The Rife Report  November 2009

Lower-key Launch For Windows 7 Norton Security Gets Solid New "Rep" Yes, I have received the pre-release packs (2) of Windows7 that I ordered and paid for, and yes, I'm in the process of installing the OS on my No. 1 system. Another machine gets it later. And yes, I'm doing only clean installs. I call it (perhaps not technically correct) upgrading from Vista to Win7, but no, I won't go through the tedious and not-so-sure Microsoft "upgrade install." I agree with John Dvorak, respected tech columnist for PC Mag who has written on the problems still associated with that method. He titled it Upgrades Not Recommended. His feelings and mine are, despite the use of Windows Easy Transfer, similar. That utility is included with many of Microsoft's operating systems. Check this Microsoft site. Dvorak wrote on October 27: "Windows7 upgrades are so complex that they can reportedly take up to 20 hours. The consensus amongst users is that the best way to upgrade is with a clean install (read: by removing everything)." He goes on to note that a true upgrade involves "installing a new OS on a system with all of the old data intact." Of course, there'll be more on these install adventures, next time around. But first, to my surprise - on opening the green Home Premium OS box - there's a 32-bit and a 64-bit disc inside! How nice. Now, back in time to that big Thursday - Microsoft unveiled Windows 7 on October 22 with much less glitz than at previous OS press launch affairs. CEO Steve Ballmer's presentation - both on stage and at impromptu offstage gatherings - laid the groundwork for the new product to march to its own drummer. He said he expected 300 million Windows-based PCs to be sold this year, adding that 45,000 retailers across the world were now selling Windows 7. You may recall that Vista, despite much bally-hoo, got poor reviews and a poor adoption rate. Many corporate customers - which generate the bulk of Microsoft's revenue - and quite a few home users, opted not to upgrade. So, because of perceived weaknesses of its predecessor, Windows 7 is on the revenue hot seat. At the opener this time, there were no surprise celebrity drop-ins - it was staged at a more cosy New York venue. Instead of the huge Nokia Theatre in Times Square (the Vista site), the press gathered in the smaller Skylight Studios, near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel. Getting down to the nitty - I have used Windows 7's early versions beta (beta, RC) going on almost a year now. The driver issues that plagued Vista didn't happen because Win7 uses virtually the same deep code Vista did. And after nearly three years of Vista, most incompatibilities have been fixed. Bloat and User Account Control nags, the other major complaints about Vista, are also under control. Windows 7 performs better and takes up less disk space. I like Win7's new taskbar, user interface, and home networking enhancements - I like it all, a lot! Vista owners know that system opens with a series of blinks and beeps - imitating under-the-hood tech operations. With Windows 7, the idea was to mask the mechanics with stirring cinema. Rolf Ebeling led the design of the sequence of swirling fireflies that coalesce into the Windows icon hinting at the operating system's use of light. A survey by PC World found that 78 percent of those who tested earlier versions of Windows 7 had a good or excellent experience. If Microsoft's goal was to make an impression, convince the skeptics that its new OS is different, in fact, way better - the best demo at the launch event wasn't by super salesman and CEO Steve Balmer - it was the killer effort made by Brad Brooks, Windows vice president for consumer marketing. Brooks' show, called PlayTo, made it look so easy for Windows 7 users to stream content from just one computer to a host of devices and screens simultaneously around a house, it was crazy! Watch him in action via this video. After the official launch, the company released online a flurry of new Win7 support content. Among the goodies were some first-party theme packs in the Windows Personalization Gallery. These downloads included some new international themes featuring photographs from different regions of the world, plus 14 sponsored themes. The latter range from movies to sports cars, video games and even soft drinks (Coke and Pepsi). All the themes apply to only Windows 7 - sorry Vista owners. Get them here. Microsoft has special pricing on Win7 for students, natch. If you are a student (an .edu email address is required), you can upgrade to Windows 7 for $ 39.99 in Canada. This offer runs through Jan. 3, 2010. For more information, click here. Among many Win7 marketing ploys was a one-week whopper sale in Japan involving Burger King. The humungous burger imitated, in numerical style, the new Windows OS version number, offering seven meat patties in a bun. That's about 1.7-pounds of meat or about 2,120 calories - a day or more's intake count for most of us. It cost 777 yen (of course), around $ 8.50 US. CNN reporter Kyung Lah tried it out on this video. The decision to go for Windows 7 depends on your position in the computing world. When it comes to XP users, upgrading is