Cal-OSHA Reporter

The publisher of Cal-OSHA Reporter is offering free Premium Content subscription to out-of-work safety and industrial health professionals. So, if you know someone in the safety or occupational safety community, involved with OSHA compliance, safety compliance, a member of American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) or American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), be sure and let them know.

You have to love the ingenuity

When I came home after work last Wednesday night I discovered a note taped to my front door.  I’ve scanned it in and posted it to the right.  Basically this guy is putting up notices that they’re going to be coming by the following day to repaint the numbers on the curb.  I LOVE this idea!

• It’s easy. Just fill out the flyer and hang it outside – they take care of everything else.
• No risk. If they are going to paint your address and then come around asking for payment, you can always refuse if you think they did a bad job.
• It’s cheap. His flyer was printed up on half a sheet of paper, so it probably cost him no more than $0.10 for two flyers – plus the half-inch of masking tape.  The advertising costs are bare-bones.  The materials amount to a few stencils and some spray paint.
• It’s quick. I’m guessing with a proper stencil and some paint, you could whip out a curb address number in about a minute or so.
• It’s a cash business. I didn’t see anything there about their tax ID number.
• Slick advertising. They appeal to your sense of safety and security (helping the police, fire department, et cetera find you quickly) and your sense of community (suggesting it is more effective when the whole neighborhood joins in).

But, why stop there?  I bet you could make even MORE money if you took this entire enterprise further:

• Volume is key. Having as many houses on a single street is probably optimal.  So, putting a little extra polish on these flyers could probably help a lot.  Invest in better paper and use a paper cutter rather than scissors.  Anything to help score a few more houses per street.
• Price is key. I have to wonder how many people are paying for this service.  What’s the optimal price point?  I’m guessing for $10.00 you might be able to capture a lot more homes on a given street than the $20.00 they’re suggesting.
• Look important. I’m always getting official looking junk mail – sometimes I even open it.  I’d say use bond paper, a decent home printer or your local printer, print something up that implies you are affiliated with the city or county.  Have an address, phone number, and website ready.
• Location, location, location. If I were running such a business I would do a little homework.  I would find a well kept neighborhood with a Home Owner’s Association – some area that probably has a vested interest in maintaining the upkeep around their homes.
• Look really important. If I were doing this, my letterhead would say I was with the “Home Owner’s Association Maintenance Co-Operative of Contra Costa County.”  I’d send out letters a week ahead saying that a person’s street has been scheduled for yearly curbside maintenance, that the HOAMCOCCC was going to through the following week to paint the numbers on an entire street a uniform color and returning the following day to collect payment.

Why in the world did I go to law school?  What a colossal waste of time!  I could probably more per hour stenciling sidewalks than I do as an attorney.  I’m half tempted to give it a shot anyhow.  :)

Anyhow, this just goes to show no matter how bad things are, someone has thought of a way to make money.

Hey everyone! More workers' compensation calculators!

I’m working on several more workers compensation calculators.  I’m really excited about one of them in particular. [1]

I’ve been working to develop calculators and search engines that are easier to use, easier to understand, and make them available to everyone for less than my competitors.  One benefit to doing it all myself is that I can innovate faster than anyone else.  For instance, my wildly popular Ogilvie calculator was available to beta testers just days after the Ogilvie case came out.

But, this new calculator is something entirely new.  Tantalized?  Titilated?  Tremulous?

Stay tuned!

1. Photo courtesy of Wal mink

How to stretch your law office's budget

Cost: $0.00

Savings: $150/computer

Here’s an easy way to save your law practice several hundred dollars in the next few months.  The next time you have to purchase a new computer do not buy a copy of MicroSoft Office, MicroSoft Word, or WordPerfect.  Even basic versions of these programs can run several hundred dollars per computer.[1]  You don’t have to purchase these programs!

Try OpenOffice instead!  I have been using OpenOffice on my home and work computers for the last three years and have been extremely happy with it.  I have given copies of this program to family, friends, and colleagues who are also all very happy with it.  I’ve used it for simple correspondence, legal pleadings, spreadsheets, and presentations.

Here are a few “real world” benefits:

OpenOffice is totally 100% free open source software

Free as in free.  Give it to your friends.  Install it at home and on your kids’ computers.  Don’t worry about software piracy.  Its totally, completely, free.

