This is a very good ComputerWorld article for those of you who own aging laptops and are also do-it-yourselfers (DIY). Even if you are not a DIY, I think all laptop owners will find this article interesting.
For what it's worth (FWIW), I installed Ubuntu on an aging laptop and was very impressed. It is free and installed easily. It uses very little of your aging system's precious resources. If all you want to do is web browsing and e-mail, then you should consider Ubuntu for your aging laptop. This is covered in some detail in this ComputerWorld article. I should add that Ubuntu comes with Open Office already installed, so the machine is also equipped to do word processing, spreadsheets, etc. You can learn more about Open Office here: http://www.openoffice.org/
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Do not pay for AVG!
Under no circumstances should you allow yourself to be bullied into paying for AVG anti-virus. Those of you who are on AVG Free Edition 7.5, stay there until further notice. As already stated earlier, not even AVG knows the real answer - apparently - about when virus definitions will stop coming for 7.5. If it does stop on 6/25, I will advise you as soon as I know. Even if that should be on 6/25, there is no need to panic, and there is no need to pay!
If support for 7.5 does stop soon, we can all go to AVG Free Edition 8.0. The key word there is FREE! I have downloaded, installed, and uninstalled Version 8 several times on several of my machines. There is nothing to fear about Version 8. Yes, it's a little bigger, a little slower, and more intrusive, but it works and is far better than the fee-based alternatives like Norton, McAfee, Trend Micro, etc.
Earlier posts herein tell you where you can download Version 8, so if you feel worried about all of this (you shouldn't) and somewhat adventurous, go ahead and download it and install it.
However, I recommend sitting tight for the moment with your version 7.5, as I am doing.
If support for 7.5 does stop soon, we can all go to AVG Free Edition 8.0. The key word there is FREE! I have downloaded, installed, and uninstalled Version 8 several times on several of my machines. There is nothing to fear about Version 8. Yes, it's a little bigger, a little slower, and more intrusive, but it works and is far better than the fee-based alternatives like Norton, McAfee, Trend Micro, etc.
Earlier posts herein tell you where you can download Version 8, so if you feel worried about all of this (you shouldn't) and somewhat adventurous, go ahead and download it and install it.
However, I recommend sitting tight for the moment with your version 7.5, as I am doing.
Firefox Version 3
Firefox Version 3 has just become available. I don't normally get excited about products I haven't tested and used myself, but I am looking forward to this. It has been a long time coming, and there has been lots of hype about it.
If you are not a Firefox web browser user, perhaps you should give it a try. Firefox has been my browser of choice for several years now.
If you are not a Firefox web browser user, perhaps you should give it a try. Firefox has been my browser of choice for several years now.
Firefox Version 3 Reviewed by CNET
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
AVG - the saga continues
Like many of you I keep getting the pop-up informing me that support for AVG 7.5 will end on June 25. This could be true but it also could be a horrible case of creative marketing gone wrong. This is the latest from the AVG Free Forum:
Re: AVG 7.5 FREE, ending or not?
Posted by: michaelhd - AVG Team (IP Logged)
Date: May 29, 2008 01:54PM
Hello all,
Two points to discuss here.
Firstly, like all companies we have to develop a strategy to get our users past the end of old windows editions. MS will stop supporting these older operating systems and we need to move along and provide software that works best on the newer OSs.
Secondly we need to encourage users to upgrade to our newer products so that we can remain focused on a select number of products, and keep improving these products.
The result is ever-changing dates for releases, end of support dates, end of definition updates downloads etc, etc. its not chaos - but the different dates and changes do cause unwanted confusion.
As you will all remember from AVG 7... There will be a final date, then a REALLY final date. We will be fair to our customers and we will give due notice of changes that may seriously affect the users.
May 31st is VERY close. I can assure you that this date will not be the end of 7.5. However the 31.12.08 date is not cast in stone - though I consider it a solid date. AVG may bring termination of specific sevices or products forward, but if we do we will do so responsibly and by giving fair notice.
We will make official announcements HERE on this forum and on our corporate website, and resellers will be emailed directly.
I apologise for the differing information given by sales and by other sources, but I stand by the 31.12.08 date for now, and will put any changes here.
Thanks to all for bringing this matter up.
As you can see, even within the AVG corporate structure there is apparently division. This is not good for their company, nor is it good for us, the users.
I continue using AVG 7 and still see regular updates coming in. However, please read my May 24 post on this subject. Version 8 is solid and performs well, and you should not hesitate to download it and install it if you are uncomfortable with this whole scenario.
As an option, you can continue to watch here and I will give you the latest news. The installation of Ver 8 is not difficult, but Ver 7 continues to be my choice until I know more.
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