- I obviously do laptop support/repair from time to time:
- this post will cover a 'teardown' of a HP 4520s and replacement of the CMOS battery. This is one of the 'lesser designs' that I've come across when it comes to repairs, upgrades, etc... so I thought I'd document it for others. There are teardowns available online but it never reallly compares to having to do deal with the real thing. As an aside, always get teardowns of possible prior to dealing with laptops. My experience is that even with experience with a particular model/class of laptop it's still possible that some difficulties may be experienced
4520s teardown
- basically bottom panel (holds most of the hardware including the keyboard, hard drive, RAM, etc... except the LCD panel) is composed of three parts. Part that holds power button, keyboard, and mousepad component. Five screws to remove 'top/power button panel' (three under battery and two at back under two rubber pads), two screws up top which hold keyboard in place, three screws which hold bottom/track pad in place (bottom pad needs to be slid to the right as well). Two ribbon cables to connect keyboard and trackpad to mainboard
- the 4xxx class of computers are superficially similar/compatible. The CMOS battery on the 4520s lies beneath a plastic structure which must be detacted/lifted from the existing body for it to be replaced. This doesn't seem to be documented on other members of the 4xxx class of laptop
How to remove or replace a HP Probook 4320s CMOS Battery
- if you've ever wanted to repair a laptop power brick you've probably wondered how to open them non-destructively. Most people used to 'crack them open' using a knife and hammer. Online videos I've come lately indicate a 'better method'. Petroleum based products such as degreasers, solvents, petrol etc... can be used to dissolve the glue that holds 'power bricks' together (people online use syringes, cotton buds, etc... but you can get away with simply pouring it down the relevant crack). Then you can literally use your hands to open the power brick. Thereafter, it's a case of tracking down the source of the problem and dealing with it. Obviously, this class of electronics is difficult to find parts for and if you can find spare parts they often cost so much that they make the repair uneconomical. That's why I sometimes keep old/broken equipment around simply to make up for this possibility
How To Open A Laptop Adapter - laptop adapter disassemble trick
- if you've ever had to deal with laptop repair on a long term basis you've dealt with the 'missing panel' problem from time to time. Of late, I've been thinking about 3D printing, putty style materials (Selley's Knead It), melting plastic (home based recycling operation), etc...
- startup problems can be difficult to track down sometimes because of the design of some laptops. Discharging power from all sources can sometimes work with this particular class/model of laptop
How to fix a HP laptop that does not turn on but instead blinks (flashes) an amber orange light
How to repair HP Probook Laptop Won't Turn ON
HP 4530s Troubleshooting (laptop won't start)
- as it currently stands there are limited mechanisms to achieve a BIOS password reset in the case of lost, hacked, stolen, vandalised, etc... laptops
bypass bios password 4520s
Random Stuff:
- as usual thanks to all of the individuals and groups who purchase and use my goods and services
- feels like LinkedIn is imposing a 'grey listing' type mechanism at play for some strange reason? It feels possible to bypass auth wall if you follow a particular protocol sometimes. Will dig deeper into this at some stage down the line
- latest in science and technology
Why did Borland fail?
- latest in finance and politics
http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/am/russia-to-face-new-sanctions-over-syria-nikki-hayley/9661814
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/04/25/559614/US-Commerce-Secretary-Wilbur-Ross-China-technology--
- latest in defense and intelligence
- latest in animal news
https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2018/04/20/Loose-moose-runs-through-city-visits-dog-park/2591524248057/
- latest in music and entertainment
Random Quotes:
- Veg-focused dining isn't just an inner-city trend. At Cornersmith, students travel far and wide to attend its tofu and miso classes. Diners come from interstate to stock up at Smith & Deli and one regular commutes four hours (twice a week) to get her vegan food fix. Kenney's Plantminded company, will serve hospitals, schools, universities and lower-income neighbourhoods with products like frozen pizza.
