“Let’s play a game of word association. I’ll go first: ‘Internet cafe.’ Your turn. ‘Viruses.’ How about ‘unprotected network.’ ‘Viruses.’ And ‘hotel Internet connection?’ ‘Viruses,'” Mike Berman writes for Scripps Howard News Service. “Do you see pattern here, other than paranoia? The unfortunate truth is that, because of the proliferation of those nasty computer germs, we have become paranoid and fear venturing out into uncharted territory with our computers.”
MacDailyNews Take: We see no such pattern. We answered, “coffee,” “not too smart,” and “convenient,” to Berman’s three word associations. Of course, we use Apple Macs running Mac OS X which has zero viruses, so we must “think different” than the average Windows PC user. We use our PowerBooks everywhere without fear or paranoia. Imagine that.
Berman continues, “The folks at ZyXEL are doing their bit to ease that fear with the introduction of the ZyWall P1 ($225), which is a portable firewall that is no larger than a Palm Computer. You can pop this baby into your suitcase or laptop bag and trot off to the nearest Internet cafe, or take that business trip with confidence that you’re protected against viruses, worms and other scourges of the Internet. It’s actually a pretty simple device. One end connects to the network via a standard Ethernet cable, the other attaches to the USB port of your computer. And, since it does not depend on a specific operating system to do its thing, it can be used on Windows, Apple and Linux PCs.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We already are confident that we’re protected against viruses, as we use Apple Macs running Mac OS X. We see no need to lug around a $225 hardware brick everywhere we go in order to protect us from something our operating system does for us. So, no fear here. It’s nice, we suppose, that it can be used on “Apple PCs,” but that’s rather like hauling an umbrella to the Sahara Desert. The folks at ZyXEL must be happy the folks at Microsoft are incompetent. One question, other than “isn’t the Windows mindset ridiculous and sad,” that comes to mind is, “If we add the $225 for protection to the cost of a Windows PC, isn’t every virus-free Mac automatically $225 less expensive?”
Related MacDailyNews articles:
16-percent of computer users are unaffected by viruses, malware because they use Apple Macs – June 03, 2005
Security expert sums up first month with Mac: ‘much safer, more secure, more productive than Wintel’ – June 02, 2005
Hershey Chronicle: Now’s the time for Windows users to consider Apple’s ‘zero virus’ Mac – June 02, 2005
Windows PC security company’s switch to Apple Mac causes overwhelming reaction – May 28, 2005
Intel CEO Otellini: If you want security now, buy a Macintosh instead of a Wintel PC – May 25, 2005
Mad as hell Windows PC security company finally just gives up, switches to Apple Mac OS X – May 25, 2005
Microsoft Windows Sober.P worm shows ‘epidemic’ spread; Macintosh unaffected – May 03, 2005
Apple touts Mac OS X security advantages over Windows – April 13, 2005
New ‘highly critical’ Office flaw embarrasses Microsoft – April 13, 2005
97,467 Microsoft Windows viruses vs. zero for Apple Mac’s OS X – April 05, 2005
Symantec details flaws in its antivirus software – March 30, 2005
Motley Fool writer: ‘I’d be surprised if Symantec ever sells a single product to a Mac user again’ – March 24, 2005
Symantec cries wolf with misplaced Mac OS X ‘security’ warning – March 23, 2005
Symantec’s Mac OS X claims dismissed as nonsense, FUD – March 22, 2005
Symantec warns about Mac OS X security threat – March 21, 2005
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Microsoft tries to turn its own security flaw into commercial gain – February 25, 2005
Cybersecurity advisor Clarke questions why anybody would buy from Microsoft – February 18, 2005
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Windows’ mounting security problems make some consumers eager to purchase Macs – January 03, 2005
Windows Media songs and videos found to carry Windows malware payloads – December 30, 2004
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A Wintel PC looks more and more like the LEMONS at car dealers. Great sticker price but in order to have the car able to take you home you end up paying the double before leaving the car park…
“Oh, yes, yes, you had a great deal at $2000 for that car. BUT, before leaving let me tell you something you need to have now…” 😀
Looks like MS hires car dealers for their marketing…
There’s also usually the cost of XP Pro to add and the cost of anti virus software.
What you see here is the Mac mindset vs. the Windows mindset. In my experience, Mac users try just about everything: installing and uninstalling with abandon, connecting wirelessly out and about, etc.
Windows users are usually afraid they’ll break something, which, of course, they probably will. Or they’re afraid somebody or some viruses will break into their boxes, which, of course, they probably will.
Who wants to live in fear when they could just be exploring personal computing and doing and learning amazing things?
I wouldn’t mind having an umbrella in the Sahara: portable shade!
Of course, I wouldn’t carry one of those firewall bricks around (even if it was free!). And I definitely wouldn’t carry one to the Sahara
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I like the MDN take.
