Computer Support Blog

Given that the television has been available to consumers for almost a century now, it might seem odd to make the statement that there are very few people who “get” television.  As far as the tech sector and Internet businesses who are trying to exploit the classic medium, there are very few people who “get” television.  One need only look at how both Apple and Google have unsuccessfully attempted to market Smart TV products to know that the giants of the Internet simply do not understand how consumers use their televisions.  Ashwin Navin, on the other hand, completely gets the television audience and through his company, Flingo, he is enhancing the television-viewing experience.

Ashwin Navin is the co-founder and CEO of Flingo.  Flingo is virtually reinventing television . . . without trying to change the sloth-like way that most people view television.  While it might seem like a contradiction, Navin’s approach to Smart TV programming has been very different from the approach of his competitors.  Instead of trying to change television entirely, Navin and Flingo are working to enhance television.  Navin created Flingo to easily provide additional content related to television on smartphones, tablet computers and other mobile devices.  As well, Ashwin Navin realized that many people might enjoy seeing their YouTube and other videos on their big, expensive, sophisticated high-definition televisions.  A big initial application of Flingo was linking Internet videos to your television!

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The idea for tablet computers began much earlier than most people realize. The iPad was by no means the first tablet computer; there have been tablets widely available for sale since 1989. They have ranged widely in functionality and design, but tablets are not a new thing.

As the first in a series of three blogs centering on the history of tablet computers, this blog will focus mainly on the first tablet-like devices that relied on computers for their functionality. The second and third blogs will focus on the self-contained tablets of the last few decades and the rise in popularity they are currently experiencing.

The first tablet-like computer device was created in 1964 and it was called the RAND tablet. The RAND tablet was basically a square sensor in the middle of a wooden board. It came with an attached stylus and cost $18,000. The stylus and sensor system replaced the keyboard for the computer it was attached to and software was developed to make the RAND tablet recognize handwriting.

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With so many smartphones available to consumers, it can be overwhelming to try to shop for a new smartphone.  There are so many brands, so many operating systems, so many distinguishing aspects of the different smartphones on the market that it becomes a full-time job to keep up with the benefits and detractions of each different make and model of smartphone.  Fortunately, some of the new smartphones are delightfully simple in their pitch and intended market.  The Samsung Rugby Smart is one such smartphone and it is for active/sporty individuals.

The Samsung Rugby Smart is a brand new smartphone from one of the most reliable names in computer technology today!  The Samsung Rugby Smart is intended for the on-the-go, athletic type smartphone user.  In addition to having a more durable casing with a dust-proof seal, the Samsung Rugby Smart is waterproof.  Tested to resist submersion – not just a few drops of water, but actually being immersed in water! – the Samsung Rugby Smart will remain undamaged under a full meter of water for up to half an hour!  That means if you accidentally start swimming with your Samsung Rugby Smart, you should not lose your precious data or files stored on your smartphone!

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Sometimes, the only thing more confusing than figuring out what all of the charges on your various utility and media bills are for, is figuring out who is still providing the services you want to engage.  It seems like almost every day there is a new energy provider or a local telephone company finally sells to a massive international conglomerate.  The telephone, mobile phone and smartphone market has been an especially volatile one, made more so with the rise of cell phones and smart phones.  One of the companies that remains in the industry longer than many analysts anticipated is Cricket.  One of the reasons for the company’s continued survival is Annette M. Jacobs.

Annette M. Jacobs is the West Area President for Leap Wireless International, the parent company of cell phone service provider Cricket.  Jacobs went to work for Leap Wireless International in 2010 and at the time, many suspected that Cricket – which was closing many of its retail locations with their iconic green couches – was in the process of a collapse.  But through the hard work of people like Annette M. Jacobs, Cricket has had a positive turnaround and the West Coast operation of Leap Wireless International is running smoother than ever!

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Computer circuits have traditionally been rigid squares of metal or plastic, which have not worked well with direct organic interface such as in a human body. That is currently changing. John Rogers, a professor at the University of Illinois, has been researching and creating an electronic circuit that he applies directly onto human tissue without interfering with movement.

In conjunction with Yonggang Huang, a professor from Northwest University, Rogers has created a stretchable electronic circuit. When Rogers puts one of the circuits onto living tissue, the circuit can move freely with the natural movements of the organism. This opens up an entire range of possible uses for this new technology.

These small circuits are made of silicon, with tiny wavy structures across the surface of the thinner-than-a-hair circuits. Some news sources have dubbed them “electronic tattoos” because they can be applied on the skin in a similar manner to temporary tattoos.

