TweakHound

Computer stuff...

Windows 10

Friday Random Stuff…

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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

Wednesday Random Stuff…

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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

Pair of 1926 Macallan whiskies sold for record $1.2m

Tuesday Morning News

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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

Tuesday Morning Random Stuff…

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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)

Tortured for fur: Terrified silver foxes fattened in cramped cages ready to be slaughtered for fashion

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

Wednesday Random Stuff…

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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.”

Win10 SCU Delayed?

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***ATM this is interesting, high school gossipy speculation. But, what’s a day without a little drama! Follow the links in the post below and watch it unfold.

AskWoody reports both Paul Thurrott (thurrott.com) and Zac Bowden (windowscentral.com) are hearing SCU/RS4 is delayed.

*update 1243hrs
Don’t know if this is related but BuildFeed has the updated the latest build to 10.0.17133.1009, dated today.

Win10 SCU Is Out Next Week

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Windows 10 Spring Creators Update is going to be released next week.
In My Humble Opinion:
– There is no reason to upgrade within 30 days of release. (Or at least until the following Patch Tuesday.)
– There are no new features worth upgrading for.

You can stick with the current release you are on and still get updates for at least 18 months:
1709 (Fall Creators Update) Expires April 9, 2109
1703 (Creators Update) Expires October 9, 2018
1607 (Anniversary Update) Expires April 10, 2018

I recommend blocking/delaying feature updates:
– You need to be running Win10 Pro, Enterprise, or Education.
There is no way to stop a feature update in Win10 Home without stopping security updates. You can officially upgrade from Home to Pro for $99 but there are MUCH, MUCH cheaper legit keys to be had out there. If you can’t find them, email me.
Go to Settings > Update & Security > Advanced options
Optional – Use the  > Semi-Annual Channel ( NOT Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted) )
This channel used to be Current Branch for Business. This delays feature updates until they are ready for business, i.e. all the bugs are worked out. This was about 3 months for FCU (approx. Oct 17 – Jan. 11).
Go to Settings > Update & Security > Advanced options >
In the box under A feature update includes new capabilities and improvements. It can be deferred for this many days:
Change days to desired amount. I recommend at least 31 but since SCU offers me nothing then up to 365 will not hurt. You can re-evaluate when the next feature update comes out and it looks to be a big one.

Win10 Updated

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“This update includes quality improvements. No new operating system features are being introduced in this update.”
Remember, updates are cumulative.

For 1709 (Latest Build) – March 22, 2018—KB4089848 (OS Build 16299.334)

For 1703 – March 22, 2018—KB4088891 (OS Build 15063.994)

For 1607 – March 22, 2018—KB4088889 (OS Build 14393.2155)
*1607 is getting EoS next month.

1709 (Fall Creators Update)
1703 (Creators Update)
1607 (Anniversary Update)

See also:
Windows lifecycle fact sheet
Windows 10 release information

Win10 Updated

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March 5, 2018—KB4090913 (OS Build 16299.251)
“This update includes quality improvements. No new operating system features are being introduced in this update…Addresses an issue in which some USB devices and onboard devices, such as a built-in laptop camera, keyboard, or mouse, stop working.”
This update is a cumulative update. That means it will apply the Meltdown/Spectre patch from past months.