When I purchased my new computer this year I asked some sales associates which security software was the best. He told me that PC-cillin Internet Security 2005 with AntiVirus, Firewall, Spam, Spyware, and Wi-Fi Patrol. I bought it for $49.99 and the people at the electronic shop installed it on my computer. When I got home I set up all my programs but when I tried setting up Microsoft Outlook Express the e-mail wasn’t working.

I really do not like how Microsoft has designed this operating system. I liked Windows 95 through the Windows 2000 Professional Edition but this one there is nothing I like. I have a few Microsoft computers left but I have mostly converted to Apple. The Windows XP Home Edition (not Professional Edition) especially was horrible. The only difference I dramatically see is that blue taskbar at the bottom. Also the icons look a bit more 3-D than other versions.

I bought this because I had a two computer subscription that was already in use so I needed another one for a third computer. It’s easy enough to use the key card. My biggest gripe is the fact that I had to create a whole new account. I couldn’t just add this to my existing account. That’s annoying. You can only have one subscription at a time.

I have been using winzip since it was a command prompt program back in the day. It was amazing then and it’s still great now. The compression portion is what it is, it has not changed much. It supports zip and also rar files, two of the most common compression formats. It has added cloud features, PDF, etc but most of the other features are not anything I have use for.

So far so good, I’ve been running SecureAnywhere AntiVirus 3 for a little over a month now. When I first installed it, it actually picked up on something my previous, expired antivirus (Avira) missed. No slow down or performance issues. No obnoxious interference with my regular online activity, which is good because I go to school online and a big part of my job is online. I doubt it blocks the NSA but other than that, for the price, this software does what I expect it to do without getting in the way.

Quicken Deluxe is a robust accounting program. It can be a little challenging at first if you are unfamiliar with accounting principles and it may be overkill for simple, household expenses if you’re not inclined toward accounting math. Otherwise, it’s great for keeping track of your income and expenses and giving you an overview of what your budgeting looks like. Where this software REALLY shines is in small businesses (there is a small business version too, but this version will work also).

Omnipage 18 is an advanced conversion utility which allows the use to do something as simple as scanning a document into a PDF to converting a complicated scan or PDF into an editable Word Document. There are numerous options available. My interest was caught with this because I have some printed documents that I no longer could find the original files for. Scanning them in, I was able to create word documents that pretty much mimicked the original.

Instant Immersion Spanish is a tool to learn Spanish using exactly what the title indicates: immersion. We all learn our native languages that way and it is typically the best way to learn additional languages. This software package gives you the tools that you need to help with doing exactly that: immersing yourself in the Spanish language. To accomplish this, you get a variety of tools. You get the actual software for your computer with easy to follow lessons.

As a long time VideoStudio user, I have been pleased with the updates to this software. I have mostly been using version X4. I have installed X5, but did not notice much improvement and, after upgrading my computer, decided to stick to X4. It seems the even versions of VideoStudio perform better/are more stable than the odd versions for some reason. This version appears stable. I have not had it crash or hang.

Over a decade ago, I tried starting a business. It was a mess and, ultimately, a failure. Among the miscues, I thought I would set up QuickBooks and act like a real business owner. I never got very far with QuickBooks. It had too steep of a learning curve and I did not have the time to experiment with it. Years later, I took a brief introductory seminar about it and reasonably concluded that it was more difficult than useful for me.