Computer News

It’s boring out there computer news wise. I’m sure folks have been doing some spring breaking like I have been.

Intel Ethernet Adapter Complete Driver Pack
Version: 26.2 Date: 3/31/2021
Download & Info

HWiNFO
“Comprehensive Hardware Analysis, Monitoring and Reporting for Windows and DOS.”
Download (I use the portable version) | Version History

Are You One of the 533M People Who Got Facebooked?
“Ne’er-do-wells leaked personal data — including phone numbers — for some 553 million Facebook users this week.”
#DeleteFacebook

String theorist Michio Kaku: ‘Reaching out to aliens is a terrible idea’
“There are some colleagues of mine that believe we should reach out to them. I think that’s a terrible idea. We all know what happened to Montezuma when he met Cortés in Mexico so many hundreds of years ago.”
Dr. Stephen Hawking had the same instinct.

PowerToys v0.35
A few fixes and improvements.
Download & Info

VMware Workstation 16.1.1 Player
“Important Fixes
In this release of VMware Workstation Player, the VMNet driver related security improvements as suggested by BoB driverThru have been implemented.”
Download | Release Notes

Nvidia Geforce Game Ready Drivers 465.89 WHQL
“This new Game Ready Driver provides support for the launch of Outriders, which features NVIDIA DLSS technology. Additionally, this release also provides optimal day-1 support for:
DIRT 5’s new ray tracing update, The launch of Evil Genius 2: World Domination, The launch of the KINGDOM HEARTS Series on the Epic Games Store
Gaming Technology: Includes support for Resizable BAR across the GeForce RTX 30 Series of Desktop and Notebook GPUs, Includes beta support for virtualization on GeForce GPUs”
Download | Release Notes

If You Care About Privacy, It’s Time to Try a New Web Browser
“A new crop of internet browsers from Brave, DuckDuckGo and others offer stronger privacy protections than what you might be used to.”

Go Sports!
It’s snowing on opening day at Comerica Park and Tarheels Coach Roy Williams retired. I keep hoping the latter is an April Fool’s joke.

Google Chrome Updated
“The Stable channel has been updated to 89.0.4389.114 for Windows, Mac and Linux…This update includes 8 security fixes.”
Download | Release Info

Windows 10 Wi-Fi Drivers for Intel Wireless Adapters
Version: 22.40.0 Date: 3/30/2021
Download & Info

Intel Wireless Bluetooth for Windows 10
Version: 22.40.0 Date: 3/30/2021
Download & Info

DuckDuckGo – Most Browser Tracking Protection Doesn’t Actually Stop Tracking by Default, but We Can Help
“While Google, Facebook, and others work hard to have their trackers get around browser roadblocks in pursuit of your data, we provide the tool to really push back without changing how you use the Internet. For everyone who’s had enough: the DuckDuckGo app & extension lets you take back your online privacy now.”

EFF – Google Is Testing Its Controversial New Ad Targeting Tech in Millions of Browsers. Here’s What We Know.
“As we said before, “Google can choose to dismantle the old scaffolding for surveillance without replacing it with something new and uniquely harmful.” Google has failed to address the harms of FLoC, or even to convince us that they can be addressed. Instead, it’s running a test that will share new data about millions of unsuspecting users. This is another step in the wrong direction.”

Arstechnica – Intel 11th-generation Rocket Lake-S gaming CPUs did not impress us
“Rocket Lake-S has managed to achieve single-threaded parity with AMD’s Ryzen 9 and Ryzen 5, at the price of a significant decrease in multithreaded performance in Core i9. This makes i9-11900K an underwhelming upgrade, to say the least.“

Win10 Preview Updates
IMHO “preview” is ≤ to alpha quality releases. If you’re having an issue check the release info. Otherwise skip it.
March 29, 2021—KB5000842 (OS Builds 19041.906 and 19042.906) Preview

AMD Drivers
Two releases in the last week. I’ve learned to stay away from the “Optional” drivers. Download here.
Adrenalin 2020 Edition 21.3.2 Optional (3/29/2021) – Release Notes
Adrenalin 2020 Edition 21.3.1 Recommended (WHQL)(3/24/2021) – Release Notes

Just found out about this:
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I just ordered a NVMe drive for $314.99 that is $349.99 at Amazon. 10% savings (Price shows up in cart).

