Computer Support Blog

If you have been around an Apple store lately, you may have heard a lot of jargon shot at you.  Apple has such a pervasive subculture that those who are in it seem to find it inconceivable that anyone could not be a part of their subculture.  As a result, Apple salespeople often rattle off specifications and jargon at such a speed at to appear daunting to those who are not technically inclined.  One of the most frequent words Apple salespeople toss out with the expectation that you know what they are talking about is “FireWire.”

You may have been too afraid to ask, but you are not foolish for not knowing what FireWire is.

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There have been some truly intriguing combinations of computer devices.  The Sony VAIO Mouse Talk, for example, very cleverly combined a computer mouse with a cell phone.  It takes a lot of imagination to combine a standard computer peripheral with something else to make a new device that is more useful than it is clever.  Inventors risk making something that is more of a gimmick than a worthwhile gadget.  Genius, a Taiwan-based company specializing in devices for the information technology field, managed to create an unlikely combination device that is surprisingly practical with its Ring Presenter.

The Ring Presenter combines a computer mouse with a laser pointer.  This unlikely combination proves to be remarkably useful due to the way that it was designed by Genius.  With a clever ring design, Genius gives you hands-free control of your presentations.  Equally important, the Ring Presenter allows you to control your presentations without having to be at your computer.

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Once upon a time, there were three fields of vision.  Normal vision was considered a range around twenty feet away and with ideal vision you could see everything there clearly.  When humanity was hunting to survive, seeing farther way became important.  With the invention of the written word and, especially, printed text, the ability to see close objects became essential.  With the rise of technology tends to come new problems and for computer users, one of the most serious is computer eye strain.

Computer eye strain is a condition reported by fifty percent of computer users.  Computer eye strain can manifest itself in symptoms as benign as slightly dry or itchy eyes to the more extreme migraine headaches.  There are several causes of computer eye strain.

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When you are not a member of a certain subculture, you may be entirely ignorant of its existence, much less what the principles and beliefs are for that culture or group.  As the Internet has effectively made the world smaller by connecting people from obscure subcultures, it has made learning about different groups of people much easier.  One of the most intriguing subcultures that has a surprising interest in computers and technology is the steampunk movement.

The steampunk subculture is preoccupied with reimagining the modern world as if steam power was still the dominant form of power.  The steampunk movement glorifies the sense of style of the Victorian Era and redesigns our modern conveniences to fit that style.  One of the very best resources on the Internet for those looking to understand steampunk is The Steampunk Workshop.

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Alpha Consumers, we need you!

In just a few days, Victorinox will release one of the coolest products to hit the portable memory market ever.  However, like so many initial product releases, it comes with a pretty hefty price tag.  As a result, many of us will rely upon the fact that Alpha Consumers satisfy the initial demand and absorb the expense of producing the next, less expensive, round of the product.  The cool new product is the Victorinox 1 TB USB/eSATA II flash drive!

Victorinox, most famous for creating and selling the Swiss Army Knife, has been making and selling USB flash drives of a similar style for years.  Incorporated into their trademarked fold-out design that allows you to essentially keep several different tools within a common handle, Victorinox included a USB flash drive to keep the tool relevant in the 21^st Century.  Victorinox is pushing the envelope forward now with their 1 TB USB/eSATA II flash drive.

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No matter what the latest leaps forward in computers, we are still a long way away from having computer systems that implant images straight into your brain.  That means that no matter what type personal computer you have, you are going to need a monitor for it.  Even if you have moved to a laptop computer or tablet computer, a good monitor can make all the difference for enjoying games and media presentations when used in conjunction with an adapter cable.  The monitor that can give you the best picture quality at affordable prices is the ASUS ML228H High Definition LED Monitor.

The ASUS ML228H Monitor is a 21.5” flat screen monitor with widescreen proportions.  This Energy Star-compliant monitor has a true resolution of 1920 x 1080, which gives it great definition and pixel density.  ASUS pioneered a 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio that lights images with a powerful backlight resulting in images that look lifelike.  The images are so vivid that looking at photographs on the ASUS ML228H Monitor is like looking through a window into an alternate reality!  That sense of picture quality is not only for static images.  With the 2ms response time, moving objects on the ASUS High Definition monitor remain clear and crisp.

What does all of this mean outside the jargon?

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There are very few computer-related items as stylish, distinctive, or varied as the USB Flash Drive.  You can find flash drives for virtually any occasion or sense of style.  For the uber-geek, there are Star Wars flash drives and for Twi-hard girls, there is even a Twilight USB flash drive.  What about manly men who want a distinctive USB flash drive?  For the masculine man with a sense of whimsy, there are Flash Rods.

