Computer Support Blog

Sometimes, a good idea is as simple as making a product easier to buy or rent.  What is the value of an idea that simplifies the buying experience?  In the case of Redbox, making DVDs and video games easier to rent made the company billions of dollars.  Much of the success of Redbox is the result of the hard work of Mitch Lowe.

Redbox was a novelty pilot program outside McDonald’s restaurants when Mitch Lowe joined the company in 2003.  Lowe was one of the co-founders of Netflix and he saw in Redbox a real threat to the company for whom he was working.  Adopting the philosophy of “if you can’t beat them, join them,” Mitch Lowe decided he wanted to see the Redbox model succeed.  He left Netflix and joined Redbox as a consultant.  Lowe quickly rose to Vice President of Purchasing and Operations of Redbox before the Board promoted him to Chief Operating Officer.  In 2009, Mitch Lowe was promoted again, this time to President of the company!

Read more »

When purchasing new computer equipment, now more than ever, customers are aware of the energy consumption of their hardware.  The rise in electricity costs and increased interest in environmental protection has led most consumers looking for computers and appliances to consider the energy consumption of their products before they make their final purchase.  Fortunately, with computer products like computer monitors, the energy-efficient options are obvious through Energy Star certification.  The Energy Star certification is a powerful visual tool for consumers that indicates a product has superior energy conservation capacity compared to other, similar, products of the same type on the market.  What you might not know about Energy Star certification is that it comes from a U.S. government organization, the Environmental Protection Agency.  The chief Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is Lisa P. Jackson.

Lisa Jackson is one of the most effective activist Administrators in the history of the Environmental Protection Agency.  Jackson was one of Barack Obama’s first confirmed appointees when he took office in 2009 and since she took the post, she has been tireless in promoting environmental preservation and protection.  One of those efforts was to increase the EPA standards for Energy Star certification, which would require manufacturers to meet even more stringent standards for their monitors to receive the certification!

Jackson was a natural choice for Administrator of the EPA, though she had to sacrifice a promotion to Chief of Staff to the governor of New Jersey when nominated for the post.  As Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, Jackson would have the greatest influence over a wide range of environmental policies that had been of interest to her for the bulk of her career.  Lisa Jackson attended Tulane University after working with Clean Sites in the aftermath of the Love Canal Disaster.  From Tulane, she pursued her Master’s Degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University where she decided that what she truly wanted to do was save the world’s resources from environmentally irresponsible businesses.

Fresh out of college, Jackson worked for the EPA and her specialty was in the political efforts of the Administration.  While she worked as both an engineer and an overseer on several important clean-up operations, Jackson made her mark at the Environmental Protection Agency by proposing important changes to how the EPA worked at disaster sites.  The Agency adopted many of those proposals, so Jackson had left her mark on the EPA long before she took over as its Administrator!

Under Lisa Jackson, the Environmental Protection Agency has prioritized protecting children, the elderly and other low-income demographics.  Part of the policies she has enacted and proposed involves reducing carbon dioxide emissions and protecting the quality of air and water for all citizens.  Because so many technology manufacturers use processes that could potentially pollute the water and/or air, Lisa Jackson has been using the EPA to watch them more closely!  With her commitment and record of environmental protection, Lisa Jackson is a great EPA Administrator!

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

The business world continues to be mostly male-dominated.  Even as social conventions have changed, the business world has adapted less quickly than others, even in emerging markets.  Many new giants in the marketplace like Twitter, for example, have no women on their Boards of Directors.  The long odds of running a multibillion dollar company never intimidated Lynn Tilton, though!

Lynn Tilton is a pioneering businesswoman who is the CEO of Patriarch Partners.  Patriarch Partners is an umbrella company that invests in and takes over failing businesses in the United States.  Tilton searches for companies that have good ideas and good products, but are failing in the marketplace.  With Patriarch Partners, she invests heavily – usually becoming a dominant shareholder in the company – in the failing company and restructures it to make it profitable.  Companies that Patriarch Partners has rescued from the oblivion of bankruptcy include Arizona Iced Tea, Performance Design Products, Rand McNally (yes, the famous map company!) and MD Helicopters.

While usually an outsider coming in to “restructure” a company is cause for grave concern, Lynn Tilton does not operate like the stereotypical corporate investor.  Instead, Tilton has two very simple philosophies.  The first guiding principle she uses to run Patriarch Partners is that social responsibility is not antithetic to having a profitable company.  Working hand in hand with that idea comes her absolute belief in the importance of preserving jobs, especially manufacturing jobs, in the United States.  With saving American jobs and making U.S. companies profitable as her guiding principles, Tilton and Patriarch Partners have spent ten years saving 150 companies and an estimate quarter of a million U.S. jobs!

