Computer News

Chrome Updated
“The stable channel has been updated to 75.0.3770.90 for Windows, Mac, and Linux, which will roll out over the coming days/weeks.”
Download: 32-bit | 64-bit

Sysinternals Freeware Updates
Process Explorer and Sysmon have updates.
Download & Info

Amazon’s new Echo Dot Kids Edition comes in blue or rainbow colors
If you allow Amazon to use this or any device track your kid in any way then you’re not a good parent.

Windows Updates
Windows 7
June 11, 2019—KB4503269 (Security-only update)
June 11, 2019—KB4503292 (Monthly Rollup)

Windows 8.1
June 11, 2019—KB4503290 (Security-only update)
June 11, 2019—KB4503276 (Monthly Rollup)

Windows 10
1903 – June 11, 2019—KB4503293 (OS Build 18362.175)
1809 – June 11, 2019—KB4503327 (OS Build 17763.557)
1803 – June 11, 2019—KB4503286 (OS Build 17134.829)
Reminder: March 12 and April 9 will be the last two Delta updates for Windows 10, version 1803. Security and quality updates will continue to be available via the express and full cumulative update packages.

Firefox 67.0.2
Download | Release Notes

Start10
“Fixes incompatibilities with Cortana while running Windows newly released version 1903”
Download

Sysinternals Freeware Updates
Autoruns, Sysmon, and VMMap have new versions.
Download & Info

VLC 3.0.7.1
32-bit | 64-bit | Release Notes

Patch Tueday is tomorrow.
As I’ve said before I’m currently running Win10 1903 on my main rig. Everything is OK with the exception that networking on my VMs doesn’t work sometimes. The only fix is to reboot. 1903 certainly hasn’t made my computing experience any better.

AMD Radeon Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.6.1 Optional
Download | Release Notes

Macrium Reflect v7.2.4325
Download | Release Notes

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

Fewer kids are riding and buying bicycles, and the industry is worried
“The number of children ages 6 to 17 who rode bicycles regularly — more than 25 times a year — decreased by more than a million from 2014 to 2018, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. That includes both casual rides around the neighborhood and more serious cycling for fitness or competition…Youth fitness activists and sporting goods market analysts are in agreement about what’s been keeping kids off bikes. The primary culprit, they say, is screen time, whether on phones, televisions or video games. A 2018 study from the American Heart Association found kids and teens ages 8 to 18 averaged more than seven hours a day looking at screens.”
One thing I really noticed down at the beach few weeks ago. Too many Americans of all ages are fat. I don’t mean a couple of pounds. I mean dozens to hundreds of pounds. Sad.

A TV meteorologist who objected on air to management’s ‘code red’ orders might be out of a job
“The reason? Crain criticized Sinclair Broadcast Group’s initiative to implement mandatory “code red” days in their affiliates’ forecasts. Meteorologists at local stations under Sinclair’s auspices are encouraged – or at times, forced – into declaring code red days, the decision often made by management. And during Wednesday morning’s broadcast, Crain had had enough.”
I’m tired of that crap. The most popular station around here is NBC12 and they have “First Alert Weather Days” all the fracking time. You twatwaffeles in the weather biz are crying wolf too much and you’re gonna get someone killed.

Please rise… 🇺🇸#NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/oF4obcg4V1

— Metallica (@Metallica) June 6, 2019

Windows 10 News
Current status as of June 6, 2019:
Windows 10, version 1903 is available for any user who manually selects “Check for updates” via Windows Update. The recommended servicing status is Semi-Annual Channel.

Software Updates
CCleaner v5.58.7209
EMDB V3.43
PCMark 10 2.0.2115
VLC 3.0.7: 32-bit | 64-bit

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

What’s Up: June 2019 Skywatching Tips from NASA
“Jupiter is at its biggest and brightest this month, rising at dusk and remaining visible all night. The solar system’s largest planet is a brilliant jewel to the naked eye, but looks fantastic through binoculars or a small telescope, which will allow you to spot the four largest moons, and maybe even glimpse a hint of the banded clouds that encircle the planet.”

Here’s a scientific explanation for why rich people think they’re better than everyone
“The researchers found that those with more education, higher income, and a higher perceived social class had “an exaggerated belief that they would perform better than others, compared with their lower-class counterparts,” the press release said.
“Individuals with relatively high social class were more overconfident, which in turn was associated with being perceived as more competent and ultimately more hirable, even though, on average, they were no better at the trivia test than their lower-class counterparts,”
“Advantages beget advantages,” Belmi said. “Those who are born in upper-class echelons are likely to remain in the upper class, and high-earning entrepreneurs disproportionately originate from highly educated, well-to-do families.”
“In something of a dark irony, the respondents of higher socioeconomic status rated themselves as more empathic — a ‘better-than-average effect’ that Varnum followed up on in a separate study — when in reality the opposite was true,” Baer wrote. The study actually found that the upper-class participants had lower neural responses to others’ pain.“

Firefox 67.0.1
Download
See: Firefox blocks third-party cookies by default, new Facebook Container extension now available (instructions)

Chrome 75.0.3770.80
“contains a number of fixes and improvements…This update includes 42 security fixes.”
Download | Release Info

Wise Disk Cleaner 10.2.1
“Updated various translations, GUI and usability improvements, Minor bug fixes.”
Download (I use portable) | Release Notes
Meh. Skip if you aren’t having issues.

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

Facebook lawyer says users ‘have no expectation of privacy’
According to Law360, Facebook attorney Orin Snyder made the comment while defending the company against a class-action lawsuit over the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
“There is no invasion of privacy at all, because there is no privacy,” Snyder said.
In an attempt to have the lawsuit thrown out, Snyder further claimed that Facebook was nothing more than a “digital town square” where users voluntarily give up their private information.
Sorry, hard to argue with that. Everyone knows this to be true.
Don’t like it then #DeleteFacebook .

Facebook, Google and other tech giants to face antitrust investigation by House lawmakers
The probe, announced Monday by Rep. David Cicilline (R.I.), the leader of the House’s top anti-trust subcommittee, is expected to be far reaching and comes at a moment when Democrats and Republicans find themselves in rare alignment on the idea that the tech industry has been too unregulated for too long. The sentiment spurred a sharp sell-off in tech stocks to start the week.
Cicilline said the investigation won’t target one specific tech company, but rather focus on the broad belief that the “Internet is broken,” he told reporters. In doing so, he pointed out problematic practices at tech giants such as Google, which has faced sanctions in Europe for prioritizing its own services in search returns over those of its rivals, and Facebook, which Cicilline criticized for acquiring competitors or copying their services to ensure its continued dominance in social networking.
Amazon and Apple also could figure into the committee’s early plans, he said, cautioning the goal is a broader look at the industry.
Not holding my breath on anything meaningful to come of this.

How to Stop Your Butt from Burning after Eating Spicy Foods
That means your poop is laced with spicy particles. “And since the last part of your anal region—your rectum and anus—is lined by cells similar to those in your mouth, spicy foods can burn just as much on the way out as on the way in,” says Dr. Basso. Ouch.
Posted for the headline. We already know that. I started frequenting a bar called the Texas-Wisconsin Border Cafe when I was 17. They had the Texas Widowmaker Chili. You could get it hot, mild, or half-and-half. By the time I hit about 30 years old I was down to eating the half-and-half and wasn’t because of the heat going in.

Google Just Gave 2 Billion Chrome Users A Reason To Switch To Firefox
“Google is planning to restrict modern ad blocking Chrome extensions to enterprise users only, according to 9to5Google. This is despite a backlash to an announcement by Google in January proposing changes that will stop current ad blockers from working efficiently.
And the software giant is not backing down: It says the only people who can use ad blockers following the change will be Google’s enterprise users.”

You can now order Alexa to purge the voice recordings it’s made
Or, just not let it record you…

A white-collar sweatshop’: Google Assistant contractors allege wage theft
“Google does not directly employ the workers who collect or create the data required for much of its technology, be they the drivers who capture photos for Google Maps’ Street View, the content moderators training YouTube’s filters to catch prohibited material, or the scanners flipping pages to upload the contents of libraries into Google Books.
Having these two tiers of workers – highly paid full-time Googlers and often low-wage and precarious workers contracted through staffing firms – is “corrosive”, “highly problematic”, and “permissive of exploitation”, the employees said.”

To My Wife
See these beautiful hot dogs? Not one has ketchup on it.
Ketchup on hot dogs is an abomination.

Thanks for the reminder Lee!

Win10 1903 Updated
May 29, 2019—KB4497935 (OS Build 18362.145)
Several “addresses an issue” plus this one:
Addresses an issue that may cause an external USB device or SD memory card to be reassigned to an incorrect drive during installation. For more information, see “This PC can’t be upgraded to Windows 10” error on a computer that has a USB device or SD card attached.
Related: Windows 10 1903 Release History page is finally up.

New Intel Graphics Windows 10 DCH Drivers
Version: 26.20.100.6890 Date: 5/29/2019

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

Apple’s privacy schtick is just an act, say folks suing the iGiant: iTunes ‘purchase histories sold’ to highest bidders
“Apple has been hit with a class-action complaint in the US accusing the iGiant of playing fast and loose with the privacy of its customers.”
Related: Washington Post finds 5,400 app trackers sending data from an iPhone

Why You Should Never Charge Your Phone At The Airport
“Those USB power charging stations at the airport can be hacked so that they steal data from phones using it to charge. In a tech theft called “juice jacking,” cybercriminals can reportedly use the USB plugs to download your data and install malware without you knowing.”
Old news but worth a reminder or a pass along.

Fertility paradox in male beauty quest
“Taking steroids to get a buff physique or anti-baldness pills to keep a full head of hair can damage fertility.
It has been named the Mossman-Pacey paradox after the scientists who first described it…They are trying to look really big, to look like the pinnacles of evolution. “But they are making themselves very unfit in an evolutionary sense, because without exception they had no sperm in their ejaculation at all.”…The researchers say there is a similar theme in men using medication to prevent male pattern baldness. The drug finasteride changes the way testosterone is metabolised in the body and can limit hair loss, but side effects can include erectile dysfunction and a hit to fertility.”
Never understood dudes taking ‘roids. Ditto with the hair pills. Be a man and own it. I knew my hair was thinning. Then I saw a pic of me from the rear and saw my bald spot getting bad. I said “hell no” and used clippers to shave my head the next day. I use this now: Wahl Professional 5-Star Balding Clipper

I would like to thank Firebirds Wood Fired Grill for treating my Dad and I to dinner. They had a buy-one-get-one offer for Vets yesterday. There were 3 of us (2 Vets) and they bought me and my Dad’s meals without us asking (which I wouldn’t have).

Nvidia Geforce Game Ready WHQL Driver 430.86
“Provides the optimal gaming experience for Quake II RTX and Assetto Corsa Competizione”
Download | Release Notes

PCMark 10 Updated
“This is a major update that adds new benchmark tests and features. Benchmark scores are not affected.”
Download | Release Notes

Save up to 60% on Casio Watches : Amazon.com
Great deals! I own this one: Casio Men’s GG-1000-1A3CR Mudmaster G-SHOCK Quartz Casual Watch, Green

I’m running 1903 now. I did a manual update. Seems OK. Better than my attempt a couple of weeks ago.
Is anyone using the Your Phone app with their Android. Is this app a POS or is it just not working for well for my Galaxy S7? Messages send after a while, no receive, photos don’t show…

Intel PROSet/Wireless Software and Drivers Updated
Windows 7 Version: 21.10.1 (Latest) Date: 5/21/2019
Intel Wireless Bluetooth for Windows 7 Version: 21.10.1 (Latest) Date: 5/21/2019
Intel PROSet/Wireless Software and Drivers for Windows 8.1 Version: 21.10.1 (Latest) Date: 5/21/2019
Windows 10 Wi-Fi Drivers for Intel Wireless Adapters Version: 21.10.1 (Latest) Date: 5/21/2019
Intel Wireless Bluetooth for Windows 10 Version: 21.10.1 (Latest) Date: 5/21/2019

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

The Performance Impact Of MDS / Zombieload Plus The Overall Cost Now Of Spectre/Meltdown/L1TF/MDS
If looking at the geometric mean for the tests run today, the Intel systems all saw about 16% lower performance out-of-the-box now with these default mitigations and obviously even lower if disabling Hyper Threading for maximum security. The two AMD systems tested saw a 3% performance hit with the default mitigations. While there are minor differences between the systems to consider, the mitigation impact is enough to draw the Core i7 8700K much closer to the Ryzen 7 2700X and the Core i9 7980XE to the Threadripper 2990WX.

5G Danger: Hundreds Of Respected Scientists Sound The Alarm About Health Effects As 5G Networks Go Up Nationwide
Today, there is a growing body of scientific evidence that indicates that the electromagnetic radiation that we are constantly being bombarded with is not good for us. Hundreds of scientists that are engaged in research in this area have signed the “International EMF Scientist Appeal”

Google Express
I don’t know much about it but Google Express has:
– Spend $50, get $15 off with BOXEDMEM15 . Limit 2 coupon redemptions per user. Max discount $30.
&
– 20% off your first 3 orders after applying code: MAYSAVE19 (max of $20 per order).

Processed Foods Can Make You Gain Weight: Study
During the first 14 days, half of the participants ate what was called an “ultra-processed diet,” which consisted of foods such as chicken salad with canned chicken, turkey bacon, sweetened Greek yogurt, baked potato chips, and bagels with cream cheese.
The other half of the group was given a minimally processed diet, which consisted of whole fruits and vegetables, meat and fish, nuts, oatmeal, and eggs. After 14 days, the participants switched diets.
The results were that people who ate processed foods gained 2 pounds while those who ate minimally processed food lost 2 pounds.
Even government guideline amounts of red meat and bacon increase risk of bowel cancer, study finds
Eating a bacon sandwich, beef or sausages on just four days a week significantly increases the risk bowel cancer, despite being well within government dietary guidelines, experts have warned.
Y’all just ain’t gonna let me enjoy my bacon cheeseburger are you?

US cosmetics are full of chemicals banned by Europe – why?
A long list of potentially harmful ingredients banned in the EU are legally allowed in the US due to historically relaxed regulations…The disparity in standards between the EU and US has grown to the extent it touches almost every element of most Americans’ lives. In cosmetics alone, the EU has banned or restricted more than 1,300 chemicals while the US has outlawed or curbed just 11.

Wise words of wisdom we could all use in our lives : theCHIVE (28 Photos)