Activity for September 30

Review - Maxthon (v2)
2.5.4.159 (Aug 6, 2009)

I have been skipping all updates since 2.1.5 versions. Thinking that perhaps the bugs had been ironed out, I installed this version yesterday. All seemed ok until I noticed that the RoboForm bar had developed some sort of amnesia. It failed to recognize ALL the log-on pages, and it quickly became a real annoyance. I promptly uninstalled and returned to the previous version.
Review - Maxthon (v3)
3.0.0.139 Alpha (Jul 24, 2009)

As a long time Maxthon user, I took this baby out for a brief ride. I was quite impressed by the browsing speed and compatibility with websites. Of course, this "baby" has a ways to go before it qualifies as my main browser, but I most certainly see the potential. I'll revisit when it enters beta and/or it offers ad blocking options, etc. Keep up the good work.
Review - AOL for Windows
9.5 Refresh Beta 8 (0.4337.64.1) (Jun 12, 2009)

"America Online (AOL) is a leading Internet Service Provider (ISP)"

Really? Perhaps if we substitute "is" with "was".....
Review - DVDFab HD Decrypter
6.0.1.0 (May 16, 2009)

Indeed. This is no longer freeware. It appears that 6.xxx versions have become shareware with a 30 day time out. :-(

Their website points to a 5.XXX version as freeware, which will become increasingly obsolete.
Review - Readon TV Movie Radio Player
5.0.0.0 (May 5, 2009)

(This is more of a question than a review, so I'm gining it a star rating reflecting current concensus pending further testing.)

Looking at their "Download" tab (product website) I notice that the only other offering is a "surveillance" program. I have to say, I immediatelly felt a red flag warning... This was partly triggered by the recall of how much mail spam offering internet TV of some sort are commonly found in my junk mail folder.

I would like to know if anyone has done any type of security audit on this software. I would be interested in trying it, but I just want some reassurance. I admit, paranoia is an important part of my computer MO - and that's ok.
Comment - Microsoft's free Security Essentials anti-virus tool goes live
5.0.0.0 (Sep 30, 2009 - 8:50 AM)

hmmmmmmmmm ..... what?
Comment - Windows 7: Will you pay to upgrade or won't you?
5.0.0.0 (Jun 27, 2009 - 1:40 PM)

I use Vista Ultimate and have had no problems whatsoever. In fact, I think the software is excellent in many ways. I also have a copy of Vista Premium, which I think is a "dumbed down" version of the former. I'm not talking features alone, but the overall functionality of the OS. Ultimate is much more stable and intuitive, IMHO. I can only imagine the problems inherent to the Home Basic. Unfortunately for Microsoft, most Vista users (and perhaps the most critical) had experience with the bottom two versions. I have not used Business, therefore I can only guess (based on various reviews) that it may have more in common with the Ultimate design.

My point is: Why does Microsoft insist on publishing substandard software to the critical mass? Do they not realize what was the root of Vista's downfall?

Now comes Windows 7. Great piece of software with a much warmer reception. This is mainly due to the "Ultimate" version being widely and freely available. What is going to happen when folks start using the less capable versions? WHY?

Since there are no reviews available on the different versions, I can only hope that this is not the case. It would be a poor business strategy in so many levels! I say, stop the tier pricing/features crap and publish your great software as it was designed, not tampered with.
Comment - Everyone but you is being rude with their mobile gadgets
5.0.0.0 (Jun 20, 2009 - 4:45 PM)

I often wonder if cell phones will go down in history as the only invention with a prominent spot in both lists: the best and the worst that ever happened to society.
Comment - Harris Poll: More Americans own HD DVD consoles than Blu-ray
5.0.0.0 (Jun 20, 2009 - 4:37 PM)

Perhaps the poll has more validity than some may realize.

I, for example, own an HD DVD player as well as many HD-DVDs. I only paid $39 for the player (with a free movie), and an average of $4-5 per movie. The player is the stand-alone XBox player, which I play through my HTPC instead (even though we do have the power hungry XBox as well). It also upconverts regular DVDs beautifully.

Contrary to what some of the posters assume, a great number of of us did not jump into HD DVDs until after the war was over. Even now that no new HD DVDs are being published, I'm still not interested in Blue Ray. I tend to agree with many who predict that the ever expanding availability of HD streaming (Netflix, Amazon, etc) will eventually prevail as the winning HD format as long as ISPs offer unlimited broadband access.
Comment - Up front: Microsoft no longer needs Money
5.0.0.0 (Jun 12, 2009 - 10:19 AM)

I must have misread the headline. By "Microsoft no longer needs money", I imagined that they were ready to start providing free upgrade licenses for existing genuine software owners, or to all Win7 beta testers, or something to that effect.

.... One can only dream.

Back to the subject: I used Money for some time until the dreaded "must upgrade to continue to use online banking access". My latest computer came with Quicken, so I made the switch. I see the same issue in the horizon, nevertheless. I have also used Mint.

My opinion is that free services (such as Mint) will eventually make the traditional Quicken model obsolete. The latter, however, has dipped its toes in the free online service model, which may help them remain relevant.

Another factor is that some banks charge extra for Money or Quicken access, or don't appear in their bank lists at all (only 3/4 of my financial accounts show up). Mint, however, has no problem getting the info from most financial institutions without problems or extra fees (all my accounts are in their list).

There is a good chance that I will eventually dump Quicken when they try to force me to upgrade.