Computer Support Blog

The photograph has a power over us that we seldom reflect on.  Iconic photographs have taken on such profound meaning in the collective conscience from the U.S. sailor kissing a nurse at the end of World War II to the photograph of Martin Luther King Jr.’s peers pointing in the direction his shooter fled.  With the proliferation of digital cameras, online stock imagery and vast repositories of digital images online, modern photography has stopped meaning quite as much.  As a result, the Internet has pioneered the phenomenon of photo manipulation for humor.

The current generation of computer users does not seem content with the photograph and the implicit thousand words it is supposedly worth.  As a result, users have created entire communities centered on humorous manipulations of photographs where users add words to an image as a punch line of sorts.

The evolution of the humorous photo manipulation started with lolcats.  Lolcats – derived from the texting abbreviation for “Laughing Out Loud” and the common name for felines – became an underground subculture creation in 2005.  At that time, stock images of cats were shared between friends with humorous or supportive text added to them.  In 2006 when 4chan.org and Something Awful began promoting images of lolcats.  Since then, the lolcat has crossed into the mainstream.  Thousands of individuals shared pictures with grammatically incorrect but funny phrases that either refer to the cat’s actions in the photograph or represent dialogue the cat might speak.  I Can Has Cheezburger? is a site that remains active today with daily, fresh lolcats.  As a phenomenon, lolcats remains one of the most enduring.

But lolcats has evolved as the market for cat-based humor moves toward exhaustion.  The lolcats have given rise to the Internet meme phenomenon.  Internet memes are like lolcats in that they feature photographs with humorous text.  Internet memes differ in that their subjects are more than just cats.  Instead, pop culture imagery both present (like Rebecca Black) and past (Richard Nixon) is combined with text to make jokes.  These photo manipulation “strips” range from one-panel jokes to several panel strips with a punch line.  Because geek culture dominates the Internet meme phenomenon, many use more obscure references than the mainstream lolcats.  So, for example, Admiral Ackbar and his catchphrase “It’s a trap!” is the subject of many Internet memes.  Those who have not seen Return Of The Jedi many, many times are unlikely to get the full weight of the reference when it arrives as the punch line to many an Internet meme.

Internet meme’s and other photo manipulation forms of humor are seeing growth on the Internet.  The communities preoccupied with Internet memes are interested in creating and sharing humor, so they remain free sites.  If you have had a joke, but lack the artistic talent to draw well, Internet memes offer a possible avenue for you to creatively express yourself!

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

There are a lot of charities that deal with helping those who have the greatest need get technology like computers.  Of course, the very existence of such charities implies that the problem persists, but as the holidays wane and you look forward to your tax refund, perhaps you are thinking of the less fortunate.  One of the charities that are working hard to make a difference is the World Computer Exchange.

The World Computer Exchange is a charity that seeks to deliver computers to impoverished countries.  Their Computers for Girls initiative is one of the charity’s biggest endeavors.  Computers for Girls is, as its name implies, an effort to provide girls in other countries with computers.  In addition to providing computers, Computers for Girls works with girls and young women in foreign countries to teach them how to use the computers.  Computers for Girls has recently teamed with the Peace Corps to help provide the education component of their mission.  So, while the World Computer Exchange has only been operating since 2000, the Peace Corps is hardly a fly-by-night organization!

The need for computer education and computer hardware for girls is very real.  The gender gap is even more severe in nations like Pakistan, the Philippines and Panama.  Liberia, which is still recovering from its last civil war, has made women’s rights issues a very low priority on its national agenda.  So, the need for an organization like the World Computer Exchange is unfortunately very real.  The Computers for Girls initiative provides real educational opportunities to girls in thirteen of the most impoverished or oppressive counties on Earth.

The World Computer Exchange is a very reputable charity and meets most of the Better Business Bureau’s qualifications to be an accredited charity.  In fact, with 86% of every donation being used to provide the services and materials of the charity, the World Computer Exchange has a more efficient operation than the March Of Dimes (75%) or the Make-A-Wish Foundation (also 75%).  It is worth noting that the element the WCE failed to meet to get its accreditation actually helps the charity run more efficiently.  The WCE’s Board Of Directors is required to meet multiple times a year to get accredited.  Because the WCE is an international effort, their Board meetings include members who have a virtual presence at each meeting.  Using computers and telecommunications devices, those board members participate in the meetings without being physically present; the BBB does not consider that acceptable.  In some ways, it is reassuring to see a charity where the leaders are so dedicated to their cause that they will not make an international trip and abandon that cause!

