Computer Support Blog

The video entertainment industry has seen a massive shift in its business model over the last several years thanks to the success of subscription-based streaming sites like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon.  Following these changes, music-streaming services like Spotify and Rdio also grew rapidly and proved the subscription model works for music as well as video.  However, there is one form of entertainment that until recently was still untouched by the purely digital subscription model: books.  Cool product Oyster wants to change that with a monthly subscription model for eBooks.  The team at Oyster has seen that the market proves that subscription-based entertainment is a viable business model and they want to prove that eBooks are the next form of entertainment that can benefit from this system.  Currently, they offer a monthly subscription where users can access any of their library of 100,000 books on any iOS device as often as they want.  If you have concerns about using your Apple products to read books, find Apple tech support to learn more.  Read more »

Jump2Spot is a cool product in technology that operates on the idea that every geographic location has a story worth telling.  The team at Jump2Spot wants to share those stories and make them easily accessible to the world with the help of mobile technology.  With the combination of intense research and geotagging technology, Jump2Spot has mapped over 70,000 moments and stories to their location.  Those who want to learn the stories that a place holds can go online or on the Jump2Spot iPhone app and search through a location’s moments.  Moments can be things like groundbreaking scientific breakthroughs, important political happenings, or even something as simple as a major public figure or celebrity visiting a store or a restaurant.  These moments have been tagged to their location digitally either by the Jump2Spot staff or the app’s users.  Read more »

Many founders and CEOs can attest to how running just one business can consume someone’s life.  That’s why cool person in technology Tony Stubblebine stands out in his field.  For him, one tech startup was not enough, he actively runs two.  In 2007, Stubblebine founded CrowdVine, a company that creates web-based social networks for conferences and company events.  That company grew over the years and remained successful, but in 2011, Stubblebine decided that he needed more.  He had another idea that he wanted to nurture and grow into a successful business.  That idea was Lift, an iPhone app that assists users in forming and maintaining good habits such as exercising, eating healthy, and keeping in touch with old friends.  Some founders and CEOs would have left one company to start another, or even sold their first venture to support the next, but Stubblebine continues to work as the head of both businesses. Read more »

Geotagging has become a useful tool for many consumer technology startups and services. Travel and hospitality websites and applications see the ability to attach information to specific locations digitally as a way to add new features and increase convenience for their customers.  However, cool person in technology Pedro Valdeolmillos doesn’t think geotagging’s benefits should be limited to locations on land.  Valdeolmillos founded tech company Bloosee to help sea-lovers take advantage of this technology as well.  Read more »

Safety on the road is an issue that has proven to be difficult to address. Many people don’t take the time to evaluate how their children develop as drivers or even reflect on their own driving practices.  People also often miss important maintenance deadlines on their car because they aren’t keeping track of what their car needs. This can lead to breakdowns and mechanical failures that cause accidents.  However, cool product Zubie is trying to solve these problems with an electronic device that monitors your car with the help of a companion mobile app for your iPad or iPhone.  Zubie keeps track of your car’s condition and its location so you can ensure that nothing goes wrong with it. You can read your car’s status on the smartphone app that pairs with your Zubie “key”.  You install the Zubie key in your car and then receive updates about potential issues through the app.  Those who need help using the Zubie app should get help from smartphone PC support. Read more »

We still use paper and plastic in many unnecessary situations despite the rise of mobile technology.  Loyalty cards, gift cards, boarding passes, concert tickets, and coupons are all still most commonly physical items that are inconvenient and to both customers and businesses alike.  Some time ago, Apple created Passbook to encourage people to replace these physical items with digital version on their iPhones.  However, while use has grown steadily, Passbook has still only seen relatively limited uptake.  Kevin William David is a cool person in technology that wants to change that.  David founded Walletkit in 2012 to help businesses integrate Apple Passbook into their model.  David designs, codes, and delivers professional grade passbook passes to Walletkit’s clients to suit their specific needs.  David clearly believes in a more convenient future based on mobile technology and he’s doing his part to spread it with his company.  If you’ve never tried Apple Passbook, but are interested in using it, you should speak to iPhone support to learn more about it.  Read more »

Historically, musical instrumentation and composition has always developed alongside technology.  The potential tools at a songwriter and performer’s disposal have always determined the music that people have written and performed.  With mobile technology now such a prominent part of social existence, how can it impact the development of music now?  Mike Butera and his company Artiphon believe they have a possible answer with his newly developed device—“the Instrument 1”. Butera claims that the Instrument 1 combines modern mobile and touch technologies with the form factor of a string instrument to create a new experience for composers and performers.  While many have played with the idea of integrating a smartphone into a musical instrument as a gimmick, Butera and his team have taken a more sophisticated and serious approach.  The Instrument 1 has professional grade components and a hardwood finish that make it clear Butera and Artiphon want this piece of tech taken seriously.  Read more »

Many technology companies are in the business of mobile payments, including juggernauts Google, Square, and Isis.  Most of these companies depend on a technology called NFC or Near Field Communications for their mobile payment systems.  However, the problem with this system is that it is expensive and difficult for many vendors and retailers to implement in their stores.  Therefore, mobile payments aren’t seeing widespread use and customers are still carrying around many different credit and debit cards in their wallets.  Omne is a cool product that attempts to solve the same issues as mobile payments—consolidation of your wallet—but does do from a different perspective.  Rather than pay with your mobile phone directly, Omne allows you put all of your credit and debit card accounts on a single payment card.  This card works at any vendor who accepts credit cards so stores need no large and expensive overhauls to accept the payment.  With all your accounts on a single card, you can make payment all the more convenient and may even be able to eliminate the clutter of your wallet.  Read more »

One of the downsides to the gesture and touch-based UIs of today’s mobile devices is that they don’t leave many options for the disabled.  If you are visually impaired or otherwise unable to navigate device using a touchscreen, taking advantage of today’s mobile technology is a near-impossible process.  Cool person in technology David Bong doesn’t think that should have to be the case.  As CEO of Angle, Bong leads a team that’s developing smartphone applications that use voice control to give the visually impaired the ability to use mobile devices as easily and safely as everyone else.  Bong founded Angle in the hope that they could provide more options for those who have difficulty with the current options for accessing content on smartphones and tablets.  Read more »

There is a plethora of options for mobile users who want to use their smartphone as a GPS navigation system.  However, most of these navigation apps are essentially the same.  The only differences you are likely to find are in their user interfaces and perhaps the accuracy of their specific mapping systems.  iOnRoad is a cool product that breaks this trend of homogeneity.  Instead of merely relying on the old conventions of GPS navigation and mapping software, iOnRoad uses your smartphone’s camera to create an experience based on augmented reality instead.  Users mount iOnRoad so it can take video through their cars’ windshields.  The app then overlays its interface on top of the video while it navigates drivers to their destinations. Read more »