Some background

We recently moved house in north London got a new broadband connection installed (we used Zen – because it gets great reviews) but I was really frustrated by two things. The first was, as I mentioned, every time the phone rang or I made an outgoing call, the broadband dropped out. I spent some time on the web looking for a fix but most of the solutions didn’t really help much. I changed all the filters, unplugged the phones on the extensions and tried changing phones. None of these helped.

What’s the answer?

Okay, I won’t keep you hanging. The answer is really, really simple. I found a new I-plate in a store and installed it (I’ll tell you more how later) and the problem was instantly solved. Even better my broadband speed has almost doubled over the week since I made the change from 3.6 meg/second to, at the latest check, 6.8meg. BT (of British Telecom for those of you older than about 30) reckons that on average people get a 1.5m increase in speed from the new faceplate, so I’m pretty happy with my result. It also puts me pretty close to the theoretical limit of what I should expect from my connection. Even though it is an “up to 20meg” connection, the distance of my house to the nearest exchange (or whatever) means that I should get a maximum of about 7 meg.

What is the BT I-Plate?

BT phone connections come into a master socket in the house. This is usually close to the front door and is the point at which BT’s network terminates. Any faults on their side of the master socket are their problem. Any faults that occur on your side of the master socket are your problem.

Now the thing about the master socket is that the connection you have on the front of it, is not actually the real master socket but is an extension socket. Weird? I know.

You undo two screws on the faceplace and will find another socket inside. From the faceplate you then have the wiring for all the extensions in your house.

What the faceplate does is it puts a connection directly into the master socket and has a Broadband (ADSL) line filter right there. In effect, what it is doing is filtering your signal for audio (telephone) and digital (broadband) right at the source. It has two sockets on its faceplate, one for a telephone and one for a broadband connection.

How do you install the BT Faceplate?

There are two ways you can install it. The simple way takes about 2 minutes and could be done by a preschooler with a screwdriver. The more advanced way will take about 5 minutes more but needs a bit more effort and knowledge.

Start with the simple. You just unscrew the old faceplate, pull it off and disconnect any extension socket wired that are connected to it and then insert and screw in the new one with the new (longer) screws provided.

This gives you a single phone and data connection. This is what I did since we have cordless phones in the house in any case so don’t need any additional hardwired sockets.

The slightly more advanced version involves wiring the extension sockets into the new faceplate. It comes with a simple circuit guide showing you which terminals to wire it into and you use a simple tool to insert them.

Where do you I get a BT I-Plate

I bought my in store at Maplin (see Maplin.co.uk) for £18. What I didn’t realise is that I could have gotten one for about half the price on Amazon. BT broadband customers can get them for free or you can buy them directly from BT for about £8.

They call it a broadband accelerator and you can find it here.

Hope this helps.

The worst possible scenario you might experience is if notebook disk drive develops a fault. You will know this from any odd sounds the computer makes while running. In particular, a scratching sound may mean the read heads or bearings are beginning to seize up (this may lead to etching the disk surface and data loss so close down the notebook). In this case, a computer technician or data recovery service will be able to PC maintenance repair software and tools to complete a notebook data recovery for you.

If the notebook is mechanically sound and the disk read-write heads are working fine then you can try recovering data for yourself using freeware. Some popular tools include Recuva, Undelete Plus and Smart Recover, each of which are capable of recovering deleted files, data from a formatted notebook disk or corrupted data fragments.

All data recovery software runs the same way. Start up the application, pick a drive to scan and the program will scan the disk memory for file fragments it can piece together into documents.

Each tool analyzes data clusters/fragments differently so you may find each tool can return different results (i.e. found file lists). In addition, if the notebook was used after deleting files then it is possible for new files to get saved to the original data clusters on disk (causing your files to be lost for good).

Notebook data recovery should be possible in all but the most severe mechanical faults (e.g. fire damage). However, you are better off not having to endure the inconvenience or cost of such mechanical by keeping backups of all your data, therefore reducing the severity of any data loss.

Try and use natural light wherever possible in the room that you are making the call from. If this isn’t possible because of the time of day or you don’t have access to natural light then try to use as much artificial light as possible.

For a Logitech WebCam this problem has been somewhat reduced by the introduction of RightLight technology which boosts the available light available with software so even in a dim room images will appear with a lot more clarity on the other end of the call.

If you’re WebCam does not have a microphone built into it, try to use a microphone on the end of a boom so the mike is positioned only an inch from the corner of your mouth, this will ensure that any superfluous noise is cut down as much as possible during the duration of the call. Again Logitech software comes to the rescue in the form of RightSound which uses noise cancelling technology in their WebCams to cut down on this noise. Some of the WebCams actually have stereo microphones built into them such as the Logitech WebCam C910.

Other than that, try to sit at least 40 cm away from the camera when making the call, as this the minimum distance where most autofocusing or fixed focusing lenses can focus on reliably. Closer than this and the image may be a little blurred.

Logitech WebCams are the market leaders in video calling and this suite of software allows fun effects to be added to the caller image. It’s not all fun though and another more useful feature is face tracking which follows the callers face if he or she should move during the call.

