DIY Life

Have you ever had one of those "uh-oh" moments where you realize that something small and expensive (think wedding ring) is suddenly missing? Did it fall into the engine block you were just assembling? Did it fall down the sink as you washed your hands? Did junior try to see if it would fit down the shower drain? All of these scenarios have one thing in common (besides divorce papers): You have no way of checking unless you spend some time taking things apart. Rigid has come to the rescue to save you from having to do any unnecessary disassembly.

Enter the SeeSnake Micro. It has a 2.4" color LCD screen that receives its signal via a 3' cable with built in LED lights and camera. It is a hand held, cordless unit that lets everyone get into tight, dark, messy places to find out what went where or what went wrong. It also includes attachments for item retrieval so you may just avoid having to disassemble anything at all. (I know that taking things apart is half the fun, but, really? drain pipes... yechh) If the 3' cable isn't long enough for you Rigid will let you extend it to a total of 30' with the purchase of additional cable.

There was a fix for this problem discussed quite some time ago by our friends at Engadget. The solution they addressed suggested using a video file provided by Best Buy to force those stubborn pixels back into doing their jobs. The video file, which works by flashing red, green and blue colors on the display, seeks to dislodge stuck pixels and make them part of the team again. Mixed reports suggest that the process is at least marginally effective.

It seems to me that a person could attempt the same type of fix without having to hunt down that Best Buy video file. If I was required to try it for myself, here's what I'd do:

• In any paint program I'd create a set of solid color images including: black, white, cherry red, forest green, canary yellow, royal blue, teal, magenta and cyan.
• Save those images in a large enough image size so they won't tile if set to desktop background.
• Set those images to run as a screen saver, slide show. Cycle them as fast as possible.
• Let that screen saver run all night.

In theory, the rapid fire flashing of the intense colors should break loose those stuck pixels. I'd like to test this process myself but all my LCD pixels are performing pretty well. This process is not intended to bring dead pixels back to life, it's suggested simply for breaking loose a few stubborn ones.

One additional suggestion: If you suffer from epilepsy, you'd probably rather not attempt this fix.

Remember those ViewMaster slideshow viewers from the late 1970s and early 1980s? Before there were postage stamp-sized LDC screens on every cellphone (which didn't exist in the early 80s), many a kid took their minds away from the daily playground grind by putting up a dual-eyecup ViewMaster to those eyes and going on a colorful but short storytelling journey.

Well, the ViewMaster has unofficially evolved using some 128x160 color LCD screens and some 3D trickery used to simulate the distance between the onlooking eyes. If you think those small screens will be eyesores once you put the doctored ViewMaster up to your eyes, that's not the case. From what the below video shows, it looks like a miniature movie theater screen more than anything, but without the huge cost from a commercially created computer monitor, for example.

Just like those of us who love NES Emulators, this creation will strike a good amount of sweet nostalgia for those in the thirty-something age bracket or older. For the rest of us, umm, please wear this thing in private should you choose to build it.

[via Engadget]

Special care must be taken when handling an LCD screen, especially when touching or cleaning it. First and foremost ... avoid touching the screen. No really, don't touch the screen. Ever!

Evidentially I haven't repeated that enough in my house. Right now, I'm looking through the glare of a number of tiny fingerprints (again.)

Apple's website, recommends cleaning LCD's by turning off the computer (or display) and wiping the screen with a damp, clean, soft, lint-free cloth. Paper with water only. This works ... but only if you've never touched your screen. Basically this method gets the dust off, and that's about it.

For getting fingerprints (or worse) off, try a simple 50/50 mixture of 70% isopropyl alcohol (Apple does not recommend this) and distilled water. Mix the liquids in an empty spray bottle. Next, turn off your screen, dampen a microfiber cloth with your 50/50 mixture and begin wiping the display–gently–from top to bottom. This should do the trick.