For Kenney, plant-based dining keeps gaining momentum. "We get approached a half dozen times a day about [opening] new places," he says. "The phone never rang three years ago."
The growing innovation in plant-based foods, from pea milk (which Martinez is excited about) to San Francisco start-up Just producing convincing vegan "eggs" from mung beans, is helping spur interest.
But this isn't just a fad with an expiration date. It's amplifying an idea that Dan Barber explores in The Third Plate, from 2014. In his influential book, he imagines a carrot steak as the headliner of a dish, instead of a "hulking piece of protein". He was forecasting the way we would eat – and how we'd need to eat. The environmental, agricultural, health and economical reasons for sidelining meat are not going away – but will only become more undeniable with time.
And vegan cuisine is accessible to everyone: "It's the most widely friendly food to every group," he says, from pork-avoiding Muslims to the lactose-intolerant. "Unless you're allergic to vegetables, there's no reason to stay away."
- Over the years, there have been a handful of small arms detection technologies tested and incorporated into helicopters; one of them, which first emerged as something the Army was evaluating in 2010 is called Ground Fire Acquisition System, or GFAS.
This system, integrated onto Apache Attack helicopters, uses infrared sensors to ID a “muzzle flash” or heat signature from an enemy weapon. The location of enemy fire could then be determined by a gateway processor on board the helicopter able to quickly geolocate the attack.
While Klager said there are, without question, similarities between air-combat HFD technologies and those emerging for ground combat vehicles, he did point to some distinct differences.
“From ground to ground, you have a lot more moving objects,” he said.
Potential integration between HFD and Active Protection Systems is also part of the calculus, Klager explained. APS technology, now being assessed on Army Abrams tanks, Bradleys and Strykers, uses sensors, fire control technology and interceptors to ID and knock out incoming RPGs and ATGMs, among other things. While APS, in concept and application, involves threats larger or more substantial than things like small arms fire, there is great combat utility in synching APS to HFD.
- DARPA director Steven Walker said the top-secret US arms research agency is focusing on breakthroughs that can be configured as part of new weapons systems, while calculating out how much these weapons will cost.
“Things are moving,” Walker was quoted as saying. “This is becoming not just [a science and technology] thing. The services are interested in moving forward with real capabilities.”
But Walker also says US R&D on hypersonic weapons isn’t keeping pace with Russia and China. He noted that DARPA is pushing to test a hypersonic missile before 2020 but the agency needs more resources.
“If you look at some of our peer competitors, China being one, the number of facilities that they’ve built to do hypersonics… surpasses the number we have in this country. It’s quickly surpassing it by 2 or 3 times. It is very clear that China has made this one of their national priorities. We need to do the same,” Walker told a press briefing.
The DARPA director declined to comment on Putin’s claim that Russia has a hypersonic missile that can beat enemy antimissile systems.
- Drones, drones and more drones.
The Pentagon wants to purchase 3,447 new drones in 2019. That's quadruple the number that it requested Congress to fund in 2018, according to an analysis of the Fiscal Year 2019 Department of Defense budget request.
The Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College, which conducted the analysis, estimates that the military is asking for $9.4 billion for drone-related programs, or about a 25 percent increase over last year's $7.5 billion request for 807 drones. About $6 billion would go for procurement of unmanned aircraft, $982 million for naval drones and $429 million for robotic ground vehicles, with the remainder allocated to developing counterdrone defenses as well as advanced concepts like swarm drones and teaming of manned and unmanned craft.
The biggest line item for drone funding is $1.4 billion for the Air Force's MQ-9 Reaper, star player in America's drone wars. Yet if Congress passes this budget, the Navy will actually get the largest share of the $9.4 billion pie, with a $3.8 billion slice for the Navy/Marines, followed by the Air Force, Army and Department of Defense.
One reason for the Navy's bonanza is the MQ-25 Stingray carrier-based drone tanker aircraft. The Stingray's prospective budget more than doubled, from $224 million to $756 million to develop two MQ-25 prototypes.