The Computers for Girls initiative is putting real computers in front of girls who might otherwise receive no formal education or training.  Supporting the World Computer Exchange’s Computers for Girls program is worthwhile.

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

Happy Holidays from Rescuecom!

Today, as you spend time with friends, family and loved ones, we urge you to consider the less fortunate.  If you are reading this, you have access to the Internet and one of the most extraordinary technological tools in the world.  Not everyone is so fortunate.  In fact, the poorest Americans live without computer access or even telephones.

You have the power to use your new technology to help out a person in need.  96% of the population of the United States has a mobile phone.  You may have even gotten a new mobile phone or smartphone for the holidays!  While a part of the 4% that does not have a mobile phone includes people who just do not want the technology, a growing portion of the population simply cannot afford a cellular phone.  If you have looked around for a pay phone lately, you know that those who relied upon that traditional phone technology to spread holiday wishes may have disappeared from your area.

That is where you can make a difference this holiday season.  Many poor people have family members in other parts of the country or the world.  You can help connect poor, phoneless, people in your community with their distant loved ones, even if only for a phone call.  Smartphones with Internet access truly do make the world a smaller place and access to social networks through those smartphones may make for some real holiday miracles, even if you are just helping two people connect.

If your community has a large transient, disenfranchised or poor population, odds are there is a place they congregate.  Today is a great day to go there; bring a friend or several friends and your smartphones.  Politely introduce yourself when you arrive and ask the people there if there is anyone you could help them contact.  With your smartphone, you may be able to look up friends, family members or loved ones for the poor people there.  With social networks, you may even be able to connect two poor people without phones through friends in distant areas taking the same initiative!

For the cost of a phone call and the time it takes to help an impoverished person find contact information for another person on the Internet, you can make a real holiday miracle happen.  You have a cool phone that you might well upgrade by this time next year; helping to connect two people, even for a few minutes, can give you a joy that will last much longer.

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

Happy Holidays from Rescuecom!

For the last few weeks, we have been presenting you with cool gadgets, awesome websites and neat products.  The holidays are a great time to give and get all manner of technological wonders.  Today, we would like to share a special Holiday Cool Product Of The Day: it’s you!

You, your time and your simple presence can make the day better for those around you or even a stranger.  Today, take some time to be with your family.  It does not matter what religion, race, creed or color you are; your friends and family deserve the gift that is you.  And you deserve to get the gift of loved ones!  So today, why not put down the smartphones, disconnect from the Internet and sit face to face with the ones you love and let them know how important they are to you?

For those Santas who need last minute technical advice, computer support and computer repair, we at Rescuecom are here 24 hours.  We are happy to serve you and check back tomorrow for our next great gadget.  But today, the best product we can recommend is you!

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 new year arrives, it is time to both look back and look forward.  Just as you consider the best video games of 2011; it is worth getting excited about some very cool video games coming out this year.  No matter what your video game platform, there is ample reason to be excited about gaming in 2012.  The games most worth looking forward to (in no particular order) are:

Final Fantasy VIII – 2.  There are few video game franchises that have the longevity that Square Enix does with its Final Fantasy franchise.  The latest installment promises the best-ever graphics, which is saying a lot as the Final Fantasy games have pushed the envelope on video game graphics.  In addition to returning players to one of their favorite fantasy settings, this game promises some exciting changes in the game mechanic that will keep gameplay fresh.

XCOM.  You play an agent in the 1960s fighting aliens here on Earth.  Enough said.  No?  XCOM is a first-person shooter game with a government conspiracy/alien invasion feel to it.  On the plot front, this game has more potential than most video games in the last few years.

