Computer Support Blog

It is always amazing how quickly the remote control seems to disappear! Even when you’re the only one using it, it just seems to have an affinity for dark spaces deep within the couch or other large pieces of furniture. The problem definitely gets worse when kids are involved, since the remote migrations expand beyond the living room and into the kitchen, bedroom, and the inside of an easy bake oven. Of course, losing things like remote controls is a problem that affects many other products. Trivial as it may seem, constantly misplacing items is frustrating and time consuming. So if you know someone who is constantly losing keys or other important items, then now would be a good time to offer him or her a Click n’ Dig item finder as a gift.

This easy-to-use gadget helps you or your gift recipients find those things you misplace most often. Using a small transmitter with up to four buttons, you simply press the corresponding button on the transmitter causing the appropriate receiver to beep and flash. Click n’ Dig comes with up to four receivers that you can attach to a key chain or a pet’s collars, for example.

Also, both the transmitter and the receivers are about the size of a car remote control, so no one has to know about your forgetful habit.

The Click n’ Dig remotes come with batteries already installed, although you need to remove the insulating tab from the receivers before you can start using them. They also come with replacement batteries. Because they are small devices that don’t require too much battery effort, the batteries are expected to last between three and twelve months. The product is easy to attach to other items, as it comes with both double sided adhesive tape and key rings. According to the manufacturer, the remotes have a radio signal range of about 60 feet, which is more than enough tech support for finding keys in a forgotten coat pocket or underneath a couch.

Over 73 percent of reviews on Amazon rate the product with four stars or more, so it’s gotten the popular approval. There are several other products out there that do similar things, but Click n’ Dig’s price tag is especially attractive. The remote and two receivers package sells for around $26 on Amazon. If you’re looking to buy wholesale, you can do that directly though the Click n’ Dig website for a 40 percent discount. So if you or someone you know just won’t learn, get them the Click n’ Dig, if only to prove a point.

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

The Internet has produced many billionaires.  The dot com bubble may have burst, but some business owners made a lot of money very fast.  One of the few such executives who are still standing at the head of a successful dot com is Jeffrey Bezos.  Jeffrey Bezos is the President, CEO and Chairman of the board of Amazon.com.

Jeffrey Bezos founded Amazon.com in 1994 as the Internet was still growing.  As brick and mortar stores were slowly developing an online presence, Bezos created the virtual bookstore with a robust inventory and a commitment to customer service.  A year before eBay was launched, Bezos had Amazon.com online, selling books and building a customer base.  Quickly realizing the site was underperforming for its potential, Bezos expanded Amazon.com to sell movies, music and other products alongside books.  Bezos transformed the business he ran from his garage to an international online retailer that increased his net worth to approximately 18 billion dollars!

While many billionaire CEOs of technology-related companies achieved their prominence from having a fresh, new idea, Jeffrey Bezos simply exploited, first and best, the emerging technology.  There is nothing particularly audacious about the idea of using the Internet to sell goods.  What made Amazon.com impressive at the time of its inception was that Bezos effectively exploited the new revenue channel to reach an exceptional marketplace.  While established brick and mortar stores were looking to supplement their income through occasional online sales, Bezos realized the potential of the virtual storefront and built Amazon.com.  Bezos pioneered the idea of the virtual storefront, selling a product online without an accompanying physical store.  When Bezos’s model proved successful, Pierre Omidyar would take the idea a step further and build an online sales site without any product (eBay)!

While many Internet stores have since risen and fallen, Amazon.com has remained strong.  Many attribute the strength of Amazon to the leadership Jeffrey Bezos exhibits as founder, CEO, President and Chairman of Amazon.  It is hard to argue with that logic.  By commissioning the creation of the Kindle, Bezos helped to ignite the entire e-reader market as well as a renewed interest in reading by the general population.  The success of the Kindle Fire, which many industry analysts suggest Amazon is selling at or below the cost of production, illustrates Bezos’s commitment to a long-term approach for Amazon.com’s success.  Bezos sees the value in selling more of a product at a loss when the virtual product – the e-books – has the potential to make his company billions!

A pioneer in the Internet retail market, Jeffrey Bezos is a CEO who was at the right place, at the right time, with the right vision!

