ebooks: Amazon’s Kindle or Sony Reader
Today, I am starting a series on ebooks and the digital readers. Maybe you didn’t notice, but there was a big jump in the e-book market last month.
Though e-book “readers” have been around for over 5 years already, they didn’t start to click with the public until the Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle entered the scene.
Sony Pocket
Kindle (6 inch)
There’s no doubt the Kindle is well known, but the Sony Reader is far and away my favorite. The latest and least expensive reader from Amazon is the Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6″ Display and Global Wireless)
Amazon only has one other Kindle to choose, and that’s the Kindle DX (with a 9.4 inch display)
Sony has two other models to choose from: The Sony Reader Touch Edition (PRS600RC)
The Sony Daily Edition is the only Sony model that has wireless capability like either Amazon Kindle device.
While wireless capability in either device is convenient for the sake of downloading books on the go, and there is no need to worry about the added expense of paying for 3G wireless service from AT&T since Amazon foots the bill for you. The device comes preconfigured.
Both the Sony and Amazon devices allow you to download ebooks from a PC or Mac with a USB cable.
The pros and cons come in with your choice of sources for getting books for your reader. The Amazon Kindle only works with Amazon, while the Sony Readers can get books from any of a dozen or more ebook sites such as www.ebooks.com, www.kobobooks.com (partnered with Borders Books), www.gutenberg.org, Sony’s Ebookstore, and the Google Library, to name a few, not to mention several free ebook sources, too.
I’ll have more information on the ebook readers and ebooks in the days ahead.
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Anti-Spyware and Anti-Virus for new computers
I’m picking up where I left off last week with the $450 computer system I built for a client. The system has 2 GB of RAM, a dual core processor, a 500GB hard drive, a DVD burner, and it runs the latest Windows 7 operating system.
In my last article, I listed some software I install on a typical new computer; today, I’ll continue by discussing spyware protection with PC Tools Spyware Doctor and virus protection using avast!
Viruses and Spyware: What’s the difference?
Viruses
- Viruses are small programs or snippets of computer code that are designed to spread from one computer to another by infecting email messages, computer files, or storage media. When another computer opens an infected file, message, or disc, the virus has an opportunity to infect the new computer.
- Viruses often have noticeable affects such as slowing down a computer, blocking access to files, causing unusual counds or messages to appear, or even the deletion of files stored on a system.
- Each virus needs specific conditions in order to take effect. For example, some viruses may require that a file or email message needs to be opened — often by a specific program (Word, Excel, etc.). In some cases your computer maybe infected, but without the necessary activating conditions, you may never notice the virus’s presence, but it is still possible for the the virus to spread if the infected message or file is sent to another computer.
- Viruses can be detected and eliminated by anti-virus software.
Spyware
- Spyware, as it names implies, is more difficult to spot. After all, a good spy shouldn’t be noticed.
- While viruses are designed to spread on their own, spyware is often intentionally downloaded by a computer user. Typically the user is deceived and lead to believe that the program they are downloading is useful, beneficial, or desirable.
- Spyware is often designed to seek out personal information, or to trick the computer user into providing personal information.
- Some spyware may have “viral elements” which enable to spyware to spread to other computers. Such spyware can be detected by anti-virus software.
- Spyware without a viral element is detectable by anti-spyware software.
Many computer owners mistakenly believe that they only need one or the other, but if you use the Internet you should have both types of software installed on your computer. Antispyware doesn’t detect viruses, and antivirus programs only detect some spyware programs (as mentioned above).
avast! antivirus
My antivirus software of choice is avast! This program is free for home users with only one computer. If you have more than one computer, they ask that you download the avast! Pro version. avast! Pro for one computer is $40, $55 for three computers, and $85 for 5 computers. I have installed this software on over a hundred computers, and there have been no complaints from anyone who’s used it.
PC Tools Spyware Doctor
My favorite anti-spyware program is PC Tools Spyware Doctor. I found this program several years ago, and was happily surprised to find it caught more spyware than any other program of its kind. I’ve been using it and recommending it ever since.
Spyware Doctor just keeps getting better with age. The latest version includes anti-virus software, and the October 2009 issue of PC Magazine says:
“The latest Spyware Doctor proved effective in every area of malware removal and blocking. It’s a great product.”
Spyware Doctor can be installed on up to three computers for $39.95. It’s only available online. Click the links above or the picture at left in order to buy your copy. Its available as a download and as a mail-order CD.
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Software for a new computer
Several of my recent posts have been about a $450 computer system I build for a client — a homeowner in need of a computer for general gaming, web surfing, word processing, paying bills, etc. So far I shown you the parts I purchased or similar ones (Part1, Part 2, Part 3), then I provided instructions for assembling the system and installing the Windows 7 operating system.
Now comes some recommended software for this new system. The software I am listing here is software I typically install on a new computer system. Most of the software I am listing here is free, and it all comes from reputable online sources.
My first stop after booting up a new computer is the Google Pack site. This site from Google has a dozen different programs you can download and install on your computer. I download and install 3 or 4 of the following programs:
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- Picasa: You can use this program to find, edit, and share your photos stored on your computer; download pictures from your digital camera; remove red eye from your photos; and upload your photos to be shared with your friends on the www.picasa.com web site.
- Firefox: This is the next most popular browser after Internet Explorer. Though there are many browsers to choose from, Internet Explorer and Firefox are the most popular, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with having more than one on your computer. Think of it as having two cars in the driveway. use which ever one you want whenever you want.
- Adobe Reader: This program is useful for all the PDFs you’re bound to receive from friends or web site downloads, among other sources. The reader allows you to open and print Adobe Acrobat files. (PDF, by the way, stands for portable document format.)
- Google Apps: This one is optional. If they have Microsoft Word and Excel on their computer I typically don’t install this. Google Apps allows you to create and share documents and spreadsheets which can be stored in an online account on the Google Docs web site. This is a free alternative to Microsoft Office. (Alternately, you could also download and install Open Office from Sun Microsystems. It, too, is a free office software package. (Personally, I haven’t tried Open Office, but it’s been around for quite a while, and Sun is a very reputable company.)
There are 8 other programs you can add to your computer form the Google Pack web site, but the ones above are my favorites.
Come back later and I’ll share my antivirus and antispyware picks. If you’re a regular reader I’m sure you know which two programs I’m going to recommend.
