Computer Support Blog

When you move to a new town or city, one of the most difficult things to handle is the lack of social connections and support that comes with all-new surroundings.  However, there’s now an iPhone app and online service that attempts to solve this problem called Likemind.  Likemind acts as a giant bulletin board where users can post “fliers” inviting others to speak with them if they share a specific interest.  Fliers can be up to four pages long and users can creatively fill them with text and images in whatever layout they want.  Each flier has a specific amount of “tabs” that another user can take in order to contact the poster.  There are a limited number of tabs for each flier so if one flier is particularly popular, that user will not get flooded with extreme amounts of spam or contact requests.  This cool product also allows users to filter who sees their fliers.  You can limit your audience by age or gender in order to target a specific demographic if you wish.  If you have trouble using the app on iOS, iPhone tech support is something you should consider. Read more »

Online services have helped empower content creators in several major industries.  The music industry has arguably seen the largest shift of all since the Internet became ubiquitous.  Software exists that can turn a home desktop computer into an adequate recording studio.  Online music services like iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon Music allow musicians to make their music globally available.  However, there are still difficulties getting your work onto those online music services. Philip Kaplan, founder of Distrokid, is a cool person trying to fix that problem.  Kaplan, a musician himself, has been successful building Internet businesses in the past and is now turning his attention towards helping musicians with his new service Distrokid. Read more »

Information is everywhere with the Internet these days, but what if you don’t want to be exposed to some of that information while you’re online?  It may seem like an odd problem, but this issue has affected many people.  The most prominent example is encountering TV show or sports “spoilers” when people post a plot element or game outcome in your social media stream before you get a chance to see for yourself.  Zack Shapiro has created a Google Chrome browser plugin that attempts to solve this problem.  Named Silencer, Shapiro’s software actually blocks social media posts on websites like Twitter and Facebook that contain words or phrases that users want to filter out of their stream.  For example, if you recorded the World Series game on your DVR because you missed it while at work but still wanted to go online without learning the outcome, you could block phrases like “World Series” or the names of the teams on your Facebook and Twitter feeds.  This tool could possibly prove useful if one wanted to use social media without fear of ruining the outcome of a game or TV show. Read more »

Yahoo has been making big moves lately, possibly attempting to rejuvenate its image in the modern market by revitalizing some of its brands and acquiring new ones.  The first major move by the company was the acquisition of the social network and blogging site Tumblr.  Yahoo acquired the New York company for $1.1 billion dollars, which one could break down into roughly $3.67 per each of Tumblr’s 300 million unique visitors.   The two companies made the deal almost entirely in cash, with the exception of a small amount of Yahoo stock for Tumblr CEO David Karp.

What does this change for Tumblr users?  Not much will be different, according to official statements by Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.  Mayer claimed on Yahoo’s own Tumblr page that her company is “delighted” about the acquisition of the social network and candidly promised “not to screw it up.”  She has also said that Tumblr will operate independently and the entire team will remain in place under their CEO David Karp.  However, Mayer has also publicly said that her company is committed to monetizing Tumblr, which means some changes, most likely in advertising, are bound to come eventually.  Read more »

Many entrepreneurs and innovators have tried to find ways to utilize social media to enhance the educational experience.  One such man is Michael Lucia, CEO and President of LanguageTwin, which is an online service that connects students from different countries so they can improve their conversational skills in foreign languages.  Lucia founded LanguageTwin because of his experiences studying abroad as a college student.  He found that despite his many years studying French at the college level, actual French conversation was still a struggle. “A lot of conversational exposure is needed for true proficiency,” Lucia told Rescuecom. With the rise of video conference technology, Lucia saw an opportunity to connect native speakers of different languages easily and use that connection in a classroom setting. Read more »

Social media is quickly becoming a bloated market these days.  It seems there are a million different social platforms all competing for your attention at any given moment. So how does Pheed, a new mobile-focused social network, intend to stand out from the pack in such a competitive space?   According to Chrysta Olson, the company’s Communications Director, Pheed offers an “all-in-one” solution to social networking and media sharing that the company believes will appeal to a large audience.  “People are getting overwhelmed managing so many separate accounts,” Olson told Rescuecom, explaining that Pheed intends to put all forms of social media—text, video,  music, voice recording, photos, and even live broadcasting—into one online space.  The concept is that rather than go through the tedious process of managing several different social media accounts such as Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube on a daily basis, Pheed users will be able to access all forms of media in one convenient space.  Read more »

Phishing attacks have become an increasing problem as of late both for everyday computer users and even major publications.  In the last month, there have been widespread phishing attacks aimed at both Apple and Twitter accounts.  These attacks come in the form of e-mails or web pages that seem as if they were from a service the recipient uses.  These e-mails trick recipients into giving over information, which then lets the cybercriminals access their accounts.

The phishing attacks aimed at Apple users mimicked an account verification page from Apple and prompted users to give their e-mail, credit card information, and account password.  This particular attack compromised over one hundred websites, which displayed the page that tricked Apple users into handing over their information.  Without proper Internet security service or software, it would be difficult to detect the attack for most people.  The intent of such attacks is to gain access to people’s Apple accounts.  Criminals will then sell the information or use it to compromise the accounts themselves. Read more »

Video conferencing and calls have become commonplace in the world today.  Video messenger services like Microsoft’s Skype, Apple’s Facetime and Google’s Hangouts have made what we used to see only in Science Fiction an everyday reality for consumers.  However, the developers of the Spreecast video Internet broadcasting service believe there is still untapped potential in the video conference concept.  With this service, users can make public “spreecasts” where other users can join in and drop out at any time.  Once in a spreecast, anyone can come in and interact via text chat while watching, but the host can approve any user to join through video as well.  Spreecast creates a public broadcasting forum where users can search for interactive video broadcasts the same way they access viral videos on Youtube.  If you have issues getting Spreecast to work on your browser, computer support is always available. Read more »

Digital photography has dramatically changed the photography market.  What was once a casual hobby or a top-dollar profession for skilled experts has become a daily routine for many people across all different walks of life and social strati.  With the prevalence of cameras on smartphones and social networks, people all over the world take millions of photographs per day and frequently post or store them on the Internet.  With the rise of so many digital photography options, there have come many new services related to digital photography on the Internet.  One of the most engaging digital photography sites on the Internet is Shutterfly, and it is run by Jeffrey Housenbold. Read more »

The name Hallmark Cards is virtually synonymous with greeting cards, much the way people refer to MP3 players as iPods or inline skates as Rollerblades.  To its credit in the rapidly changing world, Hallmark Cards has worked very hard to keep with the times and it has a robust online presence.  The physical greeting card manufacturer effectively competes against many online digital greeting card sites and Hallmark Cards continues to innovate.  Seeing the intense interest in mobile computing among many of its fans, Hallmark Cards has released the Hallmark Go Cards application! Read more »