You Don't Have to Pay for Computer Security!
This week, I made a move that I am very proud of. I finally uninstalled McAfee Security Center. I know that some of you would call me an idiot, but McAfee's software was not protecting my computer at all. I never updated it, as I was always busy when those annoying popup dialogs would appear. Therefore, it wasn't helping.
But my computer isn't completely ope n to all hackers and viruses. I now run AVG Free Edition and COMODO Firewall Pro. Sure, they might not be as good as some of the software that you have to pay for, but they work for me. I also don't worry as much about protection as an average user might, because I believe that I am more tech-savvy than most computer users (hopefully). For example, I don't believe those Nigerian 419 scam letters I get in my inbox.
So here's the deal. I like AVG Free Edition better than McAfee, but why? AVG automatically updates its database everyday, and even though it might slow my computer while doing it, it runs before I start any major task I have to do. One thing I am not satisfied with, though, is the fact that AVG does not always remind you to scan for viruses. But if you are conscious as to what could happen to your computer if a virus does infect it, then you should be able to handle scanning by yourself.
COMODO Firewall Pro might not be as good as McAfee's Firewall, but it works just as well if you aren't too picky. For example, when a new program attempts to perform a certain action that COMODO is hesitant about, a big box will pop up on the screen. This box is considerably larger than the ones McAfee used. Finding the list of programs and their security rules also isn't the easiest task in the world with COMODO. However, I do like how it also can scan for malware, and will as soon as you install it.
So there's what I will be using to protect my computer for a while. I did not cover spyware, as I am still looking for a good program to use. I currently use Spybot, but I have not read the greatest reviews about it.
I feel like ending with one of those corny writer phrases. Hmmm...let's see....
Until next time, keep on computin'...?
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It's Time for PCWorld to Change Its Name
For the past 20 years the words PC and Windows were almost synonymous. Ask someone what kind of computer they owned, and if they said, "I have a PC," then you knew they didn't own a Mac or Linux computer.
Times have changed. The Eee PC has taken the world by storm. Apple is resurging with full force. Linux is here to stay -- and can only grow in use on desktops, cell phones and other mobile devices.
So it's time to say goodbye to PCWorld and hello to a new name for this magazine and web site. What would be an appropriate new name -- a name reflective of the new multi-OS world we live in? DWorld might be it -- covering the digital world in all its multifaceted forms.
I have Mac friends that would never consider reading PCWorld (or the PCWorld.com) web site, despite the excellent, interesting and useful Mac articles you're find here. Same thing for my Linux friends. They would never casually browse PCWorld.com, because historically this magazine only covered Windows solutions.
It's time for a name change, a change that reflects the changing times. Any other magazine might not have the courage, but the leadership of PCWorld has courage aplenty.
You need courage to be a good leader. And you need to exhibit that courage consistently, so that people are reminded that you are leading and not following.
The blogger has been working to bridge the digital divide for 20 years in the Washington DC-area. He loves Macs, adores Linux and likes Windows. Reader responses welcome in the comments below or at philshapiroblogger@gmail.com
I understand your good intentions. However, changing your name from PCWorld makes about as much sense as changing the name of a country or a city. We all know how many problems that creates. So, please do us all a favor and forget it!
I don't think we should change our name either. But I'm curious whether anyone thinks it somehow keeps us from being considered a credible source of information on other technology products we cover -- e.g., cell phones, HDTVs, etc.....
By the way, I don't understand the people who don't want to see coverage of Apple products here. I'm pretty sure a lot of iPhone and iPod owners also own Windows PCs. I personally am in a mixed marriage: My husband has an iMac, I have a Windows notebook.
Yardena Arar
Senior Editor, PC World, and proud of it!
PCWorld is a better name now than ever!!!! Now that the Mac runs on Intel machines, which make up most of the PCs in the world, PCWorld is PERFECT!
If you change it, you'll be alot like Gateway, who changed their name from Gateway 2000 just before the year 2000. In my opinion, the 2000 hype could only have helped them. But, what if they took some initiative, and instead of changing their name. said that their machines were year 2000 compliant before anyone else. And that they would help you get that way! That's the way to build on a name instead of throwing it away!
You should just make sure you cover anything that has to do with Personal Computers. People will find you if you are good. Changing your name will be a killer. Ask Gateway.
