(no subject)

[hatman]

1. I get Norton's security/antivirus suite free from Comcast. It's been frustrating lately. Fixed now, but I'll take the opportunity to vent, for the sake of posterity (or something). Norton has been really slowing my computer down. Coming out of hibernation takes forever, it randomly starts claiming huge amounts of CPU time, and the email checker is so bad that even a plain text email can cause everything to freeze up for several minutes. I looked around the web and found that the CPU time issue was actually a known bug set off by some kind of conflict with Windows Update. The threads I found were fairly old, and people claimed that newer updates would fix it, but much as I checked for program updates, nothing seemed to help.

So I started looking around for alternatives. There are several free or cheap antivirus programs which get excellent ratings. And several people in the various threads on various sites talking about which program was better mentioned that Norton had become bloatware: trying to do too many things, and notorious for hogging resources to do so.

Last night, I tweeted about it, sort of hoping someone would chime in with a recommendation. Should I go with Avast? F-secure? Something else? Well, someone did chime in. Out of the blue. @NortonSupport. I hadn't addressed the tweet to them, but obviously they run a regular search for anyone mentioning their name. I was asked for the specs of what I was using, and quickly informed that my program was way out of date. (I was using version 3.8 when Norton had already moved on to 5.0.) The virus definitions were updating, but the program itself hadn't. I don't know why I wasn't notified (the guy at Norton says that was supposed to be Comcast's responsibility).

I went to Comcast to update and found that I couldn't do it directly. They have a new software bundle, and you have to install the whole thing to get Norton. Which was annoying, but fine. Did that, but it didn't update Norton. Just noticed that I had some version of Norton installed and told me I was fine on that front. So I uninstalled the version of Norton I had and the new Comcast suite (leaving my computer with very limited defenses), rebooted, and tried again. (In the meantime, Tim at Norton Support checked up on me to see if things were better and if I still needed help. Note that I'm not paying Norton a dime and I never directly contacted them.) This time, I got the new version of Norton. And it installed fairly quickly and didn't even require a reboot. But when Tim checked on me again, the computer was running very slowly.

I checked the Task Manager to find that half my CPU time was in use... by that Comcast program I had to install in order to get Norton. I looked around a bit for information about that only to find that I was not alone in having issues with it. Meantime, Norton popped up to tell me that FireFox was using a suspicious amount of memory. (Comcast's thing includes a browser security add-on.) Oh yes, and Comcast's program kept coming up with these pop-up notifications that took up nearly 1/4 of my screen.

The people in the threads who were having issues with processor time discovered the fatal flaw: Comcast's program conflicts with other anti-virus/anti-spyware programs. Which, if I read things correctly, includes the Norton Suite it installed. User-suggested solution: uninstall Comcast's program. Official response in that thread: Glad you found a solution!

I uninstalled it. Things seem much better now. So far. We'll see if Norton acts up again.

Forgot to mention: Installing Comcast's program instantly closes all browser windows. Uninstalling it opens a browser window with a survey to ask why you got rid of it. A survey I got to fill out three times. Because, of course, I had to go tend to the family computer. It was also running the outdated copy of Norton. So I uninstalled Norton, installed Comcast's program, used that to install the new version of Norton, and then uninstall Comcast's program.

In summary: Comcast failed to notify me of at least two major antivirus software updates, forced me to install their crappy software to get the latest update, didn't make their crappy software well enough to realize I needed an update, made their crappy software so badly that it conflicts with the stuff it's supposed to install, and generally managed to be seriously annoying. Urgh.

I am glad that they provide this stuff free to customers. But I'm also still generally disgruntled that the cable companies managed to get some kind of anti-trust exemption, allowing them to divvy up the market so that there's only one cable provider available to any given home in the country. Competition might just encourage them to lower prices and offer better service. So far, FIOS doesn't seem to have done much in that direction, but the fiber optic cables still aren't available in a lot of places.

