Computer Support Blog

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 »

It is almost surprising how very much product diversity there can be in a simple piece of computer hardware.  Take, for example, external hard drives.  External hard drives all do the same thing; they store your data.  But, there are a multitude of different variations based upon your individual data storage needs.  If you need space, there are now 1 TB external hard drives.  For those who need speed, there are USB 3.0 external hard drives and for those who need long-term storage, there are solid-state drives that appear to last indefinitely.  One of the most intriguing combinations of security and speed comes in the Aegis Padlock DT. Read more »

The development within the tech sector of the all-in-one printer/scanner/fax machine/photocopier has all but killed the standalone photocopier market.  In fact, the companies that clung to their corporate strategy of denial of the trend that all-in-ones would take off rapidly contributed to the demise of those companies.  Xerox, one of the world’s largest photocopier companies, however, made many early strategic decisions that bought it the time needed to refocus, restructure, and rebound both in the marketplace and the stock market.  Xerox has had a rough few years and now, they are counting in part on Luca Maestri to turn the business around. 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 »

Talent finds a way of finding its niche; people who are extraordinary seldom remain in positions that could be filled by virtually anyone with similar training.  As a result, it is largely unsurprising when a talented person leaves a good-paying, even prestigious, position to strike out on their own with a vision that is unique.  That is exactly what Carly Bellis did when she co-founded Impaktu. Read more »

If you are going to pay money for a streaming video service, like Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu Plus, you might as well invest in the equipment that allows you to get the most out of it.  While some might be content to watch movies and television on their tablet computer or smartphone, those who truly love cinema will want to watch their programs on the best system they own.  For most people, that is a home theater consisting of a high-definition television and a stereo system.  To connect your streaming service to such a system you need either a dedicated computer or a streaming player, like the Roku 2 XS Streaming Player. Read more »

Google has become known throughout the tech sector as one of the biggest companies from which engineers with good ideas may launch a business of their own.  Perhaps that perception developed because as Google defined itself in the early days of its company, its leadership did not want to be distracted by side projects.  Google did not start out as a company that was trying to be everything to everyone.  As such, the creative engineers that Google hired to build its revolutionary search engine often had ideas that they could only act upon when no longer with Google.  Sean Knapp was one of those engineers with a vision that did not quite fit Google’s plans. Read more »

Late last year, there was a news story that was anything but real news, despite how the technology and business press covered it: Verizon had outages.  Treated as huge news, because Verizon claims to have the “most reliable network,” Verizon was virtually tarred and feathered for having a few bad days last year, wherein the weather contributed to Verizon services going off-line.  What the sensationalists in the media and business sectors neglected to consider was that Verizon’s claim to be the “most reliable network” did not mean that the service would not fail; it is a claim that their network will fail less than its other major competitors!  Verizon, of course, got service back up and running, but there were weeks of analysis – i.e. how did this failure of service happen, who’s to blame for the failure, etc.  Now, it looks like tech sector enthusiasts are likely to endure a series of similar article. 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 »