Computer Support Blog

The marketing and statistics company Barclay’s has released its new CIO survey results, which explore how businesses are investing in technology.  Unsurprisingly, one of the emerging technologies that businesses are investing in more and more are tablet computers.  As the dominant manufacturer in the tablet computer market with its iPad, Apple Computers is witnessing a potential windfall from businesses buying iPads.  However, businesses investing heavily in iPads have the potential to be bad news for both Apple and businesses that invest in them.  Some of the looming issues for Apple include: Read more »

Apple Computers is now the largest, most cash-rich company on Earth.  While hitting that apex is usually a cause for celebration – and Apple executives and stockholders have been celebrating, most notably by announcing a stock dividend – those who take a longer view of the company’s trajectory see the milestone as a potentially troublesome one for the company.  For sure, when you reach the top the only way to go is down, but the real problem Apple faces is not with pessimists; it is with the company’s own image.  Unfortunately for Apple Computers, Apple’s exceptionally successful publicity machine that helped the company rise to the top of the corporate food chain is now working against the computer and technology company. Read more »

Apple’s new device is not the iPad 3, iPad HD, or The New iPad. “iPad” is its whole name, even though this is the third model in what may prove to be a long line of devices. With such a universally-recognized device, it sometimes helps to re-establish brand awareness and market dominance.  By calling it simply “iPad,” Apple reminds consumers that they were the first and definitive tablet computer manufacturer.  That type of nod to the market power of the iPad could not have been done with a name like third-generation iPad, iPad 3, or iPad HD.

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The idea for tablet computers began much earlier than most people realize. The iPad was by no means the first tablet computer; there have been tablets widely available for sale since 1989. They have ranged widely in functionality and design, but tablets are not a new thing.

As the first in a series of three blogs centering on the history of tablet computers, this blog will focus mainly on the first tablet-like devices that relied on computers for their functionality. The second and third blogs will focus on the self-contained tablets of the last few decades and the rise in popularity they are currently experiencing.

The first tablet-like computer device was created in 1964 and it was called the RAND tablet. The RAND tablet was basically a square sensor in the middle of a wooden board. It came with an attached stylus and cost $18,000. The stylus and sensor system replaced the keyboard for the computer it was attached to and software was developed to make the RAND tablet recognize handwriting.

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Not too long ago, Apple and Adobe (the software company that publishes Flash and Photoshop software) were in conflict because Apple’s iOS would not run Adobe programs. This failure of functionality was be design, though; Adobe and Apple’s Quicktime video formats have long been in conflict and Apple hoped to force programmers and websites to use their coding as opposed to Adobe’s. So, for some time, you could not play most YouTube videos on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. But then, Apple and Adobe settled their differences and now Adobe is writing programs specifically for the iOS operating system. One of the first truly meaningful Adobe programs to be recoded for iOS functioning is Adobe Photoshop Touch for iPad.

As one of its flagship software programs, Photoshop is a big moneymaker for Adobe. Adobe Photoshop Touch is the pared-down program for mobile computing devices; already there is an Android-based Photoshop Touch that has made Photoshop tools available to the wealth of Android customers. Adobe Photoshop Touch for iPad allows Apple iOS users using an iPad to create, alter, and publish images based on Adobe programming. This gives visual artists and photographers a huge opportunity to continue their art. No longer do Apple Computer fans have to choose between their preferred mobile computing device and the opportunity to become more proficient at their visual art.

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What is the one major problem with tablets? If you answered with something similar to “They do not have keyboards,” then you are among the majority of frustrated tablet and touch screen smartphone owners. Tablets are great; they are portable, lightweight, easy to use, and great for working outside the home or office. Tablets are the hot new item over the last two years and many people would love to be able to discard their laptop in favor of their new tablet.

There is just one problem with replacing laptops with tablets and it is a huge problem for users. The lack of an actual keyboard makes typing on a tablet a hassle. Typing on the virtual, onscreen keyboard is slow, imprecise, and awkward. The angle for holding your wrists and arms is completely wrong, and there is also the problem of trying to hold the tablet and type with both hands at the same time.

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Learning a new musical instrument is never easy.  But, following the demise of Guitar Hero, there is – as one might suspect – an app for that!  Now, those who want to learn to play the guitar need only a guitar, an iPad, and Wild Chords to get started on a road to musical proficiency!

Wild Chords is an application, currently exclusively available for the Apple iPad, that helps teach you how to play the guitar.  In order to use Wild Chords, all you need is a guitar and an iPad; you do not need speakers or an amplifier if you are using an electric guitar.  In fact, if you are using an electric guitar, you have to unplug it from other equipment – like an amp – because the distortion from other equipment affects the program.  Even if you have never picked up a guitar before, Ovelin – the app’s publisher – is confident that Wild Chords can teach you.

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What is the release date for the iPad 3? What will it look like? What new capabilities will it feature? These speculations have been floating around for a while on the Internet and it seems that everyone has something to say about the topic except for Apple.

There has been no official word from Apple about the possibility of an upcoming iPad 3 release, but the rumors are flying about when that might happen. All over the Internet, people are guessing about the official announcement of the iPad 3 and the consensus is that the release will be in March.

An article on Bloomberg states that production of the iPad 3 is already in progress and will reach maximum output in February. There will be a break for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year holiday for the factory workers, but production will begin again immediately afterwards. The article does not name any direct sources, but the information is consistent with the rumors and speculation.

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Apple Computers, employs an elegantly simple strategy to dominate the mobile computing marketplace.  Apple’s strategy is built largely on a hope that you will buy their entire product line, not just one or two of their devices.  That is to say, products from Apple, more than any other company in the technology sector, are designed to interact easily with one another.  For example, Apple makes it very easy to connect an iPad to an iTV or a MacBook Pro.  But, as many people have discovered, there are more affordable high definition televisions with more options than the iTV.  But why should you be inconvenienced for wanting a great HDTV and an iPhone and wanting them to interact?  Scosche does not think you should be inconvenienced!  That is why Scosche made the sneakPEAK HD Cable!

Scosche’s sneakPEAK High Definition Audio/Video Cable for iPad, iPhone & iPod is a fairly simple cable that allows you to connect virtually any Apple i-product that has a screen on it to a high definition television.  By connecting your Apple products’ output port to the HDTV’s input ports, you are transforming your Apple product into a media player, like a DVD or Blu-Ray player.  This will allow you to play media from your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad on your high definition television, even if you are streaming it from the Cloud!

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With all of the rapidly-changing aspects of computer technology, it can be very hard to keep up.  Indeed, for those who are casual computer users without real investment in the computer hardware industry, it was not so long ago that the USB port became the dominant interface port.  Suddenly, when you upgraded your computer and wanted to use your favorite old keyboard or mouse, you discovered there were no ports in the back of your new computer for it!  Like compact discs to records, the USB port has pretty much eliminated most specialized ports on computers.  In the world of USB ports, USB 3.0 is slowly creeping up in popularity.

But, you might be wondering, just what is USB 3.0?

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