Cool Product of the Day

Sometimes, the coolest products are gadgets that are exceptionally specialized.  Advances in obscure fields like water reclamation, climatology and the study of aquatic environments often come because the technology associated with the field advances.  A very cool product that is advancing the study and measurement of dissolved oxygen in water is the YSI ProODO Handheld Optical Dissolved Oxygen Instrument.

The YSI ProODO is a handheld sensor array that comes with all of the sensing probes and hardware needed to do in-the-field dissolved water tests.  The YSI ProODO is a handheld device with a LCD display that can be backlit if you are doing dissolved oxygen tests at night.  The YSI ProODO looks somewhat like a tricorder from Star Trek: The Next Generation with its sleek design.  One of the smartest benefits of the ProODO is that the handheld device is both waterproof and buoyant.  To those outside the industry, it seems like common sense that you would want your equipment for testing water in the field to be waterproof, but that is not the case for all dissolved oxygen instruments!  YSI seems to understand that accidents can happen in the water and making the ProODO buoyant helps researchers protect their investment.

The YSI ProODO is available in several kits, most of which are determined by the length of the cable you want for the probe.  The ProODO has sensor cables ranging from one meter – ideal for laboratory work where you are close to your samples – to one hundred meters, ideal for testing deeper environments where it is impractical to visit or where disrupting the environment would prejudice the readings.

The ProODO is all about not disrupting the environment and ensuring accurate readings.  The accuracy of dissolved oxygen sensing equipment is often called into question because each testing area in an environment is considered unique.  Scientists in the dissolved oxygen field do not want unique; they want representative samples.  To that end, the ProODO’s sensor features a self-stirring mechanism that mixes water only at the point you want to read in order to provide a uniform representative sample.  Equally important is the fact that the sensor on the YSI ProODO maintains its calibration from deployment to reading.  The stable calibration is especially important when you are experimenting at depths that would require the 100 meter cable!

With a test memory of 5000 sets, the YSI ProODO eliminates the need for additional data storage.  Even so, the YSI ProODO comes with YSI’s Data Manager Software which allows users to upload their data from the ProODO to a computer.  In addition to providing powerful analytical tools, the use of the Data Manager frees up memory on the ProODO.  The ability to reformat the memory makes the YSI ProODO an essential long-term tool.

Field-tested for durability, innovative to provide representative samples and easy-to-use for clear data retrieval, the YSI ProODO delivers the cutting edge for the dissolved oxygen industry.

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

One of the coolest products in the world is not one that will be available directly to consumers, but it will benefit everyone who travels by plane.  The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast is that cool product and it is making air travel much safer than it ever has been.

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, the woeful state of air traffic technology became public knowledge.  For the first time, most people in the United States learned that most of the computer systems that monitored and regulated air traffic control were from the 1950s!  The last vacuum tube computers were mass produced in 1962, yet the airline industry continued to use those outdated computers.  In 2003, the United States Congress established the Joint Planning and Development Office to revamp the outdated technologies the air traffic industry has been using.  The JPDO proposed NextGen and the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system is an integral part of that initiative.

The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system is an innovative tool that works much like GPS.  The ADS-B system keeps track of each and every plane outfitted with the system.  One impressive leap forward that the ADS-B system makes is that the display for the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast includes images of both planes in the air and on the ground.  Because the ADS-B system monitors planes still in the terminal, it will help prevent runway conflicts.  The other important leap forward that ADS-B includes is an interface that is universal.  Unlike previous, radar-based systems that showed air traffic controllers only the airspace around their terminal, with plane positions relative to them, the ADS-B provides universal displays.  This means that your departure airport, your destination airport and every airport in between has access to the exact same images and the same training to know how to properly interpret it! The ADS-B comes in two parts, the ADS-B In and the ADS-B Out.

The ADS-B In is a receiver.  The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system is a satellite-based network that monitors weather information, geographical locations on the ground and ADS-B Out transmitters.  In many ways, the ADS-B system is an airborne computer network, specifically designed for aviation.  The ADS-B In system is what pilots use to access the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system.  Using ADS-B In, the pilot receives weather information, telemetry on other planes and guidance information.

The ADS-B Out is the transmitter.  The ADS-B Out is like a combination of GPS and the plane’s black box.  The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out system transmits all data about the plane and flight from the equipped plane to the ADS-B satellite network.

Australia is, to date, the only nation that has fully upgraded entirely to ADS-B technology.  The United States is overhauling its aviation industry and by 2020, the intent is that the United States will be entirely on the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system.  Finally, the aviation industry is getting out of the 1950s and into the 21rst Century!

