1. Bedside Tablets

New York-Presbyterian Hospital is currently transforming all of their nurse call buzzers with user-friendly tablets on which patients can access their health. The hospital has been using Microsoft HealthVault on their website since 2009, a program that lets patients review their records at home. Now it is being expanded to accommodate patients during their stay.

Not only does it make the patient’s life easier by giving them simplified information on their condition, treatment options, etc., but also removes a lot of the nurse’s headache as well. Patients can be more specific on what they need, eliminating a of clamor associated with the old system.

In the pilot test, NYP gave tablets to sixty-nine beds in two surgical nursing units. It has proven cost-effective, taking advantage of existing infrastructure. NYP hopes to provide every bed with a tablet in the near future.

2. Razer Concept: Project Christine

Already well known gaming accessory maker, Razer, is hoping to enlarge their demographic with a new concept system.

Razer is looking to make custom gaming computers more user-friendly. Concept: Project Christine eliminates the convoluted hardware associated with building your own computer. No more frustratingly long assembly times, or strict guides on how the components fit together; all you have to do is plug the part-containing “modules” into a main base.

Also, when new technology comes out, Concept: Project Christine can evolve with it. Once a “module” becomes obsolete, you just swap it out with a new one. The secular/modular design makes it perpetually upgradable and customizable.

No details have yet been released about if or when Concept: Project Christine will be available.

3. Formula E

As the name suggests, Formula E is all about electricity. The new eco-friendly racing series is a big step for both the car and the environment. Two years ago, motorsport’s international governing body, the Federation Internationale de I’Automobile (FIA), released its’ ambitious plans for electric racing that would mimic internationally popular F-1 racing. F-E is meant to be a catalyst for growth from other car makers.

For it’s first year, competitors can only use one specially designed vehicle; the Spark-Reanault SRT_01E. Next season, the teams will be able to create their own cars.

The latest study said that by 2040, Formula E can help sell an additional 77 million EVs worldwide, and save 4 billion barrels of oil.

4. Agricultural Drones

A new generation of farming is giving way to many new changes, including using drones to enhance crop health. These drones use cameras to map out areas where crops aren’t getting enough sun, or have insect issues, etc. Many modern agricultural problems can’t be seen at eye level, and these drones provide a cheaper alternative to satellite imagery. Starting at $1000, a fleet of two or three can efficiently manage a large field.

It’s part of trend towards increasingly data-driven agriculture. Farms today are bursting with engineering marvels, as a result of decades of research. Earth’s population is expected to be 9.6 billion by 2050, and the more effective we can make agriculture, the easier we can feed the world.

5. Virtual Reality: Oculus Rift

You’ve probably heard of virtual reality (VR) by this point. Oculus’ headset, the Rift, isn’t anything new. Although the emerging applications for VR are more in-depth than you might think. Virtual reality is being used to treat PTSD by simulating events which sparked the disorder, and letting the patient work it out via VR so as to have closure. Astronomy is being taught during the day with accurate models of stars and planets. 3D models of buildings can be explored with more precision. Also, Oculus Rift is just plain fun to play with for video games.

Many say that VR is the beginning of a new era in fields like education, business, film, and medicine. This is one technology to look for in the upcoming years.

Oculus Rift

With every release of Apple’s iOS mobile operating system, there have been jokes to accompany. Often these come in the form of satirical mock-Apple graphics that explain some new (made up) feature in the latest release of the software. Such graphics are often so realistic that they convince unknowing consumers to try out the new features, resulting in people doing things such as microwaving their iPhones.

Example: iWave

A recent one of these jokes involved Apple’s AirDrop function, which, in reality, is a Bluetooth file sharing mechanism for iOS devices. However, the graphic described it as a feature in which the device would use the internal vibration motor and some other mechanisms to protect the device in case it is dropped. Of couse, any users who actually tried to make use of this feature were likely disappointed.

Interestingly, though, it seems like such a feature may actually come to exist. Apple just filed a patent for drop protection in a mobile device. The patent does indeed include the use of the vibration motor to re-orient the device into a position that would keep it safer during a fall. The patent also includes other features, most of which are more space-age-esque, including foldable mechanical airfoils, and a mechanism to forcefully eject connected cables. Doubtless, such a feature would be a godsend to users who are prone to dropping their devices.

Humorous and informative copywriter needed to pen brief fun to read articles about computers and technology. We need well researched (min five paragraph keyword dense) summary articles that would be of interest to and read by residential or small business computer users. Articles will be published on a website blog and in email newsletters. We will pay $10.00 per summary web article and you will receive authorship credit and opportunities for other gigs.

Please send us an original helpful/interest article about computers/tech that meets the above guidelines so we can evaluate your work. If we choose to publish your article we will compensate you $10.00 and provide you with additional regular opportunities for copywriting (5 or so similar articles per week).

Also, please include your resume and other samples of work that would show your diversity and talents/skills as we may have other topics for writing or at home type gigs available.

