Amazon Kindle 2 LCD Repair

I was given a broken Amazon Kindle 2 because it was dropped and the LCD cracked.

Find the disassemble guide here on ifixit.com.

Amazon Kindle 2 e-ink LCD part number: ED060SC4(LF)

The e-ink LCD replacement/ED060SC4(LF) on eBay averages $60.  Very expensive.  So for the moment, I'm sitting on it waiting for prices to come down on the replacement parts.


I've also seen the e-ink LCD replacement on Alibaba, I've never tried to buy anything off the website, but it looks promising.  It's a global supplier website so some suppliers have a higher minimum order quantity.

Fighting Obsolescence : CRT TV

The digital age has made obsolete the CRT TV, and I'm not even talking about the HD CRT TV.  I'm referring to standard definition CRT TV with only 3 types of input:  S-Video, RCA, and RF coaxial.  Consumers are throwing out (hopefully recycling) CRT TVs and replacing them with high definition flat screen TVs (plasma, LCD, LED, etc) with the purpose of watching high definition television programs over air, cable, fiber optic, etc.  However, the internet age is changing the landscape of traditional TV.  Instead of watching TV when the broadcaster wants you to watch the program, consumers are watching TV when they want to watch the program.  Content providers such as Hulu, Crackle, TV.com, YouTube, Netflix, etc, allow consumers to watch content on their own schedule.

What does this have to do with obsolescence?  To accomodate the largest number of internet users, online content is generally 240p (320x240) or 360p (640x360).  This is lower than the lowest definition flat screen HDTV (480p).  Now, the question I ask is, if you want to watch internet content in the comfort of your living room couch, why do you even need an HDTV?

The answer, you don't.

HP Pavilion zd7000a (zd7380us) Upgrade

I was the proud owner of an HP Pavilion zd7380us until one day the screen went black and it wouldn't start up.  Being out of warranty and I paid HP to fix the laptop at a flat rate.  What I got back was something different.  I was now the proud owner of the HP Pavilion zd7000a.  The primary difference is that the video card.  Whereas the zd7380us had an nVidia GeForce FX Go5700, the zd7000a requires the ATI M22/M24 video driver.  Windows reports it as the ATI Radeon X600.

Specifications

• Release Year:  2004
• Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor supporting HT Technology 3.20 GHz, 512K Cache, 800 MHz FSB
• 2 GB RAM
• nVidia GeForce FX Go5700 (zd7380us)/ATI Radeon X600 (zd7000a)
• Mainboard:  Quanta 30CA
• Chipset:  Intel i915P/i915G rev 0E

HP Pavilion dv9207us Upgrade

As it turns out, the HP Pavilion dv9207us (release year 2007) can support more memory than the manufacturer specified 2 GB.  I've successfully installed 4 GB of RAM.  However, because the CPU only supports a 32 bit operating system, I can only use 3 GB of RAM.

Alienware Aurora m7700 Overheating

I came upon an Alienware Aurora m7700 with a very common problem, overheating.  The symptoms were the following:

• Sudden shutdowns
• Startup failures

Alienware Aurora m7700 original specifications can be found here:
Release Year:  2006
Display: 17" 1900 x 1200 pixel display.  Nvidia GeForce Go 6800 Ultra graphics card PCI Express 256 megs of graphics memory.
Battery: 12 cell 6,600 mAh Lithium Ion battery. 220 watt brick charger.
Performance: AMD desktop CPU. Athlon 64 x2 4200+. 2 memory slots for PC400 SODIMMs.
Motherboard: VIA K8T890 chipset.
Size: (H x W x D): 2.1” x 15.6” x 11.7”. Our unit weighs 12 pounds, 5 ounces.
Drives: 8X dual layer DVD+/-RW / 24X CD-RW.  80GB hard drives SATA (serial ATA) RAID capable.
Audio: Sound: Realtek AC97 Audio for VIA chipsets, high-definition audio with surround sound, five built in speakers (one is a subwoofer). 3.5mm standard stereo headphone and 5.1 SPDIF jacks. Built-in mic.
Networking: Aftermarket Dell Wireless 1350 WLAN mini-PCI WiFi 802.11 a/b/g. Realtek RTL8169/8110 Gigabit Ethernet and 56k V. 92 modem.
Ports and slots: One PCMCIA - Type II/Type I card slot with CardBus support, 4 slot card reader (reads 7 media types). One parallel port, one serial port, one DVI connector, One S-Video out connector, Video-IN Ports (TV-Tuner required, not included, two PS2 connections, two mini IEEE 1394a (4-pin) ports, 4 Hi-speed USB 2.0, one headphone jack, 5.1 channel out (S/PDIF) / Line-in, microphone in, gigabit ethernet RJ-45, 56K V.92 modem RJ-11, Infrared port for Data transfer.

HP Pavilion dv9207us

HP Pavilion dv9207us (Pavilion dv9000 series) original specifications:

• Intel Core Duo T2250 1.73 GHz, 2 MB L2 Cache, 533 FSB
• 1 GB RAM - maxed out to 2 GB
• NVidia GeForce Go 7600
• 120 GB HDD 5400 RPM
• 17.0" WXGA+ 1440x900 display
• Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG WLAN

Windows Shortcut Keys

Windows 7
Windows Key + 1 - 0 - Hide/Show nth application on the taskbar
Windows Key + G - Show Windows gadgets
Windows Key + P - Windows display switch ("p" as in projector)
Windows Key + T - Preview all application groups on the taskbar
Windows Key + U - Starts Ease of Access Center control panel applet
Windows Key + X - Starts Windows Mobility Center application
Windows Key + Home - Hides all other active application windows except current active application window
Windows Key + Up arrow key - Maximize current application window
Windows Key + Down arrow key - Shrink current application window to lower left hand side
Windows Key + Left arrow key - Dock current application window to left side (if you keep pressing the key combination, alternates docking sides)
Windows Key + right arrow key - Dock current application window to right side (if you keep pressing the key combination, alternates docking sides)
Windows Key + Space bar - Desktop peek (see behind all active windows)
Windows Key + Tab - Fancy new Windows switch between application where the active windows turns into a card deck
Windows Key + Shift + 0 - 1 - Opens a new application window of the nth application on the taskbar