Posts by Andy B

Win 2000 anti-virus products fail independent tests

@Wade Burchette - Norton

"I think this is a case of lab performance and not real-world performance. Apparently Norton and McAfee are like the "practice players", they do good in a lab but poor when it counts the most."

Agreed - I've lost count of the number of PCs I've encountered with Norton Internet Security loaded (and set to update automatically) yet riddled with viruses and other malware - and not an alert in site. Combine that with the way it reduces all but the latest PCs to a crawl (how about >5 minutes to boot? Less than 1 once Norton was removed) and I'm beginning to think Norton's a nasty joke someone's playing on unsuspecting PC users.

Andy

Vista vs XP performance: Some informal tests

Vista easier?

I'm surprised at the people saying their users prefer Vista to XP - have you talked to them? My users generally dislike it - they find the extra visual clutter offputting and confusing. Combine that with some serious performance problems, especially with some network and ZIP file operations, and the level of DRM, and it doesn't paint such a rosy picture. And yes, these comments are from personal experience on my own and users PCs.

(As an aside - I recently had reason to run a Vista and a 98 box side by side - and the extra visual clarity on the 98 box, especially when using Explorer, was quite enlightening. Vista is 'pretty' - but they seem to have forgotten that the point of the graphics is to allow quick and easy visual comprehension of the data presented. Compare the directory tree views in Vista and 98 some time and see if you agree.)

Andy

Ubuntu goes 3-D

@Adam Williamson

Hi Adam

You're right to point out the inaccuracies in the article, and I've been grateful for your help on the forums when I was a regular Mandrake/Mandriva user. However, I'm hearing a touch of sour grapes here. Ubuntu's success isn't entirely down to hype - I switched to Ubuntu after many years as a Mandriva user because (for me at least) it met my needs better. I'm not going to go into all the reasons here and now - I'm not trying to put down Mandriva, which I still respect, and different distros will suit different people better - but for me, Ubuntu/Kubuntu currently meets my needs better than Mandriva (or any other OS I've tried to date) does.

Still, I agree that Ubuntu is hyped too much - it's not perfect, and the other distros also have their strengths.

Andy B

@wow

> I realise Linux can connect to WPA, but there's no easy GUI way yet :o(

Funny - I've been connecting to WPA networks with my laptop using the Network Manager GUI since Dapper - and a darn sight easier and more reliably than with most Windows PCs. When I'm diagnosing problems with a customer's wireless network the first thing I do is try to connect up with my Linux laptop because "it just works".

Dell trips up over laptop components

11 weeks

I ordered an Inspiron in 15th August. The order was placed by phone, as I called to query an option and was told I was likely to get it sooner if the order was placed over the phone rather than via the web site. Current expected delivery date? 30th October. Almost 11 weeks after placing the order. I am _not_ happy. We have a new starter having to manage without a laptop for 2 months because of this.

Windows recovery loophole lets hackers in

BIOS password

As several have pointed ouit, it's easy to compromise a system if you can get it to boot off an alternate media (CD, DVD, Flash etc.). If this is a concern, the obvious thing to do (assuming the PC supports it) is to disable booting from alternate media in the BIOS and then password protect the BIOS. It still won't stop a determined individual (open the box, reset the BIOS) but will slow them down and make "casual" access harder.

Nivio betas hosted Windows

Babeldisc

This made me think of Babeldisc - http://www.babeldisc.com/ . In one sense it's completely different, as Babeldisc runs locally off a live (Linux) CD and uses a broadband connection to access data, configuration settings etc. on the babeldisc servers. However, the end result is similar: a desktop you can access from any broadband connected PC; system administration and backup handled for you; a similar set of preinstalled applications. This service is quite a bit more expensive than Babeldisc, but the familiarity of Windows (and the fact it doesn't need a CD) might give it an edge for some people.

It would be interesting for someone to do a back-to-back comparison of the two, used for real world work.

Andy B