Help with a Smile Tech Blog for Non-Geeks

The Norton Scam (aka Principles of Marketing 101)

Michael — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:59:34 +0000

Sometimes I wonder why people look at me with such surprise when I tell them to ditch the Norton Internet Security software they shelled out 60 bucks for just a month ago, in favor of a free antivirus program like Avast (our personal favorite) or AVG. After all, common sense would tell us that the $60 Norton product must provide superior protection to any free antivirus, right?

Wrong. Let me tell you the story of Norton Internet Security, one of the biggest scams in the technology world today. Once upon a time, Norton utilities were fine, upstanding products that saved millions of computers from certain death. In 1990, a company called Symantec saw the success and growing market share of the Norton products, and with dollar signs in their eyes, they acquired the superstar line of products engineered by Norton.

As the years went on, Symantec found clever ways to increase their bottom line. They paid Dell and other PC manufacturers to pre-install 30 day trials of Norton Internet Security on new computers, which made the consumers' choice to purchase Norton Antivirus almost inevitable.

Symantec has also convinced consumers of the need to upgrade to the latest (and greatest?) version of their security suite year after year. Especially when looking at the consumer market, there is absolutely nothing about the development of security threats that warrants purchasing a whole new security product every year. Yes, viruses and other types of malware change and are invented daily, but this is the reason why antivirus products download updates to help them keep abreast of the latest threats.

Nonetheless, each year, Symantec continues to cram more and more unnecessary features into its product, leaving consumers with a bloated security suite that leaves all but the newest, fastest computers in complete disarray. If you'd like to bring your 4 year old computer to a crashing halt, try installing the latest version of Norton Internet Security, and you'll see what I mean. I've had clients who come to us ready to replace their computer, only to discover that simply replacing Norton extends the life and performance of their PC well into the future. To top it all off, the protection offered by Norton Antivirus doesn't even stack up to some of the great, free antivirus programs.

So why do people continue to buy Norton Internet Security? While I can't say for sure, I would like to point to this review by PC Magazine. Notice the discrepancy between the editor's review (4.5/5 stars) versus the 43 reader reviews (average 2 stars)? The fact that PC Magazine would make this product their "Editor's Choice" (yet again), is shameful. Especially in light of some of the seriously good products that are out there competing with Norton. I guess those Norton Internet Security ads plastered on the pages of the PC Magazine website and publication buy more than just the paper they're printed on.

The Computer Cable Guide

Michael — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:57:53 +0000

A neat website that was brought to our attention, that I thought might be useful to some of our clients-

You've finally bought the new monitor, better printer, or SLR camera, and you're ready to test it out. Only one problem Your new toy didn't ship with a cable, and you're not sure what you need. The manual says something like, "DVI-D Dual-Link Cable," but what does that look like and where can you find one? Computer cables can be confusing and expensive, and you'd rather not waste time or money by buying something you don't want or need.

What Does That Look Like | The Computer Cable Guide

Post-War comments

Desmond — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:18:49 +0000

As some of you may know, the war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray officially came to a dramatic conclusion on February 19, 2008 when Toshiba, the world's largest manufacturer of HD-DVD players at the time, called it quits. This came after several studios that once either backed both Blu-ray and HD-DVD or HD-DVD exclusively, decided to switch to Blu-ray exclusively. Incidentally, 20 years earlier, another format war effectively ended. That one did not end in Sony's favor, as they were the main proponent of the superior quality BetaMax format that eventually lost out to VHS. This time though, Sony, Blu-ray's brainfather, came out victorious.

The question now for the masses is no longer what format to get, but what Blu-ray Player. Since many factors, including steadily decreasing prices and more offerings of HD channels, have cause people to get high definiton televisions, the logical next step is to get a Blu-ray player with which to watch high definition movies. Yet, with the average cost of a new Blu-ray player still being around $550, some are deciding to wait it out and watch the prices falls. Others have decided to bite the bullet and get the most out of their movie watching experience right now. What do you plan to do?

But, hold on and drop that chalupa! Just when you thought it was all over and settled for another decade or so, Pioneer, which plans to starts selling Blu-ray players this year, decides to up the ante with a new HD format that may hold up to 16 times as much data.

Here we go again?

Security vs. Privacy

Desmond — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:10:41 +0000

Since 9/11, the happy median between security has continued to blur and alter standards of privacy and personal space especially when it comes to air travel. But when does too much become enough? Consumer advocacy groups have taken charge to stop airport security from inordinate checks on laptops; opening them up and reading emails, documents, etc. On top of that, they claim there are indications that these checks are anything but random, targetting certain groups in particular. Is this truly all in the name of security?

Laptop searches in airports draw fire at Senate hearing

A Day Without Email

Michael — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:50:54 +0000

Where do I sign up?

Can you go a day at the office without e-mail? Employees at U.S. Cellular try to do that every Friday. A policy implemented a few years ago gives workers a respite from the e-mail avalanche.

An E-Mail Vacation: Taking Fridays Off : NPR

Youths ordered to apologize on YouTube

Rosannafe — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:29:04 +0000

Two teenagers who posted a malicious "fire in the hole" prank on YouTube were slapped with a court order to post an apology on the same video-sharing site, according to a report in Florida Today.

Youths ordered to apologize on YouTube | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

The second coming of the iPhone

Desmond — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:48:57 +0000

After having a year to improve and tweak what many regarded as one of, if not the gadget for the 2007 calendar year, Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs, is expected to make an announcement at Apple's developers' conference today. Analysts are expecting new features that will cater to the corporate and simple business client alike. Let's see if the rumor turns out to be true.

Apple iPhone encore expected

Scare Tactics?

Desmond — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:29:41 +0000

Many news magazines have stated some astronomical figures with regard to the number of PCs that are/have been infected with malware. However, ZD-Net's Ed Bott serious questions the accuracy of these "findings", as well as the motivation of those news magazines. What do you think?

Debunking yet another bogus malware study

Last Breath for Windows XP

Michael — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:37:23 +0000

For those who wish to cling to XP until the bitter end- there's a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Although, to the many Vista abstainers, I say, get used to it! I am not a huge fan of Vista, but we're facing the realities of a product cycle in a Microsoft world. Our dependence on Microsoft products leads us down this path…

Microsoft has further extended the life of Windows XP so that computer makers can include the operating system on low-cost desktop PCs, the company announced at the Computex trade show on Tuesday.

Microsoft Extends XP Deadline for Low-Cost PCs

Instant Awein'

Desmond — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:37:20 +0000

Asus is implementing a tempting new feature into some of its upcoming laptops. It's a feature that neither MACs nor Windows PCs currently boast. What is this feature and would this feature give you the impetus to try the Linux OS?

Asus to launch laptops with instant-on feature || Crave CNet