"value":"\n <p>Today, I rediscovered my hardware knowledge and fixed my son's laptop - a Lenovo ThinkPad X390.<\/p>\n\n<p>Some keys weren't working when pressed, only to have the characters appear a few seconds later.<\/p>\n\n<p>Fun fact: I started my career refurbishing and repairing laptop computers.<\/p>\n\n<p>My first job was for a local laptop company that refurbished ex-business laptops for resale, followed by working for Panasonic where I'd repair laptops from blue chip clients across Europe.<\/p>\n\n<p>I used to build custom PCs, but have done little to no hardware work since I started in software development in 2010.<\/p>\n\n<p>Today, though, I took the laptop apart and after checking the motherboard and keyboard were OK, I reseated the keyboard and cleaned any dust from inside the casing.<\/p>\n\n<p>It worked!<\/p>\n\n<p>If I'd have returned it to a manufacturer or taken it to a local computer repair shop, I'd have had to pay for them to diagnose and (hopefully) resolve the issue.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"here%27s-the-thing\">Here's the thing<\/h2>\n\n<p>Most laptops and phones today are sealed units and not as modular, repairable or upgradable as the devices I used to work on.<\/p>\n\n<p>In some cases, you can't upgrade or repair them yourself.<\/p>\n\n<p>Similar to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oliverdavies.uk\/daily\/2024\/12\/13\/gitea\">having control and ownership of my own data<\/a>, I like the ability to repair a keyboard myself or to add more memory or storage to my laptop.<\/p>\n\n<p>As well as installing and running my own software, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oliverdavies.uk\/daily\/2024\/12\/01\/homelabbing-with-nixos\">starting a homelab<\/a> has also reignited my interest in hardware and being able to upgrade and repair my own devices.<\/p>\n\n ",
"processed":"\n <p>Today, I rediscovered my hardware knowledge and fixed my son's laptop - a Lenovo ThinkPad X390.<\/p>\n\n<p>Some keys weren't working when pressed, only to have the characters appear a few seconds later.<\/p>\n\n<p>Fun fact: I started my career refurbishing and repairing laptop computers.<\/p>\n\n<p>My first job was for a local laptop company that refurbished ex-business laptops for resale, followed by working for Panasonic where I'd repair laptops from blue chip clients across Europe.<\/p>\n\n<p>I used to build custom PCs, but have done little to no hardware work since I started in software development in 2010.<\/p>\n\n<p>Today, though, I took the laptop apart and after checking the motherboard and keyboard were OK, I reseated the keyboard and cleaned any dust from inside the casing.<\/p>\n\n<p>It worked!<\/p>\n\n<p>If I'd have returned it to a manufacturer or taken it to a local computer repair shop, I'd have had to pay for them to diagnose and (hopefully) resolve the issue.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"here%27s-the-thing\">Here's the thing<\/h2>\n\n<p>Most laptops and phones today are sealed units and not as modular, repairable or upgradable as the devices I used to work on.<\/p>\n\n<p>In some cases, you can't upgrade or repair them yourself.<\/p>\n\n<p>Similar to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oliverdavies.uk\/daily\/2024\/12\/13\/gitea\">having control and ownership of my own data<\/a>, I like the ability to repair a keyboard myself or to add more memory or storage to my laptop.<\/p>\n\n<p>As well as installing and running my own software, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oliverdavies.uk\/daily\/2024\/12\/01\/homelabbing-with-nixos\">starting a homelab<\/a> has also reignited my interest in hardware and being able to upgrade and repair my own devices.<\/p>\n\n ",