McAfee causing Windows XP to crash

There have been some recent reports that a McAfee update has been causing computer crashes. If you're running Windows XP and McAfee, pay attention. Otherwise, you may experience constant rebooting or the BSOD (blue screen of death) system crash.

PC World has published a story titled, "Recovering from the Flawed McAfee Update." Click here to read how you can fix your broken computer. Do you have a backup of your computer? The easiest thing might be simply to restore a backup. Of course, that's easy to do if you're dealing with a single computer. However, it's more complex if you're dealing with a high volume of corporate PCs.

Speaking of computer crashes, do you have someone lined up who can come to your rescue if your PCs crash? Can you afford to lose a few days of productivity if your computer crashes?

PC World: iPad Pre-Orders: For Idiots Only?

Well, I'm not placing an iPad pre-order, but I wouldn't call my friends and colleagues "idiots" if they want to be the first ones who own an Apple iPad.

PC World has a story titled, "iPad Pre-Orders: For Idiots Only." The word "idiot" is a strong word. I think "dummy" would be better, given that the "For Dummies" book series have done really well.

The Apple iPad still remains a mysterious product in that we haven't had a chance to hold one in our hands. However, we know the specs, we've seen the videos, so what more do you need? If you don't live near an Apple Store, you may never get to try the device before you buy it.

People are ready for the Apple tablet

According to this story on PC World, ChangeWave Research polled more than 3,300 U.S. consumers and discovered that one-in-five American consumers are saying that they're likely to buy the Apple tablet. Wow!

Are you ready for the iSlate? 

Plastic Logic Que

According to the editors at PC World, the Plastic Logic Que was one of the "Best of CES 2010." Here's how they describe it:

E-readers were one of the hottest categories of the show this year, and the most compelling new model we've seen is the Plastic Logic Que. This 10.7-inch reader sports a capacitive-touch display that lets you gesture through page turns; it also downloads books from Barnes & Noble's e-book store. It will be available in April in a 4GB Wi-Fi version for $649, and an 8GB version with Wi-Fi and 3G for $799.

I'm not particularly excited about e-readers because I'm already a tablet user. I can read books on my tablets. So, why invest in a dedicated e-reader when I already have a device that does that already?

Google Chrome OS: the Best and Worst Features

PC World has a nice post about the 5 best and 5 worst features of the upcoming Google Chrome OS. On that list, my favorite "best" is that we should see extremely fast boot times on devices running Chrome OS. 3 seconds! That's almost faster than resuming from standby.

The biggest "worst" feature in my opinion is that we don't know how well Chrome OS will work if you're offline. In the future, it may be difficult to imagine working offline since we'll always be connected. However, that future is still far away. We're still living in days where many people don't have constant access to the Internet when they're working.

So, how would I rate my level of enthusiasm for Google's Chrome OS? For health care professionals looking for a lean OS for their netbooks and ultra-mobile PCs, this OS should be a good alternative to Windows XP if you're primarily performing web-based tasks. Since many Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems offer an ASP (application service provider) option, you need to have Internet access if you want to use your EHR out of the office. If you don't use an ASP model, you'll need a VPN when you're out of the office. In either case, netbooks and other small PCs will gain popularity as clinicians recognize the need to have access to a computer when they're out of the office or hospital. They'll want something small, light, and efficient. Will Google's Chrome OS fill that gap?

To read the full story on PC World, click here.

PC World Ranks Internet Security Suites

So, I was browsing through PC World and I noticed that they had ranked Internet Security Suites. A significant portion of the August issue focuses on security-related topics.

So how were security suites rated? I'll list the top 3 first:

1. G Data Internet Security 2010 recieved a score of 91 (superior) and a "Best Buy" stamp
2. Symantec Norton Internet Security 2009 got a score of 90 (superior)
3. BitDefender Internet Security 2008 received 87 (very good)

The lowest ranked solution was:

• Comodo Internet Security Pro 3.8 which got a score of 57 (poor)

So, what do you use on your computer?

PC World Magazine

I recently got a free subscription to PC World, so I'll be sharing some of my opinions about the articles I read in the August issue. The cover caught my attention:

How to get the best of Windows 7 without upgrading: coax new life out of Vista and XP

I think that you can still get a lot of good life out of Windows XP, but I would encourage anyone currently using Vista to spend the money and upgrade to Windows 7. It just isn't worth the headache of dealing with all the Vista. Unless Microsoft comes up with a 3rd service pack for Vista that fixes many of the remaining bugs (which won't happen because they now have Windows 7), Vista will suffer a similar fate as Windows ME (remember that operating system?). Windows ME was quickly replaced by Windows XP, a solid OS. Well, Vista is going to get replaced by Windows 7.

PC World: 101 Fantastic Freebies

Over the weekend, I was looking for some free anti-spam software and I remembered that PC World has a list of 101 Fantastic Freebies (free software). Since medical students and residents are often very hungry for freebies. Who isn't?

So, whether you're looking for anti-virus software, anti-spam, productivity software, a free file sharing service, photo editing software, or something else, I'm sure you'll find something useful on this list.

View the 2008 list of 101 Fantastic Freebies here:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/143642-16/101_fantastic_freebies.html

Keep in mind that there are multiple versions of this is "101 Fantastic Freebies" list (one written in 2008 and there's also a version written in 2007).

Apple Tablet on Verizon Wireless?

There have been so many rumors about the Apple Tablet that I don't know what to believe anymore. However, the most recent rumor from PC World suggests that there may be an Apple Tablet on Verizon Wireless. Maybe it'll just be an iPhone that's not called an iPhone. Maybe it will actually be a larger device that has a bigger screen and an operating system that resembles the Newton Messagepad. Who knows, right?

Vista SP 2 Experience So Far

Don't expect any noticeable changes in performance with Vista SP (Service Pack) 2. Everything on my Lenovo Thinkpad X200 Tablet PC feels the same so far, but I wonder if I was plagued with some bugs that were unbeknown to me.

According to PC World, here's what you can now expect:

• Blu-ray and improved Bluetooth support:
• Fixes Wi-Fi issues when Vista awakes from sleep mode.
• Improves performance of Vista desktop sidebar gadget, allowing for RSS feeds to perform better.
• Address overall Vista system performance issues. Microsoft says SP2 repairs nearly 700 nagging Vista bugs and security updates.
• Boosts power management efficiency by 10 percent.
• Gives your computer support for VIA Technologies' new 64-bit CPU
• Lets your system support exFAT, which can handle larger files and can also use UTC timestamps so you can synchronize files across different time zones.

I'm not too impressed, but I am impressed with Windows 7 and I'm eager to run that on my Thinkpad.