RenoGeek's Computer Repair in Reno Blog for 2010...



2:35 PM 10/11/2010: looks like almost the...

The whole week is already booked up. Lots of phone calls today.

Back to work...



9:25 AM 10/6/2010: Cool idea...

As a geek I love to look at new idea's. Below is a link were Washington State University has found a way to power the whole planet with just the solar wind.

More in for here



8:44 AM 10/4/2010: Looks like they...

caught some of the members of the team that wrote the Zeus virus. While this is good of cource, it just a very smal drop in the bucket when you think about the thousands of viruses out there. But something is almost always better then nothing.

Lots of computer repairs this Monday.



10:44 AM 10/3/2010: In the shop...

Playing some catch up and getting ready for next week.


7:16 PM 9/30/2010: Been on the road...

most of the day doing service calls. And the weekend is already booked up. But I am pretty caught up here at the shop. So life is good.


11:17 AM 9/28/2010: Just got back...

From a bunch of service calls this morning.

Been playing around with "keepitwith.me" for a few days now. Watch the vid to see what its about.



7:56 AM 9/25/2010: In the shop...

Early this morning getting ready to head out for a bunch of calls. It's going to be a busy weekend and Mondays all booked up too.


7:26 AM 9/24/2010: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

Over the last two months a number of people new to the business have started in the Reno area. Some have copied this whole website (graphics and all), others have "lifted" text from my site and tried to re-word it and then claim it was their own. And some have tried to come up with variations of this domain name and created websites based on that name. The only practical reason that I, myself can see for that is to try and grab customers looking for my website and services.

While as they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, you have to wonder about new businesses that have nothing of their own to offer and are so unsure of their own skillset that they have to resort to trying to confuse others into using them. "Companies" with little vision of their own future and such a lack of faith in their own services that they can only get by on the idea's of others. But I guess if you can't compete fair, you play dirty and ride the coattails of others who made it already.

Well back to work...



2:18 PM 9/23/2010: Stayed in the shop...

To get a few repairs that have been fighting me out of the way. And now heading out for more repairs. Very busy week and I have the weekend and Monday almost booked up.


12:25 PM 9/21/2010: Just talked...

with somebody on the phone asking if there was a way to track down a "tech" that promised this person a website, took their money and now can't be found.

I gave them my standard answer "Sure just call the State business license Office, give them the guys license number and have them start looking into the guy".

The reply was one I hear too often. "well, we never got a number or checked him out".

Today with $$$ and jobs going down the tubes for many. There has been a massive influx of people trying to start new businesses. And while I am sure most do not start by trying to rip anybody off, many get in over their heads and just don't have a clue how to run a business.

So it's the customer that pays in the end for poor planning or not enough skill of the new "techs" that keep popping up day after day. Without any real plan on how they will run a business day in and day out. Or who thought for whatever reason they had enough experience to handle the thousands of ways computer hardware or software can go bad.

Here are just a few tips to help you choose somebody that will work out for you...

1. Ask for and verify they have a business lic.
 If they don't have one then they are not serious about being in business.

2. Google them.
 If they have been around for a while then you should find an online trail that should tell you something about them.

3. Make sure you get everything in writting.
 You should always get receipts if your leaving a repair with somebody, have a contract to make a website ect...

4. Beware of under the table work.
 You may think your getting a deal but then you'll have no proof of any work done if you need it in the future.

5. If it sounds too good...
 Beware of prices and promises that sound too good or are much lower then the avg price you have been quoted. Cheap always has a reason, find out what it is.



7:37 AM 9/20/2010: Had a crazy...

Weekend. But am back in town now. Going through 100's of emails....


7:58 AM 9/14/2010: Headed downtown for...

A business meeting and then back to the shop to fix a ton of systems here at the shop.

While that spam virus did not seem to infect all that many. The news about it seems to have scared enough people that already had a virus and were just "living" with it to want to get their systems cleaned up.



8:07 PM 9/13/2010: Very busy Monday...

Late night on Sunday followed by a very busy day today. Then a business meeting and more work here to do at the shop.

Time to round up piles of paperwork from years back to get ready for a special project.



10:03 AM 9/11/2010: Just got back from a bunch of service calls...

