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Jan 9, 2019#1

PatrThom

We have a "random crap" thread for tech, but nothing specifically for "news" stuff.
Well, now we do.

Since the subject has been a hot one here lately, gonna start off with this, Techspot's Ultimate Guide to Buying a Used* Graphics Card.

They rank all the cards worth having (and many that aren't) and give you a breakdown of availability and fps per dollar. Worth a read even if you're not in the market for a new card, as it's also an indication of what cards have had good staying power.

The data below is arranged by the average frame rate, with the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti offering the fastest performance so it's shown at the top of the chart. Next to the GPU model name we have the average selling price in December [...] For models that come with various VRAM capacities, such as the RX 570, pay attention to that and if the 8GB models in this example are only slightly more than the 4GB cards then consider investing a little more to get the extra memory. At this point we recommend avoiding cards with only 2GB of VRAM.

Agreed on the VRAM. I actually think the 6GB limit on the newly-announced RTX 2060 cards is going to come back and bite them in the butt in the future**, so however you narrow your choice, if it comes down to two similarly-priced and similarly-performing models, get whichever one has the most VRAM, with preference give to those cards which have 8GB or more.

--Patrick
*The data also apply to cards bought new, of course. Not every used card is "used," per se.
**I foresee some point in the future where the RTX2060 6GB cards get bottlenecked while previous-generation GTX1070 8GB cards are still viable JUST due to that extra 2GB.

Jan 9, 2019#2

DarkAudit

Probably want to avoid those 1070ti cards on ebay for hundreds of dollars off from sellers who just joined today.

Jan 21, 2019#3

PatrThom

If you're curious about how different choices in CPU/GPU/RAM might perform, here's a very informative YouTube channel.
As an example:

There's also a 1070ti v. 2060 (DX11) comparison which I found enlightening. (tl;dr: they're within 0-5fps of each other*).

I don't know if I'm more impressed with the variety of hardware tested or by the clean presentation, uncomplicated by narration/opinion/promotion. It's just facts-in-your-face, draw-your-own-conclusion-type stuff, and I really appreciate that.

--Patrick
*but none of the games tested exhaust the 2GB smaller VRAM of the 2060 (though Far Cry 5 comes close). I still want to know how it handles running out of VRAM.

Jan 23, 2019#4

GasBandit

Google has proposed changes to the chromium engine that would make ad blockers like uBlock Origin and uMatrix no longer work on Chrome.

Jan 23, 2019#5

PatrThom

Internet has been pretty hot about that today. I’m interested to see how Opera reacts (since they also use the Blink engine found in Chrome(-ium) but are not Google).

—Patrick

Jan 23, 2019#6

GasBandit

PatrThom said:
Internet has been pretty hot about that today. I’m interested to see how Opera reacts (since they also use the Blink engine found in Chrome(-ium) but are not Google).

—Patrick

I've been hearing a lot of rumbling about a browser called "Brave."

Jan 23, 2019#7

DarkAudit

GasBandit said:
I've been hearing a lot of rumbling about a browser called "Brave."

The rumbling I heard wasn't good at all.

Jan 24, 2019#8

GasBandit

RIP Cortana.

https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-pivots-cortana-stand-alone-voice-assistant-2019-1

Jan 24, 2019#9

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
RIP Cortana.

https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-pivots-cortana-stand-alone-voice-assistant-2019-1

Also don't forget Windows Phone.

--Patrick

Jan 24, 2019#10

DarkAudit

Oh, yeah. Brave is that browser that replaces ads with their own. I can see why some might get up in arms about that.

Jan 25, 2019#11

Dave

Ah Microsoft, never change.

https://www.businessinsider.fr/us/microsoft-employee-github-reply-all-email-storm-2019-1

Jan 25, 2019#12

DarkAudit

Dave said:
Ah Microsoft, never change.

https://www.businessinsider.fr/us/microsoft-employee-github-reply-all-email-storm-2019-1

Bedlam indeed.

Jan 30, 2019#13

DarkAudit

GasBandit said:
Google has proposed changes to the chromium engine that would make ad blockers like uBlock Origin and uMatrix no longer work on Chrome.

While the new Firefox release gives users *more* privacy options.

Jan 31, 2019#14

PatrThom

For anyone looking for an awesome new build, Intel has just released the 28-core Xeon W-3175X, which they bill as the most powerful CPU available for the consumer market, capable of supporting up to 768GB RAM spread across 6 channels.

...of course, it's $3000 just for the CPU.
...and you need a cooler capable of taming the 255W of heat it makes (or up to 1225W of heat if you really push it)
...there are only 2 companies making the LGA3647-socket motherboards for it, with extremely limited availability and a ~~$1500~~ $1800* price.
...and even buying a modest 192GB RAM (6x32GB) for it will set you back ~$2000
...and it really needs a 1600W power supply.

That said, the performance is impressive (and it had better be for that asking price!).

So yes, for about $7000 you can get yourself the biggest, baddest system that Intel has to offer.
...but I'm thinking the real lesson here is that yes, AMD has succeeded in making Intel nervous.

--Patrick
*Updated price now that the ASUS boards are in the retail channel.

Jan 31, 2019#15

DarkAudit

PatrThom said:
...of course, it's $3000 just for the CPU.

Linus drops it in 3... 2... 1...

Feb 3, 2019#16

GasBandit

Remember when 2 factor authentication was the magic bullet?

UK bank falls victim to SS7 attacks, allowing cybercriminals to drain accounts and reminding us why SMS two-factor authentication sucks.

Feb 3, 2019#17

PatrThom

Now if only SMS/3G/etc would get strengthened to match.
I've already had to deal with a mom whose son popped out her SIM while she wasn't looking and put it in his phone. This let him snowball ownership of damn near EVERYTHING she had claim to before she realized what was going on.

--Patrick

Feb 3, 2019#18

Ravenpoe

PatrThom said:
Now if only SMS/3G/etc would get strengthened to match.
I've already had to deal with a mom whose son popped out her SIM while she wasn't looking and put it in his phone. This let him snowball ownership of damn near EVERYTHING she had claim to before she realized what was going on.

--Patrick

What a shitstain of a son...

Feb 3, 2019#19

PatrThom

Ravenpoe said:
What a shitstain of a son...

She kept her phone in a case, and she was only there because "my son must've somehow messed up my login." He had coincidentally just run off with his girlfriend a day or two ago. It wasn't until she took it out of the case that I noticed the SIM door was damaged. I put two and two together and realized what that probably meant and so started her on a tour of her other online stuff, looking for tampering and with her getting more upset as we kept discovering new things (Facebook, credit cards, etc). We sat together for a while and with some patience (and a few phone calls) managed to undo quite a bit of his shenanigans. I made sure to set her on the path to reclaiming control over the rest of her assets, and she left shaken but most appreciative after the emotional roller coaster. I'm just glad she fated up with me as opposed to Motivated Sales Guy at Generic Wireless someplace, cuz at least I have some idea what to do when this kind of stuff happens.

White-hatting that kid off all her accounts and stuff made my whole day.

--Patrick

Feb 7, 2019#20

PatrThom

Reviews are coming in for the Radeon VII.

tl;dr: Its gaming performance across several games is roughly equivalent to NVIDIA's GTX1080ti or GTX2070, it delivers render/compute performance 20-30% higher than the Vega 64 for about 25% less average power, and it has twice the memory bandwidth (1GB/s!) of any other card on the market today (as well as twice the VRAM of most gaming cards). That said, it runs just about as hot as a Vega 64, and it'll still cost ~US$700 to get one. On the plus side, AMD is selling them directly at MSRP, so retail prices should be more stable, though since the almost always higher-performing RTX 2080 sells for almost that same price, it's probably not going to be the NVIDIA slayer AMD was hoping for...unless it turns out the VII absolutely smokes NVIDIA's cards in Adobe Premiere or something. The few early creative tests I've seen show the VII meeting or beating the RTX2080, but as I said above, if you can afford a VII, then you can afford a 2080, and unless your rig is used exclusively for editing/rendering, the 2080 is probably the more versatile choice unless you NEED the full 16GB the VII has to offer (8K editing, maybe?).

Now comes the wait to see if they extract any additional performance via future driver tweaks, or how much headroom there is for overclocking the card for speed or undervolting it to further cut power draw/heat while keeping performance. The Vega architecture itself has a LOT of room for performance, though pushing it that hard results in grossly impractical levels of heat and power draw.

--Patrick

Feb 11, 2019#21

DarkAudit

Russia plans to completely disconnect from the internet to see what happens.

What happens is a whole lot of businesses go dead in the water because their mission critical software that depends on connecting to the internet is suddenly cut off. Certain hotel chains can't do *anything* if their internet is down. This won't end well.

Feb 11, 2019#22

PatrThom

Sure hope nobody in Russia needs to fly a plane more than 3-4 days after the disconnect.

—Patrick

Feb 14, 2019#23

DarkAudit

Vox Media apparently doesn't know about the Streisand Effect. They're filing takedowns on those who went after them for that awful Verge "Build a PC" video. The community is striking back.

Feb 14, 2019#24

PatrThom

No kidding. A reshoot or even just taking it down would have been the better option.

—Patrick

Feb 14, 2019#25

DarkAudit

PatrThom said:
No kidding. A reshoot or even just taking it down would have been the better option.

—Patrick

The Verge pulled the original video after all the abuse it got. This is just bullying now.

Feb 14, 2019#26

DarkAudit

Steve goes off...

He mentions the Streisand Effect, and how Vox invoked it *themselves* when the Sunday Times filed a takedown on THEM.

Feb 16, 2019#27

DarkAudit

Apple's insider trading lawyer has been charged with, you guessed it, insider trading. :rofl:

Feb 16, 2019#28

PatrThom

DarkAudit said:
Apple's insider trading lawyer has been charged with, you guessed it, insider trading.

Former insider trading lawyer. They forced him out on leave last Summer and then fired him in the Fall after an independent investigation.
More details here.

As someone who used to be in the field, securities fraud is no joke. There is so much paper trail these days, if it even smells like you're acting on inside information, you're going to have the SEC up your butt soooo fast.

--Patrick

Feb 18, 2019#29

DarkAudit

Google backtracks on Chrome changes that would've killed off 3rd party ad blockers.

Turns out they were... less than truthful about the performance hit. Apparently they had their own blocker in the works that (of course) wouldn't have been affected by the changes.

Feb 18, 2019#30

PatrThom

Leaked benchmarks of NVIDIA GTX 1660 Ti are trickling out. It is essentially the same hardware as an RTX 2060 but without the fancy new raytracing and with 20% of its cores disabled.
At 1440p, it appears to perform the same as a GTX 980 Ti, GTX 1070 (non-Ti version), or RX Vega (assumption is Vega 64 not 56), and is about 95% the speed of AMD's newest, the ~$700 Radeon VII.
But the GTX 1660 Ti is expected to have an MSRP of just $299. Or less.

Undisputed king of >=60FPS is still RTX 2080/2080 Ti, but those cost ~$800/$1200, so expect GTX 1660 Ti demand to be high...and previous gen GPU prices to fall (more?).

--Patrick

Feb 18, 2019#31

Dave

If it performs the same as a GTX 980 Ti, why not just buy that?

Feb 18, 2019#32

PatrThom

Dave said:
If it performs the same as a GTX 980 Ti, why not just buy that?

Because even used 980Ti's cost $400-500 and use ~50% more power?

--Patrick

Feb 22, 2019#33

PatrThom

PatrThom said:
the GTX 1660 Ti is expected to have an MSRP of just $299. Or less.

*$279, actually.

Reviews are out. If you are looking for a new graphics card, and you don’t ALREADY have at least a GTX 1070 or higher/newer OR an AMD Vega/VII card, then the only reason NOT to get the GTX 1660 Ti is because you plan to get an RTX 20x0/Radeon VII instead, or else because you found a spectacular deal on a (probably used) 1070ti, 1080, or 1080ti.

The only people who really need need to sit down and think carefully before buying one fall into one of ~~two~~ three groups:

GTX 1060 owners - the performance of the 1660 Ti is better than the 3yr-old 1060 in every way, your dilemma is solely about whether a ~40% performance improvement is worth spending ~$300 on a new card IF you’re just months away from contemplating a complete new build anyway.
Computational/Scientific users - research your workload, because there are cheaper cards that absolutely crush the 1660 at some tasks, and there are more expensive cards that crush it at others by enough of a margin that the extra price would be worth it.
EDIT: People who want to take advantage of raytracing - The raytracing hardware is only available on the RTX line of cards, so you will have to get at least an RTX 2060 to do raytracing.

—Patrick

Feb 22, 2019#34

GasBandit

Figures.

Feb 22, 2019#35

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
Figures.

Hey I posted that knowing that my ~$200 RX 580 was delivered to my house just 3hrs prior.
But like I said elsewhere, I got that for reasons beyond stuff like just trying to increase my gaming FPS.

—Patrick

Mar 13, 2019#36

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
The new Bigscreen update uses new drivers for audio streaming that only work with windows 10, so those of us on windows 7 can no longer host movie nights and stuff in BigScreen.

Welp.

There's a ray of hope, though it's just a single ray.
WoW now coming with DX12 support for Win7

No standalone runtime, though. It's only bundled with the game. And there are these 2 FAQs:

Any other DirectX 12 game coming to Windows 7?
We are currently working with a few other game developers to port their D3D12 games to Windows 7. Please watch out for further announcement.

How are DirectX 12 games different between Windows 10 and Windows 7?
Windows 10 has critical OS improvements which make modern low-level graphics APIs (including DirectX 12) run more efficiently. If you enjoy your favorite games running with DirectX 12 on Windows 7, you should check how those games run even better on Windows 10!

--Patrick

Mar 13, 2019#37

jwhouk

Now I just need to get a graphics card that supports DX12...

Mar 13, 2019#38

PatrThom

jwhouk said:
Now I just need to get a graphics card that supports DX12...

Radeon 2xx/GeForce 5xx or newer, for the curious.
There are some other, older cards which say "DX12 support" but they support DX12 at "Feature level 11_1" which is not the same.

--Patrick

Apr 13, 2019#39

figmentPez

And, once again, Facebook is being fucking disturbing.

Facebook said it accidentally hid bizarre and "inappropriate" messages inside "tens of thousands" of virtual-reality controllers, including "Big Brother is Watching" and "The Masons Were Here."

Yeah, they've got the quotes around the wrong words. That should read: Facebook said it "accidentally" hid bizarre and inappropriate messages inside tens of thousands of virtual-reality controllers....

Apr 24, 2019#40

GasBandit

Ireland sits idly by as GDPR goes unenforced

May 3, 2019#41

figmentPez

Firefox disabled all add-ons because a certificate expired

If your add-ons aren't working, this is probably why.

May 3, 2019#42

PatrThom

These days, Safari and Firefox are just about the only browsers not using Blink, so that's kinda important.

--Patrick

May 12, 2019#43

GasBandit

Google’s Digital Wellbeing software might be slowing down Pixel phones.

May 14, 2019#44

GasBandit

Here we go again.

Everybody's pushing patches for zombieload vulnerabilities in intel chips.

May 14, 2019#45

PatrThom

RIDL, Fallout, and other MDS attacks also detailed.

Not a good time to be Intel, which is a downright shame, since the conditions that allow these vulnerabilities to exist are also what enables their CPUs to be faster than AMD's CPUs. When everything is finally patched/microcoded out, will they still be able to hold their performance crown?

Even Apple is exposing the controls to deliberately disable hyperthreading/SMT, which will completely disable these kinds of attacks...at the cost of no longer being able to run 2x threads/core, that is, which can translate to about a 20-30% performance hit. PC users who want to similarly harden their systems by disabling hyperthreading have it easier since there's usually just an option to turn HT/HyperThreading/SMT off in the BIOS/EFI settings.

--Patrick

May 15, 2019#46

PatrThom

So yeah, about that Adobe thing:

March 2018: Adobe Creative Cloud prices will increase April 16th, Photography Plan will stay the same

the Individual All App plan increasing in price to $53/month (previously $50), Creative Cloud for Individual Single App plans will now cost $21/month (previously $20), and Creative Cloud for Teams All App plans will now cost $80/month (up from $70) [but] the Creative Cloud Photography plan price is not changing. You will still pay $10/month for Photoshop CC, Lightroom Classic CC, and Lightroom CC with 20GB of cloud storage

May 2, 2018: Adobe doubles basic "Photography Bundle" pricing from $10/mo to $20/mo. Syke!
May 13, 2018: Adobe says they never removed the $10/mo plan. Ha ha it was just a test (to see if people would pay it anyway?) we promise.
May 14, 2018: Adobe removes access to older Creative Cloud apps, says anyone who continues to use them is in violation of the end user licensing agreement. Licensing issues mean users who continue to use older versions are potentially opening themselves up to be sued by 3rd-parties.
Well, I'm not exactly sure how continuing to use an unmodified older Adobe product could make ME liable to anyone other than Adobe, but I'm not a lawyer, so what do I know.

In response, people have been putting together lists of alternatives, like this one from Lifehacker, or, if you're a more visual type, there's the following image:

Stuff to keep in mind if you use any of these, I guess.

--Patrick

May 15, 2019#47

drawn_inward

Adobe can go draw a beautifully-rendered, awe-inspiring cliff, and jump off it.

May 27, 2019#48

DarkAudit

Linus is all aboard the AMD hype train.

May 27, 2019#49

PatrThom

DarkAudit said:
Linus is all aboard the AMD hype train.

He's not wrong. I was all set to go Intel for my next build, but since my wallet says that's probably still 6 months out, there's a good chance I'll be sitting and waiting on the very real possibility that it'll end up being a Ryzen3 PCIe 4.0 build, instead.

The tech world is in a huge upheaval right now. AMD's CPUs are becoming competitive on performance, Intel is getting slammed for CPU vulnerabilities and dumped their 5G modem project (Oh, and their mysterious discrete GPU should be showing up soon), Apple's having some quality issues, Qualcomm is still stuck dealing with its legal issues, the whole world has decided to hate on Huawei right now, SSD prices are falling to where they're about to push HDDs off a cliff, and Trump & Co are badmouthing China so hard that tech manufacturers are actually moving entire facilities over to other countries rather than have to deal with the headache.

"Interesting times," indeed.

EDIT: Oh and it seems we now have some preliminary specs on Ryzen 3k to tide us over until the July release. The 3700X looks especially tempting for m-itx builds.

--Patrick

May 27, 2019#50

GasBandit

On a related note, How Screwed Is Intel Without Hyperthreading?

TLDR: Very. Performance drops of 25-35% across the board, and those with 4 (or god help you, 2) cores are hit hardest.

May 27, 2019#51

PatrThom

Yeah, Hyperthreading adds almost a flat 30% performance overall.

Even Apple is feeling the bite, posting instructions on how to disable Hyperthreading* in order to guard against data leakage BUT with the warning that doing so may impact performance by as much as 40%.

Phoronix (one of the hardcore *nix sites) did a few pieces on how much it'll impact your Linux performance, too. Multicore desktops (-20%), dual-core laptops (-25%), or servers (-15%). But AMD chips? Eh, just ~5% or so. You had better believe that Intel is not happy about all of this. Not happy at all.

--Patrick
*But only for machines using Sandy/Ivy Bridge (i.e., Core ix-2xxx/3xxx) or later, since Intel has decided anything older is not worth their time to release a fix, regardless of whether it's in a Mac, Dell, Gateway, or whatever.

May 29, 2019#52

DarkAudit

NVIDIA working on some high-end notebooks for content creators.

May 29, 2019#53

PatrThom

NVIDIA still hasn't forgiven Apple for being snubbed almost the last 10 straight years.
Apple used to go back and forth between NVIDIA and ATI/AMD for their graphics chips every couple of years, keep them competing, but starting in 2011, Apple used Radeons for everything and hasn't looked back, even making NVIDIA have to roll their own drivers every time Apple updates the OS.

--Patrick

May 30, 2019#54

figmentPez

BBC Goes to Conduct Its First Broadcast Over 5G, Immediately Hits Data Cap

Not the Onion.

May 30, 2019#55

PatrThom

We keep telling them, but they don't listen.
Faster speed just means less time to hit the data cap.
The only reason to cap data is to punish cord-cutters. That's it. That's the only reason.

--Patrick

Jun 2, 2019#56

PatrThom

PatrThom said earlier said:
I was all set to go Intel for my next build, but since my wallet says that's probably still 6 months out, there's a good chance I'll be sitting and waiting on the very real possibility that it'll end up being a Ryzen3 PCIe 4.0 build, instead.

Pre X570 AMD Motherboards will not support PCI express 4.0

Well, I guess that settles it.

--Patrick

Jun 11, 2019#57

DarkAudit

Navi pricing is out.

$449 for the RX 5700XT, $379 for the non-XT. Ships July 11.

Jun 11, 2019#58

PatrThom

DarkAudit said:
Navi pricing is out.

$449 for the RX 5700XT, $379 for the non-XT. Ships July 11.

Hey, don’t forget the 3950x. 16C/32T for $750, and what is probably Intel’s closest competitor runs 60W hotter and has a (launch) sticker price almost $1000 higher.

—Patrick

Jun 14, 2019#59

PatrThom

Looks like it overclocks pretty well, too.

—Patrick

Jul 5, 2019#60

DarkAudit

AMD price list for the Navi GPUs. Reviews should be available Sunday morning.

Jul 6, 2019#61

PatrThom

What that picture doesn't show is that those prices are all after being reduced $50 yesterday after NVIDIA announced their "Super" lineup of cards. Scott Herkelman, AMDs VP/GM of Radeon, famously tweeted "Jebaited" right when the price dropped, suggesting this price drop was their plan all along.

