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Fix it yourself

Photo: V.V. Krishnan

MOUSETRAP Move the mouse over a piece of paper in various directions to get rid of the dirt

With mother-in-law’s visit days away, Sunitha sat down for a think-back. What was it that got them into a tussle last time? Mother-in-law forgot — or wouldn’t — close the bathroom door after use. Mosquitoes would swarm in and Sunitha would rush to bolt the door. Then, she hit upon an idea. She got the bathroom windows fitted with nylon nets.

We do this all the time — finding handy, home-made solutions for household setbacks. We do them cheap and green, and gift ourselves an “I-beat-the-wise-guys” high. Do you use a wad of wet rags to sponge glass pieces off the floor? Use left-over planks to make shelves between table drawers? Recycle curtain cloth as cushion covers?

The geek world, it seems, has similar answers to high-tech hitches. An example came from Amit Agarwal, a tech blogger, at a Chennai Blogcamp. When asked about his success, he said his low-tech solutions were clicked on by thousands all over the world. For instance, he said: “If you keep using the mouse for long, dirt sticks to its underbelly and causes the mouse cursor to move erratically. You move the mouse over a piece of white paper in various directions, and the grease will go away. A very simple process.” So, is it true astronauts kicked an onboard machine to get it going? Well…

A New York Times story highlighted such effortless, expense-free solutions to technical glitches. It began with this anecdote: a credit card reader fails to scan the card’s magnetic strip at a store in San Francisco. “As customers begin to queue, (the store clerk) reaches beneath the counter for a black plastic bag. He wraps one layer of the plastic around the card and swipes it again. Success. The sale is rung up.” The clerk admits: “I don’t know how it works, it just does.”

Maybe “low-tech fixes for high-tech failures” are stumbled upon in desperation — to save time, to cut cost. That doesn’t wash down their usefulness. (The battery cover on my camera has survived with scotch tape for years now). Guess it reflects our latent scientific genius.

“Don’t carry your cellphone in your pocket,” advises Partha, cellphone store owner. “It loses juice fast when it gets warm.” Cellphone batteries last longer when kept in a cool place, he said. He sometimes stores the batteries in the refrigerator. His cellphone is always in his briefcase.

There are many others, just ask around. Swab dirty (coffee, crumbs) CDs with toothpaste-smeared cotton, alcohol or a few drops of mouthwash; save on expensive DVD cleaners. Detach the printer’s ink cartridge when it goes dry, blow a hair-dryer over it for a couple of minutes. Put the cartridge back. Print. The heat de-clogs the fine holes in the nozzle.

Replacing high-end TV cables? Try the cheap ones you have stored away. They have the same three outlets, only the colours are different. If your cellphone camera flash is too bright to get clear pictures, paste a thin piece of paper over the light. Find the right colour and thickness for your camera. Prop the laptop on a book (at an angle) when it’s on your lap. Air passing through will keep the heat and resultant blisters away.

Suggestions rain on ways to revive a wet cellphone, a common calamity. Fish the phone out, wipe, drop it in your rice dabba or one with silica-gel sachets. Rice attracts water.

On his Windows Secrets Website, Fred Langa writes that a crashed hard-drive can be revived. “Stick it in the freezer overnight. The trick is real and proven, albeit last resort.” Many hard-drive failures are caused by worn out parts that no longer align properly. Cooling gets them to contract and when they expand at room temperature, the binding parts free up, and recover the data fast.

They may or may not work, but what have you got to lose?

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