And will spend the next few hours in the shop catching up before heading out for the next round of calls. It's going to be a busy weekend and start of next week.

Been getting a ton of phone calls from people asking about the virus that started the spam attack reported on ABC a few days ago. But so far have not really seen anything in the field or the shop that I could flag as being part of that attack.



8:00 AM 9/10/2010: Getting ready to hit the road...

Looks like I'll be on the road all day with service calls. And then I got a few "special cases" I am working on here at the shop this weekend.

And most of Monday is already booked up. So Biz is good and keeping busy...



9:42 AM 9/9/2010: And in this day in computer history...

The first computer bug was found...



7:49 AM 9/7/2010: Had a great holiday...

And am now back at the shop.

Just picked up a system from a customer that tried one of the many new techs listed online nowdays. And found not one clue that this "tech" even turned on the system, yet alone fixed anything. A quick lookup showed while this "tech" claimed to be an incorporated business he does not even have a business lic.

You get what you pay for...



11:06 AM 9/3/2010: It was a...

Pretty busy week, but it looks like lots of people are heading out of town. And I already have Tuesday and Weds of next week almost booked up.

Have a happy Labor day all!



2:37 PM 8/29/2010: In this Sunday...

Catching up on repairs today and doing some programming for some new software as well as a new website I'll be hosting. When the phones are off I get the chance to move along in here at a pretty good clip. Looks like I'll have lots of drops off's of finished repairs Monday morning.

Back to work....



1:52 PM 8/27/2010: Weekend is booked...

As well as most of Monday and the shop is just about full of repairs. Looks like I'll be a bit busy the next few days here.

Got off the phone with a guy that started telling me that if I don't up-sell a bunch of extra software people don't need with each repair then I am loosing big $$$. After I told him I make more by being fair with people he just hung up.

Then I got 2 phone calls from new customers needing service that were sent by old customers that said I was very fair.

Guess my way still works...



1:31 PM 8/25/2010: It's not just you and me...

That has to worry about hacker attacks. Below is how the Pentagon got infected from just a simple flash drive we can all buy at Walmart.

See the news item here



5:12 PM 8/24/2010: Apple wants to make spyware...

Well it seems that stevo @ apple does not like the court ruling saying people can use "his" phones on any service they like. So he has applied for a patent to use spyware to check out what your doing with "his" iPhones, iPods, iPad and iMacs.

In my view this is all iCrap.

But if you want to be really upset about how much info apple wants to collect on you then check out this page from the EFF Here.



5:36 PM 8/23/2010: Busy day...

Picked up a bunch of computers to work on and will pull an all nighter I am thinking.


8:07 AM 8/19/2010: Fewer choices means less ...

Everyday I take some time out and catch up on my tech reading to make sure I know about all the new stuff that's out there in tech land.

Well over the last few days some new things have happened that I think hurt you the computer user.

First Yahoo search is now dead. Not Yahoo itself, but all their searches are now being "powered by Bing (aka microsoft).

So instead of 3 major search engines we now have only two.

Next Intel bought McAfee for 7.6 billion and now one of the major anti-virus players is gone and owned by one of only two major CPU makers.

So why is any of this a big deal?
Well the reason you can run down to walmart and get a computer for under $500 in many cases is because in the late 80's and early 90's there were many companies all fighting for your computer $$$. Today only a handful of companies are making computers. and Microsoft is the only real O/S player (sorry Steve).

So with just a handful of choices for your hardware and software needs prices will not keep falling nor will really good software come to light as big companies like to keep your choice to only what makes them the $$$.

So to see more big players get gobbled up in my view just means less for you and me in the end.



7:55 AM 8/17/2010: Monday was ...

off the hook busy. With 5 urgent service calls first thing in the morning. Shop is almost full of repairs and I am almost booked for the week already.

Good times...



7:33 AM 8/11/2010: Been reading ads this ...

morning and came across a "webmaster" that will build a business class website with SEO in 30 minutes. All you need going by the ad is $100 (cash only) and to meet this pro web designer at a downtown coffee house.