ASIO4ALL Enhances Your Sound Card!
Many amateur music producers face the problem of selecting a decent sound card that will work well with their creations. However, because decent sound cards and interfaces are pretty high-priced, many producers who are just starting out do not have enough money to purchase one. Sometimes their sound card has great sound quality, but is not ASIO-compatible. ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output) is a protocol for audio that was created by Steinberg and is used by many professional producers because of its low-latency and high-fidelity operations. Low-latency is especially important for musicians who use a computer with MIDI equipment, as it decreases the time between when a key is pressed and when a sound is heard.
Chances are the cheaper sound cards on the market do not support ASIO. Fortunately, there is a solution for Windows users called ASIO4ALL that acts as a universal ASIO audio driver for the majority of Windows-compatible sound cards. It uses kernel-streaming and a variety of other methods to achieve ASIO compatibility. All that's needed is a WDM (Windows Driver Model) compatible operating system (Windows Vista, XP, and 2000 all are), a WDM audio driver for your audio hardware, and, as the website says, a little bit of luck. Thankfully, ASIO4ALL worked with the crummy sound card built into my DELL laptop. If it works with that piece of garbage, I highly suggest trying it with your sound card.
ASIO4ALL will not replace or change existing sound drivers in any way, install components that could affect the stability of your system, and overclock your sound card. It will usually not void any warranties, too, and the best part is it's absolutely free!
By writing this article, I do not guarantee that ASIO4ALL will work with your sound card, and although ASIO4ALL's website says that it will not affect your system, I and ASIO4ALL are not responsible for anything that happens to your system!
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Adventures at the Trenton Computer Festival!
2008: the year of the 33rd annual Trenton Computer Festival. As I was unable to attend the 2007 event, I swore to attend this one, and so I did. Let me tell you, I did not regret it.
The 2008 Trenton Computer Festival, which took place at The College of New Jersey, was divided into several sections, including a large fleamarket, a recreation center with tons of vendors, and two buildings packed with people eager to speak on the subject of computers. Although I arrived later than I expected (at around 11:00), I was able to experience a bit of how much TCF (Trenton Computer Festival) had to offer. And so, I give you my journey around the campus of The College of New Jersey.
The line of cars was moving extremely slowly as I pulled into the campus and searched for a parking spot. The first area I saw was the fleamarket, and eager to find something valuable, I quickly ran for the entrance. However, I was stopped by a security guard who demanded I pay. Now, I had two options: punch him in the gut and run (I was younger than him, and could outrun him!), or I could actually pay to get in. I chose the second option.
So, after being issued a yellow TCF wristband, I entered the fleamarket area. iMacs were a very common find. I even found a guy who was attempting to sell them for $10 each, but his items lacked the specs, and he did not specify if they worked. I managed to come across one person who was selling some old audio equipment, and I haggled him down from $25 to $17 for a Yamaha RX21L drum machine. Oscilliscopes of various sizes were also extremely common: there must have been at least 100 of them for sale. One of the more comical areas of the fleamarket was the sock section. For some reason, there were approximately three tables worth of nothing but socks of various shapes, sizes, and types. Kinda funny when you realize that a geek has the stereotype of wearing high socks, and the event must have been filled with computer geeks. I did not buy any socks, but my friend did almost buy a Mac computer for $35. However, towards the end of the event, he asked for a refund, as he had no room and no use for an older Mac computer.
At around 1:00, we headed towards the Social Sciences building for the end of the theremin concert by Kip Rosser. For those of you who do not know, the theremin is an electronic instrument that is played using two hands, but you do not even tough the instrument while playing. Accompanied by a synthesizer, Kip Rosser entertained an audience of people with a variety of songs, including a rendition of “Hey Jude” by the Beatles.
When 1:20 came around, I headed for room 102 for the speech “Ubuntu Linux: What It Is; Where It's Going”, given by Joe Terranova of NJ LoCo. As the speech was just beginning, the projector went into sleep mode, but Terranova did a great job conducting his speech while his slideshow was not available. Terranova gave his audience a brief explanation of Linux and walked the crowd through a tour of Ubuntu Linux. After showing several programs on the computer, the room was filled with laughter as one person asked if Windows was free. Sadly, it's not.