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Despite other tablet computers preceding and following it, the Apple iPad has virtually dominated the tablet computer market since Apple first released it. While Amazon has attempted to compete with its Kindle Fire, the name iPad is considered synonymous with tablet computer, much the way “iPod” and “MP3 player” are used (incorrectly) interchangeably. With so many tablet computers hitting the market in 2012, it is tough to guess which one might bite into the iPad’s market share the most. It was tough . . . until ASUS announced the Transformer Pad Infinity!

The ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity is built with the same consideration ASUS has for its high definition monitors. In addition to having exceptional durability, the ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity has a display that is at the cutting edge of the industry. With a 10.1” Super IPS+ display, everything looks incredible. With a native resolution of 1920 x 1200, the touchscreen display captures every fine detail from images and streaming videos. The 2.3 MP display on the ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity displays colors brightly and has wonderful black depth, even when you watch videos in sunlight!

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Some of the coolest ideas in the tech sector come about by accident.  These accidental ideas might not have the overwhelming significance to humanity that medical science kismet discoveries – like the discovery of penicillin through bread mold – have, but they can be pretty neat in their own right and lead to surprisingly cool businesses.  Andrew Houston is an American Internet pioneer whose frequent forgetfulness led to the creation of Dropbox!

Andrew (Drew) Houston studied computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the early 2000s.  Born and raised in Massachusetts, Drew Houston frequently forgot his USB flash drives while attending MIT.  Always on the run, Houston soon came to lament how forgetting his flash drive would affect his time, grades, and travel.  Houston began to back up his files so he had remote access to them.  When he started doing that, he realized the idea might translate into a service.  With his fellow MIT graduate, Arash Ferdowski, Drew Houston translated the idea for the service into a business: Dropbox.

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When browsing products on Amazon and you see a product has a five star rating that means it is a great product, right? Unfortunately, you cannot trust that rating as much as you might have thought. At least one Amazon retailer has been paying people to post rave reviews for its products on the site.

Though this highly misleading practice violates Amazon’s stated policies, VIP Deals paid its customers to give the product good reviews. The company is now suffering the consequences – Amazon took down the product page on which people posted the offending reviews and then removed all other VIP Deals products from the website.

When shopping online, many customers place a high importance on peer reviews because they cannot physically see or handle the item they are purchasing. Good reviews are essential for retailers to sell their product amid the multitude of similar products available online. Therefore, some retailers like VIP Deals are resorting to posting anonymous reviews or selling reviews in order to obtain customers.

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Not too long ago, Apple and Adobe (the software company that publishes Flash and Photoshop software) were in conflict because Apple’s iOS would not run Adobe programs. This failure of functionality was be design, though; Adobe and Apple’s Quicktime video formats have long been in conflict and Apple hoped to force programmers and websites to use their coding as opposed to Adobe’s. So, for some time, you could not play most YouTube videos on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. But then, Apple and Adobe settled their differences and now Adobe is writing programs specifically for the iOS operating system. One of the first truly meaningful Adobe programs to be recoded for iOS functioning is Adobe Photoshop Touch for iPad.

As one of its flagship software programs, Photoshop is a big moneymaker for Adobe. Adobe Photoshop Touch is the pared-down program for mobile computing devices; already there is an Android-based Photoshop Touch that has made Photoshop tools available to the wealth of Android customers. Adobe Photoshop Touch for iPad allows Apple iOS users using an iPad to create, alter, and publish images based on Adobe programming. This gives visual artists and photographers a huge opportunity to continue their art. No longer do Apple Computer fans have to choose between their preferred mobile computing device and the opportunity to become more proficient at their visual art.

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In the ever-more-complicated online world, new social networks seem to pop up (or close down) almost every month.  As you surf the web, you might be astonished to discover there have been entire social networks that you never heard of before.  Some of the photo sharing and intimate social networks actually only make headlines when they shut down!  But one social network you may not have heard of that is not closing down anytime soon is Yammer.  And while you may not have heard of Yammer, that is not the fault of An Le!

An Le is the Vice President of Business Development for Yammer.  Yammer is a company that builds social networks for private companies, almost like a social network for a business’s intranet.  Yammer serves companies like Ford, LG, and Pitney Bowes and developing the network to more companies is the responsibility of An Le.  As Vice President of Business Development, An Le helps businesses understand how vital an internal social network can be to increasing productivity, teamwork and corporate efficiency.

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