wouldn't boot, though.
Well now that you wrote more, I don't think this matters.
>
> > More importantly... we need to know after it was shut off for a while
and
> > you turned it back on, what do you mean by "it started normall"? Did
you
> > get to Windows? Were you able to log into windows? Did windows start
at
> > all, or did you just see BIOS splash screens (hard drives listed, memory
> > tested), and then go straight to a cursor on a black screen? When you
got
> > the cursor on the black screen, where was it? Lower left? Upper Left?
> > What did it look like? Square? Bar? Did you try to type anything at
the
> > cursor?
>
> It did not get to Windows. Got 1 beep (I think) and some words flashed
> very quickly in the upper left (too fast to even get one word). Then
> the cursor in the upper left - bar. Almost like the old DOS screen.
> This all took place in about 10 seconds after starting it. Pressed a
> couple keys, but nothing happened.
OK, there are a couple of possibilities. Normally, I'd say it's not a big
deal. But as it's a Dell we are talking about, it could get a little hairy.
Like I said before, I hope it's still under warranty. Since you never got
past POST, you can rule out your hard drive and everything ON the hard
drive, as a possible suspect. That doesn't leave much. Bad RAM possibly,
but you've already checked that. I don't know how thoroughly the RAM was
tested, but I think it's safe to rule that out, for the moment. Only
components left are:
1) Video card (integrated into motherboard on the Dell 530)
2) Power supply (likely a proprietary, non-standard beast, considering
it's a dell system)
3) CPU (odds of that failing are about 1 in a million, unless the CPU fan
failed...but the system would warn you and/or shut itself down, hopefully,
if that happened)
So in terms of possible suspects, I'd say 95% power supply, 4% motherboard,
and 1% CPU.
When it comes to computers, anything can cause anything. So there is always
a slim possibility that it could be some other component bad as well.
But keep your eye on this system. If it fails intermittently, watch for a
pattern. What you are looking at is how far into the boot process does it
get before it fails. If the failure point is almost always before windows
starts (or while windows is starting), that points to a bad power supply.
If the failure point is even earlier, like before you get the POST screens
(showing hard drive information, RAM testing, etc), then that could be a bad
power supply, a bad motherboard, or a bad CPU.
>
> My virus and adware programs found nothing.
Not surprising. Your problem was not the hard drive, or anything ON the
hard drive. The hard drive wasn't in use at the time that the symptom
appeared.
> I haven't loaded any new
> software in the last couple weeks, but would it be a good idea do the
> back restore thing to maybe a week or so ago?
That won't help. Your symptom appeared long before your hard drive, your
operating system, or your software, were in use. You DO, however, need to
back up all your important data files to something outside this system,
ASAP. You've got an unknown hardware problem that COULD (possibly) cause
your hard drive to fail and/or files on the hard drive to get
corrupted/deleted. Depending on how important your files are on that hard
drive, you might want to do daily backups to DVDR/W media, or an external
hard drive, or an enormous thumb drive, or all of them. Daily, until you
are certain that the problem is fixed. Even after the problem is fixed,
keep doing periodic backups. -Dave
==============================================================================
TOPIC: Contraceptives - bad for the economy! (Sarcasm)
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/5155d02987e6eee7?hl=en
==============================================================================
== 1 of 3 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 9:28 pm
From: don@manx.misty.com (Don Klipstein)
In <558f52ad-fcf6-4c74-a76c-ea1d001c1348@r36g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
lenona321@yahoo.com wrote:
>18 mainly negative comments so far - and plenty more elsewhere, I
>hope. Shall we write to our newspapers and make it clear we mean
>business?
>
>Yes, I've heard the argument that we can't afford to have any
>country's birth rate drop below a certain level -
It appears to me that stock prices tend to be assuming profit trends
that assume some population growth rate.
"Recent Fashion" (as of late 1990's or around 2000) appeared to me then
that stock prices and stock price growth was supportable with P/E ratio of
20-plus, despite historical average since the 1920's coser to 15.
