Computer Support Blog

Yahoo was a leader in the formation of the Internet. Millions of people used Yahoo mail, set it as their home page, and searched the Internet through Yahoo. These users trusted Yahoo for everything, and it repaid them with tight Internet security and a great experience at the time. Over the last few years, however, Yahoo’s popularity has dropped considerably in favor of Google and other websites that offer similar services.

Yahoo fell behind and there is a multitude of reasons why that happened. Small decisions and large ones both have brought Yahoo to the point the company is currently at – a struggling former leader that is slowly losing ground to the newer companies. Some people have begun to blame Jerry Yang for these problems.

Yang, the co-founder of the company, has been on the board of directors since the company’s inception. In 2008, while Yang was Yahoo’s CEO, he rejected an offer from Microsoft to buy the company. This decision was not popular and was a major factor in Yang stepping down as CEO.

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Internet social networks are still a relatively new phenomenon and as a result, programmers, businesspeople and the public do not yet fully understand the nature and impact of them.  For sure, Myspace, Facebook, and Google+ have all grown and attracted people to them, but there are few people who understand why.  To unravel this great mystery of why people use Internet social networks and how to retain users, there is Paul Adams.

Paul Adams is fascinated by sociology and studied social media on the Internet as it developed.  Adams holds a Bachelor’s degree in Design in Industrial Design and he earned his M.S. in Interactive Media.  Armed with those credentials, he initially entered the workforce as an industrial designer.  As a free agent, Paul Adams designed car interiors for Faurecia and he designed the vacuum that became Dyson’s best-selling vacuum in Japan!

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After the federal government took down the file-sharing website MegaUpload, many people have renewed the copyright debate. MegaUpload, and the associated site MegaVideo, were some of the most popular websites on the Internet, with millions of page views a day. The Justice Department’s quick and efficient takedown of MegaUpload has scared many of the other major file-sharing websites.

FileSonic and FileServe have both suspended users’ ability to download any content that the users did not upload themselves. This reaction, immediately after the MegaUpload takedown happened, is meant to save them from the same criminal charges the owners of MegaUpload are facing.

Other than file-sharing sites changing the way they function, there have been many mixed reactions to the Justice Department’s actions. Some say that it was unconstitutional, as users who had legal files on MegaUpload cannot access those files anymore. Others praise the decision and swift action for stopping online piracy.

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Over the last few years, millions of Angry Birds have attempted to rescue their stolen eggs from the evil green pigs. They fling themselves repeatedly at the pigs’ enclosures, attempting to knock them over and kill the pigs inside. Each time they succeed in killing all of the pigs they are one stage closer to the return of their precious eggs.

We have all heard of the Angry Birds game, and probably most of you have played it at least once. Have you ever wondered how this simple game of flinging birds at pigs became a nation-wide trend? Who thought up this game and why?

Rovio Entertainment Ltd created the hugely popular game Angry Birds in December of 2009 and launched it as a smartphone app. The game was a final effort to bring the company back from bankruptcy, according to Business Insider. Their efforts certainly paid off, with their small puzzle game launching a $50 million business built around the merchandising from one game.

There are Angry Birds plush toys, t-shirts, board and card games, blankets, headphones, backpacks, and so many other products. Rovio knows how to make money from their products – that they have created a game that so many people play is an accomplishment in itself, but to sell so many unrelated products simply because they have Angry Birds on them is phenomenal.

The game itself is very easy to learn how to play, but can be quite difficult to win. A basic understanding of physics and a lot of trial-and-error can take you far in the game, but the stages are progressively harder as you move further into the game. It could be said that Angry Birds has the popularity it does because of this method of game design – anyone can play it, but it takes determination to win.

There is currently an Angry Birds game available for all of the popular operating systems, including Windows, Mac, IOS, and Android. As an added incentive to buy their other products, Rovio has recently made the Angry Birds game completely free on Android.

Users should take caution, however, of possible Internet security threats from pirated copies of the Angry Birds game. With its huge success come many pirated copies of the game, some of which could contain malware and other threats to your Internet security. If something happens to your mobile device because of these Internet security threats, do not wait, get help from professional computer repair specialists at RESCUECOM.

