Computer Support Blog

Cords are so passé.  Come to think of it, so is risking your high-priced electronic devices with damage and theft.  Despite what companies like Apple might want you to think, spending a couple hundred dollars on an iPhone 4S is a hefty investment for most Americans!  So, when the screen gets scratched or the whole smartphone is stolen, it is a significant financial setback.  From an unlikely place, though, comes a sensible solution.  That place is Tenqa and the solution is their new REMXD Wireless Bluetooth Headphones.

Tenqa’s REMXD Wireless Bluetooth Headphones are, as the name suggests, headphones that connect to any Bluetooth-enabled device.  If your Smartphone, tablet computer, or MP3 player is Bluetooth-enabled, you may connect it to the REMXD Headphones and enjoy all of your music when not in contact with your device.  With a range of thirty three feet, Tenqa’s REMXD Wireless Bluetooth Headphones allows you to listen to your music while working out, gardening or doing other activities while the device that holds all your music remains safe!

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Puzzle games are exceptionally popular among casual computer game players.  The rise of smartphones has made video games accessible to a much larger audience. Puzzle games like Hexic and Angry Birds have effectively captivated smartphone users and opened entirely new markets up in the video game industry.  But while Angry Birds has remained comparatively static – Rovio has effectively merchandised Angry Birds beyond the popular game, but not released any new expansions for some time – a new game has come to dominate the puzzle game niche.  That game is Cut The Rope.

Cut The Rope is a physics-based puzzle game similar in several ways to Angry Birds, which might be why it so easily took over the same niche.  Developed by Chillingo, Cut The Rope features bright colors and simple animation that makes it ideal for playing on a smartphone or tablet computer, where one does not need the most advanced monitor to get the most out of the game.  When Chillingo released Cut The Rope to the Apple App Store during the fourth quarter of 2010, it sold three million downloads before the end of that year!  Since its initial release, Chillingo has continued to release Cut The Rope for different video game platforms, as well as a new expansion, Cut The Rope: Experiments.

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Over the last few years, millions of Angry Birds have attempted to rescue their stolen eggs from the evil green pigs. They fling themselves repeatedly at the pigs’ enclosures, attempting to knock them over and kill the pigs inside. Each time they succeed in killing all of the pigs they are one stage closer to the return of their precious eggs.

We have all heard of the Angry Birds game, and probably most of you have played it at least once. Have you ever wondered how this simple game of flinging birds at pigs became a nation-wide trend? Who thought up this game and why?

Rovio Entertainment Ltd created the hugely popular game Angry Birds in December of 2009 and launched it as a smartphone app. The game was a final effort to bring the company back from bankruptcy, according to Business Insider. Their efforts certainly paid off, with their small puzzle game launching a $50 million business built around the merchandising from one game.

There are Angry Birds plush toys, t-shirts, board and card games, blankets, headphones, backpacks, and so many other products. Rovio knows how to make money from their products – that they have created a game that so many people play is an accomplishment in itself, but to sell so many unrelated products simply because they have Angry Birds on them is phenomenal.

The game itself is very easy to learn how to play, but can be quite difficult to win. A basic understanding of physics and a lot of trial-and-error can take you far in the game, but the stages are progressively harder as you move further into the game. It could be said that Angry Birds has the popularity it does because of this method of game design – anyone can play it, but it takes determination to win.

There is currently an Angry Birds game available for all of the popular operating systems, including Windows, Mac, IOS, and Android. As an added incentive to buy their other products, Rovio has recently made the Angry Birds game completely free on Android.

Users should take caution, however, of possible Internet security threats from pirated copies of the Angry Birds game. With its huge success come many pirated copies of the game, some of which could contain malware and other threats to your Internet security. If something happens to your mobile device because of these Internet security threats, do not wait, get help from professional computer repair specialists at RESCUECOM.

Rovio is still keeping their focus on Angry Birds for now, but they have hinted that they are working on a new game, but it will be a while before it is ready. It is very likely that Rovio’s next game will capture the world’s attention the same way the Angry Birds has.

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

As the publishing industry changes with technology, it is no surprise that digital comics are becoming an important part of the lives of comic book readers everywhere.  Comic book fans have often been maligned as either being oddly illiterate (requiring pictures to actually read books) or obsessive compulsive collectors who do not even read their mint-condition books.  Digital comics confound those prejudices by giving the collectors a virtual product that allows them to enjoy the stories they love and illustrating that most comic readers are not only literate but tech savvy.  While digital comic book programs like the one from Comixology have their benefits, for readers of Marvel Comics comic books, there is no substitute for Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.

Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited is a comprehensive premium subscription digital comic reader that has been around longer than any other mainstream digital comics program.  The Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited service is both a first-run digital publication service and the most incredible archive a Marvel Comics fan could hope for.  For $9.99/month or $59.88/year, you have access to the incredible Marvel Comics vault as well as all new comics in a digital form.

When you subscribe to the Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited, you get unrestricted access to the Marvel Comics vault.  Every day, Marvel adds many vintage comics to the Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited collection and the stated goal from Marvel is to have every single issue of every single book Marvel Comics ever published available in a digital form in the vault.  Already, there are tens of thousands of Marvel Comics available from the service.  Each comic book in the collection is rendered as a Flash program.  As a subscriber, you may open any available comic book on your computer, smartphone or tablet computer to access read the book.  The Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited format guides you from panel to panel of each book, so you read at your own pace, but in the order the author intended you to read the book.  This format is especially helpful when reading comic books where the illustrators awkwardly arranged the panels of the book on the page; the Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited format eliminates that issue!

Marvel releases new comics in the same format, so there is consistency between old and new comic books.  Marvel publishes each new comic to the Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited program a few months after their initial print publication.  This, they argue, keeps the print medium relevant while still encouraging subscribers to the Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited program.

With the rising costs of graphic novels and comic books, a subscription to Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited may be the most cost-effective way to keep reading comic books old and new!

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

As the United States comes into another election year, political activism is once more on the rise.  But for those for whom politics is more than just an every-four-year event, new technologies are making their political activism more effective.  One of the relatively new technologies used by activists is the Short Message Service.  Among the various Short Message Services, Mobile Commons stands out for its effectiveness.

Mobile Commons is a marketing platform designed for smartphone users.  The Internet-based application acts as a social network that allows you to connect your smartphone to the smartphones of all of your friends.  Then, when you have an important issue that you need transmitted through your networks, the Mobile Commons application acts as a Short Message Service.  As an SMS, Mobile Commons helps transmit both messages – via the phone portion of your smartphone – and text documents to everyone with whom you have a relationship.

The benefit of the Mobile Commons application to political activists is almost self-evident.  As soon as you learn of an issue that affects the people in your network, you may inform them all simultaneously using Mobile Commons.  But as important, as a leader of a group, you may help guide the group to a specific course of action using Mobile Commons.  Using Mobile Commons, you may draft a form letter to your Representative or Senator (or any person you need to get a message to) and send it with your voice message.  As a result, within minutes of learning of a bill, news event or other political controversy, you and your entire network can spread the word and tell those people in power exactly what you want them to do!

Mobile Commons is not limited to just political activism in its usefulness as an application.  Large families may benefit from using Mobile Commons.  For example, if your large family is in the process of becoming even larger, Mobile Commons can be an invaluable tool.  You may use Mobile Commons to send everyone in your family network announcements about new births or other vital family events and attach photos of the new baby.  Using Mobile Commons, members of your family network may then spread the good news and pictures with people in their lives.

There are many applications that allow networking and sharing, but Mobile Commons puts it together in a very effective, easy-to-use platform that has a proven record of success.  That makes Mobile Connect very cool for activists and genuinely social people.

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

With more and more states adopting hands free laws and the National Traffic Safety Board issuing an advisory to Congress that no electronic devices should be used while driving, Bluetooth technology is becoming more important than ever.  With so many different Bluetooth headsets on the market, it can be difficult to determine which Bluetooth headset is the right one for you.  One of the best on the market, especially for those who are environmentally conscientious, is the Iqua 603 Sun Bluetooth headset.

The Iqua Sun is a discrete Bluetooth headset that does not call much attention to itself.  With its muted black shell and earbud-style design, the Iqua Sun is not as flashy as many Bluetooth headsets.  The fact that the Iqua Sun does not sparkle or try to impress users with its simple appearance is not a good reason to disregard this very cool Bluetooth headset.  This Bluetooth has substance and it comes in the form of its solar powered battery.

The Iqua Sun is solar powered, which makes it one of the most environmentally-responsible Bluetooth headsets on the market.  Whenever you are outside walking with your Iqua Sun in your ear, it will charge off direct and indirect sunlight!  This makes the Iqua Sun an ideal Bluetooth headset for active outdoors enthusiasts who need to remain connected even when they are out in the elements.  For use at night, inside, or other dark environments, the Iqua Sun falls back on a Lithium Polymer battery that has a 9 hour talk capacity.  By the time you exhaust the battery, the sun will be back up to recharge it!

