It’s been some time since I posted something in this column and I thought that with the New Year, this would be a good time to restart posting again. With all the work going on with the website during the past several months, I had some concern about losing valuable information that you would need. Fortunately, there was not a lot of major items to mention.
Put a couple of designers together in some fashion and the conversation will inevitably turn to what software one uses. Whenever I have responded that I use Xara I have always gotten rather strange reactions. It seems so many have either never heard of the company, or have obviously never tried it. When I saw a demonstration back in 1995 on Xara’s incredibly fast anti-aliasing technology and rendering capabilities, I knew it was the program for me. This fact is as true today as it was then. Another reason for my loyalty over the years is how nearly every version upgrade includes features that help me work faster. In their latest release, Xara’s Designer Pro 8, this is evident as they hit most everything on my wish list. In writing this review I thought I would provide some oversight into how Xara has been an asset in my work, particularly with its newest features.
Most people I know are not avid readers of what goes on in the computer world and certainly even less bother to follow the computer security press and the various reports of new malware that arrive every day now. Following computer security issues as we do, it should come as no surprise that a new Trojan is becoming passé’ to the point where we have to continually remind ourselves that vigilance is vital to protecting computers, the networks they are on, and what is stored on the devices on the Internet.
After a hiatus for a while because of health problems, I thought to start the New Year by getting back to keeping everyone up to date on happenings in the computer world. Today, I wanted to bring everyone up to date on things Symantec.
I do want to be upfront though. I am NOT a fan of Symantec Corporation and its products. In the beginning, the company was a very good company which did a lot of things right and well at the same time. It cared about its customers, engaged with them directly and often, and was quick to address problems with their products.
Alton Brown of Food Network’s Good Eats is fond of describing kitchen tools and appliances one should avoid as uni-taskers. His explanation for this term is in labeling those items that perform only function in the preparation of food.