Daily Tech News 17 October 2021

Top Story

• The Asus ProArt X570 Creator may be the best Socket AM4 motherboard we'll ever see. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  It has everything - and a price tag to match. Most notably it comes with dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, rare on AMD hardware, and 2.5Gb and 10Gb Ethernet ports.
  
  It has three PCIe slots, all physically x16 but not all running x16, three M.2 slots, four DIMM slots (as you'd expect), four 10Gb USB, four 5GB USB, HDMI out, DisplayPort in (this routes video from your graphics card to the Thunderbolt ports), 5 1/8" audio jacks, no SPDIF, and a BIOS flashback button that works without a CPU installed. That means that if you have a newer CPU than the BIOS supports, you can plug in a thumb drive containing the BIOS file and push the button, and it should automatically update itself.
  
  Also the PCIe allocation is handled intelligently. Unlike some boards, you can fill the three PCIe slots and the three M.2 slots and all of them will work, though the PCIe slots will be split down to x8/x4/x4. On some boards plugging in a third M.2 card will disable one of the expansion slots, which would be a nasty surprise if you haven't read the manual.
  
  Downside: All of this costs $430, or close to A$800 here in Lockdown Land. I can get a Threadripper motherboard for that price, with three full x16 expansions slots and support for 256GB of RAM.
  
  
  
• However Intel's Alder Lake CPUs turn out otherwise - more on that below - the chips aren't short of I/O bandwidth. Gigabyte's Aorus Z690 Master shows off PCIe 5. (WCCFTech)
  
  It's not quite as packed with features as the Asus ProArt, but the main PCIe slot is 5.0 x16 even when the other slots are all filled, delivering 64GBps of bandwidth.
  
  Once there's a PCIe 5 graphics card to slot into it. In the meantime, it will run at 4.0 speeds, so halve that number.
  
  Also expected to be well north of $400 when it hits retail.

Tech News

• Intel's Alder Lake CPUs may not work with some games. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  The issue is not with the games themselves, but with the DRM software attached, which is incredibly fussy about hardware specs. The issue is the "hybrid architecture" of Alder Lake - the mix of fast and slow cores.
  
  Intel has said it is working with DRM providers to "make sure their solutions support new platforms", which is a pretty clear statement that it doesn't currently work. The big problem will be with older games that aren't receiving updates; there you might need to disable the slow cores in BIOS to get things to work.
  
  
  
• A look at the HP EliteDesk 800 G6 Mini. (Serve the Home)
  
  This is one of those small form factor business desktops - bigger than an Intel NUC but still pretty tiny. Serve the Home is reviewing them with an eye to potential as home servers. It's in the name.
  
  The interesting feature of this one is that you can add a GTX 1660 Ti graphics module, which would give you up to 7 total video outputs - three from the integrated graphics and four from the tiny custom graphics card. They didn't review that config but they have a picture; the back of the system is a sea of I/O ports.
  
  
  
• Canon all-in-one printers disable scanning if they run out of ink. The company is now facing a class-action lawsuit over that bullshit. (Bleeping Computer)
  
  Good.
  
  
  
• Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 is a pretty solid small notebook. (Thurrott.com)
  
  Though not cheap. Lenovo is one of the few companies that provides build-to-order laptops here in Oz, and once you start ticking off all the options on this one the price starts stacking up.
  
  It has the usual 11th generation quad core CPU, with a 14" screen at up to 3840x2400 - at 500 nits and 100% DCI-P3, 32GB RAM, 2TB of SSD, dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, optional 4G or 5G mobile networking, the Four Essential Keys (albeit oddly located), and the classic ThinkPad trackpoint and three physical touchpad buttons. No microSD slot, and no wired Ethernet.
  
  
  
• Governments of 31 countries are planning to fight ransomware by making things harder for everyone else. (WSJ)
  
  They are targeting crypto payments rather than tracking down the criminals and dropping a house on them.
  
  Mostly because said criminals are fully supported by the governments of Russia and China, which are using them to wage low-intensity warfare on the rest of the world. Those two countries were not invited to the meeting.

Comments

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1 Yay! Happy Sunday.

Posted by: m at October 17, 2021 03:23 AM (Y3SPi)

2 >>>Lockdown Land

: (

Posted by: m at October 17, 2021 03:24 AM (Y3SPi)

3 hiya

Posted by: JT at October 17, 2021 03:30 AM (arJlL)

4 Locked Down Down Under

Posted by: Miklos, Friend of All Noble Antipodean Peoples (not the fascist ones) at October 17, 2021 03:34 AM (QzkSJ)

5
So, the descendants of the imprisoned and exiled get their at bats to become the imprisoners and exilers?

No "rising above" in Oz, it seems ...

