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Firefox 63
Performance improvements, “Added content blocking, a collection of Firefox settings that offer users greater control over technology that can track them around the web. In 63, users can opt to block third-party tracking cookies or block all trackers and create exceptions for trusted sites that don’t work correctly with content blocking enabled.”
Download (all) | Download 32-bit EN-US | Download 64-bit EN-US
Release Notes

The Creepy Line

“An eye-opening documentary, The Creepy Line reveals the stunning degree to which society
is manipulated by Google and Facebook and blows the lid off the remarkably subtle – hence
powerful – manner in which they do it.
The Creepy Line is a title culled from the words of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, when
during a 2010 interview he explained Google’s code of conduct: “The Google policy on a lot of
things is to get right up to the creepy line and not cross it.”
However, as Dr. Robert Epstein explains in the film, “Google crosses the creepy line every
day”. Containing ground-breaking interviews with Jordan B. Peterson, Peter Schweizer, and
others, The Creepy Line offers an explosive look at the meddling and intervening done by
Google and Facebook on their supposedly “neutral platforms”.
The Creepy Line takes the conversation about data privacy and control further than ever
before by examining what Google and Facebook do once they control a user’s data. Not only
is this data sold to the highest bidder, but it is used it to mold, massage, and manipulate
the public consciousness while influencing opinion on a vast scale – all with the goal of
transforming society to fit their worldview.
Offering first-hand accounts, scientific experiments and detailed analysis, The Creepy Line
examines what is at risk when these two tech titans have free reign to utilize the public’s most
private and personal data to manipulate society
There is no question that the “creepy line” is getting ever-creepier, and that the tech giants
have crossed it.“

I had bookmarked this a few weeks ago waiting for it to come out. I watched it yesterday. If you don’t already distrust these companies this should change your mind.
Must see TV!
Watch for free on Amazon Prime
Watch for $3.99 on Amazon
Watch for $4.99 on iTunes

Looking For A Webhost

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My current awesome webhost is calling it quits. I’m in search of another.

TweakHound.com doesn’t use a ton of resources. Here are my base requirements:
– Price under $50 per month.
– Security. The webhost should have a good security rating. Free SSL
– Speed. This site is very fast and I want it to stay that way.
– Uptime. 99% or better.
– 100k visits per month.
– 5 gigs of storage.
– Automatic backups.
– Speed, Speed, Speed

I do my own email.
Server must be in U.S.A.
My current server is on the West Coast (California). If I had my druthers I would prefer it be near me on the East Coast.

I’ve come up with:
Bluehost
Hostgator
Inmotion (located in my state, Virginia)
Siteground (former webhost recommended)

Recommendations please!

Intel 9th Generation Benchmarks

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The NDA was lifted yesterday. The 9900k is the fastest, the most expensive, and has a poor price to performance ratio.
IMHO, nothing surprising here.

Anandtech -The Intel 9th Gen Review: Core i9-9900K, Core i7-9700K and Core i5-9600K Tested
“At $488 SEP, plus a bit more for ‘on-shelf price’, plus add $80-$120 for a decent cooler or $200 for a custom loop, it’s going to be out of the range for almost all builds south of $1500 where GPU matters the most. When Intel’s own i5-9600K is under half the cost with only two fewer cores, or AMD’s R7 2700X is very competitive in almost every test, while they might not be the best, they’re more cost-effective.”

[H]ardOCP – Intel Core i9-9900K 9th Generation CPU Review
“For desktop content creators, the 9900k is the hands down winner over the 2700X. Albeit yet again, for a price. On the average, the 9900K delivered 16% better content creation performance, but represents a ~74% price increase. Does the performance delta justify the price you will have to pay?
The Intel Core i9-9900K has simply the dethroned the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X across the entire desktop performance landscape. The 9900K is the best desktop CPU that Intel has ever produced. It also happens to be tremendously expensive compared to AMD’s 2700X.”

HotHardWare – Intel Core i9-9900K CPU Review: 8-Core 9th Gen Coffee Lake Benchmarks
“The Core i9-9900K is a blisteringly-fast processor, but it is also priced as such. The Core i9-9900K is priced at $488 in 1KU quantities, but is currently priced at about $530 on Amazon. That makes it about $185 – $225 pricier than the Ryzen 7 2700X, which is currently selling for about $304 (give or take a few bucks depending on the retailer). Based on its performance, a higher price for the Core i9-9900K is justifiable, but Intel is definitely shooting for the stars a bit here…In the end though, the Core i9-9900K is a killer processor. It has more cores, more cache, higher frequencies, solder TIM, compatibility with existing motherboards and, of course, its strong real-world performance will make it very attractive to enthusiasts who want the best of the best.“

Lynyrd Skynyrd

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41 Years Ago
updated 06 March, 2023
On October 20, 1977 a plane carrying 26 people including the members of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd crashed in Mississippi. Among the dead were 3 band members: Guitar player Steve Gaines, his sister and backup singer/ Honkette Cassie Gaines, and the bands leader and lead singer Ronnie Van Zant. “Skynyrd”, IMHO, is the greatest Southern Rock band and one of the greatest bands ever. They will always be one of my all time favorite bands and perhaps speak to me more than any other.
[Read more…] about Lynyrd Skynyrd

