aiBuilt Computer & Laptop Repair

Server upgrades and maintenance today for Star Trek: New Voyages/Phase II and the other web properties we host.

**$10 LABOR DISCOUNT**

Through September 15th, mention you saw us on Facebook, and receive $10 off our *FLAT RATE $99.99** Computer Repair Labor.

Receive *an additional $10 off* if you are a student, senior citizen, member of an EMS Company, Fire Department or are a member of the police force.

If you've got one thing or a dozen things wrong with your PC or laptop, our repair labor rate is STILL only a flat rste of $99.99! And, while parts are obviously extra (if needed), we don't mark up our parts prices beyond our cost and purchase fees.

A.I.Built Computer & Laptop Repair - Google+ - SCAM ALERT Once again the "We're calling from Micros

SCAM ALERT: Windows/Microsoft Help Center Calls

Microsoft will NOT call you about issues with your computer or Windows... (click link to read more)

https://plus.google.com/u/0/114090051320205721809/posts/8hgh7BaTMbZ

plus.google.com SCAM ALERT Once again the "We're calling from Microsoft" scam... Microsoft will NOT call you about issues with your computer or Windows. EVER. Really.…

Best Buy/Geek Squad appreciation month! For the next 30 days, anyone bringing a desktop computer or laptop to us for repair, and mentions that you chose us over the "Geeks" (or chose us after making the mistake of going there) will receive 20% off on labor!!! Our normal $99.99 flat rate labor price ALREADY beats their labor price by a LOT - bring in your machines now and get $20 off that labor price!!!

THREE Best Buy Geek Squad failed, unfinished or overpriced repairs have just come in to our shop in TWO days. Thank you Geek Squad for not knowing what you are doing, or for over-charging. And that's why we appreciate them! They've been providing us with a lot of work lately. ;-)

I do have a question for The Geek Squad though - why is it every time you work on a laptop, you can't seem to manage to put all the screws back in?!?! Did you know I keep containers full of spare laptop screws for just such eventualities that your team seems guaranteed to cause?!?! Really, if you don't know what you are doing when working on a laptop, you shouldn't be - and if you *STILL* insist on (or are forced to) work on a laptop, at least download the service manual so you put these things back together properly.

Creating the Windows 8 user experience - Building Windows 8 - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

MICROSOFT OUTLINES WINDOWS 8 GUI CHANGES
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/05/18/creating-the-windows-8-user-experience.aspx

And here's my thoughts and opinions on the matter:

I do love the interface changes - kinda a blend of Android, Windows, OS/2 and others.

I do hate their spin on their blog though.

- Regarding Windows 3.1's interface, the abomination known as Program Manager was developed by them for OS/2 (and despised by IBM for lack of tons of features IBM had requested - namely the ones that made it into OS/2 2.0's Workplace Shell in 1990 and 1991's Alpha and Beta releases) - and based off the idiotic designs you used in pre-Win3.x 16 bit Windows.

- Win95 was a 5 year GUI catch-up for you (with the initial release tied to the inadequacies known as Internet Explorer), pushed along by the far better GUIs in... well, everything else. And the initial release was buggy, unfinished and prone to all sorts of issues.

- The Windows XP GUI, little more than eye-candy changes on the front end (still having problems with shortcuts breaking, differences in context menus depending on whether an object or shortcut were being right-clicked on and so on) was NOT "another important evolution" in the GUI. It was something available for quite some time from StarDock - as a matter of fact (as StarDock, and some Microsoft papers of the time proudly stated), various parts of the interface work was done by StarDock. Inotherwords, there is no "important evolution" when such eye candy changes were already available - from the company you went to for help in integrating such stuff in XP no less.

- The Windows Vista and Windows 7 interfaces have a lot of changes, yes - but they are FAR from finished. Too many settings/dialog boxes still revert back to the ancient dialog boxes seen in Windows 2000 and Windows XP (or their cosmetic, yet functionally different variants in Win95 upwards). Heck, some of the settings/dialog boxes are from NT 3.51 - and have not been cosmetically (or functionally) changed since. Knowing full well the rush in getting Vista out, I fully expected that these settings/dialog boxes would finally be revamped to be consistent in Windows 7 - I was horrendously wrong.

