New Place to Get iMacs and MacBooks Repaired

August 8, 2019 by doctordave

Recently Apple has authorized Best Buy nationwide to do warranty work for Apple computers. Overall I think it is great to have more warranty options to do repairs, but as someone who does computer repair on Apple computers, I have some opinions about it!

Apple Retail Stores Want You to Buy New Rather Than Fix

Apple has been accused more than once of pushing new purchases over repairs and our client stories are consistent. The retail stores are a disaster lately and suffer from substantial turnover, even at the top. You’ll rarely get the same person and get a consistent answer. It takes days to get an appointment, and Apple employees are accidentally deleting customer data too often.

Sometimes at the store, you’ll get pushed to purchase a new product even if yours is less than a year old. As soon as they introduce a new product, they’re pushing you away from the old one.

This upselling isn’t just an Apple thing, but tends to be everywhere inretail. Places want to sell you stuff, that’s the definition of retail, right? Office Depot was caught using deceptive sales tactics to sell people things they don’t need. They were fined $25 million for that violation. Office Depot is a well-known brand, and they violated consumer trust by doing this.

They Can Outright Refuse to Help

Apple Geniuses are bound by Apple rules and will follow the “company line” regarding support. On distressing example is someone who accidentally lost pictures from their iPhone. Apple refused to help! That’s wrong. However, they’re Apple; they don’t have to earn your business. They’re more focused on selling rather than support.

They Don’t Know How You Use the Product

One unique quality of using a small, independent computer repair company is we’ll take the time to understand how you use the computer. Individualized services yield individualized results. Apple frankly gets repairs wrong sometimes. Recently they replaced a customer’s MacBook Pro three times because they misdiagnosed a problem of a screensaver! The replacement didn’t cost Apple anything since they make the computer. The customer didn’t pay because it was under warranty, but what about his time and lost productivity? As a small business owner, I understand downtime is money lost. Retail employees don’t always think that way.

Pick Someone Focused on Service, Not Sales

We’re not out to sell you stuff, only to fix the stuff you have. If we tell you it is time to replace it rather than repairing it, we’re talking ourselves out of work. Sure it’s a loss of a short-term profit, but we’re in this business for the long haul. If it’s under warranty, we’re going to refer you to someplace like Best Buy since Apple will cover the repair. If it’s out of warranty, we’re going to help you ourselves.

Small, Local, Independent Business

I’m a big believer in support of local business. Larger retailers don’t have to earn your business, we do. We live and work in your communities. If you’re in Lawrence, obviously I hope you’d pick us for computer repair, but if not, please support a local business. Thanks for all your support over the years and let us fix your Apple computers (as well as PCs)

Tax Free Weekend 2019 Discount

July 30, 2019 by doctordave

If you’re looking to buy a new computer this year, August 2nd, 2019 through August 4th, 2019 is the time to do it. That’s the Missouri Tax-Free Weekend. If you go to a retailer in Kansas City Missouri, you’ll be able to buy computers, computer software, and peripherals (things like hard drives, printers, and scanners) and the retailer won’t charge you sales tax.

If you live in Missouri, you’re golden. If you live in Kansas, the retailer won’t charge you, but it’s possible you’ll be required to pay at tax time. That’s between you and your tax advisor!

Tax-free weekends help cut the sting of back-to-school, but anyone can take advantage of it, even if you’re a home user or a business owner. And if you’re a client of ours, read on to see how we’re participating.

How to Take Advantage of Tax-Free Weekend 2019

The Apple retail store on the Plaza participates. It gets hectic there, so you might go a few days before and pick out your Mac. Typically they’ll process your transaction ahead of time and not charge.

Another great place to buy a computer on Missouri Tax-Free Weekend is Costco in Kansas City. They have a great selection and offer automatic extended warranty and concierge services.

Generally, we don’t recommend big-box retailers like Best Buy, Office Depot, and Wal-Mart because they don’t always have stock of the right computer for you. They’ll sell you what they have on the shelf rather than what you possibly need. Places like Costco and the Apple retail store won’t do that.

