Norton AntiVirus - This week Norton started selling the 2010 versions of its AntiVirus and "Internet Security" programs. I typically buy them at Frys when they're sold with big rebates, and save them for when my current installation has expired. It was last April when I installed 2009 Norton on my Windows Systems (Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows 7 Ultimate Release Candidate). Frys had some versions on sale with rebate, so I went to buy the 2010 Norton Internet Security, and they tried to trick me into buying the 2009 Version, as they hadn't received the 2010 yet, but didn't initially tell me that.
Kaspersky always has their newest software available for download, and you can upgrade to the newest version using a "last years" activation code. Norton apparently doesn't do that.
Luckily after surfing around the Symantec (owners of Norton) web site, I stumbled across where they do in fact currently have all such available. http://www.norton.com/fo/ Norton refers to the activation code as "Product Key" there, and one should have their key/code available on the envelope of the original install disk of their 2009 product, and I did. I downloaded and upgraded, and it was a slow process, taking about 40 minutes total, but when through I had the newest 2010 software installed with 183 days left on their clock.

Nasty email: Ignore any email purporting to be from the IRS.

Read here and here

MMS comes to my iPhone:
ATT did it smart. Rumors had the network crashing from everyone starting to
send pictures with their txt messages at once. Rather than push MMS capability
to everyone, you have to Pull it down.
Just Sync your iPhone with iTunes, and click on "Check for Updates"
at which time a "Carrier Update" is offered, click
accept; it all takes less than a minute to download and install. You
then have to cycle power on your iPhone, after which to the left of
the text entry window in Messages, there is a tiny Camera icon, which
allows you to take a picture or browse for a picture to attach.

By requiring the end user to manually pull down MMS capability,
such added functionality will be spread out over a few days.

Deception by Tropicana:

I'm glad someone beat me to complaining about Trop50, a "Juice Drink" that Tropicana tricks people into thinking is low Sugar Orange Juice, when its really a mixture of only 42% Orange Juice and water. Now why wouldn't everyone want to pay Orange Juice Prices for water? And shouldn't it be called Trop42?

The evidence is here:

Spam from Apple: So I get an email today from Apple touting
the new iPod Nano, and say to my self:

"Self, what can the Nano do that my iPhone can't?" "Isn't the iPhone much better?"

Only shortcoming I could identify is the Nano has a built in Pedometer. So I go to download a Pedometer program for my iPhone from the "App" store, and am confronted with dozens. How to choose??

So I Google, and read the reviews.

The one that appears to be best is "iTreadmill", which I'm about to buy.
Wish me luck.

GPS applications for iPhone

2 1/2 years ago, I bought a Garmin Nuvi 360 instead of an iPhone, choosing to wait till the iPhone had the features I wanted. I was glad to make that decision

I bought an iPhone 3GS 2 months ago, and still love it. Great to have email,Google and some wonderful apps in my pocket

Two major GPS apps are now available for the iPhone, both have major negatives based on reviews I have read.

1. Navagon - $69.99 till August 31. Then $99.99
- Won't do text to speech - ie doesn't name streets
- Voice is too low in volume for many reviewers.
- Street names are in hard to read font.
- May have trouble maintaining satellite contact
- Does not have "Apple" like interface
- Not well integrated with CONTACTS


2. Tom Tom
- Won't do text to speech
- POI database seems out of date.
- Heavy battery drain
- Announces turns to make too late for some

3. ATT Navigator
Universally hated because
- Very slow - dependent on ATT Network to pull data for maps
- Monthly $10 fee.

4 Months ago I sold my Garmin 360 on Ebay, and between what that brought in and the savings not having to buy a new map, I got a Garmin Nuvi 760 from Amazon effectively free.

Advantages of Garmin 760 ($200)over iPhone apps.

- Identifies street names - has excellent text to speech
- Has a larger screen (4.5 inches)
- Can play music (built in MP3 player), handle phone calls
(blue tooth), and keep navigating.
- Known update policy - Both Navigon and Tom Tom are vague about
availability, timing and pricing of updates . Thats major for me.
i.e. When and at what price will Text to Speech be available?
- ie "Make right turn in 200 feet" or
"make right turn on Telge Rd in 200 feet".
- in iphone GPS reviews, folks who have used stand-alone GPS units
complain iPhone GPS apps aren't there yet. Folks who have not used
GPS units before generally like the iPhone apps.


Already 50 reviews posted in the App store after TomTom only
being for sale for 12 hours.

New iPhone 3GS.
I had grief with my iPhone 3GS its first week. Apps wouldn't launch, icons dimmed out, the phone turned itself off during a conversation, and the iPhone locked up while using email. The lockup was solved with a reboot (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2foiTBSn3k), but the other continuing issues led Telephone support to offer to schedule a replacement at my local Apple store. I was almost ready to return it to ATT for a refund.
I offered to do a full Restore (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzyy4puapig), and the phone rep. patiently and professionally walked me through it; and now the 2nd week was been without incident; better yet, the Bluetooth now syncs with my Garmin GPS, which it couldn't find before the Restore. I presume the OS got glitched somewhere before I received it, but all appears good now, and Apple phone support remains the best in the business.

