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Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

Work Has Begun

September 26, 2016, 13:12(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

I’ve started work on the AnniUpdate edition of the Win1o tweak Guide. The first step is to figure out what is new (aside from the usual fixes and improvements).
This sites focus was, is, and will continue to be on desktop / laptop users. When it comes to Windows 10 I do not use, nor do I care about “mobile” be it a phone or tablet.
So with that in mind, let’s look at AnniUpdates new features.
Sticky notes – Seriously? You understand that Windows Vista and 7 had that as a Windows Gadget right?
Microsoft Edge extensions – I would have to actually use Edge to care (I don’t even use IE.) But OK.
Improvenents to XYZ… – Congrats on trying to make your product work as it should, or heaven forbid make it marginally useful (Defender/Hello/Edge)
Cortana improvements – There isn’t a single feature in the history of Windows I despise more. Go away already.
Cortana integration with Cortana phone app – Almost no one uses Windows phone (market share below 1%). Why in the name of all that is Geeky would you use cortana on Android or iPhone?
Bash shell – Why?
Dark Theme – We Geeks already had it although official support has brought some needed tweaks.
Start menu changed – There are countless useful start menu replacements. My favs are Start10 and Classic Start.
Action Center changes – Oh you mean it is finally becoming marginally useful and I don’t have to use both the Action Center and Control Panel to adjust settings? Like maybe UAC or Network and Sharing??? (Not!)
Notification badges – Well at least it isn’t a popup, and you can turn it off.
Wi-Fi Sense gone – Good riddance. Moronic idea anyway.
Network Status – Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Status. Great stuff here!

OK everyone help me out. What am I missing?

Tagged With: Windows 10

Weekend Random Stuff…

September 25, 2016, 18:12(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

mp3tag

Subscribe To Websites
I’ve never subscribed to a website before. But, I recognize the sites I go to have to pay the bills. With that in mind I just subscribed to Thurrott Premium.
Anyone else out there subscribe to a website? Worth it or no?

iVerge
I’ve called The Verge “iVerge” for some time. I’ve always felt that many people over there had a bias favoring Apple, so have many other people. Although iVerge continues to deny that any bias exists I find this article interesting
iVerge – A note from the editor-in-chief about Chris Ziegler
“Chris began working for Apple in July, but didn’t tell anyone at The Verge that he’d taken a new job until we discovered and verified his dual-employment in early September…Obviously having an Apple employee on The Verge staff is a conflict of interest.”
No one seems to know anything: Daring Fireball – “No word on what Ziegler is (or was? — several little birdies have told me Ziegler is not listed in the company directory) doing at Apple. And Ziegler’s Twitter account has been silent since August 8.”

Software Updates
Firefox 49.0.1
MediaMonkey 4.1.14.1811
MP3Tag 2.79

Off Topic – Looking for bike suggestions.
I like to ride my mountain bike. A few years back I had an Achilles tendon rupture. Well “rupture” was the official description. It was actually much worse (long story). So because of that and other injuries, these days I beat on my body much less. There is much less trail riding and jumping and far more roads and gravel trails with and occasional light trail thrown in. Because of this I am looking at “hybrid” bikes. I don’t want to spend a bunch of money. I was considering something like a Diamondback Trace. Does anyone out there have any experience with these things? Any recommendations or tips?

Tagged With: Computer News

The Things I Do For This Site

September 24, 2016, 16:21(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

th

Like many others, my main rig STILL had freezing issues after AnniUpdate. Obviously, Microsoft wasn’t going to fix it. I tried every workaround, every fix, everything I could think of. Tinker around, doesn’t work, restore image, update again, try more stuff, restore image, update again, on and on…
I know many of you are waiting for an update to the Win10 Tweak Guide and I figured I put off enough.
So…
This morning I did a full reset and reinstalled everything. *edit* – I should have been clear. This “fixed” my problem.
When it comes to Win10 I don’t “need” to use it. From a personal standpoint I don’t care if I use it. I use it because I support lots of Windows users. I’m perfectly happy with Windows 7 and my Linux Virtual Machines. In truth I can probably do everything I do in Linux. Come Windows 7’s EOL that will most likely be the case (if not sooner).
Anywho, I’ll be working on the tweak guide this week.

Tagged With: This Site, Windows 10

Oh Good Grief

September 24, 2016, 16:05(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

goodgrief

MSPU – Scary Microsoft patent would have Windows watch everything you do, send it to Bing, for better search results

The patent, “QUERY FORMULATION VIA TASK CONTINUUM”, published yesterday (22/9/2016)…
In short, Clippy on steroids.
The main concern with such a system is of course personal data leaking despite Microsoft’s supposed privacy safeguards or reading the user’s context wrong leading to more frustration (another Clippy problem).

Tagged With: Computer News

New Video Drivers

September 22, 2016, 10:39(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

www_news

AMD Radeon Crimson Edition 16.9.2 Hotfix
Download
Release Notes

Nvidia GeForce Game Ready Driver 372.90 WHQL
Download
Release Notes

Tagged With: Computer Hardware

Testing Linux Mint 18

September 21, 2016, 16:10(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

tux

I’ve been testing various versions of Linux Mint 18 (Cinnamon, KDE, XFCE) with an eye on possibly making it my main distro.
A few thoughts…
– It is wicked fast in a VM.
– I love everything about Cinnamon except the start menu. I don’t like that at all.
– The XFCE version is sluggish?
– The KDE version is good but openSUSE 42.2 comes out in 2 months. That has been my distro of choice for years.
– As of this writing the newest Firefox version Mint offers is 48. That is THREE versions and 1 month behind (48.0.1/48.0.2/49.0). Why?
– I love the fact they aren’t trying to ram BTRFS down my throat.