OpenOffice has better document recovery

Its important to know that OpenOffice is much more stable than anything MicroSoft or WordPerfect has to offer.  It is extremely rare that OpenOffice crashes on me.  If you’re using MicroSoft Word and you haven’t saved your document at least once, a single crash will completely erase all of your progress.  The very few times that OpenOffice has crashed on me I have gotten all of my data back – even when I haven’t saved the file once.

OpenOffice has everything you need

OpenOffice has all the features of MicroSoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and WordPerfect.  You can also use the OpenOffice suite of software to open, edit, and save to MicroSoft Word and WordPerfect formats.  It won’t automatically open the MicroSoft Office 2007 formats yet, but you can find plugins and software to do this for you (also for free).  OpenOffice has spell check, grammar check, autocorrect, macros, and templates (even legal pleading templates!).

OpenOffice can do more than its competitors

OpenOffice can save as, open, and even edit a PDF.  Editing a PDF requires a plugin, but it is very easy to install (and also free!).  Just being able to print to a PDF is going to make your documents easier to share with others and, hopefully, one day easier to share with EAMS too.[2][3]

If you’re not convinced to make the leap with your next computer purchase, then download OpenOffice now and give it a shot on your current computer.  Here’s their website link:

Download OpenOffice.org – free word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software

1. Photo courtesy of Krug6
2. Not that EAMS will share with you.
3. Don’t take it personally – EAMS pretty much hates everyone.

Getting an upgrade!

Late last week a user asked for a new feature.[1]  He wanted to be able to perform the Ogilvie DFEC rebuttal calculation and have the results e-mailed to him.[2] Well, I built it![3]

To e-mail yourself a calculation, perform the calculation as normal.  When the website returns your calculation, it will say “E-mail Me!“  Just click that button and it will send an e-mail to the address you used to register for this website.

However, here’s the cool part:  I’ve installed this new e-mail system into every calculator! [4] No more having to copy and paste!  Just click one button and your calculation will show up in your inbox![5]

Although I intend this to be a paid-subscription-only feature, I am going to leave it open for all users while I get some feedback.  So, what do you think?  Please leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail!

1. Thanks Dennis!
2. Photo courtesy of Vernhart
3. Why, what did you do with your Saturday morning?
4. I haven’t installed it in some of the EAMS lookup functions
5. If you filled in the boxes for Applicant, WCAB #, and File #, it will include this information in your e-mail as well.  This is only for your convenience and not a requirement.

Wordpress

A friend of mine owns and operates a number of websites – all of which run on ASP/.NET/MS-SQL servers.  He knows what he’s talking about, but he’s fairly dismissive of WordPress, PHP, and MySQL.

All this time I’ve been raving about WordPress, telling him that you can basically do anything with it.  I’ve mentioned how easy it is to use, how easy it is to maintain, its open source, how many global corporations use WordPress to build their websites, how its the tool of choice for so many designers, and how huge the WordPress community is.

In the meantime, he’s referring to his millions of rows in his “real-SQL, MicroSoft SQL” database.  I believe he’s been stuck thinking of PHP and MySQL as “kiddie” stuff, just not ready for big time.

That is, he’s been dismissive of WordPress until about two months ago.  In the last two months other people (SEO consultants, professional designers) have been raving about WordPress to him too.

I think he’s finally coming around.

Indy 500

Wow!  500 registered users!

Last month I mentioned that this website had a record number of new visitors.  I honestly thought that was an anomalous one day spike in traffic.  Instead we’ve had a sustained increase in new visitors and people signing up to use the workers’ compensation calculators for free.

Since February 13, 2009[1] I’ve enjoyed posting about:

• New Important Workers’ Compensation Cases
  • XYZZXSJO2 v. SIF
  • Benson v. WCAB affirmed
  • Ogilvie v. WCAB (en banc)
  • Almaraz/Guzman v. WCAB (en banc)
• Two New Calculators
  • Ogilvie DFEC Rebuttal Calculator
  • XYZZXSJO2 Future Life Pension Rate with COLA/SAWW Increases[2]
• Online Glasses – Reviewed!
  • Goggles4U.com Review Part I, Goggles4U.com Review Part II, and Goggles4U coupon: “glassyeyes“
  • GlobalEyeglasses.com Review and GlobalEyeglasses.com coupon: “glassyeyes“
  • How to Order Glasses Online
  • Pupillary Distance Matters
• PDRater.com Milestones:
  • 400 registered users!
  • 300 registered users!
  • 200 registered users!
  • 100 registered users!
  • PDRater.com is one year old!
  • Relaunch of PDRater.com!

