I feel like an IDIOT for buying Apple AirTag
Am I an "Apple guy?" I suppose so; at least my iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV would suggest that to be the case. With that said, I don't blindly throw money at the company's latest products. For instance, I still use an iPhone 8 Plus -- with a home button -- as my smartphone. I don't have a fancy iPad Pro, but instead, a 7th-gen regular iPad with just 32GB of storage. True, my 2020 M1 Mac mini is very modern, but it is the extremely inexpensive base model.
Apple's newest product, AirTag, went on sale this past Friday, and for some reason, I got caught up in the hype and pre-ordered one. Not only did I buy the AirTag, but a red leather keychain for it too. Almost immediately after placing the order, I felt like a total fool. It is probably one of the stupidest tech purchases I ever made.
Microsoft issues emergency update to fix game performance problems caused by KB5000842 and KB5001330
Microsoft has acknowledged that "a small subset of users have reported lower than expected performance in games" after installing one of two recent Windows 10 updates, and issued a rare type of fix.
Gamers complained about dropped framerates and poor performance after installing the KB5001330 update, and the same report came from those who installed the preview version of the same update, KB5000842. Now the company is using a fairly uncommon Known Issue Rollback (KIR) to resolve the problems, just after NVIDIA issued advice of its own to affected gamers.
[UPDATED] NVIDIA has a simple, possibly inadvisable, solution for poor game performance caused by problematic Windows 10 updates
The issues caused by updates for Windows 10 have been varied and plentiful. With each new batch of updates, anyone willing to install them finds they are playing an unwitting game of Russian roulette; the patch may fix some problems, but the chances are that they will introduce new ones as well.
This month's KB5001330 update -- just like the non-security preview version from the previous month, KB5000842 -- was just the latest in a long line of bug-riddled updates. This time the plethora of problems includes a performance hit for a number of games and to help with this, NVIDIA has a simple (if slightly controversial) solution.
How to hide News and Interests in the Windows 10 taskbar
Any changes that Microsoft brings to Windows 10 have a tendency to be rather polarizing, and the latest addition of News and Interests to the taskbar is no different.
While on the face of it, the ability to keep updated with the latest news headlines, see up-to-date weather forecasts, track stock prices and more from the taskbar may seem useful, it's certainly not of interest to everyone. So, if the feature has rolled out to you and you don't like it, here's how to disable News and Interests in the taskbar.
BenQ launches MOBIUZ EX3415R 34-inch ultrawide curved gaming monitor
There are two curved displays in my home -- a television in my living room and a computer monitor in my office. Both look cool, but truth be told, the curve doesn't make any difference when watching TV. Since I sit far back from the television, the curve doesn't add any benefit. On the computer monitor where I sit much closer, however, the curvature lends to a more immersive experience. I can't recommend curved computer monitors enough -- for both gaming and productivity.
Today, BenQ launches its latest curved monitor. Called "MOBIUZ EX3415R," this 34-inch ultrawide gaming display has a resolution of 3440x1440 and a 144Hz refresh rate. While this monitor should be great for all games, BenQ is particularly focusing on sim-racing; it has a special mode designed specifically for that genre. It even comes with a handy wireless remote control to make changing between modes super easy.
How cybercriminals are targeting healthcare organizations [Q&A]
Researchers at digital risk protection company CybelAngel recently tracked bad actors targeting French hospitals by analyzing conversations on the dark web.
It discovered how cybercriminals plan healthcare-related fraud, ransomware and other attacks by obtaining stolen credentials, leaked database files and other materials from specialized sources in the cybercrime underground.
Best Windows 10 apps this week
Four-hundred-thirty-five in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Microsoft Store in the past seven days.
Microsoft could relax Microsoft Store application submission policies later this year according to a report by accepting Win32 applications and giving publishers freedom in regard to selecting commercialization options as well as using third-party content delivery networks for installations and updating.
