I'm Falling, I'm Falling..... by Gary Woods

IThe coolest thing about laptop computers is being able to drag them anyplace. But one of the biggest problems with them is they can be very fragile. Liquid is the laptops main enemy. I make it a rule to never to have anything even damp around my laptop keyboard. I was working on someone's computer once, and just as I was about ready to button it up and turn it over to the owner she spilled a soft drink all over the keyboard. Even water is bad but a sugary drink is the worst thing possible for a computer. The sugar crystallizes as the liquid dries forming electrical pathways where none should exist and increasing the risk that running the laptop will fry some components. If your laptop has an unpleasant encounter with water shut down the machine as soon as possible and let it dry out thoroughly for 24 hours or more. If your laptop has unfriendly encounters with sugary or alcoholic beverages shut the machine down immediately and take it to the nearest repair shop.

If your laptop should fall, take a deep breath and wait for the initial panic to subside. Then turn it on and listen for odd sounds. If you get any unexpected grinding shut it down immediately and take it to a repair shop. A lot of new computers have sudden motion sensors, but definitely not all machines. In the mean time, BE CAREFUL!!!

If you have any suggestions or questions for me please drop me a note at garyandlaury@santabarbaraproperties.com or see my column on the Internet at http://www.santabarbaraproperties.com or call me at (805) 729-0910