Ignore tips that say your Mac doesn't need defragmenting

I was browsing the web today and came across a tip for the Mac: "100 Tips #28: How Do I Defrag My Mac?" The answer was, "You don’t. There’s no need to. The OS X filesystem is designed to look after files properly in the first place, so that’s one thing you don’t have to worry about." Well that's just nonsense and my tip is to ignore tips that tell you you don't need to defragment your Mac's hard disk drive. The Apple Mac's file system is good, but it is not that good and it does not eliminate fragmentation. One of the reasons Macs get slower as they get older is because file fragmentation builds up. If you don't believe me, here's how to check.

Go to Coriolis Systems and download the demo version of iDefrag. It won't defragment your Mac's hard disk drive (unless you buy the full version), but you can use it to analyse the disk and display a report on the fragmentation. I just tried it and here are the results:

As you can see, there's a file with 893 fragments, a couple more with over 500 and so on. Is this utility simply lying and displaying fake messages to get you to buy the software? No, you'll find other utilities if if search for them and they'll tell you the same thing. Files get fragmented on the Mac. It's a fact. Here's another view of the fragmentation analysis:

The strip along the bottom is a graphical display of the files on the disk and the red lines are the fragmented ones. Seems to me that there's quite a lot of fragmentation there.

Fragmented files are slower to access than contiguous files in which the contents are stored as a single block on the disk. That's why a Mac with a heavily fragmented disk runs more slowly than expected. Defragmenting the disk will speed it up.

This is well known of course, and OS X keeps track of key files and tries to prevent them from being fragmented, but it's fighting a losing battle and it can't automatically defrag every file. It just leaves many to get fragmented.

So what can you do? One thing would be to buy a disk defragmenter like iDefrag. There are others, usually as a component of a utility toolkit like Drive Genius. Another way is to use a free program like Carbon Copy Cloner to copy the Mac's disk to a USB disk, then wipe the internal disk and copy the USB disk back to the internal one.

Of course, you could simply ignore fragmentation. Disk drives are getting faster it takes less time to find file fragments than it used to. I remember my first hard disk drive, it was 20Mb. Yes, that's 20 megabytes not gigabytes! I benchmarked the read speed and it was 90k/sec! At that rate it took all day to load a fragmented file!

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What Linux needs to do to be more popular

Linux distros are downloading in the background as I write this for a new group test of the operating system for a mag and one obvious thought is why Linux isn't more popular. Why is it that people choose to spend money on Windows PCs and even more money on Apple Macs when Linux is free and runs well on cheap hardware? There are several reasons and an obvious one is that all PCs are sold with Windows, so people get it by default. However, that can't be the reason why only 1% of PC users choose Linux because PC buyers also get Internet Explorer by default, but large numbers choose to use Firefox and Chrome instead. Here is what Linux needs to do to become more popular.

Firstly, there are far too many versions. Fedora, for example, is available in KDE, Gnome, LXDE, and XFCE desktop variations and in 32-bit and 64-bit forms. That's eight different versions and there are hundreds of different Linux distros, which means there are literally thousands of variations of Linux. There must be more people working on Linux than on Windows and for what? A 1% market share! It doesn't make sense.

The number of Linus distros confuses people who want to try Linux because they don't know which one to choose and there are so many to choose from. It also means that software developers can't support them all and software is often provided in just a handful of formats. If you don't choose one a popular Linux you'll find it hard to install software that isn't provided by the distro through its software package manager. Software written for one distro often doesn't work in another, which is very irritating.

Another irritation is that very few Linux distros can play videos or music, such as online streaming video from YouTube, movies on DVD, MP3 audio files and so on. A small number of Linux distros have got this sorted, such as Ubuntu and those based on it, but with others you have to spend time searching at Google looking for codecs and patches and upgrades and then typing in long and complex commands into the Terminal just to get audio and video working. People don't want this.

To make Linux more popular, the number of distros needs to be cut down to half a dozen. With Gnome and KDE desktops, 32 and 64-bit versions, this is still 24 different versions! However, it would be a big improvement on the current situation. With half a dozen versions, developers can get behind them and provide the support people want. Of course, it's never going to happen and all those other Linux distro creators aren't going to give up what they are doing.