Any thoughts or tips?

Tagged With: Linux

Wednesday Random Stuff…

September 21, 2016, 15:56(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

They Just Keep Getting Faster And More Affordable
Anandtech – Samsung Announces 960 PRO And 960 EVO M.2 PCIe SSDs
Ars Technica – Samsung unveils crazy-fast 960 Pro and 960 Evo M.2 NVMe SSDs
Out in October. The only M2 slot I have is on my laptop. For me, I don’t know if is worth the upgrade from my 850 EVO as far as real world use. But it is tempting…

Wise Disk Cleaner Updated
Version 9.29 is out:
– Fixed the issue of unable to run properly in limited account.
– Updated various translations. Minor GUI improvements.

Download

EMDB 2.57
Eric’s Movie Database has been updated (not this Eric). Several fixes.
“EMDB is an application to keep track of your movie and TV Series collection.”
Download & Info

Tails 2.6
“Tails is a live operating system, that you can start on almost any computer from a DVD, USB stick, or SD card. It aims at preserving your privacy and anonymity”
Download & Info

Tagged With: Computer Hardware, Computer News, Cool Tools, Freeware

Remove software related to the Windows 10 free upgrade offer

September 21, 2016, 06:38(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

Microsoft has a new Windows update that removes most GWX stuff from Windows 7 and 8.1.
“This update removes the Get Windows 10 app and other software related to the Windows 10 free upgrade offer that expired on July 29, 2016. ”
KB3184143 – Remove software related to the Windows 10 free upgrade offer

This update replaces the following previously-released software:
KB 3035583 — Update installs Get Windows 10 app in Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1
KB 3064683 — Windows 8.1 OOBE modifications to reserve Windows 10
KB 3072318 — Update for Windows 8.1 OOBE to upgrade to Windows 10
KB 3090045 — Windows Update for reserved devices in Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 SP1
KB 3123862 — Updated capabilities to upgrade Windows 8.1 and Windows 7
KB 3173040 — Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1 end of free upgrade offer notification
KB 3146449 — Updated Internet Explorer 11 capabilities to upgrade Windows 8.1 and Windows 7

Like everything else Microsoft does these days this is incomplete. Geeks have done their own research and come up with there own list to uninstall.
I did this via a Batch file, Remove And Block GWX In Windows 7. I included the updates I thought were important to remove. I’m going to revise it one more time this evening.
See this MDL forum thread for a bigger list: MDL – Remove Telemetry and Windows 10 Related Updates from Windows 7

Tagged With: Windows 7

Monday Random Stuff…

September 19, 2016, 16:37(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

“I think you have to be 8 different kinds of stupid to put your house or car on a network.” – TweakHound
Ransomware’s next target: Your car and your home
“The concept of today’s ransomware is to lock your data to ransom. But what we’re showing here is that the data is almost irrelevant — it’s the device we’re locking up: connected medical devices, home routers, cars; it’s the device,”
*edit 1728hrs – Rich G. provided a link to this article: Don’t Connect Your Phone To Rental Cars
“The researchers bought an infotainment system on eBay and hacked it to discover that MirrorLink’s two security methods could be overcome since (a) bypassing information was already published online and (b) passwords were stored in unencrypted plaintext. The result was that hackers could “eavesdrop on and inject” malware into the vehicle’s brain, the Controller Area Network, which could pose both a privacy risk as well as a personal safety risk.”

Ultimate Windows Tweaker 4.2.1 for Windows 10
“We’ve released version 4.2.1 to fix this bug related to privacy settings.”
Download
I use this for minor tweaks. Stay away from the Performance tab. Most of you TweakHound regulars already know this.
Speaking of which…

OMG
In the last week or so few Geek type sites have reviewed and approved of some tweaking software that claims to speed up or optimize your PC (different sites, different software).
No…
Just…
No.

Tor Browser Critical Update
A critical vulnerability was patched. This vulnerability still exists in Firefox proper and will be patched tomorrow.
Download Tor Browser
Firefox 49 is actually up on the mirrors but has not been officially released.
Download 32-bit(en-US)
Download 64-bit(en-US)
Download other systems and languages (copy/paste the appropriate link, substitute “49.0” for “48.0.2”)
Release Notes
ff49_hdttednci

Tagged With: Computer News, Security

Random Thursday Stuff…

September 15, 2016, 17:52(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

www_news

Chrome Updated…Again
“The stable channel has been updated to 53.0.2785.116 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. This will roll out over the coming days/weeks.”
I dig the first comment!
Download

One More Reason To Switch uBlock
iVerge – Adblock Plus now sells ads.
Yeah, I know sites need ads to make money. I have ads on this site to try and break even. Last I checked 40% of you were blocking ads. Many of you have contributed through buying a Tweak Guide or donating. I use an ad blocker. uBlock Origin in Firefox (both phone and desktop) and the Samsung Browser on my phone. Ironically enough the Samsung Browser uses Adblock. And yes, I whitelist sites.
Download and info for uBlock Origin.
[Read more…] about Random Thursday Stuff…

Tagged With: Computer News

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