Computer News

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)

Google Chrome Updated
“The Stable channel has been updated to 89.0.4389.90 for Windows, Mac and Linux…This update includes 5 security fixes.”
Download | Release Info
Chrome for Android updated too.

GPU-Z v2.38.0
Support for new video cards, a fix, a new feature.
“GPU-Z is a lightweight utility designed to give you all information about your video card and GPU.”
Download & Info

EMDB 4.0
Movie database freeware. My movies here: TweakHound’s Movie Database
Download | What’s New

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

The Best Password Managers to Secure Your Digital Life
Wired magazine finally decided to jump into the password manager kerfuffle nearly a month after everyone else did. Not surprisingly they reached to same conclusion as most of us did back then.
“Updated March 2021: We’ve stopped recommending Lastpass as it effectively isn’t free anymore, and doesn’t offer much of a reason to use it…Best Overall 1Password…Best Free Option Bitwarden”
https://www.tweakhound.com/?s=bitwarden

Google and Microsoft’s public squabble over who’s the worst is giving us life right now, not gonna lie
“Weapons-grade hypocrisy on one side, opportunistic hand-wringing about the press on the other”

Fitness Bike
FYI – There wasn’t much interest when I asked about it but I got the Echelon EX-5S. It only took 7 days to arrive.

Musings
When did it come OK for us to have to assemble most of what we purchase?
Why are the directions for said assembly often incoherent, incomplete, or just plain wrong?
Why is it I need a knife and scissors to open up things I buy? I wonder how many trips to the emergency room this accounts for? I Googled it. There is actually a term for this frustration. It’s called “Wrap Rage“.

Miranda Lambert, George Strait, Willie Nelson among lineup for McConaughey concert
“Actor Matthew McConaughey has announced the date and lineup for his ‘We’re Texas’ event. Proceeds from the online concert will be used to help Texans who were affected by the recent winter storm.
The concert is scheduled for March 21 at 7 p.m., CST. The concert will be on McConaughey’s YouTube channel.
Currently, the lineup includes Don Henley, Gary Clark Jr., George Strait, Kelly Clarkson, Khalid, Kirk Franklin, Leon Bridges, Lucas Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Miranda Lambert, Parker McCollum, Post Malone, Randy Rogers, Willie Nelson, and more.”
I like McConaughey as an actor. He seems like a decent guy and younger folks seem to think he is the epitome of cool. This concert has a great lineup and it’s for a good cause. I’ll be stopping by and donating. If you can spare it please consider helping out.
Matthew McConaughey YouTube
We’re Texas | Matthew McConaughey

My Favorite McConaughey movie is Reign of Fire:

WACUP Preview v1.0.21.7236
Some new features, some improvements, some fixes.
Download | Release Notes
See also: WACUP, Winamp Lives On

Firefox 86.0.1
5 fixes.
Download | All New Downloads | Release Notes

Lou Ottens, Inventor Of The Cassette Tape, Has Died
““Cassettes taught us how to use our voice, even when the message came from someone else’s songs, compiled painstakingly on a mixtape,” Taylor said. Describing how little things have changed, he added, “So next time you make that perfect playlist on Spotify or send a link to share a song, you can thank Lou Ottens.””
Transferring that new LP to tape, mixtapes, songs for the road, songs for dark nights in the back seat… Thank you sir.

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

Latest Win10 Update Causing BSODs On Some Computers
Trying to run this info down has been difficult because nobody in the tech press sources their info. They all seem to want to act like they got the scoop first. Fracking children.
Near as I can tell the first posts about this started at a German site called Born’s IT and Windows Blog (English translation HERE). The dude often seems to have good stuff.
“There are first reports here in the blog that the cumulative updates (e.g. KB5000802) from March 9, 2021 for Windows 10 are causing problems. Some printers throw a blue screen in win32kfull.sys when printing. However, there is a workaround in some cases – versions 1809 to 20H2 are affected and there are indications that the rollout has been halted.”
The second oldest article is at Windows Latest and says, “Reports of printer failures include Kyocera, Ricoh, Zebra, and others.”
I have no issues with my HP printer.

At least 10 hacking groups using Microsoft software flaw -researchers
“The breadth of the exploitation adds to the urgency of the warnings being issued by authorities in the United States and Europe about the weaknesses found in Microsoft’s Exchange software…ESET’s blog post said there were already signs of cybercriminal exploitation, with one group that specializes in stealing computer resources to mine cryptocurrency breaking in to previously vulnerable Exchange servers to spread its malicious software.
ESET named nine other espionage-focused groups it said were taking advantage of the flaws to break in to targeted networks – several of which other researchers have tied to China. Intriguingly, several of the groups appeared to know about the vulnerability before it was announced by Microsoft on March 2.”

What’s bit depth? And how does it impact music?
“What impact does bit depth have on music?
Well, if a bit depth is too low, the quality will suffer. Specifically, you’ll find a fair chunk of the quiet sounds will be lost. On records or files with a high bit depth, you’ll have a far more accurate playback — up to a point. But we’ll get to that shortly.”

Language Study Reveals The Happiest Music Fans
“Our study revealed that Jazz fans are the most positive…Metal fans were found to use the second most positive language online…Fans of Opera placed as the third most positive online…Folk fans ranked as the fourth most positive online”
The music fans that use the least positive language online: Drill, Grime, Drum and Bass, Rap, Punk, Dubstep, Hip Hop
I’ve never heard of most of the negatives. As for the metal crowd being positive, check out the comment sections at Blabbermouth.

