Computer Support Blog

Voice control is a growing trend in the smartphone arena.  Both of the two biggest smartphone operating systems—iOS and Android—have voice-activated virtual assistant features built in to their system (Siri and Google Now, respectively).  However, these virtual assistants often don’t work within many specific applications, limiting how many actions they can actually perform.  This is why cool person in technology Stuart Patterson is making virtual assistant style voice control available for individual mobile applications with his company Xtone.  Consumers have responded well to the ease-of-use presented by Siri and Google Now, so Patterson sees an opportunity for app creators to transplant that experience into their own mobile software.  Patterson targets Xtone’s services at small and medium-sized app developers who want to add a Siri-like experience to their product.  Xtone’s own website lists various potential applications of such a feature.  One could use Xtone’s technology for booking hotels and rental cars quickly with a travel app, transferring money or paying bills with a banking app, or even connecting to an online tech support service when you have trouble operating an app.  While virtual assistants like Siri and Google Now can only let you open certain programs or access specific OS commands by voice, Xtone’s technology lets people commit these essential tasks the same way.  Read more »

Kairos is a cool product in technology that utilizes biometrics to form the base for a timeclock system at a place of work.  Kairos runs on a smartphone or tablet and checks employees in and out of their shifts through facial recognition technology.  When an employer uses Kairos, all an employee supposedly has to do to punch in for their shift is look at the smartphone or tablet camera.  Kairos will automatically recognize the employee as legitimate and record their punch-in time.  If this cool product works as advertised it could be seriously advantageous for small businesses.  It doesn’t require any extra equipment beyond a working tablet or smartphone that a company might be able to repurpose.  It can also effectively prevent any type of timecard fraud.  If employees must have their faces recognized by the camera in order to punch in or out of their shift, then it would be impossible for someone to punch in someone who wasn’t on time or absent.  In theory, this would increase the accuracy of timecards and avoid any potential abuse of the system.  Employers who want to take advantage of Kairos but have no experience with smartphones or tablets can seek help from business computer services. Read more »

Keeping track of your life, remembering every detail and keeping your calendar updated can be a seriously tedious task.  This is so much the case that those who can afford it often hire personal assistants to handle the job for them.  Unfortunately, many people do not have the means to outsource their life upkeep.  That’s why the people who work on cool product Gini believe they can reach an untapped market.  Gini is software that utilizes AI technology to sort a person’s life automatically based on their documents.  Whenever someone gets a new batch of paperwork, whether physically or digitally, they can input it into Gini and the software will recognize the important pieces of text in the document—dates, names, and addresses.  The software will then automatically sort this information into a digital calendar and address book.  Users then get alerts, reminders and updates about events, appointments, and bills so they never have to worry about keeping track of this information manually.  Gini lets users upload documents of multiple different file types.  However, that does mean users have to scan physical documents to make digital copies that are uploadable to the software.   If you have difficulty with your scanner, you will need computer tech support available to take full advantage of Gini. Read more »

Most eCommerce depends heavily on a discounted mass-market model that focuses on items produced in very high volumes and shipped from big warehouses.  It’s a very functional, but very dry system.  Wherein the world of physical retail, there are often specialty shops that depend on unique products and craftsmanship, these types of products and retailers commonly get lost in the shuffle on the Internet.  Grand St. CEO and cool person in technology Amanda Peyton wants to change this and help the visibility of unique, specially crafted products on the web.  Her company works a curator for eCommerce, seeking out and partnering with makers of specialty items and offering a limited number of these items as deals through the Grand St. website.  Rather than fill warehouses with everyday products, Peyton wants to give exposure to unique items.  For example, Grand St. has featured a Bluetooth thermometer for your grill that alerts you when your food finishes cooking, an inflatable solar-powered LED lantern, and a digital pen that records your handwritten notes and syncs them wirelessly with your smartphone.  Clearly, these are not everyday items you’ll find in Wal-Mart, but specialized tech toys that focus on niche markets.  If you ever need help with an electronic item purchased from Grand St.’s website, you should find a good tech support provider. Read more »

