Computer Support Blog

Today, more and more is being expected of headphones.  Back in the day, you plugged headphones into your stereo or portable tape player (or portable CD player) and the headphones brought you music at a level that didn’t annoy those around you.  But now, consumers are plugging their headphones into more sophisticated electronic devices and they are demanding more from their headphones.  Koss proves that they are up to the new expectations of music enthusiasts with their Porta Pro KTC headphones!

Koss Porta Pro headphones have long been an industry standard for audiophiles who have enjoyed the high-quality sound and fashionable, not bulky, appearance of the Porta Pro.  The addition of KTC, Koss Touch Control, upgrades the popular Porta Pro headphones for the current generation of music enthusiasts.  The big breakthrough with the Porta Pro KTC headphones is that the cord that connects the headphones to your Apple music player – iPod, iPad or iPhone – now includes a discrete control panel and a microphone!

Read more »

As companies rise and fall in Silicon Valley, it is no surprise that the big tech companies frequently see employees migrate from one popular company to the next big thing.  While some of the big tech companies actively poach employees from their competitors, other tech companies seem to just attract a lot of employees from the companies with greater name recognition.  In the case of StumbleUpon, the comparatively small Internet company has a surprisingly high number of employees formerly employed at Google.  One of the most significant ex-Google workers who is now vital to StumbleUpon is Japjit Tulsi.

Japjit Tulsi made a lateral move in 2011 when he became StumbleUpon’s Vice President of Engineering from being Google’s Director of Engineering.  While at Google, Tulsi was responsible for creating Google Analytics, which is one of the standard-bearers of online traffic analysis.  That level of programming genius made him very attractive to StumbleUpon.  Prior to Google, Japjit Tulsi was a part of Microsoft’s executive development program.  At Microsoft, Tulsi served as a group manager in the engineering department.  Prior to Microsoft, Tulsi studied at Punjab University where he abandoned a law career in favor of the tech sector.

Read more »

Like so many industries, the consumer electronics sector has a vibrant secondary market.  Thanks in no small part to Alpha Consumers frequently upgrading and the consumer culture that fosters the mindset that this year’s new products will be obsolete or uncool by next year, the used electronics market has grown in recent years.  Buyers who are more interested in substance than style or who are simply thriftier than their peers can enjoy significant benefits from buying their electronics in gently used condition.  One of the biggest sectors in the electronics secondary market is in cell phones and smartphones.

However, just like when you are considering purchasing a used car, there are some good rules to live by when purchasing a used cell phone or used smartphone.  Both as a buyer and a seller, you should consider the following:

Read more »

Even during the current worldwide economic instability, most everyone would like to be able to donate to charity and help out others.  But just as educated consumers consider the corporate philosophies of big businesses, it is also wise to educate yourself about charities to which you donate.  While a charity will always try to put the most positive spin on themselves in order to solicit donations, objective criteria should be used to determine whether a charity is worthy of your donation or not.  For that, there is Charity Navigator.

Charity Navigator is an Internet site that provides information on charities, much the same way Open Secrets provides information on political donations.  Evaluating objectively using records supplied to the government for tax/accounting purposes, Charity Navigator uses a series of consistent criteria to evaluate the health of a charity.  This allows you to both compare charities and view charities that come close to an ideal using Charity Navigator.

Read more »

In big technology companies like Microsoft, it is a rare thing for an executive in the Customer Service branch to make the mainstream news.  In fact, it is hard to make a splash in customer service such that you get noticed within the industry at all.  Customer service defines the old adage of “no news is good news;” if a customer service department is doing their job efficiently then you seldom hear about them.  But in 2010, one corporate officer in the technology sector’s customer service division stood out.  That person was Barbara Gordon and she boldly challenged Google to rise to the level of customer service Microsoft delivers!

