Switchfast Blog: The Future of IT
Soluto: The Solution to PC Frustration?
Friday, May 28, 2010 by Matt Hymel
As technology has evolved, both corporate and private users have
become acquainted with numerous software installations and updates.
Over time, many of these programs are never heavily used and end up
as resource hogs. Unfortunately, the most common PC user has
neither the time nor knowledge to root out these unnecessary
programs.
A tiny software startup in Tel Aviv, Israel called Soluto
believes they have the solution to the frustration these programs
can cause.
This week, Soluto became the winner of TechCrunch Disrupt, an event that showcases
upcoming startups. The "Anti-Frustration Software" company focuses
on tracking down those annoying run-ins on a PC - printing
problems, crashy apps, resource hogs - and presenting a solution
that the user can manually select. Nothing the software suggests is
automatically adopted, but instead merely recommended, giving the
user ultimate control over what is changed.
Not only does the software identify unnecessary resource
consumption, but it offers solutions and guides you through the fix
in an easy-to-interpret fashion.
What makes Soluto even more enticing is its ambition called the
PC Genome. The company will be collecting stats and analyses from
millions of PCs (anonymously) and mix this data with the idea of
crowd sourcing. As PCWorld.com puts it, "the basic idea is, if a
user in Detroit solves a problem with their computer, Soluto
remembers that solution, and distributes the fix to someone in
Chicago dealing with the same issue."
The crowd sourcing is done automatically, but Soluto plans on
adding a wiki component which will allow users to add their own
insight and recommendations. These contributions will be reviewed
before published on the site.
ZDNet blogger Ed Bott describes the software as "lightweight,
unobtrusive, and truly conservative," noting that nothing is
changed or altered unless the user chooses. In his time with the
Beta version (which is available for download at their website), he
explains (and shows per screenshots) the process and steps that
resulted in a 30% reduction in his PC boot time.
Check out their website for an introduction
video. With the appropriate resources, this small company could be
changing - or disrupting, as TechCrunch puts it - the PC
landscape.
Until Next Time -
Matthew Hymel
Switchfast Technologies
Chicago IT Support &
Consulting
Rochester
IT Support & Consulting
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