Winamp 5.8 Beta Official

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This is VERY MUCH BETA. I would NOT install it (see notes).
Download: https://download.nullsoft.com/winamp/client/winamp58_3660_beta_full_en-us.exe

Winamp 5.8 Beta, Build 3660 (official)
Notes:
Some features are works-in-progress, e.g. new in_mod & out_wasapi plugins
Sorry, no CD burning, autotag or cddb features yet.
No multinational version with lang packs yet either.
Changes since unofficial build 3563
Removed ml_nowplaying; updated libogg, libvorbis, libflac & libopenmpt; copyright updates; added more genres to file info dialog; new digital cert; various other general tweaks, fixes and prep work….
Whats New:
* New: Windows Audio (WASAPI) Output plug-in (w.i.p.)
* Improved: Added an option to completely disable Winamp’s video support
* Improved: Added an auto-fullscreen option to video prefs
* Improved: Added /ENUMPLAYLISTS to the command-line support
* Improved: Windows 8.1 and 10 compatibility
* Improved: [in_mod] OpenMPT-based Module Player (replaces old MikMod player)
* Improved: [ml_playlists] Added browse path & edit title functions in Ctrl+E editor
* Improved: [Bento] Updated scrollbars and buttons and other tweaks (thanks Martin)
* Improved: [Bento & Modern skins] Added a Playlist Search feature (thanks Victor)
* Fixed: New URLs not being remembered after using Reset history in Open URL dialog
* Fixed: Various memory leaks
* Fixed: [gen_tray] Not showing correct current icon pack in preferences
* Fixed: [in_avi] Divide-by-zero crash with badly formed files (thanks ITDefensor)
* Fixed: [in_mp3] Crashing with some ID3v2 tags
* Fixed: [ml_wire] Slow loading issue
* Fixed: [ssdp] Crash on load if jnetlib was not correctly initialized
* Misc: Minimum required OS is now Win XP sp3 (Windows 7 or higher recommended)
* Misc: More general tweaks, improvements, fixes and optimizations
* Misc: Moved shared DLLs to Winamp\Shared folder
* Removed: All former “Pro” licensed functions (Winamp is now 100% freeware again)
* Removed: gen_jumpex & UnicodeTaskbarFix (making way for native implementations)
* Removed: [in_wm] DRM support
* Replaced: CD playback and ripping now using native Windows API (instead of Sonic)
* Replaced: MP3 Decoder now mpg123 based (instead of Fraunhofer)
* Replaced: AAC Decoder now using Media Foundation (Vista and higher)
* Replaced: H.264 Decoder now using Media Foundation (Vista and higher)
* Replaced: MPEG-4 Pt.2 Decoder now using Media Foundation (Vista and higher)
* Updated: [in_vorbis] libogg 1.3.3 & libvorbis 1.3.6
* Updated: [libFLAC] FLAC 1.3.2
* Updated: [libyajl] libyajl v2.1.0
* Updated: [OpenSSL] OpenSSL v1.0.1i
* Updated: [png] libpng v1.5.24

Thursday Random Stuff…

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

One Windows Kernel
“In this blog post, I will talk about the evolution of the core pieces of the Windows kernel that allows it to transparently scale across a low power NVidia Tegra chip on the Surface RT from 2012, to the giant behemoths that power Azure data centers today.”
Good read.

GM’s data mining is just the beginning of the in-car advertising blitz
“GM captured minuted details such as station selection, volume level, and ZIP codes of vehicle owners, and then used the car’s built-in Wi-Fi signal to upload the data to its servers. The goal was to determine the relationship between what drivers listen to and what they buy and then turn around and sell the data to advertisers and radio operators. And it got really specific: GM tracked a driver listening to country music who stopped at a Tim Horton’s restaurant. (No data on that donut order, though.)”
Is there nowhere you can go to get away from this crap?

Red Sox vs. Astros fan interference: Everything you need to know about the controversial call in ALCS Game 4
It was a home run. The Red Sox “win” should have an asterisk next to it. If they move on so should their title. If they win it all, ditto.

How America’s top CEOs are spending their own money on the midterm elections

Tuesday Random Stuff…

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Google Chrome Updated
“The Chrome team is delighted to announce the promotion of Chrome 70 to the stable channel for Windows, Mac and Linux…Chrome 70.0.3538.67 contains a number of fixes and improvements.”
Download | Download standalone(full) | Download standalone 64-bit Windows version(full)

MediaMonkey 4.1.22
“V4.1.22 is a strongly recommended update with about 20 fixes including several urgent issues.”
Download | Changelog

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

Winamp returns in 2019 to whip the llama’s ass harder than ever
Good to see. Still rockin’ out with Winamp in Windows and Android.

Windows 10 October 2018 Update Performance Against Ubuntu 18.10, Fedora 29
“Of all the benchmarks ran on this Intel Core i7 8086K + ASUS Z370-A + MSI Radeon RX 580 box, Windows 10 came in first about 10% of the time but it ended up being in last place about 50% of the time.”

