Author: Annabell Halpert, IDG Creative Lab

Cars have bumpers. Homes have brick walls. Heck, humans have skulls. But your gadgets? They go out into the world naked, unprotected, vulnerable. It’s amazing any of them survive at all. Of course, you’ve made a considerable investment into your gadget ecosystem, so it makes sense to want your devices to last as long as possible. Let’s take a look at some of the practical ways you can prolong the life of your most beloved devices.

Laptops

Laptops are tough to protect. One unfortunate encounter with the pavement and you could be looking at a busted screen, a dead hard drive, and years’ worth of irreplaceable work. At the very least, keep your laptop in a padded case when you’re walking around with it. Equally important, make sure the cooling-fan vents are never blocked during use, otherwise the laptop could overheat. Likewise, every few months, use a can of compressed air to blow dust out of those vents. While you’re at it, blow the crumbs out from between your keyboard keys; any detritus that falls into the cracks can cause keyboard malfunctions.

You should also take care not to over-exert your laptop’s battery, which has a finite number of charge cycles. If you spend most of your time working at a desk, pop the battery out and rely on AC power.

When you buy a fancy new smartphone, tablet, laptop, or any other essential electronic device, the last thing you’re likely to think about is the warranty. You probably know that most such devices are covered for a year, but what kind of coverage are you really getting? Does it cover the most common catastrophes? And what happens when it expires? Let’s take a look at some of the frequent problems encountered in the electronics world and whether or not a standard manufacturer’s warranty provides peace of mind.

Broken screen

Gravity happens, and when it happens to a piece of electronics, the result is very often a cracked or totally shattered screen. But just as a car manufacturer won’t repair a dented fender, an electronics company won’t fix your busted display. Because gravity-related mishaps aren’t covered by standard warranties.

Covered? No.

When your car is on its last legs, the signs are pretty clear. You might hear loud clanking from under the hood, see smoke pouring from the tailpipe, or even feel the death-rattle of a cracked cylinder.

With a laptop, it’s not always so easy to tell. It won’t shake, rattle, or smoke (hopefully) when it’s nearing the end. But with a little bit of guidance, you may be able to identify the symptoms of a sick system, and perhaps even cure them. Here’s how.

Now that we’re all inextricably tethered to our smartphones, it’s especially frustrating when they break. Suddenly you’re cut off from the world, unable to talk, text, Google, and, perhaps worst of all, play Candy Crush Saga. So what happens when your iPhone hits the pavement and cracks like an egg? Or won’t turn on? Or goes for a swim? Maybe it’s something basic, or maybe not. Whatever the case, you might be thinking you can fix it yourself. After all, you’re handy with a screwdriver, and you’ve been known to pry open a malfunctioning PC. How hard could iPhone repair really be?

Let’s take a look at some common problems and whether or not it’s smart to try to fix them on your own.

The worn-out battery

It’s a sad truth that rechargeable batteries wear out over time. After about a year, you’ll probably notice that your iPhone doesn’t last as long between charges. At two years, average runtime plummets. Eventually, you’ll be lucky to get half a day out of it.

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