Computer stuff...
I benchmarked my machine before and after the Win10 April Update.
I want to stress this is a single benchmark on a single computer. The benchmark I ran was PCMark10.
I would appreciate any benchmark results anyone can share.
***edit May 2, 2018, 13:57(EDT)
***2 MAJOR UPDATES TO THIS ARTICLE
see the end of this post…
[Read more…] about Windows 10 April Update Benchmark
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
*edit 14:00hrs
Folks are reporting this is available via Windows Update. Hasn’t showed up on my laptop.
*edit 14:04hrs
Windows Blog
What’s new in the Windows 10 April 2018 Update
How to get the Windows 10 April 2018 Update
“The April 2018 Update is available today if you go to Windows Update and manually check for updates. We will begin the global rollout out via Windows Update on May 8. As with previous rollouts, we will use real-time quality feedback to smartly update your device when we have data that shows your device is ready and will have a great experience. You don’t have to do anything to get the update; it will roll out automatically to you through Windows Update if you’ve chosen to have updates installed automatically on your device. Once the download is complete and the update is ready to install, we’ll notify you, so you can pick the right time to finish the installation and reboot, so the update does not disrupt you.”
I am currently running the 2 available methods:
Update now button (IMHO if you are doing one machine use this)
&
Create Windows 10 installation media
(IMHO if you are upgrading more than one machine use this, download iso, extract with 7-zip, run setup.exe)
*edit 13:31hrs
Done (click pic for larger version)
Win10 Update Stuff
Review: Windows 10 April 2018 Update shows promise, but ultimately disappoints
https://changewindows.org/build/redstone4/17134/pc
Most folks will be watching here for the download: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO
We will know today if that is the only way to get it for now. If so, you DO NOT need to make a disc or usb image from the ISO. Download the image to somewhere other than your OS (C:) drive, extract the image using 7-zip, and then click on setup.exe. That’s it.
Off Topic
Digital and analog audio’s curious coexistence
Related: Myths (Vinyl)
GMO Corn
An article on my local paper’s website said GMO corn is OK. Nobody seems to source their information anymore so I Googled “gmo corn” and found another article that lead to the study:
Impact of genetically engineered maize on agronomic, environmental and toxicological traits: a meta-analysis of 21 years of field data
So yeah, the study pretty much says that.
Tu Quoque
Recent political events had one sides defenders saying, “Well, your guy does/did it too.”
This is a Logical Fallacy also known as Appeal to Hypocrisy.
By making this counter-argument people hope to discredit the initial argument:
A – She ate too much.
CA – Well he ate too much last week.
The fact that “He” ate too much does not excuse someone else eating too much.
I think of it like this: Pointing out my bad behavior does not excuse yours.
When you use a logical fallacy I just tune you out.
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Tu_quoque
Ride The Wild Surf
World record: 80 foot wave!
Ride The Wild Surf – Jan and Dean
The Week Ahead
The Win10 WhatEverItsCalled update is “available for download” tomorrow. AFAIK that means what it says and you can download it but it will not be on Windows Update until Patch Tuesday which is May, 8th. If you want to delay this update my guide is here.
Star Wars Day (May The 4th be with you) is Wednesday. Rumor has it that Solo: A Star Wars Story advanced tickets will go on sale then. I always do the first showing of Star Wars and Star Trek so I’m watching out for an announcement. BTW, there is a new Solo trailer and I’ve embedded it at the bottom of this post.
Off Topic
Interesting Links
Stuff I’ve bookmarked in the last few days.
Took an ancestry DNA test? You might be a ‘genetic informant’ unleashing secrets about your relatives
I trust those tests and the companies that do them about as far as I can throw an elephant.
New Star Map Could Change Everything We Know About the Milky Way
Very Interesting.
‘Dare to Be Different’: See New Doc on Radio Station That Broke U2, Cure in U.S.
I watched this. Good stuff.
Kiss frontman Paul Stanley reveals plans for ‘major’ tour to start next year
AMD Combat Crate
The rumors are true,
“The AMD Combat Crate comes stocked with the essential hardware you need to push your game to the next level and lay waste to the competition. With a lightning fast Ryzen processor, powerful Radeon RX graphics backed by revolutionary Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition and a future-ready MSI motherboard – the AMD Combat Crate is the ultimate arsenal for gamers.”
AMD Combat Crate Bundle with Ryzen 5 1600 CPU,
MSI Gaming AMD Radeon RX 580 graphics card,
and MSI B350 Tomahawk AM4 Motherboard
Currently $549.00
Win10 1803/RS4/SCU/Next/April/1804/Whatever Update
Source: Windows Blog
Official name: Windows 10 April 2018 Update
Official release date: “will be available as a free download beginning Monday, April 30”
Software Updates
Google Chrome 66.0.3359.139 (bugfixes and 3 security fixes)
VirtualBox 5.2.10 (maintenance release)
Off Topic
Subway Closing 500 Stores
Story. My Experience at Subway:
Me: “I would like a half Italian Hero on white.”
Subway Person: (starts making sub, I think she puts the right meat on it) Then looks up and stares at me… “What do you want on it?”
Me: I want that. (pointing at the picture above and behind her)
Subway Person: (Turns around, stares at pic, she is clearly confused. Asks the other girl, “What’s on the Italian?”