A thread written by @real_vijay
“Google is working on a new search engine code-named “Dragonfly” that will aid China’s effort to censor information from its citizenry.
As a former Google engineer I wanted to share some information on what it’s like to be inside Google as these decisions are made.”

Stephen Hawking warns that AI, ‘superhumans’ could wipe humanity in posthumous book
“While primitive forms of artificial intelligence developed so far have proved very useful, I fear the consequences of creating something that can match or surpass humans”
“Once such superhumans appear, there are going to be significant political problems with the unimproved humans, who won’t be able to compete”

Friday Random Stuff…

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Nvidia GeForce Game Ready Driver 416.34 WHQL
“Provides the optimal gaming experience for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, SOULCALIBUR VI, and GRIP”
Download | Release Notes

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition Optional 18.10.1
Support For: Windows 10 October 2018 Update, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Download | Release Notes

Intel Solid State Drive Toolbox
Version: 3.5.6 Date: 10/8/2018
Download | Release Notes

Intel SSD Firmware Update Tool
Version: 3.0.4 Date: 10/8/2018
Download | Release Notes

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

Stephen Hawking’s final scientific paper released
“The work, which tackles what theoretical physicists call “the information paradox”, was completed in the days before Hawking’s death in March. It has now been written up by his colleagues at Cambridge and Harvard universities and posted online.”

Def Leppard
One of my all time favs.
Def Leppard’s First-Ever Live Album, ‘Mirror Ball – Live & More’, Certified Gold In U.S.
Not a big live album fan but this one is OK.
Rock Hall of Fame: Def Leppard, Stevie Nicks, Radiohead, Rage Lead Nominees
I don’t much care about the R&R HoF and the guys in Def Leppard have pretty much said the same thing. Too many good acts are not in there and too many bad acts are.
Why the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame should be put out of its misery
I will leave you with videos from some of my favorite songs. Have a great weekend!

(I always listen to Bringin’ On The Heartbreak with Switch 625 but there is no official video for that)


Wednesday Random Stuff…

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I know there are several TweakHound readers in the path of Hurricane Michael. Hope you all make it through OK.

Intel Graphics Driver for Windows 10
Version: 25.20.100.6326 Date: 10/9/2018
Highlights
Launch Driver Games
Fix for FIFA19*
Launch Driver Games:
Pathfinder: Kingmaker*
Battlerite Royale*
FIFA19*
Download | Release Notes

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

Intel Announces 9th Gen Core CPUs: Core i9-9900K (8-Core), i7-9700K, & i5-9600K
“Leading from the top of the stack is the Core i9-9900K, Intel’s new flagship mainstream processor. This part is eight full cores with hyperthreading, with a base frequency of 3.6 GHz at 95W TDP, and a turbo up to 5.0 GHz on two cores…Also featuring 8-cores is the Core i7-9700K, but without the hyperthreading. This part will have a base frequency of 3.6 GHz as well for a given 95W TDP, but can turbo up to 4.9 GHz only on a single core. The i7-9700K is meant to be the direct upgrade over the Core i7-8700K, and although both chips have the same underlying Coffee Lake microarchitecture, the 9700K has two more cores and slightly better turbo performance, but less L3 cache per core at only 1.5MB per.
The other important overclocking focused processor is the Core i5-9600K, with six cores without hyperthreading. Users will also see a lot of similarity in this part to the Core i5 of the previous generation, but with added frequency.”
Intel and their minions got caught fudging their benchmarks.
The minions admitted some of it and are retesting.
The NDA embargo ends on October 19th so we will have to wait until then to see real benchmarks.

Privacy Badger Now Fights More Sneaky Google Tracking
“With its latest update, Privacy Badger now fights “link tracking” in a number of Google products.”

Former Google boss launches scathing Silicon Valley attack urging tech giants to end the delusion that it’s making the world a better place
Jessica Powell said she had become tired of defending the company in her role as its top PR chief.
“This is an industry that takes itself far too seriously, and its own responsibility not seriously enough…You can’t go about telling your advertisers that you can target users down to the tiniest pixel, but then throw your hands up in front of the politicians and say your machines can’t figure out if bad actors are using your platform.”

Patch Tuesday

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Windows Update

Windows 7 and 8.1 get over a dozen security updates.
Windows 7 – October 9, 2018—KB4462923 (Monthly Rollup)
Windows 8.1 – October 9, 2018—KB4462926 (Monthly Rollup)

Windows 10, “This update includes quality improvements. No new operating system features are being introduced in this update.”
Win10 also has over a dozen security updates.
Win10 1809 – October 9, 2018—KB4464330 (OS Build 17763.55)
Win10 1803 – October 9, 2018—KB4462919 (OS Build 17134.345)
Win10 1709 – October 9, 2018—KB4462918 (OS Build 16299.726)
Win10 1703 – October 9, 2018—KB4462937 (OS Build 15063.1387)
Win10 1607 – September 11, 2018—KB4457131 (OS Build 14393.2485)