Rovio is still keeping their focus on Angry Birds for now, but they have hinted that they are working on a new game, but it will be a while before it is ready. It is very likely that Rovio’s next game will capture the world’s attention the same way the Angry Birds has.

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

Ever since its introduction, the Stopping Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has caused a lot of uproar among the Internet community. The SOPA was designed to increase Internet security and help protect copyrighted content from being stolen on the Internet. Many who have read the bill, however, say that it goes far beyond that. The majority consensus of the Internet community is that it is too harsh and will greatly restrict or even stop the creative, free use of the Internet.

According to Dory Carr-Harris on PSFK, experts are worried that the SOPA will ruin the Domain Name System (DNS), a backbone of the Internet that allows computers all over the world to access websites. The problem with blocking domain names is that many thousands of websites exist under one domain name.

Recently, the Internet community decided to boycott GoDaddy for just that reason, and the Internet users won. GoDaddy pulled their support of the bill because of the boycott and said “GoDaddy will support [SOPA] when and if the Internet community supports it.” Anyone else who has given his or her support to the SOPA could be in trouble.

This amazing retraction could be the beginning of a major onslaught from the Internet community. Now that they have realized the extent of their power, it would not be surprising to see even more successful boycotts taking place soon because of SOPA and PIPA (Protect-IP Act).

At the first hearing in the House of Representatives, nothing was decided for sure and the Internet community made itself heard afterwards. There was uproar over who the speakers were and the Representatives’ seeming failure to understand anything about the bill itself. Rep. Jason Chaffetz asked his colleagues to “bring in the nerds” in order to satisfy the public’s call for expert testimony on the bill.

This time, they have. A new hearing has been set in the House of Representatives for the SOPA, which will address many of the issues that the Internet community has with this bill. Seven prominent Internet-savvy experts will speak at the hearing in the House and perhaps shed some light for the Representatives on the bill and the restrictions it will bring to the Internet.

There is even a WhiteHouse.gov petition for President Obama to veto both of the bills. Each of the individual petitions has garnered many signatures and the petitioners are awaiting the President’s response about his official position.

Whether or not the SOPA and PIPA will be made into laws remains to be seen, but people on both sides of the issue are actually working for the same goal – better Internet security. No one wants their copyrighted content stolen, and everyone wants to know that what they put online is secure. It remains to be seen if these bills will resolve these security issues or not.

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 its faults with repeatedly recommending the same hundred people to be your friend, Facebook remains a very cool social network.  Facebook is a social network where you can communicate with friends far and near and even people you just wish were your friends, all at once.  The social network that Mark Zuckerberg founded on the concept of exclusivity is now a universally-recognized facet of United States popular culture.  One of the nice elements of Facebook is that it serves as a platform for applications that do not take Facebook all that seriously.  Two of the coolest such applications are Face-Invaders and the Photo Booth Friends video slot machine.

Face-Invaders is a very simple application for Facebook.  The Face-Invaders game is a recreation of the classic 1980s video game Space Invaders.  The difference, though, is that instead of generic aliens, the creatures descending from the sky are made up of Facebook photos of your Facebook friends!  You use your own Facebook photo in Face-Invaders as the defensive weapon to save the world.

The game is very simple to play, just as Space Invaders was.  As your friends float down from the sky, you shoot them until the rows of friends are all gone.  Moving your avatar is easy, as you simply tilt your tablet computer or smartphone in the direction you want to go. To fire your weapon, you simply tap your portable device’s screen.  Face-Invaders can be a nice cathartic tool when people you are friends with on Facebook have annoyed you in real life!

For a more positive spin on using your Facebook friends’ photos, the DoubleDown Casino application on Facebook has Photo Booth Friends.  Photo Booth Friends is a standard video slot machine on Facebook, except that all of the symbols are profile photos from your Facebook friends.  Photo Booth Friends is a cool application in that you may let the program choose which friends it represents in the game or you may associate specific friends with different winning values.  Suddenly, your loved one may help you win big at the virtual casino!

Photo Booth Friends is otherwise a very typical video slot machine on the DoubleDown Casino platform.  Photo Booth Friends is a twenty-line video slot machine with eleven different symbols, including Bonus Game and Scatter symbols.  The bonus game for Photo Booth Friends is the aptly-named “snapshot bonus” that makes further use out of your friends’ Facebook photos.

