Fixing my cheap Acer 3680 laptop

Here is the problem: no center pin on the DC connector. I tried to take it back as it was under warranty, but apparently this isnt covered - damn crappy Acers :|

The cost for fixing in Amsterdam is over 100 Euros, which is about 1/2 the laptops' value. This mean that either technology construction (laptop) is very cheap, or that European labor is very expensive. Or maybe both.



I assembled everything I need: tools, laptop and disassembly guide. Also had a improvised anti-stat wire to keep me grounded.



The disassembly guide I found was excellent - I knew exactly which and what order to undo every screw. For anyone else thinking of disassembly, you want these kind of guides if possible.



I followed the guide and got the unit apart quite easily.



Its really just a motherboard with an upper and lower cover wrapping it. The tricks are in getting the right order of removal, and knowing which wires to unplug

I put the screws in jars with labels to help ensure they found their correct homes. The guide also detailed this :)

I eventually had the lappy in enough pieces to locate and remove the connector. Here is the connector in place.

This connector was on a small board that was separate to the motherboard. I unplugged it and got out the power board.

I couldn't find a replacement part for the connector, and so was planning to solder some wires directly to the board.



Upon inspection, I found that it was a multilayer board, and I only had a cheap solder iron. This meant I probably couldn't unsolder the socket. What to do? I had to change my low tech solution:



I broke the connector and removed it, while leaving 2 pins to solder to. My technique is non-destructive and hasn't affected the actual board so I can place a new part if/when I find one.



I used a rubber grommet to hold the wires in place. This is very tight, and is the first (and only) defence against yanks of the cable.



Here is the soldering. Not very pretty but it will work.

Here is the final solution. It is not pretty, and I am a little worried that it might break one day. I'm thinking about v2 plans, any suggestions welcome.

I added a standard connector to the other end of the cable, and had to hack the power adapter cable end off too, so its not quite non-destructive...



But I can now charge and use it (and get my datas!), which is whats most important. And it only cost $10 Euro to fix.

You can teach an old computer new tricks

There are lots of novel uses for old computers; this radiohead mashup done with a ZX spectrum (My first computer) is super-dope:


Big Ideas (don't get any) from James Houston on Vimeo.

As is this rendition of Funky Town, running on a C64 and dot matrix printer:




And for all those who thought that the ZX spectrum had crap graphics and sound... you are right. But look at what some leet Russian demoscene hackers have coded up - very nice, especially when you know how limited that old hardware was/is:

Left brainers and overthinkers...

... should read this post to help boost their creativity. Nice ideas.

10 Ways to Help Left Brainers Tap Into the Best of Their Creativity

http://www.ideachampions.com/weblogs/archives/2008/07/right_ways_of_w.shtml

The joys of F1

Its great to be here in Europe and be able to watch F1 at a reasonable hour. Unfortunately the broadcasts are in Dutch. My good pal, ATech, often gives me a skype audio feed, as everyone shares the same video feed.



This is us doing some serious F1 watching. This time, ATech was getting the video from me - the webcam pointing at the TV. If you look closely, you can see him enjoying it.



I love that I can download (cough) onboards, lap data, as well as the ITV coverage, and run them all in sync the next day. Pain to setup sometime, but great once lined up. I have been thinking of attempting to weave them into matroska files sometime.



This is ITV on one laptop, onboards on the other. Awesome.

Bill Gates sign-out

So, Bill has hung his hat up at Microsoft. For all that I don't like about Microsoft, I can't deny that they did kickstart the PC revolution, so I have to respect that.






Your philanthropic activities give you more kudos and enjoyment then that whole borg / spawn of satan thing. Respect for giving your $$ away :)