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On Tue, 2 Dec 2008 16:12:11 +0200, "Gail" <gail (at) sql in the wild (dot) co
[dot] za> wrote:
>Signal's a bit low in the bedroon (thick, very solid walls)
Not a bad thing in itself ;)
A strong firedoor is recomended too.
--
Regards
Stephen
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> Heh. *My* laptop came from PC World, so it had a 6 month warranty instead
> of the usual 12 months.
Regardless of the warranty advertised, if a battery fails within an
"unreasonably" short time, you can request a refund or replacement free of
charge. If it failed within 8 months, I think most people (including a
judge) would think that unreasonable.
> Also, if you want support, you *must* get it through PC World. (If it had
> been bought anywhere else, we would have got it direct from the
> manufacturers.)
It's the place you bought it from that is legally responsible to
fix/replace/refund anything broken, not the manufacturer.
> Also, it apparently took my mum many, many months to find a replacement
> battery. Apparently she had to buy an exorbitant sum to have one shipped
> over from Korea specially. (Or at least, this is what she told me...)
Oh, our IT guy just phoned up Dell and they were here the next day, I think
they were something like 50 pounds each.
> All different versions of Acer TravelMate. None of them are young any
> more. (Maybe 2, 3 years old?) A few of them will run on battery power for,
> like, 20 minutes. But none are very reliable. Apparently they were when
> new.
I would say that after 3 years hard use, 20 minutes battery life is not that
surprising. Batteries don't last forever, which is why replacements are
readily available from the usual manufacturers.
> My dad bought a Belkin WiFi router which comes with a free Belkin WiFi
> adaptor for your PC. In other words, the entire rig is same-brand - and a
> pricey brand at that! But no, he had endless problems with it.
Belkin, pricey? :-O
> But even so, if you move too far away from the router... no signal.
Oh yeh you wally, you should have told him to get the router with infinite
output power :-D
> BTW, is WiFi faster or slower than Bluetooth? Every time I have to use
> that thing, I'm struck by how utterly low it is. (10 minutes to transfer a
> few KB??)
Bluetooth is way slower, I don't think it's meant for data-heavy
applications, but 10 minutes for a few KB is too slow for BT. I can usually
send an MP3 (about 3MB) to my phone in 10 seconds or so.
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"Stephen" <mcavoysAT@aolDOTcom> wrote in message
news:5niaj4p1phtgnacpkb7honq0832ldbhbiq@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 2 Dec 2008 16:12:11 +0200, "Gail" <gail (at) sql in the wild (dot)
> co
> [dot] za> wrote:
>
>>Signal's a bit low in the bedroon (thick, very solid walls)
>
> Not a bad thing in itself ;)
The entire building has very thick, very solid walls. It's a 30 year old
block of flats, from when buildings were built properly.
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> You might be able to put some new life into your old laptop batteries by
> discharging them completely then charging then again a couple of times but
> if
> your laptop shuts off immediately on switching the power off then I fear
> that
> they are goosed.
Don't you need to maintain a minimum level of battery power in a Li-Ion in
order to stop it completely killing itself? I believe if you drain one
completely then you might as well just chuck it in the bin. Maybe this
happened somehow due to a bad battery control circuit in the laptop?
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"Invisible" <voi### [at] dev null> wrote in message
news:493544bf@news.povray.org...
>
> Actually, he bought a cheap "there isn't even a brand on the box" WiFi
> adaptor from Maplin, and it worked much better than the supplied Belkin
> one. But even so, if you move too far away from the router... no signal.
> (Or rather, intermittent signal. Some days it's fine. Some days it won't
> work for toffee.)
>
I'd replace the router, quite honestly.
See if you can buy/borrow a wi-fi detector and see how well the thing's
transmitting.
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>> Not a bad thing in itself ;)
>
> The entire building has very thick, very solid walls. It's a 30 year old
> block of flats, from when buildings were built properly.
Not like the building I'm sitting in right now, where the walls are
cardboard and every now and then a door handle falls off... :-P
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Stephen wrote:
> On Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:22:56 +0000, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
>
>> All different versions of Acer TravelMate. None of them are young any
>> more. (Maybe 2, 3 years old?) A few of them will run on battery power
>> for, like, 20 minutes. But none are very reliable. Apparently they were
>> when new.
>
> Rechargeable batteries are funny things before Li-ion batteries, the best thing
> you could do for them was is to "work" them. That is charge and completely
> discharge them regularly. With Li-ion batteries that does not work and in fact
> it is counter productive. Li-ion batteries can be kept on charge all the time, I
> believe.
> You might be able to put some new life into your old laptop batteries by
> discharging them completely then charging then again a couple of times but if
> your laptop shuts off immediately on switching the power off then I fear that
> they are goosed.
IIRC, Li-ion batteries do have a problem with building up a *resistance*
barrier inside. While researching batteries several years ago I ran
across some information, but I don't remember too much now.
If you follow a particular discharge pattern they will build up an
actual 'film' internally on an electrode. This would increase the
internal resistance of the battery. A lot of electronics detect this as
a dead battery and shut off accordingly. The problem is that the
battery still does have a good charge, just a higher internal
resistance. If you hook it up so that a current continues to be drawn
then the 'film' is burned off and the internal resistance decreases to
normal.
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On Tue, 2 Dec 2008 17:13:11 +0200, "Gail" <gail (at) sql in the wild (dot) co
[dot] za> wrote:
>
>"Stephen" <mcavoysAT@aolDOTcom> wrote in message
>news:5niaj4p1phtgnacpkb7honq0832ldbhbiq@4ax.com...
>> On Tue, 2 Dec 2008 16:12:11 +0200, "Gail" <gail (at) sql in the wild (dot)
>> co
>> [dot] za> wrote:
>>
>>>Signal's a bit low in the bedroon (thick, very solid walls)
>>
>> Not a bad thing in itself ;)
>
>The entire building has very thick, very solid walls. It's a 30 year old
>block of flats, from when buildings were built properly.
>
Jammy! (That means lucky BTW :)
In the UK you have to go back to the 1930's to get solid buildings. After the
war, {which one? I hear people say. (WWII)}, most of our buildings were put up
quickly and cheaply. I'm sure that, if I had a mind to, I could punch through
our internal walls.
I guess that your place is cool in the summer.
--
Regards
Stephen
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On Tue, 2 Dec 2008 16:05:37 +0100, "scott" <sco### [at] scottcom> wrote:
>> You might be able to put some new life into your old laptop batteries by
>> discharging them completely then charging then again a couple of times but
>> if
>> your laptop shuts off immediately on switching the power off then I fear
>> that
>> they are goosed.
>
>Don't you need to maintain a minimum level of battery power in a Li-Ion in
>order to stop it completely killing itself? I believe if you drain one
>completely then you might as well just chuck it in the bin. Maybe this
>happened somehow due to a bad battery control circuit in the laptop?
>
I really don't know. It has been a very long time since I worked in the real
world. Most of my experience has been with lead acid and Ni-cads. I have ruined
a few older laptop batteries by leaving them on charge but you can overcome that
a bit by flattening them a couple of times.
--
Regards
Stephen
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On Tue, 2 Dec 2008 16:05:37 +0100, "scott" <sco### [at] scottcom> wrote:
> I believe if you drain one
>completely then you might as well just chuck it in the bin. Maybe this
>happened somehow due to a bad battery control circuit in the laptop?
>
Reading Tom's post reminded me that with Li ion's there is circuitry in the
devices to stop you discharging the battery completely. And Li ion's do not have
a problem with the memory effect.
--
Regards
Stephen
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