What’s the Best PC Anti-Virus Software?
So, now that the missus and I are both running Windows XP on our Macbooks, seems wise to get some anti-virus software installed on the PC part of things.
Any suggestions?
Archive for April, 2008
Real Estate on a Macbook?
My wife is a real estate agent. Real estate agents rely on the MLS system to look up house information for buyers and sellers. In the Tri-Cities, as in many areas, the MLS system runs only on Internet Explorer, and only on a PC. (So 1995….)
Until now.
This is what arrived at our house today, and it’s all in the name of making Cari what we think will be the first Mac-using Tri-Cities real estate agent. Here’s what we got:
- Macbook - the low-end Macbook, which I expect will offer more than enough speed and space to do the job. It’s a 2.1 ghz Intel processor and 120 mb hard drive. That oughtta work just fine.
- Brenthaven shoulder case - this is a copy of the case I use. These are pretty expensive, but worth every penny. They’re custom-sized specifically for the 13″ Macbook, and have all kinds of padding to keep the machine protected. And there’s plenty of storage space, too.
- Extra battery - just to be safe. She’ll be using the power adapter most of the time, but it’s good to have an extra battery in case of an emergency.
- Memory upgrade - two 1gb memory cards to replace the 256mb cards that are pre-installed. So we go from 512mb of RAM to 2gb. Gotta have the extra juice to run Nos. 5 and 6…..
- Parallels - the software that will let her run a full version of Windows on the Macbook. Easy to install, too!
- Windows XP - I wouldn’t go near Vista if you paid me. No way, no how. And last, but not least….
- Speck plastic case - another one that’s somewhat spendy compared to similar items, but worth every penny. It’s a tight-fitting plastic case to protect the Macbook from dings and scratches. It’s see-through, too, so you keep that Macbook “cool” factor going. I have a red one. Cari went with the blue, as you can see.
I’m about halfway done all the setup to get her going. I’m sure it’ll work just fine because I bought my own copies of Parallels and Windows XP a couple weeks ago and used my laptop to make sure this’ll fly. Took a bit to get the MLS web site to work (Explorer really sucks), but eventually got there on my laptop. We’ll get there on hers and she’ll be an original of the species: the first Mac-using real estate agent in Tri-Cities, Washington.
Whoa. My Mixx Profile FTW!
This may never happen again. Gotta document it.
Check it out! I’ve had a single “Top 10″ badge before, on a couple occasions, but never have I had four flippin’ badges on the same day! How cool is that?!
My Mixx’s Secret Upgrades article has one of the Top 10 badges, and my submission about Last.fm got the other Top 10.
The TL badge is for “Thought Leader”, thanks to my Mixx article getting the most positive votes during the day Thursday. And then the C badge is for “Curmudgeon”, because I voted down the most number of stories — there was so much spam!
Pardon me while I bask in the glow of a fun day on Mixx….
Mixx’s Secret Upgrades Rock!
It’s fun to watch a new web site grow and improve, and it’s even better to be part of that improvement and development. I wrote a couple months ago about Mixx’s great customer service, and tonight I’m writing about the most recent round of on-site improvements Mixx has implemented.
What’s interesting about these upgrades is that Mixx chose to not mention three four of them in their official announcement today.
Is this part of a game? Find the hidden Mixx improvements? I wouldn’t put it past them. They’re cool that way. In any case, here are four five small-but-sweet improvements Mixx has just implemented, three four of which they didn’t tell you about themselves.
8-Category Limit
It used to be that you could submit a story and assign it to unlimited categories. Spammers took advantage of that (of course). No more. Now you’re limited to a very generous eight categories. The submission interface is nice, too.
15-Minute Edit Window
If you screwed up a submission or a comment, you couldn’t edit it. Your mistake was laid bare for all to see. The shame! Now, you’ve got a 15-minute edit window for both story submissions and comments. This is the only one of these upgrades that Mixx mentioned in the official announcement. And again, a very nice interface for handling the edits.
See More from this Mixxer
While browsing through recent submissions, there’s a new box that says, Like this story? See more from this Mixxer. It links to the user’s profile. It doesn’t show up on every submission, though. I’m not sure how it chooses when to appear, but I think it’s related to my voting history. I recently voted up one of BrettRowls stories and saw this under one of his other submissions.
