File Genie: Blog

File Genie Technology Surgery - The Old Copper Kettle Tea Shop

10/2/2022

File Genie will be holding a Technology
Surgery at The Old Copper Kettle Tea Shop in Crowland, Peterborough.

The Old Copper Kettle Tea Shop is a vintage style tea room with a beautiful atmosphere, based in the centre of Crowland. You can enjoy conservatory dining and their main tea shop offers a warm inviting fire.

File Genie are offering a great chance to meet and chat about your tech... a little bit of personal care. Maybe you are looking to buy a family member a new device for their birthday, looking for some tech advice for you kids or upgrading one of your own computers for your small business. Get some valuable advice and pointers on looking after your devices, come and grab a drink with a trusty geek!

File Genie is established in the Peterborough area with many happy customers. Take a look at some of our reviews here >

Commonly asked questions:

Whats the best antivirus software?
Shall I upgrade to Windows 11?
My laptop won't start have I lost everything?

Upcoming Technology Surgery Dates:
• Thursday 26th May 2022 From 10am
• Thursday 30th June 2022 From 10am
• Thursday 28th July 2022 From 10am
• Thursday 25th August 2022 From 10am
• Thursday 29th September 2022 From 10am
• Thursday 27th October 2022 From 10am
• Thursday 24th November 2022 From 10am

The Old Copper Kettle Tea Shop
6 North St
Crowland
Peterborough
PE6 0EF

Get directions here: The Old Copper Kettle Tea Shop >

Top Tech Tips For Making The Office To Home Transition

17/1/2022

So it seems many of us will be working from home again, just as we got back into the swing of office working again (and wearing clothes other than pj’s and comfy jogging bottoms). Maybe after two years of trying to negotiate working safely through a pandemic it’s time to accept that home working might become far more popular and necessary for some time to come. This means you might need to look at your current home working set up and see if there are any tweaks you can make to help ensure your tech is up to the task.

To help make working from home a bit more seamless we’ve put together a handy list of tech solutions to help achieve a better work/home life balance (not always easy when you work from home), as well as some invaluable advice on what you can do to improve your current tech:

Tech that does the housework while you work
Robot vacuum cleaners allow you to get on with your work while they clean up. A great option for a time crunched household. There are a range of machines available at various price points.

Block out the background noise
Noise distractions can really affect your productivity making noise cancelling headphones a great option if you work from home (or a busy office).

Invest in a laptop stand
If you’ve been working on your laptop for prolonged periods of time while sitting on the sofa the chances are you’ve experienced that all too familiar pain associated with neck strain. It’s a common complaint but is easy to remedy with an inexpensive laptop stand. The stand will improve your posture as you work from your laptop as well as helping to keep your device cooler by allowing better airflow.

Ergonomic wireless mouse and keyboard
Working on a laptop is fine for small amounts of time but the trackpad and keyboard are really not ergonomic so we’d recommend a wireless mouse and keyboard if you’re going to be working from home more regularly.

Buy a separate webcam
The standard cameras that are installed in laptops don’t really cut the mustard for office video calls so you might want to get a standalone webcam. It will give a better picture as well as being much easier to position just where you want it rather than trying to mess about with the angle and position of your laptop.

Check your internet is up to scratch
If you’re going to be working from home you really need to make sure your broadband and Wi-Fi are up to the job. Make sure the firmware for your router is up to date and if your router is old, you should consider an upgrade.

Backup your data
Make sure you store your data securely with an external hard drive or to the cloud.

Install Anti-Virus software
Make sure it’s turned on and up to date and ensure that your operating system is the latest version.

Always remember to take regular breaks when working from home and set yourself a finish time (and try to stick to it). Contact File Genie for support, repairs, or advice with your home office tech.

6 Things You Can Do to Keep Your Devices Safe

11/5/2020

Most of us own a number of devices, from laptops and PC’s to tablets and smartphones. We invest a vast amount of money into them so it makes sense that we do all we can to make sure they’re safe and secure.

File Genie has put together a list of practical safety tips to help ensure your devices are safe and secure:

Check your laptop lead or plug isn’t damaged- a damaged lead or plug can not only cause issues with the system’s battery due to intermittent charging but more importantly it can be a fire risk. Thankfully it’s easy to fix or replace but you should contact a professional for further advice and replacement parts.
Clean your Laptop/Desktop and Smartphone- If you allow dust to build up on the air vents, fan, or RAM and hard drive it can cause your device to overheat which could result in damaged components. Periodically dust all air vents on PC’s and laptops (it’s slightly more difficult to clean laptop air vents so consult a professional if you need help or advice). Clean smartphones and tablets to help keep them running smoothly.
Ensure you have a pin lock or fingerprint/face recognition activated- If your device gets stolen the thief has access to all your data (think passwords, emails, bank details) so you want to make your device as impenetrable as possible, fingerprint recognition and face recognition along with PIN codes can help prevent sensitive data being accessed and misused. Download and activate ‘Find My Phone’ for real-time location updates if your phone is lost or stolen.
Add a case to your smartphone- one of our most requested jobs is repairing cracked screens. A case will help minimise the risk of the phone getting broken if it is dropped. You can also add a screen protector that can just be replaced when needed. Keep your phone in a safe place at all times, away from vehicles and bathrooms!
Do not switch on a phone that has come into contact with water- unless your phone is waterproof one of the worst things you can do if your phone gets wet is to switch it on. Get it out of the water as quickly as possible and remove the case, sim and battery before carefully drying it off. Putting the device in a bowl of rice can help soak up any residual moisture but it will take at least 12 hours.
Do not overcharge your laptop- many people keep their laptop plugged into the charger even when the battery is fully-charged but this can cause overheating and could actually reduce battery life.

Taking care of your devices will save you money so it’s worth investing a little time to make sure they are clean, secure and well maintained. You should periodically check all your devices and contact your trusted computer repair business if you need any help!