Daily Tech News 15 July 2026

Top Story

Microsoft has updated Windows Search and... Fixed it? (WCCFTech)

Well, they've at least stopped shoving it full of ads, which goes a big way toward fixing it.
Micrsoft just release a set of patches that fix 570 security holes in Windows and their other software. (Krebs on Security)

That's... Good, I guess? If still terrifying.
Microsoft also fixed Secure Boot. (Ars Technica)

Which as it happens has been insecure boot since 2013.

Tech News

With memory being so wildly expensive these days, you might be wondering which memory you should buy.

And the answer is, in most cases, cheap memory. Or the cheapest you can find from a reliable retailer.

Intel has its CUDIMMs and AMD has its ULL memory. They are not worth buying.

For everyday tasks they make no difference, and for gaming the money is far better spent on a AMD Ryzen X3D CPU, or if you have an Intel system, on wishing you had an AMD system. The expanded cache on AMD's X3D CPUs makes memory speed largely irrelevant for most users, even gamers intent on wringing every last drop of performance out of their systems.

Intel will be shipping its own X3D equivalent later this year with its Nova Lake processors, which include up to 288MB of cache, though most users will do fine with half that much.
Bonsai 27B is the Qwen 27B model squooshed into a bit and a bit. (PrismML)

Native Qwen 27B uses 16-bit floating point, so it needs 54GB of VRAM to run unrestricted. And 54GB of VRAM is quite expensive in the current market.

What the Bonsai process does is to prune it down to ternary or binary with scaling factors per group. In ternary form it fits in 5.9GB of VRAM, while retaining more than 90% of the capabilities of the full model.

Musical Interlude

Disclaimer: He's fallen in the water!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:30 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Mornin'

Gonna go for a walk in a bit before the temps go over 100.

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at July 15, 2026 04:36 AM (sAmhv)

2 Just checking in before going to bed and first.
Goodnight.

Posted by: Reforger at July 15, 2026 04:38 AM (/Hx86)

3 Darnit.

Posted by: Reforger at July 15, 2026 04:38 AM (/Hx86)

4 Another really thoughtful-but rather long essay from "The Christian Post" on thoughts about why God doesn't answer all our prayers:

https://tinyurl.com/mvbj4dsa

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 15, 2026 04:39 AM (guLpK)

5 Guten morgen, horde.

Posted by: clarence at July 15, 2026 04:41 AM (HpRTp)

6 Father and son sing Gospel song from the early 1900's- "Father Along": Faithpot site:

https://tinyurl.com/4z9n26kj

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 15, 2026 04:42 AM (guLpK)

7 G'Day everyone

Posted by: Skip at July 15, 2026 04:42 AM (Ia/+0)

8 6- "Farther" along, not "father"

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 15, 2026 04:43 AM (guLpK)

9 First time maybe this year don't have to worry about if I will get to everywhere I have to go today

Posted by: Skip at July 15, 2026 04:47 AM (Ia/+0)

10 Man reflects on this devotional on "Ephesians 5:15-20 and "Always giving thanks":

https://tinyurl.com/2vv5tkfp

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 15, 2026 04:47 AM (guLpK)

11 Posted by: Skip at July 15, 2026 04:47 AM (Ia/+0)

That's good news, Skip.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 15, 2026 04:48 AM (guLpK)

12 In bed awake since 2:30; trolling the internet since 4; drinking coffee since 4:30; not much left to do today except go to work.
Big news around here is wildfire smoke

Posted by: Accomack at July 15, 2026 04:49 AM (T8bqm)

13 Evening and morning, AosHQ satellites & satraps! How is your corner of the Empire on this Woden's Day smack dab in the middle of July?

Skip, did you buy an SUV, then?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 15, 2026 04:51 AM (wzUl9)

14 The little "furry alarm clock " ( kitten ) seems to be getting more adjusted to us. He slept from 10:45 p.m last night to 4:15 this morning . He also doesn't seem to be wailing for his mom anymore.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 15, 2026 04:52 AM (guLpK)

15 Good morning horde of tech. From looking at the news it appears the whole country is held in the molten grip of a precedented heatwave called July.

Posted by: Pete Bogs Agentic alter ego at July 15, 2026 04:52 AM (zjwe/)

16 Did my doctor appt. yesterday; no worries, but I didn't get a chance to crash in the afternoon, so I headed off to Pillow-Land early. And then woke up earlier than I planned. Feeling pretty good though, and I need to go work out in a bit.

