Here is my “review” of the Samsung 970 EVO Plus 250GB PCIe NVMe – M.2 Internal SSD.
No bravo sierra, no fluff, just some numbers and my not so humble opinion…
[Read more…] about 970 EVO Plus – A Whole Lot Of ‘Meh’
Computer Hardware
Friday Random Stuff…
I can see by the number of clicks in Monday’s news that folks are interested using other DNS servers. I’m working on an article. Look for it next week.
Windows 10 Wi-Fi Drivers for Intel Wireless Adapters
Download & Info
Intel Graphics Driver for Windows 7 – 32-bit only
Purpose:
This is a security release and only supports Windows 7 32-bit for 6th Generation processors. 64-bit will not be made available.
On 6th Generation Intel Core and Intel Mobile Xeon processors and related Pentium/Celeron:
Microsoft Windows 7, 32-bit
Download & Info
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
Microsoft – Keep your devices and data safe using these simple security best practices
Beware of phishing scams – Always have a backup – Be careful when using insecure Wi-Fi networks – Don’t rely on passwords alone – Keep software current – Use privacy screens to stop “shoulder surfing.”
No arguments here.
Here’s the most common mistake people make that compromises their online security
The most common poor security practice was reusing the same password for multiple websites: 82% of people admitted to doing exactly that.
Fortunately passwords are dying.
US Senators ask DHS to look into US government workers using foreign VPNs
Two US senators have asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to look into the possible dangers of US government workers using VPN apps that are owned by foreign companies and which redirect sensitive government-related traffic through servers located in other countries –namely China and Russia.
Here’s a thought. A VPN for the government run by the government…
Google Researchers Say Hackers Exploited Two Zero-Day Vulnerabilities Patched in Apple’s iOS 12.1.4 Update
Two vulnerabilities that Apple patched in its latest iOS 12.1.4 update were successfully exploited by hackers before they were known to Apple, according to a top Google security engineer.
That isn’t possible. Everyone knows everything Apple is secure.
Netflix paid NOTHING in federal or state taxes in 2018 despite posting record profits of $845million – and even got a $22million rebate
‘With a record number of subscribers, the company’s profit last year equaled its haul in the previous four years put together. When hugely profitable corporations avoid tax, that means smaller businesses and working families must make up the difference.’
Flat tax on everyone and everything. No deductions.
AMD, Nvidia Have Launched the Least-Appealing GPU Upgrades in History
Yesterday, AMD launched the Radeon VII, the first 7nm GPU. The card is intended to compete with Nvidia’s RTX family of Turing-class GPUs, and it does, broadly matching the RTX 2080. It also matches the RTX 2080 on price, at $700…But as things stand today, the consumer GPU market feels stuck in an unwelcome position where the only generational performance improvements available are reserved to those who can afford to jump at least a price bracket for their next GPU. Historically, there’s never been a need to do that. Hopefully, there still isn’t.
Yup. Overpriced and underwhelming.
Jeff Bezos just confirmed what we all knew: Nudes are no big deal
That headline (and article) is ignorant. It is a big deal. If you don’t think so there is something wrong with you.
I don’t understand the whole nude selfie thing. I mean, you understand that those things never stay private right? And dudes, most women don’t want to see pics of your junk anyway.
Monday Randon Stuff…
AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.2.1 Optional (04FEB2019)
Support For: APEX Legend, The Division 2 Private Beta, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
Download | Release Notes
Nvidia Geforce Game Ready WHQL Driver 418.81
Includes support for new GeForce RTX laptops, and delivers the optimum performance in Futuremark’s 3DMark Port Royal benchmark, which has just added a new feature test for NVIDIA Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS).
Download | Release Notes
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
Super Bore
Didn’t care about it much, didn’t watch it much. What I did see was boring. I did manage to win a betting pool. I had Rams 3 Pats 0 and it hit in the 2nd quarter.
Super Bowl Ratings Hit 10-Year Low In Historic NFL Game & Patriots’ Win
Fitness Watches
I give up. All I wanted was a watch that accurately measures cardio and calories burned across all my activities. Especially and including weightlifting. I don’t need a coach, or workout advice. I don’t want to input my reps. I could live with a external monitor of some kind tied to the watch but not an arm or chest band. AFAIK the device I want doesn’t exist.
