Choices

Apparently, I have made a good second choice in anti-virus software for Laurae’s computer. My first decision, to use McAfee, was a disaster. Bloated software that did a gazillion things was not what was needed and the performance really suffered. I tried a dozen little tweaks to improve how it worked, but in the end I had to admit that none of those were going to help.

And getting rid of the software was no picnic either. Laurae tried every phone number on the McAfee site after her e-mail was ignored. (“We’ll get back to you within 24 hours”…not!) It took her at least an hour to cancel the sale and get her money back.

After removing the software, the computer ran fine again but I needed to find some kind of anti-virus software for it. I searched through download.com and found Zone Alarm, a program that I had used a long time ago as a firewall. (It was free at the time) It was only $20, a third of what McAfee wanted and so far it’s doing a great job. The computer runs as fast as it ever has.

Speaking of things technical; I just received a note from Amazon.com and they tell me that they are pretty sure that the original shipment is lost in the mail. (Gee! You think so?) And they are shipping my order again… So my web page development for the Plant Barn is still on hold. But, I’m tracking this order on-line from the very day it leaves the Amazon warehouse. Not that it will stop the order from being lost again; I’m doing it just because it’s such a cool thing to do.