Computer Support Blog

RESCUECOM’s 2014 Q3 Computer Reliability Report results are in, just in time to allow you to compare tech devices before buying on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. With all of the deals on technology this time of year, you want to make sure to get the best device you can for your money. Whether you are looking for a computer or a tablet, RESCUECOM’s Computer Reliability Report will give you all the information you need to make the right purchase. Even if you are looking to buy a device for someone else this holiday season, RESCUECOM’s convenient reliability grades will help you choose the perfect fit. Read more »

RESCUECOM released the results of the computer reliability report for the first quarter of 2014 today.  The report revealed that Samsung has once again risen to the number one position in the reliability rankings.  In the previous reliability report, Amazon debuted in the number one ranking with an extraordinarily high reliability score.  While Amazon managed to maintain a strong score this quarter, the company could not keep the top spot in reliability.  Instead, perpetual top performer Samsung once again became the most reliable computer manufacturer on the market according to the study. Read more »

RESCUECOM has just released the 2014 Computer Reliability Report, and it contains a shocking change in the status quo regarding reliability statistics. Up until now, it had become commonplace to see Samsung and Apple in the top positions in technology reliability.  However, that is no longer the case as a new player has come from nowhere to dominate the field.  Amazon’s line of Kindle Fire tablets have not only sold excessively well and taken a sizeable chunk of the overall market, but also managed to provide extremely reliable products.  Despite Amazon’s impressive market share, the company’s tablets accounted for a nearly insignificant amount of tech support calls to RESCUECOM’s Certified Level-3 technicians.  With so few people calling in for tablet computer support help with their Kindle Fires, Amazon’s reliability score came out to be 7590, nearly ten times the score of their nearest competitor, Samsung!  Read more »

The percentage of Internet traffic that comes from mobile users steadily increases every business quarter and every year.  People engage with the web on their phones and tablets just as much as they do through a standard desktop or laptop.  In many cases, people use their mobile devices even more than their PCs or Macs. Companies need to do as much as possible to accommodate the growing mobile marketplace if they want to advertise their products, services or content successfully.  While major corporations have the resources to develop mobile applications  for themselves and their subsidiaries, privately owned small businesses find themselves at a disadvantage in the age of mobile technology These smaller companies often don’t have the internal business computer services and resources to easily develop mobile versions of their website.  However, thanks to cool product PadSquad, these companies have another option. Read more »

For many years, independent business owners had to spend time learning how to use design tools such as Photoshop if they wanted to create their own business card or letterhead.  With modern mobile technology however, cool people like Ellen Johnston have made it much easier to create a design for a small business that is truly someone’s own.  Johnston founded a company called Makr that creates an iPad app, which provides small business owners with a simple design suite that lets them customize their own paper materials such as business cards, labels, letterhead or anything else.  Johnston works to ensure that the Makr design tools on the iPad app strike a good balance between being simple to use and capable of total customization.  She wants independent crafters and business owners to have no problem creating designs they can claim for themselves regardless of technical knowledge needed for programs like Photoshop.  According to Johnston, no one should ever have to call iPad tech support just to navigate the Makr app and start designing. Read more »

The print journalism and publishing industry is shrinking yearly as digital magazines and newspapers become the new standard.  This shift has created a new barrier for those who want to get their publications out to the majority of the market online.  Getting a magazine or newspaper to the widest possible audience now requires technical skills that one did not need in the print era.  However, cool product Prss takes down that barrier of difficulty for professional writers and publishers who want to release their work as high quality digital publications.  Prss is a web platform where users create, design, and fill their digital publications with content. It also includes a distribution service to release those publications globally via the Internet.  Prss gives publishers the tools to design and create their own mobile app for their digital magazine even without excessive technical knowledge or skill.  Readers can access the apps you publish via digital distribution services such as Apple’s Newsstand in iOS.  If you don’t understand what Newsstand is or how it works, an Apple tech support service will be able to help you. Read more »

One of the key aspects of marketing a book has always been holding book-signing events.  These events help to create hype a writer’s work and allow authors to connect directly with their biggest supporters, which increases the chances that those supporters will spread the word about their favorite author’s books.  Book signings have always been an effective way for authors to communicate and promote their books to their readership.  However, with eBooks on the rise over the last several years, traditional books are taking up the less of the market.  This introduces a serious problem for authors: how do you continue to promote your work through book signings when more and more content is digital in nature?  Cool product Autography provides a solution to this conundrum.  Autography has created a system for the digital signing of eBooks.  With new advances in technology, Autography allows authors to personalize eBooks for their readers and attach digital signatures and individualized messages so readers can receive personalized copies of books just as they would at a physical book signing.  Read more »

With so many professionals using mobile and touch technology nowadays, it was inevitable that someone would make software to optimize presentations on such devices.  That cool person in technology is Brent Brookler, the CEO of Treemo Labs.  Brookler and his company have created an iPad app called Flowboard.  Flowboard allows users to create dynamic presentations right on their tablet.  Brookler and his company designed the app to have an easy-to-use interface.  In theory, Flowboard allows people to create presentations more easily by avoiding complicated menu systems.  Brookler wants to make it so laptops aren’t necessary for professionals making presentations for meetings on the go.  In some ways, Flowboard is his attempt to let people replace their work laptops with iPads in certain situations.  Those who want to do so should make sure they have iPad support to help with the transition. 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 »

There has been a major shift in consumer purchasing behavior in the personal computer market over the last two years.  Traditional desktop and laptop PCs, have seen significant decline in year-over-year sales.  In the first quarter of 2013, there was an 11.7% year-over-year drop in shipments for the traditional PC market in the United States.  Meanwhile, US tablet shipments grew 49.6% year-over-year in the same quarter.  These statistics show an important shift for consumers towards mobile computing.  These numbers also made Rescuecom’s decision to include tablets as part of the RESCUECOM Computer Reliability Report for Q1 2013 that much easier.  It’s clear that many users are choosing to take their computing mobile with tablet purchases.  It would be foolish to ignore this trend. Read more »