There are many job listing websites on the Internet, but the vast majority of them amount to a simple position and résumé aggregator.  While they make it easier to find potential jobs and candidates by pooling them all into one place online, most sites don’t try anything that significantly affects or changes the hiring process.  Elli Sharef is a cool person in technology who believes this is a missed opportunity to take advantage of the Internet and new technology.  To address this, she founded HireArt, a startup focused on finding ways to enhance the job application process.  Like other job listing sites, HireArt has companies post available positions and applicants make personal profiles to apply.  However, applicants do not simply upload or copy over their résumé when making their HireArt profile.  HireArt requires potential applicants to provide work samples and complete an interview that is specific to the type of work they wish to find.  Sharef herself is the main developer of HireArt’s interviews.  Generally, Sharef’s interviews include two written responses and two video responses for each candidate.  If you want to create a HireArt profile, but have trouble using a webcam for video replies, you will need home computer support to assist you. Read more »

Artsy, a cool product on the web, has made it its mission to use the Internet to make the world of high art accessible to anyone that wants to experience it.  Artsy collects art internationally by partnering with major galleries to keep an online database where anyone can search for, learn about, or view specific artwork that is for sale.  They have also formed partnerships with several museums and foundations to provide online access to public art that is not for sale, but enthusiasts may still want to view and discover online in high quality. Currently, Artsy claims to have over 50,000 pieces collected on their site for viewing.  The site offers users a multitude of ways to filter the content on the site to suit their specific interests.  The site sorts works by medium, subject material, style, price, movement, geographical origin and time period.  Artsy tries to ensure than anyone can easily find their specific tastes within the site’s ever-growing database.  If you have trouble navigating the site, call for PC support services. Read more »

People sharing and renting each other’s property is a growing trend in the consumer web space.  Companies like Airbnb have people share their apartments and extra rooms so others don’t have to use hotel services.  Cool product Qraft wants to take this trend and apply it to recreational vehicles and items that its website refers to as “adventure” related.  This includes alternative transportation like boats, planes, RVs, and motorbikes.  Qraft also has a section for users to rent out hiking, climbing, and camping gear for those who prefer to have their adventures on foot.   What makes a Qraft potentially very profitable for its users is that these items and vehicles often go unused for months at a time.  That means that people can rent their items out often and make a profit on their recreational toys.  These items are often very costly and see very limited use, but with Qraft, a user could theoretically get much more out of their investment in an item like a boat or RV.  Recreational vehicle owners who want to rent their items out but struggle with the web will want online PC support to help them. Read more »

Video content is a great marketing tool and can be a very engaging experience for users.  However, video content can also be also limited in its appeal.  Users who are hearing impaired or who do not speak the language used in the video are all immediately eliminated from experiencing a video’s content.  This is fine if a company aims its video at a small community or niche audience, but those who want to appeal to people in a global way are stuck.  Cool person in technology David Orban wants to solve this dilemma with his company Dotsub.  Orban is the CEO of Dotsub, who provides companies with the tools and software to caption and translate their online videos for wider user engagement.  Orban’s company provides their software as a service for businesses that want their video content to be accessible to a wider audience.  Users who have trouble operating the software should get remote computer support to help them resolve any issues. Read more »

There is constant discussion in education circles about how to use technology to improve students’ experience and performance.  New startup and cool product Quizlet is directly addressing this issue with its online tools to aid children in studying.  Quizlet attempts to take the stress and tedium out of studying by solving two problems: the consolidation material that a student needs to study and the engagement of the student in the studying process.   Quizlet solves the first problem by allowing students, teachers, or parents to input their own study sets so only the necessary information gets into Quizlet’s system.  This cool product solves the second problem by turning the information provided into a series of games that randomize the material to optimize it for multiple playthroughs.  Each time a user adds a study set to the Quizlet website, they also post it publicly for any others who may want to use it.  This makes it easier for teachers to utilize Quizlet for their classes, as they can simply link students to the appropriate study set to ensure all students are studying the correct material. If you ever have trouble uploading study sets onto their website, remote tech support should be able to help you. Read more »

The video entertainment industry has seen a massive shift in its business model over the last several years thanks to the success of subscription-based streaming sites like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon.  Following these changes, music-streaming services like Spotify and Rdio also grew rapidly and proved the subscription model works for music as well as video.  However, there is one form of entertainment that until recently was still untouched by the purely digital subscription model: books.  Cool product Oyster wants to change that with a monthly subscription model for eBooks.  The team at Oyster has seen that the market proves that subscription-based entertainment is a viable business model and they want to prove that eBooks are the next form of entertainment that can benefit from this system.  Currently, they offer a monthly subscription where users can access any of their library of 100,000 books on any iOS device as often as they want.  If you have concerns about using your Apple products to read books, find Apple tech support to learn more.  Read more »