Computer Support Blog

Today, RESCUECOM released a press release containing helpful information about the new REFRESH feature found in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.  Windows REFRESH is an option for users in Windows 8 that helps them restore their computer when it has a serious malfunction.  The difference between a REFRESH and a complete reinstall is that a REFRESH allows users to retain their personal data such as documents, music, videos and pictures.  Having this new option for users to attempt to fix their machines when a problem occurs is great, but there are several potential concerns with the new feature as well. Read more »

Strategic partnerships are, largely, built upon the needs of groups, companies, or individuals at the time the partnership is made.  As is frequent in the business world and tech sector, times change and the needs of companies in both fields are dramatically altered.  As a result, strategic alliances between tech companies and prominent businesses are occasionally dissolved.  One of the latest partnerships to call it quits is the alliance between Microsoft and NBC which resulted in the MSNBC news channel and website. Read more »

Despite its many successes in the software field, it is virtually impossible to deny that in many ways, Microsoft has been chasing Apple for years.  While Microsoft was still utilizing keyboard-based DOS, Apple had a mouse-based interface that captivated its users and made life easier for them.  That Microsoft Windows largely made PC’s more like Macintosh computers is a pretty old argument.  But as more and more details are leaked from Microsoft’s forthcoming Windows 8, it is hard not to see the parallels between the new operating system from Microsoft and Apple’s iOS. Read more »

For many people, the idea of teleconferencing was a novelty idea in television shows like Star Trek and Mission: Impossible!  In one of the most pragmatic translations of science fiction into technological fact, communicating virtually instantaneously using both visual images and an audio transmission is now a reality.  One of the coolest pieces of hardware that makes this possible is the Polycom Unified Conference Station. Read more »

The tech sector has a way of recognizing good ideas and making sure those good ideas continue to develop, even if their initial application was very specific.  In the case of Microsoft’s Kinect, the motion sensor technology was originally developed for gaming.  In fact, the Kinect helped the Xbox 360 compete against other platforms that utilize motion technology, most notably the Wii.  But Kinect is no longer just for gaming and while Microsoft may not be developing the new uses for Kinect, the company is fostering the non-game growth of the system.  Microsoft provided grant money to start-ups to develop new products and applications using Kinect.  While none of these products are market-ready, the most exciting highlights of Microsoft’s Kinect-related program are: Read more »

The tech sector – and business interests who do not want to see the world dominated by Apple Computers’ products – is abuzz with renewed enthusiasm over tablet computers.  Out of the tablet computer manufacturing business for the boom time of the device, Microsoft is once again producing tablet computers!  Intended to compete head-to-head with the Apple iPad, Microsoft’s new tablet computer will arrive in the marketplace later in 2012.  It called the Microsoft Surface.  Read more »

Earlier this year, earnings reports from 2011 revealed that Apple had become the world’s most profitable company.  Exceeding the profits from Exxon-Mobile, Apple Computers reached the zenith of both the tech sector and the business world.  Ever since, every major player in the tech industry has worked to chip away at the exceptional market dominance Apple possesses in almost every niche in which it competes.  While some manufacturers hope to sue Apple out of the number one spot, others are simply offering Apple more competition.  Part of Microsoft’s strategy is to more directly compete with Apple products in markets it had ceded.  With that, Microsoft is re-entering the tablet computer market! Read more »

As technology has improved and advanced, advertisers have worked very hard to find new ways to exploit it.  Especially with new forms of communication technology, advertisers try to integrate product placement and utilize the new mediums to reach tech users.  For those who lived through the meteoric rise of the Internet, the days of slow modems also meant a time when you could go online and not be bombarded by advertisements all over your screen.  The video game market has been one that is much tougher for advertisers to crack into.  Advertisers want to reach the demographic, as video game players spend several hours at a time focused on gameplay, when they are not interacting with any other medium upon which they could encounter advertisements.  Xbox Live is now trying to get users to “play through” advertisements from big businesses. 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 »

Protecting intellectual property rights is an essential part of providing art, products, and services all around the world.  In the tech sector, intellectual property rights are protected through the use of patents, most of which are actually held by business entities, instead of human inventors.  Because businesses control patents, they frequently buy and sell them as part of larger negotiations.  Recently, Google acquired the mobile phone manufacturer, Motorola.  With the acquisition of the company and its patents, Google has inherited a legal battle with Microsoft. Read more »