Flash Rods are handmade USB flash drives in the shape of popular or memorable automobiles.  Since 2004, Flash Rods have been integrating die-cast toy cars and flash drives to create a fun 4 GB flash drive that appeals to car enthusiasts.  Each Flash Rod is manufactured with the male USB jack projecting out the back of the car.  Each Flash Rod slides perfectly into any female USB port, so the tires and any back fins or ornamentation of the car end before the male USB jack begins.

The distinctive cars are what make the Flash Rods cool.  Currently, there are over twenty different Flash Rods available.  Many of the basic Flash Rods come in different colors.  If you have a favorite car type, you can pick up multiple Flash Rods to keep different files on different color Flash Rods of the same model car!  The basic Flash Rods include the Volvo 1800, GT 40 #11, a Delorean and Rudolf’s New Car.  There is an entire section featuring modern cars, like the Audi R8 and a Camero, and another section featuring muscle cars like a 1967 Mustang GT500 and a Studebaker Pick Up!  As well, there are some neat variants, like a clear race car.

Women need not feel excluded from the Flash Rods phenomenon!  Women make up a sizable portion of the NASCAR audience and Flash Rods seems eager to appeal to that market.  Flash Rods produces a series of five limited edition pink Flash Rods.  The pinks are custom colors and they look amazing on vehicles like the Tesla, ’67 GTX and SLR.  The pink line is one of the most distinctive and coolest collections Flash Rods manufactures and because Flash Rods produces them in very limited quantities, you should get them while you can!

But geeks need not shun the Flash Rods; this is not just a product for the guys who used to beat you up and take your lunch money!  Flash Rods caters to the hardcore geek audience with Flash Rods of some very cool, genre-oriented vehicles.  Doc Brown’s time machine Delorean is part of the current fun inventory of Flash Rods.  As well, Flash Rods recreated the black van driven by the A-Team as a Flash Rod flash drive.

With an average price of $25 (plus shipping) the Flash Rods are a very cool way to store your valuable computer files.

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 this age where the world is continually getting smaller through improved communications networks and less expensive means of transportation, it is not uncommon for multinational corporations, even those based in the United States, to have a very diverse executive portfolio.  Even Intel, the chip manufacturer based in Santa Clara, California, has executives from other countries.  This makes sense, though, as Intel has a habit of hiring from the best and brightest minds around the world.  After graduating from the Technion, Israel’s Institute of Technology, with a degree in Electrical Engineering, David Perlmutter came to work for Intel.  Now, Perlmutter is an Executive Vice President for the company, as well as the General Manager of Intel’s Architecture Group.

As General Manager of the Intel Architecture Group, David Perlmutter is responsible for determining which products Intel will develop.  Because Intel has such a massive research and development branch, the company needs an executive to determine which projects are worth pursuing and which experiments need to be retooled.  The position calls for someone who has the judgment to evaluate the state of technology and the vision to push the envelope of what is possible.  David Perlmutter is just that type of visionary.

Shortly after graduation from the Technion, Perlmutter worked hard on innovating new microprocessor designs.  His engineering talents were impressive and he innovated new designs of branch target buffers and multiprocessing cache coherency protocols which he holds the patents for!  Those developments brought David Perlmutter to the attention of Intel.  Eager for just such an inventor, Intel hired Perlmutter to head their development team.  In that role, Perlmutter designed the Intel i387 and then created the microarchitecture for the Intel Pentium processor!  David Perlmutter led the teams that fundamentally change an entire generation of microchips!

With that type of success in his portfolio, the Board promoted Perlmutter through the ranks of the research and development divisions of Intel.  He had vital roles in Intel’s microprocessor manufacture for mobile phones, allowing Intel to enter the ultra-low power handheld market.  As the natural evolution of his successes, CEO Paul Otellini promoted him once again.  As General Manager of the Intel Architecture Group, Perlmutter is responsible for overseeing all of Intel’s products from data centers to consumer electronics.

Not one to rest on his laurels, David Perlmutter shepherded Intel’s latest breakthrough, Sandy Bridge, to the forefront of Intel’s manufacturing effort.  Sandy Bridge is a microprocessor with a revolutionary new microarchitecture, said to be a leap forward much like the Pentium was.  If Sandy Bridge lives up to its potential, David Perlmutter will prove that his best days are not behind him!

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 the vernacular of the young folks: O M G.