Meanwhile, it appears to me that annual growth of USA population is
close to 1%. That appears to me to be part of annual growth rate of USA's
GDP and of "earnings" by publicly-traded corporations on USA stock
exchanges, especially NYSE.
And with the past takeover trend, I expect the "S&P 500" to continue to
represent about 63-66% of "market value" of USA's public-traded
corporations.
Going on 5% reciprocal of P/E with 1% annual population growth, I would
like to assume that changing population growth to zero by 1% downward
causes annual; total return to be the same if P/E increases to 6.67%.
Since historical "annual average total return" in "broad market" USA
stock investing even by rules of modern "index funds" if applied from the
1929 high to the 1999-2000 high or from the 1932 low to the 1982 low
averages at least 6% past inflation,
I expect sudden achievement of "zero population growth" to set back
stock investments by a mere roughly 5 years compared to inflation, about
3.3 years non-inflation-adjusted.
Decreasing world population growth to close to zero is definitely good
to do. Sadly, those finding need to bear and raise more children tend to
be more religiously conservative and maybe "trying to outpopulate their
enemies"... (My words and commentary, and I "do not and will not pass the
buck" in terms of responsibility or irrisponsibility for saying what I
said!)
- Don Klipstein (don@misty.com)
== 2 of 3 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 10:34 pm
From: josejarvie@ssnet.net
The bubble has burst the entire usa is going to be restructured now and all the
but richest 1% are going to suffer for it.
On Mon, 26 Jan 2009 05:28:56 +0000 (UTC), in misc.consumers.frugal-living
don@manx.misty.com (Don Klipstein) wrote:
>In <558f52ad-fcf6-4c74-a76c-ea1d001c1348@r36g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
>lenona321@yahoo.com wrote:
>>18 mainly negative comments so far - and plenty more elsewhere, I
>>hope. Shall we write to our newspapers and make it clear we mean
>>business?
>>
>>Yes, I've heard the argument that we can't afford to have any
>>country's birth rate drop below a certain level -
>
> It appears to me that stock prices tend to be assuming profit trends
>that assume some population growth rate.
>
> "Recent Fashion" (as of late 1990's or around 2000) appeared to me then
>that stock prices and stock price growth was supportable with P/E ratio of
>20-plus, despite historical average since the 1920's coser to 15.
>
> Meanwhile, it appears to me that annual growth of USA population is
>close to 1%. That appears to me to be part of annual growth rate of USA's
>GDP and of "earnings" by publicly-traded corporations on USA stock
>exchanges, especially NYSE.
> And with the past takeover trend, I expect the "S&P 500" to continue to
>represent about 63-66% of "market value" of USA's public-traded
>corporations.
>
> Going on 5% reciprocal of P/E with 1% annual population growth, I would
>like to assume that changing population growth to zero by 1% downward
>causes annual; total return to be the same if P/E increases to 6.67%.
>
> Since historical "annual average total return" in "broad market" USA
>stock investing even by rules of modern "index funds" if applied from the
>1929 high to the 1999-2000 high or from the 1932 low to the 1982 low
>averages at least 6% past inflation,
> I expect sudden achievement of "zero population growth" to set back
>stock investments by a mere roughly 5 years compared to inflation, about
>3.3 years non-inflation-adjusted.
>
> Decreasing world population growth to close to zero is definitely good
>to do. Sadly, those finding need to bear and raise more children tend to
>be more religiously conservative and maybe "trying to outpopulate their
>enemies"... (My words and commentary, and I "do not and will not pass the
>buck" in terms of responsibility or irrisponsibility for saying what I
>said!)
>
> - Don Klipstein (don@misty.com)
== 3 of 3 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 10:57 pm
From: "Rod Speed"
Don Klipstein wrote
> lenona321@yahoo.com wrote:
>> 18 mainly negative comments so far - and plenty more elsewhere, I hope.
>> Shall we write to our newspapers and make it clear we mean business?
>> Yes, I've heard the argument that we can't afford to have any
>> country's birth rate drop below a certain level -
> It appears to me that stock prices tend to be assuming
> profit trends that assume some population growth rate.
