Information & Tips

For anyone using an older computer (i.e. any computer more than six months old), it can be hard to tell whether your system is just running slowly due to common minor issues like spyware, adware, and bloatware, or if you’re suffering from something more serious like the Conficker Worm that received so much press recently.

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.

Super Bowl is only 3 days away. Whether you’re a Cardinals fan, a Steelers fan or you want to see “The Boss” light up the half time show, DIY troubleshooting and repair site FixYa has some great advice to enhance your Super Bowl party. If you’ve got an HD TV set, here are a few tips from the community:

1. Calibrate The Set: Though this is a controversial topic in FixYa’s community, all experts agree you should calibrate your set. For optimal viewing experts suggest using a calibration DVD, getting your set professionally calibrated, or least expensive, changing the set’s picture mode to vivid or sports.

I just pitched a car magazine on the rising trend of online repair and customer service and the editor replied, “The whole point of our magazine is to sell more cars.”

Wow. Don’t people realize that giving customers good service equates to loyalty and long-term sales? The “whole point” of FixYa is to compliment manufacturer service and improve the overall experience of owning a car or truck. And because most of our services are free, this is a win-win situation for dealers and buyers.

In any case, FixYa has some great car-related resources and our own Emissionwiz is kind enough to offer several preventative measures to help increase vehicle life:

I’ve been thinking about product “solutions” lately. I’ve been thinking about how there are so many customer service “solutions” that consist of a team of telemarketing employees with an up-sell agenda, or worse, a shrink-wrapped software package.

I catch myself using Silicon Valley tech lingo to wax poetic about the benefits of crowd sourcing and web 2.0 technologies. At the end of the day, I know that FixYa’s strength is not its technology, but its code of craftsmanship and individualism. In essence, our strength is that behind every question and answer, there’s a human being.