Now the Mac Mini starts at only $250!
Does MDN know anything about network hardware… apparently not. Here’s a little lesson for you MDN. A firewall prevents unauthorized access to your computer. It blocks other users from accessing your computer. A firewall does NOTHING to prevent viruses from getting to your computer.
I would expert more knowledge from a tech driven website. I guess I my standards are too high for the borderline tech illiterate writes at MDN.
Why does it go from Ethernet to USB??????
Isn’t it dodgy doing things this way? Isn’t it the case with USB DSL modems (and the like) that (nearly?) every system update requires a software patch to get the DSL modem talking to your computer again?
And at that price, yould could get a wireless router with built in firewall software anyway.
hey “what are you talking about,”
this is par for the course for these mac muttonheads.
LOL, a firewall does NOT prevent other users from accessing your computer. A firewall *regulates* traffic to/from TCP/IP ports and UDP, and to allow/block use of certain ports by certain daemons and protocols.
It is used as well for blocking a port as for opening it to certain traffic, and allows to log as well the traffic through those ports.
Indeed, what are you talking about? Funny you took stantheman along with it.
So, in your simplistic view when you have a firewall on nobody can access your computer? ROFLMAO
I was NOT expecting more knowledge from Wintel PC users.
stantheman – off with you to your reinstalls, patches, crashes and viruses. Don’t feel you have to stay…
Hey, “stanthetard”, the original article was talking about virus protection. So blame them.
And please, if you don’t like us, feel free to go the fsck away. Cuz, y’know, we’re not too wild about you either.
This $225 doesn’t address the issue of wireless internet anyway, which is how most people log on at Starbuck’s, etc. I’m sure another company or even ZyXEL will have another brick for that one soon. Suddenly a Wintel laptop, most of which are heavier than my PowerBook anyway, just became even heavier . . . .
“The folks at ZyXEL must be happy the folks at Microsoft are incompetent.” Great line! That’s not the kind of Mac support we need.
P.S. Sahara Desert is repetitiously redundant.
A few other examples: (enjoy!)
Rice Paddy
Head Chef
Cash box
Head of Cabbage
Hailstone
River Avon
Rio Grande River
Paraguay River
Yenisei River
The Los Altos Hills
The La Brea Tar Pits
Mount Fujiyama
Alice Holt Hurst Wood
Torpenhow Hill
Soon to be seen: “WheelBarrow offered with each Dell. Summer offer”
THEN the PC bricks will become truly portable.
Don’t feed the trolls. But if you must and you need to know what they eat. It’s crow, eventually. They don’t like the taste but they have to eat it to stay alive.
Soon to be seen: “Windows users burned by their firewall: – I had a firewall and then my PC had 54,324 viruses in it. I want a refund: it doesn’t work! – “
That’s why PC are so infected: they run gruyere cheese Windows, Microsoft is security incompetent, PC analysts are anal, and PC users do not know any better.
Someone should mail the author of the article that he had the wrong spelling for anti-virus. It definitely is not ‘firewall’.
This is hilarious, $225 for a brick that is a USB/Ethernet firewall. What about XP SP2, that promised an in built firewall? What about Micro$ofts anti-virus software?
Give me a break. I use my computer to get things done (and earn money along the way), not nurse it like a 6 month old baby with diarrhea and a cold.
Questions for stantheman and all the other PC nuggets who post here:
1. Why do you complain about the bias opinions. Have you not seen what the site is called? MacDailyNews if you can’t read it properly.
2. Why does XP SUCK ASS BIG TIME! Ha ha, it’s like going back to an Amiga or something. I was in PC World today trying to find a portable FW hard drive, no such luck though. While I was there I clicked a few icons on a hp demo machine and it crashed. Typical.
stantheman, more like stantheidiot.
Let’s see… if there ARE no viruses that can affect your computer – that’s none, zero, nonexistant – then its a moot point, isn’t it?
And out there in the hinterlands, its business as usual:
Computerworld – JUNE 01, 2005 (IDG NEWS SERVICE) – Another variant of the Mytob worm began wiggling its way into in-boxes this week, enticing recipients to open an e-mail attachment that could allow a remote hacker to access and perform commands on an infected machine.
Computerworld – MAY 16, 2005 (IDG NEWS SERVICE) – E-mail users perplexed by the barrage of German-language spam waiting in their in-boxes this morning can blame the latest version of the Sober mass-mailing worm, which began rapidly spreading over the weekend.
Judging from recent headlines MDN would have you believe viruses are the only bane that exists. Nevermind that security exploits, which Tiger has a long list of, can cause more damage and headaches to businesses/individuals than viruses.