Lynn Tilton’s story is, in many ways, a classic “rags to riches” story.  While many doors were opened to her as a teenager when she became a nationally ranked tennis player, she pursued her education at Yale where she graduated with a B.A. in American Studies.  While attending Columbia Business School, she worked for Goldman Sachs and received a practical education in corporate finance.  When her marriage fell apart leaving her as a single mother, Lynn Tilton did not lose sight of her professional goals.  Instead, she completed her education, worked one hundred hours a week and provided for her daughter.  In that time, she became an expert on distressed debt and developed the philosophies that would allow her to create Patriarch Partners in 2000.

Many traditional powerhouses in the business world have begrudged Lynn Tilton for her untraditional, yet successful, approach to protecting and restoring American manufacturing.  But as those old guard businessmen layoff, outsource, or fire workers, and cash in huge bonuses while their companies illustrate less long-term viability, Tilton is helping to save the United States from economic collapse.  With Patriarch Partners and Lynn Tilton as the new models for successful enterprises in the U.S., workers here will thunderously cheer, “Out with the old; in with the 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

The name “Emily Post” is synonymous with “etiquette” the whole world around.  But few people stop to consider that Emily Post was the name in etiquette for most of our grandparents . . . how is it she still dictates the rules of society after almost ninety years?  The answer, of course, is that Emily Post, the original author of Etiquette: The Blue Book of Social Usage, does not; others continue to use her name.  Since 1946, etiquette has been dictated in Emily Post’s name from The Emily Post Institute.  The great-grand and great-great-grandchildren of Emily Post currently run The Emily Post Institute.  The member of the Emily Post Institute that is making etiquette most accessible to the current generation is Daniel Post Senning.

Daniel Post Senning is the great-great-grandson of Emily Post and he carries on her legacy still at the Emily Post Institute.  As the Manager of Web Development and Online Content, Daniel Post Senning is responsible for bringing the Emily Post Institute into the 21^st Century.  While being born into the Post Dynasty might have gotten Daniel Post Senning his start, it was his ambition and technical acumen that made him into such a great asset for the Institute.  As a graduate of Pomona College with a B.S. in Molecular Biology, Daniel Post Senning had many doors open up to him.  He chose to return to the Emily Post Institute to ensure that the Institute would remain relevant in these turbulent times.

As Manager of Web Development and Online Content, Daniel Post Senning designed and brought online the Emily Post Institute’s robust website.  The cornerstone of the new website is the etipedia, which is an encyclopedia of etiquette articles available for free on the Internet.  Daniel Post Senning designed the etipedia with a robust search engine so that users could find articles fast and easily.  The ease-of-use of the etipedia has made it an indispensible online tool for journalists as well as citizens searching for etiquette information.

Not content to simply design the website and establish the Emily Post Institute as the leading online source for etiquette articles, Daniel Post Senning is also a significant content contributor to the website.  Daniel Post Senning writes extensively about etiquette on the Internet and he is responsible for the Facebook and Twitter content from the Emily Post Institute.  As a content provider for the Emily Post Institute website, Daniel Post Senning hosts one of the most dynamic features on the site; his video blog!  With his performer’s personality and wit, Daniel Post Senning frequently updates the Institute’s website with interviews and presentations that are as entertaining as they are informative.

Proper etiquette is never passé and Daniel Post Senning is ensuring that the Emily Post Institute remains relevant to teach etiquette lessons to the next generation!

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 own a Saturn automobile, you know just how terrible it can be when a company goes belly up without ever releasing their proprietary information to the general public or others within their industry.  Those who still drive their beloved Saturn cars are discovering that as problems arise, especially with the Saturn’s onboard computer, they are completely at the mercy of GM.  General Motors, which owned Saturn, may very well charge more than your local mechanic, but your local mechanic cannot access a Saturn’s onboard computer.  The reason for that is simple: before Saturn went bust, the company held very tightly to its trade secrets and the Saturn onboard computer program remained a protected property.  GM, as the parent company of Saturn, retained the coding and now uses it to compel the remaining Saturn owners to use their service centers.  Hewlett-Packard is taking the exact opposite approach with their webOS.  By making webOS into an open source program, anyone with computer programming ability will be able to acquire, alter and write applications for webOS.

HP had a pretty bad 2011 on the tablet computer front.  After having their tablet computer, the Touchpad, crushed by the sales numbers of the Apple iPad 2, the Kindle Fire arrived to metaphorically bulldoze a small mountain of dirt into the grave.  Hewlett-Packard gave the tablet computer market the old college try and the company lost obscene amounts of money in the process.  HP liquidated the last of the Touchpads for $100 and $149 when the Touchpads bore a $500 and $600 MSRP earlier in the year.  HP had a bad year on the tablet computer front.

So, HP announced they were no longer competing for that market.  In washing their hands of the tablet computer market, HP could have divorced itself from the customers who had invested in their product and moved on to their next big project.  Instead, HP executives announced that webOS, the operating system that runs the Touchpad tablet computer, would be released as open source software.

