Computers » Stand Aside

Improvements abreast

I’m slacking in the process
of learning and experiencing new things that have been released over the last couple years. I think I can attribute this "slack" to working third shift at the bar, while going to school, and trying to get daily errands done. However! Big things are to come for me. I’m always on the lookout for projects I can use as learning tools and as publicity tools. I’ve found one marketing plan project recently that could get me some good experience, helpful contacts, and a few extra bucks in my pocket! I will definitely be spending a good amount of my time on it.

I will also be putting extra time into learning AJAX and FLEX programming markups because I enjoy the AdobeAIR platform which uses both. I’ve been trying out smaller scale applications such as the Spaz twitter desktop client, Twhirl twitter desktop client, the Pownce desktop client, etc. My goal is to take AdobeAIR and use it to develop an efficient contact aggregator. I mean to create an application that will integrate my contacts from various social networks into one place, as well as integrating the different methods of messaging into one place. It is similar to Plaxo, but I just do not like the interface or the few shortcomings with Plaxo. I’ve also thought about working to integrate everything into my Gmail account but I don’t know how well that will go over. In fact, speaking of slacking, that is another area I just have not kept up with- Google’s development section. I talked to a friend at school who has experience programming and he is willing to embark on this project with me.

A computer upgrade is definitely going to happen soon. My old IBM laptop has kept up with me so far, but now that I need more HD space, more memory, and more processor speed… there is not much else it can push out. I don’t have enough to even have the programs I need to be running, such as Dreamweaver, Photoshop, a fully-tabbed Firefox, multiple Word docs. The need for space and speed is dire! I’m looking into Dell for now as well as pulling a Mac into the home for Mac specific projects.

All in all, I miss San Francisco- I need a new computer- I have a LOT to learn this semester!
[Look at that bunch of young guns! ]

WooT! DRM is leaving town

ALRIGHT! Sony BMG will begin selling music that is not DRM [Digital Rights Management] protected.

I like this.

Its another catch22 of our times.

Musicians make music to make a living.

Record companies sell music to give the musicians a living.

We [the digital consumer] digital-ize music and spread it like Atlanta-kudzu.

I still buy music. I still spread music. Most of all, I listen to music and appreciate music.

[How's that for a micro-post?]

I’m a computer security buff

When it comes down to my personal computer [and other people's computers as well!], I crave a very secure and controllable environment. Everything needs to be at my fingertips, from what goes in and out through various ports — to changing my desktop background. Firewalls are the concern today!

I am thoroughly happy with Sunbelt’s Personal Firewall. It beats the Windows Firewall [hell, everything beats the windows firewall] in every aspect. I would even rank it higher than McAfee, BlackICE, and ZoneAlarm. I have control of so many aspects of the firewall such as web filtering, program activity, port monitoring, an extensive logging system, and even predefined behavior alerts. It is a bit complicated to fully use at first but well worth the time spent learning. And if you don’t feel like learning it is simple to set up and let it run in the background.

Sunbeltlogo

I do have one large problem. It is not caused by my firewall but does affect the firewall. My laptop, which I use majority of the time, came to me through a Laptop Program at my school. The school set everything up and then handed it to me, along with a belligerent contract stating that "I do not own this computer until graduation, at which time it will be ‘given’ to me. [Insert school name] has every right to take back said computer, make changes to said computer, and administrate said computer." Not in those exact words but close enough. Apparently there is a McAfee antivirus system running on this computer. I have no control over any parameters within the system, nor am I able to remove it because the school is administrator of it. My firewall constantly detects abnormal behavior from the antivirus program as well as intrusion attempts from it. It is very annoying having a malfunctioning antivirus program running on my computer while I try to do work with it. Thankfully I have had no major break-ins with this laptop. Albeit, could be because I’ve been running Sunbelt since I received this comp… makes ya wonder. I might as well just buy a new laptop! Should just stop messing around with this old <1.0 Ghz. IBM laptop probably made in 2003 with not even enough memory to run Adobe Photo and Firefox at the same time.

Anyways, enough ranting! Let’s get to it!

What security do you employ on something as valuable and essential as a personal computer?

I have:
Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall
McAfee Antivirus [malfunctioning and stagnant]
Mozilla Firefox [which carries plenty of web security]
Sysinternal’s ProcessXP [analyzes all background processes]
SpyBot SD [runs through temp files, cookies, etc to find ads and bots]

Improvements abreast

WooT! DRM is leaving town

I’m a computer security buff

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@krispatel