almost a no-brainer so long as your PC can make the grade mechanically - you may be amazed how far Windows has evolved since 2001. If you're a Vista user, the decision is more difficult. Some things that make Windows 7 great are, to some extent, available in Vista. But you don't get the new user interface. As to which version to pick - the green-packaged Home Premium should suit most users. You might consider the higher-end versions for Bitlocker encryption, backup options, remote desktop or switching languages. Another consideration - even the 64-bit version of Home Premium is limited to addressing a maximum of 16 GB of system memory, and it can only be used on single-socket systems. If you're running a dual-processor workstation, you'll need Professional or Ultimate editions. Professional and Ultimate also include Windows XP Mode, which runs a fully fledged version of Windows XP SP3 in a virtual machine. This might be a deal-breaker for businesses concerned that their applications won't run natively in Windows 7 because it enables them to run in a familiar environment. But, and it's a big but, besides buying a more expensive version of Win7, you will need a CPU with built-in virtualisation support, otherwise the virtual XP machine won't start. The Win7 Family Pack is an affordable way to get 3 PCs in your home running Windows 7 Home Premium. Don't forget the new Homegroup network works only with Win7-equipped PCs. The Family Pack is available starting October 22, but only until supplies run out. This pack price in Canada is $ 199.99 New Norton Security Reputation-based At first glance, the new Norton Internet Security 2010 seems to have only minimal changes from last year - the interface colours are slightly different, but most features seem in the same place. The same applies to its little brother, Norton Antivirus 2010. As you would expect, Norton Internet Security 2010 protects against viruses, Trojans, rootkits, spyware and malware of all types. It also has a firewall, intrusion protection, e-mail protection and Web protection. By way of your browser, it warns about visiting sites that might be malicious. It also is Windows 7 compatible, unlike the 2009 version. But here's a big WOW - unlike the earlier versions, Norton Internet Security 2010 uses very little RAM or system resources! Great news. With deeper probing you'll uncover what Norton Symantec is excited about - reputation-based security technology. Rowan Trollope, senior vice president of consumer products, says the company now is "better positioned to protect against quickly evolving threats than traditional signature-based and behaviour-based detection." But is the new Quorum technology only word spinning or is it the McCoy? The company says that malware threats evolve so quickly now - and are built to last only a day, because the bad guys know counter-measures can be released to detect the threat in just 24 hours. Symantec sees these speed factors as the new major threat. Which is where Quorum comes in. Traditional security software detects threats by searching for signatures - code patterns that identify malware - or by examining the behaviour of a piece of software. Symantec claims these solutions can't keep up with the massive amounts of new malware now released every year. Trollope explained that Quorum creates a "reputation" for every piece of software it encounters, basing that reputation on such things as download source, age, prevalence and digital signature. So, for example, a new file downloaded from a Web site that few people have ever used will be regarded as suspect by Quorum, even if it is not known as a piece of malware and exhibits no suspicious behaviour. Symantec stresses that it hasn't abandoned other means of catching malware. Will Quorum help? Time will tell. Early testing gained Editor's Choice from PC Mag. The main screen still has three sections now titled Computer, Network and Web (previously it was Computer, Internet and Identity). As with the previous version, there are monitors on the left-hand side of the screen that show your CPU's current usage and how much of that Norton is taking up. If you like more info, you'll find plenty of links. For example, click the Performance link on the left-hand side, and you'll see a new feature: a page that offers in-depth detail about CPU and RAM use over the last ten minutes, the last half hour, hour-and-a-half, day, week, and month. The suite's anti-spam component features a new engine from enterprise anti-spam vendor Brightmail. Symantec says it is 20 percent more effective than its previous anti-spam protection. Then, there is Norton Safe Web; new to Norton Internet Security but previously introduced in Norton 360 version 3.0. It works with Google, Yahoo and Bing, and shows whether any sites that turn up in search results are potentially dangerous or untrustworthy. Norton Internet Security 2010 costs $ 69.99 for a 3-user license. Check its home page. Norton Anti-virus 2010 lacks an internet protection module, but does have email spam protection and all the new Quorum technology of Norton Internet Security. It costs $ 59.99 for a 3-user license or $ 19.99 for a 1-user license. To view its home page, click here.

-30-