Facebook profile photos can be fun or troubling, but with applications like Face-Invaders and Photo Booth Friends, you can see a lot more of your friends while gaming on Facebook!

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

Everyone does it and no one really thinks about it. You register on a new website and your browser automatically asks if you want to save your password. If the computer belongs to you, you think, “Sure, why not?” and click ok. Unfortunately, there could be some major consequences to that little decision.

If your computer were ever stolen, the thieves would have instant access to all of your sites. They could get into your email, your social networking sites, your online shopping accounts, and any other website for which you have saved the password.

Even if that never happens, saving passwords in your browser does not make them secure passwords. Most browsers have a way to look up all the saved passwords, usually under the ‘tools’ or ‘settings’ menu. Anyone with access to your computer can find this registry of your saved passwords and use them.

Malware can also get into your computer and find these passwords in the same manner. If you have poor Internet security, malware can even steal these passwords undetected. Sometimes even a scan specifically designed to detect malware programs does not find them.

There are a few options available, however, to make certain you have secure passwords. At home, the easiest thing to do is simply write them down and keep them near the computer. Unfortunately, you would then have to re-enter them every time you login to the website.

Another thing to consider is that there are programs that will keep your secure passwords safe. These kinds of programs have a master password that you can set-up, which you must enter once each time you open your browser, that will then unlock all the saved secure passwords. This eliminates the need to constantly re-enter all of your passwords on different sites, but the problem with this is that you cannot ever re-set the master password, even if you forget it.

If you do not want to use either of these options but tend to forget your passwords, you can always keep changing your passwords using the ‘forgot password’ feature on the website. Most websites make this an easy and quick process, and it is another way to make sure you are using secure passwords.

Fortunately, if you ever do run into problems stemming from lost or stolen passwords, you can easily get computer support help from a computer repair company such as RESCUECOM. If you follow the tips above, however, you should have fewer worries about whether or not you have secure passwords.

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

Today, Wikipedia is dark in the United States.  While Wikipedia users have been subject to pleas for money and frequently unsupported articles, this is the first time Wikipedia has ever made an overtly political move.  Wikipedia is the highest profile Internet site participating in the online protest against SOPA.  Yesterday, Alexa had Wikipedia rated as the sixth most popular website in the world.  Participation in the Internet protest against SOPA is elevated by Wikipedia’s participation.

Bravo to Wikipedia!

For those unfamiliar with the issue, the Stop Online Piracy Act is a bill the United States Senate is currently debating.  It is the Senate equivalent of the House’s Protect IP Act.  The stated goal of SOPA is to protect the intellectual property of those who use the Internet for advertising and media distribution.  Critics of SOPA and PIPA argue that the methods written into the bills range from dramatic overkill – the ability for the United States Federal Government to seize servers that pirated materials pass through – to utterly ineffective, i.e. the attempt for the U.S. to moderate a worldwide network like the Internet.  Even many of SOPA and PIPAs supporters are queasy or unclear about what the law, if executed, would actually mean for Freedom Of Speech.

Wikipedia is obstructing all access to its site today as part of a protest against SOPA and PIPA.  The metaphor is an apt one and the educational potential is incredible.  Of course, Wikipedia’s blacking out the site is meant to illustrate that should Congress pass SOPA, sites like Wikipedia could be shut down abruptly and with much less respect than the protest did (users were notified over a day in advance that Wikipedia would be participating).  For those not hip to the issue, visiting Wikipedia today and discovering it dark affords Wikipedia the unparalleled ability to educate its users.  By providing users with information as to what SOPA proposes Wikipedia might just wake up the sleeping giant that is the American electorate.

While some might argue that it is inappropriate for Wikipedia to stage such a protest, the Wikimedia Foundation’s statement on the subject is remarkably articulate.  There, the site’s controlling board point out that, making SOPA into law would dramatically impact Wikipedia and that, because the site is not beholden to stockholders, they ought to raise their voice.  With ironclad logic like that it seems particularly cowardly that Facebook, the #2 site on the Internet, did not participate as well.  As a haven for even the most banal free speech, the passage of SOPA would certainly affect Facebook as well.

