Random thoughts on Life, Music, and Beer.

Norton, how I hate thee, let me count the ways - Part Two

Monday, July 02, 2007 - 11:14 AM

In Part One I ranted about how I’m through with Norton, and a little bit about why.  Welcome to Part Two, wherein I recount my tale of woe at what should have been a simple update.  (Warning: This is going to be a long post!)

I was at a client site last week (the day of the rant) and was looking at this one computer that was having some minor Internet Explorer related issues.  While working on that system, I noticed that the antivirus software was out of date.  (Generally, I try to get my customers into the corporate level antivirus apps to make sure that everything is up to date and all of the client computers are updated from the server.  This office, however, is smaller and doesn’t have a server.  They also have a haphazard array of computers that were all purchased at different times and have varying software packages on them, including the antivirus.) Of course, I let the customer know that the AV was expired and no longer receiving updates, and that it would have to be upgraded.  I mentioned that we could stay with the Norton (which was what it had on there), or take off the Norton and install McAfee, which is what I was hoping they would opt for, since they’ve had issues with the computers running Norton in the past (particularly networking issues, thanks to Norton’s retarded firewall, which for some reason is now forced on you with the AV).

They opted to upgrade Norton.

So, I had them go through the online order process and began my journey.  The entire process took two hours, which I’ve broken down into steps:

1. Download installer file.  No big deal here, quick connection equals quick download.  I actually love this as an option for software delivery.  There are some minor flaws with this, which I’ll touch on in the next step.
2. Run installer, receive error that the Windows Installer needs to be updated.  In the past, when software primarily came on CDs, if the software you were installing required version X of some other software that happened to be a redistributable software package, the CD would include it.  Now, any dependencies have to be worked out seperately.  So, on to the next step...
3. Run update for Windows Installer.  (Luckily the Norton installer was kind enough to include a link to download the Windows Installer package.) Receive error that you don’t have permission to update the software and to contact your administrator.  WTF?  Okay, I can’t in anyway fault Norton for this, but it was a part of the ordeal, so it’s being documented here.
4. Reboot to see if it fixes above error.
5. Run update for Windows Installer, this time successfully.
6. Reboot.
7. Run Norton installer again.  Receive error that there is an older version of Norton that needs to be un-installed first.  Okay, this I have a major problem with.  Most software will update an older version without complaint, but not Norton.  Even if there is some technical reason that’s beyond my grasp as to why the old version needs to be un-installed first, why in the world can’t the Norton install program do this for me!?!  Seriously, every other software installer that I’ve used that needs the old version removed first does this step for you.  It may ask you to proceed, but it does it for you.  Symantec has this same problem with the System Center Console on their Corporate product.  Not only does it need to be separately un-installed first, but it requires an additional reboot to do so (which can be a pain if you’re working on someone’s server during business hours).
8. Un-install old version of Norton.
9. Reboot.
10. Run Norton installer again.  Receive error that another installer is currently running.  What’s happening here is that the reboot you just did was not the final step in un-installing the previous version, and the un-install is running more tasks in the background without telling you.
11. Wait a few minutes while the un-install continues in the background.  Monitor running processes until all MS installer processes to exit.
12. Run Norton installer.  Receive error “Setup has detected that one or more Norton Antivirus device drivers have been marked for deletion.  You must restart Windows before continuing.” So, not only did the un-install continue after the reboot without telling me, but it’s not even complete yet.
    
    (It’s worth it at this point to mention that, each time the installer is run, it has to decompress the files as it’s first step.  Every time.  If it exits, it doesn’t leave the temp folder with the decompressed files and provide you a link to continue installation, like I’ve seen with some installers.  Nope, every stinking time you have to sit and wait for it to decompress those files.)
    
    
13. Reboot. Again.
14. Run Norton installer again.  Yeah!  It’s actually installing.  (The actual install takes 11 minutes to complete.)
15. Register software with Norton.  Really?  Why?  There’s no technical reason for this, the software already has the subscription information, so why force me to go through this?  I should be able to chose whether or not I want to register the software, yet there’s no way to cancel or exit out of this screen.
16. Run LiveUpdate.
17. Sit while LiveUpdate runs, only to realize several minutes later that LU has actually locked up and is hogging the processor.  Try to cancel LU - no luck. Try to end the process through the Windows Task Manager - says access denied.  Wait to see if it frees itself....
18. Force reboot.  Yep, manually power the computer down because there’s no way out at this point.
    
    (At this point I installed Sysinternals Process Explorer, in case LU locked up again, so that I could see what it was actually trying to do at that point.  I don’t include this as a separate step, as it’s something most people wouldn’t have even thought to do.)
    
    
19. Run LiveUpdate again.  This time, when it locks up, view processes with Process Explorer to see what’s going on.  It turns out that the update for the Norton firewall (which shouldn’t even be a part of this product, or should at least ask you if you actually want it installed instead of forcing it on you) is the update that’s locking up.  Let it sit for a very long time until it actually completes the update (LiveUpdate took 20 minutes to completely finish).

So there you have it, that’s how something that should take 5-10 minutes actually ends up taking two hours.  There are several very unnecessary steps in all of this, and things (like LiveUpdate) that should just work better.  But, the unnecessary is forced upon you, and the you just have to live with the things that don’t work like they should.  (Unless, of course, you learn from your mistakes.)

