That being said, there is a lot of controversy and confusion out there on whether or not buying Applecare from a 3rd party vendor is “such a great idea.”  I’ve taken the time to read most of the forum posts (Macrumors and etc) and I’ve glanced around Amazon and Ebay at the different offerings.  (If you don’t feel like reading the whole article I’ll go ahead and tell you I settled on purchasing from www.smalldog.com..saving around $55.00).  Through my research, I’ve come to the following conclusions.  I hope they help simplify your search for the extended protection of your precious Apple products.

Keep in mind, the best thing you can do when purchasing Applecare is ask the seller if they will be sending a sealed box.  That box contains a serial number that corresponds with your “Applecare registration number.”  If Apple ever asks for proof of purchase, you’ll need that serial number!  Also, even if you do purchase a sealed box, check the sellers reputation!  Also inspect the box on receipt for any signs of tampering or “resealing.”  Lastly, try to shoot for sellers that are actually “Authorized Apple Resellers.”

Ebay Applecare
There is definitely a lot of speculation on the internet about purchasing Applecare from Ebay.  From what I’ve gathered, if for any reason you were to need to use your Applecare for repairs, Apple reserves the write to “spot check” your warranty and ask for proof of purchase (serial from original Applecare box).  Some users “swear” by their deeply discounted Ebay purchase (for instance $200.00 off Applecare for 15″ Macbook Pro).  However, a discounted APP (Applecare Protection Plan) from Ebay sellers usually only consists of the seller emailing you the registration code, which seems to be more than a bit “shady” to most Apple users.  I’ve taken the time to contact some of the more supposedly “legit” Ebay sellers, and asked if they would include the box with the corresponding serial number if I paid more for shipping.  One particular seller had a lot of positive feedback, but had 6 or 7 negative marks, stating that he refused to give the serial number to the buyer. Here’s the exchange we had via Ebay messaging:

Me:
Hello,
Your description states that you also have boxed warranties. What is the cost of a boxed set? Given your negative feedbacks concerning not providing the necessary invoices with the proper serial number for proof of purchase, I would feel more comfortable purchasing a sealed box.

Seller:
Wow, 1 or 2 feedbacks out of 14000 and you think you need
to worry, but if you want that, I have them for $260, let me
know

Me:
I saw around 7 negative feedback on your profile in the past 12 months, and they all concerned your refusal to provide the serial number and invoice.  If you can assure me you can provide those two things, I’ll be happy to purchase your digital only auction as is.

After that reply, I received no further correspondence from this seller.  Keep in mind, this is coming from a “legit” Ebay seller with over 10,000 sales and 99.9% positive feedback.

Amazon Applecare
Amazon appears to be a more legitimate source for Applecare.  However, it’s important to remember that 3rd party sellers operate on Amazon as well, selling products through the Amazon store.  Their products will show up in the Amazon search results as well.  I have heard rumors of Applecare purchased from Amazon going sour as well, so again, check the legitimacy of the seller.  I will say, the pricing looks a bit more realistic on Amazon, and if I were to pick between Amazon and Ebay, I’d go with Amazon.

So how does one “get shafted” when buying Applecare anyway?
Sellers have a few methods when it comes to ripping off discount warranty seekers.  The first one is pretty simple: they use a keygen (a computer program that generates registration keys) to generate the numbers for the Applecare Registration.  This is still under some speculation, but is a highly likely explanation for those who have mysteriously had their Applecare revoked without warning.  Another method?  The seller sends you a valid Applecare number via email, you register your computer, and all is well with the world.  Then a few weeks, or months later, the seller requests a refund from Apple for YOUR warranty, and gets it.  Once again, leaving you without your warranty, and of course, your money.  Again, these methods can mostly be avoided, simply by purchasing from a reputable seller, preferably an authorized Apple reseller.

At the end of my search, I remembered an Apple reseller that a friend referred me to a while back called Small Dog, I ended up purchasing my Applecare from them, and couldn’t be happier.

Hopefully this information is helpful to you all, but what’s your take?  Have you been shafted by shady Applecare dealers?

