Computer Support Blog

For most computer users, the webcam is something of a luxury.  Webcams are an often-convenient device that is hardly considered essential for most computer users.  Even so, many laptop computers now feature webcams for telecommunications purposes.  Businesses even use webcams for video conferences in order to save money; instead of transporting a Board of Directors from around the world to a central location, you can now patch in a video feed.  For high-quality results, the Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 is a great webcam. Read more »

Sometimes, the best ideas on the Internet are some of the simplest ones.  In the case of Internet humor, the evolution from simple shared comics e-mailed to friends to websites that collected memes to full-on Internet comedy channels is an intriguing one.  Too often, Internet users take for granted all of the work that goes into forming a humor-based website and making it successful.  For Ricky Van Veen, the challenges of establishing a viable Internet-based humor site are familiar; he runs CollegeHumor.com. Read more »

For months, there have been rumors in the tech sector of a new competitor to Google Maps.  That competitor is none other than Apple and at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, the new Apple mapping service made its debut.  Here are some important aspects of it:

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Well before the rise of Angry Birds, there was a puzzle game that filled the niche left by Tetris finally waning in popularity.  But while Angry Birds might have captured the public’s attention because of its fun (and merchandisable) animation, many serious gamers who love puzzle games remain enchanted by the game that preceded Angry Birds.  That game is Hexic and it remains as cool as it ever was. Read more »

As streaming videos from the Internet becomes an increasingly legitimate entertainment channel, major companies in the entertainment industry are working to find their niche there.  Some of the most powerful production companies are rapidly expanding their Online division in order to use the Internet as an effective medium.  FremantleMedia is one such company that is devoting considerable resources to producing material for the Internet, including programming tailored to the mobile computing market.  All of their efforts, however, would be for naught if it were not for Mary Jones. Read more »

In the tech sector, there does not appear to be any belief in the adage, “Can’t we all just get along.”  Competition is fierce and the biggest players in the tech sector are fighting one another over every niche.  Two of the biggest companies, Apple Computers and Google, have had a recent series of spats that illustrates just how high the stakes are and how hard both companies are working to dominate the tech sector.  Google remains the world’s most-used search engine and smartphones powered by Google’s Android operating system still have the largest market share in the United States.  Apple is anything but complacent now that it is the world’s most profitable company.  In order to keep its place at the top, Apple is working to weaken Google. Read more »

With all of the major computer brands that consistently make headlines in the United States, it is sometimes easy to forget that there are smaller computer companies with worthwhile products in their own right.  Moreover, there are computer companies whose market penetration other places in the world is greater than in the United States.  Averatec, the computer brand imprint of TriGem, is one of the most popular computer lines in South Korea.  The Averatec All-In-One has what is needed to be successful in the United States as well. Read more »

In most companies, within the tech sector and without, there is usually a pretty distinctive difference between the marketing and public relations divisions.  Marketing, historically, is all about selling your potential customers on your product.  Public relations is the division that promotes a positive view of your company by dealing with customer service issues, as well as corporate outreach.  So, it is fascinating to find a manager at a major company who is in Marketing, yet functions as a public relations specialist.  Tony Ou, of Silverstone Technology, is one such fascinating individual. Read more »

StumbleUpon recently made some changes.  Guided by focus groups, StumbleUpon’s CEO authorized alterations to StumbleUpon with the stated purpose of making the site easier to use.  While not entirely eliminating the fun, random nature of StumbleUpon’s interface – which took you to websites that conformed to your stated interests – CEO Garrett Camp made a number of changes to the popular site.  In addition to putting graphic representations of interests on the front page and adding a search engine to the site, StumbleUpon now features Channels. Read more »

More and more consumers are discovering solid-state drives, it seems manufacturers continue to find new ways to utilize the technology.  Solid-state drives have shown far greater resiliency than traditional magnetic hard drives, which have moving parts that break down.  Some of the newer, more sophisticated, devices that employ solid-state drives do more than simply store your files.  One card with solid-state storage capacity that does a bit more is the WarpDrive SLP-300 Acceleration Card. Read more »