Because Iqua designed the Sun for substance more than style, the Iqua Sun Bluetooth Headset has very easy-to-use controls.  Outfitted with only a volume control toggle and call button, the Iqua Sun is one of the least complicated to operate Bluetooth headsets on the market.  At only twelve grams, the Sun is very light in your ear, making it one of the most comfortable Bluetooth headsets as well.

The Iqua Sun operates on any Bluetooth-compatible device that uses Handsfree 1.5 and Headset 1.1.  In addition to having the impressive solar power function, the Iqua Sun has a decent range.  You may pair the Iqua Sun with up to eight different hands-free, one at a time. The Sun remains connected to its device even when your phone, smartphone or other hands-free device is up to ten meters away.

The Iqua Sun Bluetooth Headset is a very cool Bluetooth headset that is ideal for those who like both being outdoors and having access to their gadgets.

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 odds are good that if you have done any sort of financial transaction on the Internet, you have a PayPal account.  The spin-off of eBay has helped make eBay even more money than the auction site was making on its own.  By charging anyone who received money through PayPal, the financial company has generated enough revenue for itself to make PayPal a multi-billion dollar company.  PayPal has become the online financial powerhouse it has by taking money out of small businesses – like independent vendors who sell on eBay – and from the multi-billion dollar banking and credit card industries.  Now, Dwolla is entering the market to take a bite out of the credit card companies and PayPal.

It is about time.

Dwolla is using new technologies to provide its users with direct access to their bank accounts while protecting their private information.  The stated goal of Dwolla is to provide the flexibility of cash for the virtual world of the Internet.  Your Dwolla account is intended to give you a common source of payment online and in the real world without ever having to touch cash again.

What makes Dwolla different is its security and transparency.  Dwolla has unprecedented security controls that prevent identity theft by keeping your account numbers from ever getting to identity thieves.  In this way, Dwolla is very much like PayPal.  Unlike PayPal, Dwolla’s privacy controls allow users to restrict how much information is available to those they pay through the service.  With PayPal, you have access to quite a bit of information – at the very least e-mail address, name and address – of the person with whom you are doing business.  While that makes sense for virtual transactions that involve physical items shipped between two people, it makes less sense for charity donations and person-to-person transactions.

The real difference with Dwolla is in its fee structure.  Users pay $3.00 a month for their Dwolla account, which gives them access to a $500 line of credit and instant access to their own bank account.  If you use credit money and you do not pay it off by the end of the month, there are fees.  However, Dwolla encourages the small sales.  By eliminating transaction fees on all purchases less than $10, Dwolla fosters support for the small transactions that have been becoming more costly with each passing year.  The CEO of Dwolla argues that transactions like paying for a cup of coffee with your credit card are forcing vendors to charge more for their products and services.

Dwolla wants to turn that tide and help users get the most out of the money that should, by rights, be theirs.  The $.25 transaction fee on all charges above $10 is minimal when compared to PayPal’s oppressive fee scheme.  That is probably why eBay will resist incorporating Dwolla for as long as it legally can.

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

Entering a new year is traditionally a time of introspection, which is why so many of us make New Year’s resolutions to try to change parts of ourselves and our lives with which we are unhappy.  One of the most common New Year’s resolutions that people fail to achieve is to lose weight and keep it off.  Lose It! may help you lose weight and stick to a program if you have found it challenging to lose weight in the past.

Lose It! is an interactive weight loss website and now an application for smartphones.  Lose It! helps you monitor your diet and exercise and achieve specific weight loss goals that you set for yourself.  Unlike specialized computer devices designed for weight loss, Lose It! is a comprehensive software application that includes both personal weight loss plans and a community component.

Lose It! is a blend of a computerized weight loss journal and a social network centered on losing weight.  You may access Lose It! through the Internet or through the LoseIt! app on your Apple iPhone or iPod Touch.  Once there, you will discover that LoseIt! is an all-encompassing weight loss solution.

First, LoseIt! helps you manage your weight by creating specific weight loss goals that you record within your profile.  Your profile is more like a medical file than like a profile on other social networking sites.  As a result, your profile through your LoseIt! account includes your weight loss goals, any medical conditions you need the program to take into account and your journal.  The journal function of LoseIt! is the cornerstone to using LoseIt! to lose weight.  There, you record each and every item you eat, ideally right before you consume it.  LoseIt! then factors the caloric intake of what you are eating and calculates the amount of calories you may consume for the remainder of the day.