Initiate contact through our contact page and we will give you instructions on submitting your materials.

Thanks!

We want all of our customers to leave feeling satisfied that they were given the service they expected and came away more knowledgeable about their computer problems. While we th’t always make a customer happy that they have a broken computer, we can help them to come to grips with and understand the problems in a respectful courteous and professional and sympathetic way.

If for any reason you are unsatisfied with your computer repair experience at South City Computer, or if you need more explanation as to why we could or couldn’t do what we did or didn’t do please just let us know. You can do so by sending us a message through our contact page.

You can also call. You can schedule an appointment to speak with a manager or owner.

In addition to being available for our customers complaints (please we welcome complaints as it teaches us how to improve) we try to monitor customer satisfaction every single time we process a payment. Our payment system automatically sends out a survey. If you fill out the survey we will give you a free checkup in 30 days.

Currently our survey score for overall satisfaction with service, speed and price is at over 95%. We want to do better! Please let us know how we can!

And if you’re ever so upset that you want to vent pubicly, please take a breath. We are only human and mistakes can be made, and they can be fixed. Give us a chance to make it to you!

If you’re seeing this page, then congratulations! You have received a free PC checkup!

How to receive your checkup:

1. Call us at 314-400-7918 and schedule an appointment
2. Visit our store at 3235 Ivanhoe Ave. at your scheduled appointment time

That’s it!

Your free checkup includes:

• Physical inspection of computer
• Power supply inspection
• RAM Capacity Assessment
• Virus Scan
• Hard drive diagnostic
• Startup assessment
• Bloatware removal
• Updates to Windows
• Disaster recovery plan consultation
• System reinstallation media (to be archived here — get a copy for only $9.99)

Backing up your data is an absolute necessity. Lost data can cause ridiculous amounts of downtime, and some things may be irreplacable. There are many ways to back up your data, here are the pros and cons of some of the most common ones:

External Hard Drive
Pros:

• Fast
• Can have lots of space depending on drive
• Often come with software to make backing up easier
• Free once you have the equiptment

Cons:

• Damage to your computer (viruses, etc.) can result in damage to the drive if left plugged in
• If the building is destroyed, the computer and the backup will both be destroyed

Online backup, such as Carbonite
Pros

• Usually provide software for seamless backup
• Off site, so data is secure

Cons

• Expensive.
• Recovery can take a long time depending on your internet connection speed

Backup with South City Computers
Pros

• Uses BitTorrent Sync to back up in real time
• Off site, so data is secure
• Reasonably priced
• Recovery can be done either by downloading, or picking up media in store
• Local business means you can speak directly to a technician

Cons:

• Can’t think of any

We understand our Small/SOHO Business IT Customers rely on us for our experience and knowledge about a diverse set of computer systems. So whether you need backup and recovery, to save big bucks on telecom, increase efficiency, automate tedious manual processes, tighten security and worry less about your computers and critical data, we are your guys.

We provide on call break/fix/setup services on systems you own, or we can lease full turn-key office systems with build to suit software packages that are reliable, low cost, and cloud integrated for both office based and mobile users.

Of course we service Microsoft Windows systems, but in todays world you have a plethora of options including the cloud and Linux which can save you big money and headaches. As St. Louis’ premier Linux and Open Source computer shop, all of our technicians are highly fluent in modern tech. We can help you to get rid of IT headaches and leverage computers to make you more money and save you more time.

That’s right, if you’ve got an old modem card in your computer and have a landline phone, you can still dial-in to log on.NetZero, along with some other providers from back in the days of 56K are providing dial up internet for free. You can try it out for yourself if you like, but just to give you an idea, it would take nearly 2 hours to load a 2 minute youtube video.

By now, the word should be out that all Windows XP users should have upgraded. If you haven’t, it’s strongly recommended that you do. But what newer version of Windows do you choose? Here’s a guide:

Windows Vista is the version of Windows that came out just after XP. A license key is relatively inexpensive. The mainstream support period for Vista already ended in 2012, however, the extended support period will continue until April 11, 2017. At that time, you will need to upgrade again. Unfortunately, Windows Vista is known for having bugs that have remained unaddressed by Microsoft, and therefore running it on hardware that is outside the realm of mainstream computer models is inadvisable. It will run on most hardware that could run Windows XP.

Windows 7 is the most popular of all the options. It is the most liked version of the three, and provides superior performance and reliability compared to Vista. It also retains the same interface style found in Windows XP, so you won’t have to learn a new system. Windows 7 is in it’s mainstream support period, so Microsoft will still be frequently releasing patches and updates for it. Mainstream support will last until January 13, 2015, and extended support will last until January 14, 2020. It will run on some hardware made for Windows XP.

Windows 8 is the newest version of windows. It has a different user interface, and provides users with tablet functionality. It’s mainstream support will last until January 9th, 2018, and it’s extended support will last until January 10, 2023. It will generally not run on hardware designed for Windows XP.