Testing shows them performing close to the 1070Ti/RTX 2060 Super/RTX 2070 (non-Ti/non-Super) if you're comparing.

--Patrick

Jul 6, 2019#62

DarkAudit

PatrThom said:
What that picture doesn't show is that those prices are all after being reduced $50 yesterday after NVIDIA announced their "Super" lineup of cards. Scott Herkelman, AMDs VP/GM of Radeon, famously tweeted "Jebaited" right when the price dropped, suggesting this price drop was their plan all along.

Testing shows them performing close to the 1070Ti/RTX 2060 Super/RTX 2070 (non-Ti/non-Super) if you're comparing.

--Patrick

I saw the Gamers Nexus news video a couple hours later and had to double-check what I'd posted.

Jul 8, 2019#63

PatrThom

Apparently some issues running NVIDIA cards with new Ryzen 3xxx series, looks like it might just be a bug with NVIDIA drivers or with AMD's new PCIe drivers. It's fouling reviews, but does not appear to be an actual hardware problem. Let's hope it's just growing pains.

--Patrick

Jul 9, 2019#64

blotsfan

If you have a Mac you should probably make sure you don't have zoom on it...

Jul 9, 2019#65

PatrThom

blotsfan said:
If you have a Mac you should probably make sure you don't have zoom on it...

Read that article this morning. Thought about posting it, but figured Gas had already chased off all the Mac users but me.

Security through obscurity at its finest, by which I mean at its worst.
tl;dr: If you install Zoom on a Mac, visiting a website with a "join this call" URL embedded within it allows that page to activate your camera (and mic?) without your consent and/or knowledge, and uninstalling the Zoom app doesn't help because it actually leaves behind a running process that will "helpfully" reinstall the app again and open it right up without your intervention if an embedded URL (such as the above "join this call") requests it.

--Patrick

Jul 9, 2019#66

MindDetective

I'm a Mac user

Jul 9, 2019#67

Ravenpoe

MindDetective said:
I'm a Mac user

Jul 10, 2019#68

PatrThom

Zoom has issued the following statement:

"We thought it more convenient to leave security holes open than to make our users have to click a box, but since this story is now becoming uncomfortably popular we went ahead and implemented these changes even though we didn't lift a finger over the whole 90-day window the security researcher originally gave us."

Please.

--Patrick

Jul 10, 2019#69

Ravenpoe

PatrThom said:
Zoom has issued the following statement:

View attachment 31825

"We thought it more convenient to leave security holes open than to make our users have to click a box, but since this story is now becoming uncomfortably popular we went ahead and implemented these changes even though we didn't lift a finger over the whole 90-day window the security researcher originally gave us."

Please.

--Patrick

A more honest read would be:

"We felt it far more beneficial to us not to allow users to uninstall our software, because fuck 'em, that's why."

Jul 10, 2019#70

MindDetective

PatrThom said:
Read that article this morning. Thought about posting it, but figured Gas had already chased off all the Mac users but me.

Security through obscurity at its finest, by which I mean at its worst.
tl;dr: If you install Zoom on a Mac, visiting a website with a "join this call" URL embedded within it allows that page to activate your camera (and mic?) without your consent and/or knowledge, and uninstalling the Zoom app doesn't help because it actually leaves behind a running process that will "helpfully" reinstall the app again and open it right up without your intervention if an embedded URL (such as the above "join this call") requests it.

--Patrick

I alerted my University and they genuinely did not seem to know. They will be pushing it updates to Zoom now, though.

Jul 10, 2019#71

Shakey

I always thought it odd that zoom had the option to turn people’s camera on without a prompt when joining a meeting. You could even hide the video feeds for participants so they wouldn’t even know. It was even the default for us in some cases.

It was comical to be able to watch people do their thing for 15 minutes, and then see their face as they realize their camera is on.

Jul 11, 2019#72

DarkAudit

Before you rush out and grab that shiny new Zen 2 CPU to throw in your old AM4 socket motherboard...

Oops.

And MSI reacts. But you'll need a new motherboard.

Jul 11, 2019#73

PatrThom

I would think the lure of end-to-end PCIe 4.0 would be enough to encourage people to move to X570 when they move to Ryzen 3xxx anyway.
FWIW I don't care how cool/edgy/futuristic my UEFI BIOS screen looks near as much as I want it to not have bugs, expose tweaking settings, etc.

--Patrick

Jul 11, 2019#74

jwhouk

Twitter appears to be having technical difficulties at the moment...

Jul 18, 2019#75

PatrThom

A story that’ll make you think twice before installing any browser extensions...and maybe even take a hard look at any extensions you have installed right now:

My browser, the spy: How extensions slurped up browsing histories from 4M users
(The method has been dubbed “DataSpii.”)

—Patrick

Sep 16, 2019#76

PatrThom

Happy 802.11ax/ay...er, I mean happy WiFi 6 day, everyone! Time to throw away all your obsolete 802.11a/b/g/n/ac gear and buy all new hardware!
...no, really. You won't get all the benefits of WiFi 6 (WPA3 encryption, speeds up to 40Gb/s, etc.) unless most/all devices within range (even your neighbors' devices!) are WiFi 6-compatible.

--Patrick

Oct 7, 2019#77

PatrThom

Adobe canceling/deactivating ALL accounts and services for people in Venezuela due to Executive Order 13884.

the practical effect of [the Order] is to prohibit almost all transactions and services between U.S. companies, entities, and individuals in Venezuela. To remain compliant with this order, Adobe is deactivating all accounts in Venezuela. [...] We are unable to issue refunds. Executive order 13884 orders the cessation of all activity with the entities including no sales, service, support, refunds, credits, etc. You have until October 28, 2019 to download any content that you have stored in your Adobe account. After this date your account will be deactivated. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Or, as boingboing puts it, since everything is going "cloud as a service" now:

If you live in Venezuela and rely on Adobe products to do your job -- whether that's publishing a newspaper, running an NGO, or doing design work, Adobe has a very special message for you: GO FUCK YOURSELF.

--Patrick

Oct 7, 2019#78

GasBandit

Hope you pirated Adobe CS 8, like.. some of us did..

Oct 7, 2019#79

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
Hope you pirated Adobe CS 8, like.. some of us did..

I haven't used any of the Adobe suite since...Photoshop 5.5? 7.0, maybe? All pre-CS.

--Patrick

Oct 7, 2019#80

GasBandit

PatrThom said:
I haven't used any of the Adobe suite since...Photoshop 5.5? 7.0, maybe? All pre-CS.

--Patrick

CS8 was the last one before they switched to the subscription model. You miss out on some of the neater bells and whistles, like content-aware filling, but it still feels better to tell Adobe to go get fucked.

Oct 8, 2019#81

Frank

No refunds either for the same reason.

We're TOTALLY REGRETFULLY (gleefully) unable to refund you. Soooooorrryyyy.

Fuck the cloud.

Oct 10, 2019#82

PatrThom

Frank said:
No refunds either for the same reason.

We're TOTALLY REGRETFULLY (gleefully) unable to refund you. Soooooorrryyyy.

Fuck the cloud.

This just in: Adobe has decided, through the kindness (public backlash) of their hearts, to process refunds for the affected users and to keep their Behance service accessible. The deactivations and all the rest stay, though.

--Patrick

Oct 10, 2019#83

PatrThom

Hey, @Terrik

Intel Releases Advisory: Update X299 for Cascade-X, and [potentially] Lose Kaby-X [7xxx-series] Support
I don't know if anyone else is using a 7xxx-based system, but looks like it's worth reading the release notes before updating your BIOS/EFI.

--Patrick

Oct 16, 2019#84

DarkAudit

SPQR

Oct 16, 2019#85

PatrThom

Heh. I sent that to a friend of mine who is always going on about Linus and who just build an 8xxx-series machine a couple years ago.
The comments: "When will he drop it?"

The most impressive part of the video, I think, is where they use it to play Crysis.
"Big deal," you may think. "It has 64 cores, it had better be able to play Crysis."
You don't understand. He's using it to render the graphics. He's using it as an x86 software GPU.

--Patrick

Oct 17, 2019#86

PatrThom

Yahoo! is deleting all content ever posted to Yahoo! Groups

I mean, yes it has become something of a cesspool thanks to all the abandoned zombie groups, but this still seems...extreme.
Anyway, if you want to preserve any content you ever bookmarked (or that you might still subscribe to) on Y!G, you have until Dec 14 to download it locally. Guess I'd better get to archiving all the stuff from the Kryptos group if I ever want to see it again.

--Patrick

Oct 17, 2019#87

PatrThom

Garedicus said:
Does this mean I'll finally stop getting email reminders about gaming sessions for groups I haven't been involved with in a decade and a half?

If you're lucky.

--Patrick

Nov 11, 2019#88

PatrThom

As ~~most~~ many of you know, single-thread performance is usually the most influential factor in determining how well any given processor will game. Well, if the most current Passmark data are to be believed, that means the absolute best gaming processor right now is... the business-oriented Ryzen 7 3700 PRO? Huh? They run at a lower clock speed and 40W lower TDP than the 3900X, but there are over 13 samples, so that result is not likely to be a fluke.

It’s even ~2% faster in single-thread performance than Intel’s new brand-spanking new i9-9900KS (which comes in at #3, right after a 3900 (PRO?) which does have only one sample and is more likely to be a fluke.

—Patrick

Nov 11, 2019#89

GasBandit

Whoa... an AMD processor beating Intel for single thread performance is an earthshaking development.

And looking at the performance difference between that and my current CPU... it's getting to be close to time to finally build a new rig, I think.

Nov 11, 2019#90

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
Whoa... an AMD processor beating Intel for single thread performance is an earthshaking development.

I know! It’s the first time since what, mid-2006?

GasBandit said:
looking at the performance difference between that and my current CPU... it's getting to be close to time to finally build a new rig, I think.

The 4770k is a very nice processor for daily driving even today, but you're absolutely right that it's not the gaming monster it used to be*...six-and-a-half years ago.

I was all set and started speccing out a system to finally upgrade, too...until I saw that Ryzen 4000 series (Zen 2's "tock refresh" iteration) could be out as early as Q2 '20, and I'm perfectly fine waiting another 3-6 months before I finally take the plunge (which would put it after tax refund time anyway).

--Patrick
*This is a comparison of the 4770k against that #1 Ryzen 3700 PRO, plus I threw in the CPU I'm still using so you can see just how far behind *I* am.

Nov 12, 2019#91

Frank

The next gen consoles are going to push multi-thread performance in games in a big way, with both the Playstation and the Xbox's having 8-core processors in them. About fucking time.

Nov 16, 2019#92

DarkAudit

PatrThom said:
the absolute best gaming processor right now is... the business-oriented Ryzen 7 3700 PRO?

Not any more?

Nov 16, 2019#93

PatrThom

DarkAudit said:
Not any more?

Well sure, but the 3950X wasn’t out yet when I posted (and therefore Passmark didn’t have any data).
For single-threaded workloads, one Zen 2 is much like any other, depending on clock speed (with another slight variance for 1- v. 2-chiplet configs due to the memory write bandwidth thing), and the 3950X is the one that’s supposed to be rated for the highest clockspeed (assuming you have adequate cooling, that is). I assume the reason the “PRO” CPUs hold the single-thread lead is because they are tuned for business app usage, meaning they have lower 65W TDPs and are tuned to leave enough thermal headroom to perpetually keep one or two cores at full turbo (for max responsiveness in Word/Excel), while the consumer chips are allowed to turbo across all cores even if that means they can’t turbo as high due to generating more overall heat.

—Patrick

Nov 23, 2019#94

figmentPez

Nov 23, 2019#95

PatrThom

Yeah. Slashdot and others have been bellyaching about this for days. Especially this part:

“This is an important and exciting development for both the Internet Society and Public Interest Registry,” said Andrew Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Internet Society, the organization that established Public Interest Registry. “This transaction will provide the Internet Society with an endowment of sustainable funding and the resources to advance our mission on a broader scale as we continue our work to make the Internet more open, accessible and secure – for everyone. It also aligns Public Interest Registry with Ethos Capital, a strong strategic partner that understands the intricacies of the domain industry and has the expertise, experience and shared values to further advance the goals of .ORG into the future.”

“We here at PIR are happy to have negotiated a price that will allow us to retire and guarantee the future of the .org domain for only 10 more years, after which it’s not our problem any more. Peace out!”
EDIT: Also, this.

“Eh, let’s do it anyway.”
It’s like the Net Neutrality thing all over again.

—Patrick

Nov 25, 2019#96

DarkAudit

Part 1 from today's CPU launch day.

AMD's side of the story coming soon.

Nov 25, 2019#97

PatrThom

Oh man, those graphs and their mysterious colored smears.

Intel's focus right now is probably on their Xe GPU anyway, I'm sure they've already written off this generation of CPUs.

--Patrick

Nov 25, 2019#98

DarkAudit

New gen Threadrippers are here...

Nov 25, 2019#99

PatrThom

--Patrick

Nov 30, 2019#100

DarkAudit

"AMD called shotgun. We respect shotgun..."

Nov 30, 2019#101

PatrThom

“KS = Keep Spending.”

—Patrick

Dec 13, 2019#102

PatrThom

The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT reviews are in.
Its performance is essentially identical to the good ol’ Radeon RX 580, but it runs about 30W lower.
So the only real reason to replace a 580 with a 5500XT is to save 30W. That’s it.

—Patrick

Dec 16, 2019#103

DarkAudit

The thumbnail and title basically say it all...

tl;dw not a BAD CPU, just... pointless. Whatever this CPU does, someone else is already doing it better, cheaper, or both.

The tl;dw version of the LTT holiday CPU buyers guide: just get an R5 3600.

Dec 16, 2019#104

PatrThom

DarkAudit said:
The tl;dw version of the LTT holiday CPU buyers guide: just get an R5 3600.

I’ve sent a request to both LTT and GN asking them if they could compare the performance of a 3700X against a 3900X that’s had 4 cores disabled via Ryzen Master in order to test whether there’s a performance difference that’s directly attributable to 1 chiplet v. 2 chiplets with all else being identical, but haven’t seen anything nor gotten a reply. There are rumors of a potential 3750X release, and my guess is that’s what one would be.

—Patrick

Dec 17, 2019#105

PatrThom

figmentPez said:

Some updates on this:

Here's what's happened: first, ICANN [...] approved a change in pricing for .ORG domains, run by the nonprofit Internet Society (ISOC) through its Public Interest Registry (PIR), allowing the registry to raise prices. The change was done entirely by staff, without board approval.
Next, several of the people involved in that decision migrate from ICANN to ISOC or to a brand-new private equity fund called Ethos Capital [...] Ethos then buys the Public Interest Registry from ISOC for a little over a billion dollars -- about a billion dollars less than it's likely worth -- and makes a nonbinding pledge to limit its price increases to 10%, compounded annually (!!) and starts a PR campaign to argue that this is very reasonable.
[...]
Dec 9, ICANN announced that it would be hitting pause on its approval of the .ORG sale for 30 days, while it requests "additional information about the proposed transaction including information about the party acquiring control, its ultimate parent entity, and whether they meet the ICANN-adopted registry operator criteria (as well as financial resources, and operational and technical capabilities)." ICANN warns that it can only block the sale on terms that rise to "a standard of reasonableness."

source

--Patrick

Jan 21, 2020#106

DarkAudit

Color me about 29 shades of not surprised. I had their DSL when it was still Verizon. Good riddance.

Jan 21, 2020#107

PatrThom

Saw that earlier today. I thought they had already declared bankruptcy.
Ah well. Probably upset they won't be able to charge you for using your own modem after June 20 of this year.
I mean, you would expect they wouldn't need to explicitly make this illegal, but... here we are.

--Patrick

Feb 28, 2020#108

PatrThom

Well, Cortana is about to change:

The new version of Cortana will debut with the next major update to Windows 10, expected to roll out in April.
[N]o more Cortana use for anyone only using local accounts. Cortana access will only be available to those logged in with school work domain accounts or Microsoft online accounts
"Some consumer skills including music, connected home, and third-party skills will no longer be available in the updated Cortana experience in Windows 10"
Cortana apps on iOS and Android will still be able to control home devices and smart speakers. This may not be too helpful, though, since the Android and iOS Cortana apps themselves are being rapidly deprecated.

Feb 28, 2020#109

Frank

Does anyone use Cortana? I went through the hustle and bustle to deactivate it immediately.

Feb 28, 2020#110

PatrThom

Frank said:
Does anyone use Cortana?

Yes, though most people just use it as a way to find/launch apps by typing into the search bar.

--Patrick

Feb 29, 2020#111

Bubble181

Oh no! No more helpful Cortana with my local account?! Nooo! :aaah:

(So why are the rewarding the people with only local accounts? :awesome:

)

Mar 2, 2020#112

PatrThom

PatrThom said:
I’ve sent a request to both LTT and GN asking them if they could compare the performance of a 3700X against a 3900X that’s had 4 cores disabled via Ryzen Master in order to test whether there’s a performance difference that’s directly attributable to 1 chiplet v. 2 chiplets with all else being identical, but haven’t seen anything nor gotten a reply. There are rumors of a potential 3750X release, and my guess is that’s what one would be.

My prayers have been answered!
...by TechSpot.
tl:dr; Architecturally, i9-9900k is still the best at games (probably because it's the one with the lowest memory latency), and the difference between 1x8c (3700X) v. 2x4c (3900X w/ 4 cores disabled) is maaaaybe about 5%.

--Patrick

Mar 6, 2020#113

PatrThom

PatrThom said:
At least 7 more speculative execution attacks discovered in modern [x86/x86-64] processors
Gah! Enough already!

Apparently not. Researchers Find "Unfixable" Vulnerability Inside Intel CPUs
Yes, another one has come to light, and this one targets every Intel CPU that is Skylake (series 6xxx) or newer.
Starting to think jumping into those Broadwell (5xxx-series) CPUs for Cranky and the wife was a really good idea.

--Patrick

Mar 6, 2020#114

PatrThom

To continue the above, this is especially annoying for me since there was that point where Microsoft said, “We are no longer going to release updates to older OSes if you are running a newer processor, you must upgrade to WinX.”
And which processors are the ones affected? Basically all the ones Microsoft just forced you to use!

This rash of vulnerabilities probably explains why some mfrs are coming out with brand new motherboards supporting Sandy/Ivy Bridge (2xxx/3xxx) CPUs — enough people have apparently decided they’re never going to trust the newer CPUs and are just gonna stick with the older processors for as long as they possibly can. And for stuff like Microsoft Office, they‘re probably going to be just fine.

—Patrick

Mar 6, 2020#115

GasBandit

My next PC is definitely gonna be an AMD CPU. When that happens, I'm not exactly sure yet.

Mar 6, 2020#116

Bubble181

I've long been aan Intel fan, but the last 5 years or so they've really been...not what they should've been

Mar 6, 2020#117

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
My next PC is definitely gonna be an AMD CPU. When that happens, I'm not exactly sure yet.

At this point, I’m putting my 3950X plans on hold until “Late 2020” when the Ryzen 4xxx chips are set to drop. Every indication is that Zen 3 is going to be the pinnacle (and final!) revision of what can fit into an AM4 socket, so either that’ll be the one to go for...or else they’ll bring down the price of the 3950X.

—Patrick

Mar 6, 2020#118

drifter

The good thing, however, is that to exploit a system, an attacker must have physical access to the hardware in question, as remote exploitation is not possible.

Ehh, don't really care then.

Mar 6, 2020#119

PatrThom

Physical access is required for the current exploit.
The experts involved believe remote exploits could be possible with more research, or when coupled with other vulnerabilities.
Also there's this:

"A single [hardware] key is used for an entire generation of Intel chipsets," the Positive Technologies researchers said. "And since the ROM vulnerability allows seizing control of code execution before the hardware key generation mechanism in the SKS is locked, and the ROM vulnerability cannot be fixed, we believe that extracting this key is only a matter of time. When this happens, utter chaos will reign. Hardware IDs will be forged, digital content will be extracted, and data from encrypted hard disks will be decrypted."

DOGS AND CATS LIVING TOGETHER

--Patrick

Mar 6, 2020#120

drifter

Mar 6, 2020#121

Tinwhistler

drifter said:

love that movie.

Mar 7, 2020#122

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
My next PC is definitely gonna be an AMD CPU. When that happens, I'm not exactly sure yet.

Oh look, now it’s AMD’s turn!
New AMD Side Channel Attacks Discovered, Impacts Zen Architecture
...also affects everything from “Bulldozer“ on, not just Zen, so that means my K10-based Phenom II is still safe (yay?). Can be run from within JavaScript, so it‘s not one of those “requires physical access to the machine” sort of vulnerabilities.

The article does mention that every modern processor has some kind of vulnerability (even ARM!), but this should cool down a lot of the recent “InTeL sUx AmD rUlEz“ stuff.

—Patrick

Mar 9, 2020#123

GasBandit

Bout that time again.

New Windows 10 Update Causing Boot Problems, Slowdowns And BSOD Crashes

Microsoft has issued a Windows 10 update warning as reports of serious problems are escalating quickly...

www.forbes.com

Apr 24, 2020#124

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
Bout that time again.

New Windows 10 Update Causing Boot Problems, Slowdowns And BSOD Crashes

Microsoft has issued a Windows 10 update warning as reports of serious problems are escalating quickly...

www.forbes.com

This is getting to be almost a monthly thing.
[April] Windows 10 update deleting files and causing BSD errors

========

In other news, Intel has more to worry about these days than just AMD:
Apple Aims to Sell Macs With Its Own Chips Starting in 2021

Apple will launch several MacBooks and Macs based on its own custom ARM chips in 2021, a trusted insider says. The A-series chips that power the iPhone and iPad are already more powerful than Intel’s chips in tests, a detail that prompted many people to speculate that Apple would use similar chips inside its computers.

