Health checks for your gadgets

Buying a new smartphone Or A computer sounds great!?

But do you know maintaining your old gadgets can be fun too!

Vincent Lai

(Here are few excerpts of advice from Vincent Lai and Kyle Weins, the CEO OF i-Fixit courtesy 

the International New York Times and Deccan Herald)

·       Reality Check-Maintaining smartphones and tablets are fairly easy.

# Factor No. 1 (Storage)

When your device is running out of storage and OS may slow to crawl. It is high time that you free space in storage. Here Lai recommends that for Android phones- photos, movies etc., should be downloaded on a removable memory card. This will free some space and let the system to run faster. However for Apple iPhones and iPads which lack support for removable memory card, managing free space can be tricky. Here the solution as recommended by a user on reddit.com is to rent a movie on iTunes that exceeds the amount the space you have left, so when device detects that lack of space it will automatically rejects the download  and clear out cached data lingering in apps. Lai says he has applied this tactics and it sped the performance of his tablet significantly. He adds further that after all this; if you are still struggling with storage, than consider deleting apps that you rarely use or backing up all the data & reinstalling the phone’s OS.

# Factor No. 2 (Battery)

Every mobile battery has a maximum number of cycles or number of times it can be depleted or recharged. For iPhones, apps like coconut battery reveals battery statistics and for Android, apps like macropinch can tell general health of a battery. The rule of thumb is every 2 years consider replacing smartphone battery and for tablets at least every 4 or five years.

·       Reality Check- It is easier to remove & upgrade computer parts than mobile parts.

Factor No. 1(Hard disk)

A.    Ditch traditional hard disk drives for a new storage technology called solid state. Although solid state has less storage but can upload applications faster and are more durable.

B.    RAM – Install the maximum amount of memory that your computer supports to speed up the things.

C.     Culprit called DUST-Spend on a can of dust removing spray & blowing out dust from air vents and fan every few months because dust generates heat and accelerate PC’s aging process.

D.    Check the amount of storage and battery capacity that remain – For Mac book , app called coconut battery will do the job and –For Android , app called infoview  will show the health of the battery.

(Disclaimer: This piece of information is compiled by Purna Sarkar based upon the news available in media and thus should not be hold responsible in any court of law.)

E-waste in India

Hard Facts about E-waste generator in India

# What is an E-waste?

·       E-waste typically includes discarded computer monitors, mother boards, cathode ray tubes (CRT), printed circuit boards (PCB), mobile phones and chargers, compact disc, headphones, white goods, plasma TVs, refrigerators and other household electronics, medical equipments etc.

      # How E-waste composition does look like?

     

     

# How much of E-waste is recycled?

·        2.5% only

# Who manages this E-waste in India?

·     95% of this waste is managed by unorganized sector. In India about 5 Lakh child labourers between the ages of 10-14 years old are engaged in this act without any awareness or safety measures.

·       Scrap dealers are mostly dismantling disposed products instead of recycling it.

# What is the source of your information?

·       Survey conducted by Assocham with Frost and Sullivan.

# Where did you find this detail?

·       It was published in Deccan Herald on 22^nd April, 2016.

                         

(Disclaimer: This information is compiled by Purna Sarkar based upon the news available in media and thus we should not be hold responsible for any mistake or error etc.)

Danke schon Repair Cafe Bremen

So, you are the surprise guest expected today said Barnd at the cycle repair workstation. 

This repair workshop organized today (16th April ,2014)at Cafe Karton is one of the repair cafes in Bremen(Germany) which started 2 years ago as a college project and now carried forward as a professional workshop explained Justus , one of the organizers. It is organized once in 2 months and on 3rd Saturdays of the month. In fact , there are 2 other repair cafes and one of them charges for registration. "We are careful not to clash dates with them" informs Justus.

How does this one work?
"We design our own posters and will evolve our own processes as per the experience at the workshop and depends on how it grows. As far as the documentation is concerned we are recording the figures carefully in the system and we will figure out later how to interpret it" informs Max another organizer.

"Today's workshop has stations ie., Personal Computer, Clothes, Electronics, and Bicycles. Since morning about 14 visitors have come for Repairs" says Kalle another organizer. Electronics seems to have a long queue of Repairs to be done.

It is interesting to note that in such a span of time they have been able to gather a very impressive team of repair volunteers who contribute their services purely for the love of it. The sewing workstation is managed by Maxie, a student and a researcher in  environmental psychology. She had learned stitching from her mother and carries her sewing machine & tool box to the cafe, she lives close by. So how did she get involved? She replies, that she came to get her lamp repaired and was convinced of the idea so much so, that  decided to volunteer for it. Today since morning she is able to do patches for jeans and now, as the afternoon wore on she was overwhelmed with more clothes coming for repair. 

Barnd who is managing the cycle workstation is a librarian by profession and learnt cycle repairing all by himself. Learning by doing...He says he has documented every step of learning to repair in a book format. He is quick to observe that, you can pay 10 times more for a high-end cycle than a normal cycle but quality will not be guaranteed at 10 times better. This is so true for a consumer items in present times.The electric workstation was managed by Thomas who is an Electrical engineer and a researcher in the university. He pursues repairing as his favourite pass time. In fact he has kept an array of spares for repairs at the workshop. He gives them for free.
Last but definitely not the least the manager of the Cafe Karton, Timo is  passionate about serving community and thus gives his space for various community based activities like Repair Cafe, Dancing classes and teaching classes for differently- abled People. So guys next time you are at Bremen don't forget to visit this Cafe on Am Diech Street just by the river.

I am convinced that repair cafes are growing to be one of the powerful movements of our times, so please come forward and donate for any repair cafe near you and support them to sustain it ..
Repair if you care for the world.

(Disclaimer- the views expressed in this article are personal views only)