After the speech was over, we all followed Terranova over to the Rec Center, where several vendors and information booths were setup. Ubuntu was present, and so was the Amateur Computer Group of New Jersey (ACGNJ), as well as the Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists, who had many vintage computers at their booth, including an Atari 2600, Commodore PET, and Apple II. There was even one of those computers that require five men to lift!
The Rec Center was home to many products being sold, like pirated video games, old computers, sunglasses and batteries, and HDTVs. Sadly, my day was soon over, and after taking another look around the fleamarket, I left to go home and write this article. I look forward to attending TCF next year, and I hope some of my readers will, too.
Before I made some mistakes in my article, including misnaming MARCH as ACGNJ, and Evan Koblentz as Evan Williams. I apologize to those affected by my errors!
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PS -- That's me in the dark red shirt and tan baseball hat -- "me" is Evan Koblentz of MARCH. There is no Evan Williams and he's not from ACGNJ. :)
I was at TCF as a iMac seller. I know that PDP-8, an absolutely CLASSIC computer of the 1960's.
For decades, the TCF flea market was a place to buy OLD computers, not new. These days both are there, in smaller numbers. Hamfest and computer fleamarkets also sell socks and tools, no surprise. There were Macs, Intel-proc-based servers; digital test equipment; electronic parts. The vendors inside had CURRENT PC motherboards and parts; I bought a SATA DVD-RW for $23 new.
The photos shown are mostly of MARCH, not ACGNJ. MARCH has a vintage computing museum at InfoAge science center in Wall NJ. That PDP-8 with 4Kwords CORE is the original "straight-8" model from 1969, run by 70's high schoolers at national computer shows. It ran SAM-76, the "BASIC" of its time.
TCF was first to promote and provide personal computing technology, before the Web and email. It still has some vintage "chops", with groups like MARCH, ACGNJ etc.
Herb Johnson
retrotechnology.com
I had no idea that a Trenton Computer Fesitval exists. And I live right next to Princeton!
I probably would not have been able to go there anyway though :-(
Because Rutgers University, Cook College had their annual Ag Field Day & NJ Folk Festival on Apr 26 as well. Funn!
Interesting thing is even Princeton had a folk festival/flea market down in Nassau Street...
Watch a Guy in a Giant Boot Pretend to be Mario!
Video game parodies have to make up some of the best humor on the net. These videos are just so hilarious, I can't stop myself from posting them. I find it amazing how many people, even if they are classic gamers, haven't seen this videos. And so, without further ado, I present to you my favorite video game parody videos.
1.Mega64 - This site has parodies of so many games, and they're all hilarious! Basically, what these guys do is go around in public places and act like the characters in video games. Some of the ones you must watch include Super Mario Brothers 3 and River City Ransom.
2.Mario in Real Life - This has to be one of the best ones out there! This video summarizes what it would be like if Mario were a real person, and just how hard it would be for him to accomplish what he does in the Mushroom Kingdom.
3.Megaman VS Donkey Kong - The battle of a lifetime. If only it lasted more than a few seconds....
4.Leeroy Jenkins Goes Bungee Jumping - I guess it's not really a parody of a video game, but a parody of a video game character. Either way, it's still funny. Watch Leeroy's antics as an instructional bungee jumping guide is filmed.
5.Tetris The Movie - I really wish this was real. Watch how awesome a Tetris movie would actually be in this fake trailer for a motion picture version of the classic Russian game. Personally, I expected to see more Russians in it, but it still is pretty cool!
And there you have it. Those are a few of the best video game parodies available on the net. So far, I haven't seen one that can beat Mega64, but time will tell if another video can make me laugh as hard as a guy in a giant boot does.
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Better Search Results Browsing
This week's tech tip is a simple one to help you navigate the Internet better. If you are like me, you find it cumbersome to peruse Internet search results because every time you click a search result link the webpage reloads and you lose access to your original results page. Then, after you are finished reading the linked site you have to click the back button and wait for the screen to rebuild which takes time. Also, occasionally you come across a webpage in which the back button does not work and you become trapped. You must then resort to some browser trickery to get back to the results page.
