My iPhone 4 Review or Why My Apple Fanboydom is Now Complete

by Vernon Keenan

June 25, 2010

Berkeley, CA

Many years ago, in 1984 when the original Macintosh came out flying that pirate flag, I was what we call today an Apple Fanboy. I was young, and very much impressed with the GUI, the mouse and all that neat stuff the Mac brought to the world.

I would carry around my original Mac 128K in that huge duffel bag and hook up the dot matrix printer and gape in amazement when a halftone graphic printed. And after the original LaserWriter came out, it was off the races for the next ten years of my IT career.

Like I've written elsewhere, I have strayed from the Apple camp for a number of years. I only dabbled with learning OS X, but I felt comfortable since I use Linux professionally. I even bought a black MacBook in 2006 just for fun, but I was pretty much still not that impressed with Apple.

Boy, has that changed. It started in 2007 when I got the original iPhone. Not only do I think they are ready for world smartphone domination, see previous post, but this new iPhone 4 is a super product I don't have any trouble recommending to clients.

I did manage to get online after about 20 tries on June 15, the day of the pre-order online scramble. I think I managed to get through by using one of my cloud-based servers that gave me a significantly faster Internet connection than most other web users. I was lucky enough to be in the first batch of owners to receive their packages on Wednesday June 23.

That package is almost identical to the 3GS package; it only has a minimal instruction book, warranty information, the basic Apple Headphone earbuds with a mic, a basic iPhone-USB cable, and the two-pronged AC adapter. For me, activation was super-simple and simply took plugging it into my MacBook and syncing with iTunes. It loaded my old iPhone backup and I had everything on there but my iPod content.

The new size and design of the product is very nice, giving it a much more solid feel and heft than the 3GS plastic design. I can still hear the buttons rattle when giving it a good shake, but that noise is much less than before.

I like the new glass surface, but I am also a bit worried about marring or breaking it. I wonder how forgiving they will be at the Genius bar with cracked iPhones? The lack of curves and the tight corners between the glass and the metal band gives your fingers more to hold onto than the previous model. Even with the glass, it is less slippery than the 3GS model.

The most impressive new feature to me is Apple's new Retina Display, where they claim their 326 pixel per inch screen renders images so accurately the human eye cannot resolve the individual dots on the screen. I had to take out my over-40 special contact lenses to really see, but their claim is true. It is the finest computer screen I have ever seen, and you can actually read a full web page with no magnification. Although the type is only 5 or 6 "points" on the screen, it is totally legible and can be read.

Naturally, most of us won't be squinting at the tiniest rendering of text. However, the fine resolution of this screen makes it look as good as you would see in a fine art magazine. It certainly makes it more possible to watch movies, look at high-res photos, and read books on the iPhone.

After a few minutes of tapping apps, using the phone, doing texts, and using Safari, I was impressed with how much the new processor, more memory and the new multitasking capabilities speed up everything. Before it was quite painful to switch between any application and Safari mainly because you were actually re-launching the browser every time and it would re-load the page. Now, Safari runs in the background all the time, keeping track of its network connections and avoiding unnecessary page refreshes. Cutting and pasting between Safari and other apps just got a lot faster.

Another big improvement is the new 5 MP rear camera, the flash and 720p video recording. It is no replacement for a Nikon or Sony Handicam, but does anyone want to buy a Flip video recorder?

My call quality seems to be up, but that's is super-anecdotal on my part. I've only had it for two days now, and I can't tell if what I'm seeing is a reliable pattern.

I must say, though, that my personal experience with AT&T signal quality has been good, even since my original iPhone in 2007. I pretty much stay in the Berkeley/North Oakland areas, plus southern San Diego county, so I don't go to the bad zones very often.

But, I have had all sorts of problems with my iPhone 3GS in downtown San Francisco, including getting dropped calls when I have four bars of strength. The worst is 3G data performance in San Francisco. I haven't run any serious tests, but loading web pages on an iPhone in downtown San Francisco sure feels like it's going at quarter speed compared to downtown Berkeley.

There are a bunch of iOS 4 features I haven't used yet, such as FaceTime, but I have instantly grown used to the new dashboard folders and the multitasking. The new combined inbox and email threading is nice too. The multitasking works by double-tapping the menu button and a list of your active applications pop up. Swipe to the app you want, and you've just saved about three taps and five seconds of another application launch.