At this point, SOPA is virtually dead in the Senate and President Obama has done everything but explicitly state that he will veto SOPA should it reach his desk.  Too often, though, we look at history and wonder why people did not speak up while sweeping changes robbed citizens of their lives, liberties or property.  Today, Wikipedia stands up and the Internet is better for it.

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 United States is full of fiercely independent people.  These independent Americans have a tendency to resist any form of change that involves the United States government.  When the U.S. Postal Service first adopted the ZIP code, these independent alarmists preached that the government was categorizing its citizens!  While members of this same subculture have resisted the Electronic Health Record, they are not the biggest obstacle to the adoption of the new technology.  Doctors have actually been slower to adapt to the practical development of the EHR than consumers or developers!

In case you have not heard of it, Electronic Health Records are a relatively new concept that would provide doctors with a universal framework for medical records through the United States government.  The Federal government has sought to create both an identification card and a standardized computer system that would make your medical records completely portable.  More than simply a database, the EHR would completely overhaul the field of health informatics.

The Electronic Health Record would be accessible through the Internet or a more protected government/medical intranet (this is part of the technology that is still under development and the subject of much debate).  In order to gain access to your records, you would need to provide your identification card.  Swiping your identification card in the EHR terminal, your doctor would have complete access to your entire medical history.  The EHR is not a system like stuffy old medical records; it is more like a Cloud-based multimedia presentation!  Every doctor you have ever had will make notes in your EHR and they may include photographs, diagrams and even video footage of their procedures!

. . . At least, that is the theory of how the EHR will work.  Despite mandates and government incentives, many doctors have not purchased an Electronic Health Record system.  There is a sizable portion of physicians who have purchased their EHR hardware, but have not used it yet!  In addition to bearing the expense of the EHR system, many doctors have been resistant to take the time to learn the new computer system that the Electronic Health Record creates.  Moreover, doctors with vastly different proficiencies in using the system contribute to each patient’s record.  If a particularly loquacious doctor provides an extensive narrative that is read by a doctor who just needs bullet points, your treatment may be delayed.  Similarly, if a doctor does not provide all necessary information in a useful fashion, your next doctor may misdiagnose any subsequent ailment.

The theory behind the Electronic Health Record is that you will have an entirely portable medical history.  If your job transfers you to a different part of the country or you get hurt on vacation, your EHR record will give doctors in any medical facility every medical fact about you.  But because the system requires doctors to learn how to both contribute to and gather data from the Electronic Health Record, it is clear that the practical implementation of the EHR is still many years away.

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 revamping the aviation industry to revolutionize air travel, many new products and technologies are being developed.  One of the Federal Aviation Administration’s highest priorities is to replace outdated systems that have been in place since the 1950s.  To that end, the FAA has developed products like the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast and it is working on revolutionizing the communications systems between air traffic controllers and support workers at airplane terminals.  Another product integral to the NextGen program for changing the airline industry is the System Wide Information Management system.

The System Wide Information Management system is a new software system for the airline industry.  Created as a new, uniform operating system, SWIM is responsible for correlating data in the new vision of the aviation industry.  SWIM has essentially created a National Airspace System intranet and it is one of the NextGen programs that is already up and running.

The aviation industry employs a ridiculous number of computer systems to gather and correlate data.  In addition to plane movements, weather patterns and atmospheric conditions, the FAA receives data from the military, the government and small civilian airports.  Many of those organizations have their own intranets and when they provide data to the FAA, it is not in a form that is easily usable by the FAA.  For the past fifty years, there have been many jobs in the military and civilian sectors manually re-entering data from those disparate sources for the FAA.  Remedying the problems that come from trying to mediate between all of the systems aviation computers is why the FAA developed SWIM.

SWIM eliminates the need for manually re-entering data into an FAA-based program.  The innovative System Wide Information Management software collects data from the National Airspace System affiliates and correlates it into a standardized database.  SWIM provides a new, uniform interface, which will make jobs in the aviation industry much more portable.  With SWIM fully realized, a technician working for the Air Force would not need to retrain on a new system when they re-entered the civilian work force!

The System Wide Information Management system stands to make the aviation industry much safer by providing all of the information collected by members of the National Airspace System and presenting the data to all members in a universal interface.  SWIM will make flying easier and safer and software that can do that 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