Computer Support Blog

Businesses that endure in the marketplace, by and large, weather trends that are cyclical.  No company has an unfettered ascent; there are adjustments, products that fail to launch the way the company anticipated they would, and economic events unrelated to the particular business that nevertheless impacts the business.  In the tech sector, companies that were once leaders suddenly find the niche they dominated crowded by competitors who devour their market share.  That is where smartphone manufacturer Research In Motion, inventor of the Blackberry, now finds itself. Read more »

In the late 1980s, there was a popular game called Laser Tag.  Despite the controversies about it at the time, Laser Tag was remarkably popular with young adults who enjoyed the technology and the physical activity the game required.  As a precursor to paintball, Laser Tag was a safe way for young people to run around shooting one another for live-action play.  Players had a laser sensor and a laser gun.  The object of the game was to shoot your opponent three times (as registered by changing lights on their sensor each time they were “hit”) with the laser gun . . . before they shot you!  Young people played Laser Tag in buildings, woods, and fields, both during the day and at night.   Now, Metalcompass, Ltd. is updating Laser Tag with some new twists with their XAPPR Gun! Read more »

Protecting intellectual property rights is an essential part of providing art, products, and services all around the world.  In the tech sector, intellectual property rights are protected through the use of patents, most of which are actually held by business entities, instead of human inventors.  Because businesses control patents, they frequently buy and sell them as part of larger negotiations.  Recently, Google acquired the mobile phone manufacturer, Motorola.  With the acquisition of the company and its patents, Google has inherited a legal battle with Microsoft. Read more »

Different corporate philosophies lead companies in different directions when it comes to growth.  In the tech sector, research and development has often been an important component of growth.  Even with cutting-edge tech companies, though, rather than invest in R&D, sometimes a bigger company will simply buy a successfully-developed product from the smaller company that innovated it.  Some of the companies that are cash-heavy, but development-light, have taken to buying up entire companies.  That is the tactic Groupon has been using and for the past four months, it has been rather aggressively buying up smaller businesses. Read more »

One of the nice things about having so many forms of audio and visual media in a standard-style format is that eventually, someone comes along and creates a single device that reads many different media.  Compact discs, DVDs, and Blu-Ray discs are all essentially the same size and shape, but run on very different hardware. Purely digital media files only need the proper CODECs to render them, regardless of whether they are audio or visual files.  The future of the home entertainment system is starting to look far less bulky.  Instead of having several independent devices, you might be able to convert everything to a single media player, like the TVIX HD M-7000. Read more »

With so much to do in the real world and on the Internet, it can be hard to find enough time to watch television these days!  For those who are paying for a satellite service or cable – especially premium cable channels – this can mean the loss of money, as you are paying for a service you are not enjoying.  Fortunately, with improved mobile computing devices and less expensive laptop computers, you now have additional options for getting the most out of your television service.  All you need to take advantage of all your television and portable device have to offer is the Slingbox SOLO! Read more »

As summer actually begins, it is hard not to turn on the television and see multiple advertisements for smartphones during any given commercial break.  Smartphone advertisers are capitalizing on the idea that their phones can be associated with activity, youth, and vigor; they know that during the summer people travel more and are outside more often.  Many of the advertising campaigns are geared toward making the connection between their smartphone and your outdoor activity.  One smartphone manufacturer is doing that less, though.  Instead, Samsung is focusing on power with their advertising campaign surrounding the Samsung Galaxy III. Read more »

There are, essentially, two ways to sell new technologies in a new market.  The first is to create a device that is entirely indispensible.  Creating a product that consumers feel they absolutely need is a great way to sell millions of units of a product.  The other way to sell new technologies in an emerging market is to reduce prices to move inventory.  It is that approach that Research In Motion is taking in India. Read more »

It is easy to suspect that the more popular digital music becomes, the more people will load up their MP3 players and discover that they have created pretty massive collections of music.  As people come to the realization that they have spent a lot of money on digital music, one suspects they will want to continue going through their musical library more and more.  When you do that, you are equally likely to enjoy all that you have accumulated and eliminate mediocre tracks from your collection before refilling your MP3 player.  Given that there are only so many hours in the day to enjoy these massive music libraries, accessories that allow you to play music you know and love where traditionally you have had a radio are becoming more and more popular.  For those who have Apple iPods, the XtremeMac Luna Voyager II Alarm Clock Radio is becoming an increasingly popular device for exactly that reason! Read more »

Big business transactions happen every day in the tech sector.  As more and more technology companies buy out their competition or diversify to stay relevant in a changing marketplace, it is sometimes tough to understand what specific transactions might actually mean.  Lately, there has been a lot of speculation that Google will pay $12.5 billion to buy Motorola Mobility.  This transaction has created a lot of buzz in both the tech sector and the business world.  There are several factors that make Google’s purchase of Motorola Mobility an atypical buyout. Read more »