4 posts tagged “computers”
To the growing number of reasons to put off upgrading to Vista--or even buying a new machine with Vista loaded on it--you can now add Adobe problems. Current versions of the company's popular Dreamweaver web design software and Photoshop CS2 program have known compatibility problems with Microsoft's latest operating system. And it appears Adobe has no intention of fixing the bugs.
According to a statement on the Adobe Web site, if you want to get those problems--which include Dreamweaver system hangs--fixed, you'll have to cough up more money for an upgrade from Adobe. Given that we've all known Vista was coming down the pipe for several years, Adobe's refusal to fix the problems should be an affront to customers (not to mention a poor reflection on Adobe's competency),
If Adobe wants to squabble with Microsoft (can you think of anyone who doesn't?), that's fine. But making us pay for it is simply inexcusable. Oh, and in case you were wondering, when it serves Adobe's own purpose, the company is pleased as punch to offer a free upgrade. Witness the fact that Adobe will upgrade Acrobat reader to fix problems with Vista--no charge.
Gee, thanks.
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Google, whose corporate creed includes the motto "You can make money without doing evil," has announced that it will retain personal data on individual Web surfers' searches for only 2 years. And in an another amazing example of TP (technological prevaricaton--see article below), some reporters actually bought the marketing spin that this would somehow help protect people's privacy.
Quick background: When you use Google to search for, say, "Clinton," "Clap Your Hands," or "Britney naked" (not that anyone I know would do that), the search engine pegs your search to your IP address--and then stores a record of it. Thus, if someone in the future wanted to know what subversive activities JQ had been up to, they wouldn't have to hack into my computers. All they would need to do is look through the Google records. Indeed, they could in theory go further, since Google not only tracks all of your searches, it also looks at cookies on your system, cookies which may tell them what you ordered online, what bank you use, your daughter's name,...well, you get the idea.
Does Google warn you with a pop-up box every time you enter a search term that you are being tracked. No. Does the company tell you that every search you conduct on its site could be used against you in a court of law? No. Does the company say, "This search could be used against you in your upcoming messy divorce/fraud/terrorist legal battle." Uh, no.
Is Google's retention of such information a standard practice in the industry? No. Try Microsoft or AOL searches and you'll find they toss out the data almost immediately.There are also several search engines that explicitly don't track your searches, including one called Scroogle that submits your query anonymously to (you guessed it) Google.
The only reason Google tracks and stores all this personal data is for money. Spying on you is just incidental to the process. However, if Google really cared about people, as it professes, then it would give each of us a cut of the profit it makes from harvesting our personal information--and quit trying to trick us about how it's protecting people's privacy.
FOR MORE OF JQ'S NEWS AND REVIEWS, VISIT J-Q.COM
A few days ago, Symantec held a soirée for the press at Rockefeller Center’s Top of the Rock. The crystal clear, wrap-around view of Manhattan was ostensibly intended to highlight the release of the company’s Norton 360 security program. The views were spectacular, Matt Costa’s performance able, and the demos concise.
After testing Norton 360 for a few days, I’ve found it lives up to the Norton legacy of solid, the-best-offense-is-a-good-defense products. The $70 program includes anti-virus and firewall protection, as well as intrusion detection, anti-spyware protection, and anti-phishing features. It also is simpler to use, allowing many standard programs to run without having to make multiple amendments to the firewall rules. And Symantec allows owners to use the program on up to 3 different machines, an especially welcome feature in my household (hey, can I use it on 8 machines?).
Two additional items of note about Norton 360: First, Symantec is including 2 GB of online storage space free of charge for owners. I highly recommend taking them up on this offer and storing essential files (like Quicken backup files) online for disaster recovery purposes. (If you want more space, you can pay for it.) Second, some of the program’s gimcracks can weigh heavily on older PCs. The site authentication feature, for example, had a detrimental impact on one of my older computers, slowing my surfing to a crawl (after much searching, I figured out how to turn it off). So I only recommend upgrading to 360 if your computer was purchased within the last couple of years.
However, even if you don’t opt for a full-blown security program like Norton 360, make sure you use some kind of firewall. And remember the three most important words in computing: backup, backup, backup.
FOR MORE OF JQ'S NEWS AND REVIEWS, VISIT J-Q.COM
JQ is John R. Quain, technology reporter, writer, and television correspondent. If you're looking for more information on John R. Quain, visit the J-Q.com Web site where you'll find a growing collection of past articles, video clips, and news. After over a decade of neglect, I'm updating the site with a newsletter, podcast, and other digital gimcracks.
In the meantime, if you're looking for a recent article of mine, simply search The New York Times, CBS News, PC Magazine, or U.S. News & World Report sites. Or you can go the old-fashioned route and just Google me.
JQ's Articles have also appeared in:
Entertainment Weekly
Rolling Stone
Spin
Popular Science
Popular Mechanics
Fast Company
Men's Journal
Men's Health
The Globe & Mail
Good Housekeeping (yes, Good Housekeeping)
Computer Shopper
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