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at October 17, 2021 03:39 AM (pNxlR)

6 carried over from the ONT
politics makes strange bedfellows

223 Australia has gone full fascist, and on non-Covid shit. I was just reading. They've passed a law in some Western Australia province/state whatever they call to crack down on biker and biker gangs. They claim there's been a big problem.

The law forbids bikers from associating. Any gathering of bikers is illegal. Any displays of colors or biker gang affiliations is banned. This includes tattoos. Any biker tattoos must be covered with clothing or makeup. No exceptions. The guys with face tattoos are effectively outlawed from appearing in public, unless they slather on blackface or something.

Penalties include jail times of one year and up.
Posted by: publius, Rascally Rapscallion (Mzdiz) at October 16, 2021 10:35 PM (Mzdiz)

Posted by: m at October 17, 2021 03:40 AM (Y3SPi)

7 Many years ago a high school acquaintance moved to Australia. As I recall it wasn't a real easy to do. Lately I've wondered what he thinks of everything going on.

Posted by: Common Tater at October 17, 2021 04:14 AM (MtNHs)

8 Good morning horde

Posted by: Skip at October 17, 2021 04:21 AM (2JoB8)

9 Hiya Skip !

Posted by: JT at October 17, 2021 04:29 AM (arJlL)

10 Mornin', all

Posted by: My Life is Insanity at October 17, 2021 04:31 AM (Z/jzm)

11 Mornin', folk,

Up early to go work out. Temp of 62 F., which is amazing for this pesthole at this time of year.

Chekov the Ailing Codger Cat has come out to eat and then to sprawl near me in the living room. This is an improvement from last week, where he hung out in the bedroom when he wasn't eating or using the litter box. I started him on his new meds, a topical paste that has to be spread inside his ear and a liquid that needs to go down his gullet, plus an Rx wet food at $3/can. Fortunately he likes the food.

Grocery and chores later, and maybe I'll have time to wash the car and watch an online movie or classic TV show.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 17, 2021 04:32 AM (c6xtn)

12 Early mid 70s Australia was really hurting for school teachers, my aunt just graduated with teaching degree got full payed way staying the required time and lived there long after. Married a Australian and now both live in Alaska.

Posted by: Skip at October 17, 2021 04:34 AM (2JoB8)

13 Hiya MLiiGRAM !

You off today ?

Posted by: JT at October 17, 2021 04:34 AM (arJlL)

14 Hey JT

Yes, off from the paying job.

Posted by: My Life is Insanity at October 17, 2021 04:38 AM (Z/jzm)

15 I've already started to move assets to Australia as part of opsec but am currently re-evaluating Australia as possible emigration destination.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at October 17, 2021 04:38 AM (EZebt)

16 Yeah, a few minutes poking around the intertubes I found a pic! Lives in Sydney. Weird, he's porked out considerably, while I haven't changed a bit.

Posted by: Common Tater at October 17, 2021 04:39 AM (MtNHs)

17 Wolfus, I missed it- what was Checkov diagnosed with?

Posted by: My Life is Insanity at October 17, 2021 04:39 AM (Z/jzm)

18 Raked a portion of the backyard here. Filled 3 large lawn bags, packed tight. At least 3 more could be filled from what was left to do.

Shoulder and back feeling it this morning,

Posted by: My Life is Insanity at October 17, 2021 04:42 AM (Z/jzm)

19 They are targeting crypto payments rather than tracking down the criminals and dropping a house on them.

Ransomware is just an excuse. Governments want to see every transaction you make in life so they always have access to your wealth.

Prior to 1985 or so you could open a bank account in the US without showing ID. You could get on a plane to Switzerland with a suitcase full of cash and it wasn't illegal. They shut all that down because of "drug dealers". Crypto has been under attack since the beginning using a constantly revolving set of excuses: drug dealers, child porn, ransomware.

Posted by: Ace's liver at October 17, 2021 04:48 AM (wGeit)

20 7 Many years ago a high school acquaintance moved to Australia. As I recall it wasn't a real easy to do. Lately I've wondered what he thinks of everything going on.
Posted by: Common Tater at October 17, 2021 04:14 AM (MtNHs)

The Aussie immigration system is based on points - you get more points if you're young, healthy, and well educated.

We should do that in the US.

