Daily Tech News 18 July 2021

Top Story

• Why Though Part 1: How to make Windows 11 look and feel like Windows 10. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  It seems to me that you could achieve the same result by not installing Windows 11.
  
  
  
• Why Though Part 2: Qnap has launched a NAS using the Chinese Zhaoxin CPU. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  These chips are designed in China for the Chinese market with embedded support for Chinese encryption standards, which is to say, broken ones.
  
  This is not a reassuring move from Qnap.
  
  
  
• Why Though Part 3: Prosegur has built a bunker to protect crypto assets. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  Which are stored publicly on the blockchain, making this not merely useless, but retarded.
  
  
  

Tech News

• HP makes some nice laptops that fit my needs perfectly. Four essential keys, 4K displays, 8 core Intel or AMD CPUs, dedicated graphics, upgradeable memory. A fully-upgraded* Envy 15 for example runs about $2400.
  
  
  
  In Australia the best I can get is last year's model, in just one configuration, at A$6000 - close to $4500.
  
  Because fuck you, that's why.
  
  * Or almost - you can get another 300MHz on the CPU boost clock for $260 more, but that's the only hardware option I left out.
  
  
• Lenovo's new Yoga AIO 7 will feature Radeon 6600M graphics. (WCCFTech)
  
  With a 4K screen - that even pivots to vertical if you want - covering 99% of DCI-P3, and an 8 core AMD laptop CPU, it looks like it could be a great replacement for my aging twin Dell Inspiron 27s. And with laptop components replacing the desktop parts it should run cool and quiet.
  
  Can I actually get one in Australia? Or even last year's model?
  
  Don't be silly.
  
  
  
• AMD will be launching Epyc Genoa parts with integrated HBM (high bandwidth memory) unless they won't. (WCCFTech)
  
  This is aimed at upcoming Intel CPUs which are in turn aimed at the supercomputer market.
  
  The article also mentions the reason for the confusion as to whether next-gen Epyc CPUs would have 96 or 128 cores is that the answer is yes. Genoa models will go up to 96 cores, and Bergamo up to 128. Same socket and same CPU chiplets, just more of them squeezed in on Bergamo.
  
  There are also stacked-cache versions coming of both of those, and the upcoming Chagall Zen 3 Threadrippers as well, so up to 1.5GB just of cache on the highest-end parts.
  
  
  
• A review of the great UK Post Office "embezzlement" debacle. (ACM)
  
  700 Post Office workers were prosecuted because of a buggy accounting system.

  They were sentenced based on evidence from an IT system, which... ehhh... to be honest, we don't actually know what that IT system did, except we know it did it really, really badly.

  The article argues for IT review boards similar to those for plane crashes, and while I'm against new government agencies generally, when a public system fails this badly, I support the idea of an equally public tarring and feathering.
  
  
  
• Installing z/OS on your laptop. (Colin Paice)
  
  Step 1: Fork over $5000 for a single-user developer license.
  Step 2: Wait two weeks for your USB security key to arrive.
  Step 3: Wonder why you didn't just go with BSD.
  
  
  
• Hello Kitty is attacking SonicWall. (Bleeping Computer)
  
  Even the US government is now heeding my advice: Unplug that shit now.
  
  

  Upgrade to the newest SonicWall firmware and disconnect EOL SonicWall appliances ASAP. Failing to follow SonicWall guidance may lead to targeted ransomware attacks. Read more at https://t.co/ji96tw5Md4 #Cybersecurity #InfoSec #Ransomware

  — US-CERT (@USCERT_gov) July 15, 2021

  
  
  
  
• Google has extended its deadline for forcing apps to use their in-house payment processing for all in-app purchases after getting hit with an anti-trust lawsuit over exactly that sort of shit. (Thurrott.com)
  
  Note that Apple does this already.
  
  
  
• Fascism is the marriage of government and corporate power to produce a single authoritarian entity.
  
