Safe Browsing

How can you make sure the websites you visit are safe, or that you can download a file from a website without worrying about being infected with some kind of malware?

One way is to stick to well known sites like CNET.com and the related Download.com. But even these trustworthy sites may have links to other sites with dubious content.

One of the tools which I find useful is McAfee's SiteAdvisor (the free version, I haven't tried the paid version as it doesn't work with Firefox). Basically SiteAdvisor puts an indicator in your browser's toolbar (IE) or status bar (Firefox) which indicates a websites' safety rating: Green for no problems, yellow for caution, and a red/pink for warning. When you click on the SiteAdvisor button it gives details of the site, including suspect files and other websites linked to.

It is not often that I use or recommend a McAfee product, especially one that flags my main Techno Files Blog with a yellow caution - this due to a freeware download I linked to over a year ago which changes your Internet Explorer home page. I have since removed this link but haven't been able to get SiteAdvisor to realize this. I still use SiteAdvisor though...

What's in a name?

Almost 2 million hits in the case of Googling for Techno Files. Okay, it is only fourteen thousand hits when searching for the phrase "Techno Files", but there definitely were not that many hits when I first started this blog in 2003.

iPhone will fail?

This week the Apple iPhone was announced. Some may be sick of hearing about it already, but others want to know what the hype is about. The videos on the iphone.org site showing the functionality of the iPhone are really impressive. Just a pity about the cellular provider Apple has chosen...(Cingular sucks).

Late last year, while the Apple phone was still a rumor, an article on CNET said that the iPhone would fail (Apple phone flop), basically because of stiff competition in the cellphone market. I disagree, as the iPhone blows away the competition.

A more recent article on Crave.net, "Thirteen reasons to doubt the iPhone hype" poses some legitimate questions, like the question whether the iPhone will have a user-replaceable battery. It would be a first for Apple if this iPod-like product has a removable battery, and a potential deal-breaker if it does not.

Frozen Nano

My iPod Nano froze today when I was trying to connect it up in the car. I tried to reset it but could not remember the button combination. When I got home, I managed to reset it, and it worked again, whew!

The iPod Nano can be reset by turning on the hold button then turning it off, then pressing the Menu and the Center button at the same time until the Apple logo appears (paraphrased from iPod leaflet)...

Useful software

Just a week or so back I discovered the VLC Media Player. This free software plays video in almost any format. I had a non-copy protected DVD video copied to a directory on the hard drive of my Pentium 4 HT machine, and was unable to play it with Windows Media Player because of some missing codecs. VLC Media Player played the video without a problem. It is well worth the download.

Top 5+ List of 2006

Okay, I know it is already 2007, and I should be looking forward, but:

At the end of 2005 and 2004 I wrote a list of the Top 10 tech products and have been thinking hard about whether to do one for 2006 or to do something different. The problem is that I've previously limited this list to products I've actually used or own, and had to limit (or pad) my list to ten items.

So here is my slightly different top 5+ list for 2006 (I still may repeat tech gadgets from previous years if they - or their updated versions - still are worthy of mention):

iPod Nano second generation - the 2nd generation improves on the original with a less scratch-prone anodized aluminum finish, brighter screen and double the capacity.

Creative Zen Vision:M - this MP3 Player with video capability outclasses the iPod Video with a 262,144 color screen and support for multiple video formats.

Sony PSP (PlayStation Portable) - there are even more games available now and some of the more recent ones have incredible graphics. Sony also continues to release firmware updates which add more and more features. Also, worldwide sales of the Sony PSP are more than Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Ubuntu Linux - Maybe I'm biased towards a product from a fellow (ex-)South African, but this free Linux distribution from Mark Shuttleworth's company is competing right up there with commercial Linux distributions. Although my main Operating System is Windows XP, I like to have a Linux distribution installed and handy. Right now Ubuntu Linux 6.06 LTS is it.

Mozilla Firefox browser - still my browser of choice. I'm slowly upgrading to version 2.0 (one machine at a time), while Mozilla still releases updates to version 1.5.x. Even with tabbed browsing, Internet Explorer 7 doesn't come close.

