Category: GeneralThe time has come folks where we can now support you remotely weekday nights and weekends. I am excited about having on enough support technicians to offer extended hours! Keep in mind, onsite support or drop off to our locations is NOT available after hours.
Our availability to start remote service calls
Benefits of having remote technicians available…
We now have a technician with back up staff to work nights and weekends. Finally, no more rushing home to get on your computer going by 5:00!
And just buy new? To figure it out, that is the question today folks!
We try to find out the age of the computer and how many problems you have had in the past before telling you to repair your computer or just replace it. These factors are very important when considering either option.
Let’s start with reasons you may have to make this replace or repair decision:
Virus-probably worth removing, prices are usually affordable (for sure if you call us!)
Motherboard is capped (starting to show signs of aging) or not functioning, Replace
Power– probably worth replacing the power supply (should be affordable)
Screen goes out (laptop), that will cost you around $225. Should probably replace laptop if over 5 years old
Screen goes out for desktop, replace the old monitor and buy a new one, if you plan on always using desktop computers
Laptop touch pad goes out for mouse–try plugging in a regular mouse and see if that works, affordable replacement!
Just starts going wonky!–probably the software or operating system, needs a reload, very affordable on an older unit and can be done for under $150
Your computer just shuts off randomly or gets really hot, Replace probably. Those are internal issues and it’s rare we can repair hot. Hot is usually a sign of deeper issues inside laptops.
5-7 years, if the value of the repair is under $150 and you have not had many issues, then we recommend repairing. If over $150, start thinking about how much you paid for the computer and how relatively inexpensive a new one may be. Computers are getting cheaper everyday.
No matter what, it’s always up to you, the customer to decide on a repair and it’s value to your pocketbook. Whether you come to our shop for a diagnosis or another shop, it’s sometimes best to have a second evaluation done, especially if the repair will be costly. We are known to be very affordable and our diagnostic is $25 or free if we can tell you right away what is going on (without having to spend time on it).
Did you also know that we are about half the cost of the big box guys? Yep, compare prices today and you will see the difference of pricing.
Your computer is probably your best friend at this point. It knows more about you than anyone else. It knows your thoughts, your dreams, your goals, your sadness, your banking information, your sneaky Google searches, your tax information, your business, your kids homework, your precious pictures, your private picture collection, your musical likes and dislikes, usually all of your passwords…. your internet usage….is YOU.
The point of this blog today is to alert everyone of computer safety basics
1.) Please, please please…back up your stuff! (that best friend of yours can lose your data or make it expensive to get back). After backing up, be sure to take your external hard drive away from your computer, put in a safe or at least in a secret place. Leaving it next to your computer is not recommended. Theft or fire, both will be gone!
2.) Create a log in password for your account if you have not. (make it harder for thieves to get into your account if they steal your computer)
3.) Create your children accounts on the computer that does not allow them administrative rights. (Too many parents allow their children full admin controls and they are getting more curious these days!)
4.) Use parental controls if you have young children (this will stop them dead in their tracks when they are searching on the internet)
5.) Get a battery powered surge protector for in case of storms. (After each storm, I can’t tell you how many people lose their power on the computers, modems, etc). If you have everything plugged into these devices, it should give you up to 20 minutes of computer power (*and internet!). The last power outage I had, I kept on playing on the internet in the dark.
Just a few thoughts from me and issues we see with our clientss. Have a great week folks!
If you would like to book an appointment with us, feel free to call 612-865-4475 or fill out the form below.
Weird week at Call That Girl. Things are happening and shaking around so fast it’s hard to keep up. First off, we are in the process of working on two large contracts that are close to being “Won”. Funny how slow things can be in the business world. I am very used to fast, now FIX IT NOW! But to get a deal done and closed….months and months. Meetings after meetings. I guess if I’m going to be the game, I have to know the rules huh? Seems I am new to this part of the business world, but it’s a world I am very excited to be in. This is what I always wanted and it’s finally coming to me.
Updates:
Winona Store Opening: We are in the final steps of renovating a storefront in Winona, MN. Right now the walls are getting primed and the floors should be laid next week. Next comes the decorating and putting the store together. Our little store is right smack dab in the middle of downtown and it’s on the 2 busiest corners of Main and 3rd Street. We are very excited to get this store open and start servicing the computers in Bluff Country! We plan on opening July 1, 2011 and will have a grand opening party sometime after that.
New Ventures: As much as love working for our residential clients, Call That Girl is now expanding our business services division. We have enough staff to manage the day to day calls and a team to support light server work (break/fix). Just to let everyone know this, loud and clear…we will never be a managed IT company. But what can I say when a client has a minor issue with a server and is not in a contract with another company? Of course we can help! Call That Girl loves helping if we can. And we can *usually*.
Comedy Night Out: Had a fun adventure out last week at the Joke Joint (http://www.jokejointcomedyclub.com). LinkedMinnesota hosted an event there and everyone received a free ticket to the show. If you have not been to a comedy act lately, I recommend it. I had a great time and now of course, I am watching a lot more Comedy Central. It’s been a nice relief of my day to day to laugh. I also have it on my plate to go to more live shows, I really did have a lot of fun!
Definition of “virus” an unauthorized program that inserts itself into a computer system and then propagates itself to other computers via networks or disks; when activated it interferes with the operation of the computer.
Call That Girl had a milestone day last Saturday morning; we removed our first infected Mac computer. It’s not really historic, but it kind of is. We just don’t see viruses/malware/scareware get through on Macintosh computers. But it’s happening and here is what happened.
Client receieved an email from a friend that an attachment. She opened it thinking that she would be safe because it was from a friend and she’s on a Mac. Why not open it? It turns out that the attachment installed a small virus in her computer that caused constant pop ups telling the client to purchase extra antivirus software and redirected her internet sites to porn sites (since it didn’t destroy software in the computer, it may be defined as “scareware”). As long as something is intruding on your computer and causing your computer to not function correctly, it is definately an infection if anything.
Luckily this removal and a double spot check with one of our Mac cleaning programs took about a half hour. Will this be the case moving ahead? Will Mac viruses get worse? Probably. It is in my opinion something to watch for sure and track the trends.
What can you do? Most AV products have Mac versions available, but if they are anything like the pc version, they might not work very well. We simply do too many virus removals a week to know they don’t work. But outside of purchased protection, I think it’s important to learn added safety precautions. But just like we see on the pc side of infections, sometimes you are doing nothing intentional and you get infected.
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