  Not all marriages run smooth, though. (The Verge)

  Reached for comment, a Facebook representative defended the platform's record of fighting vaccine misinformation. "We will not be distracted by accusations which aren't supported by the facts," said a Facebook spokesperson. "The fact is that more than 2 billion people have viewed authoritative information about COVID-19 and vaccines on Facebook, which is more than any other place on the internet. More than 3.3 million Americans have also used our vaccine finder tool to find out where and how to get a vaccine."

  "The facts show that Facebook is helping save lives," the spokesperson continued. "Fuck you, Joe, you senile old bastard. We made you. We can unmake you. Don't print that."

  
  

• Rumours of our doom are greatly exaggerated. (IEEE Spectrum)
  
  We might not be about to be wiped out by climate change after all. Huh. Who'da thunk. I mean, except everyone.
  
  
  

• The Freedom Phone is an Umidigi A9 hastily rebadged. (PC Magazine)
  
  And marked up 300%.
  
  Yeah, the guy who wrote the article is an asshole, but so is the guy hawking fake phones.
  

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Hola muchachos y muchachas!!

Quien Es Muy Macho?

Posted by: Thomas Bender at July 18, 2021 03:12 AM (mu7kg)

2 yay

Posted by: m at July 18, 2021 03:21 AM (TZgEk)

3 My guess is that the White House and Facebook are colluding in displaying this "spat" and are in fact working together if only behind the scenes.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2021 03:25 AM (TZgEk)

4 Windows is a garbage OS, full stop. Has been since they mothballed Win 2000.


The fact that every new iteration causes people to pine for the last iteration, should tell you something.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at July 18, 2021 03:26 AM (mu7kg)

5 Nobody pined for Windows 8, or Vista.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 18, 2021 03:27 AM (MqQvv)

6 @5

Well no, Win 8 and Vista were disasters, they pined for Windows 95 or hell, Win3.1.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at July 18, 2021 03:30 AM (mu7kg)

7 Nobody pined for Windows 8, or Vista.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 18, 2021 03:27 AM (MqQvv)

i have Windows 8. I hear it is the worst but i stopped caring after that. I still do better on the desktop than on the fancy, new wave cell phones. I recall when people thought XP was the best and they didn't want to change.

Posted by: Quint at July 18, 2021 03:32 AM (F2/Ok)

8 hiya

Posted by: JT at July 18, 2021 03:34 AM (arJlL)

9 The thing about Windows is that my software still runs, including older software that hasn't been updated in over a decade.

On MacOS older software has been killed off entirely. If it's a 32-bit app the only option you have is to run an older version of the OS in a virtual machine.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 18, 2021 03:38 AM (MqQvv)

10 I wake up in slow motion. I have special effects and now playing Never Say Never...Romeo Void.

Posted by: Humphreyrobot at July 18, 2021 03:43 AM (GSBVq)

11 @9

I never said Apple didn't fuck legacy apps and users, they do this all the time.

I can write a treatise on their overnight decision to get out of the enterprise and server space and the havoc it caused the post production industry.


But the essential look, feel and operation hasn't changed in almost 40 years.

And besides, MacOS is really a Unix OS, which makes it infinitely more useful than Windows.

Meanwhile every version of Windows becomes bigger steaming pile of crap to the point that the users want to make their new crap os look like the previous piece of crap.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at July 18, 2021 03:50 AM (mu7kg)

12 11 But the essential look, feel and operation hasn't changed in almost 40 years.

Yes, that's precisely the problem. What works on a 9" screen is an absurdity on a 27" monitor.

I have a Mac right here. Cost me a small fortune - top-of-the-line retina iMac. It sucks.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 18, 2021 03:55 AM (MqQvv)

13 @12

You can change the resolution, icon and text size fairly quickly.

They also have a fantastic magnifier for old eyes if you need it.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at July 18, 2021 04:03 AM (mu7kg)

14 Sure, but that doesn't fix anything. I can see the screen fine - admittedly I have prescription computer glasses. The problem is the application is over here and the menus are fifteen miles away over there.