Anyway, my point is, I truly like the new design (better than what's preceded it) - but, I also truly dislike reading Microsoft's revisionist or over-hyped history, or the fact that you are putting so much effort into such things without finishing what they've started over a half decade ago with Vista (for instance, they should be concentrating on revamping all the settings/properties dialog boxes to be consistent with the new interfaces, and functional in a logical manner.

So, to Microsoft:
Kudos on the interface improvement... Now, STOP wasting time on patting yourself on the back in your blogs and work on making the interface consistent and functional in a 21st century sort of way for all of those old components you never updated in Vista and Windows 7. Then, you'll have a full fan of the new interface - instead of one that really likes it but still has complaints. It does NOT take 15+ years to change the NT3.51/NT4 settings boxes to something that is consistent with the rest of the GUI.

blogs.msdn.com This blog often focuses on the bits and features and less on the “philosophy” or “context” of the product. Given the level of brand new innovations in Windows 8, however, we think it is worth putting Windows 8 in the context in which we approached the design. As with any significant change to a broa...

Helping Star Trek Phase 2: (48% Studio/32% Servers/38% June Shoot Goals Met) June 2012 Shoot Nears a

Help an all volunteer Star Trek fan project that aiBuilt Computer & Laptop Repair is involved in!

And don't forget to go to the website to see new adventures of Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov and the rest of the gang from the Starship Enterprise!

Star Trek lives on!!!

startreknewvoyages.com With May 2012's expenses already due, and the June Shoot fast approaching, the Star Trek Phase 2 Production can use assistance in the form of donations to help out with

One more laptop jack repair completed... including going the extra mile to put a few grommets back in, and of course (as we always do) cleaning the cooling assembly and applying new thermal paste.

It's amazing how many pieces some of these smaller jacks can break apart into when a laptop gets dropped or banged on the plug.

aiBuilt Computer & Laptop Repair's cover photo

aiBUILT TECH TIP

INTERNET TIP OF THE DAY: GMAIL

Gmail has a great security enhancement feature that most people don't know about - it's been in place for quite some time now.

From your Gmail page/account, you can view the last ten logins to your gmail account. But Google didn't stop there. From that rather simple stats screen, it shows a bit of information, has a handy security setting and also has a nice little one-click tool that can come in handy even if your account hasn't been compromised by others. Read on for the details...

To find this handy "little" feature, when you are logged into GMAIL, scroll to the bottom of the *EMAIL LISTINGS PANE* (not always the farthest right scrollbar - it's the one "attached" to the email listings). Below the last email entry, you will see, on the right side, "Last account activity: x minutes ago" and below that, you will see "Details" which is a link. Click "Details" and a new window will pop up showing you the last ten account activities (ie: logins/mail checks), and each entry will contain access type (browser, mobile, POP3, etc), location (country, state and full IP address), and the date & time of the access.

Now, here's how this little pop-up window can come in very handy:
(1) it gives you an easy to read overview of where the last ten logins to your account were - so for instance, if you live in NY, and haven't left - yet see activity logged from Texas, then you know someone has gained access to your account - it's now time to change your password and make sure they aren't still logged in (more on this last part in one of the next bullet points)

(2) There's an option at the very bottom that allows you to have Gmail show you an alert when it detects suspicious activity. If it does, when you log into your Gmail account, you'll see a bright bar at the top warning you of just that, such as "Unusual activity detected - your account was accessed from Japan" (or something similar). Enable it. It won't hurt anything - and what you do about such warnings is entirely up to you.

(3) Below that (pretty much the last thing on the page) will be your current login/access information - it will look like this (but with your IP address, country and state): "This computer is using IP address 192.168.1.10. (United States (NY))" - the IP address will be your real IP address (unlike in my example), which you can use to match with the entries above on that page.

