Apple has said that “some batteries” in its range of MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops have “performance issues”.

The company has issued a software update to fix the issue and has offered to replace defective batteries.

“The factors causing the performance issues do not present a safety risk. You may continue to use your current battery,” the company said.

The main issue is to do with the batteries becoming hot and deformed

Apple has said users should contact their local Apple store or retailer and the firm will arrange replacement batteries free of charge.

Other symptoms of battery problems include:

• The battery is not recognised
• The battery will not charge and runs down quickly

More info can be found at: http://www.apple.com/support/macbook_macbookpro/batteryupdate/

Fortunately this is not that same issue as reported back in November of last year. See here  for more on that.

The weather is certainly beginning to get warmer and warmer in the Capital, and we all know what that means  - lighting storms. I remind all customers, and anyone else who may be reading this, that major risks to your PC and other electrical equipment can come at this time of year.

The usual standing advice is to get a rack adaptor (pictured right) with shock protection on board. They cost about £15 upwards and are so well worth having. Most of them will come with guarantee in the event that they may not work (unlikely you will ever need to exercise it).

But just think about the chaos if your equipment were to be shocked and destroyed. And yes, I do know of some customers that this has already happened too.

If you want to order one through theopenworldtechnician.com just email me at the usual address and I can get one out to you. Alternatively, you can buy online at Amazon.co.uk

Now this is one which I think we can all sympathise with up to a point. . The driver of this Mercedes was getting increasingly irritated with his mobile phone network, SK Telecom. They’d failed to get his mobile working after no less than 16 calls to the support desk and 2 physical visits to an SK Telecom store.

When he took the matter further, a head office employee suggested he just replace the handset with a new model because the old one was out of stock. The customer didn’t want the new handset as his current one had an automatic overseas roaming service.

Filled with rage, anger and knocking about outside the SK Telecom HQ, he decided to drive his rather expensive Merc straight into the revolving doors.

Clever man. Instead of having a phone in his car, he has now got a car in his phone (company).

Now for all of you who are looking for a perfect five minute distraction, the Internet is able to offer many. But when the ‘Simpsons Maker’  arrived in my mailbox, I knew what to do.

This is apparently what I would look like if I were on the Simpsons! Of course this is not how I spend my day, but I wish it was.

For those of you who have wondered where is a good place to find news and info in the tech world, a really good place is actually on your TV.

For many years now I have been casually tuning into Click on BBC News 24. It is quite a good topical tech news program, with some good advice and guides as well. It is only about 25 minutes long, but it is worth a look.

It’s broadcast over the weekend, but of course, can be found in stream-o-vision (online) anytime at bbc.co.uk/click

Recently I got a hold of shredder. With in a few weeks I had successfully managed to fill the bin with a stack load of shredded things. I could not believe how much I managed to shred, and what a waste of paper my life accumulates.

So whilst putting out a bag of the normal things to be recycled I realised that I could recycle all of the stuff I shredded. So I placed one of the bags provided by K&C council in the base and started to shred all sorts. Including envelopes, daily shopping receipts, mail shots, leaflets, and general bits and pieces of paper.

Within a little under 3 weeks I had managed to fill the bin again, with over a kilo and half (equivalent to a bag and half of sugar in weight) of shredded paper!

This lead me think that not only was I protecting my general security by not allowing personal data to drift off in my normal rubbish, but I was also helping the environment.

My shredder cost £35 from Amazon.co.uk (Fellows P-45C Cross Cut Shredder), but there are lots of models out there. Bear in mind that some shredders are not able to cope with staples, so check before you buy.

Full list of shredders on:

Amazon
John Lewis
Kelkoo

Let’s face it; fraud is rife at the moment and among the raft of fraud related crimes, identity theft is right up there.

So whilst disposing of my old credit card, I thought I would make an example of how to do it best.

Step one: cut your card down the middle at an angle.

Step two: cut your card down the middle through the numbers.

Step three: cut your card’s chip.

(click to see first image for example)

Step four: take pieces A and E (click to see second image for example) and dispose of immediately.

Step five: take pieces B, C and E and dispose of at a later date, i.e. when your next rubbish collection is.

I am sure if we all applied the six degrees of separation theory to share information such as this to help tackle credit card fraud and identity theft, it would decrease over night.

It is Easter time, so I will be taking my annual break from work.

Today is that last working day (Wednesday 4th April) I will do this side of Easter. Then I should be back for action on Wednesday 11th April.

Please remember if you want to book an appointment please do so online at theopenworldtechnician.com/bookatimeonline/ and also note that it is, as usual, a first come first served basis.

Enjoy the break yourselves, don’t eat to much chocolate, and try and stay out of trouble!

Happy Easter!