So to sum up follow the advice above and you will get great quality with your video calls, and It’s definitely worth paying for a quality HD Logitech WebCam if you want crystal clear video calls.

Now if you always have the laptop on a table and seldom keep it on your lap then you may think you don’t need one. However there is also another important reason for using laptop cooling pads. Like all consumer electronic devices if you take proper care and precautions of the device like using this laptop accessory we are discussing here you can prolong its lifetime. This is because when laptops get too warm and you don’t have a laptop cooler to mitigate the heat it can damage or even burn the heat sensitive plastic and electronic components inside it. Symptoms of overheating can be small issues at first like scorch marks underneath the laptop and then problems like battery not charging etc. But in the worst cases it can damage the motherboard or render the laptop irrecoverably damaged. So a laptop cooler is good for the user as well as the laptop.

There are many models of laptop coolers which you can find discussed in PC magazines and in numerous laptop cooling pad reviews. What you should know is there are two types of them in the market. One type cools the laptop with the aid of fans and the other type uses heat absorbing materials to absorb the heat exuded from the laptop. Both are relatively inexpensive and readily available in any computer or tech shop.

Your starting point is to launch your PC and connect up the external hard drive. While the system is running you should be listening to the drive for sounds relating to clicking noises or grinding sounds. These are strong indicators that either the motor has become damaged or components are seizing up. Do not attempt to fix them yourself by opening up the external hard drive since this could cause data loss and further damage. Instead, get in touch with a PC technician to attempt the repairs.

Your next step is to open the Device Manager tool and check that all of the hardware your system are behaving. This tool is great for identifying if there are driver issues with specific components and even prompts you with different ways of updating the drivers. On some occasions, a PC freeze they can be due to external hard drive conflicts with other USB devices (and the program will give different suggestions that have to fix the specific issues).

It is important to check your USB cables for faults too. It may be that the pins on your connectors have been bent, twisted or pushed in. If you can use a second cable then this is worth doing. It is also worth trying out a different USB port just to make sure that this component has not been physically damaged.

Lastly, check for bad sectors on the hard drive memory read programs like HDD Regenerator can show you how to repair external hard drive sector damage if you simple steps and work best on disk management software faults (rather than actual physical damage to the platters).

It’s just a reality that power supplies go bad, but more often than not it may be a simple fix. Often times the pins that connect the power supply to the laptop become bent or loose and thus they don’t get a proper connection. Check that all plugs are securely in place and that they fit properly. Another obvious (but often time overlooked) problem is that the outlet you’re using simply doesn’t work. This sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised at how often people don’t consider this before trying to fix their laptop. This can be tested simply by plugging another electrical device into the outlet in question or simply using a different outlet which is proven to work.

If the problem persists or you find that you just can’t figure out what’s wrong with the unit, you may consider taking it to a professional to look at. Check with a local computer shop in your neighborhood or, if you purchased at some place like Best Buy, you may have coverage and get the Geek Squad to look at it for you.

There are many different types of power supplies. The laptop psu that you can use to replace your existing power supply can be purchased via the internet or the particular shop or vender where you purchased the laptop. In addition to the psu, buying a universal laptop AC adapter will also be beneficial. This idea should also be adopted when buying the battery. Having extra batteries and power cords in possession is a nice way of beating disappointments.

Many products you find online may be refurbished. Don’t be afraid to purchase refurbished products as they can save you a ton of money. Often times they’re simply left over psu’s after the laptop itself died and there’s nothing wrong with the unit.

Docking platforms like the Logitech S715i Rechargeable Speaker for iPod and iPhone are particularly popular among users of the Apple products (almost everyone). The advantages of an MP3 speaker dock is firstly, due to it’s larger size and power output, it can produce better quality audio than light-weight portable MP3 speakers, especially when the volume is turned up high, the bass response in particular. An MP3 docking station also usually provides additional features and often has a remote control device, allowing you to effectively convert your portable player into the equivalent of a permanent wireless sound system.

Alternatives to iPod speaker docks are the SanDisk Sansa speaker dock, which accommodates the popular SanDisk MP3 player. It is laid out in an ultra-wide configuration, has a USB cable for easy data transfer between your device and computer, is powered by AA batteries or AC adapter and accommodates 3100 and m200 SanDisk MP3 player devices. Another popular alternative MP3 player speaker dock is the Kicker ZK500 Zune speaker dock, which is a powerful and feature-rich docking station for the popular Zune player. The sound of the Zune kicker is incredibly crisp and clear and can accommodate higher volumes if needed and has a remote control system that allows you full control and comfort. The speaker dock has big bumper stickers, 5-inch woofers and 40-watt stereo amplifiers.

MP3 speakers dock system are advantageous when you are looking for a way of delivering music playback of premium quality with the convenience of remote-controlled playback. Due to the fact that most speaker docks have the ability to charge your player while it is in the docked position and provide a number of other nice functions such as facilitating the transfer of media from your computer to player, there are many good reasons to purchase one. When purchasing your docking station, there is nothing worse than having to return it to the store due to the fact that it is not compatible with your player, so take extra care when you are comparing models that it can accommodate the type of player that you use.

For more information on MP3 Speaker docks, electronics televisions and other gadgets and gizmos, visit our website.