Arm Development For The Office: Unboxing an Ampere eMag Workstation

Avantek, one of the Arm server retailers, [has] built an Ampere eMag workstation out of a server board, with some interesting trickery to get it to fit [in a standard ATX PC case...]. Inside the system is a [125W] 32-core Ampere eMag server with 256 GB of eight-channel DDR-2666 memory, a 500GB WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD, a 960 GB Micron 5300 Pro SATA SSD in the rear, a Corsair VS 650W power supply, and an AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 graphics accelerator [starting at around US$3000].

Huh, so it looks like this whole ARM architecture/ISA might be catching on. Who knows if it can displace the mighty x86 ISA monolith that's been the dominant market force since Apple abandoned PowerPC in favor of Intel back in 2006. Might want to look into maybe making some Wall Street bets with ARM Holdings since ARMH holds the IP rights and is the one licensing their CPU technology to all these people HA HAA TOO LATE looks like Japan-based SoftBank Group bought them up and took them private back in 2016. Better luck next time!

--Patrick

Apr 29, 2020#125

PatrThom

Something that could be really useful for people with older servers (people like myself and @GasBandit, especially) which still have open PCIe slots, especially if those servers' internal ports are still limited to only SATA-II:

MB839SP-B rugged removable drive bay for 2.5” SATA hard drives and SSDs (9.5mm height). Utilizing the standard PCIe 2.0 interface and taking only a single PCIe expansion slot, the MB839SP-B gives you an additional hot-swappable drive bay for hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) even when your computer does not have an open SATA port or empty drive bay.

(Link to product page)
In other words, it lets you use 2.5in SSDs at their full SATA-III speed as if they were ginormous floppies, or build yourself different boot "cartridges" based on what you want to use the machine for at any given time.

Handy, and I might get one (or more) for my older PCIe v2.0 machines, BUT that's not really what I'm here to talk about. Turns out they also just released an NVMe version of the same thing, which gives you all the benefits I mention above BUT with the ability to mount it in a half-height server chassis with NVMe speed and convenience:

Put these under "Things I didn't know I wanted until I saw them and then I wanted them A LOT."

--Patrick

May 1, 2020#126

PatrThom

Another (possibly final) update to the .ORG sale saga:
ICANN has blocked sale of the ORG tld to a private equity firm

It's a serious—quite possibly fatal—blow to a proposal that had few supporters besides the organizations that proposed it. [...] The group would eventually receive letters from at least 30 groups opposing the deal, as well as numerous negative comments during public hearings. Meanwhile, ICANN says, the deal has received "virtually no counterbalancing support except from the parties involved in the transaction and their advisors."

Good.

--Patrick

May 15, 2020#127

PatrThom

Facebook just bought GIPHY for $400mil?
They are promising that this will mean better Giphy integration with Instagram (also owned by Facebook).

Facebook says that Giphy's tools will be integrated into Instagram's Stories and direct messages, as well as the company's other apps, to "make it easier for anyone to create and share their work with the world."

<Cookie Monster noises>

--Patrick

May 15, 2020#128

blotsfan

Great.

Jun 1, 2020#129

DarkAudit

"Ludicrous speed is for pussies."

Jun 1, 2020#130

PatrThom

I honestly did not recognize him with the beard.

--Patrick

Jun 9, 2020#131

DarkAudit

Steve's not disappointed, he's mad.

Jul 21, 2020#132

PatrThom

Anandtech is thinking about trying something... ambitious.

The #CPUOverload Project: Testing Every x86 Desktop Processor since 2010

For the #CPUOverload project, we are testing under Windows 10, with a variety of new tests, including AI and SPEC, with new gaming tests on the latest GPUs, and more relevant real world benchmarks. But the heart of CPU Overload is this:
We want to have every desktop CPU since 2010 tested on our new benchmarks. By my count, there are over 900.

--Patrick

Jul 24, 2020#133

PatrThom

PatrThom said:
Might want to look into maybe making some Wall Street bets with ARM Holdings since ARMH holds the IP rights and is the one licensing their CPU technology to all these people HA HAA TOO LATE looks like Japan-based SoftBank Group bought them up and took them private back in 2016. Better luck next time!

It's for sale!
SoftBank May Be Selling Arm, But Apple Isn't Interested

You can buy them for yourself and influence the development of pretty much every mobile platform out there right now, IF you have a few dozen billion dollars lying around, that is.

--Patrick

Jul 24, 2020#134

DarkAudit

PatrThom said:
It's for sale!
SoftBank May Be Selling Arm, But Apple Isn't Interested

You can buy them for yourself and influence the development of pretty much every mobile platform out there right now, IF you have a few dozen billion dollars lying around, that is.

--Patrick

Jeff Bezos makes that in a DAY.

Jul 24, 2020#135

PatrThom

DarkAudit said:
Jeff Bezos makes that in a DAY.

Amazon web services IS a heavy server system, so I guess it's a possibility. But the current though is that nobody who would actually use ARM chips will probably end up as the buyer, since the world's regulatory agencies will immediately crawl deep up their butt if there's any thought of using ARMH ownership to stifle competition.

--Patrick

Jul 24, 2020#136

DarkAudit

PatrThom said:
Amazon web services IS a heavy server system, so I guess it's a possibility. But the current though is that nobody who would actually use ARM chips will probably end up as the buyer, since the world's regulatory agencies will immediately crawl deep up their butt if there's any thought of using ARMH ownership to stifle competition.

--Patrick

Bezos'll just buy them.

Jul 24, 2020#137

PatrThom

DarkAudit said:
Jeff Bezos makes that in a DAY.

Turns out you're not that far off: Jeff Bezos [...] added $13 billion to his net worth in one day.

He's up over 74 billion since Jan 1st. That's one entire Elon Musk's worth!

--Patrick

Jul 24, 2020#138

drifter

Damn. Creeping up on Mansa Musa

Jul 24, 2020#139

Tress

drifter said:
Damn. Creeping up on Mansa Musa

Adjusted for inflation, Mansa Musa’s estimated wealth was approximately $440 BILLION... so he’s still got a long way to go.

Jul 24, 2020#140

drifter

Granted, he's less than halfway there, but 178B is absolutely staggering and I think merits "creeping up" status. And that's after the divorce settlement!

Jul 30, 2020#141

PatrThom

Congress grills (some) tech CEOs for FIVE AND A HALF HOURS in order to try to decide whether or not tech companies wield too much power.

...look, it's like 330 minutes long. No, I haven't watched it, but it certainly qualifies as big tech news, so I'm dropping it here.

--Patrick

Jul 30, 2020#142

GasBandit

I read a summary on APNews that said Dems were insterested in trustbusting and unsavory business practices, and Reps wanted to harp on bias against conservatism. Tim Cook came out unscathed, but Jeff Bezos apparently had something more of a hard time.

CEOs from Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook had to defend their companies against what lawmakers called 'a pattern of' monopolistic behavior. Here's how each was grilled during Wednesday's landmark hearing.

House committee members grilled Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sundar Pichai about their companies' market power.

www.businessinsider.com

Lawmakers grill 4 Big Tech CEOs but don't land many blows

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional lawmakers finally got a chance to grill the CEOs of Big Tech over their dominance and allegations of monopolistic practices that stifle competition.

apnews.com

Jul 30, 2020#143

PatrThom

I get the feeling the whole thing was so that Congress could point to it and say they were indeed Doing Something.
No representative from Microsoft, NVIDIA, Intel, AT&T, Cisco, or Oracle? C'mon, guys.

--Patrick

Aug 5, 2020#144

Bubble181

Looking for suggestions. As you know, my wedding will be livestreamed. It's over YouTube. I'd like to record the stream with sound and all, for posterity. However, everyone I know who's a bit tech savvy, will be in the room or unavailable.
What software or way would be the absolute dead easiest to explain to a 60 year old to record the stream in a somewhat probably OK way?
I mean, yes, some sort of FRAPS setup, maybe, but I've never used those before so I couldn't even explain it. Any good/easy options?

Aug 5, 2020#145

GasBandit

Bubble181 said:
Looking for suggestions. As you know, my wedding will be livestreamed. It's over YouTube. I'd like to record the stream with sound and all, for posterity. However, everyone I know who's a bit tech savvy, will be in the room or unavailable.
What software or way would be the absolute dead easiest to explain to a 60 year old to record the stream in a somewhat probably OK way?
I mean, yes, some sort of FRAPS setup, maybe, but I've never used those before so I couldn't even explain it. Any good/easy options?

OBS is your best bet. Run it on the computer transmitting the stream, and just use it to record. You can then upload the recording separately later.

Aug 5, 2020#146

Bubble181

GasBandit said:
OBS is your best bet. Run it on the computer transmitting the stream, and just use it to record. You can then upload the recording separately later.

I sadly don't have any control over the pc broadcasting, as that's done by City Hall.

Aug 5, 2020#147

Dei

Bubble181 said:
I sadly don't have any control over the pc broadcasting, as that's done by City Hall.

OBS is still your best bet. Does Fraps even still exist? >.>

If you can tune into the live feed before it begins, you can just set up OBS to record your screen and just let it run, and edit it later.

Aug 5, 2020#148

GasBandit

Dei said:
OBS is still your best bet. Does Fraps even still exist? >.>

If you can tune into the live feed before it begins, you can just set up OBS to record your screen and just let it run, and edit it later.

Dei is right. It's just a shame you can't record before it's sent... because recording what you receive means it's going to compress the compressed image. It's the modern equivalent of dubbing a dub.

Aug 6, 2020#149

PatrThom

Intel hacked, 20GB dump of stolen confidential chip data released, more believed coming.

Intel is just not having a good couple of years.
Prepare yourselves for a slew of security advisories, folks.

--Patrick

Sep 9, 2020#150

PatrThom

...wut?
<Does the Google>

SHOP ALL - AMD Fan Store

amdfanstore.com

$300, all sold out.

...huh.

--Patrick

Sep 9, 2020#151

PatrThom

Oh, and then there's this:

So I guess we hear about AMD's answer to Intel's Gen11 on Oct 8th, and their answer to NVIDIA's Ampere on Oct 28th.
AMD's cards have usually been more computation-friendly than NVIDIA's (excepting CUDA workloads, of course), so we will see what it might do to shake up the Ethereum mining sector's demand.

--Patrick

Oct 8, 2020#152

PatrThom

Zen3 announced a little over half an hour ago.

Will be called “Ryzen 5000-series”
~20% IPC increase.
~25% more energy-efficient than Ryzen 3000
Unified caches (no more split cache)
Overall ~25% increase in gaming performance
Launch pricing seems to be $50 over whatever the equivalent Ryzen 3000 model was at launch
Available Nov 5th

Now just need to wait three weeks for the “Big Navi” GPU announcements.

Gamers Nexus is Jesus-on-the-spot with their own video, too.

—Patrick

Oct 8, 2020#153

Dave

I knew they were going to announce something soon, but I thought it was GPU, not CPU. Oh well. I still like my Ryzen 9 3900X.

Oct 8, 2020#154

PatrThom

Dave said:
I knew they were going to announce something soon, but I thought it was GPU, not CPU. Oh well. I still like my Ryzen 9 3900X.

It’s not a bad processor, really. Still one of the top ten consumer processors of all time, and even when games move too far ahead for it, the twelve cores mean it’ll still be a productivity beast for quite a while after.

—Patrick

Nov 8, 2020#155

figmentPez

An MSI factory in China seems to have caught fire

And you thought PC parts were already in short supply...

Nov 9, 2020#156

PatrThom

MSI seems to have been having quite a number of "accidents" lately.

--Patrick

Dec 11, 2020#157

DarkAudit

Dec 11, 2020#158

PatrThom

Yeah it seems NVIDIA wants the story to be about how awesome their DLSS and ray-tracing features are, and not about how when you turn them off they're only 3-10% better than AMD's cards, FPS-wise.

--Patrick

Dec 12, 2020#159

DarkAudit

UPDATE: Nvidia has walked back their decision and apologized.

The ugly side of Nvidia: A rollercoaster ride that shows when Big Tech doesn't get it

As a corporation, it's Nvidia's prerogative to decide on the reviewers it chooses to collaborate with. However, this and other related incidents raise serious questions around journalistic...

www.techspot.com

Whatcha wanna bet this was that one PR hack overstepping his bounds?

Dec 12, 2020#160

PatrThom

"We here at NVIDIA are sorry that our supposedly private communication with HUB were made public. We pledge such a thing will never happen again...because we're going to include friendly NDAs in our future communication with HUB."

--Patrick

Dec 13, 2020#161

bhamv3

I've been a Nvidia user since I got my first gaming PC. I don't know enough about hardware or specs or the nitty gritty to really explain why I buy their stuff, I've just had good experiences with their hardware so I prefer to continue with that. But now with this stunt, I'm going to be looking at all of their future video cards with a fry_squinting.jpg.exe expression.

I mean, now I'm going to have to actually learn the differences between AMD and Nvidia cards.

Dec 13, 2020#162

GasBandit

bhamv3 said:
I've been a Nvidia user since I got my first gaming PC. I don't know enough about hardware or specs or the nitty gritty to really explain why I buy their stuff, I've just had good experiences with their hardware so I prefer to continue with that. But now with this stunt, I'm going to be looking at all of their future video cards with a fry_squinting.jpg.exe expression.

I mean, now I'm going to have to actually learn the differences between AMD and Nvidia cards.

I've run AMD in the past. Often they're just as good for less money. Really, right now, the only reason to go NVidia is if you HAVE to have raytracing, or need NVENC for streaming (it can really take a load off your CPU in those cases).

Dec 13, 2020#163

Dei

I constantly hear about driver issues with AMD, which makes me more leary of them.

Dec 13, 2020#164

GasBandit

Dei said:
I constantly hear about driver issues with AMD, which makes me more leary of them.

That was definitely a thing 15 or so years ago. I've gone back and forth between AMD and NVidia several times. But the most recent AMD card I had (which I bought in 2013), I didn't have any driver problems with. I used it until the NVidia 10 series came out in 2016. And when I upgraded to a GTX 1060, I gave my AMD to a friend who used it for a couple more years without problems.

The 1060 was just too good a deal to pass up, bang-for-the-buck wise. But that hasn't been the case with the 2060 and 3060 from what I've seen, so I'm probably going to make my next card an AMD. Probably my next processor, too.

Dec 13, 2020#165

Frank

I've flip flopped back and forth throughout the years and I also feel like the driver concerns with AMD have been overblown.

Raytracing kicks ass and is here to stay so right now the card choice is a no brainer.

Dec 15, 2020#166

DarkAudit

DarkAudit said:
Whatcha wanna bet this was that one PR hack overstepping his bounds?

It WAS one PR hack overstepping his bounds.

Hardware Unboxed

We test the latest and greatest PC hardware and games on release day so you can get the scoop!

www.youtube.com

Dec 15, 2020#167

figmentPez

Eh, could still be a scapegoat, and the only bounds that were overstepped was stating Nvidia's company line explicitly to a reviewer.

Dec 16, 2020#168

DarkAudit

figmentPez said:
Eh, could still be a scapegoat, and the only bounds that were overstepped was stating Nvidia's company line explicitly to a reviewer.

Until proven otherwise, I'll stick with Hanlon's Razor.

Dec 16, 2020#169

PatrThom

Facebook: Takes out full-page ads in newspapers/creates website/posts to blogs to sound the alarm that Apple's new privacy disclosure policy "...threatens the personalized ads that millions of small businesses rely on to find and reach customers," [direct quote] because we know how Facebook is the tireless champion of small businesses everywhere.

Meanwhile, on the app store entry for Facebook's iOS app:

...look, Facebook. You know you aggregate data, WE know you aggregate data, and both of us together know you ain't doin' it "for small businesses," you're doing it for you. So if the idea is worrying to you that the public may learn just how much of their lives you vacuum up, process, package, and then put up for sale, maybe that's not something you should really be blaming the whistleblower for? I mean, if sales of your new deep-fried TastyNugs™ tank because an investigative reporter exposes that the "secret ingredient" is ground-up puppies (chopped and formed), is it really the reporter's fault the public gets mad at you for doing so?

--Patrick

Dec 28, 2020#170

PatrThom

Looks like LMG/LTT has had their first NorthRanger moment (though the exact details have not been made public).

--Patrick

Mar 31, 2021#171

DarkAudit

The reviews are in, and they're savage. The 11th gen Intel CPUs have no valid reason to exist. Especially the 11900K

Mar 31, 2021#172

PatrThom

DarkAudit said:
The 11th gen Intel CPUs have no valid reason to exist.

I've seen some of these reviews and I agree. There are some feature enhancements (PCIe 4.0, ABT, Xe iGPU, AVX512 support) and they can overclock to 7GHz under hyper-exotic cooling methods, but any improvements to their real-world performance are definitely in the why-did-they-bother-doing-this category, since even though the core performance is ~13% faster than the 10th gen model it replaces, it has two fewer cores (8c v. 10c).

Smart money right now in that price range is still on Ryzen 5800X/5900X unless your workload is one that benefits greatly from the AVX512 support.

--Patrick

Apr 3, 2021#173

PatrThom

Oh and there's this, too:

Intel forgot to release graphics drivers for their 11th-gen Rocket Lake CPUs

Update (April 5): Intel has re-released its latest graphics drivers (27.20.100.9316) which will recognize and install normally in Rocket Lake desktop CPUs.

www.techspot.com

--Patrick

Apr 5, 2021#174

figmentPez

Oh, fuck no.

Apr 5, 2021#175

PatrThom

Utterly useless since it can be defeated by a sheer black cloth, but you gotta admire how they're willing to hang their massive greed out where everyone can see it.

--Patrick

Apr 5, 2021#176

figmentPez

PatrThom said:
Utterly useless since it can be defeated by a sheer black cloth, but you gotta admire how they're willing to hang their massive greed out where everyone can see it.

Would that stop IR LIDAR and/or thermal cameras? Because I'm assuming that they've got something akin to what the latest iPhones have in that regards, since they'll want to be able to monitor people in a dark room.

Still, the better answer is to not buy that piece of shit in the first place. Because I wouldn't want to subject even one person it it's invasive monitoring. I'm assuming that whatever camera tech they're using is not just going to monitor the number of people in the room, but also viewer engagement, heart rate, estimated emotional response, etc.

Apr 5, 2021#177

PatrThom

figmentPez said:
Would that stop IR LIDAR and/or thermal cameras?

Thermal cameras? No. IR LIDAR? Maybe, depending on material. Either option would inflate the unit cost, of course, as well as the chance for false positives. Dog on the couch, coat tree, ficus...teaching it what is and is not a person is going to be difficult and expensive.

--Patrick

Apr 5, 2021#178

GasBandit

In ~~Soviet Russia~~ Modern America, Television watches YOU!

Apr 6, 2021#179

Bubble181

PatrThom said:
Thermal cameras? No. IR LIDAR? Maybe, depending on material. Either option would inflate the unit cost, of course, as well as the chance for false positives. Dog on the couch, coat tree, ficus...teaching it what is and is not a person is going to be difficult and expensive.

--Patrick

And practically no matter what, a thin sheet of lead will defeat it. Then you add a small heat signature to make it seem like there's always just one person in the room, and... Ugh. Why would anyone ever even consider this?
I already hate Siri style always-listening tech, I definitely don't need always-watching next.

Apr 6, 2021#180

PatrThom

Bubble181 said:
Why would anyone ever even consider this?

I'm sure it's very appealing to the people who supply the content, as opposed to those who consume it.

I want to see if the opposite is true, if someone has, say, a big Where's Waldo? mural painted on their wall, will VENUE panic and attempt to bill them for a couple thousand or so perceived spectators?

Bubble181 said:
I already hate Siri style always-listening tech

Of the big three digital assistants, Siri has actually evolved now to where it is the least invasive, and it only sends what it hears after it detects the "Hey, Siri" keyphrase.

--Patrick

Apr 6, 2021#181

mikerc

PatrThom said:
I want to see if the opposite is true, if someone has, say, a big Where's Waldo? mural painted on their wall, will VENUE panic and attempt to bill them for a couple thousand or so perceived spectators?

Apparently it works by you buying X amount of tickets & if it detects more than X amount of people in the room it pauses the video until you kick the extra people out. It also pauses if it detects a recording device so better hope no-one needs to check their phone / look something up on their iPad.

Apr 6, 2021#182

GasBandit

Still seems like something that could be easily defeated by a single ceramic bathroom tile placed in the right position.

Apr 6, 2021#183

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
Still seems like something that could be easily defeated by a single ceramic bathroom tile placed in the right position.

It is a product of the dumb, by the dumb, and for the dumb, and the sooner it perishes from this earth, the better.
The only way this catches on is for EVERY other alternative to dry up, and I just don't see that happening unless all content holders band together and make everything exclusive. And even that probably won't be enough.

--Patrick

Apr 6, 2021#184

figmentPez

GasBandit said:
Still seems like something that could be easily defeated by a single ceramic bathroom tile placed in the right position.

More likely it's something that could be easily convinced to stop working by any small obstruction of the camera. This thing is likely to pause playback until it's demands are met at the drop of a hat, possibly literal hats.

Ceramic tile? Camera obscured, please reposition camera. Lead sheet? Camera obscured, please reposition camera. Direct sunlight impeding the sensors? Camera obscured, please reposition camera. Diorama of a living room? Camera obscured, please reposition camera. Camera aimed at a completely different room? <Error code that means "glow from the TV not detected>, please reposition camera.

Like DIVX and DVD-D, this "format" isn't at all focused on consumer satisfaction, so I would expect it to be extremely obnoxious in it's refusal to work under anything but the most pristine conditions.