By making webOS open source, computer programmers may write applications of their own for their Touchpads.  They can use webOS to run other hardware, like smartphones, digital cameras or gaming devices.  If you become annoyed with how your electronic device is operating, you could write an app in webOS to reprogram it!

In addition to being consumer-friendly, making webOS into open source software, HP is giving a psychological pat on the back to its programmers.  Because the enthusiasm exists for webOS, in spite of poor Touchpad sales, HP is essentially telling its programmers and researchers, “You had a good product; it just didn’t sell.”  That kind of encouragement is remarkably cool from a multibillion dollar company.

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

Computer users have made the World Wide Web into an outlet for humor since the formation of the Internet.  Because humor is so subjective, sites that simply distribute mainstream humor, like syndicated comic strips or humorous anecdotes, tend not to draw the attention needed to become a true Internet phenomenon.  As the Internet meme phenomenon grows, one site stands out as a funny, edgy humorous site.  That site is Memebase.

Memebase is a free to use, free to view website that offers anyone with a sense of humor the chance to express it using Internet memes.  For those unfamiliar with the phenomenon, Internet memes are an offshoot of lolcats that use pictures of more than just cats.  Internet memes use pictures that have been culled from pop culture and you use to make single-panel jokes or multi-panel strips.  Memebase has collections of Internet memes that combine classic pop culture images with drawn images that have become as well-recognized in the Internet meme community.  Those drawings are often crude and focus on basic facial expressions that meme designers may reuse with different statements for almost infinite comic potential.

Memebase has a very easy-to-use interface.  The home page is a list of the current featured memes and the site has the organization of a standard blog.  Instead of blog articles, scrolling down transports you through various current memes.

One of the real distinctions of Memebase over many, similar sites, is the on-site meme builder.  Clicking on the Meme Builder tab on the front page of Memebase, you get the ability to create memes almost instantly.  Memebase includes over sixty premade photograph memes, most of which are unique to the site.  Some, like a stock image of Bill O’Reilly or Fry from Futurama are a little more universally-recognizable.  By clicking on the “Caption Now” button, you may make a brand new, humorous meme in seconds.  After that, another button allows you to share your meme with the Memebase community.

The humor on Memebase is almost-constantly rotating, so there is always material that is new and funny.  Because humor differs so much from person to person and culture to culture, it helps to know that the Internet meme phenomenon is not for everyone.  The humor on the site can be very edgy, though the visual component of the site is always safe for work.  For example, on the front page of Memebase, there was a simple meme of an anagram followed by a photograph of a face with a shocked expression.  While some might find the visual representation of how “Mother In Law” is an anagram for “Woman Hitler” hilarious, others might appear just as shocked as the reaction picture attached to the first panel.  That is the nature of humor, though, and Memebase accepts humor of all kinds.

For adults looking for a laugh or looking to put a humorous idea into print using already-created images, Memebase is an invaluable resource.  At the forefront of the Internet meme phenomenon, Memebase remains cool.

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 is home to innumerable cool websites, most of which are free to use.  As the computer pervades almost every aspect of life in the United States, few off-line pursuits have been as threatened as the lifestyle of a visual artist.  Artists face an escalating threat from the Internet in that the rise of the computer has developed and propagated new forms of visual art, threatening to make traditional visual art obsolete.  While there are many websites for visual artists, including art-themed social networks, no site works as hard to present and develop art careers of contemporary artists like Art.net.

Art.net is a gallery for professional artists and it is entirely free to visit.  As a virtual gallery, Art.net has a distinctly anti-commercial feel to it.  The site won a lawsuit against the state of New York over freedom of speech issues in part because as a non-commercial website, it did not have a way to authenticate visitors’ ages!  The purpose of Art.net is not to sell artwork; it is to display artwork and provide a common platform for artists to share ideas as they improve their proficiency in their medium of choice.

Currently, there are over 450 artists who have virtual galleries on Art.net and just as humor is subjective, so too is art.  While many of the artists on Art.net have embraced some form of digital art, most use their virtual gallery space to present images of physical projects that exist in the real world.  Art.net is a great site to spend hours carefully combing through the works of artists that you might not have a chance to see elsewhere.  While many of the artists do have galleries or studios, most of the artists on Art.net do not have standing showings in the real world like they do on this site.  Browsing through the virtual galleries can open your mind and expose you to some great new artists.

Art.net is not preoccupied with any form of ecommerce, which sets it apart from sites like DeviantArt.  What Art.net offers art enthusiasts is incredible access to the artists you see when you visit the site.  Art.net provides each artist with a mailbox and most every artist’s gallery includes a direct link to e-mail them through the site.  Art.net in no way restricts its users from contacting artists to make offers on any pieces an artist has presented.