-TheTechGuy

-TheTechGuy

Facebook Clickjacking

To gain 2-finger scrolling, and a lot of other awesome multi-touch, and gesture features to your laptop, you’ll need a program called Scrybe. Scrybe is a free software, but you’ll need a laptop with a Synaptics touch pad to use it. This typically isn’t an issue, as most laptops will have a Synaptics touch pad installed.

Before we begin, there are a few things you need to know:

Hardware requirements
•Scrybe does not require additional hardware, because most modern Synaptics TouchPadTM and ClickPadTM sensors have built-in support for Scrybe.

Supported operating systems
• Windows 7® (32 bit, 64 bit, and other) • Windows XP® • Windows Vista®

Now, head on over to the Scrybe Website and download the software. Installation is simple, and most features will be available upon installation. After the install, you’ll have a new icon in your taskbar, this is the application icon for Scrybe, and will allow you to practice the new features of your laptop! If you want to configure some of the advanced options, simply visit your computer’s control panel, click on the mouse/touchpad settings, and enjoy all of the new options you have available! Here are some of the incredible things you can do with Scrybe on your computer:

-Tap 3 fingers on your touchpad and draw a letter to launch websites and applications
-Place 2 fingers on your touchpad and move your fingers up and down to scroll in websites. Can also be used to zoom.
-Place your thumb and forefinger on your touch pad and rotate it to rotate pictures
-Add custom gestures to perform custom actions

Enjoy!
-TheTechGuy

You’ve seen it before, links that say “find out who views your Facebook profile” and “find out who your Facebook stalker is.” The reality is, these are all scams. None of these apps actually work and do what they say they will do. You see, these “apps” are created by third party developers, not Facebook, as are a lot of the applications on Facebook (over 800,000 developers currently producing application for Facebook use). These “stalker” apps, at BEST, count how many wall posts and other trackable interactions you’ve had with any particular friend, but do not, and CAN NOT track how many times any particular friend has viewed your profile or your pictures. One of these particular apps even has this in it’s description:

“This application ranks your friends based on how often they interact with your Facebook wall. Interactions counted include wall posts, comments, likes, gifts and other public items posted to your wall. We do NOT count page views or private messages.”

Basically stating, “hey, we’ll show you through our application things that you already know, and call it a profile viewers app.”

Facebook will most likely NEVER allow any “app makers” access to the information that would be needed to show you who views your profil. There is a lot of complicated back-end involved in seeing who accesses your page, and even more on determining who accesses it the most.  There are a thousand other reasons I could tell you for why there will never be a real app that reveals who looks at your profile, but just take my word for it.  Even Mark Zuckerberg (the creator of Facebook) himself has said it loud in clear…”Recent activity will never be shown about whose profile you view.”

The app going around right now just randomly pics people from your friend lists and puts it together in a single image, then spams all of your friends, and annoys the crap out of you for all eternity.  Eventually when enough people are tricked into installing it, the developers will change the app to a form of advertisement that will generate income.  So it will make money for it’s developers, and spam you.  All the while giving the impression that people who actually never view your profile may be “Facebook Stalking” you.  Doesn’t sound like a very fair trade does it?

I know this post was filled with a bunch of random information, but I hope it helps shed some light on this issue before it’s too late!  As always, hit up the comments section with your thoughts!

-The Tech Guy

-Updated the bios
-Updated all drivers (not necessary but worth a shot)
-Uninstalled/Reinstalled Microsoft ACPI Compliant
-NOTE: this is on a fresh install from a Dell factory image

And then a little hardware troubleshooting…

-Tried a working Power Adapter and Battery from another 1525 (no dice!)
-Cleaned the contact port for the power adapter
-Cleaned the contacts for the battery
-Reseated the memory
-Allowed the battery to discharge completely to 0% (I did this by removing the power adapter and booting the computer into the bios. The bios will not hibernate the computer like Windows will, so leaving it in the bios will drain the battery to the point that it will not power on your laptop)
-Tightened the screws that hold the DC Power Circuit board to the chassis
-Unplugged the adapter, removed the battery, and held down the power button for 15 seconds

After all of this, I still encountered the same error.  It’s also important to know that the system bios will report the power adapter as an “unknown adapter.”  My conclusion for this issue is that the Dell 1525 has either 1. A faulty DC Power Board (a circuit board in the computer that has the DC Power Jack attached to it along with the 2 USB ports next to it) or 2. A faulty motherboard.