Apr 6, 2021#185

GasBandit

figmentPez said:
More likely it's something that could be easily convinced to stop working by any small obstruction of the camera. This thing is likely to pause playback until it's demands are met at the drop of a hat, possibly literal hats.

Ceramic tile? Camera obscured, please reposition camera. Lead sheet? Camera obscured, please reposition camera. Direct sunlight impeding the sensors? Camera obscured, please reposition camera. Diorama of a living room? Camera obscured, please reposition camera. Camera aimed at a completely different room? <Error code that means "glow from the TV not detected>, please reposition camera.

Like DIVX and DVD-D, this "format" isn't at all focused on consumer satisfaction, so I would expect it to be extremely obnoxious in it's refusal to work under anything but the most pristine conditions.

Then I'll change my assertion...

This seems like something that could be easily defeated by piracy and a plex server.

Media companies just don't seem to understand that the barrier to entry to piracy is the lowest it's ever been, and keeps getting lower, and the only way anyone is going to pay them is if they make their customers appreciate them instead of despise them.

But then they still think they can have 15 separate exclusive subscription-based content providers, soooo...

Apr 6, 2021#186

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
This seems like something that could be easily defeated by piracy and a plex server.

Kinda what I was getting at, yeah.
I know I've said it before... studios won't be happy until the only way you can enjoy content is to enter a soundproof booth where they pat you down before and after, and then neuralyze you when you leave.

--Patrick

Apr 7, 2021#187

Shakey

I have a feeling it’s not really meant for broad consumer release, but more for early screenings or awards screenings. I can’t imagine they would think this could do well in the consumer market where the price of the device is everything. They would have to eat the price of the hardware to make it work.

Apr 7, 2021#188

DarkAudit

Slightly relevant. The DVD that had a limited number of viewings before it destroyed itself. Somebody thought of that, and someone believed it.

Apr 7, 2021#189

PatrThom

I remember when they were pitched.
They had a habit of self-destructing early, if I recall.

--Patrick

Apr 7, 2021#190

Shakey

So, the same as online rentals now?

Apr 7, 2021#191

DarkAudit

Anyone else remember the DIVX format? The DVD player that phoned home, literally?

Apr 8, 2021#192

figmentPez

DarkAudit said:
Anyone else remember the DIVX format? The DVD player that phoned home, literally?

figmentPez said:
Like DIVX and DVD-D, this "format" isn't at all focused on consumer satisfaction, so I would expect it to be extremely obnoxious in it's refusal to work under anything but the most pristine conditions.

Nope, no idea what you're talking about.

On a similar note, I remember back when my family had DirectTV, relatively early in the days of small dish satellite television. The set-top boxes had to communicate via telephone line to negotiate pay-per-view, but our boxes didn't understand ten digit dialing, IIRC. Ours expected phone numbers to be 7 digits, and thus we couldn't get ours to dial up and confirm charges. There was no solution, just "sorry, guess you can't order movies".

Shakey said:
I have a feeling it’s not really meant for broad consumer release, but more for early screenings or awards screenings. I can’t imagine they would think this could do well in the consumer market where the price of the device is everything. They would have to eat the price of the hardware to make it work.

I suspect that they're planning for the future, with the expectation that all the hardware they're using is going to become standard on even the cheapest of cellphones within a decade. The cellphone market is a big reason why all the existing streaming sticks are a small and powerful as they are.

Also, I think that media companies would gladly subsidize the cost of one of these machines if it gave them all the feedback they're hoping for. If one of these things has sensors and processing on par with a mid-range smartphone, they'll be able to track the heart rate of everyone watching (and more advanced emotional state detection is being worked on). If they've got sensors on par with a Kinect, they'll be able to track head movement. I'm pretty sure that most media companies would jump at the chance to pay to put a device like that watching their audience and tracking how they respond to every program they watch.

Similar to subscription services cracking down on password sharing, I don't think this is primarily about getting money. Does Netflix really care if the half-dozen people sharing a password really live in the same house? I sincerely doubt it. They care that a dozen people sharing four profiles are ruining their data collection. Information is the currency they're after, and it's worth as much as any subscription or ticket fees they'll get. I can only hope that their greed to have it all will make the system so restrictive that people won't put up with it, because I'm more than a little scared of the future we'll face if they go all in on asking people to sell their privacy for "cheap" first-run movie tickets.

How cheap would the system have to be before people ignored the privacy concerns? How well do you think the device would sell if it cost $100 for the 4K model and let people rent first-run movies for $5 a head? What if it were $4 a ticket? $3? How cheap do you think they could get the price down if they had some pre-roll ads they got to monitor your emotional response to? How many kick-backs do you think they could get in 5 to 10 years when one of these things can do eye-tracking to see if people notice the product placement? Do you think they could subsidize an entire subscription service by selling the biofeedback that tells marketers when bi-polar customers are hitting a manic phase and will be more likely to make impulse buys?

If the hardware is just being used for DRM, then yeah, I can see it being too expensive and too finicky to squeeze a few extra bucks out of people. I'd be shocked if all that monitoring capability were only going to be used for DRM, though.

Apr 8, 2021#193

DarkAudit

figmentPez said:
Nope, no idea what you're talking about.

Oops.

Apr 8, 2021#194

PatrThom

figmentPez said:
How cheap would the system have to be before people ignored the privacy concerns?

People already allow their auto insurance carrier to mount a camera and OBD reader in their cars to tattle on how they drive in order to save a buck or two sooooo...

—Patrick

Apr 8, 2021#195

Tinwhistler

DarkAudit said:
Slightly relevant. The DVD that had a limited number of viewings before it destroyed itself. Somebody thought of that, and someone believed it.

OMG, I spent hours yesterday googling for that, and couldn't find it. I knew I wasn't crazy.

Apr 12, 2021#196

PatrThom

"Because it was there."

Linux, macOS, and Windows running simultaneously on a 1st generation Core i5 and 8GB RAM | Luke's Empire

lukesempire.com

my main computer, a Thinkpad T410 with a 1st generation Intel Core i5 and 8 GB of RAM. It runs Arch Linux with Xfce. The macOS Mojave [...] VM works surprisingly well with 3GB RAM, but [...] the Windows VM [...] was very sluggish.

@DarkAudit

--Patrick

Apr 14, 2021#197

PatrThom

The GPU situation is getting so bad now that scammers in China are sending fake recall letters to RX580[X] owners in the hopes of acquiring additional GPUs for mining.

If there was any doubt before as to whether things have gotten out of hand, I hope this has helped lay that doubt to rest.

--Patrick

Apr 21, 2021#198

DarkAudit

MOTHERFUCKER.

All cryptocurrency can just DIAF.

Apr 21, 2021#199

PatrThom

DarkAudit said:
MOTHERFUCKER.
All cryptocurrency can just DIAF.

Yeah, they did a video about this sort of thing a while ago, and I know I posted about it in the BYOC thread*.
For one reason or another, the price of every single significant component in a DIY CPU build seems to be going up RIGHT when I need to start building a new system, and it SUUUXXXX.

--Patrick
*it was even post #420 on 4/20 hurr hurrr

Apr 21, 2021#200

DarkAudit

University of Minnesota banned from contributing to Linux kernel.

Apr 21, 2021#201

PatrThom

This is huge. HUGE.

In epic hack, Signal developer turns the tables on forensics firm Cellebrite

Widely used forensic software can be exploited to infect investigators’ computers.

arstechnica.com

I cannot stress enough how huge this is, especially as regards every one of the ~~illicit~~ er, "accidentally hasty" device searches being performed these days.

How huge is it, exactly?

by including a specially formatted but otherwise innocuous file in an app on a device that is then scanned by Cellebrite, it’s possible to execute code that modifies not just the Cellebrite report being created in that scan, but also all previous and future generated Cellebrite reports from all previously scanned devices and all future scanned devices in any arbitrary way (inserting or removing text, email, photos, contacts, files, or any other data), with no detectable timestamp changes or checksum failures. This could even be done at random, and would seriously call the data integrity of Cellebrite’s reports into question.

And why is this so important, you ask?

In completely unrelated news, upcoming versions of Signal will be periodically fetching files to place in app storage. These files are never used for anything inside Signal and never interact with Signal software or data, but they look nice, and aesthetics are important in software. Files will only be returned for accounts that have been active installs for some time already, and only probabilistically in low percentages based on phone number sharding. We have a few different versions of files that we think are aesthetically pleasing, and will iterate through those slowly over time. There is no other significance to these files.

HUGE.

--Patrick

Apr 24, 2021#202

DarkAudit

In which Steve goes off on a few things we've talked about recently...

Apr 27, 2021#203

DarkAudit

Well, crap.

May 4, 2021#204

Shakey

Signal is on a roll.

Signal Tries to Run the Most Honest Facebook Ad Campaign Ever, Immediately Gets Banned [Updated]

A series of Instagram ads run by the privacy-positive platform Signal got the messaging app booted from the former’s ad platform, according to a blog post

gizmodo.com

May 4, 2021#205

bhamv3

Shakey said:
Signal is on a roll.

Signal Tries to Run the Most Honest Facebook Ad Campaign Ever, Immediately Gets Banned [Updated]

A series of Instagram ads run by the privacy-positive platform Signal got the messaging app booted from the former’s ad platform, according to a blog post

gizmodo.com

Pity it's banned, I'm rather curious what it would've given me.

May 4, 2021#206

PatrThom

bhamv3 said:
Pity it's banned, I'm rather curious what it would've given me.

This is the most common reaction I've seen.
...
hmm...

Credit reporting has the ability to pull a report and correct or contest any misleading or incorrect information.
Should Facebook/Google/Apple/your ISP/etc's algorithm(s) be required to offer the same for the profile(s) they build?

--Patrick

May 4, 2021#207

Shakey

PatrThom said:
This is the most common reaction I've seen.
...
hmm...

Credit reporting has the ability to pull a report and correct or contest any misleading or incorrect information.
Should Facebook/Google/Apple/your ISP/etc's algorithm(s) be required to offer the same for the profile(s) they build?

--Patrick

Yes, but they also need to have an option to make your information private.
If they were just forced to disclose the data they have, it would be useless other than being able to see the scope of how much they track. Could you imagine trying to sift through all of that?

May 4, 2021#208

PatrThom

Shakey said:
Could you imagine trying to sift through all of that?

...yes? And I would enjoy doing so.

--Patrick

May 4, 2021#209

Shakey

PatrThom said:
...yes? And I would enjoy doing so.

--Patrick

Well, yeah. I’m sure it would be interesting, and someone will make tools to sift through it better, but it doesn’t change much. We need better control over how and when our information is used.

May 19, 2021#210

DarkAudit

"What the actual fuck!?" - Tech Jesus.

May 19, 2021#211

PatrThom

“This is not BIY elitism” then starts ripping into Dell’s “Let zem eat cake” build decisions.

—Patrick

May 19, 2021#212

blotsfan

@GasBandit thought of you.

An experiment in helping users and web publishers create deeper connections on Chrome

Today, people have many ways to keep up with their favorite websites, including subscribing to mailing lists, notifications and RSS. It’s a ...

blog.chromium.org

May 19, 2021#213

GasBandit

blotsfan said:
@GasBandit thought of you.

An experiment in helping users and web publishers create deeper connections on Chrome

Today, people have many ways to keep up with their favorite websites, including subscribing to mailing lists, notifications and RSS. It’s a ...

blog.chromium.org

That sounds neat. Too bad it:

Is on chrome
Is mobile only
Is done by Google, so I expect them to abandon it in 2 years when a suit up the chain realizes it isn't directly monetizable.

... Yes I'm still bitter about google reader.

May 19, 2021#214

DarkAudit

The FOSS community still uses IRC, and there is drama in FOSS IRC-land today. Groups are abandoning Freenode after a private takeover.

Libera Chat

A next-generation IRC network for FOSS projects collaboration!

libera.chat

May 20, 2021#215

PatrThom

DarkAudit said:
The FOSS community still uses IRC, and there is drama in FOSS IRC-land today. Groups are abandoning Freenode after a private takeover.

Libera Chat

A next-generation IRC network for FOSS projects collaboration!

libera.chat

I was reading about this and wondered if you'd heard (since our IRC thread is long expired).
Guess I shouldn't have worried. Looks like the drama a few years ago was just a rehersal.

--Patrick

May 20, 2021#216

DarkAudit

PatrThom said:
I was reading about this and wondered if you'd heard (since our IRC thread is long expired).
Guess I shouldn't have worried. Looks like the drama a few years ago was just a rehersal.

--Patrick

It's all over the various linux-related subreddits. Some have moved to Libera, some to other platforms, and some are still debating what to do next.

May 20, 2021#217

DarkAudit

So the performance is just as bad as the build...

May 20, 2021#218

PatrThom

DarkAudit said:
"What the actual fuck!?" - Tech Jesus.

--Patrick

May 23, 2021#219

DarkAudit

Gentoo officially joins the exodus from Freenode IRC.

Gentoo IRC presence moving to Libera Chat – Gentoo Linux

News and information from Gentoo Linux

www.gentoo.org

May 24, 2021#220

DarkAudit

And so has Wikimedia.

May 25, 2021#221

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
I expect [Google] to abandon it in 2 years when a suit up the chain realizes it isn't directly monetizable.

I admit I was kinda shocked when they announced they're killing (free) Google Photos next week.

--Patrick

May 25, 2021#222

MindDetective

PatrThom said:
I admit I was kinda shocked when they announced they're killing (free) Google Photos next week.

--Patrick

You got me worried but it isn't as bad as I thought. https://support.google.com/photos/answer/10100180?hl=en

May 26, 2021#223

DarkAudit

TOTALLY not a hostile takeover.

Gentoo Freenode channels have been hijacked – Gentoo Linux

News and information from Gentoo Linux

www.gentoo.org

If you mention the new location of a channel, freenode bot-police will take over your channel and declare you in violation.

May 30, 2021#224

DarkAudit

Gamers Nexus: there is no bottom.

Jun 13, 2021#225

DarkAudit

Light at the end of the tunnel... that *isn't* an oncoming train.

Jun 15, 2021#226

PatrThom

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

www.bloomberg.com

I guess this will also be bad news for the Coke/Pepsi, Vegemite/Marmite, Kraft/Sargento, Unilever/P&G, Nestlé/Hershey, Intel/AMD, Campbell's/Progresso, Heinz/Hunt's, French's/Plochman, etc. duopolies as well.
C'mon, C&MA. You know market forces will tend to end up elevating two dominant players, this should not come as any surprise. Just admit you're angry about Brexit and want to take it out on somebody and move on.

--Patrick

Jun 16, 2021#227

DarkAudit

LG is mad at LG over LG's interference with product reviews, so LG has essentially fired LG.

https://www.youtube.com/post/UgwkLG63OuVgux1g-9Z4AaABCQ

Jun 17, 2021#228

PatrThom

DarkAudit said:
LG is mad at LG over LG's interference with product reviews, so LG has essentially fired LG.

https://www.youtube.com/post/UgwkLG63OuVgux1g-9Z4AaABCQ

Here is the relevant video:

--Patrick

Jun 24, 2021#229

DarkAudit

Um... that's not good.

“I’m totally screwed.” WD My Book Live users wake up to find their data deleted

Storage-device maker advises customers to unplug My Book Lives from the Internet ASAP.

arstechnica.com

Glad I don't have one, then.

Jul 1, 2021#230

PatrThom

DarkAudit said:
Um... that's not good.

“I’m totally screwed.” WD My Book Live users wake up to find their data deleted

Storage-device maker advises customers to unplug My Book Lives from the Internet ASAP.

arstechnica.com

"Analysis of WD’s firmware suggests code meant to prevent the issue had been commented out, preventing it from running, by WD itself, and an authentication type was not added to component_config.php which results in the drives not asking for authentication before performing the factory reset."
There is also another newly discovered exploit where hackers can get unrestricted root access to the drives.
So yeah, probably a good idea to unplug them from the Internet. Forever.

Also even though this line of drives was discontinued in 2015(?), there's still plenty out there being sold new, so make sure all your parents/friends know to just avoid them entirely.

--Patrick

Jul 4, 2021#231

figmentPez

Anyone want to give me a TL;DR on what is going on with Audacity?

Audacity Controversy continues with newly published Privacy Notice

Jul 4, 2021#232

GasBandit

figmentPez said:
Anyone want to give me a TL;DR on what is going on with Audacity?

Audacity Controversy continues with newly published Privacy Notice

Somebody "bought" it.

Now it collects data from your computer. For vaguely defined "law enforcement" purposes.

So, once again, it is shown that piracy (in this case, of Adobe Audition 3.0) is internet-era self defense.

Jul 4, 2021#233

Tinwhistler

thankfully, I haven't updated audacity in years. Once I get a version of something I like that doesn't have any issues and does everything I want, I pretty much stop updating it.

Jul 4, 2021#234

GasBandit

Tinwhistler said:
thankfully, I haven't updated audacity in years. Once I get a version of something I like that doesn't have any issues and does everything I want, I pretty much stop updating it.

Same here. Which is why I have both an old copy of Audacity, and Audition 3.0

And windows 7, no matter how much grief I get for that. It works fine.

Jul 4, 2021#235

figmentPez

GasBandit said:
So, once again, it is shown that piracy (in this case, of Adobe Audition 3.0) is internet-era self defense.

There are going to be forks as well. Like LibreOffice from OpenOffice.

Jul 5, 2021#236

Bubble181

Tuttut. You're not allowed to do that. Please surrender full control of your appliances and applications to the Corporate Overlords. They know much better than you what is good for you.

Jul 5, 2021#237

DarkAudit

Bubble181 said:
Tuttut. You're not allowed to do that. Please surrender full control of your appliances and applications to the Corporate Overlords. They know much better than you what is good for you.

Which reminds me, I have a lot less sympathy for the people complaining about the new $40/month subscription fee to Peloton when I remember they bought a $4000 treadmill.

Jul 5, 2021#238

Dave

Audacity sends your personal data to Russia and other ‘third parties’

IP addresses will be ‘stored in an identifiable way’ for 24 hours, the company’s new terms and conditions state

www.independent.co.uk

Jul 5, 2021#239

PatrThom

I would really like to see their rationalization for why they are even doing it in the first place. Did the RIAA put them up to this? The KGB? What could they possibly be looking for that would use a DAW as a vector?

—Patrick

Jul 5, 2021#240

GasBandit

PatrThom said:
I would really like to see their rationalization for why they are even doing it in the first place. Did the RIAA put them up to this? The KGB? What could they possibly be looking for that would use a DAW as a vector?

—Patrick

Nothing.

They just want your personal info. The reason is whatever fiction will get you to let them do it.

Jul 6, 2021#241

Eriol

First, on the Audacity stuff: At least the first fork. Long term, I agree that it will likely turn into a mirror of the OpenOffice/LibreOffice situation. At least I hope so.

Second, I think that this is one of the better articles about Machine Learning and "helping" coders that I've seen: A Brillant Copilot (that's not my typo, and it's about GitHub's "Copilot"... thing (product?)). The quote that really sells it though is this:

It's ironic that the biggest obstacle to automating programmers out of a job is that we are terrible at our jobs.

I think @Tinwhistler at a minimum will agree with that sentiment. Not sure whom else here codes for a living, but I'm sure you've all seen it too. Hopefully not too often while in front of a mirror.

Jul 6, 2021#242

Tinwhistler

Eriol said:
I think @Tinwhistler at a minimum will agree with that sentiment. Not sure whom else here codes for a living, but I'm sure you've all seen it too. Hopefully not too often while in front of a mirror.

Other programmers are terrible. I'm amazing :unibrow:

Jul 20, 2021#243

DarkAudit

"Lazy or malicious?" It's hard to tell...

Jul 21, 2021#244

DarkAudit

Laughs in OpenRC...

Nasty Linux Systemd Security Bug Revealed - Slashdot

Qualys has discovered a new systemd security bug that enables any unprivileged user to cause a denial of service via a kernel panic. Slashdot reader inode_buddha shares the news via ZDNet's Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols: As Bharat Jogi, Qualys's senior manager of Vulnerabilities and Signatures...

it.slashdot.org

Jul 27, 2021#245

Tinwhistler

Guy who uploaded youtube video 'fixing' the Mandalorian using DeepFake technology gets a job from LucasFilm

Lucasfilm hires deepfake YouTuber who fixed Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian

Shamook's deepfake was so good he earned himself a job at Industrial Light and Magic.

www.cnet.com

Aug 9, 2021#246

DarkAudit

TIL "oopsie-doopsie" is a technical term.

Aug 9, 2021#247

PatrThom

Can't blame THIS on New World.

--Patrick

Aug 14, 2021#248

PatrThom

DarkAudit said:
TIL "oopsie-doopsie" is a technical term.

GIGABYTE Releases Statement on GP-P850GM & GP-P750GM PSUs

GIGABYTE is aware of certain media outfits casting doubt over the quality of Power Supply models GP-P850GM and GP-P750GM. GIGABYTE takes pride in the design and quality of our products and as such, takes reports of this manner extremely seriously and therefore would like to address the reported...

www.techpowerup.com

--Patrick

Aug 17, 2021#249

DarkAudit

PatrThom said:
GIGABYTE Releases Statement on GP-P850GM & GP-P750GM PSUs

GIGABYTE is aware of certain media outfits casting doubt over the quality of Power Supply models GP-P850GM and GP-P750GM. GIGABYTE takes pride in the design and quality of our products and as such, takes reports of this manner extremely seriously and therefore would like to address the reported...

www.techpowerup.com

--Patrick

Steve's response to the "response"... :popcorn:

Aug 25, 2021#250

DarkAudit

Gigglebit. The saga continues.