Now while websites have never been my main focus, I have hosted and designed more then a thousand over the years and still run many for other people. It takes me more then an hour on a first meeting just to get a good idea what a customer wants. All you could do in 30 minutes is put up a free template at some free web host. Not worth a $100 or 30 minutes of your time.

The stuff people are trying to sell today?!?!



11:37 AM 8/9/2010: Is telling the truth bad?...

Just got back from a bunch of service calls and got a phone call right when I was walking in the door. The lady on the phone described a problem about "something (she was not sure what) only happens "now and then" on random computers over a large business network with a mix of Mac, PC's and linux servers.

When I told her that I had no idea what kind of problem she had (as she could not describe it) she got upset that I could not fix it over the phone or give her a price quote.

She got more upset when I asked if it would be ok to come out and have her show me what was going on. She then said why should you come here if you don't know whats wrong with it?

Now as a repair person with more the 30 years in the biz I am very use to trying to help people that can not describe what the problem they are having is. But I am not sure why somebody would get upset with you if you tell them you don't have enough info and need to see whats going on as they can't describe the problem.

oh well, it is Monday after all...



7:53 AM 8/9/2010: Just got off the...

phone with a guy that copied my website almost word for word who I talked with on the phone yesterday asking he remove my content from his website. He told me yesterday "do what you want, you can't do anything to me".

He now seems a bit upset that I had the host of his website shut him down for breaking the DMCA, copyright law. And wants me to now "Be nice" and get his site back for him.

Well I tried the "be nice" by asking that he not copy me. I can't make a web host put a site back online once they find out your breaking the law.

Some just don't get it. Oh well got about 20 voice mails to go through before hitting the road for service calls.

It looks like a Monday!



7:49 AM 8/8/2010: In the shop...

working on a bunch of machines today. And did a search for people that copy my ads or website and found a new batch of people who think they can copy stuff on the internet and never get found out. Some seemed very surprised that I could track their phones down on a Sunday and give them my little rant about the DMCA.

Most agreed to take down their copied ads or sites the others will just have their host served with a DMCA take down notice and will be a bit upset when their site is no longer on the net.

I don't get "techs" that think so little of themself they can't write their own ad but then turn around and charge people to be an "expert".

Nuff said.



7:54 AM 8/5/2010: A customer called me...

Yesterday in a panic that a website I had made for them last year had been copied word for word w/graphics by another business. When called on it the business seemed a bit surprised that I would get involved and it took some time to get the owners head around copyright law and that he did not have my permission to use my source code.

He then said "you can't find me so you can't do anything about it.

Well I found the guy that copied the site for him and then I found the company hosting that guys "web design" company. A few phone calls later and the copied site was gone as well as the "web design" company site that stole my customers site for him.

Next project...



7:58 AM 8/4/2010: Just extended my speical...

Another month after getting a few phone calls asking if it was too late to get the offer.

Right now I have almost all my work stations full of repairs and am pretty booked up for service calls till next week.

Had a guy call saying he was moving to Reno and wanted to re-build his computer service business here and just wanted my "overflow" and some of my shop space to get off the ground for a few months, for a 10% cut of the business he does.

Now I don't mind an honest business trying to come and make it here. But do you really expect somebody your going to try and get future customers from to provide you with the tools needed to do that?

Back to work...



1:29 PM 7/27/2010: Seems to be harder to find...

Honest people working with computers today. I just saw an ad where a guy was charging $150 to "create" a website for people. The problem was his site was being hosted off of a free website hosting company and all he has to do is enter a few lines of text and he is done with "your" site. So "you" end up paying for something he did for free.

I know money is tight in these times but as they say...
"Character is what you do when no one is looking".



1:26 PM 7/26/2010: Just finished...

The virus scans of a computer I picked up this morning. My customer had taken this computer to a "office" store and got a free diagnostic. After which he was told that he had a virus and it would cost over $150 to clean it off.

Well while this system does indeed have some problems a virus is not one of them. I wonder sometimes if they even do a virus scan???



8:25 AM 7/23/2010: Something weird...

Got a voice mail from somebody asking for computer repair and called them back.
When the man answered the phone he informed me that he was not a customer but another tech and that he was having problems with a customer of his own who took back their equipment after he could not fix it.

From what I understand the customer had then told him they hear good things about me from friends and were going to have me look at their problem (I have not got a call from them, yet).