This afternoon I have a video tour of another house. It looks great, but it's on the other side of the river from Terre Haute. Which means crossing by means of only two bridges to get to a lot of amenities. The town only has about 2200 residents. I know I said I wanted to live in a smaller community, but --! If you live in such a small place, say within five or ten miles of a larger town to which you have to travel for car repairs, medical, and the like, I'd like to hear your reactions.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 15, 2026 04:58 AM (wzUl9)

17 The little "furry alarm clock " ( kitten ) seems to be getting more adjusted to us. He slept from 10:45 p.m last night to 4:15 this morning . He also doesn't seem to be wailing for his mom anymore.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 15, 2026

***
Is he milk-treading you or anybody else in the household? Stirling still does it when he sits on my lap, and he's over four years old.

They adjust pretty fast. In my view, my cats have pretty much decided I was their human by the second or third day.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 15, 2026 05:01 AM (wzUl9)

18 "If the disciples made music" a cute music video- I guess it's rap(?) by a Christian musical artist :

https://tinyurl.com/ysbwey95

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 15, 2026 05:02 AM (D+BhG)

19 Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 15, 2026 05:01 AM (wzUl9)

No milk treading.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 15, 2026 05:03 AM (D+BhG)

20 Sometime I will have to get a rental truck to haul scrap metal but not for a few weeks. Going to Lancaster this Friday and Saturday

Posted by: Skip at July 15, 2026 05:04 AM (Ia/+0)

21 Amazingly low (for here, in July) temps now, 79-80 F. Maybe I can get in a solid workout.

My furry thugs are doing well as usual. Stirling is curled on the floor a few feet from me, and Dagny is, well, she's off doing Dagny things. They're not due for breakfast for a couple of hours.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 15, 2026 05:05 AM (wzUl9)

22 Wolfus,

Dear poster "Tecumseh Tea" lives in that area. You might ask her. If you like the house , it checks out and you want a smaller community I would go with that.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 15, 2026 05:06 AM (D+BhG)

23 No milk treading.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 15, 2026

***
Not every kitten does it. None of the Siberians have, possibly because they didn't leave their mothers early to be adopted -- the breeder lady I've had three kittens from doesn't let them go out until they are five months old. On the other hand, big Arizona, the red tabby I adopted in '83 from the SPCA, never did it either, and he was only about six weeks old when I took him home. Maybe it depends to a degree on the personality of the kitten.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 15, 2026 05:09 AM (wzUl9)

24
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at July 15, 2026 05:12 AM (AMvSw)

25 Going to Library job, hope someday a picture for book thread
Have a great day horde

Posted by: Skip at July 15, 2026 05:12 AM (Ia/+0)

26 Morning, 'rons and 'ettes.

Posted by: olddog in mo at July 15, 2026 05:16 AM (Hbeqj)

27 Microslop fixes "many things":

And as far as we know, still doesn't have any actual QA staff so those fixes are just slung out there on a hope and a prayer. "The users will test it for us."

Uh huh. And we see how well that's been going.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at July 15, 2026 05:16 AM (O7YUW)

28 Dear poster "Tecumseh Tea" lives in that area. You might ask her. If you like the house , it checks out and you want a smaller community I would go with that.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 15, 2026

***
I will ask.

My vision was to live in a small city, perhaps 25-50K residents, small enough to get around easily but with various amenities like places to get my car worked on, a hospital or two, plumbers and electricians, etc. if smaller, then a short drive from a bigger town. This town is only about three or four miles west, but involves using one of two river bridges. And there is the possibility of floods from the river, though the house I'm looking at is not in a flood plain.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 15, 2026 05:18 AM (wzUl9)

29 Wow. A lot of familiar faces here at 5:16am.

I had beers with my friend yesterday and continued them as I've been wrestling with AI to do some -what you would think would be simple tasks.

Only 4 beers. I should get some sleep but I can work now without babysitting Ralphy and carrying him up and down the stairs. Snowflake usually goes out at 5am latest but all today is messed up I guess.

I'll see how this script goes. And there was a large jump.

Here's Snowflake.

Everyone have a great day.

Posted by: Stateless - He ain't heavy, he's my dog at July 15, 2026 05:19 AM (Sco7b)

30 Finishing my second cup of coffee. Time to get moving, i.e., change, stretch, make sure I have my bottle of water, and hit the road and walking trail.

Maybe I can do the same tomorrow before I leave to have the car's rear brakes done, and then visit the mall with Linda on Friday morning for a brisk walk indoors.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 15, 2026 05:25 AM (wzUl9)

31 Maybe I can do the same tomorrow before I leave to have the car's rear brakes done, and then visit the mall with Linda on Friday morning for a brisk walk indoors.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 15, 2026 05:25 AM (wzUl9)

So you're saying...there's an outside?
Hmmm. Interesting.
Have a great day.

