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Weekend Random Stuff…

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Sorry for the lack of updates, very busy at work.

The next version of Windows 10, Redstone 2, likely to be version 1703 – Claims it will be released March of 2017. Great, looks like I will be doing another reinstall/reset then.

Newegg Now Owned by Chinese Company – I won’t be shopping there anymore. You can’t delete your account but you can change all your info to nonsense.

AMD Gaming Evolved APP By Raptr No Longer Being Supported By AMD – Good riddance.

Notepad++ 7.1 is out.

Patch Tuesday

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Time To Run Windows Update? Not Anymore.
Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users. I did not think I would ever say this. I am recommending that users NOT install Windows updates as they come out any more. As many of you have heard Windows 7 and 8.1 have gone to a “rollup model”. This means all the updates rolled into one. No more picking and choosing. Although there is some guidance for IT guys running WSUS it is not 100% clear how this is going to hit home users. I think the issue is going to take months to sort out and frankly Microsoft has completely lost my trust.
I’ve always run Windows Update manually. Up until today I ran it as patches came out. Now, I will be waiting a week or so and watching to see what the fallout is.
Windows 10 users. By installing Win10 you basically signed into the mess that has become Windows Update. You can of course disable Automatic Updates. You can do so by disabling the Windows Update service, or via Group Policy (this only works for “feature” updates), or by using software such as O&O ShutUp10. I haven’t tried this myself.

Adobe Flash & Reader Updated
APSB16-32 Security Updates Available for Adobe Flash Player
Download for Internet Explorer
Download for Firefox
I’ve been watching to see if/when Google Chrome will be updated for this. Nothing as of this writing. Watch here.

APSB16-33 Security Updates Available for Adobe Acrobat and Reader
Download Adobe Reader or update from within the program (Help > Check for updates).

Wednesday Random Stuff…

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IMHO it’s been a boring week tech news wise.

No Windows 7 On OEM PC’s After Nov. 1
Ed Bott reminds us that You have one month left to buy a Windows 7 PC.
Not too big a deal as you do have downgrade rights on a Win 10 PC. There’s always ebay for Windows 7 discs for the folks like me who DIY.

Win10 Tweak Tips
Last call for things you think should be in the Win10 Tweak Guide.
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Thursday Random Stuff…

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Must Read: Online Trackers Follow Our Digital Shadow By ‘Fingerprinting’ Browsers, Devices
Not kidding. This is a must read. Read it twice, pass it along.
FYI – I use Privacy Badger as mentioned in the article.

Google Chrome 53.0.2785.143
“The stable channel has been updated to 53.0.2785.143 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. This will roll out over the coming days/weeks… This update includes 3 security fixes.”
Download

7-Zip 16.03
7-Zip is a free file archiver with a high compression ratio.
What’s new after 7-Zip 16.02:
– Installer and SFX modules now use some protection against DLL preloading attack.
– Some bugs were fixed in 7z, NSIS, SquashFS and RAR5 code.
Download and info (be sure to download the right one x86/x64)
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Weekend Random Stuff…

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Subscribe To Websites
I’ve never subscribed to a website before. But, I recognize the sites I go to have to pay the bills. With that in mind I just subscribed to Thurrott Premium.
Anyone else out there subscribe to a website? Worth it or no?

iVerge
I’ve called The Verge “iVerge” for some time. I’ve always felt that many people over there had a bias favoring Apple, so have many other people. Although iVerge continues to deny that any bias exists I find this article interesting
iVerge – A note from the editor-in-chief about Chris Ziegler
“Chris began working for Apple in July, but didn’t tell anyone at The Verge that he’d taken a new job until we discovered and verified his dual-employment in early September…Obviously having an Apple employee on The Verge staff is a conflict of interest.”
No one seems to know anything: Daring Fireball – “No word on what Ziegler is (or was? — several little birdies have told me Ziegler is not listed in the company directory) doing at Apple. And Ziegler’s Twitter account has been silent since August 8.”

Software Updates
Firefox 49.0.1
MediaMonkey 4.1.14.1811
MP3Tag 2.79

Off Topic – Looking for bike suggestions.
I like to ride my mountain bike. A few years back I had an Achilles tendon rupture. Well “rupture” was the official description. It was actually much worse (long story). So because of that and other injuries, these days I beat on my body much less. There is much less trail riding and jumping and far more roads and gravel trails with and occasional light trail thrown in. Because of this I am looking at “hybrid” bikes. I don’t want to spend a bunch of money. I was considering something like a Diamondback Trace. Does anyone out there have any experience with these things? Any recommendations or tips?

Wednesday Random Stuff…

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They Just Keep Getting Faster And More Affordable
Anandtech – Samsung Announces 960 PRO And 960 EVO M.2 PCIe SSDs
Ars Technica – Samsung unveils crazy-fast 960 Pro and 960 Evo M.2 NVMe SSDs
Out in October. The only M2 slot I have is on my laptop. For me, I don’t know if is worth the upgrade from my 850 EVO as far as real world use. But it is tempting…

Wise Disk Cleaner Updated
Version 9.29 is out:
– Fixed the issue of unable to run properly in limited account.
– Updated various translations. Minor GUI improvements.
Download

EMDB 2.57
Eric’s Movie Database has been updated (not this Eric). Several fixes.
“EMDB is an application to keep track of your movie and TV Series collection.”
Download & Info

Tails 2.6
“Tails is a live operating system, that you can start on almost any computer from a DVD, USB stick, or SD card. It aims at preserving your privacy and anonymity”
Download & Info