Now did this "tech" call me to give me a heads up and tell me what he had already tried? Did he call to make sure I was ready for his customers call and would help them out?

Nope, he called to say I would be sued if I said at any point when helping them that he missed anything (the fact that he could not fix their stuff would have said that , right?) or in any other way say he made a mistake.

It goes without saying what my reply was at being told to shut up or get sued.
Some people just are weird!



9:31 AM 7/20/2010: Speedy Repairs...

Got another computer in from a customer that went to a company that runs ads they can fix your computer in 24 hours or less. Both had bad virus problems which were not fixed.

While almost 90% of all my repairs get done on-site at the first visit, there are times when a nasty virus or some other problem requires you to take more time and make sure you get it right.

I would rather tell a customer they might have to wait a day or two for a repair then rush out a repair I know might come back.

If anybody tells you that they can fix 100% of all problems in less then 24 hours, they either do not know what they are doing or they just lied to you.



2:33 PM 7/11/2010: In the shop...

This Sunday trying to catch up as I had a pretty busy weekend. Should be all set to run out the door on Monday for service calls.

Also about half the computers I have in to fix virus problems seem to have the new version of "avsuite" on them. So a quick warning about it here. If your surfing the net and come to a webpage which tells you that you are infected hit "ALT" + "F4" right away and then scan for viruses. DO NOT click "OK" or run any free scans. This one tip could safe you $100's and the time it takes to fix a infected system.



7:07 PM 7/6/2010: Why cheap just sucks ...

Just picked up a computer from a lady that had "some guy" fix her computer for $40 bucks.

When he came back with the computer and some of her programs were missing and it could not get on the internet I was told he just said ""its better then it was" and demanded his money.

After just a few minutes with it I could tell that he did not get rid of all the viruses he was hired to remove and had removed many needed system files by mistake as well as what looks like family photos.

While computer repairs have in many cases come down in price it pays to remember if your not paying the person working for you a fair amount for your repair you'll end up with work like this.



2:55 PM 7/6/2010: Had a great holiday ...

And have been on the road since I got back today doing service calls. Just reloading the car with finished repairs and back on the road again....


12:11 PM 6/30/2010: In the shop for a quick lunch ...

Before hitting the road again. Very busy trying to get service calls done as lots of people are trying to get their computer fixed before heading out of town for the holiday.


8:42 AM 6/24/2010: In the shop this morning to catch up on some repairs ...

But will be on the road from about 10:00 am on.

Even though June is kinda of a slow month for repairs (everybody wants sun) this year has been pretty busy so far. And most of my workstations are full of repairs. (always good).



1:53 PM 6/18/2010: Going to be a busy ...

Weekend.
Already have all the stations in my shop full with repairs and am now booked all weekend till Monday afternoon.

Back to work...



1:33 PM 6/17/2010: Been saying this a long time...

I have people ask me almost daily "Would it just be safer to get a mac?"
And I answer short term maybe but in the long term no.

And when I get the next question, (why)?

I have always answered that macs will be safer until they have a big enough share of the market to make them a target for hackers and virus writters. Which more and more seems to be the case. As I have already had more then a few macs in the shop for virus removal and now it seems that others are starting to agree with me.

You can read more about it Here



8:03 AM 6/14/2010: In the shop...

This morning working on a few systems that the weekend did not give me enough time to finish. Then I'll be on the road the rest of the day.


3:04 PM 6/2/2010: Got a system in the shop...

That is only a few weeks old and has many hardware problems. I told the customer he should take it back to the place he got it from and was told by the customer that the store said since it has been more the 14 days (yep 14 days) they would not take it back and he would have to deal with the computer maker instead.

And as it was bought for a business he can not afford to be without his computer for weeks. So he is stuck.

Ask before buying a computer at a store how long you have to bring it back if there is a problem.
If the answer ends in "weeks", go someplace else.



12:09 PM 6/1/2010: You hiring a real tech?...

I just came by this ad (cropped to protect the lame)

So now you can own a computer repair biz with no experience at all. I keep seeing this trend grow as $$$ gets tighter now days. People think they can read a book or buy a few CD's and their ready to play with your personal equipment and data.

