AVG & Parking

Grrr, some things get me really annoyed.

A discussion board I often use has a section for computer problems. Often they resolve around issues with anti-virus products. Unfortunately there’s a feverish almost zealous addiction to the free version of AVG which is quite off-putting (to say the least). Someone posted the other day to say they had Norton 360 and it kept going offline. The suggested answer… get rid of it and download the free AVG. Arrrgghhh.

That’s like going on a car forum and asking about a problem with your BMW, and everyone suggesting you get a Skoda instead. It’s cheap, reliable and they’ve never had any problems with it.

I upset things a little when I pointed out that a recent PCpro review found that AVG had poor detection rates. Naturally, I was told that you get different results on different days so AVG averages out just as good as the others. Riiigghhhtttt.

The PCpro recommendation was to get Kaspersky. It wasn’t free but for the advanced features and better detection it was worth spending a little for it.

Naturally the recommendation on the forum is to get free AVG. You’d think they worked for the company or something….

And whilst I’m on a rant.

The Workplace Parking Levy has raised its ugly head. This is a plan by Nottingham City Council to charge people for parking at work. It will help congestion by getting people to find alternatives routes to work and they can plough the money back into local transport schemes.

Except… well, where we work is on the outskirts but not in the city. So we won’t see the benefits of any improvements. Plus it won’t stop people coming to work, as most people don’t have an option. It will hit shift workers and anyone else, even if they don’t cause congestion because of the times they travel. Oh, and small businesses are exempted because… their cars don’t cause congestion?? Not sure on that one.

No, it’s badly thought out rubbish that’s just going to hit us in the pocket - £185+VAT a year starting in 2010, going up within 5 years to £350+VAT. To park. At work. Most will pay it, whilst others will find alternative places to park (probably on residential roads).