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

Have you ever had an argument with someone you do not trust?  You know the kind, the person with whom you want to settle an issue through the flip of a coin, but you know they’ll find a way to cheat.  Just as the Internet provided us with increased data storage options, Cloud-based entertainment and more sophisticated mapping services, now it provides unbiased coin flips through Random.org’s True Random Number Service.  Settle bets, stymie psychics, or simply confound your friends by showing interest in a random number generator with Random.org’s True Random Number Service!

Random.org is a cool, entertaining, website and the coin flipper is only one interface that the site offers.  Random.org’s True Random Number Service is an esoteric bit of random number generators that may be used for fun or science.  Distinguished from other random number generation sites, the True Random Number Service from Random.org does not come from a complex equation that may be predicted with enough sampling (and a mathematical mindset).

Instead, creator Mads Haahr generates the random numbers through a complex radio receptor array that uses atmospheric noise.  In fact, the software for the True Random Number Service is not available because it requires the non-computer input it receives from the radio wave observations!  This is true randomness and Random.org makes it very cool.

The True Random Number Service has a variety of interfaces, the best of which are entirely free.  The coin flipper presents simple “heads” or “tails” for one to sixteen coins at a time from an inventory of eighty-eight different coins.  Virtually every country connected to the Internet has a representation of its coins.  There are also a few ancient civilizations and novelty coins available.  There is a playing card shuffler which allows those who need to settle an issue through a game of high card (or anything else for which you would select a single card from a 52 or 54 card deck) to randomly pick a card.  There are also random dice rolls, which could make your games of RISK or Yahtzee go much more unpredictably than playing with actual dice.

There is also a very simple, very direct true random number generator at Random.org that may generate columns of random numbers from -1,000,000,000 to 1,000,000,000!  It does not take much playing around with the system to discover just how well it works!

Random.org is an easy site to use and it does not require any additional computer support to operate any of the gadgets and widgets it provides.  With over a billion random bits generated, Random.org is the most stable random element on the Internet!

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

Happy Holidays from Rescuecom!

For the last few weeks, we have been presenting you with cool gadgets, awesome websites and neat products.  The holidays are a great time to give and get all manner of technological wonders.  Today, we would like to share a special Holiday Cool Product Of The Day: it’s you!

You, your time and your simple presence can make the day better for those around you or even a stranger.  Today, take some time to be with your family.  It does not matter what religion, race, creed or color you are; your friends and family deserve the gift that is you.  And you deserve to get the gift of loved ones!  So today, why not put down the smartphones, disconnect from the Internet and sit face to face with the ones you love and let them know how important they are to you?

For those Santas who need last minute technical advice, computer support and computer repair, we at Rescuecom are here 24 hours.  We are happy to serve you and check back tomorrow for our next great gadget.  But today, the best product we can recommend is you!

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

Recently, we explored the growing phenomenon of digital comic books.  One of the coolest products for digital comic books is the Comixology Guided View digital comic reader.  Available for free through Comixology.com, the Guided View digital comic book reader is an easy-to-use application that comic book readers use to buy and read digital comic books on any or all computer devices they own.

Guided View is a reader, much like the well-known Adobe readers, but to date Guided View is exclusively for digital comic books.  Guided View has two distinct advantages other digital comic book readers do not have.  The first is that because Digital View is through Comixology and not an individual publisher, readers may easily and inexpensively purchase digital comic books from various publishers with a consistent platform.  It is a huge advantage for readers who have favorite characters from DC Comics, Marvel and the independents to not have to switch platforms or create multiple accounts just to read the comic books they love.

The other serious advantage of Guided View is that the Comixology-created platform is fully transferable.  When you create an account with Comixology.com, that account is accessible from all of your computers, smartphones or other mobile devices.  That universal account access provides you with the ability to read your digital comic books with whatever device you have on you at the time.  If your laptop computer runs out of battery power, that is not a problem!  Simply continue reading your digital comic book on your tablet computer or smartphone.  That access is a convenience that allows readers to be assured they will only pay for their digital comic book once, but have the ability to read it in perpetuity.

Guided View has two reading modes: full page and guided.  The full page reading option provides the most true comic book experience, as readers are able to see the full two-pages of panels and may easily follow the movement and depth of the panels the way the artist originally intended readers to experience it.  The full page option is ideal for larger devices, like reading the digital comic books on your widescreen television through your Internet-connected game console.