Do yourself a big favor. Make sure you know who you hire before letting anybody touch anything you own.



11:53 AM 6/1/2010: Had a pretty good...

Holiday weekend and am now back in the shop. Took the first few hours this morning just catching up on email and voice mail. Have the rest of today and most of tomorrow already booked up.

Going to load the car up and hit the road....



2:34 PM 5/17/2010: Do you know where your data is?

I get used equipment in all the time and am amazed at the amount of data people leave on their computers, ipods, phones and even copiers. If you use anything that is or has a computer in it in the 21st century then you need to make sure when you get rid of your device it has had all it's data erased.

More and more people are learning the hard way that if they don't make sure they have deleted all their data for good then somebody else just might get it down the line.

Like what is shown on this video...



10:24 AM 5/16/2010: Working at the shop...

In the shop this Sunday to catch up on some repairs and projects as well as a re-design of a website. Judging by email it looks like I'll be busy with lots of service calls this week.


9:20 PM 5/14/2010: Still working...

Real busy day with even more work this weekend. Just finished some website updates and going to get some sleep now....


3:14 PM 5/11/2010: Once in a while...

Just for fun I like to play along with "cold callers" (companies that call you out of the blue trying to sell something).

I get at least 10 calls a week from people out of the area that find me on google and I guess they think it's a great idea to waste my time trying to sell me junk I don't need. Some of the ones I hate the most are "we can get you on googles first search page. (guess how they find me?) yep on googles search page. Anyway getting off track here as todays call was from a different type of company.

The company today wanted to use my business as a contact for their online repair business when and only if they get a customer in Reno who's computer they can not fix.

The guy seemed surprised when I asked him So you only tell people to call me after you mess up their system with your online service? He seemed a bit miffed that I put it that way and then went on to tell me how much they would charge me to fix their mistakes for them.

When I said So, your going to charge me and then the customer for a system you can't fix and then have me charge the customer again for my services to fix your mess?

For some reason he hung up.

I'll say this yet again...
Never trust your personal or business data to somebody you can't meet first face to face.



1:37 PM 5/5/2010: Money makes everything ok?...

Over the last few weeks I have had a few things pop up with the business that just makes me wonder about people.

One such thing was a person that told me the check was in the mail trying to trick me into giving away services for free.
(so sorry, in the biz 30 years only seen that trick a few thousand times).

Then somebody copies this website almost word for word and is upset that I got their host to ban them for life. (copyright belongs to the person that programmed the site not to the person who copies it)

Then a company I did a free on-site survey for over a year ago with the assumption that they were looking to hire my company to maintain their computers calls back and wants me to do another free survey to find and fix a problem that came up from them hiring a different company.
(Got no problem that they hired somebody else, just call them to fix their own mistakes please).

And then a company that shafted my company out of $$$ then hid under a new name calls me up and wants me to do work for them again. Who when reminded that they owed me money told me "That's yesterday, do you want cash today or not?" (Guess not).

I just don't get how these types of people think all is ok if they just hand you a few more bucks.
Go Figure? Well back to work for the 500+ honest customers I do have.



9:37 AM 5/3/2010: Just finished a computer...

That was "repaired" by another "tech"
Must have been pretty easy as this "tech" just wiped the hard drive and installed a downloaded copy of Windows and Office. And did not even try and put on any anti-virus products. Which is why the customer was surprised when they got it home and tried to install MS security and it told them their "copy" of Windows did not validate and security would not be installed.

Well you get what you pay for I guess.



8:57 AM 4/27/2010: End of the floppy...

Well TechCrunch and others are reporting that Sony is going to stop making floppy disks.
See it here

As somebody that has been in the business long enough to remember what computers were like before 8, 5.25 and 3.5 disks came out there was a split sec where I felt a little nostalgic about the things and how many thousands I still have in storage "just in case" I need a old program from 1981.

While they seem old school now, I remember my first 8 inch "floppy" drive and how much better it was then trying to load tapes from a audio tape reader with a bunch of bload and bsave commands.

But I guess somebody will be writting 30 years from now about how they like the old computers before they were transplanted into your head. (time wil tell).

Back to work...



