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Readers who are ready to buy a new computer should consider switching to an Apple Macintosh.
 technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

T e c h n o f i l e
At my annual gabfest with readers, we all share some thoughts


Sept. 4, 2005


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2005, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2005, The Post-Standard

   I got an earful at the State Fair last week.
   I talked to dozens of readers when I spent an afternoon at the newspaper's "cafe" at the New York State Fair. As always when I meet with the folks who keep me honest, I came away with a lot of ideas about what matters most to many of you.
   The biggest concern, as you might guess, was the increasing vulnerability of Windows PCs and what could be done about it. We talked about viruses, spyware and the new threat, zombieware. (It's a virus-like invader that turns a Windows PC into a relay for spam, viruses and spyware. Tens of thousands of zombie Windows PCs are created on the sly each week.)
   My primary advice to readers who are ready to buy a new computer has been to switch to an Apple Macintosh. Apple's computers are based on Unix, a safer operating system than Windows, and they are unaffected by Windows viruses, spyware and zombieware. That's what I told fairgoers who asked me what I thought. And it's probably what I told folks who didn't ask me what I thought, too. (I tend to speak my mind even when I'm not invited to.)
   Some of the readers I talked to said they hadn't realized that Apple's computers handled such common Windows documents as Microsoft Word files. (In fact, Microsoft created Word for the Mac first, then created the Windows version after it was clear the program would be a success. Microsoft even offers a Mac OS X version of the Office suite; it's Office 2004.)
   I had some spirited conversations about personal choice in computing, too. Competition is vital, but information is important, too. I had the feeling, after talking to many readers, that Microsoft's competitors need to advertise on TV and in print media more.
   I was asked what's become of Gene Wolf, my longtime radio partner and fellow columnist; he's a consultant in Florida now. (And, yes, I'd love to do that radio show again.)
   Recent columns I wrote about organizing the way you store stuff on your computer earned many comments. I plan a followup article describing how I organize my own files and folders soon, but I'd like to make two points right away, based on my conversations at the Fair:
   1. Regardless of how you organize things, you should ALWAYS make copies of everything that's important.
   2. Your backups -- that's what I mean by "copies" -- should ALWAYS be kept separate from your computer. The safest and longest lasting backup medium is an optical disk (a CD-R or DVD-R), because it can't be erased.
   I had quite a few questions about DSL, the high-speed connection for telephone lines and the Internet, and I was asked repeatedly if DSL is faster or better than cable for an Internet connection. The answer? Yes and no. Some tests show it's faster than cable, others show it's about the same. My guess is that DSL connections will be the most common kind of Internet hookup a decade from now, and they are likely to cost less than cable.
   Finally, I was touched that so many readers asked how my cancer recovery was going. I'm fine. I can only urge all men over the age of 40 who are reading this to start getting regular prostate cancer blood tests if they're not doing it already. It's just a normal blood test, almost completely painless, taken from your arm. Prostate cancer is the No. 1 killer of men over 50. Don't let it get to you.