Another Day With My PC

Don’t get too nostalgic on your favorite antivirus software. While many are revolting on the growing complexity of applications, this cannot be a good justification in sticking to old versions of your programs, especially if those are tasked to keep your PC free from malware.

There are some people who stubbornly stick to old antivirus programs, contending that they seem to be more efficient and easy to use. However, a security tool is only efficient if it’s updated. Malware changes and evolve at a rapid pace. An antivirus or anti-spyware program that’s not updated is like an FBI agent who’s looking at a kindergarten picture of 23-year-old murder suspect.

Software makers do not release new versions of their creations just because they’ve changed its font or background color. Well, maybe some. But developers of security suites issue new versions or editions of their programs because the situation demands it. We all know that computer viruses are being born and release in cyberspace every minute. Hence, antivirus applications need to continuously evolve in order to keep up with the race.

How many of you are relying on user reviews for honest-to-goodness advices on how to spot a good PC?

Many are already aware that the claims made by computer makers in their ads are only half true. It’s not surprising, actually. Advertisements are littered with promises that are qualified by fine prints. The business of manufacturing and selling computers is so tight and competitive that makers would probably promise you the moon just to make you part with your money.

Simple and Honest

As consumers are starting to realize that ads are replete with exaggerations, user reviews are fast becoming the literature of choice for buyers who would want to find out if the PC that they intend to buy really lives up to the claims and specifications that its maker plasters on newspapers and magazines. Indeed, as between the words of the manufacturer and the claims of a fellow user or buyer, the latter seems to be more credible and unbiased.

Another reason why user reviews are more appealing than product manuals is that it deals squarely with the topics or questions that buyers generally have in mind. While the information that the PC maker provide may be complete, it is laced with terms that sometimes only technicians could understand. Less “techie” buyers are easily turned off by terms that they don’t understand. User reviews usually do not use esoteric words as they are written by people who also do not know what a serial bus means.

Same Pen, Different Hand

While user reviews are steadily becoming the information pond of choice by many consumers, experts are warning that the marketing groups that buyers are trying to avoid might actually be the very ones who are running the blogs or articles that are purportedly written by ordinary PC users.

Before you put your trust on a review, make sure to read a few more posts on the topic. You would be able to notice which articles are biased or are written to promote or malign a product. Checking the profile of the person who posted the write up could also be helpful. However, they may have already thought of covering that up so you might want to look for other ways to verify his background.

Legit But Not Credible

Not all articles posted by paid bloggers or writers are biased and contain falsities, though. There are times when companies resort to blog invasions in order to reach out to people who shun technical details and instead turn to ordinary people for explanation. Hence, posting or running an article purportedly by a regular Joe would definitely help PC makers clarify or explain things in simple terms that they wouldn’t normally be able to do on ads or manuals.

Also, not all reviews by ordinary PC users are helpful. Sometimes, they do more harm than good. Regular folks usually do not know how to properly benchmark a computer and its components. Hence, their claims may actually be inaccurate or even outright erroneous. There are a lot of things that have to be considered when testing something on a controlled environment, such as the software and hardware that are being used. You also have to ascertain if they’re using the right benchmarking tool and equipment.

Do not solely rely on what other people say. You have to make your own assessment. Read as many articles on a given topic, including the ones written by the PC maker.

YouTube will soon have more shows to be featured on the site. This is after the largest video sharing website signed another deal with Freemantel Media.

Freemantel Media is the producer of the world famous American Idol and other TV entertainment titles. The company currently holds some top rating shows. The deal will allow YouTube to publish original and with copyright videos by Freemantle, under a deal of course that Freemantle will get revenue from the videos.

This move is also under the hopes that piracy and unmediated uploading of Freemantle videos will be minimized. The deal will use YouTube’s VideoID anti-piracy technology, an anti copyright infringement system which fingerprints video to weed out illegal copies of copyrighted content.

The new deal will add videos and show to the already publicized programs suchy as Hole in the Wall (Australia) and X Factor 2007, as well as original web programming like ToyBoize and Atomic Wedgie.

Source: NewTeeVee

Orange is giving away a free Asus mini laptop that is if you subscribe to their 24-month broadband contract.

The Asus unit is Orange’s first Sim-embedded laptop and it will be available for free if you sign-up for £25 ($40) per month. A 24 month contract totals to £600 or $960.

Orange as of this writing has two mobile broadband offers. The company currently has a mobile broadband subscription for £15 a month. The subscription plan comes with a free dongle and a discounted Asus Eee mini laptop.

