Computer Support Blog

In the tech sector, every major company that has a Board of Directors uses different criteria to choose who will serve on the Board.  Even so, there are some similarities in how the various Boards are assembled.  The Boards of Directors of the most successful companies in the tech sector tend to feature Directors who might not be intimately tied to the tech sector.  Successful companies like Microsoft utilize a wide range of knowledge and experience on their Board of Directors.  Maria M. Klawe is one of the diverse voices that helps to guide Microsoft’s Board of Directors. Read more »

Happy (Belated) Secretary’s Day!  Despite the fact that it seems to be cliché to acknowledge it, no executive achieves success on their own.  Executives may be leaders and visionaries, but their success would not be possible without the team they assemble.  Most leaders in the tech sector and the business world in general are aided by an executive assistant who helps organize their plans, schedules and serves as a gatekeeper to those who want access to the executive.  One of the most interesting executive assistants in the tech sector today is Veronica Acuna. Read more »

Sometimes, the coolest places on the Internet are not the flashiest or the best known places.  When it comes to online shopping, most people look to eBay or Amazon or they log into specialized shops where they have specific products they are anticipating buying.  But the big online retailers are not the ideal place to buy art.  Art – fine art and homemade – has never had much traction on eBay.  There are some wonderful, specialized, websites and social networks for artwork online, like Art.net and Elftown.  But the place to buy and sell artwork on the Internet is Etsy. Read more »

If “people who need people are the luckiest people,” what does it make people who need to find out all they can about people?  Perhaps a better question would be, what does it make people who make the tools for people to find out about other people?  Perhaps that question could be best answered by Saad Zniber, co-founder of Yatedo. Read more »

One of the big stories in the technology sector at the end of 2011 was the initial public offering of stock for Zynga.  Zynga, the creator of some of Facebook’s most popular games, was all set to leap into the business of making money off its popularity and the IPO sought to raise billions of dollars for the company.  Amid news reports of other video game companies experiencing financial hardships, the Zynga IPO was viewed by many as catastrophic, with the stock losing value its first few days.  While this might have made a lesser CEO cringe and get out of the game, it was nothing to Mark Pincus. Read more »

One of the most interesting aspects of the World Wide Web has to be that it has forced companies to truly work on an international level, as opposed to simply within one country.  The fascinating corollary to that is that many companies have a vastly different presence on the Internet, depending on where in the world one is accessing them.  So, even as Yahoo! has made a decline in the United States, it remains a powerhouse company in the Pacific Rim countries, despite a few setbacks with failed attempts to acquire existing companies there.  Part of the reason for Yahoo!’s continued relevance in Asia is Rose Tsou. Read more »

With all of the advances in digital music technology, it is unsurprising that consumers today are constantly looking for better audio equipment.  While an inexpensive mp3 player may play audio files with equal precision as the most expensive players, serious audiophiles know that the quality of the speakers, headphones or earbuds make all the difference with digital music.  Harmon Kardon is an industry leader in the manufacture of quality audio equipment.  Harmon Kardon relies upon the talents of Sean Olive. Read more »

Of all the social networks on the Internet, Twitter seems to be the one that is both the most trendy and least useful.  Limited to 140 characters, Twitter is basically an extended message board for your life where you keep anyone who might be interested up to date on where you are, what you are doing and/or what thoughts are going through your mind.  While Twitter might not be a bastion of deep thoughts or profound ideas, Twitter actually embodies perfectly the “social” part of social networking.  More than any other social network, Twitter acts as a barometer of just what is hip, trendy, and popular in the world at any given moment.  Twitter is the snapshot of both popular culture and current events.  But, seeing the big picture Twitter is trying to reveal can be hard.  For that, you need TagWalk. Read more »

Artists and designers, as a general rule, want to make an impact on the world around them.  Artists try to open the eyes and minds of their audience to a new way to see the world.  Designers try to reshape the world by pushing the limits of convention or creating styles that intrigue consumers in a way that resonates with all who experience their designs.  There are, arguably, no more effective artist/designers in the world today than Yves Behar.  Behar is not simply trying to change the world in an abstract way; he is using technology. Read more »

One of the things that very few people consider when they talk about the economic downturn in the world today is how it affects emerging technologies.  When consumers do not have the financial resources to continue spending on luxuries, developing technologies stall.  Unfortunately, technological development does not occur in an economic vacuum; the reality of financing demands that great ideas be developed into potentially profitable products.  Few people know how an amazing idea may be crushed by the demands of sweeping economic movements the way Michael Schuette does. Read more »