Windows 10 get fixes, improvements and new features with the KB5001396 update preview
Microsoft has released the KB5001396 update preview which, among other things, bring the new News and interests taskbar feature that the company is rolling out to Windows 10.
Microsoft has, as is the norm, released a preview of next month's Patch Tuesday updates and it brings more than just the new taskbar feature that Microsoft has been drumming up excitement about. The non-security update also includes a host of fixes and improvements.
Microsoft announces surprise change to Windows 10 Aero Shake
We've already written about the release of Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21364 and some of the great new features and options it includes. But it seems that Microsoft forgot to mention a change that was introduced in this particular version of the operating system.
As such, the company has published updated release notes for build 21364 of Windows 10, notifying users that Aero Shake -- the feature that lets you grab a window by the title bar and 'shake' it to minimize all other windows -- is undergoing something of a change.
Microsoft's huge change to the Windows 10 taskbar is starting to roll out to all users now
The Windows taskbar has remained unchanged for years, and few people would complain about that.
However, Microsoft has been working on a big change to it which Windows Insiders have been able to test for the past few months, and which will finally begin rolling out to all users from today, although it could be a while before you get it.
Ubuntu 21.04 'Hirsute Hippo' is here to make you hungry hungry for Linux
Do hippopotamuses really like eating balls? In real life, no. In the classic game Hungry Hungry Hippos, however, the creatures love gobbling them up. And that is why it's appropriate that Ubuntu 21.04 is named "Hirsute Hippo." Much like the hippos devouring spheres in the aforementioned game, the Ubuntu developers at Canonical are trying to eat up Linux users and gain market share.
Today, Ubuntu 21.04 "Hirsute Hippo" is finally made available. This follows a previous beta testing phase. It is a very significant version of the operating system, as it now uses Wayland by default. Canonical promises that it won't just be an improvement graphically, but for security purposes too. Sadly, with the good comes the bad. You see, Ubuntu 21.04 does not come with GNOME 40 -- the latest and greatest version of that desktop environment. At least we get a refreshed "Yaru" dark theme, though.
How to reduce the carbon footprint of AI?
Can artificial intelligence be deployed to slow down global warming, or is AI one of the greatest climate sinners ever? That is the interesting debate that finds (not surprisingly) representatives from the AI industry and academia on opposite sides of the issue.
While PwC and Microsoft published a report concluding that using AI could reduce world-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 4 percent in 2030, researchers from the University of Amherst Massachusetts have calculated that training a single AI model can emit more than 626,000 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent—nearly five times the lifetime emissions of the average American car. Who is right?
The advancement of penetration testing throughout the pandemic
COVID-19 threw the spotlight on cybersecurity like never before. The unprecedented global shift to remote working and subsequent surge in cyber crime, drove a priority focus amongst business leaders to ensure a robust cybersecurity posture across every part of their newly extended network. Many organizations had to make this transition rapidly, which increased the likelihood of misconfigurations and other errors, while the drastically increased attack surface presented fresh cybersecurity challenges around remote network connections, VPN connections, phishing, and many other types of network attacks.
Ensuring adequate protection against this wave of new security threats facing every size and shape of business became paramount and challenged CISOs to balance reduced budgets and staff against the requirement for increased technology investment.
So you want to work in ransomware?
You would think that getting to work for a ransomware gang would be a bit different from applying for a normal IT job.
However, after following up a post on a forum a researcher at CyberNews managed to get an interview with the Ragnar Locker ransomware operators which reveals a surprisingly corporate approach to recruitment and remuneration as well as uncovering some of how the gangs operate.
Businesses turn to alternative cloud providers
Over half of organizations are considering adding one or more cloud infrastructure providers in 2021, and the extra supplier will be drawn from an alternative cloud vendor.
A new report by Accelerated Strategies and Linode shows that for small and midsized companies usage of alternative providers -- such as OVH, Linode, DigitalOcean, Hetzner, UpCloud and Equinix -- is on par with Google Cloud.
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