Computer Support Blog

Subscription services seem to be becoming the new norm for entertainment.  Netflix has changed the television world with their streaming service model and Spotify has made a huge impact applying the same concepts to music.  Now, there is a cool product that wants to shift this model to yet another area.  Bardowl provides users unlimited access to streaming audiobooks using a month-to-month subscription model.  The company focuses entirely on a mobile-based subscription for the time being, providing the app on iPhones, iPads, and iPods to start.  A mobile-first approach is likely the right one given the immense growth of the mobile market over the last several years, especially in the area of entertainment.  People already frequently download audiobooks from Amazon and Apple for use on their mobile devices, so believing they would use primarily use a mobile subscription service to listen to them is not much of a stretch.  Users who experience any trouble listening to books through the Bardowl app should seek out a mobile tech support company for assistance with the issue. Read more »

Craft breweries depend heavily on word of mouth for most of their business.  Unlike major corporate beer brands, people can only find specific craft beers in a limited numbers of bars, restaurants and retail stores.  Small breweries also do not have the proper resources to put large amounts of money into national advertising campaigns.  Enthusiasts telling others about specific brews and smaller companies is what keeps many of the regional craft beer companies alive.  Cool person in technology Kevin Bradshaw wants to help craft breweries extend their marketing reach and make it easier for craft beer fans to find particular beers they enjoy or discover new ones to try.  Bradshaw’s company Beerdog produces an iPhone application that that has customers take pictures of the beer they are buying. Bradshaw’s app the automatically recognizes the beer’s brand and tags the brand with its location using the smartphone’s GPS.  Users can search for particular brands in their area and see where others have found craft beers they enjoy in nearby bars, restaurants, and stores.  Craft beer fans simply load up the app to see what locations have the brews they want instead of having to ask around awkwardly.  Users who want to download the app should find iPhone IT support if they have trouble.  Read more »

As entertaining as large, flat-screen television sets are when people are using them to watch shows, movies and sports, they can also be an eyesore during a party or causal get-together when people aren’t using them.  Cool person in technology Sheldon Laube has found a way to give TVs a better purpose when not performing their primary function.  Laube has created Artkick, which provides a massive archive of photographs and digital artwork for users to push to their television displays wirelessly through an Android and iPhone app.  Artkick users can wirelessly control what images display on their large screen televisions using their phones.  Laube wants people to be able to repurpose their televisions easily when not using them.  With Artkick, people can instantly make their televisions into eye-catching art displays that make their home feel more welcoming to visitors.  Users simply connect their phones to their televisions through a Wi-Fi signal and select whatever image they want displayed.  Anyone who has trouble connecting their smartphones to their TVs through their wireless Internet will need to get home network support for help. Read more »

Apartment hunting, especially in larger cities, is often one of the most frustrating and difficult aspects if moving somewhere new.  There are many directory sites for people to sift through when looking for places to live, but these sites are often less than helpful.  Apartment postings on most directories don’t disappear once someone rents a vacant space.  This issue creates situations where people end up calling countless buildings asking about apartments that aren’t even available.  Beyond that, most directories don’t offer full details on different apartment buildings.  Many places surprise apartment hunters with hidden move-in fees.  Other buildings don’t list what amenities are available to tenants in their advertisements.  The lack of clarity in these listings cost people immense amounts of time in their searches. Apartment seekers track down and contact many places that are dead ends.  Cool product Apartable wants to be a force for positive change in these situations and help renters get complete, accurate, and real-time information about apartment availability.  Apartable’s site provides dynamic apartment listings that update in real-time when a place becomes unavailable.  Anyone who has issues trying to work the Apartable website to access these dynamic listings should immediately contact a professional for remote computer support. Read more »

