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Social Media and how it’s changing the way we communicate

OMAComp Social MediaOver the course of the past decade or so, social media has begun to play a bigger and bigger role in our everyday lives. As a society, we’ve realized just how connected we have become through working together via Twitter, Blogging and your local Wi-Fi enabled Starbucks. Here are some interesting stories just over the past week or so showing you how critical and significant sharing that post or photo you took can be.

New York Yankee Alex Rodriquez or “A-Rod” as he’s known to his fan-base, recently came under fire by team manager Brian Cashman for tweeting something a little prematurely. Rodriguez, who is currently rehabbing after hip surgery, recently tweeted that the doctors told him he can play baseball again soon. After having read this, Cashman personally called Alex telling him to watch what he says. A-Rod’s excitement is understandable to a certain degree, but you still have to be careful with what you say on social outlets, especially Twitter. People can take your tweeted words and before you know it, you have an overnight phenomenon on your hands that you did not intend to have. Here’s hoping A-rod keeps his Instagram videos in the dugout to a minimum this season.

Another recent story is that of Rusty the bear’s great escape. The red panda escaped from the National Zoo in Washington D.C. sometime between Monday night and Sunday morning. The kicker is that the zoo released the information on the social staple Twitter, and within a few hours there had been tens of thousands of retweets asking for the rescue of this little guy. Pictures and sightings were also being shred. Rusty was eventually caught a little bit after 2 o’clock p.m. the same day over half a mile away from the Zoo, and it was all thanks to the locals of the capital working together through a website.

Whether it’s posting a bland status update, tracking and finding bad people, or just retweeting a celebrity, Social Media has changed the way we communicate as a whole. Understanding when and when to not post is key in many cases. It might be too early to tell whether or not it’s the right way to do things, but for the time being, social media is king. Who knows what going to be next.

Apple WWDC 2013 – New iOS, Mac Pro, Buzz

On Monday at its annual Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC),New iOS 7 for Iphone, coming out later this year. Apple unveiled a number of upcoming upgrades for various products that we’ll be seeing later this year. One of the more subtle announcements was that of the Mac Book Air. All around there were upgrades you’d expect coming from Apple around this time. With an all new, flash-based memory model, the new Mac Book airs will be faster than ever before. Better battery life, WI-Fi reception, and processors are also in line for the new Mac Book Airs.

On the more exciting side of things, Apple also gave a sneak peek of its newest powerhouse computer, the mac pro. Sporting a revolutionary cylindrical design, the computer uses unified thermal cooling at its center, where it is blown out through the top by a large fan. This is the almighty Mac Pro, so you’d better believe Apple didn’t skimp out on its upgrades – everything is pretty much double from its predecessor, giving you the most powerful Mac Pro the market has ever seen. Expect to see it out in the fall sometime.

Another big hit during the keynote was the upgrade of Apple’s mobile UI, iOS. The iOS 7 was a real breathe of fresh air compared to a rather stagnant aesthetic between the last few updates to the software. An all new minimal, modular grid system has everything more unified than ever. We’ll wait and see if third party developers follow suit with what they’ve done. I have a feeling they’ll keep making the crappy icons they’ve always made, but at least Apple gave an effort. Another new feature is the control center, a swipe-up addition that, you guessed it, allow you to control everything from the WI-Fi to the brightness. Airdrop is also an exciting new innovation, allowing fellow I Phone users to share files wirelessly. This is also due to be out later in the year.

Innovate much? Apple really seems to have taken the remarks of their critics to heart, showing them that they can in fact re-invent themselves, product by product. As exciting as their keynotes have become (I feel like I’m watching a magic show sometimes), let’s hope that the products themselves hold up to the Cupertino computer company’s name.

Life, work, and how mobile phones are changing both

Treat your phone as you would your computerAs life and work blur into one another more and more every day, it’s important to consider how we can better prepare ourselves, and our devices, to better be in cohesion with one another. Losing a mobile phone or tablet can be detrimental to one’s privacy, and potentially their client’s if precautions have not been taken to hide such information in an event such as this. Roughly $30 billion dollars’ in mobile phones go missing every year, and as much as 70% of those phones aren’t password protected. Just imagine all of the information on those phones that can possibly be stolen and used at the original owner’s expense? Imagine walking into work and realizing you phone isn’t in your pocket. Is it in the car? Is it at home? Did you lose it?