Honorable Mentions

Nintendo Wii - the gaming console Sony hoped the Sony Playstation 3 would be. The Wii makes gaming accessible to non-gamers, and is attractive as a second gaming console to gamers.

Giveaway of the Day website - I don't know how long this will still be around for, but it is a great idea. Mainly shareware software, the programs are available for download and free registration for one day. I've found some useful programs there. The catch - the software can only be registered in the 24 hour period, cannot be upgraded and doesn't have technical support.

VMWare Player and Server Even though Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 is now free, VMware still outclasses it with more powerful features

Dishonourable Mention
Motorola RAZR V3 cellphone - popular but flawed - the screen is impossible to read in daylight. If that and a slippery keypad is acceptable this isn't a bad phone.

Which Wish?

Which wish (from my Christmas "Wish List") was chosen and fulfilled?

A picture is worth a thousand words (the magazine is for size comparison):


Click here for a larger view.

(My apologies to PC Magazine, I also read PC World!)

I connected it up and needed to find out how long it needed to be charged. This is the reply I got from the manufacturer's site:
tech support?

I was very glad I didn't chose a Nintendo Wii though, as they were hard to get hold of - I actually saw some Playstation 3's on a shelf in a Circuit City store, but only heard talk of Wii shipments.

Suspended Search State

Well, I know that I wrote that my "Cellphone Research Stopped" over a month ago, but just to give the suspended cellphone (re)search status:

Consumer Reports advises chosing a cellphone carrier first, and then a handset. I hadn't read this article and went about my research the wrong way around at first, although I did not bother with cellphones from carriers I don't trust or have had problems with like Cingular and Sprint.

The phone on top of my shortlist was the T-Mobile SDA. This candy bar cell phone has a 1.3-megapixel camera built-in Wi-Fi. It runs Windows Mobile 5 smart phone edition as well. However I have had problems with being unable to get a signal previously with T-Mobile. Since T-Mobile's customer service is excellent, and their coverage has supposedly improved and I really wanted to go back to GSM, I tried an experiment with their prepaid service (it is actually one of the cheaper prepaid cellphone services out there) to see what the reception was like. It seems much improved, but I would need to do more testing. As much as I like GSM, I have found CDMA to be much clearer, to the point of not being able to tell if someone is on a cellphone. This may have to do with actual handsets though, as the CDMA handsets are much newer and technologically advanced in comparison to the GSM ones. I have heard a number of calls from an older CDMA handset which sounded terrible though.

The one Verizon (CDMA) handset which I have played with and which I liked is the Motorola Q. It also runs Windows Mobile 5 smart phone edition - meaning it doesn't have a touch screen or feature Word and Excel editing. This is basically what I'm looking for: a smartphone which is more cellphone than handheld computer. It has more functionality than a normal cellphone, allowing programs like SplashID to be run as well as a few other programs, but this doesn't interfere with its primary function of being a reliable cellphone.

More Lite

Of course after publishing yesterdays blog about the Nintendo DS Lite I remembered some things I had forgotten to mention:

As with most items called something Lite, there is of course a Nintendo DS. The Lite version is slimmer and lighter (naturally!) and with brighter screens which are the same size as the original.

So, how big is the Nintendo DS Lite?



(I know hands differ in size, but this should give and better idea than saying it is about as wide as a Tungsten T3 and a bit longer.)

The Nintendo DS and DS Lite have also sold more units worldwide than the Microsoft Xbox 360, and the Sony PSP (according to this wikipedia List of Best-selling video game consoles)

Micro, Lite

Although the Nintendo DS Lite was on my Christmas wish list, I was initially interested in the Nintendo (Game Boy) Micro*.



This gaming handheld was intended to tap the adult gaming market. It is as small as an Apple iPod Mini, and is extremely pocketable. It also costs only about $70.

