Video trailer for the forthcoming game…

March 2008 is the release date for the most eagerly awaited game, possibly of all time, GTA4. The GTA3 series was an absolute sensation, taking computer gaming to the next level. Starting with Liberty City (Based on New York) the series to on a role playing character, who had to overcome missions, buying property, businesses, overcoming gangs, terratorial warfare, where the aim was total domination! Not for the under 18’s because of it’s vicious weaponry and adult themes, the gameplay for each of it’s three titles was totaly immersive. With the aded bonus of a soundtrack which was based on the period.

The second installment moved to Florida in the shape of “Vice City” (Miami) with character Tommy Vercetti during the ’80’s glitz and glamour setting. The third installment was the massively popular “San Andreas” based on the whole state of California.

The game was set in the ’90’s, featuring the Ganster Rap setting, starting in the ghetto’s of “Los Santos (Los Angeles) moving through San Fierro (San Fransisco) to Las Venturas (Las Vegas) with countryside and Deserts in between, many more missions, and more side missions and activities to sink a boat!

Next installment moves back to the Liberty City setting, for the PS3, though we can expect Xbox and PC to come into it also. This time the character is to be Niko, travelling from Europe to America afrer receiving word from his cousin. Enjoy the following superb screen shots of the forthcoming epic, and I’ll post the trailer next post.

Internet security has never been more important, but is there an ideal programme for you? Here is my personal experiences with some of the popular security programmes available.

Norton Internet Security.

Pro’s; Very powerful ad blocking software I realise of course, many bloggers use advertising for income, but some people object very strongly to banners, and worse of all, layer ads, which can be hard to get rid of. Norton easily blocks layer ads when configured. A side effect s though it’s so powerful it block icons for sites like Yahoo mail, making the whole page look very ugly. But you can easily turn it off and on. The anti virus scan has useful options.

Cons; If you want to stay fully protected, in my experience this is one to avoid. A number of times a virus infects computers, slipping pat Norton. The firewall is terrible, truly awful, very intrusive yet many attacks go unnoticed by Norton. Other words, it blocked what I did not want to block ,and did not protect where it should. Another drawback, technical support is virtually non existent.

Panda.

Very efficient anti virus, but if you want the whole internet security package, the firewall can be not too easy to configure, and at times very intrusive. Again, technical support, although well advertised, varies from country to country, and in some areas, is not at all helpful. One way around this, if you are interested in any product, and there is a help line quoted for technical support, try calling them FIRST, just with a general enqiry, to see how they resopond. It’s a way of sounding them out, and a first impression of the company you are considering doing business with.

Trend Micro

Trend Micro is a highly rated software, the anti virus runs well, and technical support is useful in UK. However, there was major problems with the updating when I used it, which Technical department could never solve. Almost every update I was prompted to restart the computer, which is very irritating. Also, log files was not easy to access. Some good things going for Trend Micro, but perosnally I am not keen to use it again.

McAfee.

If you go to Amazon you will find many reviews slating McAfee, for causing major slowdown, and useless technical support. Yet I have seen no evidence of either. Possibly because I have not had many dealings with the latter! Regarding PC slowdown, this often happens with anti virus sofwtare. Some people underestimate the importence of RAM when buying a computer. I always advise getting as much RAM as possible. If using windows XP for example, you use a lot of memory just by starting up, so then adding a running anti virus leaves you with little memory to do anything with. Running a PC with 1 Gb RAM I never experienced any significant slowdown with McAfee. Other words, slowdown is possible but I don’t think the real problem is McAfee’s fault. It’s often some computers are not optimized to run it efficiently. Or even incompatibility with other programmes running.

Pro’s; Virus scan operates well, a progress bar would be handy, but not a major irritation. The real jewel in McAfee’s crown though is the firewall, by fat the best I’ve used. Easily configured, and smart too, no continual prompting, and a tracer graph, which probably looks more impressive than it really amounts to.

Con’s: The spam blocked does NOTHING at all I don’t even bother to install it. The Privacy suite can often need re-installing. The ad blocking hardly works at all.

Overall, as a complete suite, McAFee is my favourite, largely because of it’s firewall.

Recently Skype, the internet telephony giant, launched it’s mobile handset.

The company is “optimistic” that, in two years, it will have sold millions, not hundreds of thousands. The product will sell at £49.99 on a pay as you go basis.

One disadvantage of using Skype in Europe is having to pay tax on call credits, charged at 15% Luxemburg rate. An alternative to making overseas telephone calls I have been using is Planettalk Instant

This requires no registration, all you do is key in the access code, 0844 835 0011 to connect to the menu, then at any time dial the full international number. The calls are very cheap, only slightly more than Skype (pre-tax) I found. Only downsides are you pay from the moment you are connected to the Planettalk menu, so if you do not get connected, and recently I had problems, you still end up with something like a 0.045 call charge. The way these calls appear on your ‘phone bill is “specialist services”.

So, a case of paying your money and taking your choice

Welcome to Digital New World, focusing on technology in the new age. Although electronics will be reviewed here, this is not just about gadgets and gizmos, but an appreciation of the impact of technology uses in everyday life, including articles on alternative energy, the enviroment, through to computer usage and games.

I also have a blog, which is more about me, events and people in my life, and the things I enjoy doing. As the classical guitar has been a major influence on my life, it also is a major influence on my blog! As I find internet tips and trick, resources, I also aim to share those, on my websites.

Please enjoy your stay.