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301

Developer's Corner / C# : Object Lifetime is Not (entirely) Determined by Scope ?

« Last post by Armando on May 05, 2011, 11:33 AM »

I wasn't interested in the C# vs other languages aspect, but more the fact that...

the JIT compiler can do "lookahead optimization", and may mark any object for collection after what it considers it's "last use", ignoring scope

Weird.
Maybe some of you will find that interesting too...

302

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on May 01, 2011, 12:13 PM »

Thanks for taking the time to explain, Stoic. Yes... I do have 1 cat around (for the last 2 years and more to come...) with very long hair. And, annoyingly enough, it *loves* my laptop -- most probably because it's warm.

That said, I'm sure (and know) that some laptop models can get cleaned properly with pressured air. But for some reason, I could never completely get rid of some "dust bunnies" in my Vostro with that method. I realized that when I had to open it for the first time in 1.5 years because I needed to replace the CPU.

303

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on May 01, 2011, 11:08 AM »

Well, in that case, to each his own. Some are happy with canned air, and others -- maybe just me -- aren't... I explained that in a previous post. Don't know, but it seems to me that easy access to the CPU is a plus, not a minus anyway.   

304

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on May 01, 2011, 01:10 AM »

>I just bought an ASUS myself actually, though a higher-end model with a quad core i7

Nice ! 

@Kamel : My Vostro isn't to bad... And While I agree with you (and others) that Dell makes laptop dismantling relatively easy, it's certainly not always the case. Like I said in previous post, the Vostro and Inspiron 6400 cooling system is/was not easy to uncover... In each case it took me more than 40 min to dismantle the laptop, and at least the same amount of time to put it back together. I might be slow, but this is not something I want to go through every time I need/want to clean the CPU area. Not to mention that the plastic parts become more and more fragile after each pop-out/in.

305

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 30, 2011, 09:05 PM »

Thanks Oshyan, that's very nice of you. 
And this is actually a very nice little laptop there...! Complete access to CPU and also an ASUS -- they have an excellent reputation according to reports I posted earlier. Is your friend going to pick that specific one ?

306

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 28, 2011, 12:25 AM »

I've just had a quick look at that and there seems to be some interesting options. Thanks for the tip. 

307

Clipboard Help+Spell / Re: V2 Beta of Clipboard Help+Spell With Support for Images

« Last post by Armando on April 26, 2011, 09:39 PM »

Sure. 
*But*... I probably won't have enough free time to give much feedback until the weekend.

308

Clipboard Help+Spell / Re: V2 Beta of Clipboard Help+Spell With Support for Images

« Last post by Armando on April 26, 2011, 06:54 PM »

 
This is going to be both useful and fun!

309

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 26, 2011, 02:49 PM »

I'd still buy an Acer today because the reasons I bought it are still valid today: price and more importantly, (for me), a real International Warranty.

-4wd (April 26, 2011, 05:55 AM)

Thanks -- yes I read about that international warranty.

310

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 25, 2011, 03:46 PM »

Thanks. That said -- I enjoy tangents too ! Don't get me wrong... Just wanted to reposition things a bit in the original/right context.

311

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 25, 2011, 01:54 PM »

I'm not sure what more precisions I could add to what I already described in previous post.

Spoiler

My Vostro CPU is effectively surface mounted, but that doesn't solve the disassembly problem.

Like I said, I'm sure that some will consider that a non-issue (or even a stupid one?). But it's become an issue for me after having to open my laptop 3 times in 1.5 y.

312

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 25, 2011, 01:42 PM »

(I would just like to insist that -- while I don't mind -- I never intended to discuss laptop repairs in general... Just easy access to the CPU. Please see my previous post.)

313

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 25, 2011, 01:33 PM »

Yes, this probably got lost in the various (interesting) tangents. First post of this thread :

I've owned only 3 laptop, and they all made it pretty hard to get to the CPU. However, I found that being able to easily get to the CPU (and its fan/heat sink) is very convenient for good cleanup to avoid overheating problems. For my next laptop, this is going to be one the buying factors : extremely easy to take apart and get to the CPU.

To that I'll add that I used several known strategies(canned air, vacuum cleaner, etc.) in the past and none seemed to work as well as opening the actual laptop and directly removing the dust.

Accumulating dust may be a non issue for some or most, but I've noticed it makes a big difference : my fan doesn't need to turn on as often, the laptop stays comfortable, etc. And I don't feel like it's going to melt during the summer...

[P.S. : that said, being able to replace the CPU is also a plus IMO. I did that with my Vostro : went from a slowish 1.4Ghz processor to a T7500 2.2Ghz... for 100$ on ebay, more than 1.5 y ago.  Haven't regret it 1s   ]

314

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 25, 2011, 12:15 PM »

I had a similar experience with my Dell inspirons 6400 (https://www.donation....msg183845#msg183845). I was a bit upset. I now have a Vostro, but I didn't buy it -- I wouldn't have... someone "gave" it to me. The Vostro is actually much sturdier and I haven't got any problems with it. But the next computer will have to be both reliable and easy to maintain/clean. If Asus or Sony have easy access to parts like the CPU, that might be my best bet.

315

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 25, 2011, 11:42 AM »

The Best Laptop Brands: A Comprehensive Review cites several sources. Maybe the most balanced article I read till now.