Vodafone is currently the only network that offers laptop with an embedded Sim card. Orange currently has limited the offer of the same workstation to business users only.

Source: Mobile Today

SanDisk announced that they have advanced a new technology that enables solid state drives to run a lot faster than its current speed. The company utilized a flash memory file system that allows data to be written on SSDs at an improved speed.

The company calls the technology ExtremeFFS. Products that will be shipped starting 2009 will carry this technology. ExteremeFFS will replace the current technology in reading and writing SSDs called TrueFFS. TrueFFS has been the standard protocol in drive writing since its development in 1994.

ExtremeFFS uses NAND flash memory channels, which makes reading and writing possible and efficient at the same time. Rich Heye, senior VP and general manager for SanDisk’s SSD business unit said that because of the new technology succeeding SSDs will be at least 6 tiems faster today’s 2.5-inch hard drives.

The company also introduced a new metrics for evaluating the performance of SSDs. This is called RPM or vRPM that compares performance between an SSD and a HHD. The comparison is based on factors such as lifespan, endurance, speed and other key elements in hard drive management.

Source: InformationWeek

The teaser’s out. Microsoft has recently released the beta version of Windows Vista’s successor, Windows 7. I’ve yet to get a hold of a copy, though, so what I’ll be passing on to you right now are second hand information from the developers themselves.

While Windows 7 will definitely sweep Vista off the shelves, it is not exactly a whole new different OS. Rather, Redmond sees Windows 7 as a refinement of its predecessor. The world’s leading OS maker promises their new product to be more user-friendly, or as Bill Gates put it, more user-centric. The Microsoft boss added that the new operating system would perform more efficiently at less power and without taxing the system too much. In other words, what Gates is really trying to say is that Windows 7 is everything that Vista is not.

It’s a fact that many haven’t migrated yet from XP to Vista. So the question now is, should they wait for Windows 7’s release? Or should they jump ship and ride instead on Vista until the next boat arrives? I suggest that they wait. Microsoft will eventually convince everybody to change OS again, so I guess it’s better to wait. The expected release date of the new OS is sometime in 2010, although many expect it to be introduced commercially by the second half of next year. Either way, the wait won’t be that long.

Happy Halloween, folks! I’m sure you look great in your costumes. It’s fun mirroring your favorite caped comic book heroes or their respective nemeses. In my case, I’m dressed as a zombie. Just a generic one, though. I can’t think of a specific and well known undead villain by DC or Marvel.

Speaking of zombies, do you know that malware could turn your PC into one? Zombies look alive from the outside, but they are actually rotting inside. People who are “undead” are not the same persons as they were before. Likewise, computers that got bitten by spyware or viruses are not what they used to be anymore. They are already slow, prone to crashes, and worse, they seem to be controlled by an unknown being.

Don’t let your PC get possessed by unwanted software. An infected computer slows down and functions as if it is being used by another person. This is because modern spyware not only corrupts data, but it also grants hackers access to your system so that they’ll be able to gather sensitive data. Hence, make sure that you have ghost-busting tools installed in your PC, such as an antivirus and a registry cleaner software.

The first twitter application for Android phone or Twidroid is finally out. Twidroid is created by Thomas Marban, the same guy who engineered Popurls.

The application is free to use. It makes your android phone a twitter center where you can easily post messages, reply and send direct messages. Even the other functions such as follow or unfollow a user are present in the App. There is also a complete integration of the software to your camera, so you can take a picture of yourself and share it directly to twitter.

The only function that is not accessible thru the application as of this writing is the clicking of the links. Links posted via twits will make you leave the application. ‘

Source: AndroidCommunity

IMOVIO release a very small and tiny handheld computer. One look and you might mistake this computer a flip type smartphone, but it is not. The iKIT is a complete computer.

This iKIT have basic specifications. It has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support. It also has a webcam that can be used for video conferencing. The iKIT is backed by Marvell Marvell PXA270 312MHz processor. It is run by Linux Operating System. The friendly IU of the handheld PC is attributable to its Proprietary plus Trolltech QT/E 2.3.8.

The only lowdown according to some reviews on this computer is its memory capacity. It is using a micro SD card which means it is expandable u to 8GB. Its ROM marks at 128MB and 64 SDRAM.

Its screen is a 2.8 inch QVGA which can display more than 260,000 different colors. Its Li-ion battery can provide up to 250 hours of standby time. The computer is available in fashionable colors such as velvet black, satin white and others.

IMOVIO’s iKIT also has standard jacks for video and audio input. The computer is also preloaded with standard computer apps. The computer is priced at at $172.

Source: WebITPR