McAfee Net Guard

McAfee Net Guard

For a week every time I got on the internet everything was slow. Gmail would get stuck, could not download anything, Youtube videos would not play beyond 14 seconds, and most sites needed to be constantly refreshed to work. At the beginning of last week everything updated. Windows, Adobe, and McAfee all updated on the same day.

It took a while to figure what messed up but thanks to some Youtube research it was narrowed down to firewall issues. I checked McAfee and turn several things on and off until the internet worked again. The culprit was Net Guard.

Net Guard is a feature that automatically avoids risky connections. The problem is that it labels everything as "risky". There is a way to edit the untrusted connection but they had names like http:122.1090.019 and server.theuun.ooap/aihoia/%20pabuua.thh.555. All this is gibberish to me and I have no time to go one by one and change each setting. Add to that I visit 20 to 100 sites a day, most just once, so I found this feature a major annoyance.

Solution
Turned it off.
Maybe later if I have time I will turn it on and "trust" each site I visit but that seems like a hassle for now.

Here's why this is a 10% program...
Pros

1. Worked great until the last update.

Cons

1. It's a beast. It will block everything and cripple all your browsers.

Rating: 1 out of 10 (10%)

Got it at:
McAfee for about $90 for the full package.

Camera Fun Pro

Camera Fun Pro

The only app I ever uninstalled. 

It worked great the first day but now it makes a horrible sound on my Droid X and online research has  shown it can destroy your camera.

What a shame. It had some great effects and worked very smooth.

No originals images of this since once it started making that clicking noise that would not stop until I turned off the phone I just got rid of it.

Here's why this is a 10% program...
Pros

1. Works great when working

Cons

1. Does not work

Rating: 1 out of 10 (10%)

Got it at:
Amazon: Camera Fun Pro

Arcade by Kongregate

Kongregate: Arcade 2.0

Thousands of free games online and hundreds available on their smartphone version. The games can range from extremely simple to huge role  playing complex adventures.

Phone version

Online/PC version

Here's why this is a 90% program...
Pros

1. Fun games
2. Smooth game play
3. Ability to earn points and keep progress

Cons

1. Not all games available to play even with wi-fi

Rating: 9 out of 10 (90%)

Got it at:
Kongregate: Free

AutoCAD 2010

AutoCAD

A 2D and 3D CAD(Computer-Aided Design) program that is one of best and definitely one of the most complicated. It can used to design everything from dresses to coins to skyscrapers.

Simple widget design.

The reason I am using 2010 is because that was the last year I was in college and could get it with the student discount for free.

Learning the program is simple enough but you should keep up since each version changes slightly. I started with AutoCAD 2002 and the changes are significant. Weather creating parts for a vehicle or adding layers to an HVAC system the need for good math skills becomes apparent.

The ribbon replaces the menu but using both is a better option.

Here's why this is a 80% program...
Pros

1. Mouse is not necessary
2. Huge files handles great
3. Many options and plug-ins available

Cons

1. Expensive
2. Hard to navigate menus
3. Help (F1) not really helpful

Rating: 8 out of 10 (80%)

Got it at:
College: (try your local college)
AutoCAD: AutoCAD, $4,295

Kindle

Kindle for PC
Kindle for Android with Whispersync

That famous e-book reader without having to spend one cent on the hardware. Well assuming you already own a smartphone or computer.

For PC version is not as easy to read but is very fast.

For Android version much easier to read, also has a better format.

The PC version tries to imitate a Mac experience which I never liked. The list in Android makes every seem organized. On Android there is a Whispersync feature that syncs all versions of your Kindle this way you never have to scroll through the pages.

Here's why this is a 70% program...
Pros

1. Android version is better
2. Books make you smarter 
3. Thanks for the Sepia option

Cons

1. PC version make my eyes twitch
2. Still they are books

Rating: 7 out of 10 (70%)

Got it at:
Amazon:  Kindle for PC, free
Android Market: Kindle for Android with Whispersync, free

FireFox 5.0

FireFox 5.0

Recently I reviewed Firefox 4.01 which turned out to be a crash-crazy browser. I got the new version over a week ago and it has not crashed once while doing the same task as always.

Here it is while using Google's new search format.

Hundreds of tiny improvements have worked. But the best feature is the Do Not Track function. To quote Mozilla "...transmitting a Do Not Track HTTP header every time your data is requested from the Web." is how it works. I have been noticing that my Google ads are the same no matter what site I visit hopefully that will stop.

Here's why this is a 80% program...
Pros

1. Easy to use
2. It has stopped crashing

Cons

1. Is hogging more memory

Rating: 8 out of 10 (80%)

Got it at: FireFox 5.0

Peggle

Peggle

This was one of my favorite games on PopCap but due to its limited play online I stopped playing it a year ago. Now it is on Android phones making it something else to distract me and zap my battery life.

Quick to open

Typical instructions.

With the lack of a mouse you use a touch screen scroll wheel instead. Since the game is limited to left and right movements it does work well.

And then let the pinball type fun begin.

Here's why this is a 90% program...
Pros

1. Easy to play
2. Great graphics and game play

Cons

1. Wi-Fi only download
2. Waste of time and energy although fun

Rating: 9 out of 10 (90%)

Got it at: Peggle on Amazon Free today, Usually $2.99