I could drone on, but you get the idea. Here is the bottom line. If you have an original iPhone or 3G, you should upgrade right away if $250 is in your budget. The new iOS 4 update doesn't work on the original, and it will go much slower on the 3G. Just order the iPhone 4 from the Apple Store online and have it delivered. That's the simplest.

If you have a 3GS and aren't tempted to do it for fashion's sake, then first try out the new iOS 4 free update. That will give you 80% of what iPhone 4 owners get. You can wait and see about price drops or easier availability later this summer.

If you are on another smartphone, especially a Windows or another bad design that hampers your use, then I guarantee you'll get more use out of your mobile device if you switch to the iPhone. Note that I'm not talking to the Blackberry or Android Fanboys out there. We'll talk another time...

In any case, Apple has another real winner with the iPhone 4. And, yes, I confess to being an Apple Fanboy reincarnated.

Small Business Antivirus Evaluation

Detailed Antivirus Product Comparisons for Small Business Clients


By Robert Crabbs
4-27-2010




INTRODUCTION


One of our larger clients just had an Avast! license expire. Because of the wide range of malware threats found on the internet, having a current antivirus subscription is imperative for all computers running Windows.


Unfortunately, Avast’s product fell far short of Berkeley Logic’s expectations. The product was not easily managed from an IT standpoint, and thus took time away from other tasks at the client. In addition, Avast’s technical and sales support staff responded slowly to help requests, and often failed to understand the basic nature of the requests themselves. Their support structure was clearly disorganized and ineffective.


Because of the shortcomings of the client's current security software, Berkeley Logic is replacing it with a competing product. We put substantial effort into searching for suitable replacements, evaluating various offerings based on three primary criteria:

• Low performance overhead. The client has a significant number of older computer systems in place in its network. Antivirus software we use should not impair system speed and usability, especially for these older machines.
• Strong technical support. Quality product support reduces the overall costs of deploying and managing software, and allows Berkeley Logic to focus on other IT needs of the client.
• Low yearly cost. Naturally, reducing operating costs is desirable. Security software should be within budget without sacrificing performance or quality of support.

Berkeley Logic investigated products from sixteen major vendors: Avast!, AVG, Avira, BitDefender, CA, CoreTrace, ESET, F-Secure, G-Data, Kaspersky, McAfee, Microsoft, Panda, Sophos, Symantec, and TrendMicro. This report covers the five antivirus suites that satisfied all three criteria above; the other eleven were found lacking in at least one major aspect. The finalists were:


• Avira Antivir Professional
• AVG Antivirus Business 9.0
• BitDefender Small Office Security
• F-Secure Antivirus
• G-Data Business Antivirus

PRODUCT: Avira Antivir Professional

WEBSITE: http://www.avira.com

Avira’s business antivirus software was one of the fastest security products we evaluated. Performance was minimally impacted, even on the older Dimension 2400 computers at out client. The centralized management software operates smoothly and is generally straightforward.

PROS

• Remote deployments proceeded quickly and smoothly
• Centralized console is clean and simple
• Antivirus engine is known to be quite effective
• Software uses little memory and CPU time
• Generates custom reports of security status
• Can easily configure client software settings en masse or individually

CONS

• Somewhat expensive for 1-year licensing
• Cannot send alerts or notification emails to Berkeley Logic
• Server locates all network computers, but cannot perform mass deployments

PRODUCT: AVG Antivirus Business 9.0

WEBSITE: http://www.avg.com

AVG offers a strong security suite which is both fast and effective. Though somewhat slower than Avira’s Antivir, AVG’s engine also does not affect system speed much. The ability to control individual components of each installation is quite useful, and allows a large degree of performance tweaking. Virus-scan reports can be generated and saved on a schedule. In addition, the AVG server can send email alerts to Berkeley Logic in case of a critical security issue.

PROS

• Remote deployments proceeded without errors
• Centralized console is clean and simple
• Antivirus engine is known to be quite effective
• Software uses little memory and CPU time
• Generates custom reports of security status
• Can send alerts or notification emails to Berkeley Logic
• Can easily configure client software settings en masse or individually

CONS

• Somewhat expensive for 1-year licensing
• Server locates all network computers, but cannot perform mass deployments
• Installations take a long time to finish (expensive deployment)

PRODUCT: Bit Defender Small Office Security

WEBSITE: http://www.bitdefender.com

Bit Defender’s software stands out for two reasons. First, it had almost no performance impact, even on very old Dell Dimension 2400 computers. Second, the license pricing is the least expensive of any of the 15 major antivirus products we reviewed. Its centralized management is quite streamlined and easy to use. But despite its simplicity, it also contains many powerful administrative tools beyond the scope of normal antivirus software.

