Tech Services

The OtterBox line of protective cases for the iPhones have become legendary and the latest choices for the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are on track to continue to provide maximum protection for your devices. The Defender, Commuter, Symmetry and Strada series are now available and an Alpha Glass screen protector option is coming soon. According to OtterBox, their cases undergo 24 tests over more than 238 hours to protect against the scratches, dings and drops of daily life. Whether a toddler has your brand new iPhone 6 or you go four-wheeling, OtterBox says you need not worry - they’re built for you and your lifestyle. The cases even face the “purse test” to fend off scratches from keys, wallets and whatever else an iPhone may come in contact with in a woman’s purse. The OtterBox for iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are available now at the company’s website and select retailers. Cases for the iPad Pro and iPad mini 4 are also in the works. If you’re looking for the ultimate protection for...

The next time you have a dead car battery, instead of grabbing the tangled jumper cables from your trunk, you can grab a device about the size of a TV remote from your glove compartment. The mPower Jump, manufactured by mPower Technologies , has a 600 amp peak-current rating and packs enough power to jump-start most 12-volt batteries in autos, marine equipment, recreational vehicles, ATVs and small tractors. The 13000mAh battery in the unit will take about four hours to charge and will have a “jump start current” of 300A, while weighing in at 1.52 pounds. The cost is around $100 and is now available. This company, which is the consumer products subsidiary of mPhase Technologies, Inc., also is working on their mPower FastCharge device/ The unit will have fast charging backup power capability for cellphones, tablets and cameras. According to the company, the device will fast charge in six minutes through a 12V car cigarette lighter. The 6000mAh battery, with a weight of sligh...

Verizon now has mail from the king of the vintage dial-up Internet service. In a $4.4 billion deal first announced in May, Verizon Communications Inc., a modern-day tech giant, has completed the acquisition of AOL, a tech giant of the 1990s with the famous “You’ve Got Mail” slogan. AOL’s wall street presence goes away in a puff of smoke and they are now a wholly owned subsidiary of Verizon. AOL’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Armstrong will continue to steer the company in the right direction, with help from Bob Toohey, president of Verizon’s Digital Media Services, and Marni Walden, Verizon executive vice president and president of Product Innovation and New Business. Although some might consider AOL something of a “has-been” from the dot-com era, Verizon is getting quite a few goodies, such as AOL’s websites, which includes the Huffington Post, a news content provider, and popular gadget sites TechCrunch and Engadget. This deal looks better once you throw in the numbers for AOL...

As the world of cybercrime increases on an almost daily basis, the world of cybercrime education is expanding to stop the criminals. Students attending Salve Regina, a a Catholic institution founded by the Sisters of Mercy 1947, will be able to pursue a concentration in digital forensics with a certificate of graduate studies this fall. These graduate students in the Administration of Justice and Homeland Security program will be trailblazers in the field of cyber criminology. According to the program director, this new emphasis in cyber education will include skills in data analysis for civil and criminal cases and intelligence and counterterrorism matters. Students will expand their knowledge in analyzing data and utilizing networks, servers and analysis tools. The courses will be offered online and in special programs designed for the workplace at Salve Regina’s Center for Adult Education in Warwick, Rhode Island. If cybercrime continues to threaten society, maybe more educatio...

Since there is an app for just about everything, Goodwill Industries International has upgraded its free Goodwill Locator app for constant connectivity to the mission of giving. Now users on iOS and Android mobile devices can stay up to date on donation centers, stores, and job training centers through stories and updates available in the app. Launched two years ago, the Goodwill Locator app now has more than 5,000 stores and donation centers' locations and includes videos on how the lives of individuals have been changed through donations. A financial gift can also be made using the app. The latest version of the Goodwill app is free via Google Play and coming soon in the Apple Store, pending approval. Or you can visit the Goodwill website for the latest update. With the Goodwill app, you can use your mobile devices to make a difference in this world.

The Apple Watch is just around the corner and it’s time to get serious about how Apple’s latest technological wonder is going to fit into our lives. Just like all the other “Apple iDevices,” a lot of us didn’t know we’ll need an Apple Watch until Apple told us so. The one thing I can say is the Apple Watch is going to be some much more than a device to let us know the time or the date. We’re talking about an entire ecosystem of tech synergy and this device could be the world’s first truly wearable computer. But we’re skeptical at this point, or at least I am, and Apple has some convincing to do in several areas. I’m sure security measures will be at the top of the list for those considering the Apple Watch. One question is will it work on a wrist that didn’t shell out their hard-earned cash? The answer is the device will know if it’s on your wrist or has been taken off and it’ll need a lock code to be activated again, much like the iPhone lock screen. That should give some peac...

I have some good news if you have a fender bender and happen to have insurance under The Allstate Corporation. Allstate has become the first U.S. company to use a digital payment system for claims. The idea is to disburse payments quickly using an email address or mobile phone number to policyholders willing to be paid utilizing Allstate’s "Fast Mobile e-Payment" service. According to Allstate, this solution eliminates snail mail and lost checks and is faster than all electronic funds transfers and other existing methods. "We are proud to be one of the first banks to offer this electronic business-to-consumer payment solution," says Bank of America Merrill Lynch Head of Global Payments Ather Williams. "Allstate and their customers may benefit greatly from the speed and convenience this solution provides." To participate, customers have to agree to be paid by the Fast Mobile e-Payment service and Allstate will send their contact information to Bank of ...