Ever since I relaunched this website I’ve had this idea in the back of my mind that getting to 500 users would be a big deal.  There are literally hundreds of workers’ compensation professionals who rely on this website and its calculators to make their lives a little easier.  This certainly feels like a big deal to me.

1. When the 400th user registered.
2. I am keeping this calculator in beta testing until I get a little more feedback.  If you want to try it out, just drop me a line!

Glasses, online!

Last week I posted a Goggles4U.com review. [1] My review was favorable despite having received glasses that didn’t really work for me.  It just so happens, according to my eye doctor, that some people are more sensitive to the “Base Curvature.”  I happen to be one of those people and there’s no way either I or Goggles4U could have known that.  The bottom line is that I received glasses with the exact prescription I specified- you can’t ask more than that.

After trying out this pair of glasses for a week I notified Goggles4U customer service that I was too sensitive to the “Base Curvature.”  They responded immediately and gave me a code to order a new pair.  I placed the order on 2/27/2009, sent them an e-mail specifying a comfortable range for the Base Curvature.  The new glasses arrived on 3/7/2009.

These new glasses, with transition/polychromatic lenses, are great. I haven’t had any problems with them at all.  I will still take them back to my eye doctor to confirm, because I think any review would be incomplete without an independent confirmation from a medical professional.

In end sum, I would recommend Goggles4U without reservation.  Check out my prior review (now updated!) for the complete review and a Goggles4U coupon.

1. Photo courtesy of Morningstar Lee

Glasses, online!

I recently ordered three pairs of glasses from GlobalEyeglasses.com and one pair from Goggles4U.com.[1]  Last Wednesday I had my doctor check all four pairs.  Read on for the details!

I chose to try Goggles4U.com because an NPR commenter had a good review for them, they seemed to have good online reviews, had a very good website, and their prices for polychromatic glasses were fantastic.  UPDATE 3/10/09: Updated Goggles4U.com review here!

Review of Goggles4U.com

1. Website. Goggles4U.com lets you upload a photo of yourself and try on a virtual pair of glasses.  I didn’t try this feature, but I suppose it might be useful to some.  They also have the option of spinning a virtual version of each pair of glasses.  It was fairly easy to navigate their website and place the order.  One useful feature is that their website allows you to save your prescription so you don’t have to re-enter it.
2. Selection. There were easily several hundred frames from which to choose.  They have every imaginable style and variation.  They also have a wide range of lens options: clear, tinted, polychromatic / transition lenses, and super thin materials.
3. Price. Goggles4U.com has free shipping.  Most of the frames are about $12.99.
4. Frame Quality. The pair I bought fit with minimal adjusting of the nose pads and behind the ears.
5. Lens Quality. For some reason the glasses from Goggles4U.com just didn’t seem right.  They took me several minutes to adjust to and still continued to bother me in a subtle way I couldn’t quite understand.  I took this pair to my eye doctor who told me that this pair had a lower “Base Curvature” than the pairs from GlobalEyeglasses.com.   Apparently, some people are just more sensitive to variations in “Base Curvature.”
6. Shipping. Two weeks, just about on the button.  Shipping was free.
7. Customer Service. After trying out these frames for a week I e-mailed Goggles4U.com to let them know I was having problems with the glasses and that I was going to take them to my doctor to be examined.  The responded immediately asking me to let them know what my doctor had to say.  I e-mailed them right when I came back to let them know the “base curvature” was off.  The e-mailed me back almost immediately giving me a coupon code for $35.99 off another pair.  The bottom line is that they responded to me nearly instantly and have gone out of their way to make me happy.  I’m not interested in a refund, just a pair of glasses for a reasonable price.  I feel like Goggles4U.com has certainly earned by business.
8. Extras. Each pair comes with its own free case, eyeglass cloth, and replacement nose pads and screws.  Shipping was free.

Verdict: I would use Goggles4U.com again and recommend them to a friend.  When placing your order, use the coupon code, “glassyeyes” for 5% off.

UPDATE 3/10/09: Updated Goggles4U.com review here!

1. Photo courtesy of Morningstar Lee

Glasses, online!