Posted by: Ace's liver at October 17, 2021 04:50 AM (wGeit)

21 As a hobby coin collector I followed a little bit of that as a kid. It was 1969 they pulled all the higher circulating denomination notes - $500 and $1000. They weren't (and are not) illegal, but when a bank received them they are withdrawn from circulation. They have collector value.

One of my favorite really early days of the internet stories, Usenet probably, a guy said a buddy of his was tearing down an old farmhouse in the early 70s. As he was filling up at a gas station his buddy pulled up next to him in his car. Opened the trunk and it was absolutely FULL of cash. He said his buddy drove away, and he never saw or heard from him again. Good problem to have, I guess.

Posted by: Common Tater at October 17, 2021 04:56 AM (MtNHs)

22 European Leftists went all in on no borders to stop nationalism. But invasion is still happening they just don't know it.

Posted by: Skip at October 17, 2021 04:57 AM (2JoB8)

23 Wolfus, I missed it- what was Checkov diagnosed with?
Posted by: My Life is Insanity at October 17, 2021

***
That's just it. They don't know. The X-ray yesterday showed only that he has some gas in his colon. Blood work last month showed everything within normal ranges. The vet yesterday suspects some kind of arthritis or nerve pain making him move so slowly and unsteadily, hence the meds, and possibly his intestines are giving him some trouble, hence the new food.

He is 14, so he's definitely in codger territory. But this came on fast. Six weeks ago he was seemed like a much younger cat, and then in Birmingham right after the hurricane he fell into a deep hole. It's weird.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 17, 2021 04:57 AM (c6xtn)

24 KRAK OF DAWN IS UP

Posted by: Skip guy who says NOOD at October 17, 2021 05:01 AM (2JoB8)

25 Aww. Hopefully these meds will work for him.

Posted by: My Life is Insanity at October 17, 2021 05:03 AM (Z/jzm)

26 22 European Leftists went all in on no borders to stop nationalism.
Posted by: Skip at October 17, 2021 04:57 AM (2JoB

Good summary.

Posted by: m at October 17, 2021 05:03 AM (cME97)

27 Another good 'un is entitled "I Want My Two Dollars Back"; a guy decided to go to Taco Bell after work and get a taco to go. He pays with a $2 bill. Much hilarity ensues, and they call Mall security on him. A lot of people don't know there is a $2 bill, they've never seen one. There's no slot for them in cash registers of course. Another wag says he takes an empty check book, and gets a stack of new crisp $2 bills from his bank and glues them in the checkbook. Then makes a show of tearing them out in the checkout line. LOL

Posted by: common tater at October 17, 2021 05:04 AM (MtNHs)

28 Wake up after a awesome yesterday and last night.
Go Dawgs! Go Braves!
Still Chopping as a go to the bathroom.
Check Gab for the most entertaining shit on the internet in a while... the Bill Mitchell saga
See he has -29 followers.
BoomerCon grifters never learn. Day of Pillow.
realize he is the B test on a MAGA A/B Testing by NGOs and intel agencies.
Bill Mitchell denied Trotskyite Gibs... again.
laugh out loud waking up Lady Pepe knowing day of the rope is draws close
AintLifeGrand.mp3

Time for a great pull day this morning boys! Game 2 of NLCS! LFG!

Posted by: Widespread Pepe at October 17, 2021 05:06 AM (pvuOs)

29 As a hobby coin collector I followed a little bit of that as a kid. It was 1969 they pulled all the higher circulating denomination notes - $500 and $1000. They weren't (and are not) illegal, but when a bank received them they are withdrawn from circulation. They have collector value.

Didn't there used to be a $10,000 note the different Fed branches circulated internally?

The NYT ran an Op-Ed a year or two back arguing for the removal of the $100 note. I suspect we'll see that eventually.

Posted by: Ace's liver at October 17, 2021 05:14 AM (wGeit)

30 Have a 2016 MacBook Pro which works fine but am looking at the ASUS ZenBooks with the AMD chipset. I'm too suspicious of Lenovo's machines having CCP spyware so they are off the list for me.

Posted by: WinLinBSDAdmin at October 17, 2021 12:10 PM (Hh3y4)

31 Hello,

I have a Radeon 580 RX 8 GB hard drive. What would beca good pc build for around 1 to 1500 dollars with it? I am hoping to get the parts before inflation keeps going up. Any suggestions would be helpful thank you

Posted by: Whirligiginator at October 17, 2021 02:31 PM (jKcuE)

32 If I could get recommendations for mother boards and cups specifically I would appreciate it.

Posted by: Whirligiginator at October 17, 2021 02:48 PM (EFQDP)

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