It used to be primarily desktop computers hackers were after, but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. Mobile phones are now being targeted more and more by hackers and it is becoming increasingly alarming. What they do is attack from an external network, and they then breach data files with valuable information such as an address of credit card number.It isn’t just one party that’s always guilty. At times it is that of a fellow employee, of even an employer. While it might not be released intentionally, companies tend to release large amounts of data out into the world through all of their outlets and devices. This makes them that much more vulnerable to some of that information being stolen and used. Having a set group of people that manage and maintain such a system can make these kinds of situations a thing of the past.

Malware and illegitimate programs are becoming extremely common amongst mobile phone users. Download the wrong app and boom; you’ve successfully downloaded Malware onto your phone. This also makes your phone susceptible to data extraction, handing your friends and contacts to phishers and scammers.
Ultimately, what is needed is an all-device-dashboard, so if your phone is stolen or compromised in any way, you can go back and erase anything of value. Client records, bank statements, social security numbers – the devices we carry are truly becoming part of us in more ways than we realize. It’s about time we start treating it as such.

Fully Automated Services Now Available at OMA Comp!

Fully Automated Services AvailableWe here at OMA Comp are happy to announce that we will soon provide fully automated servicing capabilities for our clients. What that means is that you’ll be able to call our offices at any time, and you’ll be guided to one of our team members directly. At OMA Comp we pride ourselves on having great response times, and now they’ll be even better with this service. Knowing just how spontaneous computers can be, it’s best that you have around-the-clock service available. If you’re interested in this service, be sure to contact our offices at (248)616-3057 or visit our website at www.omacomp.com for more information!     If you can think it, we can do it!

Kickstarter and the DIY Success story

KickStarter LogoNo more is the need of financial backers and investors keeping people from building their dream.Thanks to Kickstarter, the online fund-raiser that allows members to raise funds directly, that’s no longer a burden for small-time entrepreneurs to get help from the big guys. If they hit their preset monetary goal, the project is funded. If they don’t, investors get their money back via Amazon (US) or Kickstarter itself (UK). The beauty of the system is that it cuts out the middle man, allowing the customer and creator to have a direct relationship in terms of the completion of the project.

This allows for the people to truly show the world’s markets what they are looking for in everything from children’s books to ground-breaking technology. Just recently actor Zach Braff successfully found 2.7 million dollars in additional funding for his upcoming movie “Wish I was here” via Kickstarter alone. The AGENT watch, only put on Kickstarter yesterday, has already surpassed its funding goal by over almost 210%. With just under a month to go, it’s undeniable that this project, among many others, will go down in Kickstarter history as a huge success. Who knows what would’ve happened with this project if it weren’t for kick starter’s business model. They would have to pitch the idea to investors and financial backers, but would they support the idea? Would they buy one? Who knows, but it really doesn’t matter, it’ll already get its funding anyway.

Video Production Checklist – Making sure everything is good to go

Video-Post.5.14.13When shooting video, it is important to be as still as possible. With the help of a tripod, you can let it do the work of making sure your shot is as still, and as professional as possible. Shakiness or movement can instantly ruin a good take, so make sure it’s stays put! When you’re shooting, it’s important to double check the shot to make sure everything is where it should be and everything that shouldn’t isn’t in your way. Be conscious of what the final product will be, and leave breaks and spaces for titles, credits, and other elements that will unify the entire thing in post-edit. Having a makeup artist on set can do big things for the production value of something your filming. Everyone looks like they’re ready for Hollywood, and that will boost morale throughout the shoot. When filming, it is important to make sure the lighting is right, and if not, to modify or improve its effect on whatever it is your filming. Poor lighting can leave a production feeling dreary and rather cheap, so it’s best to have the light looking as professional as possible. The absolute same principles go for the audio recording. You want the absolute best quality recorders and booms, and you need to get as close to the subject as possible in order to get the best recording. You never know what might happen during the recording, so it’s best to record from multiple sources so you have sound coming from multiple perspectives to use in post-editing if needed. Lastly, you should take proper care of your equipment. It will last you a lot longer, and it will save you a lot of money.