I recently ordered three pairs of glasses from GlobalEyeglasses.com and one pair from Goggles4U.com.[1]  Last Wednesday I had my doctor check all four pairs.  Read on for the details!

I chose to try GlobalEyeglasses.com because I heard a glowing review on on NPR, they seemed to have good online reviews, had a decent website, and their prices were really incredible.

Review of GlobalEyeglasses.com

1. Website. The GlobalEyeglasses.com webiste merely lets you see a larger photo of each pair of glasses. I am was the kind of person who needed to try on lots of different frames before I could make a choice [2]  Incredibly, not being able to try on the glasses just didn’t bother me at all.  Once I had gotten my prescription and narrowed down the frame choices, it was surprisingly easy to find the glasses for me.
2. Selection. There were easily several hundred frames from which to choose.  They have every imaginable style and variation.  They also have a wide range of lens options: clear, tinted, polychromatic / transition lenses, and super thin materials.
3. Price. Using the coupon code at the bottom of this review, I got 10% off my order.  You can find frames as cheaply as $1.00[3] and lenses starting from $6.99.  They appear to have several designer frames.  The only shipping option is by UPS and costs $5.99.  When I was buying a month ago they were running a promotion where I bought two pairs and got one pair free.  $45.00 for three pairs, shipped, is basically unbeatable.
4. Frame Quality. Each pair fit with minimal adjusting of the nose pads and behind the ears.  On my pair of sunglassses[4] one of the screws in the nose pads fell out the first day I wore it.  When I replaced the nose pad I discovered that the screw fell out because the threads on that side had been stripped.  I used an extra screw and tightened it.  I haven’ t had any problems since.
5. Lens Quality. I have had no problems with the prescriptions on any of the three pairs I got from GlobalEyeglasses.com.  I didn’t require any “adjustment” period or any time to get used to these glasses.  More importantly, the lenses themselves were confirmed by my doctor to be the correct prescription.
6. Shipping. Two weeks, just about on the button.  Shipping was $5.99.
7. Customer Service. A day after I placed my order I received an e-mail from GlobalEyeglasses.com saying that one of the pairs I had ordered was now out of stock and would I please select a new pair.  While a little bummed that one of my first choices was no longer available, I was very happy that they let me know immediately.  I chose a new frame and made a small change to another frame I had originally ordered.  They adjusted the price accordingly and immediately refunded me the difference.
8. Extras. Each pair comes with its own free case, eyeglass cloth, and replacement nose pads and screws.

Verdict: I would absolutely recommend GlobalEyeglasses.com and use them again.  When placing your order, use the coupon code, “glassyeyes” for 10% off.

Next time: Review of Goggles4U.com!

1. Photo courtesy of Morningstar Lee
2. It’s an important decision!
3. Not that you’d want them.
4. Just a tinted pair of prescription glasses

Glasses, online!

No matter which website you order glasses from online, I would suggest the following five steps: [1]

1. Get your prescription. When getting your eye prescription, being sure to have your physician provide your “Pupillary Distance.” [2]  I’ve put together a chart at the bottom you can take with you to the doctor’s office.
2. Measure your glasses. Measure your current glasses using a metric ruler.  The most important measurement is going to be “Temple Width.”  The “Temple Width” is the overall front width of your glasses.
3. Choose frames. On the website of your choice, narrow down the available glasses by the “Temple Width.”  From there you can narrow down the available choices.
4. Wait. Both of the websites I ordered glasses from took about two weeks to get the glasses to me.
5. Double check. Take your new glasses back to your eye doctor.  They will have a machine that can check the prescriptions on the lenses.

Coupon Codes:

• I tried GlobalEyeglasses.com and used the coupon code “glassyeyes” for 10% off.
• I also tried Goggles4U.com and used the coupon code “glassyeyes” for 5% off. (I have no idea why they both use the same coupon code…)

Yesterday I had my doctor’s test out all four pairs of my glasses.  Tune in next time for the reviews of GlobalEyeglasses.com and Goggles4U.com!

1. Photo courtesy of Morningstar Lee
2. The “Pupilary Distance” is the distance between your two pupils, measured in millimeters.

Glasses, online

As I mentioned about two weeks ago, I had ordered some glasses online through two different retailers.  [1] At an average of $20.00 a pair, it was hard not to get carried away.