PROS

• Remote deployments proceeded quickly and smoothly
• Centralized console is clean and simple
• Software uses almost no memory or CPU time
• Generates custom reports of security status
• Can send alerts or notification emails to Berkeley Logic
• Supports deployment to any of number of workstations at a time
• Can easily configure client software settings en masse or individually
• Includes many tools for IT users to manage networked computers
• Lowest cost of all antivirus products reviewed

CONS

• Antivirus engine effectiveness is somewhat of an unknown to Berkeley Logic

PRODUCT: F-Secure Antivirus

WEBSITE: http://www.f-secure.com

F-Secure’s biggest strength lies in its centralized management interface. Of all the antivirus products we reviewed, F-Secure had the cleanest, most well-organized front-end. Performance impact was noticeable but by no means excessive. We did have an issue using the remote installation tool, though it may simply be a limitation of the trial version we downloaded.

PROS

• Centralized management user interface is best-in-class
• Generates custom reports of security status
• Can send alerts or notification emails to Berkeley Logic
• Supports deployment to any of number of workstations at a time
• Can easily configure client software settings en masse or individually

CONS

• Antivirus engine effectiveness is somewhat of an unknown
• Yields somewhat slower performance than the other offering
• Could not use remote deployment with the software package we downloaded

PRODUCT: G-Data Business Antivirus

WEBSITE: http://www.gdatasoftware.com

G-Data’s antivirus product is unique in that it employs two separate scanning engines (Kaspersky and BitDefender) to search for viruses. While we expected this approach to make a larger drain on computer resources, G-Data actually impacted performance less than most of the other antivirus suites. The centralized console is well-organized and relatively easy to use, though it does not generate on-demand reports like many other products do.

PROS

• Remote deployments proceeded quickly and smoothly
• Centralized console is clean and simple
• Software uses little memory or CPU time
• Can send alerts or notification emails to Berkeley Logic
• Supports deployment to any of number of workstations at a time
• Can easily configure client software settings en masse or individually

CONS

• Does not generate custom reports of security status

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Each antivirus product was evaluated based on the following:

• Ability to install and uninstall on network computers via a server-end application
• Ease of client management (updating, changing settings, etc.) after installation
• Quality of client status monitoring and virus reporting
• Performance impact on workstations (i.e. startup times, file access, internet browsing)
• Support of Windows Server 2003 and Server 2008
• Effectiveness of scanning engine at detecting/preventing/eliminating threats
• Yearly licensing cost

CONCLUSIONS

The table below shows the relative rankings of each product in several categories, with 1 being best and 5 being worst.

	Avira	AVG	Bit Defender	F-Secure	G-Data
Yearly Cost	5	4	1	3	2
Performance	2	3	1	5	4
Ease of Deployment	2	3	1	1	1
Ease of Client Management	2	1	2	2	2
Reporting and Alerts	2	1	1	1	3
Effectiveness	Good	Good	Unknown	Unknown	Good
OVERALL RANK	3	4	1	5	2

All five of the finalist security suites proved to be strong candidates; there is no clear “best” antivirus product. For example, it is true that BitDefender ranks top in most of the categories. However, the differences were often small. Other differences in features were not readily quantifiable; each central interface had advantages the others did not.

Each offering’s centralized management interface seemed polished and easy to use, though F-Secure’s stood out among the rest. There were a few caveats as well. Some of the products did not seem to support mass network installations, which increases their total cost of deployment. Others, like Avira, did not have advanced notification and alert tools to inform Berkeley Logic of possible virus threats.

Performance is important, naturally, but less so as older Celeron and Pentium computers are gradually replaced by newer Intel and AMD processors. Still, not all of the aging workstations have been replaced. Fortunately, every one of the antivirus suites ran smoothly on 6-year-old Dell Dimension 2400 Celeron systems. F-Secure was somewhat slower than the others, and BitDefender appeared to barely impact performance.

Because all of the offerings are strong, perhaps yearly cost is the deciding factor. Berkeley Logic happened to get a good deal since we signed up as new reseller for BitDefender.

