log --oneline · 12 entries

Notes from the bench

Short, practical write-ups from the jobs that came through the shop — what we saw, what we fixed, and what we'd tell you before you Google it yourself.

#7c1e4a2 20 Aug 2026 Hardware

Why your laptop battery dies faster in summer

Heat is the real enemy of lithium-ion cells, not charge cycles. A look at what's actually happening inside a battery that "used to last all day" — and what's worth fixing versus replacing.

#3f90bd1 14 Jul 2026 Shop

We now source refurbished parts first, new parts second

A change to how we quote repairs: tested, reclaimed components go on the estimate before brand-new ones, where the job allows it. Here's why, and what it does to turnaround and price.

#a82c710 22 Jun 2026 Network

Field notes: mesh Wi-Fi in old brick buildings

Thick internal walls kill signal in a lot of Leicester's older housing stock. What we've learned about node placement, backhaul, and when mesh isn't actually the answer.

#e451f8c 09 May 2026 Software

The malware we're seeing most in local businesses right now

A rundown of the current wave: what it looks like on a first call, how it usually gets in, and the two habits that would have stopped most of these tickets before they started.

#106bd44 17 Apr 2026 Hardware

Repair or replace? A flowchart

Age, repair cost, and what the machine is actually used for — the three questions we ask before recommending either option, laid out so you can answer them yourself first.

#9d2a663 25 Mar 2026 Dev

Building a stock-tracking tool for a local retailer

A client was running inventory across three spreadsheets that didn't talk to each other. What we built instead, and why we kept it deliberately small.

#c6f0193 11 Feb 2026 Hardware

SSD vs HDD in 2026: is there still a case for spinning disks?

Mostly no — but there's one use case where a hard drive still earns its place in a build, and it isn't the one people usually guess.

#5b8e2d0 14 Jan 2026 Software

Back up before you "quickly reinstall Windows"

The most common January ticket, every year. A five-minute backup checklist that would have saved three separate customers their family photos this month alone.

#2a77c58 18 Dec 2025 Software

How we diagnose a "slow" computer in under 15 minutes

"It's just slow" covers about six different actual problems. The checklist we run through at intake, and what each result tells us.

#f13a90e 20 Nov 2025 Network

Setting up a small office network without an IT department

A practical setup for a five-to-fifteen-person office: what to buy, what to skip, and the one setting most people forget that causes half their support calls.

#88d1e2b 22 Oct 2025 Hardware

Inside a data recovery job: what's actually recoverable

A walkthrough of a real recovery case — a dropped external drive — and an honest breakdown of what's usually salvageable versus what almost never is.

#0e6c4f7 15 Sep 2025 Shop

Why we give flat-rate quotes instead of hourly billing

The maths behind our pricing model, and why we think it lines up our incentives with yours better than billing by the hour ever could.