If you are on the other side of the creative process, Art.net offers a decent level of exposure to artists at a very reasonable price.  Because the site is entirely nonprofit, a $60/year membership fee is charged to keep the servers running.  In exchange, you get seemingly unending storage space for your art and a platform that has been running since 1994!

There are many individual artists’ websites, but there is no multi-artist platform on the Internet so concerned with the pure creation and presentation of art as Art.net.  That commitment makes Art.net exceptionally cool.

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 influx of new technologies for computers has not made everything better.  If you owned your PC for many years, it is entirely probable that you have an old mouse or keyboard that you like.  Perhaps it is an ergonomic keyboard that you are very comfortable with.  Maybe you have a customized computer mouse that matches both your grip and your sense of style.  Many of the older computer peripherals like mice and keyboards connected to the computer through specialized PS/2 ports.  Many PCs and laptop computers today are manufactured without that special port.  As more computers adapt the USB interface format exclusively, those who have favorite older peripherals are compelled to upgrade their accessories in addition to their systems.

Fortunately, StarTech is here to help consumers who have the computer accessories they were happy with and do not want to change!  StarTech manufactures a PS/2 mouse to USB adapter.  They also have an adapter that transforms any PS/2 keyboard into a USB-compatible device.  These are very simple devices, but both are very cool.

The StarTech PS/2 Mouse to USB Adapter is a white plastic and metal device around 1 ½” in length.  It is a solid adapter that features a female PS/2 Mouse port and a male USB connector.  To use the adapter, simply plug the male end of your favorite older computer mouse into the female end of the adapter.  The adapter and mouse will now plug into any female USB port.  Through this adapter, you will be able to use any older mouse on any plug-and-play capable computer or computer device.

In an identical fashion, StarTech’s PS/2 Keyboard to USB Adapter allows you to continue using your favorite older keyboard on your newer systems.  Color coded purple like the standardized PS/2 keyboard jack, StarTech’s PS/2 Keyboard to USB Adapter features a female PS/2 port and a male USB jack.  Simply plugging the USB jack of the adapter into any USB-compatible device allows you to then plug your favorite keyboard into the jack and continue using it.  In this way, you may use your already-purchased ergonomic keyboard or keyboard with sentimental value on your new, faster computer.

Just because technology is changing, you should not have to give up the devices you already own and love.  StarTech’s PS/2 Mouse and PS/2 Keyboard adapters allow you to use the peripherals you enjoy with the benefits of your new computer device!

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

Social development seldom keeps pace with the creation and spread of new technologies.  As we become smarter and more technologically adept, there have been no significant social movements that incorporate developing the human mind in a similar fashion.  Nowhere is the disparity between emerging technologies and stagnant sociological development more clear than on the Internet.  The proliferation of high-speed transfer devices in combination with immense online data storage depots in the hands of people who are often immature has led to the rise of viral Internet videos.

Never before have so many people shared so many ridiculous, pointless or disturbing images as they have within the past five years.  But for every traumatic Internet video phenomenon, there has been a gem that is worth recalling (or experiencing if you haven’t yet).  Some of the most noteworthy (and safe for work!) viral video phenomena include:

Diet Coke And Mentos Eruption.  This viral video was a remarkably simple one wherein Mentos candies were dropped into a two-liter bottle of Diet Coke.  The result was a foaming geyser caught on video that fascinated Internet video watchers in 2006.  Debate over the video’s authenticity persisted until Mythbusters illustrated the reaction.  Now, the video remains a pretty cool bit of footage.

“Debbie’s” eHarmony Video.  Rather hilariously, this seemingly-normal eHarmony dating video takes a turn for the funny when the woman describing herself breaks into tears while discussing her love of cats.  If you haven’t seen this, it is surreal and the type of uncomfortable humor that it is almost impossible to sit through with a straight face.  Even cat lovers will laugh at “Debbie” as she cries over how great she thinks cats are.

The Star Wars Kid.  It is hard not to appreciate the teenager from Quebec whose video of himself pretending to be a Jedi leaked onto the Internet.  The boy uses a golf ball retriever as if it was a lightsaber and hurls himself around as if he was in Star Wars.  This viral video became so popular that parodies of it appeared on Arrested Development and American Dad!  With millions of hits, the Star Wars kid video reassures us that it is cool to play and, when taken out of context, people look ridiculous playing.

Sam And Ren Have A Conversation.  There is a somewhat timeless quality to the video of the two seventeen-month old twins conversing with one another in their own fictional language.  The viral video had thousands of views after it appeared on YouTube and remains popular there today.

Amid thousands of ridiculous, pointless or disturbing video clips that users upload to the Internet, few become a real phenomenon that attracts real attention.  Fortunately, time weeds out the disgusting or less funny ones and leaves viewers with some enduringly interesting online videos.

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