Activity for August 2

Review - FileZilla v3 for Windows
3.1.2 (Sep 2, 2008)

@all the lame reviewers arguing on "the best/worst/bla-bla" software:

THIS is the BEST, I repeat, THE BEST OPEN SOURCE , MULTIPLATFORM, STANDALONE ftp client AVAILABLE today.

I use it on a regular basis on Windows, OSX and Linux AND it's SOLID ROCK. An application you can TRUST and USE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

Take ALL the facts into account when REVIEWING, don't just throw a lame "I've seen better".
It's a FTP client, for god's sake ! Don't ask for wings on a submarine and propellers on a duck ! Get real.
Review - Comodo Firewall Pro
3.0.22.349 (Apr 22, 2008)

I use Comodo for about three years now without having any problems, in a full combination with Avast Home Edition and SpyBot Search and Destroy. So far this combo granted me all the security I ever needed on a home Windows (XP and Vista) machine :-) and I highly recommend it to everyone. The latest update went smooth, I had absolutely no problems with it. Everything works fine as it should . Just make sure you don't get too bored pressing "Allow" and "Deny" mechanically when warnings start to pop-up and avoid setting it up to "paranoid warning mode" :-). So far I could not test the Defense module since I'm kinda experienced in avoiding problems that could trigger it :-)
Once again, an excelent program. I really love it and I appreciate the developers work. Congrats. And for keeping it free, well, my deepest respect and admiration.
Review - AxCrypt
1.6b3.1 (Jan 9, 2008)

I know I'm wrong on this but...

Since I've been using AxCrypt for a long time, I will rate this very useful app judging by the way it served me over time: Excellent ! As some other user just said, nothing fancy, no containers, no virtual drives, just a very useful context-menu driven encryption tool

But ...
I use to encrypt files and "forget" about them for a long time. From time to time I find myself needing the content of such an encrypted file. And one thing I would hate is finding out that the file is damaged.
That is why I suggest beta-testing it on a virtual machine , with already backed up files or just test files. That is what I will do.

I like the program a lot and the developer deserves our feedback. Help the man as he helps us :-)

Many excuses to BetaNews for not rating this specific version (which in fact we should all do)
Review - avast! Home
4.7.1098 (Dec 5, 2007)

Excelent! I really hope they will keep developing it.
And I also hope that the Linux version will come up to the performances of the Windows counterpart.
Review - Nokia PC Suite
6.85 Release 12 (Nov 28, 2007)

I use it. But running Nokia PC suite on any computer, no matter the hardware, would make you wonder why is this running so slow. Ok, I agree, transfering data between the PC and the phone might be slow but the rest of the suite should react extremely fast. Which unfortunately doesn't happen. Part of this comes from the bloated GUI. The other part, the "main" one ;-) is probably just bad programming.

@Adrian79: Instead of flaming over other users opinions on Vista or other apps, you should concentrate on reviewing the app that is reviewed/rated at the moment. Still, I will make the same mistake and say that some of us CAN afford Vista and still REFUSE to grant it more than "crap-level-OS" rank. Why ? Well, that's extremely simple: some of us had the weird idea of trying some other operating systems. And suprise ... Mac and Linux just blow away Vista. By far. I suggest you try them too. Later on, you might have the chance of never ever acting stupid again.

Now... back to Nokia... I also expect multiplatform flavors of the product. Something to compete with iSync on Mac and something to compete with mobile phone support on Linux.
Comment - The Value Question: Is the Apple or Microsoft Family Pack the better deal?
6.85 Release 12 (Aug 2, 2009 - 3:28 AM)

Yes, there is.
OSX Retail is the equivalent of Windows Retail. The prices ? Oh... the prices ... ;-)
Well... umm ... ;-)
Comment - The Value Question: Is the Apple or Microsoft Family Pack the better deal?
6.85 Release 12 (Aug 2, 2009 - 3:16 AM)

Not at all. I happened to admin two multiplatform LANs, both having at least 100 computers. Among those there were about 40 Mac computers. Well, over 8 years I only had to perform 15-18 hardware interventions on the Mac computers (not to mention NONE on the Linux servers).. Most interventions were HDD, keyboard and/or mouse replacements. One of the G4s is now under my table, still working.
Just take a guess how many hardware interventions I had on the remaining regular PC computers :-) Oh, some of them were brand names too.
Comment - The Value Question: Is the Apple or Microsoft Family Pack the better deal?
6.85 Release 12 (Aug 2, 2009 - 3:05 AM)

Umm... you don't really have to be a linux guru. Try Ubuntu, the closest stupid-proof linux distro. You may be a bit surprised of the results. After a year or so you'll be able to do the math regarding this tricky "what-do-i-get-for-the-money-and-time-i-spend" question.
Comment - Can Linux manage updates and upgrades more easily than Windows?
6.85 Release 12 (Jul 16, 2009 - 12:56 PM)

Talking about Ubuntu and kernel updates ... a kernel update usually requires a reboot. Well, not anymore, at least in Ubuntu. The very nice and free-for-Ubuntu KSplice application makes "rebootless kernel updates" a dream come true. Being available for Ubuntu only, it's just a start. Linux users expect KSplice to provide the package for other distributions too. Having KSplice on a CentOS server (or any other Linux server) would make any admin extremely happy.
Something that Windows (and even OSX) still does not have.
And yet they don't have to deal with the hell of video and/or sound drivers.
Upgrading to a new release makes me wonder every time if the existing ATI/NVidia drivers will work as they did before.
Easy things like setting up TV-Out or using your microphone in some trivial application (ex: Skype) are still a pain for the Linux user.
Not to mention the big confusing cloud caused by a non unified sound arhitecture.
Pulse Audio, ALSA, OSS, bla-bla... too many... much too many and none of them doing the right thing as easy as Windows or Mac does. I still dream of a Linux desktop.
Mark Shuttleworth wants Ubuntu to be on par with OSX in two years from now. Well, I guess he is extremely optimistic.
GNOME is a sitting duck, lagging way behind what a modern desktop needs to be/look like.
KDE devs just seem to be playing with the whole package for their own amusement (All I see of KDE is a huge "look ma' Iwe can do this, it doesn't matter if it's just useless eye candy".
Upgrading to the new KDE 4.x made lots of Linux users curse.
Compiz (as in Compiz, Beryl, Compiz Fusion and the whole history behind) brings some new air to the desktop. But try watching a video or play a game while having Compiz activated ...
Well, this is not part of the subject. Reverting to the subject itself, yes, Linux update/upgrade can be a painless process most of the times. Easier than Windows. Not as stupid-proof as Mac though :-)
Comment - It's official: Google Chrome, the operating system
6.85 Release 12 (Jul 9, 2009 - 2:48 PM)

@PC_Tool vs Fatty
Well, actually he is somehow right , at least in one point.
Let aside the fact that Bill started his business selling thin-air-nothing to IBM (remember, they had absolutely nothing when they signed the contract ?), the whole MS history is filled with one particular pattern: they always seemed to be extremely late on certain markets/trends, they always seemed to be inovating while in fact steeling technology from others, they ALWAYS presented already known things/technology as their hard worked/brand new/shiny/revolutionary/you-name-it product. In case they can't really inovate, they try to buy the originator of the technology. In case they can't buy, they "invent" some alternate technology which they introduce as "new revolution". Or they simply try to "insert" themselves virus-like inside the body of that particular technology (Take for example - and I'm pretty sure you will know exactly what I'm talking about if you know as much history as you pretend - the windowing system, the mouse, (MS-DOS) Stacker, Plan9/Word, dBase/FoxBase/FoxPro, IE/Netscape, Java vs Java (!!!), Silverlight. I chose to "mix" names of both sides just to make it more fun to you. As I said, I expect you to know exactly what I'm talking about)

Unfortunately everybody ended doing it. Today everybody has a little something borrowed from the neighbor :-)

Ok, so you are not Bill's fan. You would use a Mac for Photoshop/Illustrator and a Linux (?) for a home server. But you already declared yourself as a Google-all-the-way fan. You just happened to start with a small disappointment :-)

In the end really, I don't care too much. All I care is to have all the applications I need in a single place, uncluttered, accessible. Let them all kill each other. If this will lead to a better Joe-the-average experience when it comes to computers, so be it. Google wants a bone ? Well,

[...]
Money, its a crime.
Share it fairly but dont take a slice of my pie.
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil today.
But if you ask for a raise its no surprise that they're
Giving none away.
[...]

Aren't we all disappointed in some way or another ? :-)