{"id":2115,"date":"2023-02-14T15:25:40","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T13:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/norttipaikalle.fi\/?p=2115"},"modified":"2026-01-20T13:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T11:52:12","slug":"saving-the-world-one-laptop-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/norttipaikalle.fi\/fi\/saving-the-world-one-laptop-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Saving the world one laptop at a time"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cSaving the world. One laptop at a time.\u201d<\/strong> is a phrase close to my heart. I have thought about using it as a slogan, but it only describes a part of what I do. One strong theme from my childhood was sustainable living. My parents had a large garden in which they grew all sorts of organic fruit and vegetables. On our holidays my father would go fishing and the freezer would be stocked with freshly caught mackerel. From time to time, we would visit the Centre for Alternative Technology<\/a> in Wales. An amazing place, which in the 70\u2019s<\/a> was way ahead of it\u2019s time with generating electricity from renewable sources, and organic farming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This made such a huge impact on me, that even today, I have a strong \u201crepair, re-use, recycle\u201d streak. And to this informs the values of N\u00f6rtti paikalle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I talk about \u201cSaving the world. One laptop at a time\u201d, I am not only meaning that your computer is working again well, and you are able to use it follow your passion. The intention is also that using the principle of \u201crepair, re-use, recycle\u201d, your computer can continue to give value for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if many newer laptops are made in such a way that the only the battery can be replaced, this is still worth doing. After a few years of daily use, the battery basically wears out. It cannot hold as much charge as it did when it was new, so and you may notice that you need charge it more often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As time goes by, the operating system for the computer will become more advanced. This may be more power-hungry, and also make the laptop feel slower. Couple this with an old battery, and your laptop may not bring you the joy it once did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where N\u00f6rtti paikalle can step in. We can reduce the amount of usable technology going to the landfill, and maybe even play a part in saving the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Repair. Re-use. Recycle.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s repair that laptop!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Two things I would suggest immediately are to replace the battery and add more memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Let\u2019s say that your laptop is four or five years old. May be you bought the laptop to help the children do their homework, or to pay the bills. By now it feels. With that in mind, I would guess that your laptop has 4GB RAM<\/strong> for it\u2019s working memory. This would have been great for Windows 7. If you have let Windows do it\u2019s thing, you are now running Windows 10, and it seems sluggish. By doubling the memory to 8 GB<\/strong>, you will notice the laptop feels suddenly more lively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By replacing the battery, you can find that you can curl up on the sofa, pay some bills, research a project, and watch a movie without having to suddenly spring up to find the charger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, you might have installed games and app, removed them. The children might have installed games, which brought with them unwanted programs. It could even be the programs aren\u2019t opening at all anymore.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Check your RAM<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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  1. Select the \u201cStart\u201d menu, located in the bottom left of your screen<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Next, type \u201cTask Manager\u201d and press enter when the correct result appears<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Click on the \u201cPerformance\u201d tab and check the section titled \u201cMemory\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    After you have followed any of these three methods on Windows 10, you should see a graph that presents the current performance and usage of your RAM. If the graph indicates your RAM usage is above 70% and you are only performing simple tasks or are not doing anything at all, you may need additional RAM to prevent sluggish performance. However, sometimes high RAM usage shown on the Task Manager can be due to having too many programs running in the background (source<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    If running anti-virus software scans doesn\u2019t seems to help, re-installing Windows might be something worthwhile to do. This needs a little planning, as you will need to back up your files (if you haven\u2019t already).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Re-using a laptop.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    It could well be that it is actually time to purchase a new laptop. The laptop you might be simply too out of date to handle the tasks you need it do. Gaming, 3D design, music production. But is this a reason to consign your old laptop to scrap heap?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Not really. Let\u2019s use the principles above to re-use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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