Unfortunately it has a couple of problems and limitations:
The Micro only accepts GBA (Game Boy Advanced) game cartridges. There are supposedly 700+ games available in this format. I did some research and found a Nintendo website (Master Game List) which lists all the games for Nintendo and can be filtered by platform. A large percentage of the GBA games are aimed at the children's market (Pokemon anyone?). I also read that the GBA platform may be phased out next year or so in favor of the newer DS (Developers' System or Dual Screen) platform - "Nintendo sees at least one more Game Boy holiday" . This seemed to be confirmed by a listing of upcoming GBA game titles (on GameSpot.com). There are notably a lot more DS games scheduled for release in every category. Also, a number of games I had seen previously which appealed to me were Nintendo DS games and not Game Boy Advanced games.

The Nintendo DS Lite* on the other hand (excuse the pun!) supports both the older (GBA - Game Boy Advanced) and newer (DS) game cartridge formats. At first glance it looks like a handheld.



The bottom screen is touch sensitive, and the stylus is used for making choices and in-game control. Like the Sony PSP, the DS Lite has built in Wi-Fi, but it is primarily a gaming platform. The Opera web browser is currently available in Japan for the DS Lite, and should soon be making its appearance in the USA.

Oh, and the games... The graphics are not quite as detailed as the Sony PSP, but there are already almost 300 games available for the DS platform, and the DS Lite also plays the GBA games as mentioned previously. A number of games, like "Need for Speed:Carbon" come out for multiple gaming platforms (Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Gamecube, Playstation 2 and Sony PSP), although with slight variations on the title: "Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City" is its title for the PSP.

* Articles on wikipedia.org

What's in a name?

The December 26 issue of PC Magazine mentioned the "Worst Company Name Ever": Revoltec .

I guess the company may have been thinking "A revolution in technology - Revoltec(h) - cool!" and no-one stepped back and really looked at the name (or no-one understood English well enough).

It almost sounds like the project code name Nintendo had for their next generation gaming console - the Revolution. Then they renamed it the "Wii" (see "Nintendo Revolution renamed" at news.com). Fortunately people don't seem to be put off by this moniker - the Wii sold 600,000 units in the first eight days after its release (News.com and others).

Aliens beating PS3?

After seeing an article entitled "Gaming PCs Surpass New Consoles" on MyWay News I just had to comment.
The article says "The new video game consoles already look pretty wimpy compared with the latest gaming PCs", but then it turns out they are comparing Gaming PCs costing from $5000 to $9000 to gaming consoles costing a max of $600. The article admits that the high-end PCs have "an advanced 3-D graphics card from Nvidia Corp. that alone retails for $600 - as much as a high-end PlayStation 3", but still miss the point. Of course a $600 PlayStation 3 is not going to perform anywhere near as good as a $5000 Alienware Area-51 7500 mentioned in the article.

Six hundred dollars US for the Sony PlayStation 3 is expensive, but start charging five grand or more and there would be few(er) takers, although at that price Sony could probably include full PC functionality.

Oh well people will continue to compare apples and oranges I guess...

Essential Software

The Internet can be a wild place. According to statistics, an unprotected (Windows based) computer only needs to be connected to the internet for 12 minutes before getting infected. Also, a PC user probably wouldn't even know that their machine has been compromised. So, with some justifiable paranoia, I try to protect my computers with Internet Security software. I tend to go for the "Internet Security Suites", which can be frustrating at times. These software Suites usually include most of the security software components you need, like an antivirus, a firewall, anti-spam (sometimes more trouble than it is worth) and more recently anti-spyware.

Of course it is possible to put together your own "best of breed" Internet Security Suite from commercial or free software. I often go this route with either an new PC which already has some protection (usually a trial of an antivirus and a firewall) or an older one which is not used much. The main problem with this is that the software components from different vendors can cause conflicts and false alarms.

I've had Webroot Spysweeper raising alarms because a Norton component was trying to modify the "Hosts" file - I figured that I trusted the Norton utility although it was doing something it shouldn't. Other conflicts could possibly cause system crashes.