Just when you might think you have seen everything there is in the marketplace that could define decadence, someone pioneers some new overpriced bauble and puts to shame everything that came before.  It is hard not to have that sort of gut-wrenching, jaw-dropping reaction when you see the most expensive computer mouse in the world. That mouse is the Diamond Flower RF mouse from Pat Says Now.

Pat Says Now is a Swiss novelty mouse manufacturer.  The company also caters to high-end customers who, apparently, have far too much money to spend.  The Diamond Flower RF mouse is their premium product and currently stands as the most expensive computer mouse in the world.  The current retail price of the Diamond Flower RF mouse is $20,250.  That is not a typo: twenty thousand, two hundred fifty dollars . . . for a computer mouse.

Wow.

The Diamond Flower RF mouse is a standard computer mouse in many ways.  It is a standard RF mouse in that it is wireless and includes a receiver.  When you plug the receiver into your computer’s USB port, the mouse relays even the tiniest movements to your computer to move the cursor on your screen.  The Diamond Flower is a plug-and-play ambidextrous mouse for that works on any Windows-based computer from Windows 98 to Windows Vista.  The Diamond Flower also interfaces perfectly with all Mac computers running OS X and beyond.  The Diamond Flower features two buttons and a scroll wheel.

What, then, makes the Diamond Flower RF mouse worth over twenty thousand dollars?  First, the scroll wheel is not actually a scroll wheel.  The Diamond Flower RF mouse does not have anything as inelegant as a physical wheel that might make noise or need periodic cleaning.  Instead, Pat Says Now designed an optical sensor for the scroll wheel.  Just as the laser below the mouse precisely tracks in the place of a physical mouse ball, the optical scroll allows you to lightly pass your finger over the sensor on the top of the mouse to get on-screen movement you would expect form a scroll wheel!

The main factor driving up the price of the Diamond Flower RF mouse is the fact that the shell of the mouse is 18 carat gold.  Because you might not want to have the same vastly overpriced mouse as your other rich friends, the Diamond Flower RF mouse comes in white gold or a traditional yellow gold shell.  Embedded in the gold shell are fifty-nine diamonds.  Yes, the name “Diamond Flower” is not just for show, the Diamond Flower RF mouse features fifty-nine diamonds in the shape of a flower embedded in the shell of the mouse.

So, if you want to feel like a high roller and have enough money to buy a new car, but want to spend it on a computer mouse instead, the Diamond Flower RF mouse is for 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

The relationship between art and commerce has only been made more complicated by the rise of the Internet.  On the one hand, artists now are able to present their works to a vastly broader audience and entire sites like Art.net have sprouted up to use the Internet to promote art in all of its forms.  On the flip side, with so many more people exploring and presenting artwork, the market has been flooded and many artist sites are choking with starving artists, none of whom are buying.  As well, the lack of real safeguards for images and representations of artwork on the Internet makes it much more difficult to protect the intellectual property of artists.  One artist who has effectively blended artwork and emerging Internet technologies is Tom Gerhardt.

Tom Gerhardt is one of the two co-founders of Studio Neat.  Studio Neat has a stated goal of designing simple accessories for popular technologies.  Lacking a corporate model or drive, Gerhardt is much more concerned with the artistic aspects of the products he designs.  Gerhardt is an idea man who makes interesting functional gadgets, but he does not prioritize selling them, which might be why you have not heard of Studio Neat.

Tom Gerhardt is a world-renowned artist, first and foremost.  Gerhardt pioneered the ring technology that makes the stone mouse work, which is very cool.  In addition to appreciating a strong sense of simplicity in design, Gerhardt is known for having a sense of whimsy.  One would have to be whimsical to design a mud-based interface for computers.  Yes, Gerhardt is spearheading the MudTub, a computer interface that works by having a computer user play in mud.  The MudTub might be for a niche audience of people who want to move around in wet dirt, but the fact that someone had the idea to manipulate computer devices using playing in mud is a remarkably clever one.

Gerhardt and his partner at Studio Neat, Dan Provost, recently designed the Glif.  The Glif is a mount and stand for use with the Apple iPhone 4 and 4S and Gerhardt appealed to Apple fans online to actually fund its production.  The Glif is a very simple black mount with a threaded screw hole that allows you to attach your Apple iPhone 4 to any standard camera mount!  The simplicity of the idea is incredible; Apple promoted the iPhone 4 on its photographic abilities without ever producing a device that would allow it to be attached to other, existing digital camera accessories!  Gerhardt saw the need and created an inexpensive, simple device that met the need in a stylish way.

With creations like the stone mouse, Glif, and MudTub under his belt or in development, artist Tom Gerhardt is someone to watch for the next great fusion of art and technology!

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