Win10 Updated
Security updates
2004 & 20H2 – March 9, 2021—KB5000802 (OS Builds 19041.867 and 19042.867)

Wise Disk Cleaner 10.4.3
A few fixes and improvements.
Download (I use portable) | Release Info

O&O ShutUp10 1.8.1419
NEW: Disable the possibility of suggesting to finish the setup of the device
FIX: Determining registry key permissions has resulted in fewer displayed settings on some Windows systems.
Download | Changelog

Microcenter – Intel Core i9-9900K LGA 1151 Boxed Processor $249.99
PICKUP ONLY – This is $375.99 at Amazon right now.

PowerToys v0.33.1
Fixes and improvements.
“We’ll be doing a 0.34 experimental release week of March 8th. We feel we are near ready to add in Video Conference mute into the stable release pending feedback from the pending 0.34 experimental release.”
Download & Info

Intel Graphics Windows 10 DCH Drivers
Version: 27.20.100.9316. Fixes for a few games.
Download & Info

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

Microsoft: Chinese Cyberspies Used 4 Exchange Server Flaws to Plunder Emails
“The company says all four flaws are being actively exploited as part of a complex attack chain deployed by a previously unidentified Chinese cyber espionage group.”

Harvard study says 2 fruits, 3 vegetables ‘right’ number of daily servings for a longer life
“The American Heart Association recommends filling at least half your plate with fruits and vegetables at each meal”
Does pickle, onion, and jalapeno on my burger count?

U.S. Navy is Liable for Mass Software Piracy, Appeals Court Rules
Sorry, I couldn’t resist:

Win10 Optional Updates
“This non-security update includes quality improvements.” Couple dozens fixes.
20H2 & 2004 – February 24, 2021—KB4601382 (OS Builds 19041.844 and 19042.844) Preview

New Intel Drivers (v22.30.0)
Windows 10 Wi-Fi Drivers for Intel Wireless Adapters
Intel Wireless Bluetooth for Windows 10

Off Topic

I ordered 2 key fob batteries for my wife’s SUV from Amazon. Good news, it was early!
And just look at the packing efficiency!

Google Chrome Updated
“The Stable channel has been updated to 88.0.4324.190 for Windows, and 88.0.4324.192 for Mac”
Download | Release Info

Tiger Woods In Car Accident
https://www.google.com/search?&q=tiger+woods
As of this writing there isn’t much in the way of details and those we’ve been given (like the jaws of life statement) are being proven wrong. Always loved watching Tiger. In a sport that was full of pretentious pri, uh, people, he made the sport worth watching for me. I hope he gets through this.
[Read more…] about Tuesday Random Stuff…

Firefox 86 Is Out
Several improvements including:
“Today, Firefox introduces Total Cookie Protection to Strict Mode. In Total Cookie Protection, every website gets its own “cookie jar,” preventing cookies from being used to track you from site to site…Notable performance and stability improvements are achieved by moving canvas drawing and WebGL drawing to the GPU process.”
Security fixes too.
Download | All New Downloads | Release Notes | Security Vulnerabilities fixed in Firefox 86
Related: Mozilla laid off 250 people, and the company overhaul is just beginning

Tails 4.16
“This release fixes known security vulnerabilities. You should upgrade as soon as possible.”
Download | Release Info

WACUP Build #7170
Download & Info | Changelog

GPU-Z v2.37.0
“GPU-Z is a lightweight utility designed to give you all information about your video card and GPU.”
Download & Info

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 21.2.3 Optional
Support for DIRT 5 Energy Content Pack, HDMI fixes
Download | Release Notes

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

Privacy faces risks in tech-infused post-Covid workplace
“But what I would worry about is employers using the pandemic to pluck and store information in a systematic way beyond what is necessary to protect health.”

A Case Against the Peeping Tom Theory of Privacy
“It is our purpose to consider whether the existing law affords a principle which can properly be invoked to protect the privacy of the individual” Louis D. Brandeis
The topic of privacy has always been important to me. I remember spending hours in the library combing through books and doing a paper for college entitled “The Right To Be Let Alone” based in large measure on Louis Brandeis’s arguments. I think I still have that paper in a box somewhere.
“The Right to Privacy”, Warren and Brandeis, Harvard Law Review. Vol. IV December 15, 1890 No. 5
“Recent inventions and business methods call attention to the next step which must be taken for the protection of the person, and for securing to the individual what Judge Cooley calls the right “to be let alone” Instantaneous photographs and newspaper enterprise have invaded the sacred precincts of private and domestic life; and numerous mechanical devices threaten to make good the prediction that “what is whispered in the closet shall be proclaimed from the house-tops.” For years there has been a feeling that the law must afford some remedy for the unauthorized circulation of portraits of private persons; and the evil of invasion of privacy by the newspapers, long keenly felt, has been but recently discussed by an able writer. The alleged facts of a somewhat notorious case brought before an inferior tribunal in New York a few months ago, directly involved the consideration of the right of circulating portraits; and the question whether our law will recognize and protect the right to privacy in this and in other respects must soon come before our courts for consideration.”
This absolutely brilliant piece of work was written in 1890. EIGHTEEN NINETY folks. Remember that when some talking head says all these issues are new and the law can’t keep up.

To be let alone: Brandeis foresaw privacy problems
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Right_to_Privacy_(article)