Movies on iPhone. My Nero 9 "Recode" converts video files for MPG4 for use on an iPhone, just perfectly, thank you.

iPhone 3G S - I love this device. I was lucky enough to be the first one to order one at my local ATT store on June 8, at about 4 PM. On June 19, the roll out date, the store was to open at 7 AM only to deliver pre-ordered iPhones, so I got there at 6:15 AM with a folding chair, and was the first in line. Only 15 folks were there by the time the store opened, and they had 7 employees in early, one each at a terminal to sell and activate iPhone(s) to customers.
Since then I Googled enough to learn how to easily make custom ringtones, so I needn't pay for them.

1. Take any MP3 file, MP3 ringtone or midi file you have converted. For midi files
import to Itunes, then in Advanced tab select "Create AAC version" which makes an M4a file
which Audacity can use to make a 30 second long version.
2. Use a freeware program name AUDACITY. It is available as either
a Macintosh or Windows program. I used newest beta version with nary a problem.
You'll also have to download and install Library files for Lame (do Lame first) and FFMPeg .
Then using Audacity, Convert your mp3 file to a m4a file of
30 seconds or less length. Rename the xtension to m4r.
3. Copy the m4r sound file into iTunes - Library - Ringtones
4. Sync with your iPhone
5. You can then pick one of your custom ringtones as your default ringtone.
6. On my old Sony cell phone, I could set a ringtone to be used as a contact ringtone;
while on the iPhone you go into the contact, select edit, and can pick a different ringtone
for each contact, from either the original Apple supplied ringtones, or a custom ringtone
that has been added.

$521 Bundle of Macintosh software for under $50 !!

- TechTool Pro 5 ($98.00) - comprehensive Mac tool to check the health of your RAM, hard drives, repair problems and optimize performance
- Parallels Desktop 4 ($79.99) - virtualization for the Mac that allows you to run Windows alongside Mac OS X.
- Circus Ponies Notebook 3 ($49.95)- an organizer to take notes with audio annotations, track tasks, collate ideas, clippings, photos
- NetBarrier X5 ($49.95)- firewall and intrusion detection software
- DVDRemaster Pro 5 ($49.99)- backup DVDs, convert DVD movies for use on the iPod, iPhone and AppleTV
- Multiplex ($35.00) - DVD management and playback system
- RipIt ($18.99)- Copy DVDs to your hard drive
- MoneyWell ($49.99) - Finance management software with direct connect banking, envelope budgeting, transaction and cash flow management
- Paperless ($44.95) - manage your receipts and document collections
- Posterino ($24.95)- Use your photos to create posters, postcards, photo frames, greeting cards and more.
- BetterZip ($19.95) - better .zip compression management


Buy it all at macupdate.com Before June 10, 2009


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WHOOPS : When I changed the Name Server for my web site to its new host, it destroyed the forwarding for email using that Domain. So for 9 days, I got no SPAM to those email addresses. Today I went to the location where my web site is now hosted and set up individual email forwards, and all is well.

Bye Bye GeoCities: As part of my ATT/Yahoo dsl account, I got to have free hosting of a personal website by Yahoo Geocities. But now, Yahoo has announced it's shutting down GeoCities, and with it the FREE Web Hosting I use for my web site. AT&T as my ISP could care less, and offers no replacement. So I needed a new place for billf.net to be out there. Luckily one can Google and find listings of free web hosting sites like HERE. Hosting companies have limits of storage space and allowed bandwidth for free accounts, so one needs to compare. I decided upon http://atbhost.net which provides Free Web Hosting for minimalist web sites like billf.net, and it's all there now. I apparently snuck in just in time, as Free Web Hosting Accounts are unavailable until May 26, when they change Servers and when they again will accept new Free Hosting Accounts.
It was easy to go to my domain registrar: godaddy.com, login and change the NameServer associated with billf.net, it took a little longer (less than 24 hours total) for atbhost to get their stars alligned, so I could ftp my web site files over, but all is good now.

Money: One thing that hurts some folks in current economy is low interest rates paid on savings. Luckily most of my retirement savings is in CDs, some paying as much as 4.2%. My after tax money was split between E-Trade and Emigrant Direct Savings. Emigrant Direct is down to 1.65%, a far cry from the 5% they paid 2 years ago. E-Trade was down to 1.25% so I started moving money to the higher interest account. This morning I note E-Trade is no longer displaying the interest rate on its web site, and I found out why. After doing a bunch of searching on their web site I found out they are now only paying 0.95% Interest in a Savings Account, so my account there is on its way to being closed out.

Check HERE for current Interest Rates around the country. Don't believe E-Trades' lies that their rates are competitive or the tops in the Industry.

..