For other organizations looking to pick a new antivirus solution, we hope these notes will provide you with some insight into your research and help you make a good choice.


-- Robert Crabbs (rcrabbs@berkeleylogic.com)

Review of Netgear Powerline HD Network Kit (HDXB101)

by Vernon Keenan, April 6, 2008

Powerline To The Rescue

Using an unreliable wireless network connection is huge waste of time, and can be quite infuriating. I'm sure many of you have had an unforgettable experience when your wireless connection failed at the most inopportune moment. Or, you might be mystified why you can't get a desktop computer to connect using WiFi to a new router in the next room.

What is the ambitious home networker to do? Is he or she doomed to spotty connections forever? Never fear, Netgear comes to the rescue with its Powerline products. Using Powerline adapters is the smart way to network media centers, servers, and desktops in the home and small businesses.

Powerline technology works by plugging two-pronged adapters into regular home power sockets. When two or more of the adapters are plugged into the same power network they link up to create an Ethernet network.

I use these handy devices by connecting one to my router, and the other to my desktop computer upstairs. They work magically with no set up required. They also work well in very large home or dormitory. You can have up to 16 Powerline devices. I have used three Powerline devices to make a three-node Ethernet network in my home without any problems. It couldn't be simpler.

Once you have an Internet router plugged into one end of the Powerline Ethernet bridge and a computer plugged into the other end, the computer will have a direct Ethernet connection to the router. No special software is needed on the computer to use an Ethernet bridge.

Ethernet bridges are very useful because they are universally compatible with any Ethernet device. That means that Powerline Ethernet bridges are compatible with a game console, SlingBox, WiFi access point, and anything else with an Ethernet port. You can easily "split" an Ethernet connection with a $20 Ethernet switch. I think this will be pretty useful in a modern living room with a Media Center PC or MacMini hooked up to a HDTV setup.

The modulated signal used by Powerline encrypts the digital data, which enables separate data networks to exist on the same power network. There is a Windows application used to control these advanced features. Most users won't ever need them.

I have used several of Netgear's Powerline products. They have Ethernet bridge kits which include two matched devices. They also have WiFi versions where one end is an Ethernet bridge and the other is a WiFi access point. They also have three different speeds you can buy, and the speeds don't all interoperate! I have to say it is confusing picking just the right product to order.

I have used the Netgear Wall-Plugged Ethernet Extender Kit (XE102G) with no problems whatsoever. I added a standalone Wall-Plugged Ethernet Bridge (XE102) to have a total of three Ethernet nodes. I have also used the WiFi access point Powerline Wireless Range Extender (WGXB102). I did have reliability problems with the WiFi access point functionality, and I don't recommend using Netgear's wireless Powerline devices. I worry about heat and other factors inherent in this design. I do definitely recommend the pure Ethernet solution.

I wasn't really impressed with the speed of the XE102 bridge, however. It wasn't any faster than a good wireless connection. So unless you need it, there really is not a speed advantage. That was why I was eager to try out the newer Powerline HD Network Kit (HDXB101). They claim a 200 Mbps top speed.

I bought my adapters at Frys in Concord, California. They had them in stock for the same price ($169) as on their web site.

I set up my new adapters with one in the basement connected to the router and my servers, and its twin upstairs next to my desktop. Everything worked super smooth on the first try. I attained a top speed of approximately 40 Mbps. Now that is actually pretty good, hitting right in middle of the 100 Mbps capacity of most Ethernet devices. That speed should allow for streaming of an uncompressed DVD with no problems.

It is interesting that Netgear claims a top speed of 200 Mbps because the Ethernet port on the HDXB101 is 100 Mbps! Technically, it is impossible for the end user to ever see 200 Mbps. I suppose this marketing claim can be substantiated because they have overhead due to the encryption or some BS. Funny how things never change in Silicon Valley.

In conclusion I heartily recommend the Netgear Powerline Ethernet bridges. I'd recommend sticking with the kit packaging for the straight up bridges. That would be the HDXB101 for the high speed, the XE103G for the medium speed and the XE102G for the low speed. According to Netgear the XE* units will interoperate, but I have only tested the XE102G and have never used the medium speed units. I suppose a followup to this review would be to compare the speeds of all three units to make sure there is some real value in the faster, and more expensive, units.

Happy networking! I hope this ends a frustrating situation for someone. Please let us know with a comment below! -- Vern