Removing an Asus laptop keyboard

Boy, this one had me stumped.  Every now and then, we have to turn to the Internet to figure out the best way to remove a keyboard on a laptop.  There was practically no help available for the particular Asus notebook we were working on.  There was one screw on the underside that was identified as being for "K" or "Kbd", so that part was easy.  Getting the keyboard off was not so easy.  Frequently, the strip of plastic between the top of the keyboard and the LCD has to come off in order to expose screws that hold down the upper edge of the keyboard.  That did not appear to be a possibility for this Asus, so I knew the keyboard just had to come off.  I could see 4 spring-loaded latches spread out above the Function keys, but pushing these in didn't seem to release the keyboard at all and certainly did nothing to loosen up the bezel above the keyboard.

I finally employed a dental explorer by inserting it into a small crevice that was visible along the upper edge of the keyboard and pressed in the leftmost spring-loaded latch.  Pulling up on the keyboard with the dental explorer, I got it to come away from the laptop slightly and was able to work my way across the upper edge, pressing in each latch as I came to them.  When the upper edge was completely free, I was able to lift it away, finding a second unused screw post under the keyboard also.  Beyond this, it was just the typical ribbon cable to release and the keyboard was uninstalled.

When reinstalling the keyboard, I could see that my difficulty in removing it was due to the tight press fit of the keyboard within the area allowed for it on the palmrest.  Also, there had been some spill on the keyboard that left sticky residue underneath.  This frequently locks parts in there so well that a technician is sure there is a screw or tab holding something in place when there is really nothing but a dried spill.

Daryn

Automatic Software Updates for Windows eliminate security risks

Apple OS X has a great feature that beats the pants off of Windows.  You click on the Apple logo and select "Update Software", and the operating system simply checks for any updates to any installed software and updates it for you.  Pretty danged convenient.  You might have to say "OK" to a license or provide your administrator password to complete a program update, but that's the worst of it.

We recently heard of a cool free utility that helps with this for Windows users.  Secunia offers their Secunia PSI product free for home use.  It examines software you have installed on your computer, references the Secunia database for any known security risks reported for the versions of the software you have installed, and provides simple links that allow you to download and install the latest versions that eliminate these risks.  Not quite as automatic as the Apple OS way of doing things, but what a help!  Check it out.