Live music has always been one of the biggest reasons for people to leave their homes and spend a night on the town.  Whether people are discovering new artists at small clubs or going to bigger venues to catch performances by their favorite bands, there is no question that live concerts are a major draw for them.  Now, a cool person in technology has formed a startup that looks to make it easier than ever for people to find local live music that they enjoy.  Mark Karsdorf has created Timbre with the aim of connecting people with local music whenever they want to go out and see a show.  Timbre detects users’ locations and shows them all the upcoming live shows in their area, whether performed by major artists or small local groups.  The app automatically tells people when and where there is live music to see around them.  Anyone who wants to use Karsdorf’s app but has problems with their phone’s GPS will need smartphone PC repair before utilizing Timbre.  Read more »

Many high school and college students have experienced that moment of panic where they sit down to write their final paper and draw a sudden blank on how to approach it.  Many times primary sources and notes don’t seem to help and the student just can’t figure out how to structure their argument or tackle the necessary issues.  Cool product WriteWork wants to help students overcome this moment of panic by offering them the chance to see how others before them have attacked similar topics.  WriteWork is an online resource that offers students a database of over 120,000 sample essays covering a range of topics for students to use as resources and inspiration in their own essays.  Read more »

Creating legal documents and contracts is a long and tedious process when done manually.  For companies that have to make hundreds or even thousands of these documents a year, the process can waste significant amounts of time that they would rather spend in other areas of business.  Tech company Exari has developed a cool product that helps automate the creation of legal contracts for business use. Exari’s software aims to help companies save time and focus on other operations besides tedious document creation.  Exari is trying to make the creation of legal contracts and other documents a non-issue for businesses by reducing a complicated process into just a bit of data entry.  Using this cool product, businesses don’t always have to have legally trained staff available to create documents. Exari aims for even average employees to be able to use their software.  This company makes their legal document creation products available through the web via a cloud-based system.  Any companies that have trouble accessing the system from their network should get in touch with a business IT support provider for assistance. Read more »

Checking different news sites and blogs is quickly becoming the daily morning routine for many professionals.  More often than not, one can catch many people going through popular entertainment blogs and news sites on their phone over breakfast or coffee in the morning.  However, despite the fact that someone can do it all on a device that fits in his or her pocket, there is still an aspect of inconvenience to this process.  One must always stop what they are doing in order to check new postings or read articles on their favorite blogs.  Outside of those people who use public transportation and have a specific time where their hands and eyes are free during their morning commute, stopping work or travel is necessary for people to check these websites on their phones.  Cool person in technology Espen Systad wants to make it easy for people to get the information they want from entertainment and news sites without taking more time away from them.  Systad’s company Capsule.fm accomplishes this feat by automatically converting the text from blogs and news sites into a personalized audio feed for smartphone users. Read more »

Members of small communities and neighborhoods often look out for each other when problems arise.  Whether someone has been the victim of a crime or lost something important to them, such as a valuable possession or a pet, neighbors are usually willing to provide aid in some way.  People usually help out by posting flyers or going around the community and asking questions, hopefully piecing together enough information to assist the person in trouble.  Cool person in technology Jay Sebben wants to use technology and the web to help people within these communities assist each other.  Sebben’s company Crowdfynd provides people with a platform where they can post ads about lost items, safety issues, suspicious activities or anything else they feel would be good for the neighborhood.  People can browse Crowdfynd to find ways to help each other out.  People can also find out if anyone has found their lost items by checking the Crowdfynd website or mobile apps.  Any less technically inclined users who would like to use Crowdfynd to help their community can contact remote computer support services for help getting started. Read more »

The industry of ticket reselling has changed significantly thanks to the Internet.  Before the web took over, legitimate ticket reselling meant going to ticket brokers or special agencies.  Now, with companies like StubHub having become very successful, it’s far easier for the average person to resell tickets online without having to resort to scalping at an event.  However, one of the downsides for consumers when buying second hand event tickets online is that sellers now lock in their prices.  The nature of sites like StubHub leads consumers to make quick purchases and leaves no room for negotiations over ticket prices.  Cool person in technology Dan Rubendall founded Zigabid to put some power back in the hands of ticket buyers.  Zigabid connects resellers and potential buyers online and allows for back and forth negotiation over price.  Rubendall instituted an offer and counteroffer system into his website that allows for more flexible pricing.  Any users who have trouble making use of Rubendall’s system online should get help from a tech support service. Read more »