In a bold move, Google (GOOG), deployed ninjas to unsuspecting iPhone users via their widely used and aptly named Google Mobile App. In an effort to confuse iPhone users, Google also included a longer version number with it’s latest application update. Sources close to my iPhone (namely me) indicate that the ninjas are completely undetectable. This is because, well, they are ninjas.
A couple months ago, I posted about how you could win a trip for four to check out SeaWorld’s new Manta ride. It seems they’re not done promoting it because now they’re giving people a chance to win a “Front-of-the-line” pass to Manta at SeaWorld Orlando to celebrate the May 22nd opening.
It looks awesome, and I’d love to check it out myself, so I entered already. All I had to do was visit http://www.ridemanta.com and check out the “Participate and Win” section. In that section, there’s 6 activities you can participate in. You don’t have to do them all, but here’s what participants get:
Upon completing two of the Manta site activities, you will earn ONE complimentary electronic photograph from your Manta ride experience at SeaWorld Orlando. If you complete all six of the activities on this site, you’ll go straight to the front of the line when you earn Manta “Front-of-the-line” pass* at SeaWorld Orlando.
As you can see, you get rewarded for just a couple. I joined in by first following @RealShamu on Twitter and sending out a tweet about the Manta ride. That was an easy one because I was going to anyway. I also created my “I Heart Manta” photo and uploaded it to my Flickr account. I’m about to dive in on the remaining activities. While I do, head over yourself and start participating. And when you ride the Manta, take photos and share them with me. I’d love to see all the fun everyone’s having.
One of the worst things that can happen to your laptop is ending up with a cracked screen. Be it as a result of dropping it, stepping on it, or other means, nobody likes to find out that the screen now makes better fractal art than it does a monitor. Luckily, it’s also one of the easier hardware fixes to do yourself. If you’re afraid of replacing your broken screen, don’t be. With a couple safety precautions, you can replace most modern laptop screens using steps like the ones below. If you have an eMachines M5414 or similar model, you can follow the exact steps below to replace your screen.
Ugly, isn’t it. Luckily, it’s not mine, but my brother-in-law knows how much I like to pull apart electronics, so I picked it up and ordered a new screen from ebay. Fixing something like this yourself is a lot cheaper than taking it to a professional for repair, but remember, I can’t guarantee you won’t ruin your laptop and you may void your warranty. That said, it really is an easy fix, so let’s get started.
What you’ll need
Before you begin, you’ll want to keep a couple things in mind and have a few things handy. For this project, it’s good to have a smaller screwdriver with a slotted end and a Phillips end. I have a pen-sized pocket screwdriver that worked nicely. Scotch tape (or generic) and scissors will also be helpful. Make sure you’re close to a power source and have a flat, static-free surface to work on. If you have a grounding strap, use it, and most importantly, remove the power plug and battery before you do anything. Finally, this whole process is a lot easier if you can purchase a new screen before you begin. Usually, you can just find the right screen by searching for your model number on ebay. Just be sure you buy the right one and get it from a reputable seller. Mine was about $100 from laptop_geniuses and was in my hands only a couple days after I paid.
Step 1: Remove the Bezel screw covers and screws
The way to the screen in most laptops is found by first removing the bezel, the plastic covering on the screen side of the laptop. You never want to force anything too much when removing or replacing parts, so be sure you find and remove all of the screws. In the first picture below, you can see an example of one of the screws with the rubber cover still on it and one with it removed. This laptop had six, but if you’re working on a different make or model, there may be more.
As you remove smaller parts like screws, make sure you keep them handy and know what’s what. I like to label a piece of paper and stick the screws to a piece of tape on the paper right below the label. This way, I know exactly where everything goes when I put it back together and I don’t have to worry about any rolling off because of the tape.
Step 2: Remove the bezel from the laptop body
Now that you’ve removed all the screws, you usually can’t just pull the bezel off. Usually, the two sides of the plastic will be snapped together. It will be pretty easy to pry apart, but you should be gentle with it and use the small slotted end of your screwdriver to carefully pry the two sides apart. Start from the top middle and work your way out and then down each side. To get a better angle on the bottom of the bezel, close the laptop most of the way and work on it from the back. When you’re done, you can mostly just pull away the bezel. At the bottom, near the middle, you may need to angle it a little to get the plastic out from around the hinge. On this machine, it was easier to get the left side of the hinge and then the right. When you’re done, it should look a little like the picture on the right, below.
Step 3: Remove the broken screen
Before you can install the new screen, you’ll need to remove the broken one, of course. With the bezel now out of the way, there’s just a little more work to be done before the screen can come out. On the front (on this machine, anyway), there’s a metal bar that protects the inverter board and cables. Just remove the two screws and set that aside. I set it down in the same direction I removed it just to make it easier to figure out later. Around the edges of the screen are a bunch of tiny screws. You’ll want to remove all of the ones that keep the screen from coming out of the casing.
With all the screw removed, the screen may just fall right out of the casing, but it will often have a little glue to keep it secured. Just pry the screen away and gently let it rest on the keyboard. You’ll notice a couple cables connecting the screen to the laptop. Gently unplug both and remove the broken screen.
Step 4: Install the new screen
Remove your new screen from any packaging it came in and plug the cables into it, being careful to not touch anything that has DO NOT TOUCH warnings on it. The video cable can sometimes come loose after time, so it doesn’t hurt to tape it down after it’s plugged in. Be aware of where your cables need to run. If you have a cable in the wrong place, you could pierce it when putting everything back together. As an example, in the right photo below, you can see the power cable wrapped around the screw post, but if it’s not tucked back a little farther than that, it will be in the way.