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

As much as we all love getting gifts, deciding on what to get for others—well that’s a different story. If you find yourself scrambling for gift ideas, take a look at the Fitbit Ultra, the tiny device that tracks your movements and nutritional activity value during the day to help you lead a healthier lifestyle.

The Fitbit Ultra is small, slip-on device, not unlike a Bluetooth headset in appearance, that weighs less than 8 ounces and is as wide as a quarter. The device resembles a USB flash drive. In some ways, the Fitbit is a pedometer with a whole lot of computer support. When you wear it, the device keeps track of the number of steps you take, floors climbed, distance travelled, and calorie activity. Fitbit’s website states that the Tracker is roughly 95-97% accurate, having been tested on hundreds of body types.

Step counting is becoming an increasingly popular way of monitoring one’s daily movements in the hopes of leading a healthier lifestyle. Many people believe that by merely adjusting their daily routines to include small increases in activity, they can benefit in the long haul. One way Fitbit works is by reminding its user to make healthy decisions like walking instead of driving, when possible, or taking the stairs. By seeing your activity rendered into a numeric value on the Fitbit’s screen, you become more conscious of your health lifestyle and, hopefully, seek to improve it.

Another cool feature of the device is sleep monitoring. You might be wondering why this is even necessary in the first place, since we don’t really count our tossings and turnings as a good way to burn calories! In reality, though, getting a good night’s sleep is an essential component to a healthy lifestyle. Fitbit monitors the times you wake up or shift during your sleep, allowing you to better understand what affects your sleeping habits.

Fitbit can be worn or carried anywhere, but its makers suggest that it be worn somewhere on the torso. At night, you can attach the Fitbit to a special wrist strap that’s included.

Not only does Fitbit display data about your movements on its screen, but it also automatically syncs your data with Fitbit.com using the wireless base that comes with it. You don’t have to do anything manually, as the tracker syncs your data every 15 minutes when you’re within range of the base station. Online, you can monitor your data and view the analyzed results, log what you eat, and compare your progress to that of your friends.

Battery operated, the device needs charging once every four days. Fitbit Ultra sells for just under $100, and has highly positive reviews on Amazon, though a few customers aren’t too thrilled with it. Still, given the majority of responses, it looks like Fitbit is the perfect device for complementing weight loss or encouraging healthier lifestyles.

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

The current structure of most keyboards is neither intuitive nor mechanically necessary. The layout of most keyboards today is a remnant of the days of typewriters. The first typewriters had letters arranged alphabetically, but because hitting adjacent keys often jammed the machines, manufacturers rearranged the keys in order to distance letters that frequently occurred consecutively in language. The result was what today we know as the QWERTY keyboard, named after the first six letters on the top row.

We are so used to typing on the straight rows of QWERTY’s keys that an alternative way of typing probably seems impossible. But in reality, if you take a moment to look at your hands the next time you type on your keyboard, you’ll notice that your wrists are bent outwards. Most people never realize the awkward movement involved in typing on a keyboard. Human hand form favors typing at a slight angle. In fact, take a minute to look at how your wrists. Notice their awkward typing angle.

Learning to touch type can help increase your typing speed, reduce neck-related injuries, since you do not need to look down at the keyboard all the time, and increase your typing accuracy. Still, even touch-typing places unnecessary strain on your wrists. If you’re at a job where you spend all day typing, consider switching to an ergonomic keyboard, that is, a keyboard whose keys are structured to reduce the risk of Repetitive Strain Injuries associated with typing and to allow your wrists to remain in an more ergonomically sound position as you type.

Think of ergonomic keyboards as a means of supporting your body. We spend plenty of money on providing tech support for out machines, so why not get some for our wrists?

Ergonomic keyboards can range in price from affordable to very expensive, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a good deal. Many online websites offer discounts on ergonomic keyboards. Amazon, for example, is offering the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 for under $30.00.

Most ergonomic keyboards provide added support for hands, wrists, and forearms by splitting the keys down the middle and positioning them at an outward angle to allow you to type more naturally. Some also elevate the keys in an inward curve.