DNS Issues
News spread of Windows users being unable to access Windows Update. Apparently it was a DNS issue. I don’t use my ISPs DNS (Comcast).
I use OpenDNS (208.67.222.222 208.67.220.220) at my router. Google DNS is another popular option. Good guide here:
https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/using
New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking
Today, the Norwegian Consumer Council has filed a complaint against Google. Based on new research Google is accused of using deceptive design and misleading information, which results in users accepting to be constantly tracked.
Not news to most of us.
Are There Fake Chickens Out There?
I went to Arby’s yesterday because, you know, “They have the meats.” I saw the sign below. Apparently Arby’s thinks there are fake chickens running wild and ending up in stores. I went Googling as I’m wont to do when I smell BS. I came up with this from Consumer Reports:
Natural: CR dubbed this one “the most misleading label” of the bunch, as more than half of the survey respondents said they believed “natural” meant the chickens didn’t receive antibiotics or chow down on feed containing GMOs. 42% of respondents said they thought the term meant the chickens were raised outdoors, while 1-in-3 said they thought it meant the same as “organic.” The only substantial requirement for “natural” chicken breasts is that they contain no artificial ingredients, but even then there is no process to verify this claim.
Monday Random Stuff…
Samsung NVM Express Driver 3.1
Windows 10 RS5 compatibility fix
The driver supports the Samsung NVMe SSD 970 PRO, 970 EVO, 970 EVO Plus, 960 PRO, 960 EVO and 950 PRO.
The driver supports Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
Release Notes (In Installation Guide)
FYI – RS5 is Win10 build 1809 or “October 2018 Update”. It would kill you guys at Samsung to use the common build number or name?
Download
For the next days or weeks you will likely get a “We apologize for your inconvenience Please try again within 24 hours” notice because whoever is in charge over there obviously has trouble doing their job. So I’m gonna throw it up here for a while:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/xx61mg11i6rkb85/Samsung_NVM_Express_Driver_3.1.zip/file
Software Downloads
Notepad++ 7.6.3
VirtualBox 6.0.4
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
Intel Core i9-9900KF Listed at U.S. Retailers – [H]ardOCP
Twitter user and dataminer momomo_us just spotted an Intel Core i9-9900KF listed at B&H Photo and Video, and a quick search on Google shows that NextWarehouse and NeutronUSA have the processor up for sale too. Unfortunately, B&H has the i9-9900KF priced at $582.50, which is significantly higher than the ~$530 street price regular 9900Ks are going for right now.
Polar vortex to bring prolonged, life-threatening cold outbreak to midwestern US this week
The coldest weather in years will put millions of people and animals throughout the midwestern United States at risk for hypothermia and frostbite to occur in minutes during the final days of January.
Forecasted low at my house in Virginia is expected to bottom out around 12°F (-11.11°C) on Wednesday night. Then by next Monday we will be back up to 61°F (16.11°C).
Stay safe y’all. Find someone to share body heat with.
Best Buy security guard fired after tackling man who allegedly struck California cop, tried to flee
A Best Buy security guard who tackled a man wanted on a felony warrant — and who had allegedly just hit a cop — was reportedly fired for his good deed because it ran counter to corporate policy.
Screw Best Buy. They probably won’t be around much longer anyway. I hope this guys gets hired by a good security company.
Samsung 970 EVO Plus Pre-order
***UPDATE – AS of 0840hrs EST, 03FEB2019 These items have disappeared from Amazon. Will update when they return.
“This item will be released on February 10, 2019”
Samsung 970 EVO Plus Series – 1TB PCIe NVMe – M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V7S1T0B/AM)
Price: $249.99
Samsung 970 EVO Plus Series – 500GB PCIe NVMe – M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V7S500B/AM)
Price: $129.99
Samsung 970 EVO Plus Series – 250GB PCIe NVMe – M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V7S250B/AM)
Price: $89.99
New AMD Drivers
AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.1.2 Optional (24JAN2019)
Support for Resident Evil 2, Tropico 6, Anthem Early Access
Download | Release Notes
Released earlier this week: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.1.2 (21JAN2019)
Support for Fortnight
Release Notes
SanDisk 128GB Extreme microSD
List Price: $68.99
Price: $29.48
You Save: $39.51 (57%)
Wednesday Morning Random Stuff…
Win10 1809 Updated
19 “addresses an issue” and 1 driver, for a tape drive. I swear I didn’t know tape drives were still use in but I reckon they are.
