Posts Tagged news
Microsoft Security Essentials – Thumbs Up
Posted by jasoncross in PC Tech, Software on September 29, 2009
Today, Microsoft launches its anti-malware software package, Microsoft Security Essentials. It’s honest-to-goodness anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-bad-stuff software that offers real-time protection. It would be pretty easy to make some sort of joke about Microsoft making business for itself, producing operating systems that are open to malicious attack with one hand and selling software to protect yourself from it with the other. But MSE is free, as in no dollars and zero cents free. Free to download, free to use, free updates, free free.
This, of course, means jack-all if the software is crap. Fortunately, it is not crap. In fact, it’s quite good. The fine folks at Ars Technica have a first-look that is favorable, but I’ve been using the beta myself for a couple months on both Windows 7 and Windows Vista PCs so I thought I would offer my two cents.
Apple’s New iStuff
Posted by jasoncross in Media, Software on September 11, 2009
Like many other geeks that take great interest in what Apple does to for them, I followed along with Wednesday’s press event. I eagerly updated my iPhone 3G to 3.1 as soon as it was available, and constantly refreshed the iTunes page until I could download iTunes 9.
Of course, Apple announced some stuff beyond iTunes 9 and a new iPhone firmware update, like a major upgrade to the iPod nano, and new iPod touch models and pricing. There was no huge, drop-everything-and-run-down-to-the-Apple-Store announcement, but overall a decent day of releases.
(A side note: On the bus one day, I heard a group of inner city teens talk about going to the “iPod Store” downtown, referring to the San Francisco Apple Store location. That’s what Apple is to them – the iPod company. Take that to mean what you will.)
Now that I’ve had time to use this stuff and let the other announcements sink in, here are some thoughts.
Where You Can Find My Work
Posted by jasoncross in Media, Work on August 27, 2009
This week I’m on Tekzilla talking about video cards. Episode 103. The host, old co-worker and all around great guy Patrick Norton, asked me where viewers can find my blog, and said something about how I should put links up here to my freelance articles. Which of course, I should do. It’s one of the reasons I started this thing, and I still haven’t gotten around to it. So let’s fix that right now.