Aug 29, 2021#251

DarkAudit

What a non-explodey PSU is supposed to look like.

Sep 28, 2021#252

PatrThom

Sooo...looks like imgur got bought.

No idea what this is going to mean for its content. Or anything else that's ever been posted on their site.
Dare I hope that the plug-in starts working better?

--Patrick

Sep 28, 2021#253

bhamv3

Imgur allows NSFW content to be posted and I don't want that to change now that they've been acquired by a big media company.

Sep 29, 2021#254

DarkAudit

bhamv3 said:
Imgur allows NSFW content to be posted and I don't want that to change now that they've been acquired by a big media company.

Every other image hosting service has managed to publicly slit their own throat in pursuit of "growth" *cough*Photobucket*cough*. Imgur's time will come soon enough.

Sep 29, 2021#255

GasBandit

bhamv3 said:
Imgur allows NSFW content to be posted and I don't want that to change now that they've been acquired by a big media company.

They "allow" it but have been cracking down on it more and more over the last couple years ever since they realized they like advertiser money.

Remember when Imgur was just a pet project to make it easier to post pictures on reddit, and not a BUSINESS?

It's the same cycle as always. Bout time for the new homegrown solution to pop up, I think.

Oct 4, 2021#256

ThatNickGuy

So, apparently Facebook isn't just experiencing the usual "downtime."

Also awfully convenient this happened right after last night's 60 Minutes expose with a whisteblower who used to work at Facebook.

Oct 4, 2021#257

Ravenpoe

ThatNickGuy said:
So, apparently Facebook isn't just experiencing the usual "downtime."

Also awfully convenient this happened right after last night's 60 Minutes expose with a whisteblower who used to work at Facebook.

This is a huge blow to independent vaccine research (I stole this joke, sorrynotsorry)

Oct 4, 2021#258

ThatNickGuy

So, uh, this might be bad.

Oct 4, 2021#259

Far

Oct 4, 2021#260

Tinwhistler

Far said:
View attachment 38991

Oct 4, 2021#261

GasBandit

If it puts an end to Sword Art Online sequels, I'm all for it!

Oct 4, 2021#262

ThatNickGuy

Far said:
View attachment 38991

That IS a good joke, but I really sucks that I can't use my new Oculus.

Gee, if only there wasn't A MANDATORY FACEBOOK LOGIN.

Oct 4, 2021#263

PatrThom

ThatNickGuy said:
So, uh, this might be bad.

I mean, if the user was silly enough to actually give them to Facebook in the first place, that is.

--Patrick

Oct 4, 2021#264

MindDetective

ThatNickGuy said:
So, uh, this might be bad.

Word is that it is scraped data and not a data breach

Oct 6, 2021#265

ThatNickGuy

First Facebook, now Twitch. It's recommended you update your passwords and use a non-SMS authenticator like Google Authenticator.

EDIT: Just in case someone wants to play semantics, obviously not the exact same situation as Facebook.

Oct 6, 2021#266

GasBandit

I already had 2FA enabled on my account, but I changed my password anyway, and recommend any of the rest of you with accounts do the same.

Oct 6, 2021#267

PatrThom

Aww, I liked my password there.

Welp, at this rate it won’t be long before we start seeing HIPAA-style laws enacted regarding sites that demand you give them PIA…right?

—Patrick

Oct 6, 2021#268

GasBandit

PatrThom said:
Aww, I liked my password there.

If your password isn't 15+ characters of upper/lower/numeric/special, and unique to that site, you are doing it wrong.

Oct 6, 2021#269

Tinwhistler

GasBandit said:
If your password isn't 15+ characters of upper/lower/numeric/special, and unique to that site, you are doing it wrong.

Oct 6, 2021#270

GasBandit

Tinwhistler said:
View attachment 39008

The lastpass browser plugin also has a flyout control panel that lets you generate these passwords on the fly, and save/autofill them.

Oct 6, 2021#271

Tinwhistler

GasBandit said:
The lastpass browser plugin also has a flyout control panel that lets you generate these passwords on the fly, and save/autofill them.

Yup, 1password (or at least my old non-SAAS version) does something similar. I click the plug-in icon and choose generate password, and the pop-up window I shared shows up. If I "hit" ok, it'll autofill and choose to save.

Quite a while back, 1password switched to software as a service, where you pay a monthly fee, and so I can no longer really recommend them. Because fuck that. I store the password master file encrypted on my own dropbox. I don't need to reduce my security by having them store my passwords on their servers and pay them monthly for the privilege.

Oct 6, 2021#272

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
If your password isn't 15+ characters of upper/lower/numeric/special, and unique to that site, you are doing it wrong.

It was (only) 12 of mixed-case + numeric and unique to that site. All my passwords are unique.
Also, I have never repeated my work password even once over 14 years, and I have to change it at least every 90 days, sometimes sooner. I don’t even reuse parts (e.g., passwordJan, passwordFeb, etc). Do not quote the deep magics to me, etc.

…though yes, as often as this seems to be happening lately, it’s probably time to revise the methods I use to generate my passwords going forward. Sigh. It was a good 20+ yr run, I suppose.

—Patrick

Oct 6, 2021#273

Tinwhistler

The biggest problem I have with my auto-generated passwords is piss poor programming on some sites. I've had sites fail to accept passwords if they start with stuff like a curley brace. That's not a big deal. Generate another password. But I've had some sites totally accept a password when creating an account, but then not save it correctly in the site's database due to some unknown special character. So, later, when you try to log in, you can't.

Oct 6, 2021#274

Bubble181

I know it's old fashioned, but I still stick to one "main" password part, with some special symbols but easy to remember, and with some variation determined by the site's address added on to it.
Every site is unique, the whole password is usually 10 symbols, and they're not stored anywhere. Unlike with a password manager, I can log in from anywhere I care to without compromising my total security, just remember them all by heart, and not worry about a data breach or targeted attack by someone on a central server.
I mean, yes, someone specifically trying to get into my accounts probably can (except for the ones with money tied to them), but I doubt anyone is going to bother trying to hack my log in for the local newspaper.

Oct 6, 2021#275

GasBandit

Bubble181 said:
I know it's old fashioned, but I still stick to one "main" password part, with some special symbols but easy to remember, and with some variation determined by the site's address added on to it.
Every site is unique, the whole password is usually 10 symbols, and they're not stored anywhere. Unlike with a password manager, I can log in from anywhere I care to without compromising my total security, just remember them all by heart, and not worry about a data breach or targeted attack by someone on a central server.
I mean, yes, someone specifically trying to get into my accounts probably can (except for the ones with money tied to them), but I doubt anyone is going to bother trying to hack my log in for the local newspaper.

I have 239 logins in my lastpass vault. There is absolutely no way I would remember that many variations on a single password theme, especially as often as there are breaches and passwords need to be changed.

I mean, if what you have works for you, then great... but for me, I've got a ridiculous number of websites I need to log into, and I want them all to have unique passwords.

Oct 6, 2021#276

Bubble181

GasBandit said:
I have 239 logins in my lastpass vault. There is absolutely no way I would remember that many variations on a single password theme, especially as often as there are breaches and passwords need to be changed.

I mean, if what you have works for you, then great... but for me, I've got a ridiculous number of websites I need to log into, and I want them all to have unique passwords.

I'm pretty sure I have a bit less, but still easily over a hundred. Com1A2bc3456?!orumshalf, Co.uk1A2bc3456?!dianguar, etc are perfectly fine easy to remember passwords for individual sites

it does become a bit more problematic when sites need regular changing, but honestly, that mostly applies to work stuff (for which I use another system anyway, ever since I found out the admins at my previous place of employment could enter my mails without my knowledge), and rare important stuff like my bank, for which I use fingerprint ID. Yeah, it works for me, it's not perfect, I'm aware
And obviously, that's not actually the random bit of placement I use for my passwords.

Oct 6, 2021#277

bhamv3

I, like Bubble, have a "standard" password that I'll morph as necessary based on a site's password rules. I mainly use it for relatively unimportant sites though, like Reddit, HF, etc.

For my more important passwords, the ones that could have financial consequences, such as email, banking, Steam, etc., I created more complicated passwords, which I then wrote down on a piece of paper and hid in my drawer at home.

Oct 6, 2021#278

DarkAudit

I trust Tom Scott, so I went with Dashlane. Spent the better part of a week changing all my duplicated passwords to what are essentially facerolls behind one main login to the Dashlane vault.

Oct 7, 2021#279

ncts_dodge_man

I currently use BitWarden for password management, but I don't keep all of my passwords in there - I also have a KeePass database for my work passwords.

I used to use LastPass until LogMeIn bought them 6 years ago and the final straw was when they killed off XMarks. I loved the feature of having all my bookmarks in one spot but have profiles for what I wanted to sync (work/home/etc)

For bookmark sync, I've gone with EverSync - doesn't have profiles, but it at least syncs across browsers with not a lot of headaches... I get enough of those from my day job.

Oct 7, 2021#280

PatrThom

Probably going to be some sweeeeet deals pretty soon on discontinued SteelSeries peripherals:

Jabra's owner buys SteelSeries to expand into gaming gear

Jabra owner GN is buying SteelSeries to expand into gaming gear like headsets.

www.engadget.com

--Patrick

Oct 16, 2021#281

DarkAudit

Clean the cruft left behind by your driver updates with DDU. Jay shows you how.

Oct 20, 2021#282

PatrThom

Someone seriously fell down on their security job over in Argentina.

Hacker steals government ID database for Argentina's entire population

A hacker has breached the Argentinian government\'s IT network and stolen ID card details for the country\'s entire population, data that is now being sold in private circles.

therecord.media

--Patrick

Oct 23, 2021#283

DarkAudit

This new 3070 card is a real hoot...

Oct 23, 2021#284

Bubble181

DarkAudit said:
This new 3070 card is a real hoot...

Want!

Nov 10, 2021#285

PatrThom

Welcome, Wētā Digital!

Today, Unity announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Weta Digital, specifically its artist tools, core pipeline, intellectual property, and award-winning engineering talent

blog.unity.com

I guess they got scared by The Mandalorian.

--Patrick

Nov 16, 2021#286

PatrThom

SO big day for yerfukt news:

High severity BIOS flaws affect numerous Intel processors

Intel has released an advisory to confirm the existence of two high-severity vulnerabilities that affect a wide range of Intel processor families.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

DDR4 memory protections are broken wide open by new Rowhammer technique

Researchers build “fuzzer” that supercharges potentially serious bitflipping exploits.

arstechnica.com

https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-11/259208/windows-11-to-block-windows-11-browser-workarounds

--Patrick

Nov 22, 2021#287

DarkAudit

Ouch. Just ouch.

Dec 29, 2021#288

DarkAudit

Wow, Nvidia can get...

Nah. Not gonna do it again. But the 12GB 2060 is certainly a big ol' "fuck you" to regular consumers, innit?

Dec 29, 2021#289

Bubble181

Haven't watched the video, but honestly, I've given up for now as far as GFX cards are concerned. New releases are either re-releases of older cards with a bit of tocuh-up, but at high MSRP and even so they sell for even more - and why would I want to pay over full MSRP for a card with thechnology from 2019? - or they're completely out of the realm of normal purchasing - double or triple the MSRP- or they're hobled versions deliberately made to not be useful.

Dec 29, 2021#290

DarkAudit

If you have a Z690 Hero motherboard, shut it down and inspect it immediately.

Dec 29, 2021#291

PatrThom

DarkAudit said:
Nah. Not gonna do it again.

Liar.

...but yeah, a lot of the "new" cards either feel like, "We're out of ideas and don't know where to go from here" or else "We made changes that would probably benefit miners IF we ever intended to sell them to miners, which we of course don't WINK WINK."

--Patrick

Dec 29, 2021#292

GasBandit

Man, sure wish this blockchain fad would fuckin die off already.

Not that I need a new video card though I guess. My 1060 may be from 2016, but then again the majority of games I play are at least that old as well. These days everybody's all Tarkov this and Squad that and I have SO little interest in them.

Dec 29, 2021#293

PatrThom

It used to be that there would be a game, and people would buy a new card to play the game, and then new games would come out that used the new card for cool stuff (hardware T&L, FSAA, RTX, whatever), and people would buy a new (better) card to play THAT game, and then newer games would get made, and so on. But yeah now it's like there's just a big pit swallowing up any new cards the instant they come out, and so the gamers are all just sitting there, frozen in 2018 because every GPU since then might as well have been vaporware.

--Patrick

Dec 29, 2021#294

GasBandit

PatrThom said:
It used to be that there would be a game, and people would buy a new card to play the game, and then new games would come out that used the new card for cool stuff (hardware T&L, FSAA, RTX, whatever), and people would buy a new (better) card to play THAT game, and then newer games would get made, and so on. But yeah now it's like there's just a big pit swallowing up any new cards the instant they come out, and so the gamers are all just sitting there, frozen in 2018 because every GPU since then might as well have been vaporware.

--Patrick

And every game since then was just the same console-friendly FPS shovelware.

Dec 29, 2021#295

PatrThom

I think if I had to pick and could only end one, I would still choose to kill off KOTH/BR-type games over killing off blockchains.

--Patrick

Dec 29, 2021#296

Bubble181

PatrThom said:
I think if I had to pick and could only end one, I would still choose to kill off KOTH/BR-type games over killing off blockchains.

--Patrick

One is strangling a hobby, the other is a very active part in our literal destruction of the earth. I'd kill blockchain, or at the very least its use for currencies, in a heartbeat.

Dec 29, 2021#297

PatrThom

The rational part of my brain completely agrees with you and for almost exactly the reasons you mention, but the emotional part still wants to drag the KOTH fad back and forth through a volcano a few dozen times.

—Patrick

Dec 29, 2021#298

GasBandit

Eh, KOTH will die off of its own accord eventually. Remember when everything was a cinematic WW2 shooter? But blockchain is screwing up more than just gaming, as Bubble says.

Dec 29, 2021#299

GasBandit

GasBandit said:
My 1060 may be from 2016, but then again the majority of games I play are at least that old as well.

Jan 5, 2022#300

DarkAudit

Newegg messed with the wrong guy when they decided to try and screw over Tech Jesus. Thread.

Jan 5, 2022#301

figmentPez

Newegg has been going downhill for a while. Sad to see that it's gotten this bad.

Jan 5, 2022#302

MindDetective

DarkAudit said:
Newegg messed with the wrong guy when they decided to try and screw over Tech Jesus. Thread.

That was a bit anti-climactic. A story without an ending.

Jan 9, 2022#303

figmentPez

Due to chip shortages, Canon is producing printer ink cartridges without the DRM chip, and having to tell it's customers how to bypass the resulting error message:

Jan 9, 2022#304

PatrThom

I saw that, but could only find it in German.
Irony? Karma? Whatever, it is delicious.

--Patrick

Jan 10, 2022#305

DarkAudit

The intel fanbois got triggered when I countered Hardware Unboxed's declaring the 12400 a "value" with "not so much when the price of admission to Alder Lake is also a new motherboard." Especially for upgraders. Two q1 '19 mid-range systems. One red, one blue. Want to upgrade TODAY? Red just needs to update the BIOS and drop the new CPU in. Blue has a new socket. Gotta drop an extra hundred or two on top of the new CPU.

Jan 10, 2022#306

PatrThom

Figured out why 5800X‘s have been going on sale. It’s because they’re making room on the shelves for 5800X3D.

—Patrick

Jan 12, 2022#307

PatrThom

Oh hey, looks like PCIe v6.0 has finally been finalized.
Poor PCIe v5.0, we hardly knew ye.

--Patrick

Jan 19, 2022#308

DarkAudit

The results are in. The 6500XT is pure garbage.

Jan 19, 2022#309

Bubble181

Man, I know it was never entirely exact, but the time back when at least per manufacturer you could sort-of assume bigger numbers were better and newer was better, at least kept things somewhat understandable.

The fact that some of the most expensive GFX cards are two years old, and that some of the best bang-for-buck are ven older than that, and that perhaps even the actual best cards are old while newer stuff is deliberately hobbled beyond repair.... I honestly can't properly tell which variation are or aren't worth it.

I mean, if or when I get around to it I'll make a full new build from scratch because this one's long past upgradeable, but....Ugh.

Jan 24, 2022#310

PatrThom

DarkAudit said:
The 6500XT is pure garbage.

source

Who knew that making a card bad for mining would also make it bad at games?

--Patrick

Jan 25, 2022#311

DarkAudit

Multiple sources reporting on falling GPU prices as crypto craters.

Jan 25, 2022#312

PatrThom

Down 10% so far.
"A good start."
Here's a link to one of the relevant stories.

--Patrick

Jan 25, 2022#313

Bubble181

Can you imagine buying a GPU for MSRP? Oh man, what a nineties idea.

Feb 1, 2022#314

PatrThom

So most of the Internet's bandwidth was used up talking about the following two events:
-Sony pulls a Microsoft and buys Bungie for 3+ billion dollars.
-The New York Times purchases lockdown darling Wordle for somewhere between 1 and 4 million dollars.

...but there were two other purchases that I think need to be talked about, too:
-Citrix to be acquired by TIBCO, which is itself owned by private equity firm(s?) Vista Equity Partners (and Evergreen Coast Capital?), taking Citrix private. Ok whatever a tech company ate another tech company it happens all the time. But what concerns me is that it was a deal where they paid a 30% premium in cash over the going stock price. THIS is what concerns me. Why do they want to buy Citrix SO MUCH that they paid the kind of premium you usually associate with the current home-buying climate for that privilege?
-Blackberry sells its patents for $600 million to "Catapult Innovations, Inc." Just the patents. To a company that didn't really even exist until they showed up to buy the patents. And as someone else so aptly put it:

If the name "Catapult IP Innovations" didn't give it away, weaponizing BlackBerry's patents is the most obvious outcome of this deal. According to the press release, Catapult's funding for the $600 million deal is just a $450 million loan, which will immediately be given to BlackBerry in cash. The remaining $150 million is a promissory note with the first payment due in three years. That means Catapult is now a new company with a huge amount of debt, no products, and no cash flow. Assuming the plan isn't to instantly go bankrupt, Catapult needs to start monetizing BlackBerry's patents somehow, which presumably means suing everyone it believes is in violation of its newly acquired assets.

I can't wait until patent trolling is declared illegal, by which I mean if the patent isn't protecting something your company actually does, then you simply shouldn't be allowed to have it.

--Patrick

Feb 1, 2022#315

Bubble181

Good lord, who in their right mind would want to buy Shitrix? I have worked in and with plenty of companies who use it, and have never encountered a single case where it worked well.

Feb 1, 2022#316

Tinwhistler

Bubble181 said:
Good lord, who in their right mind would want to buy Shitrix? I have worked in and with plenty of companies who use it, and have never encountered a single case where it worked well.

Whether or not it works well is beside the point....

Feb 1, 2022#317

Bubble181

Well, obviously, as stated a lot of big companies use it, I suppose it makes money and has some interesting patents.
I can understand someone buying Activision while also making fun of how horrible their games are.

Feb 2, 2022#318

Bubble181

Couldn't find an English-language news item about it, but the Belgian Authority for Data Protection has ruled that the whole Transparency and Consent Framework is against the GDPR.
For those who are now going "uh-huh, lots of letters don't like other letters" or "sure, and who cares about some Belgian institute saying something about something I've never used":

the BADP got to make this call in name of all European privacy/data protection agencies (since the company behind TCF is based in Belgium), so this is valid for all of the EU. TCF, then, is the basis for the whole "please accept cookies/give consent" thing you see when going to pretty much any website.
In its decision, the BAPD pretty much says that any of those "accept all" or even the separate "accept for advertising/necessary/UI/etc" tick boxes aren't valid, and any use of third party cookies for advertising is likely to be a violation of the customer's rights to data protection as an average user does not fully understand and, therefore, cannot legally consent.
Like the roll-out of GDPR, this is likely to have a big influence on how the internet and online advertising works (after it's been contested and fought for a few more years, most probably)

Feb 2, 2022#319

PatrThom

The last English-language story I saw was this:

Google Fonts lands website privacy fine by German court

Now that's egg on your typeface

www.theregister.com

when the plaintiff visited the website, the page made the user's browser fetch a font from Google Fonts to use for some text, and this disclosed the netizen's IP address to the US internet giant. This kind of hot-linking is normal with Google Fonts; the issue here is that the visitor apparently didn't give permission for their IP address to be shared.

--Patrick

Feb 10, 2022#320

chris

Tesla will stop selling electric cars by the end of 2022.

Feb 10, 2022#321

chris

I got the news from a german tech site.
Apparently Elon Musk has explained in more detail what he means. Starting next year, Tesla will no longer sell cars at consumer prices as soon full self-driving is solved. The main focus will be a robot rental car market.

He already announced that years ago:

https://electrek.co/2019/07/08/tesla-will-stop-selling-cars-full-self-driving-elon-musk/amp/

And here is an english article from last day:

https://ploonge.com/elon-musk-will-tesla-stop-selling-cars-soon/

Feb 10, 2022#322

Bubble181

Oh, like that. Well, yeah, of course Tesla wants to move to a mobility-as-a-service model. If it's up to companies, literally everything should be treated as a service with permanent recurring costs and one-sided possibility to remove options, change options, etc. Much easier to maintain, much cheaper, far more money to be made. This part of Cyberpunk is coming, and sooner than people may think. Thanks to the gaming/software industry proving that people are willing to put up with paying nearly full price yearly for a license instead of ownership.

Feb 10, 2022#323

PatrThom

Bubble181 said:
of course Tesla wants to move to a mobility-as-a-service model.

Would this just be the public transportation model, except privatized?