One pair of glasses had “polychromatic” lenses and cost about $35.00.  The other three pairs included a regular pair of glasses, a pair of tinted glasses for use as sunglasses, and a funky pair since they were totally free free (complete with frames and prescription lenses!?!?!)

I ordered from two different retailers because (1) $35.00 for those “transition” lenses aka “polychromatic” lenses was too good to pass up and (2) so I could compare the customer service and quality of the two companies.

Service through one company was a little better than the other.  However, I’m not qualified to judge quality.  Although I’m very happy with the look of these frames and lenses, I’d feel a lot better if I took them to my optomologist to be sure.

That said, I’m going to postpone an in-depth review until I see my eye-doc.  When I post the review I’ll include a few tips for ordering glasses online.[2]

1. Photo courtesy of Morningstar Lee
2. You know, from my vast experience.

Glasses, online

I’ve already said I’m a big fan of NPR.  A few weeks ago they ran a story about the “Best-Kept Online Secret: Cheap Eyeglasses.”  The author, tired of paying hundreds of dollars for glasses, tried out a few different online glasses retailers. [1]

This weekend I ordered glasses from two different websites. (I’m going to hold off mentioning which ones for now.  I’ll wait to find out what kind of a job they do.)

I ordered four pairs of glasses for much less than what a single pair used to cost me.  If all goes well, I’ll be getting one pair of sunglasses, one pair of color changing glasses, one pair that looks almost identical to the ones I wear now, and one pair of funky glasses (this was the free one).

The trade-off is that the glasses will take about two weeks.

See you in two weeks![2]

1. Photo courtesy of Morningstar Lee
2. Ha ha!

Dell Customer Service!!!

Dell’s customer service has been my single greatest customer service experience with any product, ever.

Let me break it down for you:

• My computer, a Dell XPS m1210 was out of warranty.[1]
• It had a bad nVidia graphics card.
• I wrote one e-mail to Dell’s Chief Blogger, Lionel Menchaca, stating the nature of my technical emergency. [2]
• He told me someone was going to contact me.
• Less than 24 hours later someone from Dell’s corporate customer service called me to tell me they were going to replace my entire motherboard. [3]
• Less than 24 hours later I got a call from their local technician – James.  He came to my home that very evening and swapped out my motherboard. [4]

Here’s Lionel’s e-mail to me from just after midnight this morning:

“Jay:

That’s great news. I’m really glad to see it all worked out smoothly. I appreciate you being a loyal Dell customer. Feel free to tell any other Dell customers how to contact me directly if they need some assistance.

It’s customer’s like you that make this the best job I’ve ever had.

Sincerely,

Lionel Menchaca

Chief Blogger, Dell Inc.

www.dell.com/blogs

e-mail: lionel_menchaca@dell.com

Twitter: twitter.com/LionelatDell

phone: 512.728.8685″

If you’ve got an issue with your Dell, get a hold of Lionel directly.  He’s an incredible guy working for an incredible company.  Lionel and Dell took care of me.  This Dell XPS m1210 is my third Dell laptop, and my next computer will absolutely be a Dell too.

1. It died within 1 year after my warranty expired, but by the time I talked to Dell it was more than a year out of warranty.
2. It was a very simple and short e-mail, so it took me forever to write.
3. The only way to fix a bad integrated graphics card.
4. “Rock on completely, with some brand new components!” – CAKE

Dell Customer Service?

I think Dell just made me a customer for life.

I’ve already spent nearly $200 repairing my laptop. After three total repairs[1], my laptop finally died – again.

Since I had nothing to lose, I sent an e-mail to Dell’s head blogger, Lionel Menchaca about my problem. He was lightning fast in responding to me – asking for my Dell service tag.[2]

When Dell had lost my prior laptop and replaced it with the XPS m1210 I purchased a warranty extension. I had spent a fair bit of change on that laptop and I was expecting to keep it around a while. However, that extended warranty lapsed a little over a year ago.[3] I explained my problem with the bad nVidia video card. He responded telling me that I would be getting a call from someone soon.

Sure enough, less than a day later I received a call from Dell’s corporate customer service program. They told me that as a “gesture of good will” they were going to replace my computer’s motherboard – by sending a technician to me to do the repair.

Replacing a motherboard is so expensive its almost always cheaper to buy a new computer. Offering to repair an out-of-warranty laptop by sending a tech to me to replace the motherboard???

All I can say is WOW.