Could I replace one or both of those parts? Certainly!  However, should my customer have to sink $300 + in the repair of a computer they purchased for around $500 new?  Not in my opinion.  So I set off on a research tangent…what did I find you might ask?

Sorry, You'll have to keep me plugged in from now on!

1.  My customers are not alone in this issue.  There are THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of 1525 owners with this identical issue

2. There are thousands of sites and message board posts dedicated to this issue, one stating that there are over 40,000 logged complaints about the issue. Some people state that “blowing in the battery” helped, but I assure you…this solution is most likely just coincidental Here are a few of the sites I visited…

-How to Mend It

-Google Search Results for topics on this problem that are posted in Dell Forums

I could post a tremendous list of sites but we’ll pass on that idea for now.  The fact is there are thousands of known complaints about this issue.  So, being the junior detective that I am…I called Dell.  After I spoke with one ridiculously rude foreign fellow (he had teenage girl style argument with me before transferring me in the middle of our conversation) I was sent to Tech support.  However, this particular laptop is out of warranty and I was already aware of Dell’s “No Warranty? You’re S.O.L.” policy.  I spoke with the technician and his supervisor, both of whom stated that “Dell has no official statements on this issue.”  They did, however, offer to sell me the parts at a ridiculous price, so I could keep my customers happy.  At the end of the conversation, all I got was “no warranty no help.”

So basically my customer is forced to pay the fee, use their laptop on the power adapter for all eternity.

Here’s the reason I took the time to write this article.  Dell knows about this problem, with all of the complaints there is NO WAY they don’t know.  However if there is no “big public stink” made, they will never rectify the issue and compensate the customers who, in my humble opinion, have every right to feel nothing but ripped off.  So here’s my proposition to you loyal 1525 owners: Post a comment in this blog post stating your model number, when you purchased, the fact that your having the “plugged in not charging” issue, and anything else you want to rant about concerning this issue.  In exchange, for every 100 comments this blog post receives I will send an email and put in a call to Dell Customer Care referring them to this post.  I will also post links on Ripoff Reports and the Consumerist.  My goal is to help all of you 1525 owners (my wife has this laptop, although she doesn’t have this problem) find satisfaction.  Whether that be through free replacement parts or repairs from Dell, or..dreaming a little dream here, replacement laptops from Dell.  Do not remain silent!  Let’s tell the big wigs at Dell that we will not be pushed around!

A few requests when posting a comment…

Please don’t post any proposed solutions, as I’ve already exhausted them all.  The idea is that we be straight to the point and that these comments all remain relevant.

With all the great “work related” things you can do on your Mac, every once in a while its nice to kick back and enjoy some “fun time.” That said, here are the Tech Guy’s top 5 fun, free, and addictive games for Apple Computers…

1. Armagetron Advanced
It’s Tron in 3D! As simple as this game is, I personally can’t stop playing it. I guess the classics never die..

2. SuperTux
This is a direct knock-off of Super Mario Brothers. None-the-less, it’s a super fun side scroller!

3. Sauerbraten
This is a great FREE first person shooter for Mac. Single and multiplayer available. Online play as well!

4. Nexuiz
Another great first person shooter. 1.5 million downloads since 2005!

5. Tux Racer
Race the penguin down the hill! Sounds like fun right?

The software you need to check out is Expod (Download Via Mac Update).

Download and install the software. After that it’s pretty simple! Just plug in your iPod. Then, if iTunes opens, close iTunes. After that, open Expod and it should detect your iPod! Once that happens…it’s just as simple as choosing the songs you want to Extract (command + A in the list to select everything) and then click the Extract button! That’s it! It will take a few minutes…depending on how much music you’re extracting. As a precaution…if you plan on wiping your iPod and starting clean, I would take a listen to a few of the tracks, and compare what it ripped from your iPod to what’s on your iPod. That way you can know for sure that everything went swell.