Linux needs to get rid of the Terminal. This would force Linux developers to create software that can be installed, run, and configured with a few simple mouse clicks on buttons, menus and other graphical controls. Many Windows users and Apple Mac have never used the command prompt. It's not necessary, so why can't Linux developers get rid of it too? Of course, there are too many hard core Linux users that would never give it up.

Linux also needs to sort out its video and audio playing. Some have, but too many distros require you to search Google for the obscure commands required just to play your music or watch videos. Ubuntu and others have the problem sorted, so why can't other distros do this too?

Linux is a niche OS used by a few technical people and it will remain so until they start testing it on real people, not Linux experts. People that can point and click on a menu or button, but haven't a clue when it comes to the command line or how to solve video and audio problems.

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Symantec opt-out trialware is a bad idea

Norton AntiVirus 2011 is now available and it looks interesting. For example, it now scans your Facebook page for bad links to dodgy websites that might infect your computer with malware. That could be a useful new feature and there are more. It sounds like it might be worth trying Norton AntiVirus and seeing if it's useful. When you go to download the free trial version though, there is a subtle difference that might put you off trying it and it could make you head for a rival product. Instead of a free trial that you can download and run for 30 days without paying, Symantec now provides the software as 30-day Opt-Out Trialware. What's this?

What it means is that you have to add the product to a shopping cart, go to the checkout and enter your credit card details before you can download the software. After 30 days you will be charged for the software and a one-year subscription to updates... unless you go online to the Symantec website and cancel.

No doubt the company is hoping that you will forget to cancel or that you will leave it too late and miss the deadline. I can see why Symantec would prefer this to the standard download-it-and-use-it-without-paying model, because it might reduce the number of downloads and increase the revenue.

However, it is a risky strategy and having to provide credit card details in order to try some software might put potential purchasers off. Imagine what it would be like if everyone did this. You'd have to supply every man and his dog on the web with your credit card details. I don't know about you, but I try a lot of software and I don't want to be giving out credit card details to all and sundry just to try the software. The more people that capture your credit card details, the more likely it is that the details will get into the wrong hands. What's more, if you try lots of programs you're bound to forget to cancel some on the right date and you'll end up out of pocket.

No, I don't like opt-out trialware. I much prefer the standard 30-day trial and don't mind giving my email address. In fact, registering your free trail often leads to special offers in your inbox giving you special discount offers when the trial has expired. They can be very tempting!

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Clean Windows viruses with Norton Power Eraser

Security is a major concern in the Windows world and Windows users are constantly being told how many viruses there are, how infectious they are, and how you'll be infected within seconds of connecting to the internet unless you have the latest security software that's updated every minute, and even then you'll probably get infected. It's true that there are a lot of viruses, but I regularly use Windows PCs on the internet without any security software and nothing bad has happened. So where are all these nasty viruses? I wouldn't actually advise using PCs without protection, because there's always a risk, no matter how slight. A few free tools are all you need to keep safe on the web and Symantec has just released one to add to your security toolkit called Norton Power Eraser.

Norton Power Eraser is does not prevent malware from infecting the computer and it is purely a cleanup tool. It's an odd one because Symantec describes it as "a last-resort, extreme tool that may help you cleanup special types of security risks." I'm not sure why it's an extreme tool or why it should be used as a last resort.

If you think that your PC might be infected with malware, then download the program and run it (better still, download it and keep a copy on a CD or somewhere safe so it's ready to use). Click the Scan button and when it has finished it will display a list of malware that has been detected and/or suspicious files.

An interesting feature of this program is that it lists suspicious files and then allows you to upload them for further testing by Symantec. Presumably the company has a more comprehensive malware checker online. You get the result straight away, so you'll know within seconds if it really is malware or not.

It's free, so go ahead and download it. Add it to your toolkit of malware removal tools.

