Patch Tuesday Morning

I apologize that this post is as scattered as my life is right now. I’ll share someday.

Windows 7 EOL
Doomsday predictions, “end of an era”, supposed hacks. There are no answers to what will happen with Windows 7 going forward. Today is listed as the last day of extended support. Truth is nobody knows exactly what that entails. I wouldn’t be in a rush to ditch Windows 7 just yet but you do have options:
– “Upgrade” to Win10. The free option still works. I did it yesterday on my wife’s PC. It was my old one that I bought in 2008. It seems to be a little wonky and I haven’t had time to mess with it. I might just put Linux Mint on it.
– Install Linux. I use Linux Mint right now.
– Keep using Windows 7 as is. Should be OK for a while. At some point in the future that rig may need to be disconnected from the internet.
What are your plans?

Cryptic Rumblings Ahead of First 2020 Patch Tuesday
“Sources tell KrebsOnSecurity that Microsoft Corp. is slated to release a software update on Tuesday to fix an extraordinarily serious security vulnerability in a core cryptographic component present in all versions of Windows. Those sources say Microsoft has quietly shipped a patch for the bug to branches of the U.S. military and to other high-value customers/targets that manage key Internet infrastructure, and that those organizations have been asked to sign agreements preventing them from disclosing details of the flaw prior to Jan. 14, the first Patch Tuesday of 2020.”

New Intel Graphics Drivers
Windows 7-10 Braswell, 4th and 5th generations
Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 4th Generation
Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 6th Generation
Windows 7-10 Baytrail and 3rd generation
What a Charlie Foxtrot. You’re better off using the Intel Driver & Support Assistant.

Mark Hamill joins critics in deleting Facebook, condemning Zuckerberg
“So disappointed that Mark Zuckerberg values profit more than truthfulness that I’ve decided to delete my Facebook account,” Hamill tweeted. “I know this is a big ‘Who cares?’ for the world at large, but I’ll sleep better at night. #PatriotismOverProfits”

Who Signs Up to Fight? Makeup of U.S. Recruits Shows Glaring Disparity
“The men and women who sign up overwhelmingly come from counties in the South and a scattering of communities at the gates of military bases like Colorado Springs, which sits next to Fort Carson and several Air Force installations, and where the tradition of military service is deeply ingrained.
More and more, new recruits are the children of old recruits. In 2019, 79 percent of Army recruits reported having a family member who served. For nearly 30 percent, it was a parent — a striking point in a nation where less than 1 percent of the population serves in the military…
That has created a broad gap, easily seen on a map. The South, where the culture of military service runs deep and military installations are plentiful, produces 20 percent more recruits than would be expected, based on its youth population. The states in the Northeast, which have very few military bases and a lower percentage of veterans, produce 20 percent fewer.
The main predictors are not based on class or race. Army data show service spread mostly evenly through middle-class and “downscale” groups. Youth unemployment turns out not to be the prime factor. And the racial makeup of the force is more or less in line with that of young Americans as a whole, though African-Americans are slightly more likely to serve. Instead, the best predictor is a person’s familiarity with the military.”

Remembering Neil Peart, A Monster Drummer With A Poet’s Heart
“When Canadian prog-rock innovators Rush were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2013, it was both somewhat surprising and totally appropriate that drummer Neil Peart opened the trio’s acceptance speech. The musician and author, who passed away at the age of 67 on January 7 after a private, three-and-a-half-year struggle with brain cancer, famously eschewed the spotlight and rarely gave interviews. However, the Ontario native was a quiet leader who shaped Rush’s voice, writing the bulk of the band’s lyrics and maintaining a steely, rock-solid presence behind the drumkit.”
One of rocks greatest drummers. Side 1 of the Moving Pictures LP is my favorite from them (I still have it). Anyone else play air drums whenever the hear Tom Sawyer?