--Patrick

Feb 10, 2022#324

Bubble181

PatrThom said:
Would this just be the public transportation model, except privatized?

--Patrick

Nah, much closer to current car sharing systems. In the long term, I can definitely see them try to combine systems - take a car like a regular car share today, indicate if you're willing to pay a premium to sit alone and go straight to your destination or go cheaper and accept other passengers, etc. Move to higher-occupancy vehicles on busy trajectories, allow people to try and find cheaper time slots to take a route...
I think it'll end up as a half-bus, half-taxi system that's more annoying to use (I can drive to my work at 8am for €5, or at 9am for €8 but more comfortable,... Huh, guess the guy from down the street is on vacation today, the 7am car costs more today!), but I'm sure we'll see them invent ways to nickel and dime us for more money and crappie service, somehow.

Feb 20, 2022#325

PatrThom

Just an advisory that there may be an upcoming v0.1K problem for some major browsers:

Version 100 in Chrome and Firefox – Mozilla Hacks - the Web developer blog

Chrome and Firefox will reach version 100 in a couple of months. Let's work together on fixing User Agent detection issues.

hacks.mozilla.org

Savvy users can maybe edit the version string manually in settings as a stopgap, but ugh who knew their overly enthusiastic version numbering systems were going to bite them later?

--Patrick

Feb 20, 2022#326

figmentPez

PatrThom said:
who knew their overly enthusiastic version numbering systems were going to bite them later?

*raises hand*

Ooooh, me, me! I knew! I figured this would be a problem. Like, if Windows 10 was a problem, then surely going through dozens of versions a year for web browsers was going to be an issue. Heck, User Agent identification is just a problem, period.

Feb 20, 2022#327

mikerc

PatrThom said:
Just an advisory that there may be an upcoming v0.1K problem for some major browsers:

Version 100 in Chrome and Firefox – Mozilla Hacks - the Web developer blog

Chrome and Firefox will reach version 100 in a couple of months. Let's work together on fixing User Agent detection issues.

hacks.mozilla.org

Savvy users can maybe edit the version string manually in settings as a stopgap, but ugh who knew their overly enthusiastic version numbering systems were going to bite them later?

--Patrick

Hmm, setting Chrome to report the major version as 100 doesn't seem to break anything here. So that's probably good news (for @GasBandit anyway).

Feb 20, 2022#328

GasBandit

mikerc said:
Hmm, setting Chrome to report the major version as 100 doesn't seem to break anything here. So that's probably good news (for @GasBandit anyway).

Nothing I could have done about it anyway. If it had been a problem, it'd have been either one for Chrome or Firefox to fix, or Xenforo - and we're not getting Xenforo updates anymore.

Feb 20, 2022#329

GasBandit

Did you know Tumblr is still a thing? I know, I was surprised too. Anyway, remember when they banned all adult content in 2018 to avoid getting kicked off IOS?

It's happening again. But this time it's even more ridiculous. Tags like "sad" and "anime girl" and "submission" (as in, you know, those things artists make) are now all banned on the platform.

Because the Apple Gods demand it.

Will you forgive me Senpai? | Anime Motivation

It looks like the page you're looking for has disappeared.

animemotivation.com

Feb 20, 2022#330

Frank

GasBandit said:
Did you know Tumblr is still a thing?

This can't be true.

Feb 20, 2022#331

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
Tags like "sad" and "anime girl" and "submission" (as in, you know, those things artists make) are now all banned on the platform.

Because you can't search for "boobies" as a tag any more, so now they're like "For boobies, search for 'orange juice'" and then they ban "Orange juice," so then boobies moves to "rebar" and then they ban "rebar," etc.

--Patrick

Mar 2, 2022#332

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
we're not getting Xenforo updates anymore.

Huh? What? Why?

--Patrick

Mar 2, 2022#333

GasBandit

PatrThom said:
Huh? What? Why?

--Patrick

Because it's a subscription service now.

Mar 2, 2022#334

ncts_dodge_man

GasBandit said:
Because it's a subscription service now.

Because what seemingly isn't anymore...

Mar 7, 2022#335

PatrThom

So I sure hope nobody here ever checked that box that tells Windows it's perfectly fine to always trust and install software signed by NVIDIA Corp:

Malware now using NVIDIA's stolen code signing certificates

Threat actors are using stolen NVIDIA code signing certificates to sign malware to appear trustworthy and allow malicious drivers to be loaded in Windows.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

It IS possible to tell your computer to "un-trust" source, but it is also convoluted and annoying.

--Patrick

Mar 7, 2022#336

Ravenpoe

PatrThom said:
So I sure hope nobody here ever checked that box that tells Windows it's perfectly fine to always trust and install software signed by NVIDIA Corp:

Malware now using NVIDIA's stolen code signing certificates

Threat actors are using stolen NVIDIA code signing certificates to sign malware to appear trustworthy and allow malicious drivers to be loaded in Windows.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

It IS possible to tell your computer to "un-trust" source, but it is also convoluted and annoying.

--Patrick

Luckily I have my windows set to be paranoid and lazy unless I say otherwise

Mar 7, 2022#337

GasBandit

I don't even update video drivers!

Mar 7, 2022#338

PatrThom

Ravenpoe said:
Luckily I have my windows set to be paranoid and lazy unless I say otherwise

I remember someone who had an install guide for something that, when it got to the point where it gave the "Always trust software from xxx?" the caption they had under it was just HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA NO!

--Patrick

Mar 7, 2022#339

figmentPez

PatrThom said:
So I sure hope nobody here ever checked that box that tells Windows it's perfectly fine to always trust and install software signed by NVIDIA Corp:

Malware now using NVIDIA's stolen code signing certificates

Threat actors are using stolen NVIDIA code signing certificates to sign malware to appear trustworthy and allow malicious drivers to be loaded in Windows.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

It IS possible to tell your computer to "un-trust" source, but it is also convoluted and annoying.

Does this have anything to do with the hackers trying to force Nvidia to make their drivers open source?

Mar 8, 2022#340

PatrThom

figmentPez said:
Does this have anything to do with the hackers trying to force Nvidia to make their drivers open source?

It has to do with the hackers that broke into NVIDIA using the signing certificates they stole to digitally sign their malware with NVIDIA's signing certificate so that it can pose as genuine NVIDIA software. It's the software equivalent of the T-1000 stealing the police car so it can sneak around without anyone being suspicious. The first time you install any software signed this way, you get a pop-up asking whether you want to trust all future software signed by the same publisher and automatically install it without the pop-up. I know it's inconvenient, but this is exactly the reason why I never check that "always trust" box.

--Patrick

Mar 8, 2022#341

figmentPez

PatrThom said:
It has to do with the hackers that broke into NVIDIA using the signing certificates they stole to digitally sign their malware with NVIDIA's signing certificate so that it can pose as genuine NVIDIA software. It's the software equivalent of the T-1000 stealing the police car so it can sneak around without anyone being suspicious. The first time you install any software signed this way, you get a pop-up asking whether you want to trust all future software signed by the same publisher and automatically install it without the pop-up. I know it's inconvenient, but this is exactly the reason why I never check that "always trust" box.

Not sure if I'm not being clear, or you're misunderstanding me, but there are hackers who are threatening to release Nvidia employees passwords and other personal data if Nvidia doesn't open-source their drivers. I'm asking if the the stolen code signing certificates are related to that incident, or if it's merely a coincidence that Nvidia is dealing with two different types of hacks at the same time.

Mar 8, 2022#342

PatrThom

figmentPez said:
I'm asking if the the stolen code signing certificates are related to that incident, or if it's merely a coincidence that Nvidia is dealing with two different types of hacks at the same time.

Hackers broke into NVIDIA and stole a LOT of stuff. Among the stuff that was stolen were (some of? all of?) NVIDIA's signing certificates. So...yes they were related to that incident because they were obtained during that incident, I guess? There are also many other demands being made of NVIDIA--to open-source their drivers, to remove the Ethereum mining blockers from their cards' drivers, and probably other things, and the threat is that if these demands are not met, the hackers will release all that data they stole to the public. Seeing as how the certificates have been leaked, the drivers have been leaked, and employee passwords and suchlike have also already been leaked, I feel like NVIDIA would be completely justified in ignoring all their demands, since it looks like the hackers have gone ahead and already done all the stuff they were threatening to do, regardless of what NVIDIA does/will do. It's a little bit like the Lindbergh kidnapping in that the hackers are making all these demands, but they've already killed the baby, so to speak.

--Patrick

Mar 11, 2022#343

mikerc

I should probably update some of my older passwords for some sites I've used for years. They may have been reasonably secure at the time, but now they're in the red, if not purple.

Mar 11, 2022#344

MindDetective

I've started using password phrases just to have longer passwords

Mar 25, 2022#345

PatrThom

Figured this might be of interest to some people around here.

--Patrick

Apr 4, 2022#346

ThatNickGuy

I use Twitter more than any other social media platform. And this feels like a bad sign of things to come.

Sep 5, 2022#347

GasBandit

Firefox to become most popular browser in 2023, it seems

AdBlock and other ad blockers will stop working in Google Chrome in January 2023

AdBlock and other ad blockers will stop working in Google Chrome in January 2023 — learn Python for free. Machine Learning, Data Analysis with Python books for beginners

python.engineering

Sep 5, 2022#348

Bubble181

Yeah, the moment Chrome doesn't support AdBlock anymore I'm using something else.
I'm still mourning Youtube Vanced but still haven't found any alternative.

Sep 5, 2022#349

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
Firefox to become most popular browser in 2023, it seems

They'd better hurry. They haven't been doing very well, of late. FF is fairly good in the privacy department IF you know what settings to tweak once it's installed, but the Chromium juggernaut will be hard to topple.
Full disclosure: Firefox is my privacy browser of choice on both macOS and Windows, mainly because once you tune the security settings, it just stays that way.

--Patrick

Sep 5, 2022#350

bhamv3

I've used Firefox for the last two decades or so. Not because of any specific privacy concerns or features, but because one day I wanted an alternative to IE and Firefox was the "other" browser at the time, so I got it and then never stopped using it.

I should probably look into these privacy thingamajiggers in this browser.

Sep 5, 2022#351

Bubble181

bhamv3 said:
I've used Firefox for the last two decades or so. Not because of any specific privacy concerns or features, but because one day I wanted an alternative to IE and Firefox was the "other" browser at the time, so I got it and then never stopped using it.

I should probably look into these privacy thingamajiggers in this browser.

In your case, the FBI and NSA have long ago given up reading along over your shoulder.

Sep 5, 2022#352

drifter

Bubble181 said:
Yeah, the moment Chrome doesn't support AdBlock anymore I'm using something else.
I'm still mourning Youtube Vanced but still haven't found any alternative.

ReVanced? Or does it suck?

Sep 5, 2022#353

Ravenpoe

I wonder what Opera is up to these days? It used to be my preferred browser like 15 years ago...

*checks*

Oh god... why is it all RGB?

Sep 5, 2022#354

Tinwhistler

Ravenpoe said:
I wonder what Opera is up to these days? It used to be my preferred browser like 15 years ago...

*checks*

Oh god... why is it all RGB?

I was helping one of the crafty ladies get some nasty extensions off her browser that popped up adds over websites she was visiting.

She was using Opera. It took me a full 5 minutes just to figure out what browser it was. My brain just seized up.

Sep 6, 2022#355

PatrThom

Ravenpoe said:
I wonder what Opera is up to these days? It used to be my preferred browser like 15 years ago...
*checks*
Oh god... why is it all RGB?

Opera got bought. Opera also decided to switch their back-end rendering engine over to Chromium. These two things may be related.

Tinwhistler said:
I was helping one of the crafty ladies get some nasty extensions off her browser that popped up adds over websites she was visiting.
She was using Opera. It took me a full 5 minutes just to figure out what browser it was. My brain just seized up.

Some forms of malware actually download/install Opera (and/or the base Chromium) on the client's machine just so the software can dress it up and try to pass it off as Chrome (and because that way they install their preferred attack path) and hopefully the client won't notice. Because most clients won't.

--Patrick

Sep 6, 2022#356

Tinwhistler

PatrThom said:
Some forms of malware actually download/install Opera (and/or the base Chromium) on the client's machine just so the software can dress it up and try to pass it off as Chrome (and because that way they install their preferred attack path) and hopefully the client won't notice. Because most clients won't.

--Patrick

That wasn't the case here...she just preferred Opera.

Sep 6, 2022#357

PatrThom

Tinwhistler said:
That wasn't the case here...she just preferred Opera.

I used to, too. Until they caved and switched to Chromium. Not so much because I hate Chromium, but because I don't want to have duplicate rendering engines. If I flip from BrowserA to BrowserB because of some website error or security concern with BrowserA, I don't want BroswerB to do the exact same thing because it's essentially the same browser but with different branding.

--Patrick

Oct 28, 2022#358

figmentPez

Adobe is fucking evil.

Oct 28, 2022#359

MindDetective

I think Pantone should get some of the blame as well, here. I don't say that to absolve Adobe, by any means.

Nov 13, 2022#360

PatrThom

I think ScytheRexx may have put it best:

ScytheRexx said:
How do we expect anything to get better when investors' profit requirements are more important than human lives?

--Patrick

Dec 29, 2022#361

GasBandit

Look, I know it's a pain in the ass because I'm doing it myself right now... but... it's time to ditch lastpass and change all your passwords.

Yes, It’s Time to Ditch LastPass

The password manager’s most recent data breach is so concerning, users need to take immediate steps to protect themselves.

www.wired.com

TLDR - the latest (second this year) breach in August was way worse than initially reported, encrypted contents of entire vaults are now in enemy hands, and they can now brute force your master password at their leisure, and they have unencrypted URLs and Usernames for all your vaulted logins, so they can start trying to crack those as well (assuming they don't just get the password from your vault when they crack your master password)

I've moved to BitWarden and am in the process of changing alllll my passwords. At least those that point to anything I care about, like ones that directly involve finances or go to websites with stored payment methods.

Dec 29, 2022#362

Tinwhistler

GasBandit said:
Look, I know it's a pain in the ass because I'm doing it myself right now... but... it's time to ditch lastpass and change all your passwords.

Yes, It’s Time to Ditch LastPass

The password manager’s most recent data breach is so concerning, users need to take immediate steps to protect themselves.

www.wired.com

TLDR - the latest (second this year) breach in August was way worse than initially reported, encrypted contents of entire vaults are now in enemy hands, and they can now brute force your master password at their leisure, and they have unencrypted URLs and Usernames for all your vaulted logins, so they can start trying to crack those as well (assuming they don't just get the password from your vault when they crack your master password)

I've moved to BitWarden and am in the process of changing alllll my passwords. At least those that point to anything I care about, like ones that directly involve finances or go to websites with stored payment methods.

About a month ago, my company was recommending password managers, and LastPass was on the approved list. I spoke up in a zoom meeting of like 130 people and pointed out this very breach as a reason why I'll never use a password manager where your passwords are stored in the cloud in a central repository with a million other people's passwords. That's a mighty tempting target, yo.

Dec 29, 2022#363

bhamv3

I've never used a password manager, mostly due to laziness, but also because I thought there had to be something I was missing about them. Surely storing all your passwords in one centralized cloud service or database would create a single point of vulnerability? What was I missing? Why do so many people use them?

So anyway, for decades now my strategy has been "remember only the password to my email account, and for everything else, if I don't remember the password then just go through their 'forgot my password' procedures". I've reset so many passwords over the years.

Dec 29, 2022#364

Tinwhistler

bhamv3 said:
I've never used a password manager, mostly due to laziness, but also because I thought there had to be something I was missing about them. Surely storing all your passwords in one centralized cloud service or database would create a single point of vulnerability? What was I missing? Why do so many people use them?

So anyway, for decades now my strategy has been "remember only the password to my email account, and for everything else, if I don't remember the password then just go through their 'forgot my password' procedures". I've reset so many passwords over the years.

I'm using an older version of 1password that does not store my passwords in the cloud. It stores the file 'locally'. In this case, 'locally' can also mean a cloud drive of some type: Google drive, Microsoft Drive, Dropbox, Mega, etc. Sure, my file is still in the cloud, but it's more of an obscure target than all of the millions of passwords sitting over there at LastPass (or the newer version of 1password). I imagine someone would have to target me specifically before I was vulnerable. And that file is still encrypted. But being on one of my own bought and paid for cloud services means I can access it with my phone, laptop, or other devices at need. And if you don't need that functionality? Keep the file local and don't worry about a cloud breach anywhere.

Keypass is another, open source, password manager that stores your encrypted file locally, and not in their own cloud.

I like password managers, because, like most people, my passwords were not too difficult, and shared across sites. I ended up being exposed in a breach ( https://haveibeenpwned.com/ ) which then saw many of my other sites I used start falling. In less than a day, I had a password manager, and all of the sites where I had accounts had unique 16-digit passwords (where allowed..I still don't get sites that only let you use 8 or 12) with case scrambling, numbers, and symbols. Too much for me to remember, naturally, and a pain to type in, but that's where the password manager shines.

Dec 29, 2022#365

GasBandit

Tinwhistler said:
I'm using an older version of 1password that does not store my passwords in the cloud. It stores the file 'locally'. In this case, 'locally' can also mean a cloud drive of some type: Google drive, Microsoft Drive, Dropbox, Mega, etc. Sure, my file is still in the cloud, but it's more of an obscure target than all of the millions of passwords sitting over there at LastPass (or the newer version of 1password). I imagine someone would have to target me specifically before I was vulnerable. And that file is still encrypted. But being on one of my own bought and paid for cloud services means I can access it with my phone, laptop, or other devices at need. And if you don't need that functionality? Keep the file local and don't worry about a cloud breach anywhere.

Keypass is another, open source, password manager that stores your encrypted file locally, and not in their own cloud.

I like password managers, because, like most people, my passwords were not too difficult, and shared across sites. I ended up being exposed in a breach ( https://haveibeenpwned.com/ ) which then saw many of my other sites I used start falling. In less than I day, I had a password manager, and all of the sites where I had accounts had unique 16-digit passwords (were allowed..I still don't get sites that only let you use 8 or 12) with case scrambling, numbers, and symbols. Too much for me to remember, naturally, and a pain to type in, but that's where the password manager shines.

Same story as me, mostly. I got pwned in a breach and decided I needed to have unique passwords on every site. But that's 200 sites. So I used lastpass to keep track of them.

To lastpass's credit, the stolen data IS encrypted. But the problem is, with a local copy of that data, they can then try to brute force crack it without running afoul of things like IP blocking safeguards. Bitwarden's a bit better because it's open source and professionally audited, has a bug bounty program, etc etc etc. And unlike Lastpass, "employee accounts" don't have access to your encrypted vault data (which is why Lastpass is now in the shit).

Dec 30, 2022#366

Bubble181

Eh. For some specific sites I have a completely unique password; for some where I think, I'll use this once and never again I just let Google choose a hard PW for me and when I do need it again I just do the Bhamv. For most sites I use the same base pasword and add a bit specific to the site name.
Yes, a human being can probably guess 90% of my passwords if I tell them my Halforums password is "567dfg!HalF" and my facebook pasword is "567dfg!FacE"....but if a human is specifically targetting me, I assume they'll get in one way or another. It's enoguh to keep me from giving access to everything if they breach the DB for one site and just auto-fill that PW across a gazillion sites.

Jan 3, 2023#367

Eriol

KeepassXC for me. For around 10 years actually. Originally just Keepass normal, but it's "not really" open source.

As others have said, you control where the encrypted archive lives. Or doesn't. But just "remembering" is not a real solution. And having everything subject to your email provider makes you SUPER screwed if that goes wrong.

And, correct horse battery staple.

Jan 10, 2023#368

figmentPez

Meta ends support for original Quest headset after less than 4 years

Jan 15, 2023#369

evilmike

Jan 24, 2023#370

GasBandit

Justice Dept. sues Google over digital advertising dominance

The Justice Department and eight states have filed an antitrust suit against Google. The suit seeks to shatter Google's alleged monopoly on the entire ecosystem of online advertising as a hurtful burden to advertisers, consumers and even the U.S. government.

apnews.com

Dina Srinivasan, a Yale University fellow and adtech expert, said the lawsuit is “huge” because it aligns the entire nation — state and federal governments — in a bipartisan legal offensive against Google.

This is the latest legal action taken against Google by either the Justice Department or local state governments. In October 2020, for instance, the Trump administration and eleven state attorneys general sued Google for violating antitrust laws, alleging anticompetitive practices in the search and search advertising markets.

The lawsuit in essence aligns the Biden administration and new states with the 35 states and District of Colombia that sued Google in December 2020 over the exact same issues.

The states taking part in the suit include California, Virginia, Connecticut, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Tennessee.

Jan 24, 2023#371

MindDetective

Cory Doctorow brings the heat to social media about the enshittification stage of their platforms' life cycles. He puts into words well what we all know and have seen on social media.

The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok

Or how, exactly, platforms die.

www.wired.com

Jan 25, 2023#372

Bubble181

I don't know enough about Cory Doctorow to say if he's worth listening to, but this, at least, is right on the money. Of course, it's also fairly obvious, no? I can name a dozen more platforms where the same process either has happened, is happening, or will probably start soon.

Jan 25, 2023#373

PatrThom

Bubble181 said:
I don't know enough about Cory Doctorow to say if he's worth listening to

He is.

--Patrick

Jan 25, 2023#374

evilmike

I really enjoyed Down and Out in The Magic Kingdom. The story really captured how messy and difficult working in a group of fan / volunteers can be.

The book can be downloaded for from from his website.

Jan 30, 2023#375

evilmike

A Larson scanner spotted in the wild:

Feb 3, 2023#376

figmentPez

Sometimes I forget that industrial 3D printing tech has continued to advance ahead of consumer models.