Our Tax-Free Weekend Discount: Two Hours of Service

It’s fun, so I figured we should join in! If you’re getting a new computer, you probably need help setting it up. This type of work is one of our specialties. We can set up the new computer for your internet connection, set up printers, and most importantly transfer your stuff. We’ll make sure your important pictures, documents, spreadsheets, financial stuff like Quicken and Quickbooks, and even your bookmarks, addresses, and email. Setting up a new computer is fun!

For new or existing clients, we’re offering a special. We’re offering two hours of on-site service tax-free. For $200 you’ll get two hours of service and two on-site visits, tax-free. Most new computer setups take an hour, so that price covers a setup along with your annual checkup a year later.

You don’t even have to use it this weekend either. It’s a gift card that doesn’t expire for two years, so that’s got you covered at least for your annual checkup! You can use it in 15-minute increments for our remote support, half-hour increments for office visits, or on-site visits.

Don’t worry; we’ll still remit the taxes to the state on your behalf. It’s just a fun way of offering a little discount for back to school.

We’re only offering it that weekend via this link. If you’d prefer not to give your credit card online, just send us an email to let us know you want to take advantage of the offer, and we’ll honor the discount!

Updated: The Best Internet Service Provider (ISP) in Lawrence Kansas

July 15, 2019 by doctordave

One of the most popular blog posts I’ve written is “Who is the Best Internet Service Provider (ISP) in Lawrence, KS?”. That post is seven years old, so I thought I’d revisit it. Not much has changed.

The market in Lawrence, like most of the country, is a duopoly. We have internet service through a cable company and a phone company.

Primary Options: Midco, AT&T, Wicked

The two main players in town are Midco (formerly Wow, Knology, and Sunflower) along with AT&T. Wicked Broadband (formerly Lawrence Freenet) is another player in this market.

Since I wrote that in 2012, the most significant change besides the names is the speeds; both AT&T and Midco can provide Gigabit Internet (like what Google offers in Kansas City). This option isn’t available everywhere in town though, you’ll have to contact the providers to see if service is available where you are.

Midco versus AT&T Uverse

Midco continues to have the highest amount of coverage in town. It works pretty much everywhere. AT&T and Wicked are distance-dependent. Wicked’s primary business is large installations like fraternity houses, apartment complexes, and businesses. It’s always a good idea to see if you can get service from them as a third option.

Midco no longer has local support. It’s based in the US though and is usually excellent. AT&T outsources support overseas. Our clients continue to have problems with inadequate support from AT&T.

I’ve switched to Midco at home primarily due to pricing and speed. Midco was able to give me faster speeds at a lower price.

New Option: Cellular Service

Back in 2012, we were on 3G/4g networks. Now, most of Lawrence has LTE service on mobile networks from the big players like AT&T Wireless, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon. Depending on your phone and location you can get up to 125 down and 25 up. That’s faster than the base services of both Midco and AT&T Uverse. You’ll hit data caps though of between 10 and 50 depending on how much you’re willing to pay. My office now uses a tethered phone for occasional internet needs.

All providers give you the option of “tethering” your phone to use it for an internet connection. Your computer connects to your phone, and your phone connects to the Internet. All wireless phone providers sell “hotspots” aka “MiFi’s” that acts as a mini-ISP in your pocket. They don’t do phone calls but share a cellular connection among devices.

As people “cut-the-cord” and get rid of home phone and TV, these hotspots sometimes make more sense. The costs are comparable to prices charged by Midco and AT&T but give you the added advantage of taking your internet connection wherever you go.

In particular, I like these options for single people. Your internet connection follows you. If you aren’t home, you aren’t paying for service. Cellular is also an excellent option for someone who needs the internet to occasionally work from home or a coffee shop.

Cellular isn’t suitable when you have a bunch of people trying to share the internet. You’ll eat through your data plan quickly. These devices don’t have much range. For example, you can’t use them in more than one room in the house.

Recommendation: Midco

Due to Midco’s coverage, speed, and reliability, they’re our recommendation as the best ISP in Lawrence, KS. It’s worth checking with Wicked to see if they can provide you service. If you don’t do much on the internet, check with your wireless company to see about getting service through your phone or another device.