(4) Of course, as you've probably guessed, you can look at the ten entries to look for something out of the ordinary (such as access attempts from places you've never been - you can do so by the location information, or, if you know what IP addresses your computers surf from, you can use the IP information too).

(5) This little page gives you warning (as alluded to above) of when it might be a good idea to change your password - if you see unauthorized access, *change your password*, log back in, and go back to that "Details" page. Now, comes the neat part: At the top of that page, you will notice a button (the "nice little one-click tool" I mentioned earlier) that's labeled "Sign out all other sessions" - CLICK it, and the nefarious person who gained access to your account will be kicked out of it virtually immediately, and no longer be able to log back in (because you changed your password).

Now, SOME of you might be thinking "Well, in 900 years, no one has ever gained access to my accounts, because I use a 25 character long random string of numbers, letters and symbols as a password, so this is of no benefit to me!"

On the contrary, there is one other use for this page and that "nice little one-click tool" that *may* just come in handy for you. And here's a scenario to explain how and why...

Let's say you visit a friend's house, or go to an Internet Cafe type place or whatever, and you decide to check your email on one of the computers there (ie: someone else's machine). As we all know, Gmail keeps you logged in until you log out (or until the browser is restarted - something I personally rarely do).

Now, while you might not be worrying about your friend doing nefarious things with your email account (and the plethora of other Google services that you basically auto-logged into by logging into Gmail), perhaps you still don't want him to be able to skim (or outright read) your email. And of course, if it was a public computer you forgot to log off from, who knows what may happen?

So, when you get to another computer, log into your Gmail account, go to that "Details" page, and hit that "magic" button, and the session you forgot to log out from will be automatically terminated. While my email account has never been compromised, I have found this tool handy at least twice for just such situations (friend's computer or office computer I left running when I went home).

NOTE TO ANDROID PHONE/TABLET USERS:
You may be wondering how this may affect your phone's sync functionality. No worries there. Here's the scenarios:

(1) You forgot to log off at a friend's - since that button kills ALL OTHER open sessions, it will indeed kill any ACTIVE session from your Android phone/tablet - but not to worry... you don't have to do anything about it. Your phone/tablet will reconnect, re-authenticate, and continue merrily on its way as if nothing happened (or with a brief "sync error" that will disappear as soon as it auto-syncs again, or as soon as you hit the manual sync option).

(2) You needed to change your password (as noted in #5 above, and probably applicable to others as well), AND you then killed all other sessions. The "killed all other sessions" part isn't a problem as noted above. The password change though, does need to be addressed, but that too is an easy one. Your Android phone/tablet will automagically prompt you of the authentication failure your password change creates and ask you to enter your new password. Do so. That's it. You're all set, and your phone/tablet will continue doing its thing, just as it was before.

Well, we hope this helps at least a few of you. We'd also suggest (assuming you use any of Google's services) that you do some digging into the other "hidden" features in Google's various products and services. There are a decent number of other helpful features (such as monthly Statistics Reports for your Google Account - opt-IN only which is a nice touch).

Also, don't forget to check to see which of the Google services you use have a neat little thing called "Labs" - the following most commonly used Google Services have a "Labs" section (as well as others): Gmail/Contacts, various Docs features in Gmail, Calendar and Maps. For those who don't know, "Labs" are "experimental" features (working, but not yet released service-wide) that you can enable or disable in various services. They can greatly increase the power/capability of a particular service. For instance, for those of you who use labels in Gmail to label your emails, the "nested labels" feature was once a "Labs" feature - so, those of us who found that "magic page" in our Gmail settings were using that years before it went mainstream.