January 22, 2019—KB4476976 (OS Build 17763.292)
The Samsung 970 EVO Plus (250GB, 1TB) NVMe SSD Review: 96-Layer 3D NAND
With Samsung launching the 970 EVO Plus at the same prices as the 970 EVO, they’re taking one of the fastest TLC drives and making it a slightly better deal…For most purposes, the 970 EVO Plus can now be regarded as Samsung’s flagship consumer SSD, and it deserves that title.
https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/consumer/970evoplus/
Not showing up at Amazon, Microcenter, Frys, or Best Buy (as of this writing).
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
Google Maps will now display speed limits for its Android and iOS apps
displays the posted speed limit on roads in the corner of the app, and also introduces an icon to denote the location of speed cameras
Thats good news. For the past few years I’ve bounced back and forth between Google Maps and Waze. Waze is great for getting you out of a fix and for letting your know where “emergency vehicles” are. However it’s directions have gotten weirder over time.
Tim Cook pretends to care about privacy in Time op-ed
If Tim Cook and Apple really cared about privacy, they wouldn’t have thrown 1.2 billion Chinese under the bus by handing over iCloud data to the Chinese government, and by sheepishly refusing to even mention “China” when it comes to Apple’s thin veneer of “privacy first”.
Apple’s complete cooperation with the Chinese government makes it very clear that Apple is all too eager to roll over and disregard its privacy chest-thumping the second their own bottom line is at risk. And lest we forget – China is a totalitarian, repressive regime that doesn’t shy away from torture and concentration camps.
Geolocation Data Could Get Privacy Protection Under New ADD Act
The bill uses as its framework the Privacy Act of 1974, which governs how federal agencies handle and protect records about individuals. Under the 1974 Act the government cannot (with some exceptions) share data about someone without their prior permission and must allow a person to see, get a copy of and correct records about themselves. The government can be sued for violating the Act.
Gap between rich and poor growing, fuelling global anger
A new billionaire was created every two days last year, just as the poorest half of the world’s population saw their wealth decline by 11 percent
World’s 26 richest people own as much as poorest 50%
The growing concentration of the world’s wealth has been highlighted by a report showing that the 26 richest billionaires own as many assets as the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of the planet’s population.
Make No Mistake, Davos, the Fat Cat Backlash Is Coming
There has always been a whiff of hypocrisy at Davos, where elites expand their carbon footprint, eat $43 hot dogs and throw lavish parties in the name of making the world a better place. “Fat cats in the snow,” the regular attendee Bono once called it (and he should know). But given the rapid advances of populist politics, it’s remarkable that in 2019, those felines are looking better-fed than ever. The past decade and a half has seen U.S. corporate profits outgrow employee compensation at an unprecedented pace, according to the St. Louis Fed. A Bloomberg News analysis of the fortunes of a dozen Davos attendees found that they soared by a combined $175 billion since 2009.
***Aspirin lowers heart attack risk but raises risk of dangerous bleeding
Big warnings floating around this week over this news. Be sure to actually read what the article/study says and talk to your doctor before buying into these hyped up articles. Doctors have long recommended low-dose aspirin to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Bayer, Walgreens, CVS, Equate, Kirkland, St. Joseph and a host of other brands of low dose aspirin are 81mg. The study claims increased risk but they measured doses as large as high as 500mg.
Doctors today typically don’t prescribe doses higher than 100 mg.
Still, the results reinforce the need for doctors and patients to have a thoughtful discussion of the benefits and harms of aspirin for primary prevention of heart attacks and strokes, Dr. Michael Gaziano of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston writes in an accompanying editorial.
