Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

Lots of Windows and other software updates today. Full roundup later once they are all out. Until then…

More Win10 Forced Upgrades
Woody is on the case again:
“For the third time in the past four months, Microsoft ‘accidentally’ upgraded Win10 1703 machines to version 1709 in spite of explicit, correctly applied, deferral settings.”
The constant Win10 shenanigans from GWX until now almost gets me nostalgic for Windows Vista. Almost…

[H]ard On Nvdia
Klye at [H]ardOCP takes Nvidia to task for, let us call it anti-competitive behavior:
“I think it [GPP] is going to greatly, and negatively, impact consumer choice in the AIB and OEM computer market. Consumer choice is going to be decimated. Looking at the program guidelines, I truly think that is what will happen and is where my concern lies.”

TSA Illegal Searches?
The ACLU of Northern California is suing the TSA to get access to info as to why the TSA is searching domestic passengers electronic devices:
“TSA is searching the electronic devices of domestic passengers, but without offering any reason for the search,” Talla added. “We don’t know why the government is singling out some passengers, and we don’t know what exactly TSA is searching on the devices. Our phones and laptops contain very personal information, and the federal government should not be digging through our digital data without a warrant.”
I applaud the ACLU here. Perhaps next they could defend the Oakland Police against the discrimination happening across the bay.

ETC. Other stuff I’ve bookmarked this week.
The ability to feel empathy—or not—is shaped by your genes
Bono’s anti-poverty campaign faces claims of harassment
Mom has nearly all her limbs cut off after docs failed to spot deadly disease

I’m a tad under the weather so I hope my semi-coherent ramblings aren’t worse than usual.

Windows 10 S Mode
Years ago I advocated dual booting the same OS with a “daily driver” version and a game only version. Operating systems have changed quite a bit since then, especially memory management. Once you get an operating system system setup properly with a few performance tweaks here and there you are good to go. The old tweaks that had such a dramatic change in performance either make little change or don’t work at all. But this Windows 10 S Mode has me thinking about the possibilities…

That Name S*%#+
People are whining about the next Win10 version maybe being called “Spring Creators Update“.
In the words of my millennial friends, “DGAF.” My generation would say, “Get a life.”
Whatever it is called, I would not be in a hurry to update. The next version of a bloated OS isn’t gonna change your life. Let someone else beta test it.
On a personal level I would appreciate MS going to a once yearly update cycle. We all have enough to do without worrying about our PCs being hosed twice a year.

Speaking Of Millenials
They are beginning to understand social media sucks:
– > 50% are “seeking relief from social media”
– 34% say they have deleted social-media accounts entirely.
– The most popular apps to quit permanently are Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as the dating app Tinder. Snapchat, on the other hand, escaped most teens’ wrath.(didn’t know 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 are teens)
(FYI – The survey looks at 18-24 year olds. The creators of the term define millennials as being born between 1982 and 2002 which would make them 16-36. The Pew Research center has recently defined them as “Anyone born between 1981 and 1996 (ages 22-37 in 2018)”)

Reader Emails
Q – The motive from my contact is that lately I’m having a few troubles with Bit Defender 2018, I searched in TH about AV’s but I only found a 2013 article, which helped me a lot btw, but I was wondering if you can bring an fresh update about that matter. An AV recommendation, maybe what AV do you use, etc…
A – I don’t have an AV recommendation. I use Windows Defender + Virtual Machines + Common Sense + Backups.
I should have added: I have dabbled with Norton in the last couple of years. Dunno, I guess it is OK. I will not even consider AV from companies in countries that are openly hostile to my own.

ETC. Other stuff I’ve bookmarked this week.
Lawmakers Continue Fighting For Net Neutrality in the US Senate, Courts, and States
China’s Long Arm Reaches Into American Campuses
DC Veterans Affairs hit by scathing report citing ‘failed leadership at multiple levels’
Galveston teen receives sweet surprise after helping elderly customer at Waffle House
Harry Potter: A History of Magic – Explore the wonders of the British Library exhibition

Chrome 65
“This update includes 45 security fixes.”
Download

New AMD Drivers
Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 18.3.1 Optional
Support for Final Fantasy XV, Warhammer, Vermintide II, DOTA2

“We know all about you”
MoviePass CEO, “We get an enormous amount of information…We watch how you drive from home to the movies. We watch where you go afterwards.”

Peek Squad At It Again
“EFF filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit last year to learn more about how the FBI uses Geek Squad employees to flag illegal material when people pay Best Buy to repair their computers. The relationship potentially circumvents computer owners’ Fourth Amendment rights.”

Uh…Shouldn’t you start with humans?
Paul Allen Wants to Teach Machines Common Sense. Good luck with that. Most people I come across lack it.

American Made Jeans?
Reading about talk of trade war and one of the things the EU said they were gonna target was bluejeans. I thought, “We still make bluejeans here?” I’ve always worn Levi’s because they’re cheap, they fit, I’m simple, and I have no fashion sense (don’t want any either). Levi’s haven’t been made in the U.S.A. in a long time. A Google search turned up this:
American Made Denim: The Ultimate Source List
The EU also said they were gonna target bourbon. Good, more for me!

No Sh** Sherlock
Another “study” that didn’t need to be done: Uptempo music helps people to keep exercising for longer
Is there someone out there that didn’t know this to be true?

Other tech related stuff I bookmarked this week:
The WIRED Guide to Net Neutrality
An FOI request has revealed ‘anonymous’ browser Tor is funded by US government agencies
New Spectre attack variant can pry secrets from Intel’s SGX protected enclaves
Ex-Google recruiter: I was fired because I resisted “illegal” diversity efforts
News Corp. CEO Slams Facebook, Google for Not Sharing Enough Ad Revenue
Twitter’s CEO just admitted the platform has problems, and he’s asking for help to fix them
Top web browsers 2018: Microsoft walks the road to browser irrelevance

Other off topic stuff I bookmarked this week:
Stephen Hawking on What Happened Before the Big Bang
Justin Verlander on Twitter: “Been sitting on this… Exit velo and launch angle and it’s correlation to % chance of becoming a homer. 2014 vs. 2017…”
New study links changes to the baseball to the record number of home runs in MLB
MIT study shows how much driving for Uber or Lyft sucks
The Mahindra Roxor Is A Tiny Offroad Jeep That You Can Totally Buy In America