Anyway, if you're getting bored or tired of reading technical stuff, perhaps stopping by the Star Trek: New Voyages/Phase II site (assuming you are a Star Trek TOS fan) would be a nice diversion! Star Trek TOS lives on, with new fan created episodes that've earned such distinctions as being the first such production of its sort to get nominated for a Hugo, gotten nominated for a Peabody, Nebula and various others! Check them out! We at aiBuilt Computer & Laptop Repair are proud supporters of the STP2 team (and show as much by providing the hosting, coding and technical end behind the STP2 websites, forum and FTP Production servers.

http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb12-09.html

FLASH VULNERABILITY!
Update Flash now, on all your Windows systems - oh, and (once again, no big surprise) don't run Internet Explorer! It is the exploit vector for this attack. Try Google Chrome instead. Or Mozilla Firefox, or Opera, or Safari.

http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb12-09.html

adobe.com

A busy week ahead: three laptop jack repairs, one CMOS battery socket replacement (for a laptop), one virus removal, one failing internal desktop hard drive to recover (followed by HDD replacement, Windows reinstall and data restoration), one external hard drive to recover, two LCD screen replacements (one of which goes behind a pen digitizer), (and finally) one laptop motherboard replacement.

AntiVirus/AntiSpyware/AntiMalware Software Specials:
----- We are an Authorized AVG & Vipre Reseller -----

Vipre Antivirus & AntiSpyware Premium: $29.99
- via aiBuilt Computer & Laptop Repair

Vipre Antivirus & AntiSpyware Regular: $19.99
- via aiBuilt Computer & Laptop Repair

AVG Full Internet Security Suite TWO Year: $52.99
- via aiBuilt Computer & Laptop Repair

(all are digital downloads - contact us to order)

MALWARE WARNING (VISTA/WINDOWS 7 USERS)

For someone looking for a high end gaming laptop, you should check out Origin PC Corporation for your needs! We've worked on their systems, and from first hand experience, we can tell you (a) they've got great build designs & (b) their support is phenomenal!!!!

Mention you saw us on Facebook to get $20 off Computer/Laptop Repair Labor (or $30 off Laptop Jack Repairs).

CompTIA A+ Certified Hardware & Software Repair (Cert )

Laptop Jack Repair: Before and After

Mention you saw us on Facebook to get $20 off Computer/Laptop Repair Labor (or $30 off Laptop Jack Repairs).

CompTIA A+ Certified Hardware & Software Repair (Cert )

AVG Internet Security 2011 FULL SUITE DISCOUNT!!
1 Year 1 PC: $49.99 (27% OFF CD Version/10% cheaper than no CD download)
1 Year *3* PC: $59.99 (37% OFF CD Version/17% cheaper than no CD download)

THESE ARE FULL RETAIL BOXES WITH CD AND KEY!
We are an authorized AVG Reseller!!! Call us!!!

We need a little under 10 more people to like this page so we can name it... if you like high quality computer repair work, and hate places like Beast Buy who rip you off and don't fix your problems, hit the "Like" button above!!!

A day full of laptop jack repairs... fun stuff! Send us more!!!

Part of our laptop jack repair station.

Photo by Robert Mauro

This is what a desoldered laptop jack motherboard should look like... if your laptop jack is loose or broken, bring it to us!!! This is what our work looks like after we desoldered the broken laptop jack and BEFORE we cleaned up the board.

picasaweb.google.com Feb 10, 2011 - Laptop jack properly desoldered, BEFORE board cleanup.

Long Island Computer Repair & Laptop Repair - For Technicians: How to cheaply test a CCFL backlight

If you are a laptop technician, chances are you've run into situations where you've had to determine whether a customer's LCD backlight was bad or the LCD inverter board was bad. Unless you've got really expensive equipment...

aibpc.com Long Island Computer Repair, Laptop Repair and Laptop Jack Repair - Home of Star Trek Phase 2

TAKE TEN DOLLARS OFF REPAIR LABOR IF YOU MENTION OUR FACEBOOK PAGE WHEN YOU COME IN!!!

We ALREADY beat the Geek Squad's prices, our lead tech has over 23 years experience...

Suffolk/Nassau Counties, NY

Long Island Computer & Laptop Repair: Flat Rate Labor Only $99.99!!! (parts additional) Laptop Jack Repair: Only $129.99 (jack included if needed) -Ship it and we'll fix it and ship back! $10 OFF LABOR IF YOU MENTION THIS FB PAGE!