Friday, November 13, 2009

AVG Free Version 9

AVG is still free. I had a call earlier today from a customer who was having trouble entering his credit card information in the AVG ordering process. I was very upset. I am so upset with AVG for their aggressive marketing technique, scaring people into buying their product. Shame on them!

AVG is still free. Rather than risk getting to the wrong page on AVG's own web  site, download it at http://filehippo.com or http://download.com.

In both cases search for AVG FREE, with the emphasis on the word FREE! Do not be led into buying their for-a-fee version.

PLEASE do not ever pay for any version of AVG anti-virus. If/when the FREE version is withdrawn, you'll hear it from me here, and I will be quick to point you to another free anti-virus.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Not so fast: Look before you leap!

After marveling at the Apple MacBook Pro 13 inch notebook yesterday, and blogging about it, I measured my own Acer laptop's screen, and found that mine is 15 inches measured diagonally. I would have a hard time adjusting to a smaller screen. The older I get the larger the display I want. I recently bought a 22 inch display for my desktop PC.

I guess the moral of the story is that you should see in person what it is you want to buy before making any important (and expensive) decisions. Touch it, lift it, view it and try it out.

I previously blogged about the Acer Aspire One Netbook I purchased, could it be a year ago? I wanted to find out what the Netbook craze was all about. It's about size and weight. And cost! These tiny machines are real lightweights, and a joy for the traveler, especially someone like me who lugged an IBM ThinkPad around the world. That wasn't fun.

However, the weight, size, and convenience come at a price. The Acer Aspire One's screen is 8.9 inches measured diagonally. I could never use that, traveling or not. I gave the machine to my wife to test, and she is using it to this day as her fulltime computer. She goes nowhere without it, and the fact that it is such a lightweight is probably the single most important factor contributing to her satisfaction. She is in and out of airports and train stations the way I am in and out of Dunkin' Donuts! Oh, and it has Windows XP.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch Notebook

From wired.com, a very nice review of the new MacBook Pro, makes me rethink the affordability issue (as in can I afford to buy one?).

"The littlest MacBook Pro finally gets all the features of its larger brethren, making it pound for pound one of the most impressive laptops on the market today. For starters, the aluminum unibody construction is solid to an extreme: There's no wiggle or shimmy when you lift up this laptop. It's a high-tech brick that, if you gathered enough of, you could probably pave your driveway with."

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

No e-mail prgram included in Windows 7

From Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal:


Q: I have just bought a new computer with Windows 7, and not only can’t I download Outlook Express, I can’t even find it. Is it there? Where?

A: Sadly, Microsoft killed Outlook Express—its free, fast and simple Windows email program—long before Windows 7 came out. In Vista, it was replaced by something called Windows Mail. Now, there’s no email program at all built into Windows 7, unless a PC maker chooses to include one. But Microsoft offers for download a free product called Windows Live Email that is the latest successor to Outlook Express. You can get it, alone or as part of a suite of free “Essentials” programs that used to be routinely part of Windows, at: windowslive.com/desktop.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Review: 3 Windows 7 touch-screen laptops

It will be interesting to see if touch-screen sales begin to climb and ultimately take off or if the concept will fall by the wayside. I have to say I'd like to try one out. Read this Computerworld article at the following link: