Consider this : Don't keep the iPhone 6 Plus in your front pants pocket for too long. It just might bend.

Reports of slightly bent iPhone 6 Plus devices are cropping up on a number of Apple forums, suggesting that the items began bending after sitting in one's front pocket for a long chunk of time.

One forum member on MacRumors posted a photo of his iPhone 6 Plus after a few hours in his front pants pocket during a car ride.

Another posted another photo of his friend's bent iPhone 6. Photos have also showing up on the French Apple forum MacBidouille and other places across the web.

The reports of bent phones were immediately met with jokes and skepticism. From a purely organic standpoint, however, the bending makes sense.

First, consider that Apple uses aluminum as its metal to house the new phone, which is a very soft, bendable metal.consider that Apple uses aluminum as its metal to house the new phone, which is a very soft, bendable metal. Then, consider that the iPhone 6 Plus (and the iPhone 6) is thinner than previous phones, with added surface area.

If you apply pressure — even the seemingly small amount of pressure that comes from one's front pocket — and metal can bend.

This might give some pause to potential owners — or at least make them likely to consider AppleCare+.

What is the Cloud?

"The cloud" is one of those trendy tech terms a lot of people use but can't clearly define. What is the cloud? When do you encounter it? If you use any kind of social media ( like Facebook) or online data drive ( like Dropbox or Mediafire) , you're already using the cloud; you just may not realize it.

What is the cloud?

The cloud is where you put all your data, all your files and even your software so you can access it all from any computer or device, anywhere, anytime. 

Isn’t cloud computing just the internet?

You use the internet to connect your device to the cloud, but the internet is just the connection – the cloud is where your data lives. 

Isn’t it possible to lose your data in the cloud?

Your data is actually much safer in the cloud than on your computer. Your computer can be stolen or corrupted quite easily, but cloud companies spend millions on systems and experts to protect your data.

One of the most used Cloud Storage Companies is Mediafire. You can get up to 50 Gigabytes of space for FREE! at this link. Why not back up your important photos and give it a try? You can share or keep them private..its up to you.

As usual, if you need any help, just call!

https://www.mediafire.com/upgrade/

MediaFire
www.mediafire.com
MediaFire is a simple to use free service for that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.

Ever wondered what goes on inside your computer, or why it doesn't always do what you expect? Like a magic genie, just give your command and off it goes to do the work to edit that document, run your calculation, change that picture, or play a movie. Inside the computer are millions of parts and thousands of programs all working together to fulfill your wish. Unfortunately a failure in even one small part or in a program will cause errors or crash the computer.

A typical Windows 7 computer has more than 80,000 program files and over 200,000 individual program settings which are stored in the computer"registry". Errors in any of these files or settings can cause the computer to malfunction.

Windows 7 can work with thousands of different pieces of hardware and comes with in built support for more than 5000 different types of hardware from files stored in its library. These hardware files are called drivers.

Thankfully, computer systems are relatively reliable despite their complexity. Lets then look briefly at some of key components inside the computer and where problems can occur.

The Central Processing Unit.
Also called the CPU or brains of the whole system. These are now incredibly tiny and powerful. Smaller components means the computer can be faster, more capable and use less power. Fortunately the central processing unit is one of the most reliable parts of the computer and can be expected to last years, even with 24 hour operation. Usually other parts of the computer will fail before the central processor does.

The Hard Disk.
The hard disk is the permanent memory store insider the computer. Being electro- mechanical it is more prone to error than the non moving parts such as the CPU. Unfortunately hard disk failure will result in loss of your data, so it is a major catastrophe when it does fail. That is why it is so important to constantly save your data to a back up device. Minor hard disk failures can also cause glitches in the programs which can look like software faults.

Operating System 
The operating system (eg. windows xp, Windows Vista, Windows 7 etc) is the nerve control system of the brain keeping a watch on everything and keeping things organised. With the Windows operating system, Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in time and effort to ensure the software is reliable.

Microsoft has also built in a range of self checking and correcting features into Windows 7 that automatically fix common errors when they occur. The system configuration is automatically backed up on a regular basis and when any changes or updates are made to the computer. In the event of a failure of the system settings the previous state of the computer can be restored.

