Category Archives: Hardware

iSupportU and LabTech Make IT Easy

At iSupportU, we are always looking for new and exciting ways to improve the technology in your life. We recently rolled out our Managed Services offering that will help your IT systems stay healthy and up-to-date. There are many ways we can work with your business to fit into your budget – learn more about your options.

For Managed Services, we use a remote monitoring and management tool, LabTech, that allows us to easily remote into your systems, provide 24/7 monitoring, push updates and proactively manage problems. We can also monitor your antivirus and perform desktop backups.

We offer two plans for your PCs: Just The Basics includes monitoring, alerts, ticketing system access and a quarterly strategic consultation. The All In plan is more comprehensive; it offers everything Just The Basics offers in addition to antivirus install and licensing, desktop backups, monthly reports, and basic remote troubleshooting.

Put your mind at ease and let us manage your technology. Read more about our Managed Services offering or contact us for a quote.

2013 Intentions & New Service Offerings

2012 was an outstanding year for iSupportU. We added many new service offerings for our clients, launched our online store for iPhone & iPad color conversions and still had over 75 percent growth for the year. Yes, we were busy, but some of those reasons for being so busy was planning for 2013. We aim for iSupportU to be regarded as the leading technology solution provider for the known universe, and how we plan to grow is the best part.

The iSupportU crew retreat photo in December 2012, outside of Estes Park.

The biggest news for 2013 is the launch of our new Managed Services offering. It allows our technicians to remotely monitor and maintain a business IT environment 24/7, dramatically improve our service turnaround time through our powerful remote monitoring system and gives our clients improved security.

Throughout 2012, we saw many WordPress websites with malware infections. Many of these sites weren’t being kept updated and site backups were not being managed appropriately. In addition, when your website is infected with malware or hacked, your site can get blacklisted by search engines. If a site is infected, it can take several hours to clean, repair & ready for search engine indexing. In order to prevent this from happening, we’re now offering a new plan to include a 24/7 malware monitoring tool that will alert us if anything is detected on your website. We’ll perform a monthly backup of your website and review your site for any needed updates. Updates, by the way, can be a little tricky as they can potentially break older pieces of your website, so they need to be handled appropriately. Contact us now to find out more about our Website Backups & Security Plan offering.

We are very excited about 2013. Get in touch with us today to find out more about our new service offerings!

The Next MacBook!

Recently, we came across a new MacBook that Apple might be testing. It has a new ergonomic bend in the frame and the LCD is optimized for improved Retina display performance. While this was a rare find in our shop, it’s one we wanted to test, you can see the pic and video below.

We like to call it the MacBook Wave.

Obviously, this wasn’t a new MacBook but you should watch the video to hear more about this beat up machine.

Thai Flooding Increases Hard Drive Prices

After years of declining prices, hard drive prices are suddenly going up. The culprit: floods in Thailand.

“Basically, two of Western Digital’s factories are under water,” says Stephen Boni, iSupportU’s Pit Boss. “Both have been shut down since October 12.”

Boni, who spends part of each day researching product prices, says the increase hasn’t yet hit consumer sites like Amazon and eBay. “But they will,” he adds.

The Western Digital Caviar Green went up in price from $119 to $280 in a matter of five days. Toshiba’s hard drives drives are up about 10 percent.

The bottom line, according to Boni, is that people looking to buy hard drives should consider waiting a few months. Some studies say the price increases could last as long as six months.

Of course, an increase in hard drive costs is hardly the worst part of this disaster. Hundreds are dead because of Thailand’s floods, which are ongoing.

Higher prices are an inconvinence, to be sure, but the biggest cost is the loss of life and homes.

More information:

Hard drive shortage expected to hurt consumers most via Computerworld

Thailand floods could create laptop shortage via CNN

Eco-Cycle and iSupportU Partner To Bring Computer Recycling to Downtown Boulder

Come to our Eco-Cycle/iSupportU Partnership party! Register on Facebook or iSupportU’s website to attend.

Boulder, Tuesday, October 25 – Downtown residents and businesses now have a nearby option for computer recycling, thanks to a new partnership.

Eco-Cycle — the non-profit that brought recycling to Boulder in 1976 — and iSupportU — Boulder’s fastest growing IT support company — are joining forces to provide a downtown drop-off location for recycling computers.

“We want to make it as simple as possible to do the right thing environmentally,” says Shaun Oshman, founder and CEO of iSupportU. “Way too many computers end up in landfills, taking their toxic components with them.”

Boulder residents and businesses can now bring obsolete or unwanted computers to iSupportU’s Pearl Street location. For a small fee they will be taken to Eco-Cycle’s Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials (CHaRM) to be recycled domestically using the greenest, most socially-responsible practices available, recovering nearly 100% of the materials.

This is the first official CHaRM satellite drop-off center for outdated electronics.

“When businesses in the community work with us to create recycling solutions for their customers, we call it a ‘partnership for responsible recycling,’” says Dan Matsch, manager of the Eco-Cycle CHaRM. “Electronics are among the most important materials to recycle and keep out of landfills, and we’re grateful to iSupportU for partnering to recover even more of them.”

According to the EPA, Americans recycled less than 20% of their electronics and sent 2.6 million tons of consumer electronics to landfills and incinerators in 2009. Such electronics typically include lead, cadmium, beryllium, and brominated flame retardants — all deadly contaminants that threaten environmental and public health.

“The ideal thing, of course, is to get your computer fixed instead of throwing it out,” said Oshman. “iSuppportU is here to help with that, but when repair isn’t an option, responsible recycling is the next best thing .”

Residents and businesses can drop off desktop and laptop computers, flat-panel monitors, printers, power supplies, keyboards, cables, mice and cell phones as part of the partnership.

To celebrate this new partnership, iSupportU and Eco-Cycle, along with 10 for Change, are hosting a party on November 10 at iSupportU’s location at 1825 Pearl St, starting at 5:00 pm. This event will also benefit September High School and a $10 suggested donation is requested for the school. Attendees must register on Facebook or iSupportU’s website to attend.

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iSupportU is a Boulder-based IT company dedicated to providing personable solutions that simplify a technical world. It provides computer and smartphone repair, as well as business IT and website design. Visit http://iSupportU.biz.

Contact: Christina Savage

christina@isupportu.biz

303-351-1787

Eco-Cycle is one of the largest non-profit recyclers in the USA and has an international reputation as a pioneer and innovator in resource conservation. It was created 35 years ago by everyday Boulder residents who had a passionate belief in conserving our natural resources.

Visit http://www.ecocycle.or g.

Come to our Eco-Cycle/iSupportU Partnership party! Register on Facebook or iSupportU’s website to attend.