The Olympics opening ceremony in China was spectacular.  Every movement; every step was in perfect synchronization.  However, there was one glitch, or shall we say, blue screen of death.

While Li Ning, a top China sport icon, was running in mid-air at the top of the indoor stadium, there were many projectors displaying multiple images in unison.  One projector, running Windows, displayed a blue screen of death due to a hardware failure.  So, instead of a nice fluid Olympic graphic being displayed, the familiar blue screen with white text was casted against one of the walls.

You would think that brand new computers would have been used for the event.  As well as being fully tested and checked for any computer issues.  Well, this goes to show you that you can never be fully prepared for when Windows disasters strikes.

If you get an e-mail from UPS, stay away from the virus-infected link.  The duped UPS e-mail tries to trick you into thinking that your package could not be delivered due to an incorrect address.  You are supposed to then click the provided link to resolve this matter.

Do not click the link!  It will automatically infect your computer with a virus.  Currently, all anti-virus software should be able to remove this UPS virus with the latest virus updates.  However, for some serious cases, you’ll need manually remove infected registry entries.  In more serious cases, the virus could cripple your Norton anti-virus software.  Then, you’ll need to take your computer to the virus removal experts at New York Computer Help.

Lately, Dell has lost its market share due to other computers, i.e. HP and Gateway, coming out with the same specs at cheaper costs.  Dell doesn’t want to lose on its quality, so it decided to gain by building up its technical services.  Dell first tried to resolve the issue of long waits on the phone during a service call.  When a Dell user calls Dell for technical support, it is typical to be routed to 3-4 different people prior to resolving the inquiry.  Dell has resolved this issue by providing Pro Support for IT and Pro Support for End Users.  This allows either an IT technician or regular user to be routed to the correct rep during the first call.  Those who currently have Gold Support will automatically receive this support.  Others may pay an upgrade fee for this quick support.

Dell is now also providing a storage service.  Instead of purchasing a backup hard drive or tape storage for servers, you may purchase Dell’s SAN (Storage Area Network) which provides storage space via iSCSI - a method through ethernet and TCP/IP or in other words over the Internet.  This comes in handy if you have terabytes of storage.  However, your Internet should be running on a fiber connection for fast speeds.

Overall, Dell is turning to faster service and more offerings to compete with others for the PC industry.  It is a smart move since it will further increase its service quality and separate it from the rest.

Linked In, the new social network, is growing fast and furious.  The 300-person company showcases its entrepreneurial motif, allowing friends and colleagues to network on its site.  It is free for general use and charges a nominal fee for building an extensive network of folks.

Be on the look-out for Facebook, NY Times, or perhaps Google buying Linked In.  For now, Dan Nye, the Chief Executive, is content with growing steadily.  They have finally seen a profit this year and expect revenues to hit $100 million by next year.  A public offering may be around the corner, and this might be a good bet.

What separates Linked In?  Besides its business focus, it will soon allow programmers to have an open source way to build upon its platform.  Linked In will have the final say on if the development is going to make it for everyone to see, but it is a smart move.  This is the trend, as Apple is showing with its 3G iPhone - to open up its source to allow third-party programmers to expand and improve upon its code.  It’s basically like having free help from brainy programmers to improve your site’s look.  And without having to pay for the tech support!

If you were planning to get an iPhone, you might have to wait for the next shipment.  Many folks in Manhattan were upset after waiting 5 hours and finding out there are no longer iPhones left.  You have a better chance getting an iPhone at the ATT store rather than the Apple store.  That is your best bet - go to the ATT store for your iPhone.

Well, if you’re not willing to wait for the new iPhone, you can always opt to get the Blackberry.  The Blackberry is know for its easy e-mailing, great keyboard, and quick Internet access.  And the technical support on it is usually at a minimum.

For those wary of installing Service Pack 3 for Windows XP Home or Professional, you’ll receive it no matter what if your Windows updates is automated.  Don’t worry - Service Pack has tested just fine.  We’ve since deployed over 500 Service Pack 3 installs for computers and have no issues thus far.  The only nuisance has been with some computers that do not allow device drivers to be set up by the manufacturers installation software.  But, instead, needing to go to Device Manager and manually locating the driver.

If you really don’t want to install Service Pack 3, you can make sure that automated Windows updates is set to manual by going to the Control Panel.  Just remember that Service Pack 3 will provide the latest Windows updates to protect against viruses, hackers, and spyware.  You still need to install anti-virus software, but the latest Service Pack, in combination, will aid in closing some vulnerabilities.

Microsoft acquired Powerset to bring it a little closer to Google’s search engine.  With Powerset, Microsoft gets a team of talented engineers and a unique search technology.

What is Powerset?  It provides a rich semantic way for users to type natural language for search queries.  Basically, you don’t have to enter boolean searches, such as “new york computer help” or nyc “computer repairs.”  The boolean searches focus on keywords versus natural language or every day linguistics.  Think “Ask Jeeves” for natural language.  Instead of typing “new york computer help,” you can just type: Looking for New York Computer Help’s address.  Powerset provides a type of natural search that has the goal of finding specific information.  Taking the New York Computer Help example, instead of being directed to the main home page, the address query will pull up NY Computer Help’s address page.  So, the searches are easy to type and, more importantly, the results are easier to find by being more specific.

If Microsoft can leverage the full potential of Powerset, Microsoft could finally be a true competitor for Google’s search service.

Google continues to expand its footprint.  Now, Google has opened up a multi-story technology office in the Chelsea Market.   The market hosts a large supermarket as well as NY1’s studio.  Marketing and Sales teams will mostly comprise Google’s Chelsea location. 

What’s cool in the Chelsea location?  Google touts the typical blackboards, whiteboards, and accessible meeting rooms for a creative environment.  Different rooms are named after New York City areas while conference rooms are after NJ towns.  No cafeteria exists, but plentiful food and drinks are stored in kitchens.  Best of all, they have a slide! 

Photographers couldn’t get too close during the opening as they were forced to sign non-disclosure agreements.  The Google secret sauce lives on!

The date has come: Windows XP is nearing its end of life.  Microsoft has decided to stop the mainstream production of its Windows XP operating system at the end of the month.

Are there any exceptions?  Yes, you can still purchase a new computer with Windows XP until June 30, 2010 for the following conditions:

1. for low-cost production PCs
2. for the low-end Windows XP starter edition in emerging markets
3. if purchasing Windows Vista Ultimate or Business, which have downgrade rights to XP
4. for smaller computer manufacturers, aka system builders (until January 31, 2009)

Microsoft will still be supporting XP until 2009 and 2014 for extended warranty support.  Get your XP operating system while you still can!

The new iPhone is expected to be released in late June.  Guess what it might have?  GPS!  That’s right, finally a phone with everything.  Email, pictures, music, Internet, and a GPS system.  This news was recently leaked that a third party software, Broadcom, will be including an internal GPS chip inside of the new iPhone.

If GPS is part of the new iPhone, Garmen among other popular GPS products will certainly lose sales.  GPS units have become smaller over time versus their once clunky interface.  However, consumers would rather just have, and finally, an all-in-one phone that can do it all along with finding your way around town.

Broadcom, the manufacturer for iPhone’s GPS chip, has produced many internal wireless and LAN cards for Windows and Mac computers.  They have been trusty source for Internet internal modules as well as Bluetooth chips.  They would serve as a trustworthy source for GPS chips in the iPhones.

No formal press release has been made for the GPS chips as we are surely anxiously waiting.