Just Six Months Before Windows 7 Ends

June 17, 2019 by doctordave

Back in January, we warned you that Windows 7 systems had an expiration date of January 14th, 2020. Counting from today’s date, we’re less than six months away from that deadline.

What does that mean? This video explains some of it.

If you’d like to learn more, we’ve developed a short eBook to explain the risks. To download the free book, just follow this link.

DoctorDave Computer Recycling Event Lawrence

June 10, 2019 by doctordave

Each year in Lawrence, the city coordinates with a local recycler for an electronics recycling event. It’s usually in October and May. The city hasn’t announced an event for 2019. Lots of clients are asking about it, assuming it would have been by now.

(Dave at his latest pickup from Connecting for Good)

We do recycling year-round but don’t actively advertise it. We think it’s essential to participate in the city event to show there is a clear need in our community. To help out, we’re going to create our own mini-computer and electronics recycling event on Tuesday, June 18th from 4 pm to 8 pm.

For this mini event, we can recycle at no charge:

Desktop and laptop computers along with FREE secure destruction of data
Things that connect to computers like scanners, monitors, and printers
Floppy disks, CDs and manuals
Mobile phones and tablets
Stuff we can’t take is anything non-computer related like appliances or televisions

We’re limiting this to residential customers and can only take three computers per household. If you need to recycle more, let us know, and we can coordinate with our recycling partner, Connecting For Good. Connecting For Good is a fantastic organization we work with to make sure computers can be repurposed locally whenever possible to help bridge the digital divide.

If you come by that day, we’ll give you some free DoctorDave gifts for recycling your computer. Don’t have anything to recycle? No worries, stop by and we’ll still give you a little something. Need a quick computer question answered? We can do that during our recycling event. We’ll even have a few treats.

If you could RSVP via Facebook if you’re interested, that will help make sure we have enough room, gifts, and treats.

The Risks of An Old Battery

June 3, 2019 by doctordave

A few weeks ago, a client came in with a computer needing a new battery. She apparently for quite some time knew it wouldn’t hold a charge, but just lived with it since it was always plugged in. It wasn’t until the keyboard stopped working; she contacted us.

Looking inside, we found this monstrosity. I included in the picture a standard AAA battery so you could see a comparison.

No wonder the keyboard and mouse had troubles, the battery had expanded to almost double its size. It should have been entirely flat on the top. This was a Dell Latitude PC. Battery expansion could happen to any computer. That same day we also saw an Apple MacBook Pro with the same symptoms: low battery and problems with mouse and trackpad. You can see how that expanded as well.

Around that same time, a MacBook Pro had his laptop spontaneously burst into flames. According to the user , he hadn’t modified his computer and it was the original battery.

All batteries fail; it’s a scientific fact. You see it in your flashlight, your car, and even your phone. Laptops are no different. On average the batteries last about three years before needing to be replaced. All sorts of symptoms are related to a failing battery.

If your laptop’s battery isn’t holding much of a charge, it’s important we get that replaced before it starts expanding or worse.

After the Storm – Protecting Your Computer

May 29, 2019 by doctordave

As anyone in Lawrence, Topeka, or Kansas City knows, we had one heck of a storm last night. I spent a good part of the evening in the basement. That wasn’t fun. I’m sure you didn’t have fun either.

This bad weather is an excellent time to talk though about the importance of offsite backup, while it’s fresh in everyone’s mind. I did the same reminder a few years ago after the severe weather in Houston. Local backups to an external hard drive in your home or business is an excellent secondary method of backup. However, backing up to an online service is your best backup, because if something happens to your home or office an on-site backup is lost. Over the years, I found often it wasn’t a direct hit by a tornado that caused damage, but water. Rain might have leaked in. For example, one client had a tree fall into her office. It was the rain that ruined everything. If your computer does get wet, please follow our instructions for “I just spilled something on my laptop.”

A common question we get asked is about protection against surges and lightning. A majority of people aren’t protected. I wrote about this a few years ago, and my opinion remains pretty much the same. I’d advise though now getting uninterruptible power supply (UPS) with USB ports. I have one of these in my home and what I like is it not only protects against surges but also provides battery backup for my internet and phone. It was $50 and a worthwhile investment.