In Google, the dominate search engine, there is a preference for launching all links into a new browser window or tab depending on which browser you are using. Using this preference, you can peruse the search result sites without losing access to the results page and you can view multiple search result sites at once.
To access this preference click the Preferences link which is to the right of the Google search box.
Example Image
Next scroll down the Preference page until you find the checkbox for Results Window. Check the box beside Open search results in a new browser window.
Example Image
That's all there is to it. No more having to constantly click the back button after each site visit. Also, as a corollary, in any web page whether it be a search result page or any other webpage, if you hold down the Shift key when you click a link the link will launch into a new window. If you hold down the Ctrl key while clicking a link, the browser will launch the link into a new tab.
Happy teching,
Ryan Williams
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The Homebrew Community is As Alive As Ever!
With all the frustration and problems of next-gen consoles that we face everyday (that means you Xbox 360, with your Red Ring of Death!), one must miss the simplicity of the consoles of the past. But, for those of you longing to relive the days of 8-bit graphics, pulse wave sounds, and cartridges instead of CDs, all hope is not lost. There is still a community of people devoted to keeping these antique systems alive. Not only have they done a great job of spreading the word of these old consoles, but a few select people actually create their own games for these systems. These homebrew games may be remakes of older games, or they might actually be original creations.
Popular systems to create homebrew games on include the Ataris, NES, and SEGA Master System. RetroZone is a great place to find some homebrew NES games, but don't expect to be paying in pennies. Glider goes for $42, and a remake of NWC 1990 goes for $45.
The AtariAge Store is home to many homebrews for the Atari 2600, 5200, and 7800. These games are as cheap as $20, but when you think about it, that much is still a pretty high price to pay for a game for a system that isn't even made anymore. But, considering what fun the Ataris have created, it is worth it. Recently, one of the store's more popular products has included Adventure II a homebrew sequel for the the popular 2600 game Adventure. Now that the game is on the 7800, the graphics and gameplay have increased considerably.
Although homebrew cartridges for the SEGA Master System may be rare, SMS Power! is a great place to find homebrew ROMs for emulators, as well as a ton of information on programming SMS games in assembly language. There is a great tutorial by Maxim on how to get started with SMS programming, but those who are not familiar with the Z80 CPU or ASM may have trouble understanding it.
There is no need to cry anymore. Now that you own and have completed every game for the NES, you can spend your money on brand new games as they come out. Heck, you can even develop them yourself! I wish you happy gaming as you spend your life's saving on that limited edition glowing copy of Glider.
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April Fools Fever Spreads!
April Fools Day 2008 was filled with some great pranks. I just had to take some time out to write of the ones that I thought had to be the best. So, without further ado, here are my top five April fools pranks of 2008:
1.Steve Wozniak Announces the 2 Ghz Apple IIpc - This one is pure genius. Benj Edwards (editor of Vintage Computing and Gaming) and Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple Computers) teamed up to create one of the best pranks ever. I must admit, I actually almost fell for it, especially because I stumbled upon it on the day after April Fool's. Basically, this claims that Steve Wozniak announced in a press conference that he would be marketing a remake of the Apple II computer for $1666.66. The spruced-up retrocomputer would include a 64-bit CPU, PCI slots, up to four gigabytes of ram, and a brand-new system case. What made me slightly believe this had to be the mentioning of how Steve is fascinated by repeating numbers, and the number for the Apple IIpc would include repeating digits, as well as the price of the computer.
2.Super Pii Pii Brothers - Oh, yeah. You knew it was a matter of time before this came out for the Wii. A virtual bathroom simulator. Basically, you use the Wiimote to make your virtual character pee, but be careful; you must aim correctly, and hit the animals that pop out of the toilets for extra points! A harness is included that allows you to strap the Wiimote to your groin. Classy and fun!
3.Betamax to HD-DVD Converter – Now you can have those old episodes of MacGyver in two dead video formats! Simply press one button, and that box of Betamax will be a box full of HD-DVDs, or the other way around! Ha ha, this one was great.
4.gDay with MATE - Google has finally figured out how to look into the future. Well it's about time, Google. Using MATE technology, you can search for websites and data that will be added to Google's database sometime in the future. Talk about revolutionary!