Feb 3, 2023#377

PatrThom

Would have also accepted this in the Warhammer miniatures thread.

--Patrick

Feb 3, 2023#378

figmentPez

BMWs can't perform a software update if the car is parked on an incline

This is almost as absurd as the dishwasher that needs a WiFi dongle in order to update its firmware and stop it overheating.

Feb 18, 2023#379

figmentPez

This is an interesting trick for obscuring file extensions that I was not aware of:

EDIT: The TL;DW is that you can use a Unicode character that reverses text direction (U+202E override, right-to-left) to cause the file extension to show up in the middle of the file name. e.g. it could look like SuspiciousFilexe.jpg by naming it SuspicousFil<U+202E>gpj.exe

Mar 3, 2023#380

PatrThom

Ford said to be dropping AM radio in its 2024 Mustang

Last summer, the publication said Ford was removing AM radio from its 2023 F-150 Lightning due to interference with the EV's drivetrain.

www.techspot.com

AM radio celebrated its 100th anniversary only a couple of years ago. And now it looks like they're starting to plan its retirement party.

--Patrick

Mar 3, 2023#381

blotsfan

That seems like insanity to me.

Mar 3, 2023#382

Bubble181

I dunno. I barely listen to FM radio anymore, I wouldn't miss it (AM doesn't exist here anymore, really. But that's just Europe vs America).

Mar 3, 2023#383

GasBandit

Speaking as someone only recently removed from the radio industry, there's nothing on AM radio anymore other than snake oil advertisements and right wing hatespeech.

Mar 29, 2023#384

GasBandit

Now that I'm driving an EV, I get all the EV-centric news and stuff. So here's an interesting one that came across my feed-

All N.J. Turnpike and Parkway service areas could soon have electric vehicle charging stations

N.J. Turnpike Authority officials took the first step to negotiate an agreement to have electric vehicle charging stations at every service area.

www.nj.com

Mar 29, 2023#385

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
here's an interesting one that came across my feed

I'm sorry, but all these stories ever do for me is make me unreasonably angry at the human race, because as I've said before, we are at a point where, in 10 years' time, everyone everywhere could have access to transportation that was FREE (aside from the vehicle maintenance expenses, of course) to operate. Local, intrastate, interstate, all of it, FREE. The only reason we don't is because the people with enough money/influence to do so just don't want to. We could literally have free electricity worldwide (from a kW/h standpoint, that is. I fully realize the generation and transmission infrastructure will need to be maintained), we just...don't.

Yay for more convenient access to charging stations, but I fully expect there will be a squabble over the rates, which company gets the contract to build/own the chargers, compatibility between EV charging standards, etc., and none of that should matter.

--Patrick

Mar 30, 2023#386

Ravenpoe

PatrThom said:
I'm sorry, but all these stories ever do for me is make me unreasonably angry at the human race, because as I've said before, we are at a point where, in 10 years' time, everyone everywhere could have access to transportation that was FREE (aside from the vehicle maintenance expenses, of course) to operate. Local, intrastate, interstate, all of it, FREE. The only reason we don't is because the people with enough money/influence to do so just don't want to. We could literally have free electricity worldwide (from a kW/h standpoint, that is. I fully realize the generation and transmission infrastructure will need to be maintained), we just...don't.

Yay for more convenient access to charging stations, but I fully expect there will be a squabble over the rates, which company gets the contract to build/own the chargers, compatibility between EV charging standards, etc., and none of that should matter.

--Patrick

As a pinko commie anarchist, trust me when I say I understand your frustration.

Mar 30, 2023#387

GasBandit

We hate China so much we're trying to be exactly like them.

VPN Users Risk 20-Year Jail Sentences in the US Under New RESTRICT Act

A bill dubbed the 'RESTRICT' act was submitted to Congress and could have severe consequences for VPN users in the United States.

beincrypto.com

Apr 5, 2023#388

PatrThom

Here's your chance to get a modernized model F, if you're willing:

Brand New Model F Keyboards – The Model M Predecessor: Mechanical Capacitive Buckling Spring Keyboards with NKRO

www.modelfkeyboards.com

--Patrick

Apr 11, 2023#389

figmentPez

The latest patch to Windows Defender fixes performance issues with Firefox.

For at least the last 5 years Windows Defender has been causing higher CPU usage with Firefox than other web browsers because of a bug that was causing it to make calls more often than it should. The fix is now going out in a patch.

Apr 13, 2023#390

GasBandit

I've found a way to get around Reuters and AP discontinuing their RSS feeds. Thanks to google news, you can get them back. Add the following "feeds" to your RSS reader:

Code:

Associated Press
https://news.google.com/rss/search?q=when:24h+allinurl:apnews.com&ceid=US:en&hl=en-US&gl=US

Reuters
https://news.google.com/rss/search?q=when:24h+allinurl:reuters.com&ceid=US:en&hl=en-US&gl=US

Google creates the XML on the fly, and they ingest nicely into The Old Reader (and probably do for Feedly and other RSS concatenators)

Ostensibly this could be used for any news source, just replace the allinurl: argument with the domain.com of the news site in question.

Apr 29, 2023#391

figmentPez

Mercedes-Benz is going to offer extra horsepower on a subscription model in their electric vehicles

60 extra horsepower for $60 a month, and 80 extra horsepower for $90.

I hate this world.

Apr 29, 2023#392

GasBandit

Mark my words, applications to "root" and "unlock" your car are coming. Custom OS images too, I'd bet.

Apr 29, 2023#393

figmentPez

I'm wondering how far this subscription model for electronics is going to go. Will we see washing machines that lock out the delicate cycle if you don't pay a monthly fee? Dryers that require a subscription in order for the sensor drying to go all the way to extra dry? (It's an environmentally conscious choice, we swear. 0.1% of net profits go to buying carbon offsets because our end users are so wasteful to be fully drying their clothes.) Refrigerators that charge a monthly fee to enable the ice maker? Ovens with a special, high heat, pizza mode that costs $2 per hour to use? Smoke detectors that charge you $100 every time you want to shut them off after you burn dinner?

Apr 30, 2023#394

Bubble181

That last one would be "automatically report it going off to your insurance this raising your monthly fee", probably

Apr 30, 2023#395

PatrThom

Bubble181 said:
That last one would be "automatically report it going off to your insurance this raising your monthly fee", probably

You’re probably not that far off. How long until all the automobile dealers are run by the insurance agencies?

—Patrick

May 1, 2023#396

MindDetective

figmentPez said:
I'm wondering how far this subscription model for electronics is going to go. Will we see washing machines that lock out the delicate cycle if you don't pay a monthly fee? Dryers that require a subscription in order for the sensor drying to go all the way to extra dry? (It's an environmentally conscious choice, we swear. 0.1% of net profits go to buying carbon offsets because our end users are so wasteful to be fully drying their clothes.) Refrigerators that charge a monthly fee to enable the ice maker? Ovens with a special, high heat, pizza mode that costs $2 per hour to use? Smoke detectors that charge you $100 every time you want to shut them off after you burn dinner?

Capitalism can only survive via gatekeeping.

May 12, 2023#397

GasBandit

Rivian's circling the drain with a 1.3 billion net revenue loss for the quarter

Rivian Falls Apart – 24/7 Wall St.

Rivian continues to move toward the car model junkyard graveyard. People who buy a Rivian will end up with a collector’s item.

247wallst.com

May 12, 2023#398

PatrThom

That's unfortunate. I like choice.

--Patrick

May 17, 2023#399

GasBandit

The Bolt EUV (the kind of EV I own) just set a record - 560 miles on a single charge (it is rated for 248 miles, and that is about what I get in the real world)

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2023/05/2023-chevy-bolt-euv-sets-560-mile-range-world-record/

The catch is you have to stay at 21mph and not use the heater, heated seats, or A/C. But it's possible!

May 18, 2023#400

figmentPez

Has anyone posted about how AMD chips are just exploding, especially on Asus motherboards?

I'm still watching videos, and I haven't been able to concentrate well enough to understand all the details, but basically shit is bad, and Asus is handling it horribly. The worst move being releasing a beta BIOS for the affected motherboard that voids your warranty if you use it, even though it's meant to fix an issue that could cause your PC to catch on fire!

It's a shame, I've had quite a few Asus products that I've liked over the years, but I won't be trusting them in the future.

May 18, 2023#401

GasBandit

Oh man that sucks. I've been an ASUS adherent for years and years

May 18, 2023#402

PatrThom

ASUS has a track record of "juicing" (slight overvolt, slight overclock, whatever) so their boards perform better than others, and they also have a history of proprietary/encrypted BIOS so you can't tune them (or see what their baked-in tunings settings are). I think this is mostly a case of their performance enhancement strategy backfiring on them and rather than just admit that they've been doing this sort of thing for decades now, they're trying to frame this as a one-off. Any punishment they get should probably be based on how they're handling this situation (poorly) rather than the products themselves. Their products have historically been high-quality, it's just their customer service that sucks.

--Patrick

May 23, 2023#403

figmentPez

figmentPez said:
Has anyone posted about how AMD chips are just exploding, especially on Asus motherboards?

I'm still watching videos, and I haven't been able to concentrate well enough to understand all the details, but basically shit is bad, and Asus is handling it horribly. The worst move being releasing a beta BIOS for the affected motherboard that voids your warranty if you use it, even though it's meant to fix an issue that could cause your PC to catch on fire!

It's a shame, I've had quite a few Asus products that I've liked over the years, but I won't be trusting them in the future.

Update:

TL;DW Asus has been shamed into honoring warranties better (at least on the model in question) and is reaching out to anyone who might have a motherboard that needs a firmware update. So they're reluctantly doing the right thing now.

There's also a segment talking with a lawyer about how vague and self-contradictory Asus's terms of service / EULA is, but I was distracted during that, so I'm not sure what all was covered.

If anyone wants to give a better summary, please do.

May 25, 2023#404

Frank

figmentPez said:
Has anyone posted about how AMD chips are just exploding, especially on Asus motherboards?

I'm still watching videos, and I haven't been able to concentrate well enough to understand all the details, but basically shit is bad, and Asus is handling it horribly. The worst move being releasing a beta BIOS for the affected motherboard that voids your warranty if you use it, even though it's meant to fix an issue that could cause your PC to catch on fire!

It's a shame, I've had quite a few Asus products that I've liked over the years, but I won't be trusting them in the future.

MSI! MSI! MSI!

Jul 1, 2023#405

PatrThom

I did not even realize this was a thing.

Brave aims to curb practice of websites that port scan visitors

Brave will allow users to choose which sites can access local network resources.

arstechnica.com

Some sites use similar tactics in an attempt to fingerprint visitors so they can be re-identified each time they return, even if they delete browser cookies. By running scripts that access local resources on the visiting devices, the sites can detect unique patterns in a visiting browser.

I’ve heard of building plug-in and font lists, but port-scanning? Really?

—Patrick

Jul 2, 2023#406

PatrThom

I find it hilarious that there are people whose business model is to build websites which are essentially inverse spam designed to attract advertisers who then pay to place ads on these bogus websites, and that the advent of AI text generation has added yet another layer of BS on top of that idea.

--Patrick

Jul 17, 2023#407

mikerc

GasBandit said:
... Yes I'm still bitter about google reader.

Not to poke at old wounds 10 years on but Google was always going to kill reader.

Jul 17, 2023#408

GasBandit

mikerc said:
Not to poke at old wounds 10 years on but Google was always going to kill reader.

Killed it for Google Plus. Talk about twisting the knife.

Well, at least The Old Reader is serving well enough for now, for my purposes. The big blows have come as news services started getting rid of their RSS feeds and we had to find creative ways around that.

Jul 26, 2023#409

ThatNickGuy

This thread is talking about some big deal new tech and I...honestly don't understand what he's talking about.

I'm gonna need a dumbed down explanation. Like, on par with Portal's explanation of momentum with "Speedy thing goes in, speedy things goes out."

Jul 26, 2023#410

GasBandit

ThatNickGuy said:
This thread is talking about some big deal new tech and I...honestly don't understand what he's talking about.

I'm gonna need a dumbed down explanation. Like, on par with Portal's explanation of momentum with "Speedy thing goes in, speedy things goes out."

I can't read the thread because I don't have a twitter/x account, but if what he's saying is implying that we have achieved a superconductive material that operates at room temperature and 1 atmosphere of pressure, that is HUGE.

A conductor is any material that can pass electricity. The copper part of a wire is the conductor. The gold runs on a motherboard are conductors. All conductors have inherent impedence - that is, electricity flowing through them is not 100% efficient. Usually some is lost in the form of heat (hence why a lot of electronics get so hot - that's wasted energy from conductors).

A "superconductor" is a material that conducts electricity without this inherent impedance. We've had materials do this previously, but we had to chill them to STUPIDLY low temperatures to achieve it - like negative 135 C or (usually much) lower. This makes it impractical for every day/consumer use.

A superconductor that can operate as such at room temperature would revolutionize everything from power transmission (where currently you can just assume you're going to lose 8-15% of the electricity between the generator and your outlet) to computers and consumer electronics, allowing for them to be smaller, more power efficient, and brings quantum computing that much closer.

A room-temperature superconductor has been one of the big holy grails of science, like the cure for cancer, cold fusion, or discovering intelligent extraterrestrial life.

Jul 26, 2023#411

MindDetective

ThatNickGuy said:
This thread is talking about some big deal new tech and I...honestly don't understand what he's talking about.

I'm gonna need a dumbed down explanation. Like, on par with Portal's explanation of momentum with "Speedy thing goes in, speedy things goes out."

Electricity going through a wire loses some electricity to heat. If you bend the wire a lot, you make the heating element in a toaster, for example. A superconductor is a wire that conducts all or almost all of the electricity and loses almost none of it to heat. Previously, this could only happen at very, very, very low temperatures. If the report is true, then it can become a commonplace part of electronics, making everything MUCH more efficient and improving a lot of other up and coming technologies.

In short, superconductors do not translate electricity I to heat, wasting a lot of the electricity in the process. Fixing this would be a big deal.

Jul 26, 2023#412

Tinwhistler

I'd like to stress that this is not the first time someone's claimed to have an ambient-temperature superconductor. Skepticism and patience with the peer review process are warranted.

Jul 26, 2023#413

ThatNickGuy

Here's a link to the study itself, if it helps.

[2307.12008] The First Room-Temperature Ambient-Pressure Superconductor

arxiv.org

Jul 26, 2023#414

Tinwhistler

ThatNickGuy said:
Here's a link to the study itself, if it helps.

[2307.12008] The First Room-Temperature Ambient-Pressure Superconductor

arxiv.org

yup...and now that it's out there, hopefully people knowledgeable in the field will take a look at it and it doesn't end up like https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02401-2

Jul 26, 2023#415

PatrThom

To give you some idea how long people have been mainstream musing about this sort of thing, a room-temperature superconductor is a central plot point of the 1971 juvenile science fiction novel Danny Dunn And The Swamp Monster. The book does a pretty good job of describing the significance to their intended 8-18yr old audience, and it was my first introduction to the concept back in grade school or whenever it was that I read it.

—Patrick

Jul 26, 2023#416

bhamv3

I recall that Unobtanium in the Avatar universe is valuable precisely because it's a room-temperature superconductor. Basically, room-temperature superconductors are considered so valuable that in sci-fi, humanity is willing to travel to another planet just to get it.

Jul 26, 2023#417

figmentPez

GasBandit said:
A "superconductor" is a material that conducts electricity without this inherent impedance. We've had materials do this previously, but we had to chill them to STUPIDLY low temperatures to achieve it - like negative 135 C or (usually much) lower. This makes it impractical for every day/consumer use.

Low temperature or extremely high pressure. Not that long ago I heard about progress developing a room temperature superconductor that required extreme pressure, millions of PSI I think. I can't remember exactly how much, but basically a giant hydraulic press was necessary to get the material to have superconducting properties. The scientists were trying to figure out how to build a composite material that would have the superconductor encased in a shell, so that a tiny amount would be kept under pressure inside.

Jul 27, 2023#418

Tinwhistler

figmentPez said:
Low temperature or extremely high pressure. Not that long ago I heard about progress developing a room temperature superconductor that required extreme pressure, millions of PSI I think. I can't remember exactly how much, but basically a giant hydraulic press was necessary to get the material to have superconducting properties. The scientists were trying to figure out how to build a composite material that would have the superconductor encased in a shell, so that a tiny amount would be kept under pressure inside.

That high-pressure ambient-temperature one sounds like the paper I linked above that got retracted due to accusations of data fabrication

Jul 27, 2023#419

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
That high-pressure ambient-temperature one sounds like the paper I linked above that got retracted due to accusations of data fabrication

It is at least theoretically possible, I believe. IANAP, so I don't know of any demonstrations of superconductivity under high pressure.

Aug 4, 2023#420

Tinwhistler

For those not continuing to follow this LK-99 saga, The Verge has some updates on where things currently stand

The LK-99 “superconductor” went viral — here’s what the experts think

Hint: don’t believe everything you see on social media.

www.theverge.com

Aug 5, 2023#421

ThatNickGuy

Tinwhistler said:
For those not continuing to follow this LK-99 saga, The Verge has some updates on where things currently stand

The LK-99 “superconductor” went viral — here’s what the experts think

Hint: don’t believe everything you see on social media.

www.theverge.com

So, sadly, it's another example of something being too good to be true. I should've seen that coming.

Aug 5, 2023#422

GasBandit

Aug 9, 2023#423

Tinwhistler

Looks like the nail is in the coffin

Hopes Dashed As LK-99 Confirmed Not To Be A Room-Temperature Superconductor

There is no point in resisting the data.

www.iflscience.com

Aug 9, 2023#424

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
Looks like the nail is in the coffin

Hopes Dashed As LK-99 Confirmed Not To Be A Room-Temperature Superconductor

There is no point in resisting the data.

www.iflscience.com

Failure to replicate is not a "nail in the coffin". That's...not really how science works. Some people have definitely observed some odd characteristics of LK-99 that we don't have a good explanation for yet. That said, I suspect that LK-99 is not a superconductor but it may pave the way for something that people haven't thought of before with new theoretical models that stem from playing around with LK-99.

Aug 9, 2023#425

PatrThom

MindDetective said:
I suspect that LK-99 is not a superconductor but it may pave the way for something that people haven't thought of before with new theoretical models that stem from playing around with LK-99.

See also: gasoline, microwave ovens, aspartame, hardened rubber, Botox, etc.

--Patrick

Aug 9, 2023#426

Tinwhistler

MindDetective said:
Failure to replicate is not a "nail in the coffin". That's...not really how science works. Some people have definitely observed some odd characteristics of LK-99 that we don't have a good explanation for yet. That said, I suspect that LK-99 is not a superconductor but it may pave the way for something that people haven't thought of before with new theoretical models that stem from playing around with LK-99.

Well, for those labs that have re-created LK-99, none of them have observed superconductivity. There was a claim, it was tested and found wanting. I think that's pretty much exactly how science works.

(Though *technically* we're at the report results phase after rejection.)

None of that is to say LK-99 is useless. Of course, as you mention, there could be other uses found for it. But that's far afield of our current discussion about LK-99 being a possible ambient temperature superconductor.

Aug 9, 2023#427

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
Well, for those labs that have re-created LK-99, none of them have observed superconductivity. There was a claim, it was tested and found wanting. I think that's pretty much exactly how science works.

View attachment 45775

(Though *technically* we're at the report results phase after rejection.)

None of that is to say LK-99 is useless. Of course, as you mention, there could be other uses found for it. But that's far afield of our current discussion about LK-99 being a possible ambient temperature superconductor.

The certainty of "nail in the coffin" is what I am refuting. Not everyone may be mixing or preparing the LK-99 in the same way, for example. A failed replication means that SOMEONE is wrong but it doesn't say who. So no, failure to replicate is NOT a nail in the coffin because science doesn't produce nails in coffins.

Aug 9, 2023#428

Tinwhistler

MindDetective said:
The certainty of "nail in the coffin" is what I am refuting. Not everyone may be mixing or preparing the LK-99 in the same way, for example. A failed replication means that SOMEONE is wrong but it doesn't say who. So no, failure to replicate is NOT a nail in the coffin because science doesn't produce nails in coffins.

I get that you don't like the absolute. Sure, the theory of gravity *may* be wrong, because there's no absolutes. We just haven't found the exception yet. But from where I sit, for all practical purposes, LK-99's superconducting future is over. Maybe a decade from now I'll look back on this post and feel silly as all of humankind's technology is transformed by it when someone finally "mixes it up right". But somehow, I don't think so.

Aug 9, 2023#429

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
I get that you don't like the absolute. Sure, the theory of gravity *may* be wrong, because there's no absolutes. We just haven't found the exception yet. But from where I sit, for all practical purposes, LK-99's superconducting future is over. Maybe a decade from now I'll look back on this post and feel silly as all of humankind's technology is transformed by it when someone finally "mixes it up right". But somehow, I don't think so.

There is no way two weeks of research provides that degree of certainty, not at the level of gravity and not far below that level of certainty either.

Aug 9, 2023#430

Dave

SCIENCE FIGHT!!

Aug 9, 2023#431

GasBandit

Boy, Zoom sure seems to be circling the drain

Aug 9, 2023#432

ThatNickGuy

They're also forcing their workers back into offices. Which is just...you're Zoom! You basically helped everyone work from home during the lockdowns. Working from home should be a goddamn default for such a company.

Aug 9, 2023#433

GasBandit

ThatNickGuy said:
They're also forcing their workers back into offices. Which is just...you're Zoom! You basically helped everyone work from home during the lockdowns. Working from home should be a goddamn default for such a company.

