Add daily email for 2024-12-14

I fixed a laptop

source/_daily_emails/2024-12-14.md

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+---
+title: Fixing a laptop
+date: 2024-12-14
+permalink: daily/2024/12/14/fixing
+tags:
+  - software-development
+  - linux
+cta: ~
+snippet: |
+  Today, I rediscovered my hardware knowledge and fixed my son's laptop.
+---
+
+Today, I rediscovered my hardware knowledge and fixed my son's laptop - a Lenovo ThinkPad X390.
+
+Some keys weren't working when pressed, only to have the characters appear a few seconds later.
+
+Fun fact: I started my career refurbishing and repairing laptop computers.
+
+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.
+
+I used to build custom PCs, but have done little to no hardware work since I started in software development in 2010.
+
+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.
+
+It worked!
+
+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.
+
+## Here's the thing
+
+Most laptops and phones today are sealed units and not as modular, repairable or upgradable as the devices I used to work on.
+
+In some cases, you can't upgrade or repair them yourself.
+
+Similar to [having control and ownership of my own data][0], I like the ability to repair a keyboard myself or to add more memory or storage to my laptop.
+
+As well as installing and running my own software, [starting a homelab][1] has also reignited my interest in hardware and being able to upgrade and repair my own devices.
+
+[0]: {{site.url}}/daily/2024/12/13/gitea
+[1]: {{site.url}}/daily/2024/12/01/homelabbing-with-nixos