Considering the millions of parts, program files, settings and hardware types that make up a modern computer it's no wonder they sometimes fail.

Content based on information from baycitycomputers.com.au

Ever wonder what a water damaged laptop looks like? Wonder no more!  An Apple Macbook I was asked to repair had a "small amount" of water damage. Once I opened it, I found substantial unrepairable damage. The liquid had entered the laptop through the back air intake. I was however able to recover the hard drive (and data) for use in another Apple Mac that the owner had.

So, what should you do if you spill liquid on your laptop?

First and most importantly...turn your laptop off and take out the battery. Most permanent water damage occurs from electrical shorts. 

Next. If the liquid was spilt on the keyboard, keep the laptop open and turn it over to allow the liquid to drain out. Whatever you do, please dont try to turn it back on to see if it works. Thats a fatal mistake many people make both with laptops and mobile phones.

Then call your Computer Repairer (hopefully me!) to open the case of the laptop and clean up the mess. The quicker you get it to someone, the better chance there is of salvaging your laptop. The Laptop in the photo had been left for far too long.

Not sure which Antiviris program to use? AV-Comparatives (web site) performs regular tests on anti virus programs and has produced a list of the best performers in a "real world protection test".

The top five are;

1. Bitdefender
   
2. F-Secure
   
3. Kaspersky
   
4. eScan
   
5. Trend Micro
   

My personal preference out of these is Kaspersky (not just because i have an advertisement for them on my site) because they have consistently been a top performer in these tests and its easy to use. Although the initial set up can be a pain.

Of the free antivirus programs available in the full list, Avast performs well and its one I use myself. Need to know more? Click here to visit the AV Comparatives site

Here's a lesson to be learned. I had a client call me to look at his laptop. The laptop had been showing a blue screen. One of his friends said he could help and tried to restore his computer to an earlier date. Well what happened was that his laptop was completely wiped and it was brought back to factory. ie. all of his data was lost. 

It is possible to recover data as long as you don't use the computer. Unfortunately he had used it to put music back on it and set it up how he wanted.  This meant there was less chance of recovering the data and..you guessed it, I couldn't recover any of his precious data. Here's the moral of the story

1. Back up your data! Really important (if youre not sure how, just ask!)
2. Be careful who you get to help and
3. If things have gone wrong, get in touch with a computer tech (such as me!) before you do anything.

End of story (rant) I hate to see people upset

I had an interesting job the other day. A client called me advising that his computer was vibrating so bad that it moved across the floor. His daughter had accidentally knocked the computer over. He said he had tried to remove a fan but got to a point where he was in past his knowledge.

No problem I said. So I head over and open up the computer and find that the client had unscrewed one of the fans attached to the inside of the case. These fans remove hot air from inside the computer.

The fan was loosely inside the case. I attached the fan, started up the computer...no vibration and all seemed to be well. In the back of my mind I  thought "this is too simple". Anyway, I left. The next day, the client calls and says that the computer is moving across the floor again.

I head over and take a look. I open the computer  and start it up. All seems well. No vibration. He says it usually does it when he goes to youtube. (hmm I think, first hint) Computer warms up, fans start working faster and vibration starts.

Yep, after a couple of minutes, a loud hum and vibration starts, then drops off. Starts again and drops off. Each time, the computer vibrates more violently. I have a look at the back of the case and there is a blade from the fan which cools the processor sitting on the bottom of the inside of the case. The missing blade makes the fan out of balance and ..voila! vibration.

Thinking back, maybe I could have picked this up the first time, but as we say especially in computer repair...youre always learning. Even after 20 years!

Ive used a few different antivirus programs over the years and my personal choice for a free antivirus is Avast Free. It updates on a daily basis and I have been using it for years without a problem. As far as Paid Ativirus Programs go I think that Kaspersky cant be beaten

According to PC World (pcworld.com.au) AVG comes in first and Avast Second for the free antivirus. Top Ten Reviews (www.toptenreviews,com) has Bitdefender First and Kaspersky second for paid programs.

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