3:51 PM 4/19/2010: Been out of town a few days ...

And came back to 100+ emails and voice mails. Almost booked for the whole week already and the shop is full of computers to fix.

Back to work...



12:06 PM 4/9/2010: Been a real busy week ...

And it looks like I'll be on the road till late tonight and already have a shop full of computers to fix for the weekend. This next week should be busy with lots of people off and at home playing with their computer.

Time to hit the road again...



8:16 AM 4/6/2010: Back from bunny day ...

Well I had a pretty cool long weekend holiday and am back in the shop today.

So far it looks like 5 service calls today and 2 websites to do edits for.

and away we go....



8:49 AM 3/22/2010: I get asked ...

Almost every week if macs are safer then PC's. And in general my answer is yes but only because there are not enough of them around to make it worth a hackers time to write viruses for them. Seems some others might agree with me.....

Read more Here



5:10 AM 3/22/2010: Early Morning...

Already booked up from now till almost Thursday.

Gota hit the road......



10:28 AM 3/18/2010: Facebook warning!...

There is a new email around saying you need to reset your facebook account password and settings. This is a phony alert and the email has a virus in it. Do not open this email or do anything it tells you to do.

more info....
Here



11:53 AM 3/14/2010: Just spotted this ad headline on the internet...

Looking for students to work full time as Computer Technicians in our warehouse located in Sparks, NV. Testing computers and erasing hard drives. Minimal experience needed!

I have said it 100's of times, ask and verify your getting a real tech before handing over your data and equipment to just "anybody".

Nuff said, back to work...



9:14 AM 3/8/2010: Been on the phone...

For about 2 hours now and am almost booked up for all my free time slots this week. Back to work...


8:28 AM 3/6/2010: When free is bad...

As I am a business person I do have to spend part of my time seeing what others in the business are doing. Right now when most have $$$ problems I see the amount of new people in the business grow many times what you would expect in years past. And while there is nothing wrong with people starting over with a new business I do warn new techs and their customers about giving away the store.

If you are working day after day at a loss you just will not make it. And you do yourself, your family and your new customers a disservice. Your repeat customers will still expect the dirt cheap or free service you gave them the first time around and new customers will feel cheated if their price is higher then what one of their friends may have told them you cost.

I see over 95% of new techs go under in less then 6 months and one of the main reasons I see this happen is because they did not vaule the services they offer and undercut themself. For people looking for a tech that will be around to help them long term search for...

1. Time in the business.
2. Fair rates.
3. Business Licenses and Certifications.

You get what you pay for so make sure your money is supporting somebody that will be there in the future to support you.



8:09 AM 3/6/2010: In the shop...

I'll be in the shop most of the weekend to get a bit ahead as I'll be at a local workshop towards the end of the coming week.

Got a custom system to build as well as a bunch of other computers to get back to people Monday.



9:08 AM 3/3/2010: Don't hit the F1 key if a website asks you to...

Well one of the new tricks to get you to download a virus goes like this....
You go to a website and another window pops up asking you to hit the "F1" key on your keyboard for help or to do some other action. If you do as they say your computer will download what it "thinks" is a help file but infact will be a virus.

As the computer "thinks" it is just opening this help file it will then let the virus run and have it's way with your computer.

For sometime now I have been telling my customers to hit the "ALT" and "F4" keys to close anything you did not expect to "popup" on a website.

More Info on this type of virus here



8:40 AM 3/2/2010: Free Repairs...

Every few months I come across somebody thinking they have come up with the best thing since sliced bread and offer free computer repairs. They will put in their ads that they are just "testing" or trying to get their name out and then in a few weeks or a month or two they are gone, never to be seen again.

In most cases it's either a business going down the tubes that is trying everything to stay afloat and more often then not already tried to cut it's prices down to nothing or a new guy trying to get a few people in the door.

The reasons this does not work well are many. What if one of the free repairs needs $300 in parts? and they got 10 more "free" repairs lined up like that? Can they afford to give money and time away? Is your free repair going to be on the front burner or is the company going to work on something that is going to bring in money first? What happens if there is a warranty issue on your free repair? The guy offering free everything will have all the needed business lic and certifications, right?

