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网络文件共享的现实问题

级别: 管理员
The Practical Case Against File Sharing

There's no other major item most of us own that is as confusing, unpredictable and unreliable as our personal computers. Everybody has questions about them, and we aim to help.

Here are a few questions about computers I've received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about getting viruses from file-swapping services, other options beyond dial-up Internet access, and buying a Mac desktop computer.

If you have a question, send it to me at mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg's Mailbox.


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Q: Are there problems with using file-swapping sites like Kazaa, as long as you have a good antivirus protection program? I don't mind paying for individual songs, but other sites like iTunes or Rhapsody often don't have the songs I want.

A: Yes, there are problems. The first are the ethical and legal issues arising from obtaining somebody else's copyrighted intellectual property without paying for it, from a person who isn't licensed or authorized to distribute it. The other sites you mention, iTunes and Rhapsody, are legally licensed to distribute music. Kazaa and its ilk aren't, nor are the people who make music available through them. Your argument is like rationalizing buying stolen TVs because your local Best Buy didn't have the model you wanted.

If your conscience can get past that, there are practical issues. These sites are major transmitters not only of viruses, but of spyware, which your antivirus program can't stop. Even if your PC has a full, up-to-date security suite, with antispyware software, you are asking for trouble by downloading from "file swapping" sites. Many of the people I hear from who have had to take drastic, costly steps to save heavily infected PCs attribute their problems to the fact that their kids were frequenting file-sharing sites.

Q: I currently have dial-up access to the Internet, which is slow. I pay a total of $35-$40 a month for the Internet service itself, plus a dedicated phone line. I see ads that claim I can give up this dial-up service and the extra phone line and somehow get higher-speed Internet access for less. Is this true? I do not have a cellphone or wireless service into my house, though I do have cable TV.

A: You can definitely save a lot of money on your Internet service, and drastically increase speed at the same time. And you don't need cellphone or wireless service at all. They are irrelevant. Your choices are DSL from your phone company, or cable-modem service from your cable TV provider. Either will give you a high-speed broadband connection that is much, much faster than your current dial-up service -- without tying up your phone line. You can go down to a single phone line for making voice calls.

DSL tends to be a lot cheaper, so I recommend DSL if you want to save money. And, while the low-priced DSL service is a lot slower than a cable modem, it is much cheaper and still is roughly 15 times as fast as your current connection.

Verizon offers a low-end DSL service for $14.95 a month, with the first month free. It's much faster than what you have now, and you wouldn't need the second phone line. Other companies may have similar offers. But you should go to your phone company's DSL Web site first to see if your house qualifies for DSL. Not all homes do; it depends on how far you live from the nearest phone company facility.

Q: I am a Windows user who wants to switch to Mac, and I have found two options suitable for me. The first option is to buy the $1,299 iMac G5. And the second option is to buy the Mac mini with the 1.42 GHz processor, 1 GB of memory and a 100 GB hard drive.

A: It all depends on what you do on your computer and on what your plans are. The mini, configured as you specify, will cost you $500 less than the iMac. But it is less powerful and less full-featured than the iMac. And it lacks a monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers, all of which come with the iMac. If you have all of these on your Windows PC, and like them, and don't plan to keep the Windows PC, you can switch them over to the mini. But you'll still have to buy a peripheral called a USB hub, because the mini has too few ports. If you want to preserve your Windows machine, you'll have to buy new peripherals, or a gadget called a KVM that allows the mini and your Windows machine to share the peripherals.