316

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 25, 2011, 11:33 AM »

Mac laptops are less reliable than PCs
Research reveales 17% of Apple laptop fail within three years

-Armando (April 25, 2011, 11:17 AM)

Those are both the same link  

-Stoic Joker (April 25, 2011, 11:31 AM)

Yes, it's the same title spread on 2 different lines. I'll change that. [Also added a link to the original study-pdf]

317

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 25, 2011, 11:27 AM »

There are other "studies"/surveys like this one : http://www.techrepub...ell-and-hp-lose/6991. However, who can trust this ? t's about people's opinion, not about facts.

318

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 25, 2011, 11:17 AM »

Thanks jgpaiva. You're not the first one I hear who's not satisfied with Acer's support... But I've also heard other comments of very satisfied people. Without any comprehensive study, it's hard to really see the broader picture.

A while ago I clipped that article I found interesting -- but it's already getting a tad old (November 18, 2009) :

Mac laptops are less reliable than PCs : Research reveales 17% of Apple laptop fail within three years

Research by the after-sale warranty company revealed that Apple took the Number 4 spot, behind ASUS, Toshiba and Sony, which held Number one through to Number three, respectively.

Over a two-year period, slightly more than 10 percent of Apple laptops - the company sells two lines, MacBook and MacBook Pro - failed in some fashion, said SquareTrade. The projected failure rate of Apple's laptops within three years, added SquareTrade, was 17.4 percent.

ASUS, Toshiba and Sony, on the other hand, sported projected three-year malfunction rates of 15.6 percent, 15.7 percent and 16.8 percent.

There are not enough of these articles.

[EDIT : I forgot the link to the original study : http://www.squaretra...reliability_1109.pdf ]

319

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 24, 2011, 08:56 PM »

If all Acer are like that (probably not... especially that this is an old "article"), looks cool to me !

Under the panel are most of the upgradeable components such as RAM and Hard Drive. On the Extensa, the WiFI adapter, heat pipes, cooling fan and CPU are accessible as well.

320

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 24, 2011, 12:17 PM »

Thanks for the tasty anecdotes. 

Partially lift bezel and reach beneath to locate ribbon cable holding trackpad assembly to case. (You will need to do this by feel.) Gently rock cable to loosen, then carefully pull ribbon cable UP AND TO THE RIGHT to release. Notice: Cable is delicate and easily damaged. Do not use excessive force AND DO NOT PULL CABLE TO THE LEFT at any time in order to avoid possible damage.

Up and to the right? Check! And never move it to the left? Yeah...that makes perfect sense. So obvious. Shouldn't everybody know that?

-40hz (April 24, 2011, 04:56 AM)

 

This is exactly why I'm looking for brands with a better design / better access to these parts which are more susceptible to be either replaced, upgraded or cleaned... Especially if I'm going to have to "Gently rock cable to loosen, then carefully pull ribbon cable UP AND TO THE RIGHT to release", etc. IMHO, usually there are only a few parts which are handy for the (geekier?) user to be able to access easily and regularly (CPU area being one of them).

321

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 23, 2011, 10:05 PM »

Well, while I somewhat agree with carol too, good instructions doesn't necessarily equal "easier to disassemble". It just means that you have a good plan. However, like I said earlier, I own(ed) 2 Dells, and neither of them made it easy to access the CPU. And in one case I manage to break some plastic, even while being extremely careful.

(If I had only 4 screws holding a cover to remove, than I wouldn't event need a manual in the first place, most probably.  )

322

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 23, 2011, 07:47 PM »

You make a good point -- about the quality of the manuals.

Granted, Dell manuals are pretty good. However, they aren't very detailed  when it comes to access parts like the CPU. I don't know about Toshiba.

Here's what's relatively easy to access :

323

Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 23, 2011, 06:30 PM »

Thanks for the contributions to this discussion.

I presently own a Dell Vostro 1500 (3 y old I believe ?). I also had an Inspiron 6400 which I gave tp my girlfrend.

Both are terrible in terms of CPU/fan accessibility (not as bad as my 8 years old ECS iBuddie... but still). I mean... having to remove the LCD, keyboard, hard Drive, DVD player, etc. to access the CPU is ridiculous. It's around 40min of work to disassemble it when you're not a pro, and then the same amount of time to do whatever needs to be done and put everything back (if you're not unlucky). Not to mention the research that needs to e done beforehand + all these plastic parts that get more and more fragile as they are popped in & out every single time you take your machine apart.

The problem is that the CPU cooling system in the Vostro gathers so much dust that it's almost unavoidable to not take it apart at least once a year (once every 6 months is preferable...)

========

This morning I've seen a few pictures of incredibly easy to disassemble older Acer. A few screws and you can replace most parts all at once.

Anyway, here are a few other interesting links I found this morning :

The upgradable, recyclable Bloom laptop concept -- Yes, Interesting.... But that's about it.

More interresting maybe, as it compares different "styles" of laptops (business, gamer, consumer...) : Taking Apart Your Laptop... From this article, it seems like gaming laptops are the easiest and most user-friendly notebooks to upgrade/disassemble.

Finally... HP seems to get into that game...

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Living Room / Re: Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 23, 2011, 11:38 AM »

  Good to know.
Yeah, preferably, I'd like to also be able to put it back together afterward.

325

Living Room / Easiest laptop (brand) to take apart ?

« Last post by Armando on April 23, 2011, 11:10 AM »

I've owned only 3 laptop, and they all made it pretty hard to get to the CPU. However, I found that being able to easily get to the CPU (and its fan/heat sink) is very convenient for good cleanup. For my next laptop, this is going to be one the buying factors : extremely easy to take apart and get to the CPU.

Any knowledgeable people on the subject here ? Thanks.