Other Subway Person: “I don’t know.”
Me: *sigh* “From the picture I’m going to guess it comes with cheese, lettuce and tomato. I’ll just have provolone and vinegar & oil.”
Firehouse Subs and even Arby’s is way better around here. We don’t have any good old-school deli’s. I would love a N.Y. style Reuben about right now.
S.O.S.
ABBA is gonna release a couple of new tunes for the first time in 3 and a half decades. They are also gonna, get this, tour “virtually”. Yeah, they want you to pay for a “concert” that they aren’t even at. If you buy tickets to this show, I’ve got some ocean front property in Arizona I would love to sell you.
You Ain’t Worth The Whiskey
– Horse Soldier Bourbon’s New Bottle is Made from World Trade Center Steel
– Jameson Bow Street 18 Years
Software Updates
Macrium Reflect 7.1.3169
Wireshark 2.6.0
Nvidia GeForce Game Ready Driver 397.31 WHQL
“Provides the optimal gaming experience for BattleTech and FrostPunk”
Download | Release Notes
Over It
That Win10 update that never got released? The one “they” say will be called “”April Update”? Now “they” say it will be released in May. Oh, and it might also be 1804 instead of 1803. I think we are all over it at this point.
Samsung 970 Pro and EVO NVMe SSDs
Seems the 960s were just released. Press Release here.
Anandtech ran some benchies.
“Since faster storage brings diminishing returns to overall real-world application performance, many consumers will can find drives cheaper than the 970 EVO that are still fast enough, and drives like the 970 PRO are impossible to justify on the basis of performance alone.”
Explained – 2nd Gen AMD Ryzen™ Processors: XFR 2 and Precision Boost 2
Off Topic
Best Headline Ever?
Uranus Smells Terrible. There, We Said it
“The finding comes courtesy of a study in Nature Astronomy, revealing that the cloud tops of Uranus are made principally of hydrogen sulfide, the gas that is principally responsible for the foul smell of rotten eggs and, yes, human flatulence.”
Fleetwood Mac Detail New Tour and Talk Life After Lindsey Buckingham
AMD Chipset Drivers
Version 18.10.0418 is out.
Download
Win10 Updates
Will 1803/RS4/SCU/Next/April/Whatever update be released today?
Dunno, but 1709 has got an update:
KB4093105 – April 23, 2018—KB4093105 (OS Build 16299.402)
CCleaner
Couple of IE/Edge fixes and… wait… the release announcement says, “Where appropriate, CCleaner Free may recommend improvements to your system’s antivirus protection“.
Hmmm… Pure speculation on my part but, is this gonna be ads for Avast? Has anyone seen one?
Download
Saw 2 posts published today:
Network Computers are Not Visible in Windows 10 Version 1803
Fix PCs no longer recognized in network after Windows 10 version 1803 upgrade
*cough*…ahem: December 30, 2017
Fix Windows 10 Network Browsing
Win10 SCU
The update that didn’t happen is back in the news with no news. We still do not know what the official name of the update is. We still don’t know when it will be released. Microsoft has given us a generic “reliability issues” statement as to why it was delayed.
Oh Intel
Intel says their chips have a vulnerability that, “could allow an attacker to block BIOS/UEFI updates, or to selectively erase or corrupt portions of the firmware.” This means you’ll have to wait for your PC manufacturer to release another BIOS update, if and when they feel like it.
Just after that news, Intel announced some “new initiatives that use features specific to the Intel hardware platform to boost security“.
– Advanced memory scanning will use your GPU to aid in malware scanning.
– Advanced Platform Telemetry “uses things like the processor’s integrated performance counters to spot unusual processor activity.”
Fbook
Yeah. I know I said I was out of Fbook news for a while. But this article is amazing. IMHO a must read.
‘Dear Mark, this is why I hate you.’ An open letter to Zuckerberg
Off Topic
How Often You Should Clean Everything In Your Home (Hint: Very, Very Often)
(check out the links at the bottom of the article for guides)
Researchers find genetic cause for Alzheimer’s, possible method to reverse it
‘I was a teacher for 17 years, but I couldn’t read or write’
RIP
R. Lee Ermey, Golden Globe Nominee for ‘Full Metal Jacket,’ Dies at 74
(quotes from Full Metal Jacket)
Harry Anderson, Judge On ‘Night Court,’ Dies At His N.C. Home. He Was 65
Win10 1803/RS4/SCU/Next/Whatever
“They” say:
– Nobody knows what the actual name of the update is.
– Nobody knows why the update was not released.
– Nobody knows when it will be released.
Reckon the “inside sources” failed them, and us.
Winaero Tweaker 0.10
“Winaero Tweaker 0.10 is out. It will allow you to disable Windows Update reliably in Windows 10, get rid of update notifications, ads in Settings, Timeline and My People. Also, it comes with new tools and tweaks, and it properly works under Windows 10 version 1803 “Spring Creators Update”
Download
Which of the following companies do you trust the least with your personal information?
Recode polled Americans,
“Respondents were asked to choose among Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Lyft, Microsoft, Netflix, Tesla, Twitter, Snap and Uber. Twenty percent selected none of the above.”