So far I've tried Norton Internet Security Suite (twice), McAfee Internet Security Suite (once, which was one too many), System Suite Professional (The utilities seem better than the Antivirus an Firewall, but it hasn't been really problematic) and finally ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite which is top-rated by PC Magazine. PC World recommends Norton Internet Security Suite, but I've found it to be bloated an somewhat sluggish. The background virus scan also slowed computers down, although it may have been improved in later versions.

Although ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite generates a lot of popups. I've basically standardized on it at home - having bought copies for 3 of my machines. It has a 30-day trial version, which is well worth trying if you want to see what the full suite is all about. After the trial period it simply runs as the free ZoneAlarm Firewall.

Rebates, aargh!

Well, so far this year I lost out on about $90 in rebates, mostly because I missed the due date. That means I paid $90 more for items I thought I was going to get for a lot cheaper. I have of course got a lot more than that back in actual rebate checks. Also, I received a couple of those rebate Debit Cards some companies are using instead of checks. These Debit Cards kinda suck, and limit what you can do with the rebate money - certainly your only option seems to be to spend it.
After I had almost completed this blog entry I heard a CNET Podcast "The Real Deal" about rebates - here is a link to the podcast.

Other Wish List Items

I've been concentrating on the MP3 Players for replacing my iPod Mini, but what about the other Christmas Wish List Items?

I'd already eliminated several items from the list, but here is what's left:

The Microsoft Flight Simulator for PC with airplane controls or Nascar PC game (or Sony Playstation 2 game) with driving controls. I ruled out the Flight Simulator quite quickly - I find myself easily bored with flying simulators.
Racing is another story though. There are an amazing variety of driving controllers avaiable for the Sony Playstation 2. I priced some online - they range from $50 to $130. The problem is how much would I use them, as I tend tire of driving/racing games quickly (I'd also have to buy a couple of PS2 racing games as well). I could get a wireless joystick, but I really prefer playing the Sony PSP.

The Nintendo Wii remains tempting. With the motion sensitive controllers I might actually get some exercise. But I have a Sony Playstation 2 which gets more use as a DVD Player than a gaming console. Oh well...

Psst!... want a PS3?

No, I don't have a Sony PlayStation 3 for sale, but a lot of people seem to have them and want to sell them.

(Note - I've updated the following on November 22, 2006 as some of the links did not work and may not work for long)

Sony PS3s have been selling for around $1300+ on eBay (of course this will change depending on demand and the day of the week), and for $2000 on preorderonline (come-on, regular price $3000??) as well as on Craigslist (New York search link) for from $900 to well over $1500 (I've heard of one being offered for $4000). On Amazon Marketplace the 60GB version is going for upwards of $2000, and at Infinity Micro for $3,495. Just think, for $3000 you could get a mega gaming PC...

Of course if you wait for several months (until February or March next year!) you can pay the actual list price of $499 for the 30GB version and $599 for the 60GB version.

Zoom

According to iSuppli, the actual cost of the components for each PlayStation 3 is more than the official list price. The PS3 with the 60GB HDD costs around $840 to make. Sony is of course hoping to make back their money on games, and there probably is a break-even point when they hope to start making a profit. The interesting thing is that they are losing more on the cheaper model: $300 instead of $240. Of course Sony is not getting any cut from the price gouging which is rampant, except that the buzz may benefit the gaming console when the supply begins to meet the demand.

PS3 sold out, Zune Wars

Not unexpectedly, the Sony PlayStation 3 sold out within hour(s) of it’s release on Friday.

The Microsoft Zune, however, seems to be staying on shelves mostly and getting really bad reviews. Engadget said "Installing the Zune... sucked".
A News.com news blog sums it up as: "A rude awakening for Zune" - "Forget brown. The true color of the Zune is black-and-blue.".



Oooh, nasty, but there have been other nastier references to the brown colored Zune: "The only thing cool about the brown one is that the color is appropriate." from "Zune is out of tune, for now"
Others said that the Zune is actually quite good – notably the CNET.com review which concluded that "…intuitive interface and solid playback performance will please most users…" and gives it a rating of 8.0 out of 10 (the iPod Nano received a rating of 8.3 out of 10.)