Particularly since the default MacOS mouse acceleration is utterly useless and they keep breaking alternative apps.

The only apps that are truly workable on a desktop Mac are ones ported from Windows that break Apple's design rules.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 18, 2021 04:07 AM (MqQvv)

15 m said that yesterday, calling Zuckerberg a mass murder so he has to do what he and the Leftists want him to do, squelch opposition.

Posted by: Skip at July 18, 2021 04:07 AM (Cxk7w)

16 >>>"The fact is that more than 2 billion people have viewed authoritative information about COVID-19 and vaccines on Facebook, which is more than any other place on the internet."

They know the number of people who have viewed authoritative information at "any other place on the internet" how?

Posted by: m at July 18, 2021 04:07 AM (TZgEk)

17 >>>In Australia the best I can get is last year's model, in just one configuration, at A$6000 - close to $4500. ($2500 in America).

Damn I bought a high end HP Envy x360 degrees in late 2016 (top tier special edition) on sale for $699 IICR. (It was well under a grand after taxes). Top NVIDIA GeForce card and sound at the time. It is still great laptop/touch screen pad. Best laptop I've ever owned.
Prices are out of control. Fuggin cryptominerfags making it worse.

Posted by: Widespread Pepe at July 18, 2021 04:09 AM (dHVSU)

18 15 m said that yesterday, calling Zuckerberg a mass murder so he has to do what he and the Leftists want him to do, squelch opposition.
Posted by: Skip at July 18, 2021 04:07 AM (Cxk7w)

I hope this is them pushing it too far this time.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2021 04:17 AM (TZgEk)

19 @14

That does suck, have you tried an old school Kensington rollerball mouse?

You can spin that sucker like your playing a game of centipede and fairly quickly get where you got to go.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at July 18, 2021 04:17 AM (mu7kg)

20 They have got the idea they can do what they want without repercussions and tell you they are going to do it.

Posted by: Skip at July 18, 2021 04:18 AM (Cxk7w)

21 That Danish politician woman has no clue what Amendment rights are for Americans. Seen the argument many times on a forum foreigners have no clue why Americans need firearms.

Posted by: Skip at July 18, 2021 04:22 AM (Cxk7w)

22 >>I recall when people thought XP was the best and they didn't want to change.
Posted by: Quint at July 18, 2021

*raises hand

That would be me! Desk top still runs XP. Mostly only use it for work stuff not internet.

Posted by: My Life is Insanity at July 18, 2021 04:27 AM (Z/jzm)

23 Posted by: My Life is Insanity at July 18, 2021 04:27 AM (Z/jzm)

Family news?

Posted by: m at July 18, 2021 04:29 AM (TZgEk)

24 My Life is Insanity

Did you want to tell us something ?

Posted by: JT at July 18, 2021 04:30 AM (arJlL)

25
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at July 18, 2021 04:32 AM (DUIap)

26 Hiya AltonJackson

Posted by: JT at July 18, 2021 04:33 AM (arJlL)

27
hey JT

Posted by: AltonJackson at July 18, 2021 04:34 AM (DUIap)

28 Mornin', all!! Just call me grandma

602 >>>MLiI, I want all of your grandbaby details, I'll be checking in the morning.
Posted by: Debby Doberman Schultz at July 18, 2021 01:18 AM (a4EWo)


She's here (born at 4:28p.m.)and she's beautiful! 9lbs 6 oz, 21" They named her Hailey Olivia

Daughter must've been all baby! So it's a good thing they didn't let her go more than a week past her due date. She had a bit of a rough time, the dialating went slow and she nearly passed out from the pain of the intense contractions from being induced. (She ended up having an epidural.)