? Bugs ? with Firefox 3.0.10 : In the Macintosh version I have to reInstall it every 2 weeks as it loses its ability to display GMAIL in HTML. The Windows version in Windows 7/64 has to be closed with a File / Quit, or it loses its ability to remember your tabs, if you quit from the "X" in the upper right hand corner.

Windows 64 bit Freeware: I found this link of one mans' list of best free software for your 64 bit System. I would expect 99+% of Vista 64 bit software to run in Windows 7/64.

Drivers for Windows 7/64 bit Version: When Windows XP first appeared in a 64 bit version, and later to a lesser extent with the 64 bit Version of Windows Vista/64 Drivers for Video cards, printers, etc were sometimes hard to find or buggy as all get out. I am happy to report that Microsoft already has Beta Windows 7/64 drivers for their Keyboards and Mice, and for other devices, so far many Vista 64 bit drivers have worked well. Certainly all the Apple supplied Drivers for Vista/64 seem to function normally with Windows 7/64. The HP Vista/64 driver for their C5200 Photosmart Printers report they are unable to establish two way communication with the printer, so they can't report ink levels, which may be just as good as HP will suggest replacing an ink cartridge L O N G before its needed. Also the scan function doesn't work as apparently with the Vista/64 drivers, HP included a 32 bit scan program, maybe by6 months after Windows 7 is officially released, HP will get its act in gear. Folks here are not optimistic, but confirm my findings of no 64 bit working driver. The file downloads to an X86 directory, so its obviously 32 bit software that HP hopes works on a 64 bit system, rather than a recompile. After installing it a second time over the first, it seems to be working now.

Good News on Windows 7 : I now have successfully installed Windows 7 RC1 64-bit Version on a separate Hard drive on my MacPro. I get all my Nvidia's speed doing it this way, rather than losing all the video speed by installing under Parallels.

The Install was hardly straightforward. I had to HACK both the Windows Install DVD, and the BootCamp drivers to get either to run.

These instructions did not work for me.

To Create a usable Install DVD HERE are instructions for using oscdimg.exe, otherwise a normal burn of the ISO from Microsoft will not work on an Apple MacPro.

A post HERE at MacRumors.com explains how to install 64 bit drivers under Windows 7 on a Macintosh using the freeware Orca.msi, because otherwise the 64 bit Vista Bootcamp Drivers exe file you're told to use won't run.

Then once Windows 7 is up and running, turn off third party cookies in Internet Explorer (Under Tools - Internet Options - Privacy - Advanced) and turn off Windows' User Account Control Settings, so you don't get all the Vista-like nag warnings (found under Control Panel - Action Center - User Account Control Settings).

After the 3 hours all that took (not to mention myriad hours till I gave up using Bootcamp for the X86 32 bit version - see earlier posts) a properly tweaked Windows 7 is much nicer than Vista.

Windows 7 - So now I'm trying to use Apple's BootCamp to Install Windows 7 RC 1 Build 7100; on an Intel MacPro and despite using instructions from folks who say they've done it it successfully, I can't get it to work. Next I'm going to try to Install Microsoft Windows Vista on a separate Hard Drive, and then upgrade it to Windows 7, which Microsoft says works. After successfully installing Vista, Windows 7 says it can't upgrade because it needs Vista SP1. So I go back to install Vista SP 1, but it needs 79 Windows Vista Security upgrades first.

FOLLOWUP: Unable to upgrade, reports back that Windows 7 is incompatible, and it rolls the System back to Vista. Why should I be surprised that Microsoft mispoke.

More Windows 7 Grief: The Release Candidate now has all the obnoxious nag warnings of Vista. Is this the update put in the Release Candidate? BLECH !! You can set programs to run in Windows XP compatibility mode, but they still report being incompatible and throw off NAG warnings. Symantic Antivirus 2009, a 6 month old program reports incompatibilities.
However running AntiVirus, it did identify 2 dozen tracking cookies for deletion, apparently all placed by the default Internet Explorer home website of http://www.msn.com; something else for me to change. Shame on Microsoft for all that Spyware !!! Then to turn off all 3rd party cookies.

Windows 7 = Windows Vista ME

I think anyone writing a review about how great Windows 7 Release Candidate is, was either using an earlier version, or didn't put Windows 7 through any paces, or is just a Microsoft stooge.

Windows 7: So I'm working with the Release Candidate of Windows 7 (Build 7100), and Microsoft arrogance shows up immediately. I have a minor issue, find a PDF support file, but unlike Mac OS X, Windows does not come with a PDF reader, and that is not acceptable as Adobe Reader 7.09 (which I had to download) won't run, as its "incompatible with this version of Windows", even if run as Windows XP compatible. It's not obvious Windows XP compatibility mode does anything.
So which rube let all that happen?
Another example of what Microsoft doesn't tell you about in their commercials showing how you can buy a PC cheaper than a Mac ( if you skew your wants list for the computer ) if you ignore all the missing features and software of the cheaper PC; and likely added crapware.