And back to gaming:
Tomorrow the Wii gaming console is due for release in the U.S., which I'd almost forgotten about with all the PS3 hype.

It does seem like there may be some queues for the Wii too – I wouldn’t have thought so – but here is a site with tips for getting your Wii with the least amount of inconvenience- WiiLoaded.com and the exact same article, it appears, at theboxheads.com.

Zen Plus?

I had just about decided that the second generation iPod Nano was the MP3 Player to top my Wish List, when I came across the Creative Zen V Plus. This tiny player is not much larger than a container of tic tac mints (see the first picture on page 3 of this excellent review on epiZENter.com or
alternate picture here)



It is shorter than the iPod Nano by almost an inch, but slightly wider and more than double the thickness. Like the Sandisk Sansa e200 series, the player features an FM tuner and video playback. The player has an excellent user-interface, which is licensed to Apple for their iPods. It is also loaded with useful features like creating multiple playlists on the player, renaming and deleting them. Files can also be deleted on board the player. Creative players are well known for superb sound quality.

There is also a plain Creative Zen V (no Plus) version, which doesn't have an FM tuner or video playback. This costs about $20 to $25 less than the Plus version. At present the Plus comes in 1GB, 2GB and 4GB versions, but an 8GB has been rumored and reported (on mp3newswire) and is even mentioned on the Creative Asian website, but is yet to be seen in the USA.

The Zen V Plus would really be a contender if it had a 8GB version available in the US, as the 4GB is around $180, some $20 cheaper than the 4GB Nano, so an 8GB version would be cheaper and more worthwhile.

Too soon for the Zune

In one of two major product releases due this week, the Microsoft Zune Media Player (or MP3 player) is scheduled to be released tomorrow. (The other is the Sony PlayStation 3, scheduled for release on Friday November 17).

By "Too soon", I don't mean that the player will not be ready. Instead, I would want to remind all those caught up in the hype that this is version 1.0 of a Microsoft product. Not only is this a hardware product running an OS, but a whole ecosystem to support that product. Just to make matters a bit more interesting, the Zune is not backward-compatible with PlaysForSure - Microsoft's own DRM (see Wikipedia Digital Rights Management). This means that subscription tracks purchased from stores such as Napster or Urge will not work on the Zune. The Zune is also a bit large, at 4.4 by 2.4 by 0.6 inches and weighing in at 5.6 oz. Okay, that is about the same size as the Creative Zen Vision:M, but the ZVM came out in December of last year.

Personally I wouldn't touch the Zune for at least a year or more. Still, it will be interesting to see how this version 1.0 product fares against the 5th generation (or 5.5) Apple iPod.

A Nano bit

My research turned to the iPod Nano. Interestingly enough, this is no longer the smallest MP3 Player out there, although it may be the thinnest. Ever since it first came out I wanted a Nano, but the first generation was just too expensive. At $199 for a 2GB Nano and $249 for a 4GB it was just too much. You could get a non-Apple 6-10GB hard drive player in the same price range. There was also the widely reported problem with the Nano scratching easily.

The 2nd Generation Nano spectrum

The second generation Nano fixed that by being coated in Anodized aluminum, like the iPod Mini was. The prices are a bit more competitive - especially since there are now a number of different Flash-memory based players on the market. Starting at $149 for the 2GB Nano (available in gray only), $199 for a 4GB Nano (available in multiple colors, excluding black), and the 8GB Nano for $199. The 8GB only comes in black or red (the latter color is only available online).



Like other iPods the Nano doesn't have a FM Radio built-in, but unlike most other flash-memory based players it cannot play videos. Even lacking these features it is one of the most popular MP3 Players.

It definitely rates high on my wish list. I just can't decide whether it is worth shelling out an extra $50 for a black 8GB Nano instead of going with the $199 silver 4GB Nano.