Hope this is helpful to some of you. As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe!

1. Mozilla Firefox
This one needs no introduction. Don’t get me wrong, I think Safari is a superb browser, but Firefox already had my heart when I switched to Mac. The extensibility of Firefox can not be matched!

2. Handbrake
Let’s not beat around the bush on this one…you want to rip DVDs, you want to convert video files to play on your iPod, why not install a great program that does it all? I’ve mentioned Handbrake before in my post about converting video for iPod using your Mac and I stand by my word.

3. Perian
Want to play more video file types on your Mac? Perian is the answer! Perian allows any Mac OS program that accesses Quicktime for video playback to now play an additional number of video formats!

4. Cyberduck
Cyberduck is a killer FTP client. I love this program, and use it almost daily. Drag and drop files right from your Mac into the Cyberduck window and they’re on their way to Cyber space! Doesn’t get much easier.

5. Transmission
If you download torrent files, you’ll love this simple, straightforward torrent client.

6. Dropbox
Sync computers, share files across platforms, and keep a handful of your favorite files accessible anywhere internet is available. Dropbox comes with 2GB of online storage! This program is great when collaborating on projects, or just keeping your personal files accessible!

7. Adium
Usually Instant Messaging software is at the top of anyone’s list when they get a new computer. Adium is fantastic for all of your IM needs! MSN, AOL, Yahoo, ICQ…you name it, Adium does it! Did I mention Adium also does Facebook chat?

8. OnyX
OnyX is a great system utility tool. It allows you to verify the Startup Disk and the structure of its System files, to run miscellaneous tasks of system maintenance, to configure the hidden parameters of the Finder, Dock and of some of Apple’s own applications, to delete caches, to remove a certain number of files and folders that may become cumbersome and more. I’ve used OnyX since I upgraded to Leopard (and now Snow Leopard) a year and a half ago. No problems to date!

9. Growl
Growl is a system notification software. It allows notifications from your system and software to display on the screen (in a really slick fashion I might add), be sent to you in an email, or even be spoken through the speakers!

10. Quicksilver
The king of productivity add-ons. Quicksilver keeps your hands on the keyboard, allowing you to launch files and applications with just a few key strokes. There’s a lot more to Quicksilver than I have time to mention here, but you’ll just have to trust me on this one and install it to see for yourself. No Mac Top softwares list would be complete without this software!

11. Open Office
If you aren’t in to dishing out $200 for Microsoft Office, why not try something that looks, smells, and acts exactly the same as Microsoft Office? Open Office is free and contains a word processor, spreadsheet, and a presentation software.

12. VLC Player
VLC player, I’ve found, can play just about any video file you throw at it! A must have for the digital video enthusiast.

Well, there we have it. The official Tech Guy Blog top 12 free Mac Programs. If you have a new Mac computer, or are thinking about reinstalling your OS and starting from scratch, this list should definitely get you started with the bare essentials of enjoyable computing!

Have a great 2010!

-The Tech Guy

First of, it’s important to know that this is still BETA software, meaning it’s not completely stable, and it may have a few glitches. The Opera website does state that the browser has not been officially confirmed for my phone yet, and you may receive the same warning..long story short…try this beta at your own risk!

Now to the good stuff. First and foremost, Opera Mini has tabbed browsing! It’s easy to use, and with 2-3 tabs open I had no noticeable drop in performance.

The browser overall is a bit slow scrolling around different pages, but I’m not convinced that it’s really an issue with the software as much as it is an issue with the phone I’m using. I feel like the browser may be a little snappier on a faster phone like the Blackberry Tour or even the Blackberry Bold.

There is a very polished password manager, and you can access all of the bookmarks saved on your desktop computer via “Opera Link.”

There’s also a feature that looks very similar to Top Sites that Opera calls Speed Dial…it’s essentially a place to put your most often visited sites.

Last but not least Opera has a very intuitive download manager that even allows you to pause and resume downloads! There are many other great features of this mobile browser, but I’ll let you discover those yourself! Download Opera Mini 5 Beta 2 at the following link…

http://www.opera.com/mini/download/

Let me know your thoughts in the comments, overall I think this browser shows great promise!