You are currently browsing the Fixya Blog weblog archives for the year 2009.

Is your refrigerator feeling a little hot? Is your kitchen slowly filling with smoke? If so, step away from the computer, call the fire department, then go to a friend’s house and continue reading this.

Maytag is recalling about 1.6 million refrigerators due to an electrical failure in the relay (for any non-fridge Experts out there, that’s the part that turns on your fridge’s compressor) that can cause overheating and potentially catch fire.

Recalled models were either side-by-side or top freezer, and have been sold under a number of brands including Maytag, Jenn-Air, Admiral, Magic-Chef, Performa by Maytag, and Crosley. You should go to the CPSC site to find out which model/serial numbers are involved in this recall.

Here is a list of the most popular models on FixYa affected by this recall. Please note, this only applies to your refrigerator if it starts with the prefix mentioned on the CPSC site and ends with the serial number also mentioned there.

I’m reading Donald A. Norman’s The Design of Future Things and in the first 30 pages I’ve already found a literary gem:
“As technology became more powerful and complex, we became less able to understand how it worked, less able to predict its actions…Now our machines are taking over. They act as if they have intelligence and volition, even though they don’t. “

The author came to this conclusion after his friend retold a story about forgetting to turn off cruise control and speeding up on a highway exit ramp. Naturally, as we become used to trusting in machines, we are more likely to fail to give direction. And here’s the problem…why is it our failure to give the direction?

After waiting on hold for 40 min, why does a condescending kid on the other end of the line get to make me feel like a moron for a “mistake” that hundreds of thousands of other people have also made?

If FixYa’s company camera ever breaks, we know exactly who we’re turning to for advice- FixYa’s own camera Guru, welcomejee. Welcomejee is closing out his first year on the site, but his ever-expanding portfolio of over 3400 solutions makes him a seasoned pro. Not to mention the fact that he’s a Sony-authorized repair specialist with training in TV, camera, CD, LD and DVD players, and Hi-Fi audio systems. He’s also experienced with transistor radios and tape recorders, but his favorites remain camcorder, digital camera, and television repair, and he focuses closely on those categories.

The story of how this Expert came to be would sound familiar to the parents of many of those who frequent FixYa. It was welcomejee’s childhood hobby to tear apart the home electronics to see what was inside. Of course, he destroyed many possessions during such “inspections” as he calls them. But these destructive forays led to the formation of a top-notch Expert who has chalked up an amazing 432 FixYas during his time here.

At the Twiistup5 event on Feb 12, 2009, the Sun Startup Essentials team videotaped 15 start ups giving their best ‘elevator pitch’. The contest works like this:

• View the videos above
• Pick your favorite. (Pick us!)
• Vote by texting the word ‘startup’ plus the name of the company in your favorite video to 41411.
• The start up with the most votes as of March 13, 2009 wins a Flip Ultra camcorder and some serious bragging rights. I’d like to give the camcorder to one of you, so consider it a vote for you.

Ok, it’s crunch time! There’s one day left to vote for tech support site FixYa at Santa Monica’s TwiistUp event. I just got the media list and if FixYa won TwiistUp, we’d be in Forbes, LA Weekly and LA Times to name a few. Show us the love, tell your friends and make us a media darling.

VOTE FOR FIXYA HERE: http://tu5.twiistup.com/entries#1165