So do you go with the guy with the failing business? That may have his doors shut down with your computer still inside his shop? Or with the new guy that thinks after fixing a few of his friends computers he is ready for the big time and is now ready to "test" his skills on your machine and data?

And with ID theft becomming the #1 crime on the internet. How long will it be before some ID thief figures out this is the perfect kind of bait as the target of their crime will hand over all their personal info with a smile on their face, thinking they will get something for free.

Think of all the people you know that are at the top of their game in their field of choice. Any of them work for free? Would you if you were among the best in what you do?

If it sounds to good.....



1:51 PM 2/25/2010: Pretty busy...

The last few days, but catching up.

My last few service calls today were to fix computers that did not get fixed well/right by the last "tech" to look at them. In all cases these "techs" ran free ads on the net offering service for less then 1/5 the going rate and promised to toss in copies of Office and Windows.

Well if it sounds too good to be true...

Beware of any "pro" offering services for less then a kid makes at Burger King in a day. You will always end up with what you paid for. And sometime alot less.

And funny thing is after talking to my new customers they all said that after they gave up their $$$ the "techs" did not return calls.

Even if you decide never to use my services for whatever reason ask who you do choose for a business lic and proof of at least 1 certification.



8:23 AM 2/18/2010: People ask me all the time...

"why do I need to keep up with anti-virus products, don't they always keep you protected?"

The answer is no. A new virus or type of attack can come out at anytime. And make even the best anti-virus products worthless. The people who create viruses are always on the lookout for new ways to attack your computer.

Here is one of the new ways to come out...

'Kneber' Botnet Attacks PCs Worldwide. (from PCWorld.com)



2:28 PM 2/12/2010: "Buzz" kill...

Well like many businesses that do lots of email I have a few gmail accounts. Mostly just using the accounts for junk mail and to act as a spam filter. But I was a bit surpised when I was signed up for "buzz" without google asking. And a bit miffed that it decided for me who was going to be followed ect...

My main gripe with all of this is I hate it when companies make you "Opt-in" for a new service instead of asking you. If you look at the bottom of the page in gmail you can turn off buzz but most will not think of looking there to do this.



7:14 AM 2/12/2010: Weekend almost booked up...

Well got most of the holiday weekend booked up expect for one or two open slots. And the shop is full of equipment to repair. So it looks like I know what I am doing this weekend, lol.

Besides that I just got a computer in from somebody that took it into a shop and they told him that the system was fried and needed to be replaced.
(and they just happened to have one to sell him)

He got smart and took the computer back. All that it needed was a new video card. So are they crooks? Or just too lazy to do a good diagnostic?

Back to work...



4:29 PM 2/8/2010: It's been a busy Monday...

But just got a phone call I have to share.....

Guy calls and says...
"I got a virus and my son and IT guy at work have not been able to get rid of it.
I'll give you $40 bucks if you can get here by 5:00 and fix it" (It was 4:20)

I told the man that most of my service calls are set a few days in advanced but I could try and work him in if I finish up a call early or somebody has to change their time. And that I was a professional and charged more then $40 bucks for my time. Which got me...

"Well if you can't make it by 5:00 then I'll only give you $20 bucks".

Needless to say I will not be there at 5:00...
And if your looking for an established professional be very worried about somebody that can get to you in less then half an hour.
{Good, Real pros are always in demand. So expect some kind of wait}

And Real professionals charge at least the going rate for their field not 50% less.
{you get what you pay for}



9:00 AM 2/1/2010: Been on the phone...

Less then 2 hours this morning and am already almost booked for the whole week. Have also done my first drop off of equipment back to a customer and am now heading out to my 2nd service call today. Looks like it will be a busy week.


2:07 PM 1/31/2010: iPad anyone?...

Well I have been reading all the specs about this new tablet from apple and am not very taken with it.

Can't do flash, so you can't watch movies or yourtube or go to tons of sites.
(jobs claims everybody will switch to html 5 and kill flash). Seems he forgot how long it took everybody to jump on the HTML 4 bandwagon.

Can only load "approved" apple apps on the device and no USB support.

As there will be a alot of PC based "pads" comming out this year I don't think an oversized iphone will cut it this time around.



2:05 PM 1/31/2010: Still in the shop...