5.Google Virgle - Google has teamed up with the founders of Virgin in order to make it to Mars. Yes, Google will be creating the first human colony on Mars, and you can be one of the first homosapiens there! All you have to do is make a 30-second YouTube video, and you could be chosen! Good luck! Ha ha!
There you have it. My top five April Fools jokes of 2008. I look forward to seeing what April Fools
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Google Seeks to Organize All of Human Ignorance
Mountain View, CA. Having organized all of human knowledge, Google has announced plans to organize all of human ignorance. At a recent press conference CEO Eric Schmidt explained: “I asked our engineers to describe to me the largest computational task our company could undertake. Several of them said that organizing human ignorance is a task no other company could undertake. Admittedly, human ignorance is vast -- perhaps unlimited – but our goal is to organize all of it. Consistent with our mobile strategy, we aim to provide anytime, anywhere ignorance.
Last month we did a brief test organizing a small portion of human ignorance. The process so strained our servers that they melted the steel shelves they sit on. We had to take the servers off-line to cool them down.
You might be wondering: 'What would be the advantage of having all of human ignorance organized?' Well, suppose you were seeking to do a particular task and wanted to know all of human ignorance related to that particular task. In a split second Google will deliver to you just that targeted ignorance you're looking for.
Similarly, students young and old can expose themselves to ignorance on a scale never before imagined. People will be able to walk around ignorant. Dazed and ignorant. In any country. At any time.
Here at Google we just want to give people options. Ignorance is an option and we want people to have that option.
I can say with confidence that we know of no other company undertaking this task. When this work is complete, all of human ignorance will be as searchable as all of human knowledge.
And here's the icing on the cake. Are you ready for it? To the right of our “I'm feeling lucky” button on our home page, we'll be adding a new button: “I'm feeling ignorant.” Ignorance at your fingertips. With a click of the mouse.
Thank you all for coming today.”
When not plastering and spackling black holes, the author likes to refurbish older computers to deliver to youth and adults who don't have a computer. In his spare time he revises his plans for an antique ebook store.
He recently blogged about multimedia letters to the editors and Lawrence Lessig's inspiring Change Congress movement.
Reader responses welcome in the comments below or at philshapiroblogger@gmail.com
How to Code a Video Game/Computer Emulator: Part 2
Today, I will be coding an emulator for a fake minimalistic CPU I have made, called the Gypsy 15. Let's create a fake ad from 1975, introducing the Gypsy-15 to the world.
Behold! The new Gypsy-15 4-bit central processing unit, capable of storing and manipulating binary numbers from 0 to 15! With 4 data registers (R0, R1, R2, and R3), you can add values together with a number of instructions, including STOR, ADD, and SUB! Be the first kid on your block to own a home computer with the new Gypsy-15! Buy one today! (Only $55.75!)
There you have it. An extremely simple CPU that I just made up. Oh, and if you're wondering, the syntaxes for the instructions are:
STOR [REGISTER] [VALUE] (Places the binary [VALUE] into register [REGISTER].)
ADD [REGISTER] [VALUE] (Adds [VALUE] to register [REGISTER].)
SUB [REGISTER] [VALUE] (Subtracts [VALUE] from register [REGISTER].)
Sure, they are pretty basic functions, but they're fictional. Now, let's begin. Say a user has written this code for our 1975 4-bit CPU:
STOR R0 0011
ADD R0 0001
SUB R0 0010
This program stores the binary-equivalent of the number 3 into Register 0, adds 1 to the register, and subtracts two, leaving us with a final value of 2. Now, before these instructions are executed by the CPU, they are changed to binary instructions by an assembler. Their binary equivalent might be:
0000 0000 0011
0001 0000 0001
0010 0000 0010
When the CPU reads each binary value, it manipulates the registers based on what the user has specified. Now let's imagine I am a Gypsy-15 fanatic living in the present day, and I would like to write a Gypsy-15 emulator. This would be an extremely simple emulator to write. Now, let's begin.
First, I select C++ as my programming language to write the emulator in because of its versatility and wide range of functions. I declare some variables to emulate some of the CPU's internals, including four specific variables to emulate the contents of the CPU's registers (R0, R1, R2, R3).
