Computer Support Blog

Video messaging is becoming more common due to the growing presence of integrated webcams in laptops and mobile devices, but most video messaging services require one of two things: either you and the person you’re messaging both install proprietary software, or you have to record your video message and save it to your computer before uploading elsewhere.  Cool product Eyejot aims to eliminate all inconvenience from the video messaging process.  Eyejot is purely browser-based, so it doesn’t require any software installation.  Eyejot also handles your video messages in the cloud when you record them, so you don’t have to worry about file management.  Essentially, Eyejot is taking the most convenient aspects from web-based e-mail services and applying them to the younger video messaging format.  Eyejot wants to make sending video messages as simple as e-mail for consumers.  They want to make it so that fewer people have to call computer support just to send video mail over the web. Read more »

QR codes can be a very useful tool in business and marketing because of the way they connect the physical world with web content.  When someone scans a QR code with their tablet or smartphone, the code instantly connects them with a web page containing specific content—a picture, a video, a coupon, a blog, etc.  Companies can use these QR codes for promotions, sales, and viral marketing. JumpScan is a cool product that gives you your own personalized QR codes and allows you to track them and how people engage with your advertising.  When you want to run a promotion and use QR codes to market it, JumpScan provides you with a simpler user interface that lets you customize your QR code even if you have no coding knowledge.  JumpScan streamlines the process of marketing with QR codes for companies that don’t have the capability to create their own. If you don’t understand QR codes or would like to learn more about how they work, find a tech support service for assistance.  Read more »

External batteries for the extended use of mobile devices have grown in popularity over the last few years.  Power users who travel frequently like having constant access to an extra power source so they don’t disconnect at inconvenient times.  Unfortunately, not unlike smartphones themselves, these external batteries can sometimes be quite fragile.  Zendure CEO and founder Bryan Liu has developed an external battery where durability should not be a concern.  Liu calls these batteries the A-series.  Zendure is aiming these products at those who want extra charge for their mobile devices on the go, but don’t want to worry about carrying around another easily breakable electronic accessory. Liu is a cool person in technology who wants to solve this type of problem for consumers. Read more »

If you’re a performer or you run a venue that hosts events, you’re well aware that audience members take countless pictures and short videos at shows.  The ubiquity mobile technology allows fans to capture performances more easily than ever.   WESAWIT is a cool product in technology that lets venues, performers or even promoters utilize this phenomenon and take advantage of all the fan-generated content recorded at shows.  WESAWIT integrates with major social websites such as Vine, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Flickr, using geo-tags to collect all the photos and videos that fans take at a particular concert or event.  Venues and performers can then take the collected content and display all of it in one place through a widget on their website.  WESAWIT automates the aggregation of publicly posted fan-generated content so venues and promoters can leverage it for their own purposes. 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 »

When your company or organization is holding an event or sponsoring a conference, you want your visitors to engage as much as possible.  Lawrence Coburn is a cool person in technology who wants to help you keep attendees involved at all times by creating special mobile applications for your business’s events.  Coburn founded DoubleDutch in 2010 and since then has been helping companies get a better return on investment for every major social event or conference they hold.  Coburn’s company create apps that aim not only to help visitors get the most out of a company’s events, but also help each company optimize its events as much as possible in the future.  Coburn’s goal is to ensure that each event or conference a business holds provides as much benefit to the business as possible in the long run.  Read more »

Lost it again?  A new app for your phone will make it easier to find than ever before.  The Tile App, a product developed by Reveal Labs, is a thin device with a double-sided adhesive to stick to virtually any surface.  Place the tile on your laptop, wallet, keys, guitar, bike, or whatever else you have the tendency to misplace.  In fact, Reveal Labs states that the app can handle up to 10 tiles on one account. Great for the individual on the go who just can’t seem to keep their stuff all together! Read more »

Many of us have faced the struggle of trying to find a parking space in a crowded city.  Few things are more frustrating than reaching your destination but having to drive around for way too long to find a parking spot when you want to be out of your car already.  Fortunately, there is a cool product out there that can help make parking a less frustrating experience.  The ParkMe app is available for both iOS devices like the iPhone and the iPad as well as mobile Android devices.  It is an app that tracks parking availability in real time in major cities all across the country.  The app tracks both public parking spaces as well as private parking garages, giving you access to information on as many choices for parking as possible.  The app allows you to check availability in different parts of the city and allows you to choose your best options for parking accordingly.  If the version of Android on your mobile device gives you issues, you should talk to Android tech support for help. Read more »

Developing and designing a mobile app for your company can take an excessive amount of stress, time, and money.  Scott Wasserman, the CTO of Artisan, is working to reduce the issues many companies have developing an app for their business.  Wasserman originally founded Artisan under the name of appRenaissance in Philadelphia in 2010.  His goal has always been to improve the mobile app development and design processes for businesses.  Wasserman calls Artisan a “mobile experience management company” which offers tools to companies that allow them to make their app as optimal as possible for their target audience.  Wasserman’s mission benefits everyday customers as well.  Consumers who have needed mobile tech support to properly handle the apps on their phone know all too well how sloppy app design can be frustrating.  Clearly, Wasserman is a cool person in tech who is trying to improve the app development process for the benefit of businesses and consumers.  Read more »

Engaging children with engineering concepts at an early age can often be a difficult task.  LightUp looks to solve that problem with specialized hardware kits and an augmented reality mobile app designed to teach kids about the inner workings of electronics.  Using the augmented reality app, kids view their electronic constructions through a mobile device’s camera.  The app will then superimpose virtual electrical currents over the image of the hardware kits to show kids what’s making their constructions work.  The app can also detect if something is wrong with a construction, indicating what that error is, explaining it to the child, and prompting them to fix it.  The kits themselves actually work as electronic circuits and aren’t just models.  However, since they are designed to teach kids, each piece of hardware connects together easily through magnets rather than through soldering.  This creates a “building block” feel to the kit as kids can easily put constructions together, tear them apart, and tinker with them at their whim.  Read more »