Nope, have a look at the Nikkei sometime.
> "Recent Fashion" (as of late 1990's or around 2000) appeared to me
> then that stock prices and stock price growth was supportable with P/E
> ratio of 20-plus, despite historical average since the 1920's coser to 15.
It had swong that high before tho.
> Meanwhile, it appears to me that annual growth of USA population is close to 1%.
The CIA claims 0.883
> That appears to me to be part of annual growth rate
> of USA's GDP and of "earnings" by publicly-traded
> corporations on USA stock exchanges, especially NYSE.
GDP doesnt include earnings.
> And with the past takeover trend, I expect the "S&P 500"
> to continue to represent about 63-66% of "market value"
> of USA's public-traded corporations.
> Going on 5% reciprocal of P/E with 1% annual population growth, I would
> like to assume that changing population growth to zero by 1% downward
> causes annual; total return to be the same if P/E increases to 6.67%.
Mindlessly silly, there is no correlation. Have a look at the
Nikkei to see what a negative population growth produces.
> Since historical "annual average total return" in "broad market" USA
> stock investing even by rules of modern "index funds" if applied from
> the 1929 high to the 1999-2000 high or from the 1932 low to the 1982
> low averages at least 6% past inflation, I expect sudden achievement of
> "zero population growth" to set back stock investments by a mere roughly
> 5 years compared to inflation, about 3.3 years non-inflation-adjusted.
Have fun explaining what Japan has seen.
> Decreasing world population growth to close to zero is definitely
> good to do. Sadly, those finding need to bear and raise more
> children tend to be more religiously conservative and maybe
> "trying to outpopulate their enemies"...
Doesnt explain why the west had high population growth numbers at one time.
> (My words and commentary, and I "do not and will not pass the buck"
> in terms of responsibility or irrisponsibility for saying what I said!)
==============================================================================
TOPIC: you don't need any cables or special equipment
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/69d71e234adaf8b9?hl=en
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 9:55 pm
From: The Real Bev
larry wrote:
> On the Dallas news last night, A website where you enter
> your cell number, they ring it so you can find your
> misplaced cell.
I assume this is because people no longer have a REAL phone, right? What if the
phone is turned off?
> I'm sure that establishes an "on-going business
> relationship" for the 3/18 month period of the NDNC list. ;-)
How about sending your phone a text message from your computer?
--
Cheers, Bev
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity
is not thus handicapped."
-- Elbert Hubbard, American author
==============================================================================
TOPIC: Is your dentist smart enough?
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/t/10402e312812610e?hl=en
==============================================================================
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 25 2009 10:09 pm
From: The Real Bev
Macuser wrote:
> You can control perio by flossing. Also, did you know that antiseptic
> mouthwash such as Listerine and similar house brands kill bacteria in your
> mouth and also help to control this.
There is some cheap Mexican tequila-substitute (as far as I can tell that's what
it is) that costs less than Listerine and tastes better. Almost the same
alcohol content and it comes in a plastic container with a ring on top so you
can carry it on your belt. "Licor Costeño Tonaya Supremo"
> It's also true that dentists may not be entirely motivated to keep your
> mouth healthy, because more damage means more services they can perform.
> Also, you get the best value and the most honest service at a dental school.
> A dental student gets a good grade when recommending only the services you
> need. A private dentist is motivated to sell you as much services as you can
> pay for.
OTOH, the little Mexican town of Algodones, just southwest of Yuma, exists to
service the dental needs of people all over the US. No crowds in summer.
Cheap, fast, and as good as anything you get in the US.
--
Cheers, Bev
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity
is not thus handicapped."
-- Elbert Hubbard, American author
==============================================================================
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "misc.consumers.frugal-living"
group.
To post to this group, visit http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living?hl=en
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to misc.consumers.frugal-living+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
To change the way you get mail from this group, visit:
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/subscribe?hl=en
To report abuse, send email explaining the problem to abuse@googlegroups.com
==============================================================================
Google Groups: http://groups.google.com/?hl=en
No comments:
Post a Comment