The second reading mode is the guided view option from the Guided View reader.  The guided view option transforms every digital comic book into a panel by panel movie.  Readers see a panel; they click “Forward” and Guided View slides to the next panel or does a wipe into the next panel.  The guided view is ideal for smaller devices, like reading digital comics on a smartphone.  Serious readers are likely to miss the way the artwork connects, but the simple sense of motion the guided view provides will engage children.

Guided View requires no computer support to install or operate.  Comixology is doing a real service to the environment and independent comic books by advancing digital comic books.  At the forefront with their Guided View, Comixology is undeniably cool.

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

What do wild conspiracy theories and overheating laptop computers have in common?  Dean Haglund worked on both!  Dean Haglund is an actor and artist who portrayed Langley on The X-Files and its unfortunately too-short-lived spin-off The Lone Gunmen.  As Langley on the two shows, Haglund delighted geeks of all ages with the idea that bizarre theories could be reasonably pitched to otherwise professional people and that you can grow up, but you do not have to cut your hair.

Haglund is less commonly known for inventing the Chill Pak.  Almost a decade ago, Dean Haglund invented the Chill Pak and it remains a cool product (pun intended) to this day.  Like many laptop computer users, Dean Haglund spent a great deal of time on his laptop computer.  As a result, he would notice that his laptop computer’s fan would run excessively and that his computer would become physically hot to touch.  After correctly observing that the warmer his laptop computer became, the slower it ran, Haglund set to work solving the problem.

The Chill Pak was Haglund’s solution to laptop computer overheating and it is a surprisingly elegant one.  The Chill Pak is a patented mat for under your computer.  The Chill Pak comes as a mat filled with gel and when you first receive it, you need to place it in your freezer.  After about twelve hours of freezing, the Chill Pak works like an ice pack for your laptop computer.  Placed underneath your laptop computer, the Chill Pak significantly cools down your laptop computer’s internal components.  The result is that your laptop computer’s fan will not engage, so your laptop runs quieter as well as faster.  The Chill Pak operates for four hours at normal room temperature before the gel fully liquefies and needs to be refrozen.

But what about moisture in the air condensing on the Chill Pak as it heat up?  Dean Haglund thought of that!  The Chill Pak is made of a special fabric designed to absorb and wick away moisture.  As a result, the Chill Pak cools down your computer without getting it wet and necessitating laptop computer repairs!

There are a lot of solutions on the market now for cooling down your laptop computer, which was not true when Haglund invented the Chill Pak.  External laptop fans are noisy and use up a USB port on your laptop computer.  Similar crystal/gel mats do not keep laptop computers as cool for nearly as long as the Chill Pak.

Dean Haglund brought one of the first, most effective, laptop computer cooling devices to market with the Chill Pak.  The fact that it is still a relevant, functional product almost a decade since it was first released makes the Chill Pak very cool.

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

Despite all of the negative connotations about geeks, geeks generally like to have fun.  They are smart, imaginative, clever, and they like to have a good time.  Most geeks do not thrive in the stuffy confines of the business world, especially office environments where their creativity is stifled.  For those geeks who won’t be fired for a little healthy rebellion from the ordinary, there is the USB Rocket Launcher from ThinkGeek.

ThinkGeek puts the fun in office warfare with the USB Rocket Launcher.  The USB Rocket Launcher is a desktop device that launches four small foam darts.  Fear not!  The small foam darts will not cause any damage that necessitates computer repairs!  In addition to being very soft, the USB Rocket Launcher does not fire the projectiles at a force powerful enough to even scratch a computer monitor.  Truly, ThinkGeek has created a harmless projectile for those unwinding a little at work.

The USB Rocket Launcher connects to your computer or laptop through a standard USB port.  The USB port both powers the Rocket Launcher and allows the Rocket Launcher to be controlled.  You control the USB Rocket Launcher through software that ThinkGeek provides; there is no additional computer support or accessories necessary!

With the USB Rocket Launcher plugged into the USB port and the software installed, you may control your Rocket Launcher through the software on your computer.  The software allows you to turn the Rocket Launcher 360 degrees horizontally and up to 45 degrees above the launching surface.  This provides you with a great range of fire to target anyone in adjacent cubicles.

The two inch long foam rockets launch with a touch of the button!  By pressing the launch control through the computer interface, you may launch your foam rockets one by one or all at once.  The launcher quietly projects each rocket using forced air and each foam rocket has a range of approximately nineteen and a half feet.  With such range, the USB Rocket Launcher provides adequate office defense for any fake conflict that breaks out in the workplace.

Safe and easy-to-use, the USB Rocket Launcher can help any creative geek blow off steam in the workplace, without destroying anything or alienating anyone.

