Computer Support Blog

As the Internet has evolved, one of the ongoing challenges users have had is with the speed at which they are able to send and receive data.  Internet transfer speeds have increased, usually to keep up with the growing file sizes of new programs and applications.  Just as the first modems would take days to transmit and receive over the phone lines the complicated files you use today, greater bandwidth for data transfers provided by fiber optic cabling will someday be entirely obsolete.  Many scientists and engineers are deep at work on creating faster, more efficient means of data transfers.

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology, Florida International University, CERN, and the Universities of Michigan and Victoria, among other partners, have set the newest record in data transfer speeds.  In a controlled experiment, the researchers have effectively achieved a data transfer speed of 186 gigabits per second.

While this news is setting the geek world ablaze, you may wonder what it means to you.  The most prominent example the scientists are using to express what this transfer rate means is that a network with a 186 Gbps transfer rate would be able to exchange the equivalent amount of data as one hundred thousand Blu-Ray discs.  Still not impressed?  Consider the 4G networks for smartphones that have been highly-touted this year.  To be considered a 4G network, the network must run at 100Mbps to 1 Gbps.  That means that the experiment performed at the Seattle conference was 186 times as fast as the standard 4G smartphone network.  The service you get at peak times on your 4G network . . . the technology developed by the research team is 1860 times as fast as that!

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ABC’s Once Upon A Time has captivated millions of viewers.  Once Upon A Time bounces viewers between a mythical fairy tale past and a somewhat surreal present day to tell its story.  While the series may appear to be set in a folksy New England town or an ancient nature setting, there is an extensive amount of technology from Zoic Studios involved in making Once Upon A Time come alive for viewers.

Zoic Studios is responsible for the most important special effects on Once Upon A Time.  It is the artists and computer programmers of Zoic Studios that create the virtual sets needed to bring the fantasy kingdom in Once Upon A Time to life.  ABC Studios had what appeared to be a cost-prohibitive series to produce when the writers first pitched Once Upon A Time.  The show requires two vastly different settings for every episode.  While the producers could not cheat some of the elements for those settings, most notably costumes, Zoic Studios made the project feasible through their pioneering work in virtual sets.

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Power.  Power is what every company wants, on one level or another, and it is the defining factor of success in the technology sector.  The computer that is the most powerful, as defined by speed, computing ability and consistency, is considered the very best one on the market.  But more and more, the computing ability of smartphones, laptop computers and consumer electronics at all levels are at the mercy of battery power.

Battery power, or the failures of it, nearly sunk the release of the Apple iPhone 4S.  Apple worked quickly to solve the battery problems in the new release and even revealed a battery problem with first-generation iPod Nanos to prevent future customer service problems.  Batteries store energy to keep electronic devices going and right now, it is one of the hottest industries in which to be.  Three of the most significant battery projects are:

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With all of the rapidly-changing aspects of computer technology, it can be very hard to keep up.  Indeed, for those who are casual computer users without real investment in the computer hardware industry, it was not so long ago that the USB port became the dominant interface port.  Suddenly, when you upgraded your computer and wanted to use your favorite old keyboard or mouse, you discovered there were no ports in the back of your new computer for it!  Like compact discs to records, the USB port has pretty much eliminated most specialized ports on computers.  In the world of USB ports, USB 3.0 is slowly creeping up in popularity.

But, you might be wondering, just what is USB 3.0?

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Ever since Twiggy and the rise of the supermodel, the fashion industry has conditioned women to hate their bodies.  While the philosophy of the 1970s was one of love, acceptance and self-improvement, with the proliferation of size 0 in modeling, the “you must always be thinner” philosophy has replaced the “love your body” mindset.  Fortunately, computers are finally coming to the rescue in the area of women’s body image!  From designing clothes to modeling them, computers are making ultra-thin models obsolete.

Computers have become integral to the fashion industry.  More than simply being used for inventory control and online shopping, the fashion industry relies heavily on computers.  While computer aided design and computer modeling are the most important computer-related innovations in the fashion industry, computers have made easier much more mundane tasks like materials procurement.  The Internet is a wealth of resources for fashion designers and manufacturers, as they are able to find all sorts of textiles and designs through the Internet that are not available to them in the capitals of the fashion industry.

