Most of us guys are useless at Christmas shopping. Here's a few tips I've picked up over the years.
Ladies, you might want to share this with the men in your family to avoid getting an undesirable and badly wrapped present this Christmas.
Buying your Christmas presents at a petrol station or dairy on Christmas morning really isn't the done thing - apparently not everyone wants a funnel, box of biscuits or a car care kit. Don't do it.
Get started early, no not on Christmas Eve, yesterday was already too late.
First thing in the morning is the best time to Christmas shop, and I mean first thing, teenagers are still in bed.
It's not the thought that counts, it's how MUCH thought that counts.
Cash is a GREAT present for teenagers - and me.
If you must give gift vouchers make sure they are from a shop the recipient actually shops in and try and avoid those with an expiry date.
Wrapping and cards are important, you and I know it's just paper but for some reason they are important.
Before you start browsing in a shop check that it does gift wrapping and accept the service - wait if necessary. If the shop doesn't do gift wrapping move on to the next. Unless you are an expert present wrapper - Yeah Right!
Even if every present you buy is gift wrapped, buy plenty of wrapping paper and sellotape. You are going to need it because dairy's and petrol stations don't gift wrap and being a bloke you'll probably ignore number 1.
Guys ignore the above at your peril and have a wonderful Christmas.
The innards of computers generate quite a bit of heat, and the harder they are working the more heat is generated. And the hotter they get the harder they have to work.
Heat and moisture are the arch enemies of computers, they hate moisture and really, really don't like being too hot. The little electrical pathways are so small that the physical expansion caused by excess heat can really muck them up. That heat has to be dissipated otherwise eventually, bits start to melt and then catch fire. I've never had one catch fire but I have burnt myself on the bottom of a laptop.
In modern computers the processor will "scale back" if it gets too hot in an effort to help cool things down. So the computer will slow down and when that happens things wont happen as quickly as they should.
If the fan in your computer is whirring away constantly even when you're not doing anything it may be a sign its getting too hot. Even if its not I rarely find a computer that doesn't have at least some dust clogging its airways.
Turn your PC off before you do this, and unplug it from the power.
On a desktop computer you will usually find two or three places on the back (sometimes sides) of the box with holes or vents designed for air to get in or out. On a laptop they could be on the sides, the back, the bottom, or all of the above. Often you'll find them blocked with dust, you need to get rid of it. A brush can do the job, a vacuum cleaner is better. Of course its better if the dust doesn't go inside but inside is better than blocking the vents.
If you are feeling adventurous you can clean inside the case as well. Look at your manual or look online for instructions on how to get inside. Often its a matter of removing a couple of screw and sliding the side off but sometimes its a bit more complicated. BEWARE if your PC is still under warranty there will probably be a sticker telling you you'll invalidate the warranty of you open it up, don't. If it's still under waranty it's probably still OK inside.
If you use a laptop make sure that the vents aren't blocked when you're using it. Ironically the worst place for most laptops is just that, on your lap. Your lap blocks the vents in the bottom. You can buy trays designed for the job, I put mine on a dinner tray.
Don't be ashamed of your cleaning abilties or get cross with your better half for not vaccuming enough,. Computers literally suck air in and push it out again and the dust in the air just gets stuck in there. There are also static electrical charges that help attract dust.
I've recently revived an old laptop of mine that would simply stop after a few minutes use, it was just getting too hot. I had to take it to bits to clean out the air flow channels which involved undoing a zillion tiny wee screws and took me a whole day but now it runs fine. There was a wad of dust completely blocking the air flow, it looked like a centimetre thick felt pad, it took me a few seconds to realise that it shouldn't be there!
For me it was worth the effort as the laptop was useless as it was and I wasn't going to spend any money on it, but I don't recommend taking a laptop to pieces unless you are prepared to scrap it. And if you are paying someone else to look at it make sure you get a quote first.
Most of us guys are useless at Christmas shopping. Here's a few tips I've picked up over the years.
The innards of computers generate quite a bit of heat, and the harder they are working the more heat is generated. And the hotter they get the harder they have to work.