Switching to an ergonomic keyboard might take some getting used to, though. After all, just like switching between playing the piano and the electric organ or between typing on an Apple keyboard and a standard keyboard, your fingers need some time to adjust to the heaviness of the keys, the different spacing, and the angle. Once the adjustment period is over, you will find that your wrists and hands are much happier typing at an angle.

Ergonomic keyboards work normally with any computer device that requires a standard keyboard and require no additional computer support. So take advantage of online sales, and get yours today.

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 cool as tablets are, they still have to overcome plenty of tech support issues before they join the realm of standard computing devices. The biggest tech support issue facing tablets is functionality. Tablets operate largely like fancy smartphones. Even Apple’s iPad is closer to an iPhone than to a laptop. Additionally, tablets need a lot more tech support to tackle problems relating to connectivity, storage and usability.

Tablets are gaining a lot of popularity among business travelers and people who need light, portable computing devices, but such users often discover that connecting their tablets to printers is complicated and messy because tablets significantly lack printing tech support. To connect a tablet to a printer, it is often necessary to use a third party app, as tablet makers haven’t provided sufficient tech support yet.

Another tablet limitation is web browsing. Tech support for tablet web browsers is also limited, often forcing users to use multiple browsers to access different websites. One exception to this may by Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which is due for release next week. The Kindle Fire comes with its own web browser, SILK, which was designed exclusively for the device. SILK does not operate on any tablet or device other than the Kindle Fire. Because it was created for the Kindle, rather than made to work with it, Amazon says that browsing using SILK will be a super fast and a very smooth experience.

Tablet computer repairs are another major limitation of the devices. Computer repair work for tablets is usually tricky because of the devices’ delicate and compact nature. Taking risks with cheap or self-help computer repair work can be very risky. It’s always better to seek out professional tablet computer repairs that have a history of excellent computer repair work than to trust amateurs. It’s easy for the inexperienced person attempting to provide tablet computer repair to damage the device by merely trying to take it apart.

Software computer repairs aren’t as risky, but that’s no excuse to take them for granted. Again, always seek out professionals as your first option. Don’t wait for an inexperienced provider to try—and fail—at fixing your tablet. Bad computer repairs can cost you to lose valuable data.

Because tablets are still in their Alpha phase, we can expect that they will continue to need plenty of tech support. And who knows, perhaps enough time and advanced tech support will actually succeed in making tablets a standard computing device, a title still monopolized by computers and laptops.

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

It can be tempting to “share” songs via software like Kazaa or LimeWire rather than buying them. Such practices are not only illegal most of the time, but pose a serious threat to your Internet security. Downloading files using P2P (Peer-to-Peer) sharing software is one of the worst Internet security practices that users can employ. By downloading music or other files using such software, you could be inviting a conglomeration of malware to infest your computer. Even a small breach of your Internet security can cause you to spend lots of money on virus removal and, in some cases, identity theft problems.

Though LimeWire is no longer available for download due to legal reasons, users with older versions of the software on their machines can still use it, and can therefore still endanger their Internet security. Even when users don’t use LimeWire to share files, their Internet security is susceptible because the program automatically runs in the background, allowing strangers access to a user’s files!

When you opt to participate in P2P sharing, you can’t normally control what files you share. This lack of control can lead to your participating in copyright infringement, having your device infected with malware, and consequently requiring virus removal.

Perhaps the worst part of getting viruses from P2P sharing software is that we willingly invite them in. It’s like volunteering to spend time and money on virus removal. Sometimes, Internet security problems are hard to identify, but when threats are this obvious, there’s no excuse to fall for them.

If you’re looking for free music, YouTube is a great alternative. Watching music videos on YouTube poses far fewer threats to your Internet security, as viruses cannot usually target media files. Internet security problems that occur while on YouTube might be related to bugs in Adobe Flash player, but these are rare. Besides, Flash is constantly updated to eliminate bugs and ensure Internet security.

On the other hand, if you’re feeling overtly philanthropic and want to support the music industry by more than just illegally downloading songs, then consider buying the music! Amazon and Apple both sell music by the song, as do dozens of other sites. The great news is, music services like these are legal and don’t come with the added expense of virus removal.

Given the time and effort needed for virus removal, it is always better to make sure you have strong Internet security and to avoid using software like Limewire and Kazaa. After all, paying for a song or three is a lot cheaper than paying for virus removal.

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