Computer Support Blog

Song royalties have become a more complicated issue in recent years due to the way technology has affected the music industry.  Online radio companies like Pandora and Slacker Radio service millions, and on-demand streaming services like Rhapsody and Spotify have gained a significant hold in the market. These realities mean there are suddenly far more virtual venues than ever before where musicians and songwriters should earn royalties for their work.  Technology has also changed the global market for music, as it’s far easier for songs to gain exposure on several continents now.  Before the Internet, only larger stars backed by major labels would see radio play internationally.  Now, a video uploaded to YouTube can go viral and an independent artist can have worldwide exposure.  Without knowing how to collect international royalties however, it’s much more difficult for those independent artists to receive pay for their work.  However, a cool product in technology called Songtrust is providing artists a platform on the web to help them collect the royalties they should be earning from every possible source. Read more »

Making products into services has been a common theme among technology startups over the last few years.  Companies like Spotify have taken music, which people once sold like a product in album and single form, and allowed people to pay a monthly subscription for unlimited access to it.  Netflix, Crackle, Hulu and other video streaming companies have made film and television a subscription service for millions of people as well.  Even computer repair companies now offer subscription-based plans as opposed to one-time service.  Now, a cool person in technology wants to transform another product into a service for consumers.  TurningArt founder Jason Gracilieri wants to make professional art subscription-based for admirers.  Read more »

There are a many companies producing websites and software that help people when searching for a new job.  The uncertainty of the current job market has made these products popular as people look for any edge they can get when seeking a new position.  However, many people never think about the other side of the equation.  With so many people seeking new positions, companies can have a harder time sifting through applicants to find the best person for a new job.  Cool product Workable wants to help businesses select the right people for every open position they have.  Read more »

Any parent that has ever volunteered to be a leader of any extra-curricular activity for their kids knows that trying to organize children from dozens of families is a harrowing venture.  Cool person in technology Yuval Spector wants to use the Internet to make this task far more manageable and less intimidating.  Mass emails with broken threads, missed phone calls and numerous other problems usually complicate things when trying to plan activities for large groups of children.  However, Spector’s company UpToUs provides parents with numerous organizational tools that can help group leaders keep things organized when working out details with so many other parents.  Spector wants to reduce the potential for chaos when parents are trying to coordinate activities by giving them a central organizational system. Read more »

Finding healthcare can be a serious pain for those who fall sick when traveling. When away from home, an ill person has no access to his or her usual physician, which can be even more of a problem if someone has a specific medical condition.  Worst of all, however, is when people fall ill in foreign countries and can’t even be sure if they are going to find a doctor that speaks their language.  Marcel Muenster, cool person in technology and CEO of TraveDoc, wants to get rid of the uncertainty and anxiety that comes with needing medical care while out of the country.  That’s why his startup connects people with foreign doctors who speak their language quickly and conveniently. Read more »

People have used technology and the web to change how humans interact with many different forms of media.  EBooks are changing how people read prose, video streaming services have changed how people watch television, and blogging has changed how people consume news.  Now, a cool person in technology wants to change the way musicians read sheet music as well.  Gregory Dell’Era founded his startup Weezic to give musicians access to interactive sheet music that actually helps people practice rather than simply giving them a metaphorical road map.  Read more »

Speed-reading is a highly sought after skill.  Thousands of people have purchased books and taken online courses in the hopes of finding ways to consume text more quickly.  While some do improve their abilities, just as many never significantly increase their reading speed.  Speed-reading methods work differently for each individual and are dependent on hours of practice, meaning that there are never any guarantees with these methods.  However, a new technology startup has researched a new way to help people read faster.  This cool product, named Spritz, uses technology and science to speed up the way people consume text automatically.  Spritz “streams” written content one word at a time at a predetermined pace, which avoids the time consuming nature of moving one’s eyes over different lines of text.  It sounds simple, but the process has proven to be successful for many people.  Even better, it requires no extra training or special methods that require extensive practice.  Anyone interested in using Spritz who has difficulty installing new applications on their computer should call computer tech support for help. Read more »

In 1962 the Jetson’s cartoon prophesied the year 2062, where a robot maid named Rosie would swoop around on her caster wheels, bossing the Jetson family around and vacuuming every mess their slapstick antics created. Moneual’s Rydis MR6550 is like Rosie, only it’s the size of a cheesecake, and it’s quiet enough that you can sleep while it vacuums your house. Also, when you tell it to clean, it doesn’t talk back!  Read more »

Online shopping is already far more convenient than having to shop at brick and mortar stores, but now a cool person in technology wants to make the process even easier.  Cameron Chell founded his company Slyce to make online shopping instantly gratifying for users.  Chell wants people to make online purchases by simply taking a picture with their mobile device.  Chell’s product uses image recognition to determine the item someone is taking a picture of and immediately find it for sale online.  Of course, users with broken smartphone cameras will need smartphone PC repair before taking advantage of Chell’s technology. Read more »

People’s definition of television is changing rapidly.  New realities of the web and streaming video have revolutionized how people consume video as entertainment.  Users seek more and more content from online sources such as Netflix and Hulu Plus rather than from their cable providers.  Many people have even cut the cord from cable companies completely, getting all their video content through the Internet.  This shift towards online streaming as a new standard for video entertainment opens to door to a slew of new possibilities and innovative business models for video content production.  Cool product Mobcaster is pushing one such new model.  This startup combines the concept of watching television online with the populist ideals behind crowdsourcing.  In crowdsourcing, the audience funds the projects they want to see completed.  Likewise, Mobcaster only airs the exclusive content that their viewers fund.  Audience members who experience buffering issues and hiccups on Mobcaster videos can fix their problems with help from a network support service. Read more »