Have gotten the computers in here that still need work down to just a handful so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel this weekend.

Yea!



10:48 AM 1/30/2010: Have tons of work...

So much so I have cut back on my ad's so I can keep up with what's comming in each day. Will be in the shop all weekend so that Monday is all clear to drop stuff off and make new service calls.

Back to work...



9:17 AM 1/24/2010: Catching up...

Been in the shop all day Sat and today Sunday catching up. Had to take care of my car (back end taken out by a driver not driving right for winter) and that set me back a day. I also have a huge influx of computers infected with a new version of "antivirus 2010". Over half these systems have already been taken to other shops and techs who could not get rid of it.

So this is a case where being a programmer as well as a tech is really paying off for me.

Back to work....



7:52 AM 1/21/2010: Been seeing...

A new version of the virus "antivirus 2010" around the last few weeks. And over the last few days have gotten in a few systems where the virus now takes over the printer and prints up fake virus alerts to freak out the computer user. It also seems to be replacing (not infecting) system files to make it even harder to clean up.

Nice guys who write this junk, not.



1:12 PM 1/17/2010: Hanging at the shop...

In the shop today and I bet on Monday to get caught up. I got a few computers here that need special care (aka, lots of time to fix)

So I doubt if I'll really be off this MLK holiday. But can't complain cause I like the repairs that take some brains to figure out and fix.

On with work...



8:11 AM 1/15/2010: just got an email...

Asking if I can make 10 copies of Windows 7 with product keys for a new office opening downtown. I never got why you would send an email that can be traced right back to yourself to a stranger to do something illegal? But I must get 50 of these a month!

Then there is the email which I also get a few times a month that goes something like this...
We need a quote on the repair of 40 computers... we will be paying with a cashiers check... You won't be paying me with a cashiers check.

People think they can hide behind an email.

But truth be told you just can't hide stupid.

Nuff said, back to work...



7:21 AM 1/13/2010: Hitting the road...

Going to be on service calls all day and a good part of the eve.


7:16 AM 1/12/2010: Got a voice mail...

With a timestamp of 1:10am. The person on the voicemail said they had a "real bad" problem and to call them back whenever I got their message, no matter the time.

Got into the office about 6:45am so I called him back as soon as I listened to to my messages. And then got yelled at for waking this person up. After he was done with that he got around to the reason he called so late. It seems that the illegal copy of windows he downloaded messed up his computer and he needs somebody to come by an install it for him.

He seemed just a bit put out when I told him that I don't install illegal copies of anything. Then he went on to create many "hypothetical situations" in which it would be ok for me to install the software. After getting that I was just not going to install the illegal copy he has or help him do it he then tells me...

"What if I tell Microsoft that you put it on my computer"

I then told him here is another cool "hypothetical situation" and he asked what?

Let's pretend you never called me... (and I hung up the phone).

Some people don't have a clue I guess.



12:19 PM 1/11/2010: Been on the phone all morning...

Looks like I am almost booked for the whole week already and it's just Monday. Seems like everybody is back in "work mode" again.


7:53 AM 1/8/2010: First week back flew by...

Booked solid for today and the weekend and next Monday and Tuesday. Just got done with crunching the 2009 numbers and RenoGeek grew 11% this past year. Not too bad when you think about how $$$ is for most nowdays.

But it helps prove my point that low key, honest computer help is still a much needed commodity. Gota go hit the road now...



8:13 AM 1/5/2010: Best Buy's $40 'pre-optimization' determined to be worthless...

I am not a fan of all the junk that comes pre-loaded on new computers. But I have always though that Best Buys "optimization" service was even more useless as they miss many simple things that can be done to make a system faster right out of the box.

And I have always thought it was funny that they charge extra for this service when as big as they are they could demand from HP, Dell, ect... that the computers they sell from them be setup right in the first place. Anyway it looks like others agree with me....



7:27 AM 1/5/2010: Ramping up...

Well it seems everybody is getting back to work slowly. Spent most of yesterday returning phone calls and emails. Got some catch up here at the shop and then start hitting the road for service calls tomorrow.

Almost booked up for this week and have already started taking calls for next week.



Older posts 2008/2009