More From This Site
And maybe the coolest upgrade of the bunch is another unadvertised tweak: On story pages, there’s a new tab that lets you see other submits from the same web site. This could become a great exposure tool for your blog or web site — one click and a Mixx user can see all the content from your site/blog that people have submitted. Love it.
If Mixx is going to avoid tooting its own horn and keep these upgrades quiet, that’s fine. But I’m all about spreading the word. It’s the little things like this that make for a great experience — especially when they keep making improvements like this every couple months.
Thanks, Mixx.
Did I miss any other upgrades? If so, leave a comment, please.
Update: Found One More
I found another upgrade tonight:
New Photo Scroller Display
The old, static display of photos in the right column has been replaced by a smooth, Ajax-y photo scroller. And there’s a link to see more photos below it. The surprises continue!
My First Tweet (Not Really, Sorry)
Since I’m still stuck in Web 1.5, I’ll have to use a blog post to answer this “tweet” from James Helms, whom I don’t think I’ve met. (Sorry if I did, Jim.)
Why I’m Not on Twitter
1.) Because, in the beginning, I was one of the millions who found the concept to be incredibly stupid. I’ve since come to recognize there might be some value there.
2.) Because my day job keeps me very busy, and I don’t have the time or inclination to have to worry about who’s-doing-what in the middle of the day.
3.) Because, yes, I am resistant to peer pressure, to the point of often disliking anything “the crowd” likes simply because the crowd likes it.
4.) Because Jeff Quipp isn’t on Twitter yet, either, and I’m trying to be the last person on Twitter.
(I’m also trying to rank #1 for [last person on Twitter], and as soon as I join, I can’t write about that, use that anchor text in my links, or anything.)
Any other questions? Better leave a comment, since I’m not on Twitter…..
I Sold Another Photo!
There are so many reasonz to love the Internetz, and here’s one of mine: I, a complete hack photographer, can occasionally make a little bit of coin by selling photos for commercial publication. How cool is that?
This photo, of a lighthouse called “Terrible Tilly” off the Oregon coast (as seen from Ecola State Park), will apparently be used in the May issue of Seattle Magazine. (They’re doing a coastal feature from what I understand.)
I’ve previously sold photos to the Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau for their 2008 Visitors’ Guide, and to a company based in western Washington for their 2008 company calendar.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not going to retire on any of this; it’s just a little extra spending money. But I’m going to be out taking photos everywhere I go regardless, so if I can get a little scratch back for my efforts, fantastic.
Thank you, Flickr. And thank you, Seattle Magazine.
Social Media Submissions, April 2
Been a while since I’ve done a roundup post. Need to be more consistent.
mixx
- The 24 Worst Bad MLS Photos of the Year - some really funny images here
- Why Some People Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Use Twitter
- Chernobyl: 22 Years Later
digg
- The 24 Worst Bad MLS Photos of the Year - I thought this had a chance to hit the home page, but nope….
- Chernobyl: 22 Years Later
Sphinn
- Is Digg Censoring Mixx, Propeller & Buzz? (Yep!)
- Why Some People Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Use Twitter
And that’s all….
Ha! Ha! Google Fools the Masses
While some social media sites appeal to a very small audience and have limited pickup, Yahoo! Answers is interesting because it appeals to the masses. It’s the No. 2 overall reference site on the Web and I speak from experience when I say that all kinds of people use the service: young, old, male, female, smart, not-so-smart, and so forth. It really is, for better or worse, a good representation of the population as a whole.
The masses, it must be said, were fooled by some of the April Fool’s Day jokes that Google unleashed on Tuesday. Here’s a sample of some of the questions in the past 24 hours in the Google sub-category on Yahoo! Answers. Enjoy!
My Name on a Book Cover
It’s both incredibly cool and incredibly strange to see my name on a book cover image.
My publisher has chosen a tentative image for the cover of U2, A Diary, and that image is now available on Amazon. But, it may not be the actual image on the cover when the book is published later this year.
For those interested in knowing why, or just interested in seeing the cover image, I explain it all on the book blog:
