Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

The Current Graphics Card Market Has Gone From Stupid To Insane
You can’t get cards in a standard store. On Ebay and Craigslist an OVER FOUR YEAR OLD video card like the 1080ti is going for $600 and up. The card I have in my main rig is the XFX Radeon RX 580 8G GTS Black Edition is going for around $380 and up some places and $700 at Newegg. This card is closing in on 4 years old.
Are y’all waiting or paying the prices?

Google Chrome 88
“Chrome 88.0.4324.96 contains a number of fixes and improvements…This update includes 36 security fixes.”
FTP and Flash are gone.
Download | Release Info

Winaero Tweaker 0.19
“new features and bugfixes, it also includes a number of useful user interface improvements.”
Recommended. Just make sure you back up first
Download & Info

Related, somebody needs to hear this:
A large collection of registry files are not “tweaks”, it’s just a bunch of registry files. And, it’s a recipe for disaster.

Macrium Reflect v7.3.5550
Download | Release Notes (Thanks AG)
To download click the Home Use button > In the pop-up windows, you DO NOT have to enter your email addy in the next screen just click the Continue button

VLC 3.0.12
Download 32-bit | Download 64-bit | Release Notes

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

30th Anniversary of Desert Storm
This is just a shout-out to my fellow DS vets. It was a honor to serve with you brothers and sisters.

Lonnie Dillard Obituary (1945 – 2021)
“9. Happiness is not the result of what does or does not happen to you in your life as much as your attitude about what does or does not happen. It’s a decision you make. Every day. They say that it is always better to have ten items on a list than only nine. I say trying to do everything “they” say can snuff out whatever genius you have in you, as well as make you miserable in the process. There is no one more you than you. You do have something unique to offer your piece of the world. Damn convention or the critics. Take a chance! Unfortunately, I did not know all these lessons all my life; some I paid very dearly to learn. Or re-learn.”
I did not know nor had I ever heard about him until today and his obit went viral. I wish I had. Rest in peace kind sir.

Behind a Secret Deal Between Google and Facebook
“This idea that the major tech platforms are robustly competing against each other is very much overstated,” said Sally Hubbard, a former assistant attorney general in New York’s antitrust bureau who now works at Open Markets Institute, a think tank. “In many ways, they reinforce each other’s monopoly power.”
LOL, ya think?! I got $20 that says when all is said and done big tech:
– Gets a slap on the wrist to make it look like the politicians are doing something. During the “hearings” every politician there will rail against them and pontificate about a free internet. Then, come next election they will take their *ahem* “donations”.
– Other than that, completely gets way with everything and not only keeps but expands their monopiles.

theChive – Life was better when things WEREN’T connected to the internet (36 Photos)

I do not understand the need or desire for smart homes and/or smart devices everywhere.

It’s a lazy, foggy, chilly Saturday here. I’ve been rearranging The Hole. I moved my turntable and the preamp had a humming sound. I took it apart, tightened 2 screws and poof the hum was gone. Currently listening to Dire Straits – Making Movies. You can see my equipment in my article here. The speakers are M-Audio AV-40 which are no longer produced.
After my old Gigabyte mobo died I decided to rid myself of some XP/Vista era equipment. These are systems based off of Yorkfield/Kentsfield CPUs. I’ve got some new-to-me old stuff and more on the way. I’ll let you in on that later.

Software updates:
IrfanView 4.57
Tor Browser 10.0.8

An old friend of this site asked:
Friend: Curious: How many of us follow you? Millions?
Me: Ha. There was a time back in the XP days when I would get 35,000 visitors in one day on the update of a Tweak Guide. I averaged 3,500 a day.
Times change and Google hates small sites like mine, they’ve gone out of their way to disappear us. Stats are hard to measure anymore but I reckon I average about 1000 a day now.
The old sites are disappearing, or selling out. Much of the old guard are “retiring” because there is no money in this stuff for a single site. Sites used to carry news of other websites’ new content but that has all changed now. They are only interested in promoting themselves at the expense of their users.
I’m one of the few left and I’ll be around as long as there are PCs.

A reader asked:
Reader: How come you haven’t addressed xyz political issue?
Me (paraphrased): Folks don’t come here for that…crap. I try to (mostly) only address political issues that are tech related, and, if politics has seeped into the argument too much I will avoid it. We are in a place where Every. Single. Thing. is polarized and anything anyone says has half the people pissed off. I blame much of it on social media and the trolls (especially those who are…”state actors”). -end-
Most visitors know of my absolute disdain for social media so I’ll leave you with #DeleteFacebook.
 

Good way to start a season!

Nvidia Geforce Game Ready Drivers 461.09 WHQL
Security Bulletin: NVIDIA GPU Display Driver – January 2021
Download | Release Notes

Cleanmgr+ 1.37.1170
4 minor changes.
Download & Info

Sysinternals Freeware Tools Updated
Process Monitor v3.61 | Sysmon v13.00