Hello, Darkness, My Old Friend…

Friday, June 29, 2007 - 10:22 AM

Say goodbye to the internet as we know it.  Say hello to outrageous fees to do the things we take for granted everyday.  Say hello to AT&T and Comcast limiting your ability to do what you want, go where you want on the internet.  Say goodbye to the internet startups that end up changing the world, ‘cause they don’t stand a chance now.

FTC Nixes Net Neutrality

Is it really any shock that they sided with Big Business on this one?

New Google Maps feature

Friday, June 29, 2007 - 08:57 AM

I always thought it would be cool (actually, more extremely practical than cool) if you could change the route that Google gives you when you look up directions in Google Maps.  Well, now you can!  Don’t like the route Google gave you? Know that there’s construction on a certain road, or that traffic always sucks on a particular street?  Just drag the blue line to the road you’d rather take.

It’s a little flaky right now, but give it time.  The main thing is that it tries to route your “detour” back to it’s original route as quickly as possible, so you might end up having to drag different sections of the route to your preferred one to get it right.  Hopefully it’ll get better (and since it’s Google, I expect it will).

What it does seem well suited for, though, is if you’re planning a trip you can easily plot side trips for sightseeing purposes.  Maybe this is what the programmers had in mind, but to me it seems much more practical as a way of telling Google I’d rather take the Eisenhower to the west suburbs than the Kennedy today, because I know traffic out to O’Hare is going to be a bitch.

Norton, how I hate thee, let me count the ways - Part One

Thursday, June 28, 2007 - 06:57 PM

Someone explain to me how it takes two hours to install a simple update to Norton Antivirus?  I’m getting really tired of Symantec’s home/individual PC products.  I’ve been telling people for years to stay away from the Norton Internet Security package and to stick with just the Norton Antivirus.  Now, I’m starting to tell people to stay away from Norton all together.

The sad part is, the corporate Symantec products are decent products.  I have plenty of clients using Symantec Corporate Antivirus, and Backup Exec (which I’ve been using since way back, long before it was a Symantec Product).

But the Norton line of products just keeps getting worse.  (Again, Norton was not always a Symantec product.) There’s their stupid firewall, which used to be the main reason to stay away from their Internet Security suite, but now is part of the regular antivirus.

Note to Symantec:  Every other software based firewall on the market automatically configures itself for Windows file and printer sharing, why the hell can’t yours?  File and printer sharing is not turned on by default, so if I’ve turned it on that probably means that I intend to use it.  Not only can other computers not connect to me when your stupid firewall is installed (without extra configuration to allow it), but it’s insane that I can’t connect to other computers or network printers with your stupid firewall.  That’s just stupid.  Really, get with it.

I’ve also encountered several issues over the years with your stupid Live Update feature.  Originally, Live Update was a great thing, but it’s just gotten buggy and annoying over the years.  How many times have I had to reinstall Live Update?  How many computers have I encountered where Live Update inexplicable doesn’t work, and no amount of uninstalling and reinstalling will fix it, forcing people to manually download the updates from the website?  Too many.  (And forget about calling Symantec support for help - unless you’re a corporation with a gold level support agreement - you’ll get some outsourced idiot who doesn’t know a damn thing and tells you that it’s not working because they’re having a temporary problem with the Live Update servers.  Anything to quickly get the customer off the phone so you don’t have to actually deal with their problem.)

I can never recommend Norton products to anyone ever again.  When I started this little rant I mentioned a two hour update to Norton Antivirus.  That was the last straw as far as I’m concerned.  The Norton installer/uninstaller is just another thing that has gotten worse over the years.  Stay tuned for Part Two, wherein I chronicle may journey through what should have been a simple 5 to 10 minute procedure.

Celebration Stout

Sunday, June 24, 2007 - 10:20 AM

In honor of getting a new job this week, I decided to brew a Celebration Stout.  (Okay, I was going to brew this weekend anyway, I just changed the name of the beer in honor of the new job.)

This is a stout recipe that I put together starting with some ingredients I already had in stock (the Crystal and Chocolate malts and the whole leaf Cascade hops).  I’ve been doing some reading on how to improve your malt extract brewing techniques, so part of this recipe is based on some of the things I’ve read.  In particular, substituting some of the malt extract for grain malt, thereby doing a “partial mash” (which, apparently, is a glorified “extract with grains” recipe).

The second thing is to add the bulk of the malt extract later in the boil.  This allows the alpha acids from the hops to more thoroughly permeate the wort, since it’s at a much lower gravity.

Anyways, here’s the recipe:

Celebration Stout
(Partial Mash)

1# Two Row malt
.5# UK Crystal Malt (~60L)
.5# Chocolate Malt
.5# Roasted Barley
3.3# Northwestern Amber LME (late edition - 15 min.)
1# Northwestern Amber DME
1 oz. Chinook pellets @ 60 min.
.5 oz. Chinook pellets @30 min.
.5 oz. Cascade (Whole Leaf) @ 30 min.
1 tsp. Irish Moss
1056 American Ale yeast

Steep the grains at about 160 degrees for 45 min. in about 2.5 gal. Sparge with another 1-1.5gal of 170 degree water.  Add DME and bring to a boil.  Add 1 oz. of Chinook Hops, then rest of hops according to schedule.  Add the LME at 15 min (You may need to increase heat to maintain boil), then the Irish Moss at 10 min.

Cool, put in fermenter and fill up to 5 gal with cold water.  Pitch yeast and ferment @ 70~72 deg F.