To get the most out of LoseIt!, you have to be very vigilant with your journal records and you have to not be shamed by your computer.  Interfacing with a computer program instead of a human being may prompt you to be more realistic about both your achievements and your progress if you are serious about your weight loss goal.  Each time you exercise, you must update your LoseIt! journal as well.  By keeping accurate records and following the suggestions LoseIt makes – like “stop eating for the day!” – you have a much better chance of achieving your weight loss goal.

LoseIt! also maximizes your chance of weight loss success through its social network capability.  Because weight loss goals are so common and the challenges to losing weight are shared by so many people, LoseIt! helps dieters to network.  Through LoseIt!’s chat functions and bulletin boards, you may exchange recipes, discuss issues and make goals with other dieters.

LoseIt! truly incorporates computers and smartphones into your plan to lose weight.

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 every portion of your computer can be customized.  You can easily change your wallpaper on your screen to make a statement about your interests or apply a skin to your laptop computer to protect it as well as show off your own sense of style.  The computer mouse is one of the more standardized computer components, though many independent artists have created audacious, unique computer mice that make the ordinary computer mouse into an extraordinary accessory.  Arguably the most incredible mass-produced computer mouse is the SONY VAIO Mouse Talk.

The VAIO Mouse Talk appears to be a regular optical mouse with scroll wheel.  The Mouse Talk connects to your PC, laptop or Apple computer through a standard USB port.  Once attached, the VAIO Mouse Talk – which is available in black or a stylish silver-blue color – functions like a standard laser-guided optical mouse.  What makes the VAIO Mouse Talk so special is that it opens up into a Skype phone!

With a standard clamshell phone design, the VAIO Mouse Talk seems instantly familiar when opened to reveal its phone function.  Skype, which is a Voice Over Internet Protocol program, allows users to effectively turn their internet connection into a phone line.  The VAIO Mouse Talk allows you to highlight and do computer work one moment and talk with a friend over your computer the next!  Anyone who has Skype may access it easily with the VAIO Mouse Talk, which eliminates the need for a Skype headset.  The VAIO Mouse Talk is a real asset on older computers that have fewer USB ports because it allows you to benefit both from a convenient optical mouse and a Skype phone through a single USB port.

In addition to the dual function of the VAIO Mouse Talk, SONY has created another product that is sleek and stylish with this mouse.  As a Skype phone, the VAIO Mouse Talk is comfortable in the hand and it is easy to use.  While open as a phone, the VAIO Mouse Talk’s scroll wheel becomes a volume control dial!  With the flick of a small button, the mouse controls are automatically switched to the phone controls, making this a very flexible to use device.

For most computer mice, you would have every reason to be alarmed if it suddenly began glowing blue in your hand.  With the VAIO Mouse Talk, the sudden blue glow means adventure is calling and you can take that call right away!

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

If you are alive and living in a First World or Second World nation, you probably know what an iPod is.  In our world today, the iPod is a universally-recognized device.  While Apple Computers would prefer its trademarks not be infringed upon, “iPod” is used far more frequently to refer to any portable digital music player.  That sort of meteoric product launch and instantaneous word association does not just happen.  The smashing success of the iPod and the products that have followed it from Apple Computers came from effective marketing.  In fact, you would find it difficult to find a person in the United States today who cannot recall a single Apple advertisement.  That level of cultural penetration from advertising is largely the work of Philip Schiller.

Philip Schiller is the Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing for Apple.  When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, Schiller became an integral part of Apple’s executive leadership team.  He ascended to the post of Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing after a strong marketing career with software companies Macromedia and FirePower Systems.

As Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Schiller was responsible for rebranding Apple and his success speaks for itself.  In his tenure, Apple Computers went from being a floundering computer company to the dominant computer manufacturer on the planet.  While Steve Jobs and Tim Cook deserve a lot of credit for pushing the company’s direction into the emerging markets of portable digital music players and handheld computing devices, all of their efforts would have been for naught had it not been for the effective marketing Schiller and his team provided.  As the leader of the marketing department at Apple Computers, Philip Schiller made the first iPods seem indispensible and easy-to-use.  Even more important, through his targeted advertising strategy for the iPod, Schiller made the iPod cool.

As Apple has risen to dominate the portable digital music player market, Schiller’s marketing teams have made the career of many musical artists through their association with Apple’s advertising.  Schiller is an executive who is not content to rest on a single success.  As such, Schiller effectively led the Apple marketing arm through an entire rebranding.  Well in advance of the product releases for the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad, Schiller and his marketing department created such hype that each of those product releases became an event.

It is one thing to have a successful product launch, it is entirely another to market so effectively as to create a culture surrounding a company’s entire product line.  That sort of result requires a leader and Philip Schiller is just that type of leader for Apple!

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