Mass Effect 3. Just as the Harry Potter Saga ended and the Twilight Saga is ending in 2012, the Mass Effect video game franchise is coming to a close.  Bioware is promising to have the game series go out with a bang as you fight off an alien invasion of the galaxy in the distant future.  The multiplayer function of the game promises to be very cool and make for a natural transition for players who get tired of Gears Of War: Modern Warfare 3, but still want exciting combat.

Minecraft.  Sure, there is a new Halo game coming out, but Minecraft just seems like a cooler premise.  During the day, you build structures, so players with a creative instinct get to express themselves artistically.  When the game turns to night mode, you have to stop all of the creatures that want to destroy the building you just made!  The very cool premise overcomes any sense that the graphics for the game are utterly ridiculous.

Metal Gear Solid Rising. Fans of the Metal Gear franchise have been on the edge of their seats for this sequel since 2009 when Kojima Productions first announced it.  The time has come, though the game for PS3 and Xbox 360 does not yet have an official release date.  Leave it to the video game producers to announce it, give screen shots and then keep you waiting to tell you when it will ship!

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 rabidly check every computer-oriented or technology-related site on the Internet to keep up with the most current events in the technical world, you may well be confused by a name you keep seeing there.  For the last few weeks, one name keeps appearing with a frequency that has not appeared on technical news sites and blogs since the death of Steve Jobs.  The new name on the tip of virtually every technology geek’s tongue is Louis C.K.

Louis C.K.?

Louis C.K.?!  Who is Louis C.K.?  If his name is on the technical sites, he must have taken over one of the big computer companies!  Is Louis C.K. the new CEO of Microsoft?  No, Louis C.K. is none of those things.  Louis C.K. is a stand-up comic and comedy writer.  He has, to date, illustrated no particular aptitude for anything computer-related or innovative in the electronics field.  Why then, are so many technical sites that usually focus on Internet security issues, forthcoming computer product releases and everything concerning the minutia of smartphones paying so much attention to Louis C.K. all of a sudden?

In mid-December, the 44 year-old comedian decided to skip the networks, bypass potential FCC censorship and all of the other potential middlemen who might have profited off his talent and presented his latest stand-up comedy special, Louis C.K.: Live At The Beacon Theater.  The reason this has become such an issue for the computer sector of the blogosphere is that Louis C.K.’s direct-to-consumer offering has several significant technical aspects that have been untried until now.

On the most technical side, Louis C.K. has attempted to make his program exceptionally easy to view.  Louis C.K.’s website sells the program directly and after paying via PayPal, you return to the site where you get access to the video and have the ability to download it.  Louis C.K. presents the video without digital-rights management programming or regional encoding, which means you may view it on any computer or smartphone around the world.

The computer and electronics industry place a huge premium on intellectual property rights and protecting those who create programs and media.  The reason so many technical sites are interested in Louis C.K.’s direct-sale from his website experiment is that Louis C.K. is counting on fans to not pirate his work for free distribution.  That’s it; Louis C.K, is using the most advanced technology on the planet to test the most basic human instinct.

The experiment appears to have worked.  After almost a week on the market, Louis C.K. claims that 110,000 paid downloads streamed from his website.  To date, there appears to be only one pirated source of the program on the Internet and that means Louis C.K. might have hit on something many of the multi-billion dollar media companies have not.

If people like what you produce, they will buy.  Maybe it truly is that simple.  Louis C.K.’s success certainly makes that argument.

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 doing last-minute shopping for a video game player this year, it might help you to know what video games, across all platforms, have been the bestselling of the year so far.  While Mario Kart 7 has been tearing up the global gaming sales charts for the past week, Nintendo came shockingly late to market with the game.  It did not even register on the top ten bestselling games of the year!  Sure, that could change in the last few weeks of the year, but it would have to overcome several titles like Batman: Arkham City and Just Dance 3, which are desperately clawing their way up the Top Ten list for the bestselling games of 2011.  What might well surprise video game enthusiasts is that in 2011, three of the top six bestselling games of the year were not released in 2011!  The Top Five bestselling video games in the world (across all platforms) for 2011 are:

5. Wii Sports.  Beating out Wii Sports Resort by just over one hundred thousand units, the exceptionally popular game for the Nintendo Wii managed to add over five million sales to land in the top five, even after five years on the market!  Nintendo rightly realized that video game enthusiasts are not adverse to moving around and people who like sports enjoy them even as a video game!

