Tech Table Monday, November 25, 2013
November 25, 2013
Justin: Welcome to MPA’s Tech Table. I’m Justin.
Diana: And I’m Diana.
Justin: And we’re your hosts. We’ll be serving up a heaping spoonful of all things tech.
Diana: We promise it’ll be easy to digest.
Justin: It’s Mail Monday.
Diana: That’s right. Time to answer some questions that have come in through email, regular mail, phone calls, anything where people have asked.
Justin: That’s right. You know, it’s always fun to get email to questions@askmpa.com, and this time we had a couple questions, just basic, some fundamental questions about technology.
Diana: Yeah, we get these a lot.
Justin: We do, and sometimes we gloss over them for the more complicated or complex questions, but there are two basic questions that I think we should answer. And the first one always surprises me but it’s true. People will say, “My computer won’t come on. How do I get my computer to come on?” Well, obviously there are reasons why your computer might not be functioning.
Diana: There are lots of reasons.
Justin: Many reasons. But really, so often, and this is really interesting to me, people forget just to check the electrical connection.
Diana: Right.
Justin: Plug it in. Just plug it in. It’s run on a cord that, you know, actually will come apart from the computer itself and from the wall, so check both connections.
Diana: Right. Don’t just check at the wall, but check at the back of the CPU.
Justin: Yeah, but it’s really interesting how many service calls we have at MPA when the technician goes out and, you know, the person can’t get their computer on, and obviously we can’t do anything remotely if your computer’s not on. So, we literally go to your house or go to your business and we look at this, and oh, it’s unplugged.
Diana: Right. So, that’s a real easy fix.
Justin: And that’s not because you, you know, you’re not quick enough to catch onto the fact that you need to plug it in, but literally, you know, you just assume it’s plugged in. Sometimes maybe a pet got behind there and accidentally knocked it loose and pulled it out. I mean, anything can happen with your electrical connections.
Diana: Right.
Justin: So, check that first.
Diana: Another thing we see is that just simply the monitor is not on. So, your computer might be on itself, and you hear it running, but the monitor, you know, there’s usually a separate button on that screen.
Justin: Yep, absolutely. And the other question is keeping your technology clean. How do I keep this clean? And we have a great product that we recommend, and it’s called Blow Off. It’s just compressed air that technicians and people have been using for years.
Diana: It’s really safe. It doesn’t get any type of chemicals, you know, near your computer.
Justin: Right, but you use it and it has one of those little straw ends.
Diana: Oh, to get in the nooks and crannies.
Justin: You can use it to get in the nooks and crannies or you can use it, but you know, Blow Off will work great to get dust out of tricky places.
Diana: Now, your screen on the other hand, you can usually use a cloth to wipe that down. You want to use a cloth that’s lint-free and doesn’t have an abrasive sort of surface to it, nice and soft.
Justin: Right, microfiber.
Diana: Microfiber’s perfect.
Justin: We love those. I have one at every location that I ever stop at because I’m one of those people, if my computer is a mess, it makes me feel less productive.
Diana: Sure!
Justin: So, I like everything to be clean.
Diana: Don’t want the fingerprints and the smudges.
Justin: Right, and even saliva, when you’re speaking, you know, if you’re talking to someone. I talk across my desk and then my monitor is kind of in the middle. Well, you know, even just how much saliva flies out of your mouth that you don’t realize. You’re always spitting on me. Just kidding! But it happens, so just clean that off with a microfiber cloth, and then there’s a lot of different sprays. We have one at the office. I don’t really know what it’s called but it’s really good and it comes in a pack with a microfiber cloth.
Diana: Yeah, and it’s important to note that you rarely should spray directly onto the surface. Spray onto the cloth, then wipe.
Justin: Exactly, and only use something that’s approved for electronics. Don’t use a random household spray. Don’t Pledge things, don’t use Pledge. That’s a bad idea. Only on wood. All right, well, until next time.
Diana: Take care.
Justin: Tech Table is brought to you by MPA of Bloomfield, Iowa, and God’s Country Radio. You can visit us online at AskMPA.com.
Diana: If you have questions or comments, please send them to questions@askmpa.com. That’s questions@askmpa.com.
Justin: And thanks for listening.
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