Mom and baby both doing great. I can't wait to hold her! She will probably be released Monday. (Hospital rules, only 1 other person allowed in, obviously my son-in-law)
Posted by: My Life is Insanity at July 18, 2021 04:23 AM (Z/jzm)

Posted by: My Life is Insanity at July 18, 2021 04:35 AM (Z/jzm)

29 Do 3rd party toolbars still exist?

Posted by: Humphreyrobot at July 18, 2021 04:36 AM (GSBVq)

30 Congratulations MLiiGRAM !

Posted by: JT at July 18, 2021 04:37 AM (arJlL)

31 MLii that's wonderful!

Posted by: Skip at July 18, 2021 04:38 AM (Cxk7w)

32 *raises hand



That would be me! Desk top still runs XP. Mostly only use it for work stuff not internet.

Posted by: My Life is Insanity at July 18, 2021 04:27 AM (Z/jzm)

I have Windows 8 point something. All my serious net stuff, including the Horde has been done with that. I have a semi fancy, aka low rent Apple cell phone. Maybe I am old, but I do most of my net stuff on the desktop. The phone is handy but whenever I have a choice it is always the desktop.

Posted by: Quint at July 18, 2021 04:38 AM (F2/Ok)

33 She's here (born at 4:28p.m.)and she's beautiful! 9lbs 6 oz, 21" They named her Hailey Olivia

WHEW ! (Now I know how NGU feels !)

Posted by: JT at July 18, 2021 04:38 AM (arJlL)

34 I woke up smiling. Such a good feeling to know all is well with their new family.

Bittersweet as mom is fading fast.

Posted by: My Life is Insanity at July 18, 2021 04:40 AM (Z/jzm)

35 MLii that's wonderful!
Posted by: Skip

I guess she wasn't gonna tell us until Hailey Olivia graduated college !

Posted by: JT at July 18, 2021 04:41 AM (arJlL)

36 Used my phone for first time on wifi to look up AoSHq, wow is that a small screen.

Posted by: Skip at July 18, 2021 04:41 AM (Cxk7w)

37 I woke up smiling. Such a good feeling to know all is well with their new family.

Bittersweet as mom is fading fast.
Posted by: My Life is Insanity

I hear ya.

Posted by: JT at July 18, 2021 04:41 AM (arJlL)

38 Congrats Mlii!

Posted by: Quint at July 18, 2021 04:43 AM (F2/Ok)

39 >>The phone is handy but whenever I have a choice it is always the desktop.
Posted by: Quint at July 18, 2021 04:38 AM (F2/Ok)

Here at mom's my son's desktop with Linux runs ubuntu. (I think I'm saying that right) But I rarely am on the desktop here unless I'm paying mom's bills. My phone is easier to look at from bed (or to carry to wherever I need to be in the house.)

Posted by: My Life is Insanity at July 18, 2021 04:46 AM (Z/jzm)

40 19 @14

That does suck, have you tried an old school Kensington rollerball mouse?

Worth trying that, or maybe their desktop trackpad. The screen is amazing, best monitor I've ever owned and it's not even close. I don't want to wipe it and install Windows, but on the other hand MacOS is sufficiently annoying right now that I keep using my Windows systems instead.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 18, 2021 04:46 AM (MqQvv)

41 Thanks, all

Posted by: My Life is Insanity at July 18, 2021 04:47 AM (Z/jzm)

42 Blessings on all y'all, MLiI!

Posted by: m at July 18, 2021 04:49 AM (TZgEk)

43 Iran insisted on Sunday that a prisoner swap deal has been agreed with the United States, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said, a day after Washington denied such an agreement had been reached.

How come I beleive Iran more than this present Gov?

Posted by: Nevergiveup at July 18, 2021 04:50 AM (Irn0L)

44 Good morning!

Let's smile & be happy & strike fear in the hearts of killjoy leftists everywhere.

Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at July 18, 2021 04:51 AM (u82oZ)

45 Have a great morning, everyone.

Back to bed for me.

Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at July 18, 2021 04:53 AM (u82oZ)

46 Shooting at the Nationals game in DC...Way to go left wing Blue city.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at July 18, 2021 04:54 AM (Irn0L)

47 nood !