4. Kinect Adventures! A late-release in 2010, this adventure game had a strong 2011.  While it might have only sold 5.3 million units in 2010, Microsoft has a real hit on its hands with over 12.5 million units sold total!  It might not have sold as many units as the Wii Sports games, but Microsoft is showing it knows how to produce successful sports games as well.

3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.  Who says every sequel stinks?!  Not video game players!  Bethesda Softworks hyped the fantasy role playing game for over a year and when it released in mid-November, the market was primed for it.  With just under six million units sold, Skyrim is a very safe bet for fantasy game enthusiasts if you need a late gift!

2. Battlefield 3. Almost seven million people decided that being a first-person shooter along the Iran/Iraq border sounded cool.  As U.S. troops were withdrawing from Iraq, gamers across all platforms were experiencing virtual combat situations through this game.

1. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This first-person shooter game buried its peers.  With over 16.3 million units sold, the latest installment in the Call Of Duty franchise outsold even Battlefield 3 by almost ten million units!  With the Internet-based companion service, Call Of Duty: Elite, it is unlikely that video game enthusiasts will run out of interest in this game and franchise, promising Activision a good 2012 as well!

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

Facebook has many challenges to it, both technological and commercial.  While Facebook should better monitor the applications it allows to run on its platform, some of the issues with Facebook are internal and systemic.  One of the most significant problems with Facebook is that it has an annoying persistence.  Have you ever noticed how Facebook continues to recommend the same people to you?  Have you ever noticed that the Facebook recommendation for friends just keep coming back?  What is it that Facebook doesn’t get when you click the little “X” next to their recommendation to simply not friend the people they recommend?!

The Facebook system works on the principle that there are very few degrees of separation between people.  As a result, when you add someone as a friend on Facebook, the Facebook program suggests friends of your friend be added as your friend.  From pretty much the moment you friend anyone new, you will begin to see on your sidebar, people that Facebook recommends you add as a friend.  A great way to test this is to add someone you do not know well at all as a Facebook friend.  After you add an acquaintance watch how Facebook suggests all sorts of people you don’t know from your new “friend’s” friend list.

Who cares?  Why is this an issue?  Unlike friend requests that you can deny and they go away, Facebook insists you consider their recommendation.  If you have ever gone to the complete list of people Facebook recommends you “friend” and painstakingly gone through the list to clear the (often) hundreds of people Facebook wants you to friend, you will discover your time was completely wasted.  Go back there now and you will see!  You can go through your entire list, remove everyone that Facebook recommends and the next time you log in, their recommendations will be back.

Facebook: “No means no!”  When you inform Facebook by clicking on the “no” button – indicating you do not want to add their suggestion to your friend list – Facebook ought to listen.  The Facebook program not only wants to connect people, it is persistent in a troubling way.

Facebook needs to simply be programmed to respect our wishes and stop making the same mistake.  Whether you have one of your ex’s friends and do not want the whole barrage of their other associates or have left a real social situation where you only want to retain a relationship with one person from that group through Facebook, there are millions of situations where you might want one person as a friend, but not everyone with whom they are associated.

Forget the Timeline, forget the “dislike” button, all you really need is a Facebook that listens and provides a way to permanently stop suggesting a person once you have indicated you do not want the Facebook-suggested individual as a friend.

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

Free speech and free access to information is absolutely vital in a capitalist democracy.  Any government that allows individuals, organizations and businesses to contribute financially to the political process owes its citizens a transparent process for auditing those contributions.  In the United States, there is no easier system for tracking money in politics than OpenSecrets.

OpenSecrets.org is a website run by the nonpartisan Center For Responsive Politics.  On OpenSecrets, you may investigate the fundraising of every political candidate registered with the Federal Election Commission.  Because the Center For Responsive Politics is not affiliated with the FEC or any political party, it provides unbiased tools that track the flow of money in politics.  Understanding how money flows to a candidate may provide voters with a realistic view of how that candidate will actually act when elected.  Because politicians are beholden to their donors, it is very easy to spot a hypocritical candidate.  OpenSecrets makes that very easy to do.  Because the website features a whole section on influence and lobbying, voters have easy tools to investigate the candidates on their ballot, whether the media does or not.  OpenSecrets shows which Political Action Committees donate money to each candidate, giving voters a more precise picture of the political landscape.