Oh, and I noticed MDN completely ignored a major article from Anandtech today titled “No more mysteries: Apple’s G5 versus x86, Mac OS X versus Linux”.
http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=2436
I guess they assumed (correctly) Mac zealots would not handle the outcome, who need to be feed a constant diet of sheer blind bias and false truths.
Another $225 to tack onto the TCO of a Wintel-based laptop.
Sammy: have your read the article? Does not look like.
“The results are quite interesting. First of all, the gcc compiler isn’t very good in vectorizing. With vectorizing, we mean generating SIMD (SSE, Altivec) code. From the numbers, it seems like gcc was only capable of using Altivec in one test, the third one. In this test, the G5 really shows superiority compared to the Opteron and especially the Xeons.”
it is well known that GCC is starting to optimize code from gcc 4.0
Code compiled with gcc 4.0 is expected to run some 30% faster then previous gcc. The article is confirming that: when gcc has been able in one test to use Altivec “… the G5 really shows superiority …”.
“The conclusion is that the Opteron has, by far, the best FPU, especially when more complex instructions such a FDIV (divisions) are used.”
but
“When the code is using something close to the ideal 50% FADD/FSUB and 50% FMUL mix and is optimised for Altivec, the G5 can roll its muscles. The normal FPU is rather mediocre though.”
Branch prediction “At 2.7 GHz, the G5 was just as fast as the Xeon [at 3.6 GHz]. It is pretty clear that despite the enormous 31 stage pipeline, the fantastic branch predictor of the “Xeon Pentium 4″ is capable of keeping the damage to a minimum. The Opteron’s branch predictor seems to be at the level of G5’s”
test with Povray: “As long as there are little or no Altivec or SSE-2 optimisations present, the Opteron is by far the fastest CPU. The G5’s FPU is still quite a bit better than the one of the Xeon. ” – As long as there are little to no Altivec. Otherwise, my ass.
“Lightwave rendering engine has been meticulously optimised for SSE-2, and the ” Netburst” architecture prevails here. We have no idea how much attention the software engineers gave Altivec, but it doesn’t seem to be much. This might of course be a result of Apple’s small market share.” – again DO’H
Cinema 4D: “Maxon has invested some time and effort to get the Cinema4D engine running well on the G5 and it shows. The G5 competes with the best x86 CPUs. “
OS X server use of kernel threads is a known limitation that Apple has just started to address with Tiger. Thence yes, currently OS X Server is seriously limited by this. Is OS X Server development at the end of development cycle? I doubt you could expect this to be the end of the line. Apple has practically never entered the server market seriously. They are starting now and getting lots of feedback. Things are just starting to cook.
Conclusions “The G5 is a gigantic improvement over the previous CPU in the PowerMac, the G4e. The G5 is one of the most superscalar CPUs ever, and has all the characteristics that could give Apple the edge, especially now that the clock speed race between AMD and Intel is over. However, there is still a lot of work to be done. “
“Secondly, it is clear that the G5 FP performance, despite its access to 32 architectural registers, needs good optimisation. Only one of our flops tests was ” Altivectorized”, which means that the GCC compiler needs to improve quite a bit before it can turn those many open source programs into super fast applications on the Mac.” – Indeed, GNU and Apple has just started to look into it, gcc 4.0 makes turns already around gcc 3.x
“The future looks promising in the workstation market for Apple, as the G5 has a lot of unused potential and the increasing market share of the Power Mac should tempt developers to put a little more effort in Mac optimisation.”
Server thread access is a recognized problem. So, your issue is that Apple is not absolutely perfect and that they have not reached IT Nirvana and could close their R&D laboratories and that OS X Server needs improvements?
If you truly think this was a BAD review, jeez man, your english understanding is lacking severely. Sammy boy, GIMME A BREAK!
Apart OS X Server known limitations (being addressed but not that easy, maybe OS X Server 10.4.9, ie till end of Tiger) this is quite a good review.
The G5 2.7 GHz dwarves the Xeon 3.6 GHz and competes with the Opteron when no Altivec optimization is present.
What can you ask for better review especially knowing the optimization path that has started with GCC 4.0. Horizon could not be brighter.
Thanks for the link Sammy. How in the world were you thinking this was a bad review?????????????
“Sammy: have your read the article? Does not look like.” – IT_guy
IT_guy, I guess a better question would be “Sammy: have you understood the article? Does not look like”.
MDN magic word “nothing”: as in ‘Some people may read a lot but nothing remains”
Sammy TROLL, you GOT TROUNCED
How comes all PC posters here are so lame?
There’s no need to lug a $225 brick around with Windows to be protected either. There are very capable firewall and anti-virus applications available for free. (Shame you have to pay for Little Snitch under MacOS, Zone Alarm is free for Windows). The fact that some company launches a portable hardware firewall (which they also market for MacOS) is frankly irrelevant. It’s no more needed for Windows than it is for MacOS. A non-news item…