Posted by: sock_rat_eez, we're not doing hash-in-nic anymore? (T/XHv) at July 18, 2021 05:01 AM (T/XHv)

48 Spies freed....leave Iran but don't want to return to the USA.
Stage left or right.

Posted by: Humphreyrobot at July 18, 2021 05:02 AM (GSBVq)

49 "It seems to me that you could achieve the same result by not installing Windows 11."

first thing that came to mind for me.
even better, replace win10 with Linux

Posted by: sock_rat_eez, we're not doing hash-in-nic anymore? (T/XHv) at July 18, 2021 05:03 AM (T/XHv)

50 9 The thing about Windows is that my software still runs, including older software that hasn't been updated in over a decade.
---
Let me begin by saying I still pine for Windows 3.0. I lie.

Windows for me began with NT and its various versions pretty much did and do what I need except when I give my credit card to porn sites - STDs come in two flavors, one is Software Transmitted Disease and the other is 2am.

Vista was a disaster, at first, because Microsoft essentially rewrote XP because it such hot mess it took down the whole campus when it got whacked with a STD. That took up all the Vista dev time. 8.0-8.1 - all I can say is why?

Posted by: LostInSpace at July 18, 2021 05:03 AM (ESLBo)

51 I ran Vista and kind of liked it, but it was on brand new hardware. Most of the problems with Vista were driver support because it was the first mainstream 64-bit version. (There was 64-bit XP but it was much less common.)

Windows 8.0, though, I had to install third-party utilities just to make it remotely usable. Thanks, Stardock.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 18, 2021 05:06 AM (MqQvv)

52 I have a Linux machine that runs Twister. Their newest desktop looks like Win 11. You can pretend you have Win 11 if your trying to impress someone. Why you would do that, who knows. Anyway Good Morning.Local news is about GW and flooding. Like we have never had flooding before. What can't GW do?

Posted by: Colin at July 18, 2021 05:11 AM (jKqap)

53 I read the latest Google anti trust filing.

This one is a dagger and in a normal world would blow up the draconian app store model and how Google bundles/ties access to the only version of Android that matters - the one that forces phone manufactures to take all the Google apps and services.

But we don't live in a normal world anymore; by the time Google's pals in the fascist Uniparty get done putting their fat asses on the scale, well, I can dream.

Tim Cook should be very worried by this particular case.

Posted by: LostInSpace at July 18, 2021 05:12 AM (ESLBo)

54 Windows 8.0, though, I had to install third-party utilities just to make it remotely usable. Thanks, Stardock.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 18, 2021 05:06 AM (MqQvv)

you know ten times more about computers than I do. I ended up with Windows 8 because I gave up at that point with my desktop. I recall when Windows would force people to change because the system would no longer be supported. We all thought that meant there would be viruses raining down. I finally realized that that was bs.

I recall the big complaint about 8.0 was it was designed for smart phones and apps. I have only used it on a desktop and though I don't like much about it, I have learned to make it work for me.

Posted by: Quint at July 18, 2021 05:13 AM (F2/Ok)

55 So Hello Kitty is a Black Hat?

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 18, 2021 05:15 AM (51AdS)

56 I missed a lot of that "fun", went direct from XP to Win7

Posted by: sock_rat_eez, we're not doing hash-in-nic anymore? (T/XHv) at July 18, 2021 05:27 AM (T/XHv)

57 I still have a laptop running XP with no problems. Some applications won't run on it, but usually you can fine older versions on the web. I believe XP was on floppy's when I got it new.

Posted by: Colin at July 18, 2021 05:40 AM (jKqap)

58 51 Most of the problems with Vista were driver support because it was the first mainstream 64-bit version.
---
Yep, that be on the money. The XP SP3 stomped on the Vista schedule. Once upon a time XP had something approaching zero meaningful security features and the software practices were, security, really, why? Then the whole Redmond campus get whacked one fine Sunday - the whole friggn' place was down for days.

It was at this point SP3 became top priority along with mandatory security, really, yes you will, training for the entire engineering staff. The diversion took about year to sort out which left precious little time to wrap up and ship Vista - that cake wasn't baked when it went out, especially the driver support.

