AVG Internet Security 2012 in-depth review
Some security companies appear to think that enhancing their software is just about adding new functionality. But while this can make for an enticing feature list, there’s usually a price to pay, in terms of extra complexity and layers of overweight code that slows down the rest of your PC.
So it’s good to see AVG take a different approach with their latest Internet Security 2012 release.
iOS Calendar shoot-out: Calvetica vs Weave
The simple fact that iPhone, iPod and iPads have been designed specifically with portability in mind, they are perfectly suited for use as task management tools. As you are likely to have your iOS device with you at all times, it makes sense to store details of upcoming appointments, information about the projects you are working on, and to keep track of everyday data such as income and expenditure. Two of the most well received iOS apps in this category are Weave and Calvetica. We decided to put them head to head to see which comes out on top.
From the offset Weave is at a major advantage by virtue of being free. This gives the app instant appeal, and the fact that trial versions of iOS app do not exist, save for so-called ‘lite’ versions of apps, it is more likely to be installed by someone browsing the App Store.
Move over GarageBand and make room for MAGIX Music Maker MX
Music creation software has something of a poor reputation, with many people regarding it as being expensive to buy and complicated to use. This is a reputation that MAGIX is trying to change with its Music Maker program, and the latest version, MAGIX Music Maker MX goes a long way to achieving this aim. While the program is incredibly simple to use, the music creation you produce using the software can be made as basic or as complex and involved as you like.
Used at its most basic, MAGIX Music Maker MX provides you with 64 audio tracks onto which you can arrange a series of samples to create the skeleton of a musical composition. If you want, you can leave things as they are, but even the least musically minded of people could not resist tinkering with special effects, dropping in a few loops here and there, and then there is the drum machine to play with. Before you know it, you have become fully engrossed in the process of putting together a piece of music -- and it does not matter that you’ve never picked up an instrument in your life.
I shacked up with Chromebook
Earlier this week, writing for ZDNet, Scott Raymond proclaims: "Chromebooks are dead, they just don't know it yet". He makes a good argument, which I partly agree with regarding Android tablets. I'll get to that later. He also asks: "Why would I want to switch to a Chromebook when my MacBook Air runs OS X and Windows and is at least a pound lighter?" That's exactly what I did -- sold my MacBook Air and switched to Chromebook, which I used for the entire month of August; still today.
Chromebook is an interesting invention, because of the concept: The browser is the operating system -- well, Chrome running on top of Linux. The browser is the user interface. There is no desktop, although file system and local storage are accessible. Acer and Samsung each make two models, both running Chrome OS, one with WiFi-only and the other with 3G, too.
Acronis True Image Home 2012 is worthy
Most backup programs specialize in a particular form of data protection: file-based backups, continuous data protection, online backups, whatever it might be. Acronis True Image Home 2012, though, takes a different approach, cramming just about every backup type and feature there is into a single, straightforward interface.
The program can create images of partitions or entire hard drives, for instance. If this is more than you need then you can simply point True Image Home 2012 at the files or folders you’d like to protect. Alternatively, aim the program’s Nonstop Backup module at a key location – your Documents folder, say -- and it’ll monitor that folder for you, backing up new or modified files as they appear.
AVG Premium Security 2011: New features could offer more
AVG's Internet Security 2011 offers all the major components you'd expect from a security suite: antivirus, a decent spam filter, effective capable firewall, browsing protection, identity protection and a range of interesting extras. Sounds great, and it's just as good in real life.
Plainly AVG wasn't satisfied, though, and the company has now released an enhanced version, AVG Premium Security 2011, which extends the original suite with a couple of additional functions. And the most important of these, by a considerable distance, is AVG Identity Alert.
Browser blowout: Which is fastest, most standards compliant [benchmarks]?
The browser wars are back, not least due to hectic and ever shorter release schedules, just about every other week there seems to be some new build promising that it's the faster way to get around online.
But which browser really delivers the best performance? We decided to pit the leading contenders against each other in a gruelling set of benchmarks to figure out the truth for ourselves.