The study page (account needed for full access, sorry fellow peons):
Association of Aspirin Use for Primary Prevention With Cardiovascular Events and Bleeding Events
Saints Fans Are Suing The NFL Over A Blown Call And It’s The Legal Equivalent Of A Hail Mary
&
Second Saints fan lawsuit names NFL, individual refs over pivotal ‘no-call’ in NFC title game
There was one BS call after another this season. There were missed calls everywhere too. The NFL has become a farce. But, these lawsuits will fail.
Weekend Random Stuff…
Intel Graphics Driver for Windows 10
aka “DCH Drivers” Version: DCH 25.20.100.6519 Date: 1/17/2019
HIGHLIGHTS:
– New Intel® Audio Driver (10.26.00.05)
– Windows* ML Optimization
– Better support for Windows* 10 Ambient light sensor framework
– Power and performance improvements
Download | Release Notes
Intel Wireless Bluetooth Driver
Version: 20.110.0 Date: 1/18/2019
Bugfixes and “General stability improvements and optimizations.”
Windows 7 | Windows 8.1 | Windows 10 | Release Notes
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
Anandtech – The Western Digital WD Black SN750 SSD Review
the third generation WD Black SSD is here, with the model number SN750 to avoid confusion with its predecessors…Performance has been improved slightly across most of the major metrics, but none of the improvements are anything huge…By 2018 standards, the new WD Black is still a very competitive high-end NVMe SSD…The WD Black SN750 will be hitting the market most closely priced to the Samsung 970 EVO. In those conditions, the SN750 will be the obvious choice for laptop usage due to its great power efficiency. For desktop usage, the Samsung 970 EVO may be the slightly better performer overall
The Tech Report System Guide: January 2019 edition
This is where the TR staff picks out the créme de la créme of hardware components fit for the most price-effective builds around. We’ve tried to create builds across a wide range of price points with parts that provide the best performance possible for the money. However, we don’t just ferret out the cheapest components possible or compromise configurations to hit arbitrary price points. Indeed, these are the systems we’d build for ourselves, given the money.
These guys do a great job with their system guides. Recommended.
CEO Satya Nadella says that Microsoft is embracing Amazon’s Alexa instead of fighting it
Full article translation: ‘Cortana sucks and we surrender.’
Verizon will give subscribers free access to anti-robocall tools
starting in March, subscribers with compatible smartphones (including iPhone and Android devices) will be able fend off unwanted robocalls without having to pay extra. Verizon says it will release more info on how to sign up for the free tools near their launch date…The company also says that it has committed to supporting the new STIR/SHAKEN technology that can authenticate a call’s origin and can alert subscribers if it’s a spoofed call. As you know, robocallers use spoofing to mask their real numbers to, say, make it appear as if the call is coming from the recipient’s location. That increases the chances of the recipient picking up the phone and falling prey to their schemes.
Until December I had been using Extreme Call Blocker but it stopped working. Currently I am using Calls Blacklist PRO.
Straight To Hell
A local musician reminded me of one of an old song I like called Straight To Hell by Drivin N Cryin. It’s great sing along bar song.
Hootie err… Darius Rucker covered the song very well.
(If the videos don’t play you may need to adjust Ublock / Adblock / Privacy Badger settings.)
Drivin N Cryin – Straight To Hell [Explicit]
Darius Rucker – Straight To Hell (Full Length Version) [feat. Jason Aldean & Luke Bryan & Charles Kelley] [Explicit]
Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ – Straight To Hell (with lyrics)
Darius Rucker – Straight To Hell ft. Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Charles Kelley
Tuesday Random Stuff…
Windows 10 Updates
Only for builds 1803, 1709, and 1703.
Addresses an issue…
1803 – January 15, 2019—KB4480976 (OS Build 17134.556)
1709 – January 15, 2019—KB4480967 (OS Build 16299.936)
1703 – January 15, 2019—KB4480959 (OS Build 15063.1596)
Nvidia Geforce Game Ready WHQL Driver 417.71
Includes support for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics cards as well as support for G-SYNC compatible monitors.
Download | Release Notes
Horowitz – I found a Windows 7 PC still infected with GWX (Get Windows 10) software
He found some GWX related tasks going. I double checked all my PC’s. All good but I had been blocking GWX from the start.