Get your inverter board and anything else that has been displaced back to where it is supposed to go. You may need to hold it in place while you screw things back together if it wont stay on its own. Then replace all the screws you removed from the old screen so they’ll now hold the new one firmly in place. While putting things back together, remember not to force things. If it feels wrong, it may be. Be patient and take your time to make sure it’s right. If your new screen comes with a protective cover taped to the front like mine did, you can untape it before installation, but I chose to install mine and then used the sharp edge of my scissors to cut the tape at the edge of the screen after it was all screwed in. This way, it’s still protected from my screwdriver while I work.
Step 5: Test
You don’t want to get the whole thing put back together only to find out that it doesn’t work. Get it back together enough to protect yourself from shock and then plug it in and turn it on. If you get no video at all or it doesn’t look right, shut it down, unplug, and re-check all your connections and cable placements. Hopefully, though, it’ll look something like below:
Step 6: Put it back together and clean up
As long as it’s all working properly, shut the laptop down and unplug it again. Then put the bezel back on, snapping it back together around the edges in the reverse of how you removed it. Put all the screws back in and replace the rubber covers.
When you’re all done, you should have a great-looking screen that reminds you of when you first brought it home. If you have extra pieces when you’re done (other than the broken screen), you did it wrong. If you used this guide and found it useful, I’d love to hear about it and if you have questions, just ask.
As much as I love my technology, my wife is pickier about hers. I just love trying new gadgets, but she wants to buy a gadget once and she wants it to work perfectly, or I’ll hear about it. She has an iPod Nano that I gave her for Christmas in 2005. It’s engraved and it has a special place in her heart, but now she has a new portable music player. SanDisk sent a new Sansa Fuze my way and I had it long enough to get some photos and some first impressions before she snatched it away from me, claiming it as a wifely benefit. Of course, she then asked politely if she could have it, but I knew how much she wanted it, so now it’s hers. Before I let her keep it, though, I took it back long enough to play around and regret giving it up.
The hardware
In my Sansa slotMusic Player review a few weeks ago, I noted that I was pleasantly surprised with the hardware. This time, I expected to like the hardware, and I did like it. The physical controls felt very familiar, having used an iPod Nano for so long, and the home button on the front is nice to have, too. Many of the phones I review have it and I think any product that lets you navigate more than a couple steps away from the home screen should have a home button. The right side just has a power/hold switch and the left has a slot to insert a microSD card for additional storage. The player I received came with 8GB internal storage, but they included an 8GB card to drive home the power of additional storage via microSD. Just in case you’re not sure what I mean, my wife’s whole music collection fits on the nearly 16GB usable storage space. Better still, we can buy a new 16GB or 32GB card in the future as the need surfaces. While they offer 2GB and 4GB models of the Fuze at lower prices, it just makes sense to buy the 8GB as more and more of our media is stored and carried digitally.
The bottom of the Fuze has the docking/charging connection and a standard headphones jack. A charging/syncing cable and a pair of decent headphones were included, along with a soft carrying pouch. The color screen is 1.9″ which isn’t very big for playing videos, but it’s pretty decent for everything else. The bonus feature I got excited about was the FM tuner. So many players pack in features for digital music and forget the FM tuner. This wasn’t a big deal until I showed up at my local gym and couldn’t watch the news while I worked out because I didn’t own a portable FM radio with headphones. Seeing this function on the Fuze was refreshing. The Fuze is available in blue, red, pink, black or silver, but I only got one of them, so you’ll have to hit the site to see it in the other colors. The battery is said to give you about 24 hours of music or 5 of video, though I haven’t fully tested the battery life yet. Finally, the Fuze has a microphone for the built-in voice recorder software.
Using the Fuze
The first thing I tried to do was copy movies, pictures and music to the Fuze to jump in and start playing with it. Much of it didn’t work, complaining that I needed to use the provided Rhapsody software to transfer content to the device. This was a disappointment to me because I like to be free from the ties of additional software. If you don’t mind installing more software, the Rhapsody software can help you manage everything, but it would be nice to have the option. The package included $50 worth of music from Rhapsody, but that’s only if you sign up with a credit card. I was generally disappointed with the Fuze’s ability to easily bring in my existing music. As I said, though, this was mostly because I have to be tied to software I don’t think I need. That has always been by big complaint about the iPods and the same holds true here, it seems.
The software on the player, itself, is a pleasantly different story. Navigating to and through the various menus and options was as simple as a flick of my thumb on the navigation wheel. The user interface doesn’t offer anything too crazy or overcomplicated. It’s just simple and gets you where you’re looking to go. Selecting media is a familiar experience in that I was able to drill down by artist, album, etc. The FM tuner has another nice surprise, too. I can record radio with it! The critical missing feature, in my opinion, from radio is the ability to pause and rewind like I can on my TV system. The ability to record radio and play it back on my music player is a nice feature and a step closer to perfect.
Can it kill the Nano?
Apple has a good grip on the industry, but wherever there is an industry leader, there’s an invitation to try and unseat them. I’ve seen a lot of companies try and some have made good products, but many just didn’t bring anything new to the table. The Sansa Fuze offers three things many players don’t. It offers voice recording, expandable storage via the increasingly popular microSD format, and FM radio with 40 presets. It’s nice to see a player on the market that could make the Nano sweat a little for under $100.