Posted by: Stateless - He ain't heavy, he's my dog at July 15, 2026 05:27 AM (Sco7b)

32 Ordered 3 x 12V 5A power supplies with those little barrel connectors for a few devices I have here. Those finally got here and ... they're the wrong barrel connector. I'll keep 'em on the shelf in their boxes as the 5.5x2.1 size barrel connector is pretty standard and those will fit something else.

The devices I'm trying to power are stand-alone mini-PC's with lots of network connectors that I purchased from Ali Express back in 2024 (well before the memory debacle we're facing today.) They're going to be the new firewalls at my place and my mother's, running pfSense 2.7.2.

Anyhow, I've ordered three more, with slightly larger barrel connectors, (5.5x2.5) and I'm hoping I get the correct ones this time. The standardization on these things reminds me of that infamous XKCD comic:

https://xkcd.com/927/

Oh, and regarding the new firewalls: Mom has one of those newfangled "smart tv" things, which is great for her and she's really enjoying the stuff she can get on a couple of streaming services.

I want to segment her TV onto its own little VLAN so it can't even try to connect to her computer or see it on the network.

(Never mind me, I'm tech-babblin' here.)

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at July 15, 2026 05:35 AM (O7YUW)

33 Wolfus, I live in an Oregon town of about 2-3 times that size of what you're looking at, but about 25-30 minutes out from hospital/tradesmen type amenities. That is close enough for me, and really cuts down on the oozing spread of metro social dysfunction (although not eliminated). The bridges could have a similar filtering effect, without being as far away; even better if the TH bus lines stop at the river, but that's probably too much to hope for.

Posted by: SciVo at July 15, 2026 05:36 AM (Sy6m/)

34 So you're saying...there's an outside?
Hmmm. Interesting.
Have a great day.

Posted by: Stateless - He ain't heavy, he's my dog at July 15, 2026

***
There is, and it's hideous.

There's a story on the local Fox outlet now about an uptown shopping district trying to drum up business during the hottest part of the year. They show people *sitting outdoors* to eat. The notion of paying $$$$ (all those places on the main shopping street are $$$$) to sit outside and sweat is . . . I can't deal, man, I just can't deal. . . .

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 15, 2026 05:36 AM (wzUl9)

35 @Stateless: I'm glad to see you're doing so much better, and that you have a couple of your own furry thugs to keep you company. :-)

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at July 15, 2026 05:36 AM (O7YUW)

36 @34/Wolfus: The notion of paying $$$$ (all those places on the main shopping street are $$$$) to sit outside and sweat is . . . I can't deal, man, I just can't deal. . . .

Are they European themed restaurants?

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at July 15, 2026 05:37 AM (O7YUW)

37 36 @34/Wolfus: The notion of paying $$$$ (all those places on the main shopping street are $$$$) to sit outside and sweat is . . . I can't deal, man, I just can't deal. . . .

Are they European themed restaurants?
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at July 15, 2026 05:37 AM (O7YUW)

Why am I thinking Greek?

Is there a type of racist I am I didn't know about?

Hi Grumpy!

Posted by: Stateless - He ain't heavy, he's my dog at July 15, 2026 05:39 AM (Sco7b)

38 Also, out in the country, people frequently "have a guy" for basic auto repairs, or patching a roof, or what-have-you. Not everything needs to be through a big company.

Posted by: SciVo at July 15, 2026 05:39 AM (Sy6m/)

39 We walked on the canal
yesterday . It was lovely . Some exercisers there ( joggers ) are so intent they don't even acknowledge if you say " Good morning" or maybe they are listening to music, but I didn't see any ear devices. We may not be training for the Olympics, but we did turn a bit off the beaten path to look at the lake and so saw a grey as well as a white heron striding in the water looking for fish. On our way back we saw a grey heron in a tree . It looked like it was cleaning itself and so had little pieces of branches or leaves it was pulling off . I think it's too late in the year for making a nest.

We also saw a lot of flowers by the water ( a lovely pink color ) as well as some leaves that had turned bright red on the ground . So nice to be out before it gets really warm.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at July 15, 2026 05:40 AM (Bw1/o)

40 /Wolfus: The notion of paying $$$$ (all those places on the main shopping street are $$$$) to sit outside and sweat is . . . I can't deal, man, I just can't deal. . . .
*
Are they European themed restaurants?
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at July 15, 2026

***
I guess, to a degree. One is called "La Petit Grocery."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 15, 2026 05:41 AM (wzUl9)

41 35 @Stateless: I'm glad to see you're doing so much better, and that you have a couple of your own furry thugs to keep you company. :-)
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at July 15, 2026 05:36 AM (O7YUW)

Thanks so much.