Mp3tag 3.06a
3.06, “This new version is mainly about spring-cleaning with lots of improvements and fixes” and new update to 3.06a has one fix.
Download | Release Info

EMDB 4.02
2nd release in less than a week. Over 2 dozens changes between them.
Download | What’s New

100 Foot 12/3 Extension Cord
List Price: $69.99
Price:$27.59
You Save: $42.40 (61%)

Star Trek 10-Movie Stardate Collection (Blu-ray + Digital)
List Price: $72.99
Price: $32.96
You Save: $40.03 (55%)

Intel Network Adapter Drivers 26.1
Windows 10 | Complete Pack

Tor Browser 10.0.14
Download | Release Info

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Amazon Delivery Drivers Forced to Sign ‘Biometric Consent’ Form or Lose Job
This linked to an article from March 3rd:
“Five senators wrote a letter to CEO Jeff Bezos on Wednesday, demanding more context around the company’s recent deployment of AI-equipped cameras in some of its delivery vans.”
That article linked to another article from February 3rd:
“The cameras record drivers “100% of the time” while they’re on their route and flag a series of safety infractions, including failure to stop at a stop sign, speeding and distracted driving.
Amazon says the cameras will help it improve safety in its delivery network, but drivers and experts have raised concerns about the potential for heightened employee surveillance and a lack of privacy.”

2021 Digital Detox Challenge: Can You Survive 24 Hours without Tech?
“If you’d like to be paid to unplug from all your screens and smart tech for 24 hours, you can apply below. If you’re selected and complete the challenge, we’ll reward you with $2,400 and an Amazon gift card for surviving the day. Plus, you’ll help curb your smartphone cravings.”

Popeye was right: Spinach really does make your muscles stronger
“It turns out Popeye the Sailor Man was right, spinach really does make you stronger. A new study finds just one serving of leafy greens a day boosts muscle function, especially in the legs. Researchers say the cartoon icon’s favorite food can even protect older people from frailty.”

Firefox 87
Privacy improvements, fixes, security fixes.
Download | All New Downloads | Release Notes | Security Vulnerabilities fixed in Firefox 87
See also: Ars Technica – Firefox 87 is out today, adds Smart Block for improved private browsing

Macrium Reflect v7.3.5758
A few small fixes.
Download | Release Notes

Notepad++ 7.9.5
“Notepad++ is a free (as in “free speech” and also as in “free beer”) source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages.”
Calling it a “Notepad replacement” replacement is short-changing it. I don’t think there is a week that goes by I don’t use this.
Download & Info

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Monopoly The Community Chest Challenge – Monopoly

theChive – Unwritten rules we all should be following
#8 – “Don’t comment on other people’s food. I don’t care if you think oysters look like boogers. They’re yummy and I want to enjoy them in peace.”
#17 – “Do not show up at someone’s home UNANNOUNCED!”

Brain Scans Show ‘Game Of Thrones’ Fans Got So Absorbed In Show They Started Thinking They Were Favorite Characters
Turns out either I’m either a dwarf or a teenage girl. Maybe I need to see a shrink? I do own this T-shirt…

On March 10th a reader contacted me over an issue with O&O Shutup10. He pointed to this thread:
[Read more…] about O&O Shutup10 Issue?

Aucadity 3.0
“Audacity 3.0.0 is a major update on our previous Audacity 2.4.2. We’ve changed the format in which we save Audacity projects…We did have time to improve our ‘Noise Gate’ effect and add a new analyzer, ‘Label Sounds’, that can label sounds and silences. We also made a few small tweaks elsewhere…We also fixed over 160 bugs that had been accumulating over the years. This is quite a staggering amount of work.”
Download Windows | Download All | Release Info

Nvidia Geforce Game Ready Drivers 461.92 WHQL
Some fixes and “optimizations and enhancements for NVIDIA Reflex in Overwatch.”
Download | Release Notes | Release Info

Happy Irish Cultural Appropriation Day!
Naw, we don’t care. Wear the green, have a drink, be happy, kiss an Irish person!
No shenanigans for me today, just a wee bit of Jameson Caskmates Stout Edition.

Win10 Printer Blue Screen Fix
“Addresses an issue that might cause a blue screen when attempting to print to certain printers using some apps and might generate the error, APC_INDEX_MISMATCH.”
20H2 & 2004 – March 15, 2021—KB5001567 (OS Builds 19041.868 and 19042.868) Out-of-band
1909 – March 15, 2021—KB5001566 (OS Build 18363.1441) Out-of-band

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

I Didn’t Know Ducks Tweeted
“After months of stalling, Google finally revealed how much personal data they collect in Chrome and the Google app. No wonder they wanted to hide it.”

Royals
Here in America we fought 2 wars to get rid of the royals. WTH have I spent the last week avoiding news coverage of this garbage?

Two for Tuesday
Metallica: The Star-Spangled Banner (Golden State vs. Los Angeles – March 15, 2021)

Sammy Hagar & The Circle- “Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)” (Circle @Home Sessions No. 13)