The iMac G5, in my view, is the best consumer desktop on the market, and the $1,299 model has just been upgraded, without a price increase. So, if your computing needs are modest, your budget is limited and you're ready and willing to switch over your Windows peripherals, the mini would be a better bargain. But the iMac is the better computer.
网络文件共享的现实问题

在我们大多数人拥有的大件电器中,再没有什么比个人电脑更令人费解、更变幻莫测的了。每个人或许都有些关于电脑的问题,而《莫博士信箱》将为您提供帮助。

本周我将回答读者有关文件互换网站、高速宽频连接服务和改用Mac电脑等问题。

问:如果我拥有一个良好的反病毒保护程序,使用像Kazaa这样的文件互换网站还有什么问题吗?我并不介意为歌曲付费,但像iTunes或Rhapsody等其他的网站经常没有我想要的歌曲。

答:是的,有问题。首先是道德和法律问题,包括获取他人受版权保护的知识产权而没有支付费用,以及为你提供音乐的人并没有得到出售音乐的特许或授权。你提到的其他网站,如iTunes和Rhapsody,是获得合法特许分销音乐的。Kazaa等网站则不是,那些通过此类网站传播音乐的人也不是。你的观点有点像既然当地的Best Buy没有你想要的电视机型号,你购买偷来的电视机也就合情合理了。

即使你良心过得去,也还有现实的问题。这些网站不仅是各种病毒、而且还是你的反病毒软件无法阻挡的间谍软件的主要传播者。即便你的个人电脑安装了包括反间谍软件在内的全套最新安全软件,你从“文件互换”网站上下载文件也是自找麻烦。我听说过许多人不得不采取极端和昂贵的措施来拯救严重感染病毒的个人电脑,他们都将此归咎于他们的孩子经常访问文件共享网站。

问:我目前使用的是拨号上网,速度很慢。我每个月为上网服务要花去35-40美元,外加一根专用的电话线。我看到有广告称我可以放弃这种拨号上网服务和额外的电话线,转而采用高速的互联网接入服务,而且花钱更少。这是真的吗?我没有手机,家里也没有无线服务,但我有有线电视。

答:你肯定能在互联网服务上省下很多钱,而同时还能大幅提高速度。而且你根本不需要手机或无线服务。它们毫不相干。你可以选择来自于你的电话公司的数字订户线路(DSL)服务、或者来自于有线电视提供商的有线宽频调制解调器上网服务。不论选择哪一种,你都能获得高速的宽频连接服务,它比起你目前的拨号上网服务要快很多,而且不会占用你的电话线。你只需要一根电话线打电话就可以了。

DSL通常要便宜很多,因此,如果你想省钱,那我就推荐DSL。而且,虽然低价的DSL服务要比有线宽频要慢得多,但它更便宜,而上网速度是你现在的拨号连接速度的15倍左右。

Verizon提供每月14.95美元的低端DSL服务,第一月是免费的。它比你现在的拨号连接要快得多,而且你不需要第二根电话线。其他公司可能也有类似的服务提供。但你应当首先找到你的电话公司的DSL网站,看看你的房屋是否适合安装DSL。并不是所有的房子都适合的;它取决于你居住的地方距离最近的电话公司设施有多远。

问:我一直是Windows电脑的用户,但我想改用Mac电脑。我发现有两个适合我的选择。第一个选择是购买售价1,299美元的iMac G5。另外一个选择就是购买配置为1.42 GHz处理器、1G内存和100G硬盘的Mac mini。

答:这完全取决于你的电脑使用情况和你自己的计划。照你描述的配置的mini要比iMac便宜500美元。但比起iMac,它的性能较低,功能也不够全面。而且它没有显示器、键盘、鼠标器和扬声器,而所有这些外设iMac都有配备。如果你的Windows个人电脑有这些外设,你也很喜欢,而且你不打算保留Windows电脑了,那么你可以把它们换到mini上。不过,你还是要购买一个名为USB插件板的外设,因为mini的端口非常少。如果你想保留Windows电脑,那么你还要购买新的外设,或者是一个名为KVM的装置,以便你的mini和Windows电脑可以共享外设。

在我看来,iMac G5是市面上最好的消费台式电脑,而且售价1,299美元的那款刚刚经过升级,价格却没有上调。因此,如果你对电脑要求不高,预算有限,你准备而且愿意沿用Windows的外设,那么mini是一个更合算的选择。但iMac是更好的电脑。
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