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It is still early in the new year, so advertising on television still contains reminders to drink responsibly.  That type of advertising virtually disappears right after the Super Bowl until the winter holidays (I suppose the beer manufacturers know that many people consume alcoholic beverages when confronted with either football or family), despite alcohol-related drinking deaths being a year-round problem.  And while there are numerous forms of technology that may help you find where the trendy places to drink are or what the best new alcoholic beverages are, there are few products that can help prevent drinking and driving.  Outside outright prevention, the best weapon against drunk or buzzed driving is education.  For that, HDE has a portable breathalyzer!

HDE’s Digital Breathalyzer is a blood alcohol level tester that is available for consumer use.  The specialized electronic device is very simple to use and runs on 3 AAA batteries (which HDE does not provide).  The Digital Breathalyzer runs on the same principles that the breathalyzers used by law enforcement personnel operate on.  The small black device has a tube into which you breathe and the Digital Breathalyzer determines your blood alcohol content.  Registering from 0.00% BAC up to the almost-lethal .19% BAC, the Digital Breathalyzer is an exceptional tool for preventing the operation a motor vehicle while impaired or influenced by alcohol.

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The biggest problem in the tech sector is not supply chain problems, environmental regulations, lack of creativity or even limited battery life.  The biggest problem in the tech sector, like so many industries, is hubris.  Hubris, the pride that leads one to believe that they are invincible, flawless, destined for greatness/market dominance/perfection, is the true scourge of the tech sector.  Why?  Quite simply it is the vainest form of hubris wherein the largest technology companies come to believe that because they have hired the absolute best and brightest tech school graduates, that the pool is empty, no other geniuses exist.  Virtually every major tech company believes that they have the individuals and teams who are the most skilled and most creative.  That belief makes them blind to the creative programming geniuses who work outside the corporate structure.

Symantec was so blinded when hackers cracked into their servers and downloaded the source code for Symantec’s pcAnywhere and Norton Antivirus.

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With all of the emphasis on USB flash drives for portable storage, it is easy to forget that portable hard drives are even a viable option for consumers any more.  Portable hard drives, however, offer you more stable digital storage and, usually, greater capacity than can be found on the less-stable flash drives.  LaCia makes it impossible to deny the power and coolness of portable hard drives, though, with the Rugged Triple USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive!

The Rugged Triple Portable Hard Drive is a state-of-the-art portable hard drive from LaCia, one of the leading computer hardware manufacturers concerned with computer security.  LaCia is synonymous with data protection the world round and the Rugged Triple may well be their masterpiece product.

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If you have been around an Apple store lately, you may have heard a lot of jargon shot at you.  Apple has such a pervasive subculture that those who are in it seem to find it inconceivable that anyone could not be a part of their subculture.  As a result, Apple salespeople often rattle off specifications and jargon at such a speed at to appear daunting to those who are not technically inclined.  One of the most frequent words Apple salespeople toss out with the expectation that you know what they are talking about is “FireWire.”

You may have been too afraid to ask, but you are not foolish for not knowing what FireWire is.

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For those who chose to keep the purity of the Kindle idea alive by not upgrading to the much-hyped Kindle Fire, there are some rewards awaiting you!  The e-reader concept was upgraded into a multimedia player, much like a tablet computer, with Amazon’s latest iteration.  But for those who like to read, for whom being trendy, current and/or not upgrading at the first sight of the next new product, companies like SolarFocus are there for you!  SolarFocus has a great product for Kindle users with its SolarKindle Lighted Cover!

The SolarKindle Lighted Cover is a portfolio-style cover for the Amazon Kindle that features a powerful solar panel on the front cover.  The cover helps to recharge both the Kindle and the case using solar power.  As trendy as renewable energy is, there have been very few companies to tap into the market and synergize it with the e-reader and tablet market.  With the SolarKindle Lighted Cover, SolarFocus brings together two very popular concepts to enhance the user experience of the Kindle e-reader!  Read more »