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Weekend Random Stuff…

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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

Thursday Random Stuff…

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CCleaner 5.52
Download (I use portable) | Release Notes
See also: Blocking A Programs Internet Access Via The Windows Firewall

Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software 20.110.0
Windows 7 | Windows 8.1 | Windows 10

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

Microsoft starts its ‘phased rollout’ of Win10 1809, now controlled by a next-generation machine-learning model
It’s official. In the mind-bending (and internally inconsistent) quagmire that has become Windows updating terminology, Win10 version 1809 is now in ‘phased rollout’ but not yet in ‘Semi-Annual Channel (not Targeted).’ If you don’t want Win10 1809, get your machine locked down.
They should never force an update on anyone.

Three quarters of US Facebook users unaware their online behavior gets tracked
After surveying 963 US adults last year between September 4 to October 1, Pew researchers found that 74 per cent of Facebook users said they were unaware the social ad biz tracks their traits and interests.
That confirms my hypothesis that most Facebook are in fact morons. #DeleteFacebook

One Of The Last Navajo Code Talkers Dies At 94
One of the last remaining Navajo Code Talkers, who relayed messages that were never decoded by enemies in World War II, has died at age 94…That complex language proved to be vital to the United States during World War II. As the Japanese cracked classified U.S. military codes, armed forces turned to members of the Navajo Nation. The messages they transmitted in the Pacific Theater were impenetrable to enemies. Newman enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1943, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He served in such places as Guam and Iwo Jima.
Thank you for your service brother.

Kentucky All State Choir – National Anthem – 2018
Every night of the All State Choir conference at about 11pm, everyone comes out to the balconies of the 18 story Hyatt hotel to sing the National Anthem.
(If the video does not play you may need to adjust Ublock / Adblock / Privacy Badger settings.)

Tuesday Random Stuff…

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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.

Storage Deals

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Samsung 970 EVO 250GB – NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSD
My pick for your OS drive.
List Price: $99.99 | Price: $77.99 | You Save: $22.00 (22%)

Samsung 860 EVO 1TB SSD
My pick for data drive.
List Price: $199.99 | Price: $147.00 | You Save: $52.99 (26%)

WD Black 6TB Performance Hard Drive
My pick for storage.
List Price: $249.99 | Price: $229.89 | You Save: $20.10 (8%)

Seagate Expansion 4TB Desktop External Hard Drive
List Price: $149.99 | Price: $79.99 | You Save: $70.00 (47%)

WD 4TB Black My Passport Portable External Hard Drive
List Price: $159.99 | Price: $94.99 | You Save: $65.00 (41%)

SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable External SSD
List Price: $349.99 | With Deal: $179.99 | You Save: $170.00 (49%)

*prices accurate as of this writing, 12JAN2019

Friday Morning Random Stuff…

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Software Updates
Clonezilla 2.6.0-37 – “includes major enhancements and bug fixes”
Firefox – 64.0.2
VLC – 3.0.6

Microsoft: Windows 10 to grab 7GB of your storage so big updates don’t fail
News all over the internet. IMHO, no big deal. Stop your fracking whining.
FYI – As it stands this will only apply to new installs.
Official page: Windows 10 and reserved storage

Best Drive Cleaner? CCleaner VS Wise Disk Cleaner VS PrivaZer
Major Geeks has a video showing the options of each. Good stuff.

Cell Phone Companies Are Selling Access To Customer Location Data

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Motherboard – I Gave a Bounty Hunter $300. Then He Located Our Phone
T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T are selling access to their customers’ location data, and that data is ending up in the hands of bounty hunters and others not authorized to possess it, letting them track most phones in the country…
The bounty hunter did this all without deploying a hacking tool or having any previous knowledge of the phone’s whereabouts. Instead, the tracking tool relies on real-time location data sold to bounty hunters that ultimately originated from the telcos themselves, including T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint, a Motherboard investigation has found. These surveillance capabilities are sometimes sold through word-of-mouth networks…
Motherboard’s investigation shows just how exposed mobile networks and the data they generate are, leaving them open to surveillance by ordinary citizens, stalkers, and criminals…
Don’t think it’s a big deal? This could be your Mom’s, wife’s, girlfriend’s, or daughter’s phone…

Patch Tuesday

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Windows Update
Updates available for all currently supported versions of Windows. Updates for Flash and .Net available where applicable.

Windows 7
January 8, 2019—KB4480970 (Monthly Rollup)
January 8, 2019—KB4480960 (Security-only update)

Windows 8.1
January 8, 2019—KB4480963 (Monthly Rollup)
January 8, 2019—KB4480964 (Security-only update)

Windows 10
1809 – January 8, 2019—KB4480116 (OS Build 17763.253)
1803 – January 8, 2019—KB4480966 (OS Build 17134.523)
1709 – January 8, 2019—KB4480978 (OS Build 16299.904)

– – – – – –

Wise Disk Cleaner 10.1.5 Released
Download (I use portable) | Release Info

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

Hey Apple, what happens on iPhones doesn’t stay there, and your ‘clever’ CES ad is promoting a dangerous illusion
That’s a cute ad you have in Las Vegas for the CES tech convention. “What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone” is both a good dig at your rivals and a clever restating of Sin City’s popular catch phrase.
But it’s literally a lie. What happens on customers’ iPhones doesn’t stay on them — and you know it.
Preach

Survey: Americans Warming to Use of Facial Recognition Tech
I’m not sure I buy the results of the study. If it is even close to true then, well, SMH.

Came up in an email convo with a reader and friend:
SiriusXM stations I mostly listen to:
Hair Nation ’80s Hair Bands 
Ozzy’s Boneyard Ozzy’s Classic Hard Rock 
Classic Rewind ’70s/’80s Classic Rock 

Monday Random Stuff…

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Tomorrow is Patch Tuesday. Backup if you get the time.

Adobe Reader Updated
Download en-US | All Downloads | Security Bulletin | Release Notes

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

Please don’t repeat these things WikiLeaks says you can’t say about Assange (updated)
You absolutely cannot say these 140 things about Julian Assange, according to bastion of the free press WikiLeaks.
A representative of WikiLeaks has sent a “confidential” memo to news outlets including an updated “defamation list” (version 1.2), advising reporters not to mention or publish it. The memo was promptly leaked (update: the first out of the gate to leak was Emma Best of MuckRock). WikiLeaks then linked to a revised, heavily edited and redacted version (version 1.3) they posted “anonymously” on a text paste site.
Here, without further comment or editing, and in its entirety, is the WikiLeaks advisory.

Gentlemen actually do prefer blondes: study
They needed a study for that? Next you’re gonna tell me guys like women with big, um… Anyway, I was searching for the actual research and I found this:
Not so dumb! Blondes have more complex DNA, with more than three times the number of genetic variants than brunettes or redheads
Blondes may have a ditzy reputation, but their lighter locks are far more complex than scientists thought.
I’m not sure of the author’s hair color but I’m not seeing how more complex DNA for hair equates to “Not so dumb”. Maybe it’s because I’m a stupid brunet.
The actual research is here: Genome-wide study of hair colour in UK Biobank explains most of the SNP heritability

Seasonal affective disorder: your eye colour might be why you have the ‘winter blues’
You’re not alone if colder weather and longer nights make you feel down. This well-known phenomenon, called seasonal affective disorder (SAD), might explain why people feel low, irritable, and lethargic in the winter months. For some, the condition can be serious and debilitating.
Although SAD is a recognised form of clinical depression, experts are still divided on what causes the condition, with some even arguing it doesn’t exist. But my own research has found that your eye colour might actually be one factor determining whether or not you develop SAD.
Interesting.