I must now code the area of my program that executes when it loads. I insert code to show a dialog that allows a user to select a file, and when I have the full file name, I must open that file as a binary file, and not a text file. Why? Because it is not a text file. It is a data file. A simple way to do this in C++ is to use iostream.h, along with io::binary, to read a file and store its contents in a buffer. Once this section is coded, I must now move into the processing of the code.
My program now has the contents of the file stored in a variable, and can read from it and act accordingly. I would do this using string manipulation, and I would initiate a loop that analyzes every four digits it comes across in the file. This part basically defines an emulator. A good definition of an emulator would be a program that analyzes binary opcodes and reacts accordingly. In most cases, you will be using a loop to analyze these values.
Inside the loop, my program acts accordingly based upon what four digits it is processing. For example, if the current instruction being analyzed is 0000, my program would know it is going to store a value in a register. It would look to the binary value next to it (which in this case is also 0000), and would know that we are dealing with R0. Then, it would look right once more, and see it will store binary value 0011. So, my program knows to store 0011 in R0. This is how an emulator will process all of the instructions it is given.
Now, since my program knows exactly what to do, it will react. It takes the binary value 0011 and stores it in its variable that emulates register R0. After this, it would skip two values in the list of instructions (because these values were used as arguments in the instruction just processed), and the program will move onto the processing of the next instruction. This should occur until every instruction entered has been processed. Your emulator will have to be able to process (almost) every instruction a CPU can process, but luckily, your life might be a bit easier.
A lot of CPUs group similar process together using a particular digit of the instruction's binary counterpart. For example, all instructions that will perform mathematical processes on registers will begin with the digit 1. This means that on a CPU, addition might be identified as “1000”, subtraction as “1001”, and multiplication as “1010”.
Since CPUs and their emulations deal with binary values, there will be a lot of mathematical functions that you might have never heard of before, including bitwise operations, which deal with changing individual bits of binary values based on another value, and bit shifting, which will change the position individual bits. C++ includes many functions that help to accomplish these processes.
Emulator programming is a complex subject. Just a little warning to you: although it is possible, programming an emulator using a simplistic programming language will make your life even harder. C and C++ can handle complex mathematic processes, so they are good to use. Visual Basic can handle programming simple emulators, like CHIP-8 and Game Boy, but I would not recommend it for creating next-gen emulators. And I would not recommend using Javascript to program an emulator at all. Basically, the more sophisticated the programming language, the easier it will be to program an emulator in (to a certain extent! I would not program an emulator in assembly language!).
Another thing: if you plan to emulate next-gen consoles (PS3, Xbox 360, and even the Wii), you may have an extremely hard time, even if you use a programming language like C++. Because these consoles handle such complex mathematical processes, it will be hard for a common computer to recreate all of the parts necessary to accomplish a decent emulation. Think about it: you don't see an average computer emulating a super computer!
(Just a little bit of information that may help some of you. The Zilog Z80 CPU is emulated all the time, and has been used in a variety of video game consoles and 8-bit computers of the past. A document can be found here that will help you along with decoding Z80 opcodes if you ever have to emulate this CPU.)
Many beginners like to code emulators for computers that processed CHIP-8. CHIP-8 was a programming language used to simplify the creation of video games, and includes only 35 opcodes. Technically, you would be writing a programming language interpreter if you created an emulator for CHIP-8, but the way CHIP-8 works is so close to the way a CPU processes instructions that it is a good experience to write one!
Now you know exactly how to code an emulator. Remember, all computers are different, so all emulators will be different. Some will be harder to code than others, but it will be worth it when you can relive the memory of playing that old Pong game on your black-and-white television.
I am debating whether or not to write a third part to this series. It would cover the emulation of specific parts of the computer, including memory, the call stack, and graphics. Please tell me if you would like to see a new addition!
Would you like to be a Community Voices blogger? If so, please send a letter of interest and a sample blog entry (what you would post here if you were already a blogger for us) to forums@pcworld.com. We'd love to hear your perspective.
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I use spyware terminator...it works great for me!
AVG Free has a good rep. Certainly any time I looked through Tech Republic, for instance, concensus seemed to be that, indeed,AVG Free was better than McAfee.
IT here are Linux-happy and not pleased with all the work needed to keep Windows alive and current. That said, http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html is their recommendation for the home user who won't pay for a security solution.
I agree with joshc, spyware terminator works very well.