Computer Support Blog

The 2015 Q1 RESCUECOM Computer Reliability Report has arrived, showing longstanding contenders in reliability battling for the top spot along with a surprising comeback in one manufacturer’s reliability.

The Computer Reliability Report takes a manufacturer’s market share of computers and tablets in the U.S. and compares it against the number of tech support calls RESCUECOM receives for that manufacturer’s products to determine a reliability score. Read more »

The computer and tablet reliability scores are in for the 2015 RESCUECOM Computer Reliability Report, bringing in some new names in the tablet market.

Most of the big names from previous reports have once again claimed a spot in the rankings for 2015, though several have notably risen or fallen in reliability score. Along with shifts in rankings among the report’s regulars, there are a couple of newcomers making a splash in the tablet world this year. Read more »

RESCUECOM’s 2014 Q3 Computer Reliability Report results are in, just in time to allow you to compare tech devices before buying on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. With all of the deals on technology this time of year, you want to make sure to get the best device you can for your money. Whether you are looking for a computer or a tablet, RESCUECOM’s Computer Reliability Report will give you all the information you need to make the right purchase. Even if you are looking to buy a device for someone else this holiday season, RESCUECOM’s convenient reliability grades will help you choose the perfect fit. Read more »

In the rapidly-changing corporate world, corporate loyalty is an exceptionally valuable commodity.  As a matter of basic business practices, loyalty is what a major company buys when they contract a worker.  The contract is, in part, a covenant not to use your talents for a competitor while you are being compensated by the contracting company.  Some people, however, do not need the contractual binding to illustrate real loyalty to a company.  One such individual who has proven herself time and time again to Hewlett-Packard is Ann M. Livermore. Read more »

There is a troubling psychology to the business end of the technology and entertainment industries at the moment.  Both the electronics and computers (tech) sector and the entertainment industry are manipulating consumers and it is troubling how long their behavior has gone unreported. Read more »

When Meg Whitman was elected by Hewlett-Packard’s Board of Directors to be the new CEO of HP, the story was all about Meg Whitman, not about how a woman was taking the reins of a powerful technology company. The media became uncharacteristically gender-blind with Meg Whitman and that is promising for the future of business and women in the tech sector. It is also not a surprise in that Hewlett-Packard had been managed by a woman before. That woman was Catherine A. Lesjak.

Read more »

For Rescuecom’s dedicated Blog readers: An Exclusive first look at this year’s Computer Reliability Report! The results are in for RESCUECOM’s Annual 2012 Computer Reliability Report; Lenovo/IBM returns to dominance while Samsung grows significantly!

“Entering 2012, Lenovo/IBM’s rise in reliability will be an important boost for the company.  Although Apple’s market share has risen over the last 12 months, its reliability has declined. The comparatively smaller Toshiba and Samsung are illustrating interesting reliability trends worth watching over the coming year,” stated David Milman, CEO of RESCUECOM.  For 2012, Rescuecom now includes all manufacturers with a market share of at least above one percent in this report.

The Computer Reliability Report scores for 2012 are:

Read more »

With all of the rapidly-changing aspects of computer technology, it can be very hard to keep up.  Indeed, for those who are casual computer users without real investment in the computer hardware industry, it was not so long ago that the USB port became the dominant interface port.  Suddenly, when you upgraded your computer and wanted to use your favorite old keyboard or mouse, you discovered there were no ports in the back of your new computer for it!  Like compact discs to records, the USB port has pretty much eliminated most specialized ports on computers.  In the world of USB ports, USB 3.0 is slowly creeping up in popularity.

But, you might be wondering, just what is USB 3.0?

Read more »

In this age where the world is continually getting smaller through improved communications networks and less expensive means of transportation, it is not uncommon for multinational corporations, even those based in the United States, to have a very diverse executive portfolio.  Even Intel, the chip manufacturer based in Santa Clara, California, has executives from other countries.  This makes sense, though, as Intel has a habit of hiring from the best and brightest minds around the world.  After graduating from the Technion, Israel’s Institute of Technology, with a degree in Electrical Engineering, David Perlmutter came to work for Intel.  Now, Perlmutter is an Executive Vice President for the company, as well as the General Manager of Intel’s Architecture Group.

