“Linux Mint 21.3 is a long term support release which will be supported until 2027. It comes with updated software and brings refinements and many new features to make your desktop even more comfortable to use.”
I just upgraded via the built-in Update Manager.
Release Announcement | What’s New | Release Notes | Download
Wednesday Random Stuff…
Samsung Magician 8.0.1
“Samsung Magician Software is designed to work with all Samsung memory products including internal SSDs, portable SSDs, memory cards and USB flash drives.”
What’s new? No clue. No release notes.
Download & Info
Intel Network Drivers
Windows 10 and Windows 11 Wi-Fi Drivers for Intel Wireless Adapters v23.20.0
Intel Wireless Bluetooth for Windows 10 and Windows 11 v23.20.0
Intel PROSet/Wireless Software and Drivers for IT Admins v23.20.0
Intel Killer Performance Suite v35.23.1292
Introducing OpenVINO AI effects for Audacity
“Intel has built a suite of AI tools for Audacity, useful for spoken word audio and music alike. These AI features run 100% locally on your PC.”
My new sipping fav: Green River Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This one time, at band camp…
They rocked out to METALLICA! Fantastic stuff!
“WOW! Back in April, we challenged marching bands across the country to create performances incorporating Metallica songs into their shows, and boy, did they deliver in a major way! The response blew us away and made for a heated competition, but the results are in. And the winners are…”
For Whom the Band Tolls – And the Winners Are… | Metallica.com
Patch Tuesday
Windows Updates
“This update addresses security issues for your Windows operating system.”
Nearly 3 dozen issues addressed.
Win10 – January 9, 2024—KB5034122 (OS Builds 19044.3930 and 19045.3930)
Win11 – January 9, 2024—KB5034123 (OS Builds 22621.3007 and 22631.3007)
There is an issue with Win10 update KB5034441. It may fail with a “download error” 0x80070643. There is a “fix”, I tried it and it works.
HOWEVER, I DO NOT recommend it at this time. Give Microsoft time to see if they can fix this.
KB5028997: Instructions to manually resize your partition to install the WinRE update
Wise Disk Cleaner 11.0.7
“Clean useless and outdated junk files, browser traces, cookies, and history.”
New and/or improved cleaning rules and a few bugfixes.
Download (I use portable) | Release Info
dBpoweramp Updated
dBpoweramp Music Converter R2023-12-22
“dBpoweramp contains a multitude of audio tools in one: CD Ripper, Music Converter, Batch Converter, ID Tag Editor and Windows audio shell enhancements. Preloaded with essential codecs (mp3, wave, FLAC, m4a, Apple Lossless, AIFF), additional codecs can be installed from [Codec Central], as well as Utility Codecs which perform actions on audio files.”
New features, codec updates, bugfixes.
Homepage | Download (update from within program) | Release Info
Friday News
IrfanView 4.66
Freeware graphic viewer and editor. Great for batch processing images, like resizing.
A few fixes.
Download & Info | History of changes
HWiNFO 7.68
“Comprehensive Hardware Analysis, Monitoring and Reporting for Windows and DOS.”
Fixes, enhancements, new hardware support.
Download (I use portable) | Version History
[Read more…] about Friday News
Patch Tuesday
Sorry I’m late with this, work…
Windows Updates
15-18 vulnerabilities patched.
Win10 – December 12, 2023—KB5033372 (OS Builds 19044.3803 and 19045.3803)
Win11 – December 12, 2023—KB5033369 (OS Build 22000.2652)
Plan for Windows 10 EOS with Windows 11, Windows 365, and ESU
“While we strongly recommend moving to Windows 11, we understand there are circumstances that could prevent you from replacing Windows 10 devices before the EOS date. Therefore, Microsoft will offer Extended Security Updates.
Like the Windows 7 ESU program, your organization will be able to purchase a yearly subscription to security updates. The yearly commitment is renewable for three years. Devices enrolled in ESUs will receive monthly security updates to keep these Windows 10 PCs secure.
The ESU program for Windows 10 will include critical and/or important security updates…
Stay tuned for more ESU program updates as we approach availability, including an ESU program for individual consumers.”
Interesting…
Nvidia Geforce Game Ready Drivers 546.33 WHQL
Support for new games.
Download & Info
AMD Software Adrenalin 23.12.1 WHQL Drivers
Support for new games, AMD Software UI Redesign, new power saving option, half a dozen fixes.
Download & Info
Intel Arc & Iris Xe Graphics Drivers 31.0.101.5074
Gaming improvements.
Download & Info
Intel Network Drivers
Windows 10 and Windows 11 Wi-Fi Drivers for Intel Wireless Adapters v23.10.0
Intel Wireless Bluetooth for Windows 10 and Windows 11 v23.10.0
Intel PROSet/Wireless Software and Drivers for IT Admins v23.10.0
Intel Killer Performance Suite v35.23.842
IrfanView 4.65
Freeware graphic viewer and editor. Great for batch processing images, like resizing.
New dark mode, several new features.
Download & Info | History of changes
OBS Studio 30.0.2
Free and open source software for video recording and live streaming (Windows, Linux, Mac).
30.0.1 & 2 released on the same day. .1 had a dozen fixes, .2 had one.
Download & Info
PowerToys .76
“a set of utilities for power users to tune and streamline their Windows experience for greater productivity.”
Couple of fixes.
Download, Info & Changes
Tuesday News
Nvidia Geforce Game Ready Drivers 546.29 WHQL
Support for several new games.
Download & Info
See also: GeForce Hotfix Driver Version 546.31
Hotfix drivers are are only meant to address certain issues. In this case it relates to:
– [Discord] When streaming gameplay, colors may appear muted
– Intermittent stutter may be observed when V-SYNC is enabled
PowerToys .76
“a set of utilities for power users to tune and streamline their Windows experience for greater productivity.”
Many fixes, “In this release, we focused on new features, stability and improvements.”
Download, Info & Changes
[Read more…] about Tuesday News
Audio Tricks – dBpoweramp CD Ripper, Rip As One
dBpoweramp is my favorite audio conversion and CD ripping software. This article will show you the very useful “rip as one” function.
[Read more…] about Audio Tricks – dBpoweramp CD Ripper, Rip As One
Audio Tricks – Using Audacity To Trim Music
I’ve been using Audacity for many years. From creating audio, to mixing, to editing it has been an essential tool for me.
I’d like to show you how this tool can be of use to the average user. I’m going to give a very quick example of using Audacity to trim music.
[Read more…] about Audio Tricks – Using Audacity To Trim Music
Weekend News
Audacity 3.4.2
“the world’s most popular audio editing and recording app”
Bugfixes
Download | Changelog
HandBrake 1.7.0
Free, multi-OS, video converter.
Codec updates, fixes, some new features.
Download | Release Notes