So, I heard from a friend of friend.

Posted by: LostInSpace at July 18, 2021 05:42 AM (ESLBo)

59 I dunno about xp, but back in the day I had win95 on a set of, I think 22 floppies; it was a lifesaver because no matter how bricked a system was you could force a clean re-installation.

Posted by: sock_rat_eez, we're not doing hash-in-nic anymore? (T/XHv) at July 18, 2021 06:01 AM (T/XHv)

60 The Biden/Zuckerbot kerfuffle is Kabuki theater for the proles.

I think Mork was made very rich by the feds, and he is going to do what he is told or the SEC and DoJ will annihilate him in a year.

Mork and friends are incapable of understanding their own position's safety in the end requires political flexibility and utility across aisles because they are in a self-perceived apocalyptic battle between good and evil with all of each party in one camp or the other.

Have fun when AOC runs the party big tech.

Posted by: sven at July 18, 2021 06:09 AM (Lzpvj)

61 I don't think I will "upgrade' to Win11 for a bit, at least and until I upgrade to DDR5 on the Mobo.

Posted by: sven at July 18, 2021 06:11 AM (Lzpvj)

62 I just got an HP Zbook G3 15, four essential keys and all, for absolute free and all I had to do to get it was get laid off from Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

My new job doesn't start until August 2, so I've got July off

Posted by: Cybersmythe at July 18, 2021 08:10 AM (17UTy)

63 Quien Es Muy Macho?
Posted by: Thomas Bender at July 18, 2021 03:12 AM

Hoy aqui!

Posted by: Randy "Macho Man" Savage at July 18, 2021 08:28 AM (DMUuz)

64 For a long, long time now designing a new operating system has consisted solely of hiding the menus in different places so as to irritate the user and destroy his efficiency.

They never think to themselves, "Hey, maybe we should keep everything where it is and not hide it while adding a few new features."

I swear it is like having a shallow wife who has to redecorate the living room every couple of years and won't leave the furniture where it is so that you bang your shin against everything fumbling around in the dark.

Posted by: Thatch at July 18, 2021 09:08 AM (qWceQ)

65 I despise Windows 10; make it look like Windows 7.

Posted by: Brett at July 18, 2021 09:38 AM (pGhzB)

66 60 The Biden/Zuckerbot kerfuffle is Kabuki theater for the proles.

I think Mork was made very rich by the feds, and he is going to do what he is told or the SEC and DoJ will annihilate him in a year.

Mork and friends are incapable of understanding their own position's safety in the end requires political flexibility and utility across aisles because they are in a self-perceived apocalyptic battle between good and evil with all of each party in one camp or the other.

Have fun when AOC runs the party big tech.
Posted by: sven at July 18, 2021 06:09 AM (Lzpvj)

"Theater" (like you say) is the word I've been looking for and I think you're right except for bringing AOC into the picture.

Posted by: m at July 18, 2021 10:04 AM (fVJPF)

67 Now if they could make Windows 10 work like Windows 7......

Posted by: harleycowboy at July 18, 2021 10:25 AM (+9AX9)

68 Yeah, I saw that the quartering covered the freedom phones. The one aspect I like is the app store in it, but it's still not worth overspending that much.

Posted by: Draki at July 18, 2021 10:54 AM (Nt0u1)

69 Microsoft cake decorators built Windows 11!

Yay!
I get to drive myself crazy finding where they hide the controls and figure out how they renamed the features this time.
Progress!

Posted by: Mongo at July 18, 2021 11:36 AM (FJoyS)

70 "These chips are designed in China for the Chinese market with embedded support for Chinese encryption standards, which is to say, broken ones.

This is not a reassuring move from Qnap."

Broken? More likely it operates exactly as designed.

Posted by: aawlberninf350 at July 18, 2021 09:06 PM (JcnFx)

71 I have seen the comment many times but I still do not know what the "four essential keys" are. Please enlighten me.

Posted by: Halfear at July 19, 2021 03:52 AM (Jbgzu)

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