During an electrical storm, we recommend unplugging the computer power from the wall. We also recommend unplugging Ethernet cords from both the back of your cable modem as well as your computer. Surges can travel through those lines even if the computer is off and unplugged.

Finally, if you have valuable electronics you rely on for a home-based (including remote employees) or small business, please consider getting your devices scheduled on your insurance. That can often cover both damages to the computer as well as data recovery should these things come up.

If you have any questions about protecting your computer against surges or data loss, please email us. We always consult on things like this at no charge and for the next week, we’re waiving any labor fees to install an offsite backup, which is about $60 year. Call/text 785-841-8766 or email dave@calldrdave.com

Wait on a Computer! Buying Assistance For College Families

May 26, 2019 by doctordave

Congratulations to all the grads of the local high schools! Whether it’s Lawrence High or Free State, Shawnee Mission or Blue Valley, you’ve all worked hard for this important day!

For those going off to college, your family’s first instinct may be to buy you a new computer as a graduation gift. Don’t let them. Well, at least wait until we talk with them first.

We’ve been doing computer repair Lawrence, Kansas since 1990. We get lots of students asking us for help. Lawrence is the home of the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University. Not too far away is Baker University over in Baldwin. Since we also serve Topeka and Kansas City, we also see students needing computer help from Washburn and UMKC.

The biggest mistake I see people make in buying a computer is to purchase something during the summer. Computers depreciate and become obsolete quickly, so buying one in May or June for college in August or September means it’s already three months old by the time you get to college. Since the average computer lasts only about three years, it’s already aging by the fall. The warranty on most laptops is just a year, so that’s depreciating as well.

A poor decision I often see is when people buy a new computer now and decide to keep it in the box until college. It’s a good idea to keep it together so everything is in one place and well protected, but about 10% of the time a new PC might be bad out of the box. If it’s within the first 30 days, you can usually return it to the store, but after then you have to ship it back and sometimes wait weeks for a repair.

To help you with all the nuances of buying a computer for college, Dave is holding some free drop-in consulting sessions both in Lawrence and the Kansas City area. During those sessions, he can help you buy the right computer for college as well as discuss accessories. Families often pay too much and get the wrong stuff. For example, it’s better to get accident protection from your homeowner’s policy rather than the one they sell in the store, but there are exceptions.

Most importantly, you’ll learn the best place to buy a new computer. Hint: it’s often your college bookstore.

In Lawrence, he’ll be hosting as his office at 4105 West Sixth Street on Tuesday, June 4th from 4 pm to 6 pm.

In Kansas City, he’ll be at eCafe Coworking Center/Scooters coffee shop for his monthly Wellness Wednesday. They’re located at 10650 Roe Ave, Overland Park, KS. He’ll be there from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm

These sessions are free, and no reservation is necessary, but it would be handy to let us know you’ll be there. Check Dave’s facebook page for the Kansas City Event and Lawrence Event. Please mark yourself as interested or going. That’s all the RSVP we’re asking for. He might even have a few gifts for you if you stop by.

Loyalty Cards, Frequent Flyer Programs : Hacker’s Treasure

May 19, 2019 by doctordave

Recently the New York Times ran a story about the risks of loyalty programs. Loyalty programs include everything from the virtual punch card at the coffee shop to larger programs like those offered by hotels and airlines. We tend to hear about the problems with travel-related loyalty programs like the Marriott/Starwood breach and Delta Airlines.

What’s the Risk?

Your first thought when you hear about these breaches is what about your credit card and personal information like phone number and address? While that stuff is important, you can always change your credit card numbers. Most of the time, you aren’t liable for unauthorized purchases from bank accounts or credit cards.

The risk of these loyalty program breaches isn’t just the points, after all, you worked hard to accumulate that free coffee or a free trip around the world. It’s also about the details these programs can reveal to create more sophisticated hacks.