- To date, SpaceX has successfully landed Falcon 9 first stages 23 times and re-flown 11 of them. Falcon 9 first stages perform engine maneuvers in space that send them back to Earth, where they can land on an offshore drone ship or landing pads near their launch sites. They use grid-like fins for stability during re-entry, perform engine burns to slow down and carry landing legs that fold out just before touchdown.
The company has also reused two of its uncrewed Dragon cargo ships to deliver NASA cargo to the International Space Station (one of them is in orbit right now) and is actively trying to capture the payload fairings — or nose cones — that shroud and protect satellites and other payloads during launch. In fact, SpaceX will try to recover the payload fairings again today (April 16) when it launches a Falcon 9 carrying NASA's next exoplanet-hunting space telescope, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. You can watch that launch live on Space.com at 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT) today.
Musk did not reveal a timetable for the "giant party balloon" landing test or details on how it works, but he did say that a sturdy balloon has a good shape to withstand the stresses a rocket stage endures during its supersonic descent back to Earth.
A giant balloon is "great for creating a giant object that retains its shape across all Mach regimes & drops ballistic coefficient by 2 orders of magnitude," Musk wrote.
Musk also said that SpaceX already brings its Falcon 9 upper stages back to Earth. They are intentionally disposed of in the Pacific Ocean so they don't become space junk.
"We already do targeted retro burn to a specific point in Pacific [with] no islands or ships, so [the] upper stage doesn't become a dead satellite," Musk wrote on Twitter. "Need to retarget closer to shore & position catcher ship like Mr. Steven."
Mr. Steven is a ship equipped with a net and giant metal arms to catch falling Falcon 9 payload fairings. Musk has called it a "catcher's mitt" in boat form.
SpaceX's use of a giant balloon for a rocket won't be the first time a company or space agency has attempted to use an inflatable system for re-entry. NASA has conducted several experiments using inflatable "flying saucer"-shaped inflatable heat shields for Mars landings. And in 2012, the private spaceflight company Armadillo Aerospace launched an inflatable balloon parachute, or "ballute," as a part of a re-entry technology test.
- TESLA has been forced to suspend production of its Model 3 sedan — a car that is considered vital to the company’s future but has been plagued by production delays.
The apparent problem with Tesla’s Model 3 assembly line? Too many robots, according to the man behind the wheel of the company.
Tesla boss Elon Musk took to Twitter to admit his big mistake as the company struggles to fend off critics.
“Yes, excessive automation at Tesla was a mistake,” he tweeted on the weekend. “To be precise, my mistake. Humans are underrated.”
Mr Musk has been a vocal advocate of the idea of universal basic income, claiming automation and robots are set to wipe out all sorts of traditional jobs. However Tesla’s own attempts to heavily rely on automation has apparently caused problems.
“We had this crazy, complex network of conveyor belts,” Mr Musk added in an interview with CBS on the weekend. “And it was not working, so we got rid of that whole thing.”
His concession came as a report published by Reveal in conjunction with The Center for Investigative Reporting claimed that in the company’s eagerness to ramp up production of its Model 3, Tesla quietly concealed the true number of workplace injuries at its Californian assembly plant.
Injuries were reported by workers to supervisors or managers, but the complaints were reportedly dismissed and not passed on to regulators as is required by law.
In a statement on the company’s blog Monday titled “A Not So Revealing Story,” Tesla denounced the story calling Reveal an “extremist organisation” which produced “an article that paints a completely false picture of Tesla.”
On Tuesday morning, it was reported that for the second time this year Tesla has been forced to shut down production of its Model 3 vehicle, the company’s more affordable offering.
The announcement of the four-to-five-day production pause came without warning, according to Tesla employees who spoke with BuzzFeed News.
A Tesla spokesperson said the production halt will be “used to improve automation and systematically address bottlenecks in order to increase production rates.”
More than 400,000 people have pre-ordered one of the Model 3 vehicles but their wait continues.