Quite so. Methinks the HIPPA problems and the mass professional move to Teams seems to be having them in panic mode.

Aug 10, 2023#434

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
I get that you don't like the absolute. Sure, the theory of gravity *may* be wrong, because there's no absolutes. We just haven't found the exception yet. But from where I sit, for all practical purposes, LK-99's superconducting future is over. Maybe a decade from now I'll look back on this post and feel silly as all of humankind's technology is transformed by it when someone finally "mixes it up right". But somehow, I don't think so.

Tom's Hardware sums up my reservations about early conclusions better than it am able.

Alleged Superconductor LK-99 Might Need 'Doping' to Work

Scientists have failed to prove LK-99 is a superconductor so far.

www.tomshardware.com

Aug 10, 2023#435

Tinwhistler

MindDetective said:
Tom's Hardware sums up my reservations about early conclusions better than it am able.

Alleged Superconductor LK-99 Might Need 'Doping' to Work

Scientists have failed to prove LK-99 is a superconductor so far.

www.tomshardware.com

That article reads a lot more pessimistic to me than it seems to for you.

Aug 10, 2023#436

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
That article reads a lot more pessimistic to me than it seems to for you.

View attachment 45781

View attachment 45780

MindDetective said:
I suspect that LK-99 is not a superconductor but it may pave the way for something that people haven't thought of before with new theoretical models that stem from playing around with LK-99.

Aug 10, 2023#437

Tinwhistler

Oh..I figured you were still talking about the superconducting stuff.
I completely have no dog in the "this may be an interesting material" fight, and stated as much above. It might be. But my primary interest is in the superconducting angle.

Aug 15, 2023#438

figmentPez

Can anyone give me a TL;DR on why Linus Media Group is getting roasted on Twitter right now?

Aug 15, 2023#439

mikerc

figmentPez said:
Can anyone give me a TL;DR on why Linus Media Group is getting roasted on Twitter right now?

Gamers Nexus put out a 44 min video criticising LMG for having a lot of inaccuracies in their reviews lately & suggesting it's because they're more concerned with putting out lots of videos than putting out accurate videos. They also said that products made by companies that have a business relationship with Linus have any flaws with their products glossed over in reviews.

Linus also made a rather tone deaf post on his forums basically saying, yes they've been sloppy but no-one wants to see them re-review products more accurately, & saying that GN should have made their criticisms privately to him rather than gone public.

Aug 15, 2023#440

Dave

They also sold something on auction that didn’t belong to them and didn’t reimburse the people who made/owned it until called out by another tech company. I have no idea who all is involved or what was sold but that’s happening right now.

Aug 15, 2023#441

PatrThom

It was a prototype cooler, that much I know.
I won't get a chance to watch the whole video shebang until tonight at the earliest, but that all jibes with what I've been hearing.
I think, if anything, GN is roasting LTT because LTT is "too casual" in creating their content, instead of being rigorous and methodical and scientific and purist "Truth-seeking" like GN tries to be.

--Patrick

Aug 15, 2023#442

Ravenpoe

Dave said:
They also sold something on auction that didn’t belong to them and didn’t reimburse the people who made/owned it until called out by another tech company. I have no idea who all is involved or what was sold but that’s happening right now.

It was a company called Billet, they sent LMD a prototype waterblock that was designed for a specific graphics card. They tested it using the wrong card and put out a video saying it sucks. The writer of said video even told Linus they had used the wrong card and asked for half a day of filming to fix it, but Linus said no, it was more important to get the video out than to get the facts right.

They then auctioned it off when it was supposed to be sent back to the company. Linus did reimburse the company after a fuss was made about it, but having the prototype to send out to other media sources that would test it hopefully correctly and publish their own results was much more important.

Aug 15, 2023#443

drifter

Never trust a dude who wears hoop earrings in both ears.

Aug 16, 2023#444

ThatNickGuy

Aaaaaand now we're hitting Channel Awesome levels of awful. I've never even heard of this channel or company until this all started.

Ex-Linus Tech Tips employee alleges mistreatment and poor conditions: “No one gets a break” - Dexerto

Ex-Linus Media Group employee Madison Reeve posted a thread on social media on the alleged working culture of Linus Media Group.

www.dexerto.com

Full thread here:

Aug 16, 2023#445

figmentPez

I'm not at all surprised to find out that LMG is a stressful place to work with loads of misogyny. They're handling this in an exceptionally bad manner, though.

Aug 16, 2023#446

PatrThom

The recent criticism of Linus Tech Tips, explained

Hardware channel Linus Tech Tips defended itself following a competitor's claims about its "accuracy, ethics, and responsibility."

www.pcgamer.com

This is becoming a Thing.

--Patrick

Aug 16, 2023#447

LordRendar

Jeez. Linus always was a tone deaf jerk. His followers arent any better. They harassed a Kid who got his hands on the YouTube plaque from NICX and he commited suicide because of it. Shortly after the mother followed suit.
During the harassment, Linus posted on his forum that he was disappointed in the harassment and that it should stop, but didnt take down the video linking to the kids YouTube channel nor did he post his message to YouTube. Hate that guy.

Sep 21, 2023#448

PatrThom

If you, like me, hate hate the .WEBP format, well, now you have one more reason.

Chrome, Firefox and more menaced by WebP zero day

Exploit observed in the wild against codec lib in browsers, apps

www.theregister.com

Basically, any application – such as Chrome, Edge, or Firefox – that utilizes this library to display WebP images can be potentially hijacked by a carefully crafted picture.

It‘s a pretty long list of apps and OSes, btw. So be on the lookout for just about everything to come out with an update soon, assuming it hasn’t already.

—Patrick

Sep 23, 2023#449

GasBandit

Sep 24, 2023#450

Bubble181

... $470? I mean, even by "Lol I'm a normal person so I knew this would fail as anything but a tax scheme" measures that sounds way too low

Oct 14, 2023#451

GasBandit

This could really be interesting if it pans out... A $3,200 kit that turns any normal gas vehicle into a plug-in hybrid electric.

REVR plans to turn your ICE car into a plug-in hybrid for US$3,200

This year's Australian national Dyson Award winner tells us more about the bolt-on REVR retrofit kit he's developing, that aims to convert ICE cars to practical, efficient hybrids for less than US$3,200, taking less than a day to install.

newatlas.com

Oct 20, 2023#452

GasBandit

Musk turned into 'a little baby' on Tesla call: Investor

Tesla (TSLA) reported third quarter results that missed analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines. Kevin Paffrath, the YouTuber behind "Meet Kevin," a financial analyst, and Tesla investor, had harsh words for the EV maker's CEO Elon Musk. Paffrath called the company's earnings call...

finance.yahoo.com

Oct 20, 2023#453

PatrThom

The sooner Tesla can autotomize Musk, the better.

—Patrick

Oct 20, 2023#454

figmentPez

PatrThom said:
The sooner Tesla can autotomize Musk, the better.

I'm not familiar with that word, does it mean run him over with a car?

Oct 20, 2023#455

Frank

Oct 20, 2023#456

PatrThom

figmentPez said:
I'm not familiar with that word, does it mean run him over with a car?

I mean, if that's their chosen method of execution, then yes?

--Patrick

Oct 23, 2023#457

PatrThom

In-Car Listening and Infotainment Systems - Edison Research

This post is from Edison’s Weekly Insights email. Please click here if you would like to subscribe. Choices, choices. The in-car audio landscape today offers myriad options, including radio receivers, satellite radio receivers, voice-activated speakers, and Bluetooth or aux cord capabilities...

www.edisonresearch.com

tl:dr; People 13yrs and older who do NOT have some kind of hook-up-your-phone system (CarPlay, Android Auto) in their car spend about 2/3 of their time listening to good ol’ AM/FM radio. But people who do? Incredibly, these people still spend almost HALF their time listening to AM/FM radio.

—Patrick

Oct 23, 2023#458

GasBandit

PatrThom said:
In-Car Listening and Infotainment Systems - Edison Research

This post is from Edison’s Weekly Insights email. Please click here if you would like to subscribe. Choices, choices. The in-car audio landscape today offers myriad options, including radio receivers, satellite radio receivers, voice-activated speakers, and Bluetooth or aux cord capabilities...

www.edisonresearch.com

tl:dr; People 13yrs and older who do NOT have some kind of hook-up-your-phone system (CarPlay, Android Auto) in their car spend about 2/3 of their time listening to good ol’ AM/FM radio. But people who do? Incredibly, these people still spend almost half their time listening to AM/FM radio.

—Patrick

I must be a statistical outlier, but I haven't voluntarily listened to the radio for recreation in 20 years.

Oct 23, 2023#459

PatrThom

It’s only been about 10 for me. But yeah.

—Patrick

Oct 23, 2023#460

Dei

I can't stand radio anymore, but mostly because the ad content has reached ridiculous levels

Oct 23, 2023#461

PatrThom

That’s not confined to radio, though.

—Patrick

Oct 23, 2023#462

Dave

I listen almost exclusively to SiriusXM. The exception is when some morning radio buddies are on and I’m in a position to listen.

Nov 3, 2023#463

GasBandit

[Brazleton] Mint, the free online budget tracking software

Mint is shutting down, and it’s pushing users toward Credit Karma

Intuit wants users to migrate to Mint.

www.theverge.com

Nov 3, 2023#464

PatrThom

At first I thought you meant the distro.
I thought the whole reason Intuit bought Mint in the first place was as a gateway to Quicken, guess I was wrong.

--Patrick

Nov 3, 2023#465

GasBandit

Yeah. Migrating will be a pain in the ass, but I'm looking at Nerdwallet to replace it.

Nov 28, 2023#466

PatrThom

Hey @GasBandit might want to jump on this one:

Google’s .meme domain is here to serve your wackiest websites

.com is so out.

www.theverge.com

--Patrick

Jan 30, 2024#467

Sara_2814

The Rise of Technoauthoritarianism

I will now be referring to social media as "algorithmic feedbags".

Jan 30, 2024#468

Ravenpoe

Sara_2814 said:
The Rise of Technoauthoritarianism

I will now be referring to social media as "algorithmic feedbags".

Looks like an interesting read, is there a non-paywalled version?

Jan 30, 2024#469

Sara_2814

Ravenpoe said:
Looks like an interesting read, is there a non-paywalled version?

Well, crap, I was hoping they had the "one free article" thing. It's from the newest print issue (March 2024).

Jan 30, 2024#470

Bubble181

Ravenpoe said:
Looks like an interesting read, is there a non-paywalled version?

The Atlantic has not yet adapted to 12ft ladders to get over 10ft pay walls, if you know what I mean.

Jan 30, 2024#471

drifter

To be less circumspect about it, http://12ft.io for all your paywall-bypassing needs.

Jan 30, 2024#472

Bubble181

drifter said:
To be less circumspect about it, http://12ft.io for all your paywall-bypassing needs.

More and more websites have had it disabled or rendered useless, sadly.
And I said it like that because it wouldn't let me post the link

Jan 30, 2024#473

ThatNickGuy

drifter said:
To be less circumspect about it, http://12ft.io for all your paywall-bypassing needs.

Yeah, I just tested it out on this article that I've been wanting to read, but it didn't work. The result says "you must enable Javascript to view this content."

Feb 24, 2024#474

PatrThom

Vending machine error reveals secret face image database of college students

Facial-recognition data is typically used to prompt more vending machine sales.

arstechnica.com

Canada-based University of Waterloo is racing to remove M&M-branded smart vending machines from campus after outraged students discovered the machines were covertly collecting facial-recognition data without their consent.

I've heard of vending machines that adjust prices based on time of day and temperature/humidity, but this is new (though not unexpected).

--Patrick

Feb 24, 2024#475

Bubble181

If you believe what they claim (that is of course a big if), I don't see how this would be a GDPR problem.
Collecting identifiable information without consent is bad.
Lighting up when a face is detected and registering "apparent male, 30-35" but otherwise not keeping or using facial data is fine (legally).

Feb 24, 2024#476

Ravenpoe

Bubble181 said:
If you believe what they claim (that is of course a big if), I don't see how this would be a GDPR problem.
Collecting identifiable information without consent is bad.
Lighting up when a face is detected and registering "apparent male, 30-35" but otherwise not keeping or using facial data is fine (legally).

Here's what we've learned from cell phones: gdpr doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if the data they collect "is non-identifiable" because the truth is: it actually is. If it wasn't they wouldn't do it. Even if they don't store a picture of your face and all they know is male roughly this age etc, they still have so much cross data that they know it's you. Of course, the fact that they have so much cross data means there's very little chance to fight it, we've lost that particular battle unless something very drastic happens

Feb 24, 2024#477

PatrThom

Ravenpoe said:
It doesn't matter if the data they collect "is non-identifiable" because the truth is: it actually is.

It always is. AOL already taught us that.
Add cellphone logs in with the proliferation of license plate readers and even plane/drone surveillance and there really are no secrets left to keep without significant effort to conceal them.

according to this study, just knowing the zip code [...] of where you work, and where you live, will uniquely identify 5% of the population, and for half of Americans will place them in a group of 21 people or fewer. If you know the “census blocks” where somebody works and lives (an area roughly the size of a block in a city, but much larger in rural areas), the accuracy is much higher, with at least half the population being uniquely identified.

--Patrick

Feb 25, 2024#478

GasBandit

I can personally vouch that Youtube is intentionally slowing down content on firefox. I was having buffering problems this morning. I ran a speedtest from fast and speedof.me to make sure that yep, my fiber connection is still awesome. So I opened chrome to the same video, and BOOM, instant, full buffer with no lag.

So I installed the firefox user agent switcher addon to make firefox lie to websites that it is Chrome, and magically the problem went away.

Feb 25, 2024#479

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
I installed the firefox user agent switcher addon to make firefox lie to websites that it is Chrome, and magically the problem went away.

For funsies, I will sometimes manually edit the user agent string and insert non-existent or invalid strings, version numbers, or whatever JUST to see if it breaks certain websites.

--Patrick

Feb 28, 2024#480

figmentPez

Vibrator from Spencer's Gifts carries risk of infection

Malware infection on your PC if you connect it to your USB ports to charge. (Though I've also heard that Spencer's has some pretty awful policies about putting returned merchandise back on the shelf, so maybe don't buy your vibrator from them.)

Feb 28, 2024#481

PatrThom

eSTDs?

--Patrick

Mar 1, 2024#482

figmentPez

HDMI Forum says that AMD can't make an open source driver that supports HDMI 2.1

Mar 1, 2024#483

PatrThom

I saw that yesterday and I just don't get it.
I assume that, like the article suggests, this is someone's attempt to avoid a situation where the MPAA and similar organizations come down on HDMI Forum for "allowing/aiding" the creation of a tool whose only POSSIBLE purpose would be to enable the wholesale ripping/copying of commercial 4K content.

--Patrick

Mar 6, 2024#484

GasBandit

The Nvidia GeForce GTX era is finally over

Nvidia has shipped the final GTX 16 series GPUs to its board partners, bringing an end to production of all non-RTX graphics cards.

www.pcgamesn.com

Mar 6, 2024#485

PatrThom

Am currently debating whether to try and score a 1660-series card or buy a 3060 12GB off a coworker.
Guess I'd better hurry.

--Patrick

Apr 23, 2024#486

PatrThom

FTC bans noncompete agreements, making it easier for workers to quit. Here's what to know.

Regulators prohibit new noncompetes, which impede millions of U.S. workers from getting a better job.

www.cbsnews.com

The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday afternoon voted 3-to-2 to approve the new rule, which will ban noncompetes for all workers when the regulations take effect in 120 days. For senior executives, existing noncompetes can remain in force. For all other employees, existing noncompetes [will not be] enforceable.

This is...big.

--Patrick

Apr 24, 2024#487

PatrThom

"Apple's invention of the AirTag was irresponsible and ushered in an era of irresponsible tracking and surveillance because Apple should've been able to tell how people were really going to use these."

ThrowFlame company of Ohio: HOLD MY MUTHAFUKKIN BEER!!!

You can now buy a flame-throwing robot dog for under $10,000

Thermonator, the first “flamethrower-wielding robot dog,” is completely legal in 48 US states.

arstechnica.com

Thermonator is a quadruped robot with an ARC flamethrower mounted to its back, fueled by gasoline or napalm. It features a one-hour battery, a 30-foot flame-throwing range, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for remote control through a smartphone.

So...listen. If you or someone you know lives in an area that tends to be at risk from wildfires and the like? I'm just saying you might want to be prepared for any...unexpected incidents. EXTRA prepared. Like, reeeeeally extra prepared.

--Patrick

May 1, 2024#488

PatrThom

<Gas>FEEEEL OLLLLLD</Gas>

The BASIC programming language turns 60

Easy-to-use language that drove Apple, TRS-80, IBM, and Commodore PCs debuted in 1964.

arstechnica.com

--Patrick

May 2, 2024#489

GasBandit

From all accounts, Elon's throwing a "I'm in charge! I'M IN CHARGE!" fit at Tesla. So he fired 14,000 people including the entire Supercharger team, when the head of the Supercharger division tried to push back against layoffs. So, I'm sure that Ford and GM are really groaning that they've been moving all their EV designs to use NACS instead of CCS.

May 2, 2024#490

ThatNickGuy

GasBandit said:
From all accounts, Elon's throwing a "I'm in charge! I'M IN CHARGE!" fit at Tesla. So he fired 14,000 people including the entire Supercharger team, when the head of the Supercharger division tried to push back against layoffs. So, I'm sure that Ford and GM are really groaning that they've been moving all their EV designs to use NACS instead of CCS.

View attachment 48008

I'm not surprised about Musk whipping his tiny dick around because someone said no.

But I'm not sure I understand what "NACS" and "CCS" means, or how this upheaval at Tesla affects Ford and GM.

May 2, 2024#491

GasBandit

ThatNickGuy said:
I'm not surprised about Musk whipping his tiny dick around because someone said no.

But I'm not sure I understand what "NACS" and "CCS" means, or how this upheaval at Tesla affects Ford and GM.

It's about EV chargers. The Tesla charger connector is NACS (North American Charging Standard, hubrisly named), whereas most other non-asian companies have been using CCS (Combined Charging System).

Last year, a massive feather in Tesla's cap was Ford and GM made a deal with them to switch their manufacturing from CCS to NACS and gain access to Teslas's supercharger network, which had previously been Tesla-exclusive, and is the only charging network that is held in decent regard.

WELP LET'S SCUTTLE THAT

May 2, 2024#492

ThatNickGuy

GasBandit said:
It's about EV chargers. The Tesla charger connector is NACS (North American Charging Standard, hubrisly named), whereas most other non-asian companies have been using CCS (Combined Charging System).

Last year, a massive feather in Tesla's cap was Ford and GM made a deal with them to switch their manufacturing from CCS to NACS and gain access to Teslas's supercharger network, which had previously been Tesla-exclusive, and is the only charging network that is held in decent regard.

WELP LET'S SCUTTLE THAT

Hoo boy. I feel like that might violate some contract Tesla made with the other manufacturers?

May 2, 2024#493

GasBandit

ThatNickGuy said:
Hoo boy. I feel like that might violate some contract Tesla made with the other manufacturers?

Contracts? Like the thing that tried to make him pay severance? Yeah, you'd think he'd have learned that lesson.

The hilariously pathetic part is how reliable his record is of hiring back people he fired because nobody else could do it.

May 4, 2024#494

Ravenpoe

GasBandit said:
Contracts? Like the thing that tried to make him pay severance? Yeah, you'd think he'd have learned that lesson.

The hilariously pathetic part is how reliable his record is of hiring back people he fired because nobody else could do it.

The only real value in Tesla is their charging network. The design of their vehicles have all been lapped by real car manufacturers, and I'm sure Elon hates that.

May 8, 2024#495

GasBandit

Andreessen Horowitz investor says half of Google's white-collar staff probably do 'no real work'

Andreessen Horowitz's David Ulevitch said Google was an "amazing example" of a company with "BS jobs."

www.businessinsider.com

May 8, 2024#496

Far

Working in Tech, it's kinda scary how accurate Silicon Valley was at times.

May 10, 2024#497

GasBandit

Steam suddenly banned in Vietnam

Valve's platform has been inaccessible in Vietnam for a few days now, but it's anyone's guess as to why, or if it'll return.

www.gamedeveloper.com

May 13, 2024#498

GasBandit

Called it

Tesla walks back Supercharger team layoffs, rehires executive

Tesla is walking back some of the layoffs to its Supercharger team, according to a new report, as the electric automaker brought back a key executive in one of the most crucial parts of its business.

www.teslarati.com

May 15, 2024#499

GasBandit

Biden announced new tariffs on $18 billion in Chinese imports, including electric vehicles, semiconductors, steel and aluminum products, and medical products. Notably, levies on imported Chinese electric vehicles will quadruple, from 25% to 100%, while tariffs on solar cells and semiconductors will double from 25% to 50%, and certain medical equipment (including PPE, surgical gloves and respirators) will be subject to a 25% tariff. “American workers can outwork and outcompete anyone as long as the competition is fair,” Biden said. “But for too long, it hasn’t been fair. For years, the Chinese government has poured state money into Chinese companies […] it’s not competition, it’s cheating.” Biden will also keep in place Trump’s $300 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods. (Associated Press / NPR / Washington Post / New York Times / ABC News / NBC News / CNN / Bloomberg)

-implying we haven't been pouring state money into American companies. Just.. you know... financial institutions.

May 24, 2024#500

figmentPez

Cooler Master is selling multi colored thermal paste.

cooler-master-cryofuze-5-colored-thermal-paste-550x309.jpg

Cooler Master introduces colored ‘AI Thermal Paste’ — CryoFuze 5 comes with nano-diamond technology

This feels like an April Fools joke.

Forums