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What Apple needs to do with Ping

Ping is Apple's new social networking service and it is an odd one because it is quite limited in some ways and it is not at all like Facebook. It is a bit like Twitter though. It's very early days with the service and no doubt there will be teething troubles and glitches for a while. It also looks very much like version 1.0 and it seriously needs improving if it is to be a success. It can't actually fail because there are too many Apple fans who buy into anything Apple produces, and also because there are so many iTunes users. Apparently up to 1 million people access iTunes on some days, so with numbers like that, Ping is bound to get a lot of people joining. Will they use it though? It's one thing signing up and taking a look around, but I've joined many social networking services, used them a few times and then never returned. Ping's membership will rocket as people try it out, but will they return and how often? I don't think I'll be using Ping much until it improves. Here's what Apple should do.

One thing that is holding Ping back is that you can only access it using iTunes. Every other social network is accessed using a web browser, but Ping is different. The question is whether it is better through iTunes and the answer has to be no. For a start, every Linux user is excluded because you can't get iTunes on Linux. OK, you can run Windows in a virtual machine, but that's not ideal. A lot of people access social networking services at work during coffee and lunch breaks or after hours. Work computers don't have iTunes on (unless they are Macs) and so most people at work are excluded. All smartphones have internet access and can therefore access social networking sites. There are Facebook and Twitter apps for all smartphones, and other services can be accessed through a web browser. Ping, though, is only available on one phone, the iPhone. This excludes everyone that doesn't have an iPhone.

At the very minimum Apple must enable some form or web access so everyone can use Ping. It would be nice to see apps for other phones, like Android, but this is unlikely given that it is a rival mobile operating system. Web browser access would be acceptable though.

At the moment, Ping looks like a subset of Twitter, with its ability to follow people, have people follow you, see short status update messages and so on. You can follow celebs on Twitter just as easily, and Twitter has much more breadth - you're not locked in to just music.

Ping needs some unique features to make it worthwhile using. It's main unique selling point is that it highlights music your friends  like or have bought, but the chances of me liking what my friends like is probably 25% at best. Everyone has unique tastes in music and my music collection is unique to me. Sometimes I find that a friend likes the same album or track, but just as often, or perhaps more often, they don't. I was asked what I wanted for my birthday some time ago and I said "The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table." Everyone thought I was joking at first, then they just gave me weird looks when they realised I wasn't. Or how about another album in my collection, Django Reinhardt and the Quintette du Hot Club de France. So seeing what other people are buying or liking isn't always useful, and this is supposed to be Ping's USP.

Another fault of Ping is that it's hard to stop people posting junk messages and spam. Apparently it has attracted quite a lot of them and it's still very early days. Wait a bit and it could get a lot worse. Apple needs to do something about this and it might have to tighten up the rules, such as only people that have purchased music can post messages, which would avoid people signing up with fake details and posting spam.

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Is Ping a social network or sales tool?

I'm sure there are regular meetings at the iTunes department of Apple and the topic up for discussion will be how to increase sales. It is, after all, any company's primary goal. A couple of years ago we had Genius, which examines your music library and then displays a panel on the right of iTunes of music you should buy. It's basically an excuse to display lots of Buy buttons and get people to buy more music. Now there's Ping. Thinly disguised as a social network, it examines your friends' music libraries, compares it with your own and then displays Buy buttons. It'll say "Joe Smith likes Lady Gaga" and it'll follow it with a button to buy the album or track, or "Joe Smith bought such and such a track," then it'll follow with a button to buy the track or album. I'm drowning in a sea of social networks, there are too far many and I wonder if I really need one that constantly nags me to buy stuff.

I had some trouble getting Ping up an running, but that's to be expected because it's only day 1 of Ping and as Steve Jobs said, sometimes a million people access iTunes in a single day. I think today is probably one of those days, so the errors can be forgiven. Accessing it from the iPhone is through the iTunes store app, and it seemed a bit limited at first sight, but then half an hour later it had slightly more in it. I had errors creating my profile and couldn't upload a photo, but then it magically appeared later. I think it's just slow getting going.

With millions of people trying to create accounts, you can expect the service to be like this for a day or two, so try it in a couple of days time when there are fewer people around. It will no doubt will get better over time.

I'm not sure I'll use it much myself, I waste too much time on social networks as it is and don't need another one.

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