TweakHound

Computer stuff...

Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

PCMark 7 Version 1.4.0 Released

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futuremark_logoGot this via email:

PCMARK 7 VERSION 1.4.0 RELEASED
PCMark 7 has been updated to version 1.4.0 and is now fully compatible with Windows 8. Please note that benchmark scores ARE affected by the changes in this update.

**You should not compare scores from PCMark 7 v1.4.0 with any previous version of PCMark 7.**
To get the update, download the PCMark 7 v1.4.0 installer:
http://www.futuremark.com/support/downloads

The major changes in PCMark 7 v1.4.0 include:
IMPROVEMENTS
– Enhanced accuracy in video playback drawn frames measurement.
– In addition to the standard result, PCMark 7 Storage tests now report additional “raw” results where the metric idle values have been excluded from the score calculation.
– Enable or disable hardware accelerated video transcoding from the Help tab for troubleshooting.
– Improved logging.

COMPATIBILITY
– Now fully compatible with Windows 8.
– The Web Browsing test has been completely rewritten to avoid compatibility issues with Windows 8. The previous implementation was based on Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC); the new one is a Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application. The heavy lifting in the test is still done by the WebBrowser2 control. Benchmark scores are affected, in most cases going up by a few percent.
– SystemInfo updated to version 4.15 for Windows 8 compatibility.

BUG FIXES
– Fixed issues in video transcoding tests and added transcoding output file validation. These changes affect benchmark scores.
– Fixed a data compression bug in the storage workloads. Benchmark scores are affected in configurations that use data compression at the hardware level.

The Windows 7 Freeware Machine

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freeware baby!
(last updated 31 August, 2014)
This is a Windows 7 version of the previous articles I wrote called The Freeware XP Machine, and The Vista Free Machine. This version is Windows 7 specific and has several additions and deletions of software I have tried based on recommendations of readers (and THANKS for the suggestions).
This is not a comprehensive list of freeware apps, there are lists like that all over the place. This is a list of apps I use and/or recommend. The goal of this list is to hopefully make your computing experience a little better and less expensive. I know that many of you already use a lot of these programs but perhaps this list would be something you might want to pass on to friends and family to help them out.
[Read more…] about The Windows 7 Freeware Machine

Adobe Flash Player Updated

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flashAdobe Flash Player updated.
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Security updates available for Adobe Flash Player

Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.168 and earlier versions for Windows, Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.167 and earlier versions for Macintosh, and Adobe Flash Player 11.2.202.270 and earlier versions for Linux. These updates address vulnerabilities that could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.