Computer Support Blog

You should not attempt to operate your smartphone or tablet computer while driving.  In many states in the United States, legislators are proposing and passing more rigid guidelines pertaining to using a smartphone or texting while driving.  However, because the most aggressive bills proposed to limit smartphone usage in automobiles would also affect the use of radios or dashboard c.d. players, the odds are very good that hands free laws are ones most likely to continue being written and passed.  Thus, anything you can do to make your mobile computing device truly hands free is a good idea.  For those who prefer tablet computers to smartphones, one of the very best options is the Arkon Universal Tablet Car Mount 18” Seat Rail or Floor Mount. 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 »

Amazon.com is the largest online retailer in America and the company has made huge profits from its ability to sell almost any product to customers all over the world. Over the last year, though, Amazon has begun to focus more on eBooks. The company has even gotten to the point of announcing plans to publish exclusively on and for Amazon.

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In the previous blog in this series, we discussed that although the concept of tablets had existed for decades, self-contained portable computers were never possible until advances in technology caught up to the idea. Manufacturers tried their best to give consumers what they wanted, but the technology and the market were simply not ready yet. In the early 2000s, however, the market began to see an upsurge in tablets.

This upsurge was driven by Microsoft’s rededication to the tablet concept. The computer giant released a set of guidelines for manufacturers to build tablets using a tablet-specific version of Windows called Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. These newer tablets more closely resembled the tablets currently on the market than the previous generation of tablets.

These devices featured touch screens, video playing capabilities, Internet connectivity, and lighter designs. With the new technology came more complete mobile computer support as well. They were not quite up to the abilities tablets would have in only a few years, but it was a great start.

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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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What is the one major problem with tablets? If you answered with something similar to “They do not have keyboards,” then you are among the majority of frustrated tablet and touch screen smartphone owners. Tablets are great; they are portable, lightweight, easy to use, and great for working outside the home or office. Tablets are the hot new item over the last two years and many people would love to be able to discard their laptop in favor of their new tablet.

There is just one problem with replacing laptops with tablets and it is a huge problem for users. The lack of an actual keyboard makes typing on a tablet a hassle. Typing on the virtual, onscreen keyboard is slow, imprecise, and awkward. The angle for holding your wrists and arms is completely wrong, and there is also the problem of trying to hold the tablet and type with both hands at the same time.

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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?

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For those who chose to keep the purity of the Kindle idea alive by not upgrading to the much-hyped Kindle Fire, there are some rewards awaiting you!  The e-reader concept was upgraded into a multimedia player, much like a tablet computer, with Amazon’s latest iteration.  But for those who like to read, for whom being trendy, current and/or not upgrading at the first sight of the next new product, companies like SolarFocus are there for you!  SolarFocus has a great product for Kindle users with its SolarKindle Lighted Cover!

The SolarKindle Lighted Cover is a portfolio-style cover for the Amazon Kindle that features a powerful solar panel on the front cover.  The cover helps to recharge both the Kindle and the case using solar power.  As trendy as renewable energy is, there have been very few companies to tap into the market and synergize it with the e-reader and tablet market.  With the SolarKindle Lighted Cover, SolarFocus brings together two very popular concepts to enhance the user experience of the Kindle e-reader!  Read more »

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

The Internet has produced many billionaires.  The dot com bubble may have burst, but some business owners made a lot of money very fast.  One of the few such executives who are still standing at the head of a successful dot com is Jeffrey Bezos.  Jeffrey Bezos is the President, CEO and Chairman of the board of Amazon.com.

Jeffrey Bezos founded Amazon.com in 1994 as the Internet was still growing.  As brick and mortar stores were slowly developing an online presence, Bezos created the virtual bookstore with a robust inventory and a commitment to customer service.  A year before eBay was launched, Bezos had Amazon.com online, selling books and building a customer base.  Quickly realizing the site was underperforming for its potential, Bezos expanded Amazon.com to sell movies, music and other products alongside books.  Bezos transformed the business he ran from his garage to an international online retailer that increased his net worth to approximately 18 billion dollars!

While many billionaire CEOs of technology-related companies achieved their prominence from having a fresh, new idea, Jeffrey Bezos simply exploited, first and best, the emerging technology.  There is nothing particularly audacious about the idea of using the Internet to sell goods.  What made Amazon.com impressive at the time of its inception was that Bezos effectively exploited the new revenue channel to reach an exceptional marketplace.  While established brick and mortar stores were looking to supplement their income through occasional online sales, Bezos realized the potential of the virtual storefront and built Amazon.com.  Bezos pioneered the idea of the virtual storefront, selling a product online without an accompanying physical store.  When Bezos’s model proved successful, Pierre Omidyar would take the idea a step further and build an online sales site without any product (eBay)!

While many Internet stores have since risen and fallen, Amazon.com has remained strong.  Many attribute the strength of Amazon to the leadership Jeffrey Bezos exhibits as founder, CEO, President and Chairman of Amazon.  It is hard to argue with that logic.  By commissioning the creation of the Kindle, Bezos helped to ignite the entire e-reader market as well as a renewed interest in reading by the general population.  The success of the Kindle Fire, which many industry analysts suggest Amazon is selling at or below the cost of production, illustrates Bezos’s commitment to a long-term approach for Amazon.com’s success.  Bezos sees the value in selling more of a product at a loss when the virtual product – the e-books – has the potential to make his company billions!

A pioneer in the Internet retail market, Jeffrey Bezos is a CEO who was at the right place, at the right time, with the right vision!

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