When Viruses Attack

I've found another thing I'd enjoy about owning a Mac. No Viruses. I've spent almost the entire day running anti-virus, spyware, adware, and a whole host of other utilities in order to rid my computer of something that is attacking my computer. Strangely enough, this virus keeps sending out pop up ads and "warnings" disguised as Microsoft announcements that come up from the taskbar that all want me to download antivirus software. I'm pretty sure these places aren't legit, so it's probably just another way to distribute the virus, but it's REALLY REALLY ANNOYING, and I still haven't been able to get it off my computer. I don't even know where this stuff came from.

I need a Mac soon. The non-existant threat of viruses on a Mac is looking pretty appealing right about now.

Daily Show 7/19/06 - Net Neutrality

Here's an excerpt from a recent Daily Show episode featuring John Hodgeman (the "PC" from the new Apple ads). He's reporting on Congress's upcoming Internet Neutrality bill. If you're familiar with the new Apple commercials, you'll love this clip.

Built it, but they didn't come...

Well things haven't taken off as quickly as I'd hoped they might. We're still at $0 for donations, and readership has gone down. Those that do visit are made up a few stragglers from MacRumors and a couple people that were randomly directed here from the blogspot bar at the top of the screen. (Hello Random People! You can still donate even if you're random. Read some of the earlier posts for an idea of what this campaign is about.)

Basically, if I want to get more donations, I'm going to have to get more people visiting my site. And I do want more donations. So, if you have any ideas about how to get people to this site or get donations, leave a suggestion!

Thanks.

Suggestions

Hello all! I just wanted to say thanks for visiting my site, and that I hope you'd consider donating. I feel that once we get the ball rolling with this thing, we can really get somewhere. If you have a spare buck or two, toss it my way! If you're looking for ways to come up with a little extra money, I've come up with a few suggestions:

1. Buy a Grande instead of a Venti the next time you stop at Starbucks. If you're feeling really generous, get a Tall.
   
2. Deposit that pile of returnable cans and bottles that's been sitting in your garage since Independence Day. At 5 cents a piece, a package or two of cans will earn you a couple bucks.
   
3. Check under couch cushions, at the bottom of dresser drawers, and in the pockets of pants you haven't worn in a while. There's usually something good hanging around there.
   
4. If you're looking to buy new car soon, don't go for an SUV or a pickup truck. Instead, go for a smaller, more fuel-efficient car. With gas prices the way they are, you could end up saving hundreds to thousands of dollars a year, which you could put toward whatever you wish.
   

I hope these ideas have inspired you. Anything, and I mean anything, will help me with my quest. Thanks Again!

Computer Updates

Following the advice of the folks over at the Macrumors Forum, I think I've finally pieced together my ideal computer. As I stated in an earlier article, I'm drawn towards the Macbook Pro, not only for their beauty but also for their brawn. As an student entering an undergraduate engineering program, I'm going to need the extra graphics card power and Pro features to run the applications I'll need for class. These are the specs I've decided on:

Macbook Pro 15.4"
2 GHz Intel Core Duo
512 MB RAM (I'll upgrade this with non-Apple RAM, it's cheaper)
80 GB Hard Drive
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 128 MB GDDR3 Memory

TOTAL: $1799 (With student discount. I knew college was good for something!)

I didn't want to ask for something ridiculous, because there's no sense upping the price by a couple hundred dollars for menial upgrades in processor speed, RAM, HD space, and video card RAM. And with a lower price, I could theoretically get a mac sooner! So stay tuned for updates, donate if you wish (and I hope you do!), and have a nice day!

The Crux of the Matter

I have finally discovered why I want an Apple computer so much. It all comes down to change. I've been using Windows XP for about 4 years (or however long it's been out), and I can truthfully say that I'm sick of it. I've been staring at the same icons , the same taskbar, the same programs for years now. I really need something else to look at. I've done all I can with Windows; I've explored all the cracks and crevices, and now I'm looking for someting else to explore.

That leaves two options: OS X and Windows Vista. The latter of these doesn't look appealing to me at all. I don't know what Microsoft was thinking. I've downloaded some of the betas for Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, and Office 2007. Office 2007 does have some really interesting features, but it's rather ugly. The default scheme is black and orange; it's like Halloween all over again. As for the other two programs, I'd rather stick with Firefox and iTunes. Not only do they look completely awful, but they are really hard to use and again, their color scheme is not pleasing to the eye. This "Aero" theme or whatever Microsoft is calling it looks garish and is not something I'd like to look at. Additionally, the Vista release has been pushed back until who knows when, adding further to the instability of the whole thing.


That leaves me with my other option, OS X. This operating system is A) beautiful, B) well-crafted to provide optimal usability, and C) is something new for me. There's new software to explore, new hardware capabilities, and many other freedoms over the PC of which mac aficionados are surely aware. So that's essentially the driving force for me to switch. I hope the day will come soon when I can get a mac!

Walt Mossberg's Perspective

I've just been reading a bit of the writings of Walt Mossberg, a pesonal technology analyst at the Wall Street Journal. (You may remember his name from one of the new Apple commercials.) One of his articles talks about how he believes that the era of the Microsoft model of computers is diminishing, and the Apple model is taking it's place. Here's a bit of what he wrote. I think it's worth a good read-though:

In Our Post-PC Era, Apple's Device Model Beats the PC Way

By: Walter S. Mossberg

In the component model, many companies make hardware and software that run on a standard platform, creating inexpensive commodity devices that don't always work perfectly together, but get the job done. In the end-to-end model, one company designs both the hardware and software, which work smoothly together, but the products cost more and limit choice.

In the first war between these models, the war for dominance of the personal-computer market, Microsoft's approach won decisively. Aided by efficient assemblers like Dell, and by corporate IT departments employed to integrate the components, Microsoft's component-based Windows platform crushed Apple's end-to-end Macintosh platform.

But in the post-PC era we're in today, where the focus is on things like music players, game consoles and cellphones, the end-to-end model is the early winner. Tightly linking hardware, software and Web services propelled Apple to a huge success with its iPod. Microsoft, meanwhile, has struggled to make its component model work on these devices and, in a telling sign, is using the Apple end-to-end model itself in its Xbox game-console business. Now, Apple is working on other projects built on the same end-to-end model as the iPod: a media-playing cellphone and a home-media hub.

The rest of the article can be found here

I'm going to add the link to his website over in the side panel of permenant links. There's a lot of good computing knowledge in there.