OpenSecrets.org features a very easy to use interface and a powerful search engine.  Users may find quarterly representations of a candidate’s financial standing through prominent tabs.  Clicking on the Politicians & Elections tab easily transports you to a guide for any Federally-recognized election for the current election cycle.  Clicking on a candidate or politician’s name, OpenSecrets.org provides you with the current financial status of their campaign!  The interface is so easy to use; you can be at a political rally and check the candidate’s finances on your smartphone!

Arguably the best tool that OpenSecrets.org provides is a powerful donor lookup tool.  OpenSecrets has archived all the FEC’s donor filing documents and provides you with complete, free, access to them!  By clicking on the Donor Lookup tab, you can find out if any private citizen has donated to any political campaign dating back to 1990 when the disclosure laws went into effect.  The Donor Lookup tool on OpenSecrets.org can give you a better idea of who you are voting for, what issues are important to your friends and just who puts their money where their mouth is when it comes to politics!  Moreover, the results come in fast; the typical search on OpenSecrets takes less than a second to execute.

OpenSecrets is a powerful political tool, especially in a time when the Courts frequently fail to protect access to information that should be public.  OpenSecrets is an online storage depot of information that belongs to the public and we are lucky to have such a sophisticated system watching the flow of money in politics.

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

William Shatner tells a great story about trading cards.  He talks about how when he was a kid, he would put baseball cards in the spokes of the tires of his bike and cycle around, enjoying the “click click click” sound the card would make.  When Shatner first encountered a modern trading card with holographic technology, it surprised him.  One has to wonder how Shatner would react to seeing the new generation of trading cards, presented from Interactive DTC.  Interactive DTC has changed the trading card industry by creating Digital Trading Cards.

Digital Trading Cards are CD-ROM discs that are rectangular instead of the traditional circular disc.  Interactive DTC wanted to create a more permanent medium than the cardboard trading cards of yesteryear and with the Digital Trading Cards, they succeeded!  While the trading card industry had previously been preoccupied solely with condition and rarity, Digital Trading Cards drive trading card enthusiasts to prioritize content.

Interactive DTC obtained the license to many significant franchises that had been very popular with traditional trading card collectors.  As a result, there are Digital Trading Cards for The Lord Of The Rings, Stargate SG-1, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, as well as sports figures like Chad Muska, Brian Deegan, and Bruce Irons.

Using the Digital Trading Cards is very easy.  Each card-shaped CD-ROM features a silkscreened image emblematic of the disc’s content.  So, for example, a Digital Trading Card from Interactive DTC’s The Two Towers set might feature Frodo Baggins or King Theoden.  Placing the Digital Trading Card into your CD-ROM drive activates the card.  Each card contains a wealth of content that does not require any additional computer support; each disc features the Interactive DTC browser program.  The Digital Trading Card is a true multimedia experience.  In addition to having images, each card features movies, interviews and other data.  The NASCAR Digital Trading Card set featured music, interviews conducted by Interactive DTC, photo galleries of each featured driver, video footage, racing tips, games, statistics (just like old baseball cards!) and 3D model programs of each racer’s car and shop!  The Digital Trading Cards truly bridge the divide between card collectors and video game players by providing content both will appreciate.

You must connect to the Internet to get the full benefits of the Digital Trading Card. Interactive DTC provides Internet support for collectors through a platform on their website that allows registered collectors to trade cards with one another.  Interactive DTC wanted to continue the fun, social aspect, of collecting, so each physical disc contains multiple Digital Trading Cards.  Through the online platform, collectors may swap their duplicates!

The old adage in investing in the collectibles market is “collect what you love.”  For decades, trading card enthusiasts have been subject to a shifting market that prioritizes card rarity at the expense of card content.  With Interactive DTC’s Digital Trading Cards, fans of big media and sports franchises get to return to collecting what they love instead of chasing an almost unobtainable, expensive rare card.

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