2. Julian Gough is a published author whose free "goat bubble" story is the best, clearest, funniest explanation of the recent financial crisis I've seen. He's got a series of books about a mysterious orphan named Jude who grows up in Ireland. Book One is, sadly, not readily available in the US (it was supposed to be, but Amazon screwed up or something). Book Two, Jude in London, is out now. Both in traditional print format and also free online. How's that work, then? It's the Radiohead model. Download it, check it out, and, when you're ready, come back (on your honor) and pay what you think it's worth. Proceeds split 50/50 with the author, which is a much better deal than most authors get for even an ebook put out through a traditional publisher.

The book itself is... hard to describe. It's sort of like an extended dream sequence, with a series of inexplicable surreal events flowing into each other. It's pretty fun so far. I'm still early in the book, but there have been some really funny bits.

Worth a look, I'd say. It doesn't cost you anything to try.

3. Had a good vacation with the family. Short this year, unfortunately, but we made the most of our time together, I think. (When I say it was short, I was there for 2 1/2 weeks, but the whole family was only together for a few days. Actually, scratch that. My sister came up late because of Irene, and Dad had to leave to get back to work, so this is the first year where we weren't all together at all. That was weird.)

4. I don't think any of you ever watched Voltron when you were kids, but it was one of my favorite cartoons. Turns out the whole thing is available free online. Legitimately. WEP, the copyright owners, have a YouTube Gold account which allows them to put full-length episodes. Their channel is here. Not only do they have Voltron, but also GoLion, the Japanese cartoon used to make Voltron. That has English subtitles. It's interesting to watch both and see what got changed and cut out for American audiences.

5. I had an appointment with a new sleep doctor Mom found. I was going to give the full story elsewhere, but as long as I'm posting here, I'll give you the lowlights: She had nothing to offer, repeated herself ad nauseum, didn't seem to hear or understand a word I said, and said a few things I'm pretty sure are flat wrong. She did seem nice, personally, and wanted to help, but... I won't be going back.

Comments

[annabtg.livejournal.com]

Oh, do check out Batfink! It was good enough as a children's show, but growing up, I, and others of my generation, have got a newfound respect for it, as we realized what a cheesy parody of superhero cartoons it is. XD

Here you have the Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batfink) (holy crap, it's OLD!) and a typical episode (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oWhju6-cfM&feature=related) (including the classic lines "[...] cannot harm me! My wings are like a shield of steel!" and "My supersonic sonar-radar will help me!", and all types of ridiculous humour).

Saber Rider had a fabulous theme song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKxWl4PcBY4). Then again, most 80's cartoons did. Oh, those were the times.
(Lots of Greek comments there! Including the top one with the 88 thumbs up.)

New Thundercats series! That sounds very promising. I'll remember to check it out. I wonder if it's anything like the old one...

[pgwfolc.livejournal.com]

Batfink was fun. And yes, I can see just the era it fits in. Along with Super Chicken, Hong Kong Phooey, Underdog, and the like. I think Mighty Mouse came in later. Lot of deliciously awful puns in this one. Thanks. :)

Saber Rider kind of reminds me of Silverhawks, in a way. (I loved that show as a kid. It had the same voice cast as Thundercats. Looking back, though, the episodes were so formulaic I almost wonder why they bothered making more than one.)

Linked off the Saber Rider video was one for Swat Kats. Now that show rocked. And it's also on Master Toons.

New Thundercats is only a few eps in, but it's shaping up to be pretty interesting. Some things I don't like about it (such as Mumm-Ra being able to drop his sarcophagus down a chute into his own thundertank), but in general it's well worth checking out. Same general characters, but they've made big changes to the plot and backstory. It's very familiar (true to the spirit), but they've got plenty of room to tell new and different stories.

[annabtg.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed! :D

Silverhawks! I hadn't watched much of it but seeing the intro reminded me that it was indeed on that channel and I had come across it. I don't remember much else, though.