1. Two of which were under Paramount Technology’s repair warranty.
2. This is a number on a little sticker underneath the laptop. The service tag code is essentially a serial number they use to track your computer when its being repaired or you call for technical support.
3. Although, less than a year from when I first started having this problem

New Laptop

Yesterday I discussed the basics of buying a new computer.  The most important first step is figuring out what you need and what you want out of a new computer.  There are three main types of portable computers available these days: netbooks, basic laptops, and high-end laptops.  Today is all about “netbooks.”[1]

(Scroll to the end to see my picks…)

Netbooks

A netbook is a very small laptop designed to extremely mobile and portable.  They are optimized for portability and wireless connectivity.

Netbooks typically have a display of 10″ or less. [2] They usually don’t have any CD or DVD drives. [3]  They usually have very small solid state drives or mid-sized hard drives.  On the plus side, they usually have bluetooth, media card readers, and WiFi.  They’re typically between 2 to 3 pounds, depending upon brand and type of battery.  They’re also relatively cheap – between $350 to $500.

My requirements may differ from yours.  If I were to buy a netbook, I would want:

• Minimum 2 USB ports, preferably 3
• Minimum 100 GB hard drive
• 1 GB RAM
• Bluetooth
• WiFi aka 802.11a/b/g, and preferably also 802.11n
• Ethernet port
• Modem port

Other things people might care about (but I don’t):

• Webcam
• Keyboard size
• Monitor size

Keep in mind, I’ve never used any of these laptops – I’m just evaluating them based on their prices and my own opinions as to their respective brands and specs.  Although, I’m enough of a nerd that I put together a spreadsheet to compare those five netbooks as well as about another dozen or so models and submodels.  If anyone is interested in seeing the spreadsheet, mention it in the comments below or drop me a line.

Dell has a new netbook too, but it only has solid state drive options – which are too small to be of use to me. [4] However, I’m sure it would be perfect for some people.

My picks are, in rough order of preference:

• HP Mini Note 2133 – $497.80
• Samsung NC10 – $477.95
• Acer Aspire One – $370.99
• MSI Wind U120 – $429.99
• ASUS Eee PC 1000H – $382.00

If I were to buy a netbook today, I’d probably go for the Acer Aspire One.  It occupies a sweet spot in terms of price, is a decent brand, and has very comparable specs to the higher-end models.

Next, basic laptops!

1. Photo courtesy of Ciccio Pizzettaro
2. TV’s and monitors are always measured by the diagonal.
3. This means they’re no good for watching DVD’s or playing CD’s.
4. 8 GB of hard drive space is barely enough to run an operating system and a few programs these days…

Broken Laptop

Before I start talking computer repair, I offer three caveats.  First, I have no formal training in diagnosing, repairing, or even using computers.  Second, I have no experience with repairing an Apple or Mac computer.  Third, all of the below only applies to laptop repair.  Its incredibly easy to swap out components on a desktop.[1]

So, you’ve done the math and decided that it is more cost-effective to repair your non-functional and out-of-warranty laptop.  You know that having the manufacturer or a big box store like Best Buy, Circuit City[2] and Fry’s is a very bad idea.[3]  About the best you can hope for is that it will only cost you much more money than your computer is actually worth.  The worst you can expect is to pay for your computer to be returned to you in worse condition.[4]

Option 3: Dedicated Repair Facility

Since I use my laptop constantly, it was extremely important to me that I took it someone who I could trust to do a good job.  Unfortunately, this is the kind of decision I agonize over.  Weighing the various pro’s and con’s, relative merits, creating formulas or spreadsheets to help me synthesize and digest the data.

I over-analyze, in part, because I want to make sure I spend my money well.  However, its far more important to me that I make sure that whatever item I am researching is the most perfect fit for me.  I spent my free time for the better part of the week Googling for local laptop repair places.  Once I had a list of places, I started to par it down.

My criteria included: location, accreditation, apparent familiarity with my problem, initial diagnosis based upon my description over the phone, whether they performed a free diagnosis, whether I could locate any review or complaints, and price.  You know, that’s all.

I first created a list of every laptop repair facility in my area and then tossed out the ones with bad reviews.

Question 1: Can you repair laptops?

This is a really good question even if you’re looking to have your desktop computer repaired.  Repairing a desktop is dead simple.  If a part stops working, you open it up, pull it out, slap in a new one and “rock on completely, with some brand new components“. [5] Repairing a laptop is far more involved.

