Quick fixes for everyday disasters

Posted by srikanth

October 6, 2008

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POWER INTERRUPTION: You need to remove
your car’s battery, but don’t want to lose the
settings on the car’s radio, alarm, GPS and computer.

THE QUICK FIX: A 9-volt battery adapter can
plug into your cigarette lighter to keep those chipspowered up. Result: No more auto amnesia.

BLURRED VISION: The zoom shots from your fancy new digital camera are fuzzy.

THE QUICK FIX: Only use your optical zoom. Most digital cameras have both optical zoom, in which the lens moves (just like a zoom on a film camera), and digital zoom, which manipulates the image electronically. The digital zoom can compromise the quality of the image. If you want more magnification than the optical zoom can handle, it’s better to achieve it on a computer after the fact.

BLANK SLATE: You’ve lost the stylus to your PDA.

THE QUICK FIX: Use a toothpick. It works as a replacement–and does double duty after dinner

CROSSED SIGNALS: You’re constantly getting kicked off the wireless link on your home computer network.

THE QUICK FIX: Other devices are probably interfering. If you have a 2.4-GHz cordless phone, switch to a 900-MHz, or a newer 5.8-GHz, model. These phones operate on different frequencies than your wireless router. (Some 2.4-GHz phones allow you to change frequencies–check your owner’s manual.) Microwave ovens can also disrupt your wireless signal.