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

In advance of Black Friday, the technical news was abuzz with one story that was interpreted a different way with every article that was written.  Right before Thanksgiving, industry analysts released the sales figures of personal computers in 2011.The news left many in the computer support world scratching their heads in confusion.  The sales reports acknowledge that HP continues to be the leader in PC sales . . . unless you consider tablet computers a PC.

Since then, pundits have written hundreds of articles on the sales projections and the nature of the PC.  In one corner, there is the perception that the tablet computer is a PC.  That perception greatly benefits Apple because with iPad tablet computer sales factored in, Apple would be the number one computer company by sales in the world.  Apple, naturally, wants to cash in on the prestige that comes from overtaking HP and becoming the world leader in the PC market.

HP, who had a disastrous tablet computer release in 2011, remained strong in sales of traditional personal computers.  HP has the element of public perception on its side in the argument.  Consumers bought tablet computers in 2011 largely as a companion for their PC, not a replacement.  Sales numbers have shown a slight decline in traditional PC computer sales over 2011, but many industry analysts attribute that to a PC sell-off in 2010 with the release of the Windows 7.  In other words, many consumers purchased their new PC last year; so many computer users do not need to buy a new computer this year.  Computer support and computer repair businesses seem to support this idea; they remain as busy as ever, solving computer problems on PCs purchased during last year’s sales spike.

The public perception for tablet computers remains that they are primarily for entertainment and personal use, not serious computing.  Tablet computers may have valuable business applications, like inventory control and presenting customers with product information, but they remain more expensive than most businesses want to invest for the technology.  As well, the tablet computer has not reached its full business potential because manufacturers have not developed the apps that meet the needs of many businesses.  As a result, consumers continue to use their PCs for serious work – business, education, and research – and their tablet computers for entertainment, like watching movies or reading digital books.

The argument over whether to include tablet computers or not is a moot point in many ways.  To many computer users, the debate just seems like big business trying to cook the books in their company’s favor.

Ironically, Apple needs the status of being the #1 computer manufacturer less than HP does.  For over a decade, Apple has built its advertising campaign around being original, buying Apple products in defiance of the Big Companies.  After years as the outsider, could Apple effectively rebrand with “Conformity is cool?”  Even Apple could not sell that.

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

Computers are ubiquitous items in United States society today.  As much as the millions who bought the Apple iPod might want to believe they are being counterculture, defiant against big business and otherwise cool, they have bought into one of the most popular product lines in history.  In other words, if you own an iPod, you are more a part of the majority than you might realize.  It is not your fault; so much modern technology is geared around instant recognition, as opposed to a sense of uniqueness.  There are no computer-oriented devices that are more homogenized and less customized than the computer’s keyboard and mouse.

But now, you can change that, thanks to artist Tom Gerhardt and the Japanese company, Evergreen.  Evergreen makes a bamboo mouse.  Tom Gerhardt has pioneered a device that can make any rock into a fully functional mouse.

Evergreen’s bamboo mouse fits perfectly into any environment dominated by light wood or lighter earth tones.  Each bamboo mouse is an optical mouse with scroll wheel.  It is a corded mouse, so those looking for wireless cannot yet enjoy the style of this mouse.  But Evergreen makes the minimal clutter of a cable cool by presenting a mouse made of smooth, polished bamboo panels.  Curved to fit your hand the bamboo mouse is solid and durable, as well as stylish.  Because the two mouse buttons are made of thinner, flexible bamboo over a minimal slit, the bamboo mouse actually is easier to keep clean than most traditional plastic mice!

For those who have more of a stone theme to their work space, Tom Gerhardt has the answer.  Gerhardt has pioneered a mouse ring, upon which one may place any medium sized rock.  The rock, when placed upon the ring, becomes a functional mouse!  Simple pressing the rock at the top left or top right performs the function of a left or right click!  This amazing technology makes any rock into a computer mouse, so if you have a favorite rock, one you want to feel connected with for the long hours you find yourself working at your computer, this is an ideal option.  Or, if you like the idea of changing your style up frequently, Tom Gerhardt’s stone mouse can allow you to shake it up frequently.  You could have a different rock as a mouse each day!

Since the rise of the personal computer, style concerning computers has frequently focused on modernizing one’s workspace to match the new computer.  Tom Gerhardt and Evergreen seem to realize that some homes are complete and amazing as they are.  Through their mice, we can start reclaiming a more natural sense of style that matches a warmer environment than the mass-produced computer companies would have us accept.

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