As General Manager of the Intel Architecture Group, David Perlmutter is responsible for determining which products Intel will develop.  Because Intel has such a massive research and development branch, the company needs an executive to determine which projects are worth pursuing and which experiments need to be retooled.  The position calls for someone who has the judgment to evaluate the state of technology and the vision to push the envelope of what is possible.  David Perlmutter is just that type of visionary.

Shortly after graduation from the Technion, Perlmutter worked hard on innovating new microprocessor designs.  His engineering talents were impressive and he innovated new designs of branch target buffers and multiprocessing cache coherency protocols which he holds the patents for!  Those developments brought David Perlmutter to the attention of Intel.  Eager for just such an inventor, Intel hired Perlmutter to head their development team.  In that role, Perlmutter designed the Intel i387 and then created the microarchitecture for the Intel Pentium processor!  David Perlmutter led the teams that fundamentally change an entire generation of microchips!

With that type of success in his portfolio, the Board promoted Perlmutter through the ranks of the research and development divisions of Intel.  He had vital roles in Intel’s microprocessor manufacture for mobile phones, allowing Intel to enter the ultra-low power handheld market.  As the natural evolution of his successes, CEO Paul Otellini promoted him once again.  As General Manager of the Intel Architecture Group, Perlmutter is responsible for overseeing all of Intel’s products from data centers to consumer electronics.

Not one to rest on his laurels, David Perlmutter shepherded Intel’s latest breakthrough, Sandy Bridge, to the forefront of Intel’s manufacturing effort.  Sandy Bridge is a microprocessor with a revolutionary new microarchitecture, said to be a leap forward much like the Pentium was.  If Sandy Bridge lives up to its potential, David Perlmutter will prove that his best days are not behind him!

About RESCUECOM:

RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.

For More Information, Contact:

David Milman, CEO

315-882-1100

david@rescuecom.com

Virtually anyone can manipulate statistics in so many different ways that it is sometimes funny what passes for news using statistics.  As the annual Consumer Electronics Show launched in Las Vegas this year, the NPD Group (formerly National Purchase Diary Group) came out with what appeared to be ominous financial statistics for the technology sector.  This was treated as potentially devastating news among many members of the technology press, most of whom were off covering the Consumer Electronics Show.

Is it possible the technology reporters and bloggers did not actually read the NPD report?  Is it possible that the mainstream media that picked up the story did not understand it?  Either way, the tech sector ought not to be reeling from the NPD Group’s assertion that holiday consumer electronics spending dropped six percent during the holiday shopping season in 2011.

This would actually be news . . . if it were true.

The NPD Group’s methodology in determining that consumer electronics sales dropped is a flawed one.  In fact, they use methodology so flawed as to make the results meaningless.  The NPD report states that total consumer technology sales “excluding cell phones, tablets, e-readers, and video games” dropped.  What?!  Why is anyone taking the report seriously when it excludes some of the biggest consumer spending items of the holiday season?!  Every major poll in every single respectable publication put the Amazon Kindle Fire at the top of both “most wanted” and “most purchased” gift lists.  The Apple iPad was also a highly sought-after and delivered gift.

Saying that consumer electronic spending is down without including tablets, e-readers and video games, is like saying that cars are being pulled over less by police . . . when red and black cars are excluded.  Given that red and black cars comprise the greatest number of cars on the road in the United States, any statistic correlating cars and car color is worthless without including them.  So, too, is a statistic about holiday spending on consumer electronics that omits the most popular consumer electronics of the holiday season!

Why did the NPD release such a worthless statistic?  To be fair, the data is virtually impossible to come by.  Amazon is notoriously tight-lipped about how many of its e-readers have sold, and, with the Kindle Fire, they have been characteristically opaque.  Apple is also less eager to release its sales figures on tablet computers, though it is widely predicted that when you consider tablets a personal computers, Apple is now the largest PC manufacturer on Earth.

Regardless of what the NPD wants consumers to think, ten days in the 2011 holiday shopping season saw billion dollar sales, which is more than any other holiday season ever before.  To think that consumer electronics like tablets, e-readers and video games did not contribute tremendously to that is naïve.

About RESCUECOM:

RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.

For More Information, Contact:

David Milman, CEO

315-882-1100

david@rescuecom.com