Mac OS X Lion is here, and I don't like it
As announced late yesterday during Apple's fiscal 2011 third quarter earnings call. OS X 10.7 released today. It's yours for 30 bucks, if your Mac has Snow Leopard and Mac App Store installed. Otherwise, you're buying something more first, either OS X 10.6 or a new Mac.
Concurrent with Lion's release, Apple also updated MacBook Air with Intel Sandy bridge processors and Thunderbolt ports. Lion ships on all new Macs from today. Lion requires a Mac with OS X 10.6.8 to install and a Core 2 duo processor or later. If your Mac is Core duo, you're out of luck.
AVG launches powerful social media organization and sharing tool MultiMi
Security software company AVG and Israeli startup Zbang on Tuesday launched the beta of MultiMi, a free Windows desktop app for organizing and sharing content between multiple inboxes, social networks, calendars, and media albums.
MultiMi could be compared to social media aggregators Inbox2, Threadsy or even Tweetdeck because it offers the user a look into multiple social media accounts at once. But it doesn't just organize multiple social media, it also handles Google Docs, Box.net, Google and Facebook Calendar, Picasa, Flickr, YouTube, and many more. In addition to being able to link up with Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, and any POP, IMAP or Exchange email inboxes, MultiMi has the capacity to support any Web-based service with an available API, so that means there's no support for Google+ just yet, but there will be as soon as the API is released.
I'm having doubts about cutting cable's cord
Second in a series. On Saturday, I let AT&T bill me for another month of U-verse service, even as I try to switch to over-the-air broadcasts and Internet streaming. To be honest, cutting cable's cord is more difficult than I anticipated.
Key points in this post: 1) I don't get OTA reception with antenna attached to Tivo. 2) I do get nearly a dozen stations clearly with antenna attached to TV. 3) TiVo, which was supposed to be the hub to OTA/streaming, has proved incapable. 4) There are more local channels available OTA than are typically carried on cable/IPTV.
Cutting cable's cord isn't easy
First in a series. I discovered a great way to waste a summer Saturday morning. Yesterday, I made the first steps to giving up cable -- OK, IPTV in my case -- and, whoa, it didn't go well. I planned to go completely cable-free, adopting over-the-air HD broadcasts and online streaming from Amazon, Hulu Plus and Netflix. But moving to TiVo and antenna started painfully.
More people are making the same move. Since 2008, 1 million US households cut cable's cord and switched to over-the-air broadcasts and online streaming, says Convergence Consultancy Group, which expects the number to reach 2 million by year's end. That's a small percentage of households, but it will double the number this year gained in the previous two.
Is CyberLink PhotoDirector 2011 a worthy Lightroom competitor?
CyberLink has many years experience with video, but none at all with photo editing, and so you might have expected the company's first digital imaging product to be a little on the basic side.
But you'd be wrong. PhotoDirector 2011 isn't another standard editor. Rather, it's a high-end photo management and workflow app that bears a strong resemblance to Adobe's Photoshop Lightroom 3.x, and is similarly packed with professional features.
If you're a video junkie buy iPad 2, because Galaxy Tab 10.1 isn't for you
My overall first impression of Galaxy Tab 10.1 was quiet favorable. Except for the odd shape, presumably to get that 16:10 aspect ratio, the Samsung tablet pleased out of the box. But further usage led to simply shocking surprises, particularly consuming video. If you're a video junkie, buy iPad 2. Tab 10.1 isn't for you.
Forget Hulu and Netflix
Kaspersky Internet Security 2012: Better protection using fewer PC resources
If you like your security suites to be feature-rich then Kaspersky's offerings have always been worth a look, as most editions come packed with functionality that you won't find elsewhere. Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 (KIS 2012) is a little quieter than usual, though; its release notes show no big additions this time around, just interface tweaks and various engine optimisations. So what does this mean in real life? We took a closer look.
Tweaks and Tucks
Samsung Series 5 Chromebook first impression review
The Samsung Series 5 Chromebook isn't instant-on. Don't believe any marketing messaging suggesting it. I had to wait an agonizing 4 seconds when flipping the lid before the Chrome logo appeared -- first bootup out of the box.
Instant On, Instant Setup, Instant Update
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