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
Feds Can’t Force You To Unlock Your iPhone With Finger Or Face, Judge Rules
“If a person cannot be compelled to provide a passcode because it is a testimonial communication, a person cannot be compelled to provide one’s finger, thumb, iris, face, or other biometric feature to unlock that same device,” the judge wrote…The magistrate judge decision could, of course, be overturned by a district court judge, as happened in Illinois in 2017 with a similar ruling. The best advice for anyone concerned about government overreach into their smartphones: Stick to a strong alphanumeric passcode that you won’t be compelled to disclose.
We haven’t heard the last of this. I would imagine it goes the the Supreme Court.
https://www.google.com/search?q=gillette+toxic+masculinity
Related???: Men talk about the things that “suck” about being men : theCHIVE
‘Star Trek’ Boss: Picard Leads “Radically Altered” Life in CBS All Access Series
The Picard series will be the first onscreen Trek story set in the aftermath of that event, which would have altered the balance of power in the galaxy. The destruction of Romulus would also have extra resonance for Picard, who has a long and complicated relationship with the Romulans, the alien race that split from Vulcan society thousands of years ago and founded a separate civilization.
As long as they don’t turn him into a mutineer we’re good.
Too Many Workers Are Trapped By Non-Competes
Why have wages been so slow to rise at a time when demand for workers has pushed the U.S. unemployment rate to its lowest point in nearly half a century? One answer: contracts that tie millions of unspecialized workers to their jobs.
In far too many cases, these so-called noncompetes are an unwarranted restriction on freedom to transact and a drag on growth. If Congress won’t act to narrow their scope, states should take the lead.
U.S. Restaurant Prices Jump the Most Since 2011
It’s getting more expensive to eat out. Full-service restaurants, facing higher labor and food costs, raised prices the most in more than seven years in December…The gap between how much it costs to eat out instead of grocery shopping “has continued to widen pretty aggressively. It’s a problem,” said Michael Halen, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst.
Industry wary of alternatives tries to protect a word: meat
More than four months after Missouri became the first U.S. state to regulate the term “meat” on product labels, Nebraska’s powerful farm groups are pushing for similar protection from veggie burgers, tofu dogs and other items that look and taste like real meat.
Nebraska lawmakers will consider a bill this year defining meat as “any edible portion of any livestock or poultry, carcass, or part thereof” and excluding “lab-grown or insect or plant-based food products.” It would make it a crime to advertise or sell something “as meat that is not derived from poultry or livestock.”
Similar measures aimed at meat alternatives are pending in Tennessee, Virginia and Wyoming.
Had me a burger with bacon, cheddar cheese, onions, and jalapenos last night. Animals are delicious.
Wednesday Morning Random Stuff…
It is Wednesday right?
Intel PROSet/Wireless Software and Drivers for Windows 10
Version: 20.100.0 Date: 12/18/2018
Microsoft Blog – Windows Sandbox
Most of the Windows sites are talking about this. In a future Win10 build, Microsoft is going to introduce a TEMPORARY sandbox feature. It isn’t intended to be a replacement for Virtual Machines. Something most writers on this subject seem to be missing.
“an isolated, temporary, desktop environment where you can run untrusted software without the fear of lasting impact to your PC. Any software installed in Windows Sandbox stays only in the sandbox and cannot affect your host. Once Windows Sandbox is closed, all the software with all its files and state are permanently deleted.”
Sounds like a neat feature. x64, Win10 Pro and Enterprise only.
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
This free online tool uses AI to quickly remove the background from images
Google’s Secret China Project “Effectively Ended” After Fight
Google has been forced to shut down a data analysis system it was using to develop a censored search engine for China after members of the company’s privacy team raised internal complaints that it had been kept secret from them, The Intercept has learned.
C’mon man. Does anyone seriously believe that?
As Facebook Raised a Privacy Wall, It Carved an Opening for Tech Giants
Facebook insisted that it had instituted stricter privacy protections long ago. Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive, assured lawmakers in April that people “have complete control” over everything they share on Facebook.
But the documents, as well as interviews with about 50 former employees of Facebook and its corporate partners, reveal that Facebook allowed certain companies access to data despite those protections.
#DeleteFacebook
New thing I’m gonna do:
Stuff I Don’t Understand…
Having another mans name on your underwear.