If they couldn’t repair a laptop, I would not have any confidence they’d be able to repair a desktop and would move on.

Question 2: Can you repair components?

There are a lot of “computer repair” places, but most of them either only deal with software problems or only replace large whole computer parts.  Their solution to a laptop problem is to replace the motherboard or tell you to buy a new computer.  That’s like a mechanic telling you that you need to either replace the entire engine or buy a new car because spark plugs are just not their thing.

The good thing about a repair facility that does “component level repair” is that they will actually look for what caused the problem.  Then they will need to try and replace just that little part.  Depending upon your computer’s symptoms, you might need a new power jack, new chip on the motherboard, or even have the solder on the board around a chip melted and re-applied to the motherboard[6] .

If the repair facility couldn’t repair a component level problem, I moved on.

Question 3: Can you diagnose the problem over the phone?

When calling a repair facility, ask for a technician and describe the problem for them.  Obviously, you can’t expect them to actually know what’s wrong, so don’t hold them to it.  On the other hand, they should be have some inkling as to the cause.

A small aside about workers’ compensation defense, and then back to laptop repair:

Sometimes during a doctor’s deposition I need to ask a question that deals with legal issues.  Invariably, the other attorney present has a different take on the applicable medicine or, more likely, the law.  In these situations, I state my position about the medical-legal issue in terms of, “Doctor, its my understanding that…”  Then, I say, “Doctor, for the purposes of this question, assume that my understanding about the applicable law is correct.  Now… [insert insightful question here]?”

This keeps objections and interruptions to a minimum and allows the doctor to focus on my question.  If the other attorney is correct in their legal position, my question and the corresponding answer are irrelevant.  Posing the question in this fashion completely removes any basis for objection since the doctor’s response becomes entirely dependent upon whether or not a given legal position is correct.

When describing my computer problems over the phone and getting a snap diagnosis from the technician, I ask them the following, “Assuming the problem is [the problem you've just diagnosed], are you capable of making this repair and how long would it take?”

If the repair facility technician had no idea what the problem was or would refuse to venture a guess based on what I was saying, I moved on.

Question 4: Who will be doing the diagnosis and repair?

I located a surprising number of local people who represented via their website or a posting on CraigsList.org that they were able to repair a variety of laptop problems.  Some of these were just people who did the work out of their home.  They may very well do a good job and certainly charged less – but they weren’t for me.  I had a little more confidence[7] in a repair facility employing a repair technician than I did in a some guy who put up an ad or website.

Occasionally, a local repair facility will actually out-source the diagnosis and repair.  This, of course, begs the question – why do I need you?

As I mentioned above, I wanted to talk to a technician – preferably the one who would be performing the job themselves.

Question 5: How did you treat me on the phone?

Some technicians can’t help feeling superior to the their clients. [8]  If the technician was the least bit rude or condescending, I hung up and moved on.  Repair facilities are in the customer service industry as much as they’re in the computer repair industry.  All it takes is one unfriendly or  unknowledgeable person answering the phones for you to lose a potential client.

If you follow the above criteria to create a list of local computer repair facilities and ask the above questions, you’re going to stand a decent chance of finding the best place to get your laptop repaired.  Good luck!

1. Photo courtesy of Just Us 3.
2. They’re bankrupt, so don’t bother
3. For those of you who just can’t wait to find out: I think a dedicated computer facility is best.
4. Or, in my case, have Dell ship your laptop to a construction site in Oakland.  Yay.
5. Thank you Cake!
6. This is called a “re-flow,” since the original solder is melted and made to flow back around the chip or connections.  If your computer gets heated and cooled a lot, this might be your problem.
7. And, perhaps wrongly so.  This is just a gut feeling.
8. Unfortunately, this is also true of some attorneys.

He's really excited about so many users!

