Computer Support Blog

It is sometimes amazing to think that so many viable business entities in the tech sector rose around niche products.  More than any other industry, the tech sector fosters the concept that for every great idea, there is a way to make it real and form a business with that product as its centerpiece.  Yellow Springs Instruments (YSI), the manufacturer of the ProOdo dissolved oxygen sensor, knows just how that sort of specific and esoteric product can build a viable business.  In fact, YSI built so many scientific instruments so well, they were bought by Zylem. To manage the new company, Ron Geis accepted a position as Vice President and General Manager of YSI.  With Geis’ strong record of growing companies and increasing profits, this appointment would seem to be a strategic move by the parent company, indicating anticipated significant expansion. Read more »

Losing data is the bane of every computer user.  Power outages, surges and simple mechanical failure from traditional hard drives can cause a computer crash that eliminates any unsaved information from your computer.  While sometimes data recovery is possible, prevention is by far the best medicine in the case of data loss.  The new ArxCis-NV is designed to prevent data loss and essentially acts as an internal flash drive that constantly backs up your otherwise unsaved data! Read more »

You might think, given the sheer volume of portable devices and portable memory options, that marketing flash drives and other memory products would be exceptionally easy.  Nothing could be further from the truth, though.  With so many available options, consumers frequently become confused or simply buy the least expensive option that is right before them.  Few companies know how complicated a business it is to effectively market new memory products.  Since 1985, Patriot Memory has been delivering quality computer storage devices and flash drives.  As Patriot looked to the crowded marketplace, the company knew it had to make some changes.  That was when they promoted Mai Kosla! Read more »

It is very hard to make a basic computer peripheral like a computer mouse seem cool.  Outside radical reinventions like the Genius Ring Presenter, the computer mouse has been refined more than redefined over the past two decades.  Even so, some of the new, advanced computer mice are extraordinary and well worth buying.  At the top of the list is the Air Mouse from Gyration. Read more »

There is something awkward and fascinating about geniuses who peak at a young age.  While most people work for years to accomplish all that they want, many young geniuses achieve early and spend their adult years taking on projects they enjoy, more than working for money.  On the eve of his move out to San Francisco to start Posterous, co-founder Sachin Agarwal declared that he had accomplished everything he had dreamed of.  That’s not bad for a twenty-eight year old!  Now, four years later, Sachin Agarwal continues to redefine social media on the Internet. Read more »

There is nothing new about popular companies or brands merchandising their name well outside the product that initially made the company famous, even in the technology sector.  One need look no further than Apple’s early 1980s line of windbreakers and Swiss Army Knives to know that the tech sector, like the media and celebrities, has long tried to make money off baubles unrelated to their technological advances.  As one of the most popular video games on the market for the last few years, one of the biggest licenses to stem from the technology sector is Angry Birds. Read more »

With every emerging industry, the process of discovery and development often moves faster than the law.  Changing public policy and laws to accommodate the growth of industry can be a painstaking process.  In recent years, for example, the alternative energy industry has grown considerably.  However, environmental laws and other regulations have slowed the search for viable new energy sources or methods of refining or utilizing currently available energy sources.  Working with the alternative energy industry to make positive changes in the world is Teresa Irvin Copenhaver! Read more »

With recent advances in computer technology – both industrial and personal computers – it has never been easier to use your computer to produce musical compositions.  The best musical tools for digital music production are flexible, versatile and have hardware that helps to eliminate noise.  It is a boon to find a system that has all of the important attributes of a great digital music recording tool that also is portable.  The Fast Track Ultra is one of the few audio interfaces that is portable and powerful! Read more »

Privacy rights are some of the most contentiously debated human rights.  Most people in the United States and other free societies treat privacy as an innate human right, a position which comes into conflict with the views of other governments, agencies within the United States government, and Constitutional literalists (there is no explicit Freedom of Privacy guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution).  As technology has improved, the debate over privacy rights has only become more divisive.  That debate was what inspired Phil Zimmermann to create Pretty Good Privacy. Read more »

Learning to speak a foreign language can be especially difficult for adults.  After all, adults have years, decades, of word associations to overcome when learning a foreign language.  With many other languages having different word orders and verb tenses that are not used in English, adult learners are not only tasked with learning a new language, but with thinking an entirely new way.  Fortunately, not every language is as difficult as learning Chinese and there are some great programs for those who want to rise to the challenge of learning a foreign language.  For learning German, there is arguably no better resource than Fluenz German 1+2+3. Read more »