Computer Support Blog

Virtually anyone with a real talent not directly related to their field of employment who has friends will be told “you should do that professionally!”  While friends mean well by such compliments, they seldom realize that starting a business is a huge task, often involves a skill set entirely different from the skill or product that their friends love, and they are asking their friend to take something they love doing and become dependent upon it for income.  Very few people have the wherewithal to go through with such an endeavor.  However, Julie Degnan not only made a business out of her hobby, she had all the business skills to make it a success! Read more »

Despite the current recession, the tech sector continues to have a strong need for professionals.  Start-ups, especially, need highly-skilled, technical minded employees in order to translate the Founders’ vision into an actual product.  However, the process of hiring good people can be a time consuming one and it falls outside the skill set of many people who are focused on hardware, software, coding, and other non-people-related tasks.  As a result, one of the smartest early hires in a start-up can be to hire a brilliant recruiter.  Raquel Atkinson is one such recruiter in the tech sector. Read more »

About fifteen years ago, the consumer software market was all abuzz over voice recognition technology.  You could buy programs that, after a training session that created a template of your specific voice, intonation, and speech patterns, could (supposedly) recognize vocal commands.  Between tragically slow computer processors and comparatively limited hard drive space relative to the demands of such vocal recognition training programs, many consumers discovered that voice operation of their computers was more of a boondoggle than a benefit.  Now, with applications like Siri from Apple, voice recognition has progressed to the point where it is a practical way to interact with many computer devices.  So, what is the next step; what is like voice recognition was fifteen years ago to push the envelope forward?  That would be thought recognition and it is no longer just a science fiction concept! Read more »

Sometimes, if you are not a part of a subculture or community, the devices utilized by that group of people might seem alien.  Even so, if there is a niche market and a device that might benefit that group, you can pretty much bet that there is a company within the tech sector that will try to market to that niche.  For those who want to get the most out of their golf game, there is no longer a need to carry around your tablet computer or use multiple devices on the golf course.  Garmin has devised the ultimate golf watch, the Approach S3. Read more »

While there are many different types of people who are drawn to the tech sector for employment, there are only two types of leaders in the tech industry who have the ability to change the tech sector forever.  The most common industry leader is one who discovers a problem or idea within the tech sector to which they devote time, energy, capital and other resources to filling a niche or rectifying a problem.  For sure, many of these successful entrepreneurs reach a level of success where their company must diversify to continue its growth, but most leaders who change the tech sector do so by starting with a very narrow focus.  The other type of tech sector visionary is one who gets their hands into just about everything and tries to make an impact in many different ways.  Isabel Pesce Mattos is the latter type of tech sector visionary! Read more »

Quite a few creative individuals find that the art they love and skills they develop through higher education are not immediately profitable.  As a result, the current generation of would-be playwrights, painters, and photographers have largely turned to the tech sector for income while they develop the craft they are passionate about in their spare time.  As such, they end up as bloggers, digital artists and software engineers while they work in their off-time toward their “big break.”  One such artist who is leading the dual life in the artistic and tech sectors is Michael Kaplan. Read more »

As technology has improved and advanced, advertisers have worked very hard to find new ways to exploit it.  Especially with new forms of communication technology, advertisers try to integrate product placement and utilize the new mediums to reach tech users.  For those who lived through the meteoric rise of the Internet, the days of slow modems also meant a time when you could go online and not be bombarded by advertisements all over your screen.  The video game market has been one that is much tougher for advertisers to crack into.  Advertisers want to reach the demographic, as video game players spend several hours at a time focused on gameplay, when they are not interacting with any other medium upon which they could encounter advertisements.  Xbox Live is now trying to get users to “play through” advertisements from big businesses. Read more »

Well before the rise of Angry Birds, there was a puzzle game that filled the niche left by Tetris finally waning in popularity.  But while Angry Birds might have captured the public’s attention because of its fun (and merchandisable) animation, many serious gamers who love puzzle games remain enchanted by the game that preceded Angry Birds.  That game is Hexic and it remains as cool as it ever was. Read more »

In the late 1980s, there was a popular game called Laser Tag.  Despite the controversies about it at the time, Laser Tag was remarkably popular with young adults who enjoyed the technology and the physical activity the game required.  As a precursor to paintball, Laser Tag was a safe way for young people to run around shooting one another for live-action play.  Players had a laser sensor and a laser gun.  The object of the game was to shoot your opponent three times (as registered by changing lights on their sensor each time they were “hit”) with the laser gun . . . before they shot you!  Young people played Laser Tag in buildings, woods, and fields, both during the day and at night.   Now, Metalcompass, Ltd. is updating Laser Tag with some new twists with their XAPPR Gun! Read more »

In the tech sector, it can be hard to get your product noticed.  The tech sector is a very crowded marketplace.  While there is extensive competition in almost all branches of the tech sector, in many markets, big brands dominate.  Smaller tech sector companies, like the memory card manufacturer Mushkin Enhanced, have to devote considerable resources to their sales staff in order to compete with more well-known companies.  To keep Mushkin Enhanced competitive and growing, the company has Nate Hunziker! Read more »