I don't think I've ever watched Swat Kats. Too bad!

New Thundercats sounds nice! I'll check it out and let you know what I thought. :)

[pgwfolc.livejournal.com]

Silverhawks had a cool concept. There's a distant galaxy where a monstrous alien mafia are the dominant power. In order to bring law and order to the area, Earth sends its best, toughest policemen. But to survive the stress of an intergalactic trip, they have to be turned into cyborgs. They're given the ability to function in space, built-in lasers, retractable wings, and a unique special ability. Their chief is an aging cyborg, the first cop to be sent out, who (about 30 years ago) singlehandedly captured and imprisoned the head of the mafia and sent the rest into hiding.

Thing is that the mafia leader gets incredible super powers from the light of a certain specific star, which finally comes into alignment to shine through his tiny cell window right about the time our heroes arrive to meet their new boss. The bad guy escapes and collects his old gang to go marauding around the galaxy and our heroes have to fly around and stop their evil schemes.

It's a great set-up. But, like I said, the episodes were all the same. The bad guys have a shapeshifter. He hides in the police chief's office as some innocuous-seeming object and listens in as the chief tells the Silverhawks about some secret that the bad guys Must Not Know. The spy reports the secret to the bad guys, who hatch an evil plan to take advantage of it. The Silverhawks chase after them and each fight their opposite number. (In particular, one of the good guys and one of the bad guys each has a musical instrument which can fire streams of energy blasts in the shape of musical notes. Bluegrass is the pilot of the Silverhawks' space ship - which has some pretty cool features - and he has a guitar. Melodia is an evil female punk rocker with a keytar. The two always end up dueling by playing their instruments at each other.) The evil plan is foiled at the last minute, but the bad guys escape capture. Next episode, they do it all over again.

They put a lot of thought into the set-up and the character and set designs, and came up with a pretty good theme song. But the plots were just phoned in. Fill in the blanks, really.

[pgwfolc.livejournal.com]

As for Swat Kats... it came a little later than the others. Early 90s, I think. Not sure if you'd like it. But I thought it was a lot of fun. Two best friends are partners on the police force. (Everyone is a humanoid cat, and there are cat puns everywhere. The police use fighter jets and helicopters more than cars.) When they prove to be better pilots than the police chief (going against orders to capture a dangerous criminal but causing some property damage in the process), he throws them off the force and consigns them to run the city's junk yard.

One of them is a big tough guy and an expert pilot. The other is wiry weapons officer and brilliant inventor. The latter builds an amazing jet out of spare parts found in the junk yard, as well as a wide array of non-lethal weaponry. The two take on secret identities and become vigilante superheroes, taking down monsters and supervillains that the police can't handle. The police chief hates them because they're better at his job than he is (but deep down he knows the city needs them), the mayor is a bumbling comical fool, and the deputy mayor is... basically Lois Lane (smart, tough, gorgeous, constantly in peril, beloved by our heroes, and has a secret panic button to call them). A minor recurring character is a fearless TV news reporter whose helicopter often gets caught in the crossfire.

The whole thing focuses on action and adrenaline, but there's a good variety of villains, some actual thought given to plots and characterization, and some humor thrown in for good measure. I missed the show when it was originally on the air. Something about the show's subtitle ("The Radical Squadron") put me off. But I caught it on reruns and absolutely loved it. It's lighthearted and not everything makes sense and it's mostly action/adventure, but it's well done. It's a candy bar (all sweet and little substance), but it's a good candy bar.

It also once had an active fandom with a few really good fanfic authors. It's the only other show I've considered writing fic for. (Started one, but it never went anywhere.)

Anyway, like I said, Master Toons has the whole series (which isn't much - two short seasons) if you ever feel like checking it out.

[annabtg.livejournal.com]

(Sorry for the late reply, I was out of town for the past few days!)

I didn't remember all that about Silverhawks at all. Swat Kats sounds fun, though! I'll keep that in mind. :)