Barbara Gordon serves as the Corporate Vice President for Customer Service and Support for the Microsoft Corporation.  In 2010, she wrote a blog that became famous in the technology industry.  The article, Microsoft’s Support Sets Us Apart, garnered mainstream media attention by boldly calling out Google for its lack of customer service options.  While some in the industry characterized the gambit as brazen, Gordon used the media attention to constructively criticize Google while touting the strong customer service department at Microsoft.  When Google floundered in its response – even now it offers easy access only to Internet customer service support – Gordon’s risky public statement paid off for Microsoft.

Read more »

What is the release date for the iPad 3? What will it look like? What new capabilities will it feature? These speculations have been floating around for a while on the Internet and it seems that everyone has something to say about the topic except for Apple.

There has been no official word from Apple about the possibility of an upcoming iPad 3 release, but the rumors are flying about when that might happen. All over the Internet, people are guessing about the official announcement of the iPad 3 and the consensus is that the release will be in March.

An article on Bloomberg states that production of the iPad 3 is already in progress and will reach maximum output in February. There will be a break for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year holiday for the factory workers, but production will begin again immediately afterwards. The article does not name any direct sources, but the information is consistent with the rumors and speculation.

Read more »

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!

Read more »

Demand Media had a pretty rough 2011, though its Fourth Quarter earnings were actually better than expected.  A provider of videos, blogs, and other media over the Internet, Demand Media has been working to transform the way people use the Internet for education and entertainment.  While the company has been growing, Demand Media’s Board has been buying back its stock and the company is not quite where the executives and analysts thought it would be.  Dave Panos is the man who will change the direction of Demand Media!

Dave Panos is the Chief Strategy Officer of Demand Media and his plans for the company are ambitious.  Because Demand Media is known for delivering original Internet video content the company is in competition with many distribution channels, like YouTube.  Panos organized a strategic partnership with competitor CoverItLive.  By pairing Demand Media and CoverItLive, Panos helped increase the video base of Demand Media dramatically, which allows Demand Media to reach a much wider audience.  Having the vision to partner with potentially vulnerable competitors is part of what makes Panos a truly great Chief Strategy Officer.

Read more »

The Internet has given rise to many phenomena in American culture.  Arguably the most significant lasting social change of the Internet comes in the form of people making statements.  In the inorganic medium of the Internet, anyone can rant about anything anytime they want to.  Between Tweets on Twitter, Facebook status updates and any number of message boards on any of a million websites, for the first time in the history of humanity, anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can feel like they have a voice that is being heard.

Not everything said on the Internet is a gem of human wisdom.

Just as in real life, where once you say something you cannot take it back, Internet users – thanks to things like the Facebook Timeline – are discovering that what they say lingers online, even for years.  But with all of the people posting very publicly about everything in the world, the Internet is now giving users the equivalent of leaving the room where you can hang out with a bunch of friends you actually like!  These new, limited, social networks, have the potential to restore actual family and friend interactions amid all of the noise of more popular Internet social networks.

Read more »

In the midst of the worldwide recession, as companies like Facebook prepare to make billions of dollars overnight, there are still some websites devoted to giving on the Internet.  The giving sites are attempts to remind people who have Internet access that they live in a land of (comparative) plenty and that no matter how bad your problems are, there is someone, somewhere in the world, who has it much worse than you do.  You have the ability to help others at minimal cost to you.  That is the philosophy behind Philanthroper.com, which is arguably the coolest giving site on the Internet!

Philanthroper.com is a website that challenges visitors to donate to worthy nonprofits – 501(c)3 groups – each and every day (if at all possible).  The site has a very simple design and exists, not to make money for itself, but to raise money for charities most people have never heard of.  In order to encourage donations on a regular basis, Philanthroper.com only allows donations from $1 – $10.  The site’s founder hope that by limiting the amount of the donations, you will be encouraged to come back each day because giving was not that difficult the day before!  On the other end of the equation, founder Mark Wilson hopes to conclusively illustrate that many people doing a little bit each day adds up to a lot.  By having many people pooling a fraction of their resources, they may still do a great deal of good.

Read more »