Just this last Saturday we reached 300 registered users – and King Leonidas couldn’t be happier.[1]

On August 20, 2008 the 100th person registered for this site since its re-launch on July 6, 2008.  On October 20, 2008 the 200th person registered.  In the time since this website’s relaunch, I’ve:

• Posted 113 times, not counting today.
• Through at least the end of this year, I’m donating everything I’m make through this website to my local food bank.
• Created a lot of “Road Warrior” checklists[2]
  • Road Warrior Checklist – Appearances
  • Road Warrior Checklist – Car
  • Road Warrior Checklist – Techie
  • Road Warrior Checklist – The Backpack
• Posted about how to go about getting your laptop repaired[3]
  • How to decide whether to repair or replace a laptop
    • Hint: Scroll all the way down to the end of that post for a formula to help you decide whether you should repair or replace.
  • Repairing with the manufacturer
  • Repairing at a “big box” store
• A few posts about starting and running businesses:
  • How to Bootstrap a Business
  • Going Viral
  • How to Start a Business: Plan B
  • Things I learned from watching “Kitchen Nightmares”

1. You know, King Leonidas from the movie 300.  The really happy looking guy to the right.
2. I’ve got at least two or three more checklists planned.
3. More laptop advice on the way.

Wordpress Upgrade

I upgraded the website to WordPress 2.7 RC 1 over the weekend.

I generally do not bother installing the updates between the major upgrades.  My major concern in upgrading is eliminating possible security issues and obtaining additional program features.  I maintain a totally separate website from PDRater.com, also running on WordPress, where I install the very latest versions of WordPress and try out new variations on the look-and-feel of this website, new calculators, and new ideas about how best to present the current calculators.

Very late Wednesday night I upgraded this website to WordPress v2.7.  I’m not sure I fully appreciate how much better it might be than the various release candidates.

Thursday morning I discovered an unintended effect of upgrading is that it “broke” one of my plugins.   (Reza: Thanks for pointing it out!)  I had modified an existing plugin, EasyPayPal, to allow this website to accept credit card payments.  WordPress v2.7 changed the user profiles area of the website – and made it so that instead of seeing an option to become a paid subscriber, you just saw a cryptic PHP error.  This is nothing that would have compromised a credit card number or anything – it just would have prevented anyone from giving me money.

A little bit of bug testing, one new line of code and its back up and running.  :)

No Flash, please

There are many different ways to put together a website.  Flat HTML which does not interact with the users at all.  Javascript enabled pages which allow the user to interact with the webpage a little.  AJAX enabled pages which allow the user to interact with the web server and even other users.

The worst way imaginable for a website to be built is one entirely powered by Adobe Flash animation.  I know of at least one workers’ compensation defense firm that has an all Flash website – and I feel sorry for them.  Their clients probably never use their website.  They’re squandering one of their best marketing tools.

Here are just a few of the problems with Flash websites:

• Bandwidth. A picture of the word “website” is much much larger than the text “website.”  In a similar way, a Flash website is going to be much much larger than the same information presented in pure HTML.  The bigger your website, the longer it will take for it to load.
• Maintenance. The smallest change to the website needs to be handled by the original web developer.  If you “invest” in an all-Flash website, you’re basically hiring that web developer for life.  With traditional websites, you can hire any code monkey to adjust your website.
• Unnavigable. Flash websites do not work with the browser’s “Back” button.  If your users can’t navigate your website in a normal fashion, they will leave and never come back.
• Search Engine Optimization. Or, SEO, as it is known in the business.  If your website is basically a bunch of moving pictures, it can’t be indexed by a search engine, so it doesn’t know what your website is about, so it doesn’t know when to show it to people who are searching for exactly the kinds of things you are trying to sell.
• Repeat Business. If your website is meant to be something people look at once and never return to, I suppose its fine. The problem with a Flash website is that it will not allow users to bookmark or link to particular pages.  This means if your clients really love a particular page on your site they can’t e-mail the link to their co-workers!

I know why web developers sell Flash websites.  These websites show off how great you are at creating swooshing logos and nifty pages transitions.  And, if your client ever needs a little change, they have to come back to you or pay someone else to build them a website from scratch.[1]

I also know why businesses invest in Flash websites.  They want something stylish and unique.  In reality all truly successful website forgo snazzy animations for functional user friendly pages.  If Amazon, eBay, and Google don’t build their websites out of Flash, why should you?

This isn’t to say that Flash animation doesn’t have its place.  It think its great for product demos, presentations, and banner ads.  Its an excellent way to present information in a graphical format.  That said, you should never ever purchase a Flash website.

Website Development Tips:

• Never build a site out of Flash.
• Never use Flash to show words.
• If its good enough for Google, its good enough for you.
• Focus on what your customers want to see, not what you want to show them.
• Make it easy for your customers to tell people about you.

1. Heaven forbid you have a new hire or, you know, the law changes.