Archive for December, 2009
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
Hey Folks of Portland Computer Repair Land,
Often at the end of the year we look back and see that we grew so much from January. In our case, looking back, I am amazed at how much we’ve grown just from August!
From August to December of this year, the company doubled in volume. From January to now, we quadrupled in volume.
I am thrilled with the support we’ve had from the community and the people of Portland. You who have turned our little operation into the largest computer repair store in the city in only 18 months. On behalf of all 9 of us, Happy New Year!
Best,
-Zac
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
Hey Everybody in Portland Computer Repair Land,
Snow will not deter us from our mission! So far everything looks good for being open and available for on-site work tomorrow.
If you have any questions about our availability, don’t hesitate to call.
thanks!
-Zac
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
Hey everybody in Portland Computer Repair Land,
Ya know, every year there is a huge post Christmas surge, but no matter how well we prepare for it, we still end out buried under computers! Luckily today we had a full compliment of staff and managed to stave off any disasters, but now that I’m writing this in the 12th hour if sitting in this chair, it was obviously pretty busy.
Have a good night, and remember, the vengeful computer repair guardians are up late, looking out for your viruses…
-Zac
Saturday, December 26th, 2009
Hey Folks,
So there is a problem with google maps. it is showing our location incorrectly to some customers. If you are trying to find us with google maps, try using this address format -
2817 NE M L King Blvd Portland OR 97212
that works better for some reason.
We are working with google to see if we can figure out why this problem keeps happening.
Thanks, we want you all to be able to find our little Portland computer repair shop!
-Zac
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
Hey Folks,
We have had a lot of new customers this week having trouble finding us! So let me be clear about our address. We are at 2817 NE Martin Luther King Blvd, Portland OR 97212
This location is-
On the west side of Martin Luther King
About a mile north of the Broadway Bridge
About a mile south of Fremont street
A block north, and across the street from, the Nike Store
Two blocks north of Russle Street BBQ
One block north of Cross Fit
Two miles south of Killingsworth
etc
If you have any questions about directions, please let us know! Also please be aware that some internet sites still show our old address, we are no longer at that location. We are definately at 2817 NE Martin Luther King Blvd, Portland OR, 97212
thanks!
-Zac
PS – Google will only recognize the address if you tyle in 2817 NE M L King blvd, portland or, 97212
Don’t ask us why.
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
Hey Everybody in Portland Computer Repair Land,
So last post I said things had slowed down over here. The city of Portland then responded by giving us, today, one of our busiest days ever. We had 15 computers come into the shop today, and instead of running a skeleton crew the rest of the week, we’ve called in backup to work overtime! So everybody will get taken care of, but man, be careful what you blog about right?
Best,
-Zac
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
Hey Everybody in Portland Computer Repair Land,
This week and next week are probably two of our favorite weeks of the year. Just before Christmas, computer repair work stops almost completely and gives us the opportunity to get the shop in shape for January rush. The other nice thing about it is that the computers we do get are repaired at lightening speeds. So, keep in mind, a big rush of Portland computer repair jobs will come on ours and every other shop around January 2nd. Therefore, if you need repair work done, come in now to avoid any delays!
Thanks,
-Zac
Monday, December 14th, 2009
Hey Everybody in Portland Computer Repair Land,
My father, Irl Cramer owns a small company called the Alex Cramer Company. His father, Alex Cramer, ran a succesion of toy stores, clothing stores, and finally a mail order games businesses. When Irl retired, he took over from Alex and now runs the business. I am proud to say that Happy Hamster Computer Repair is the local distribution source for Alex Cramer company dominos. We have a few sets displayed in our window, and we welcome you to come by and take a look! It may not be related to Portland computer repair, but it is related to family, and at this time of year, I think that makes it worthy of a blog post.
You can also check them out on the web at http://www.alexcramer.com/index.php
Thanks everybody!
-Zac
Saturday, December 12th, 2009
Hey Everybody in Portland Computer Repair Land,
We hear a lot now a days about how much ram is going into new computers. At Best Buy you can get a cheap computer with 8 gigabytes of RAM, wow! The thing is, 8 gigabytes of low quality, low speed RAM will actually make your computer run substantially less well than 2 gigabytes of high speed, high quality RAM.
The reason is that RAM is only used *when needed.* This means that if your computer has 8 gigabytes of RAM, and your general usage pattern only requires 2 or 3 (as most home users do) you have 5 gigabytes of completed wasted memory. Further, because, in order to get such a high number, the RAM they put in is much lower quality, you actually end out with a slower computing experience.
Our Portland computer shop usually only puts 2-4 gigabytes of RAM in a new custom build, but we use high quality RAM that runs very quickly. So you will find that a Happy Hamster computer with 2 gigabytes of RAM actually runs faster than a Best Buy computer with 8 gigabytes, all other things being equal.
As is the case so often in life, quality trumps quantity any day of the week.
Stay warm!
-Zac
Sunday, December 6th, 2009
Hey Everybody in Portland Computer Repair Land,
Many of you are using outlook express for your e-mail. On behalf of your local computer repair crew, and your computer, and your e-mail, I would like to ask you to stop doing that.
Outlook Express in windows XP is one of the least stable programs Microsoft has ever developed. Every week we deal with Portland computer repair users who lose all their e-mails because its extremely leaky and poorly designed database has a hiccup and destroys itself.
When doing a data recovery, getting back functioning outlook express e-mail files is often our biggest challenge, because there are so many of them, and they have no self-healing abilities.
Please start using regular Outlook. You almost all have access to a cheap copy through your school, business, or trade group. You may ever already have it installed, but you’re using outlook express instead for some reason.
If you need help making the transition, just let us know, but please be aware that Outlook and Outlook express are completely, 100% different programs. One is very stable and good for check and using e-mail. The other is an absolute nightmare that we hate to even look at it.
You can tell which version of outlook you are using by clicking on the “help” menu and then the “about” option. If the box that pops up says outlook express, get out before its too late!
Thanks, and have a good weekend!
-Zac
