Computer Support Blog

As streaming videos from the Internet becomes an increasingly legitimate entertainment channel, major companies in the entertainment industry are working to find their niche there.  Some of the most powerful production companies are rapidly expanding their Online division in order to use the Internet as an effective medium.  FremantleMedia is one such company that is devoting considerable resources to producing material for the Internet, including programming tailored to the mobile computing market.  All of their efforts, however, would be for naught if it were not for Mary Jones. Read more »

In the tech sector, there does not appear to be any belief in the adage, “Can’t we all just get along.”  Competition is fierce and the biggest players in the tech sector are fighting one another over every niche.  Two of the biggest companies, Apple Computers and Google, have had a recent series of spats that illustrates just how high the stakes are and how hard both companies are working to dominate the tech sector.  Google remains the world’s most-used search engine and smartphones powered by Google’s Android operating system still have the largest market share in the United States.  Apple is anything but complacent now that it is the world’s most profitable company.  In order to keep its place at the top, Apple is working to weaken Google. Read more »

In most companies, within the tech sector and without, there is usually a pretty distinctive difference between the marketing and public relations divisions.  Marketing, historically, is all about selling your potential customers on your product.  Public relations is the division that promotes a positive view of your company by dealing with customer service issues, as well as corporate outreach.  So, it is fascinating to find a manager at a major company who is in Marketing, yet functions as a public relations specialist.  Tony Ou, of Silverstone Technology, is one such fascinating individual. Read more »

StumbleUpon recently made some changes.  Guided by focus groups, StumbleUpon’s CEO authorized alterations to StumbleUpon with the stated purpose of making the site easier to use.  While not entirely eliminating the fun, random nature of StumbleUpon’s interface – which took you to websites that conformed to your stated interests – CEO Garrett Camp made a number of changes to the popular site.  In addition to putting graphic representations of interests on the front page and adding a search engine to the site, StumbleUpon now features Channels. Read more »

There is a somewhat ugly trend in the tech sector right now where the corporate philosophy seems to be “be everything to everyone.”  The behemoths of the tech sector – Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc. – are each struggling to capture the market share of virtually every division and idea within the tech sector.  When one company branches into mobile OS development, the others leap into mobile OS development and start developing their own search engines.  The result is that consumers are forced to ally themselves with one company’s many product lines or scatter their allegiance on a product by product basis, often ending up with incompatible technologies causing additional headaches.  One of the latest fronts is online mapping programs.  Looking to shore up their position in the market, Google is launching improvements to Google Maps in advance of Apple unveiling its new mapping service. Read more »

Along with all the other forms of media available on the Internet, comics have made quite an impact for those who enjoy finding humor online. Webcomics have become a very popular Internet phenomenon and they vary in content and style as much as any other form of entertainment does. There are a few very popular webcomics online, one of the most popular of which is xkcd. Read more »

In the complex legal framework that defines both major corporations and the Internet, it helps to have a good lawyer on your side.  In fact, virtually every major company in the tech sector has an executive Vice President for General Counsel.  Now, specialized law departments write up and enforce contracts and deal with all legal issues that confront the company.  For the professional social network LinkedIn, the General Counsel is Erika Rottenberg! Read more »

Those who lived through the late 1960s laugh at the absurdity of protest today.  Protests since the late 1990s, like when protests erupted against NAFTA or the World Trade Organization, have become highly choreographed events that usually involve getting permits, inviting the media and the like.  They are also remarkably ineffective.  The fact that Occupy Wall Street does not actually feature tents and human chains physically blocking access to the critical financial buildings there illustrates the differences between protest then and protest now.  Protesters of days of yore fought for Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assembly (Constitutionally-protected rights) using means that were frequently illegal (trespassing).  Today’s protestors seem very pale by comparison. Read more »

Every city has something unique to offer its residents or visitors, but nothing truly defines a location as its small businesses – especially restaurants – do.  So, to get the real flavor of a city’s unique benefits, it helps to have a site where small businesses may promote their deals and customers may be exposed to all that locale has to offer.  That is the concept behind the LivingSocial website. Read more »

In the wake of the National Traffic Safety Board’s proposal that each state pass a law to outright ban the use of electronic devices while driving and the revelation that Carrier IQ has been acquiring deeply personal data through its smartphone programming, it is hard not to feel jaded about technology right now.  The National Traffic Safety Board had absolutely the right idea in its proposal.  Unfortunately, if left up to the states or the federal government, it might take some time for government to act.  As penance for the Carrier IQ scandal, the smartphone industry should be compelled to make technology do what law enforcement has not. Read more »