Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on August 07, 2007 by CyberNet.

Ever since a leaked copy of AOL’s Active Virus Shield software for Vista hit the web, I had been waiting for AOL’s official announcement. Well, now I know why AOL never released a new Vista-compatible version of their Kaspersky-powered antivirus software…they were instead preparing for the switch to McAfee!

The screenshot above was taken from the current Active Virus Shield website which kindly explains that Active Virus Shield is no longer available, and has instead been replaced with a special McAfee suite. It does include virus protection, spyware protection, and a firewall, but come on…it’s McAfee! They are just as bad as Norton when it comes to dragging down the performance of your computer. AOL does try to make it sound great by saying:

Buy this protection yourself, and you could spend as much as $39.99, but with an aol.com email address, you can receive this comprehensive set of safety tools free.

Yep, they even require you to get an AOL.com email address in order to use the software. Where’s the humanity?

Kaspersky, and therefore Active Virus Shield, always ranked highly on the antivirus tests which made the now deceased app even more appealing. It didn’t do quite as good on the retrospective/heuristic testing, but I didn’t expect a free program to be the best in every area. This is one freeware program that I will truly miss.

I haven’t tried the new one myself because, well, I’m not exactly McAfee’s #1 fan. I’ve known people who had paid for their software before, and they always end up complaining a month or two down the road that their computer is horrendously slow. I always give my condolences to them for having purchased the software, and immediately install Avast (or sometimes AVG). I’ve yet to see someone complain that their computer is extremely slow after doing that.

So if you’re up for it, you can get the new AOL McAfee Security Center at no monetary cost, but don’t be surprised if you have to forfeit a good chunk of your system’s resources. Current Active Virus Shield users (those that have it downloaded and activated with a key they received) can continue to use the program, but future sign-ups are no longer allowed.

Copyright © 2009 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

Related Posts:

• Active Virus Shield "Update Failed: Incorrect Signature" Fix
• New Antivirus Rankings…Kaspersky Still on Top
• Active Virus Shield Now Compatible with Vista 🙂
• AOL Offers Free Antivirus Powered By Kaspersky
• And The Best Antivirus Is…

In September, an adaptation of Robert Venditti’s Top Shelf graphic novel The Surrogates will hit the big screens starring Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames. The book is a sci-fi thriller about future technologies. Venditti explains it thusly, “The basic idea is a that a Surrogate is a representation of yourself that you send out into the world. You do it virtually, so you experience everything it does. You’re controlling all of its movements and getting all of its sensory data in real time.”

The idea was born out of an examination of the social implications of sites social networking and online gaming. “That started out with me looking at online culture,” explains Venditti. “People have crazy personas of themselves through gaming and chatting. At some point you have to surrender that persona to go to work or whatever. My idea was to take it out of the machine and put it into the world.”

The technologies in The Surrogates are entirely a figment of Venditti’s imagination, of course, but since writing the book seven years ago, something odd has started happening–the science fiction of The Surrogates is beginning to become a reality. “It was something I made up,” Venditti tells me, “but since writing that in 2002, I’ve heard news stories like one about a professor who lives in Japan, but he doesn’t want to have to commute to work because the traffic is really bad, so he actually has an android version of himself in the classroom, so he teaches class by remotely linking from home.”

Smells like a sequel to me.

Looking to enjoy all those fancy augmented reality apps on your iPhone, like for finding nearby stores or subway stops? Apparently what’s standing in your way from enjoying a life more akin to “gargoyles” from Snow Crash is Apple’s next update to its touchscreen devices, OS 3.1, and according to Nearest Tube developer Acrossair, that’ll be arriving sometime in September. Something we heard whispered at the time of the beta 2 release. We wouldn’t be surprised to see that release window fluctuate, but if that’s our estimate, there’s still plenty of time for someone to prep an AR zombie shooter.

[Thanks, Peter S]

Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone’s augmented reality apps coming with September OS 3.1 launch? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

So we already knew Verizon was looking to push LTE out the door and to about 20 to 30 markets in the second half of 2010, but Tech Crunch’s got it on good word that the company’s doing everything in its power to get the service ready to go in a number of areas in time for Q1 2010. That’s interesting in and of itself, but together with this morning’s whispers of Apple’s tablet coming early next year and past talk of an Apple / VZW partnership, and the tale gets exponentially more intriguing. As TC suggests, a tablet lacking voice service on the LTE network wouldn’t violate AT&T’s not-at-all permanent exclusivity. Its source said there was one LTE device, not a wireless card, that this early launch was being “specifically geared towards,” but even if so, that could apply to any number of other non-Apple gadgets (from Nokia, perhaps?). Of course, much of this is rumor built on rumor, so no matter how well these pieces might seem to fall in place — or how potentially awesome the idea might seem — there’s a large grain of salt you should be taking with you.

Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops

Verizon rumored to be pushing up LTE plans to Q1 2010, new Apple device the catalyst? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The BMW 123d isn't sold in the U.S., and that's a shame for a variety of reasons.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

With falling gas prices dampening enthusiasm for alternative fuels, and poor economic conditions causing automakers to tighten their belts, plans for new diesel car launches in the U.S. have slowed. But diesel engine cars still present a good option over gasoline-powered cars, generally getting much better mileage. Although automakers scaled back their plans, Bosch, which makes diesel engine components, still wants to change the perception of diesel cars in the U.S. so the public will be more receptive, and even demanding of this technology from automakers.

To that end, Bosch loaned us a 2007 BMW 123d, a car you can’t currently get here, so we could see how it performed in comparison with gasoline cars. Combating the image of soot-spewing diesel trucks, Bosch adopted the slogan “good, clean fun” for its diesel technology, and the BMW 123d was a means to make sure we had some fun.

BMW started selling its 1-series car in the U.S. last year, as the 128 and 135, in coupe and convertible formats. While we’ve found both cars very enjoyable, the 123d is a hatchback, a style that makes much more sense with the diminutive sports car. Increased rear headroom makes the rear seats more usable, although still tight, and the hatchback means substantially more cargo area. After driving the 123d, we really wish BMW would bring the 1-series hatchback to the U.S., with a diesel or gas engine. It didn’t hurt that this 123d was also fitted with an M kit, meaning a sport-tuned suspension.

…

Originally posted at The Car Tech blog