As an example right here in Lawrence, KS, when we sign up clients for internet service through AT&T, some of the security questions they get asked are:

What is your favorite restaurant?
Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?
What is the name of your youngest sibling?

These are the same type of questions Apple and dozens of other companies ask. I was asked the same time of questions when signing up for phone service with T-Mobile. Even if these questions aren’t used directly by hackers, they can be used for targets attacks called spear phishing. For example, if hackers see that I have a reservation at a hotel, they might call me and say there’s a problem with the card and I need to provide a different credit card.

I’ll admit until I read this article I had “soft” passwords for some of these programs. I figure Starbucks doesn’t have my credit card, and who would steal a coffee from me? Cybercrime is cybercrime so they might steal that. Then I realized my credit card is on file with them and someone could order themselves a gift card. Ouch. I’m secure with my Apple iTunes account because it’s a big target for hackers and Apple protects it with things like two-factor authentication. My Starbucks account is wide open!

What can you do to protect yourself?

First, create unique passwords for absolutely everything. If it contains personal data, it needs to be protected. Use a password manager or ask us about the password books we sell (or give away if you ask us nicely and mention this post!)

Second, consider enabling two-factor authentication everywhere you can. That’s the system where they text you or call you to verify who you are. If you aren’t sure how to do that, please ask us!

Finally, read your statements and emails. Sure, you get tons of those, but the only way you can catch a breach is to be vigilant. Take for example those Starbucks emails. Those always go into my junk email because I don’t go there that often. I always shop local for coffee, but sometimes Starbucks is all they have, especially at airports. After reading this article, I’m now working to unsubscribe from promotional emails from loyalty programs, but make sure emails about account balance and activities don’t go into spam. Again, if you need help setting this up for yourself, we do email management all the time for clients.

Although it doesn’t make the nightly news, your free pizza, coffee, and airline trips are the latest thing hackers are attacking. They’re not just stealing your points, but stealing information they can use for more sophisticated attacks.

Yes, We Still Recommend Backblaze

February 17, 2019 by doctordave

Backblaze has been our preferred automatic safety backup product for years. Recently they contacted existing customers to let them know the rates would be increasing. Compared to their competitors who increased rates while decreasing services, or simply went out of business, Backblaze’s price increase is modest. They’ve had the same pricing for 11 years, so that hardly keeps up with inflation.

For $60 a year, or $110 for two years they backup everything on your computer. When something goes wrong, you can either download your data or they’ll overnight you a hard drive with all your stuff on it for FREE. Can’t beat that.

Not only have I used Backblaze for a decade, but I’ve also seen with my clients how well it’s worked. In particular, we had two clients who had fires at their homes. In both cases we were able to get the client up and running within 48 hours thanks to the overnight service. In another example, we were able to trace down a stolen laptop due to the tracing service Backblaze includes in the subscription.

If you haven’t signed up yet for Backblaze, do it by March 11th before the price increase. You’ll save $10 on the yearly plan and $15 on the two-year plan (what we recommend).

If you’re already a customer, you can extend your subscription for up to one year at the current rate. It’s a bit confusing, but they explain how to do it here. You agree to buy now and add onto your subscription’s expiration date. They make it sound complicated, but it’s not. Once you click on the Extensions Page, you buy the extension. I did it and got this message.

It only gets complex if you have more than one subscription on your account. Most of our clients don’t, so it’s as easy as clicking a link and then Purchase Extension.

Of course, if you have any trouble at all, please let us know. We’d be happy to help with this extension process at no charge because we believe in backups.

While you’re in your account, I suggest you test your backups. Try a few items from your computer and do a sample restore. That way in an emergency you know how to do it. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, please let us know. We’re running a Backup Checkup special until the end of March. We’ll test your backups and make sure they work for just $40. That’s only half our normal hourly rate. We can do that remotely so you don’t need to leave your home, or at our office, or on-site (travel rates apply). If you need anything else done during the service call ,it’s at our normal hourly rate. We recommend yearly computer checkups to predict and prevent future problems, so if it’s been a year since we’ve seen you let us know so we can schedule a full checkup.

Remember, to go forward, you must backup.

Photo by Duy Hoang on Unsplash