Working on keeping them in a home. I've got this.

I am working on my website for bonus material but am going to have pictures of the animals there.

And my monkey statue!!

And it will fit in perfectly with what I'm working on.....

It's hell making a living in Canada.....
Sorry...choir....

Posted by: Stateless - He ain't heavy, he's my dog at July 15, 2026 05:42 AM (Sco7b)

42 I lived in New York City during my college years and never got used to it. At night I'd walk down the middle of the street and stay away from the sidewalk, for safety. The sirens at all hours and endless people on the main streets. My tiny apartment (off campus) was okay when your 22, but as soon as I graduated and took a job at a company that made sonar
for the navy I decided big city life was terrible for me. Moved back home in a small town it upstate NY (600 population) and said goodbye to big city life. Now I live near a big city, but its quiet and nice neighbors. No cats or dogs yet.....

Posted by: Colin at July 15, 2026 05:44 AM (CiQE7)

43 38 Also, out in the country, people frequently "have a guy" for basic auto repairs, or patching a roof, or what-have-you. Not everything needs to be through a big company.
Posted by: SciVo at July 15, 2026 05:39 AM (Sy6m/)

Good morning.

I'm in a very small town. Mom and I were blessed with wonderful neighbours. One is amazingly handy and also manages buildings

Yeah, I ask him first.....

Posted by: Stateless - He ain't heavy, he's my dog at July 15, 2026 05:45 AM (Sco7b)

44 3 Wolfus, I live in an Oregon town of about 2-3 times that size of what you're looking at, but about 25-30 minutes out from hospital/tradesmen type amenities. That is close enough for me, and really cuts down on the oozing spread of metro social dysfunction (although not eliminated). The bridges could have a similar filtering effect, without being as far away; even better if the TH bus lines stop at the river, but that's probably too much to hope for.
Posted by: SciVo at July 15, 2026

***
Good points. A fifteen-minute drive to a Walmart once or twice a week wouldn't kill me -- I do more than that now -- or thirty to a good mechanic, which I also do now.

One nice thing is that the roads I've seen in the smaller town seem to be in much better condition than the side streets in the bigger town.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 15, 2026 05:45 AM (wzUl9)

45 Greetings, everyone. It's already too bloody hot to function over here at the GPROMD so I'm dedicated to staying inside as much as possible.

I did start my morning at the gym though because I figured that even with AC, it was not going to be pleasant going there after work. So at least I've accomplished something.

Posted by: NR Pax at July 15, 2026 05:48 AM (RjOoY)

46 @40/Wolfus: (replying to my question of if they are European themed restaurants): "I guess, to a degree. One is called "La Petit Grocery."

There's your answer then: An aversion to air conditioning!

I'll see myself out.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at July 15, 2026 05:50 AM (O7YUW)

47 I guess this is the thread.

I'm running a script in ChatGPT to call the API to do work faster. Yes, it's doing it. What I want is VERY BASIC.

No, I could understand, maybe computationally how it may be difficult.

But damn. Companies must be spending fortunes on this. What AI is doing, I'm happy to pay for and modify the crap out of. The rest, I wonder...

Posted by: Stateless - He ain't heavy, he's my dog at July 15, 2026 05:52 AM (Sco7b)

48
Microsoft fixes things? That sounds suspiciously like caring about the customer.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 15, 2026 05:59 AM (O0L8i)

49 Belated BOING!

Went to the range to reinstall my original Glock 43X magazine release and to test out Glock's new 15 round magazines. Here's the issue, for you gun buffs:

https://youtu.be/mdVGoBNA1J0

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at July 15, 2026 06:02 AM (5UTWB)

50
I lived in New York City during my college years and never got used to it.

__________

Any time I went there I felt like I was in a foreign country. Even crossing back into New Jersey, of all places, felt like returning to America.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at July 15, 2026 06:02 AM (O0L8i)

51 @41/Stateless: I checked out the site linked under your name, nothing really there yet but as you said, you're working on that.

"It's hell making a living in Canada....."

Ain't that the truth. It absolutely infuriates me knowing that they're taking so much from me in taxes on income, purchases, fees, property, hidden things like carbon charges for energy, and of course at the end of your life, they'll try to claw as much of your estate back from you and your heirs as they can, and that's only going to get worse.

And then I watch them spend not only frivolously on themselves, but they throw a metric shitton of money at foreign governments as gifts and grants, while continuing to deficit-spend us into poverty.

I don't understand why this hasn't completely imploded yet. It really should have.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at July 15, 2026 06:04 AM (O7YUW)

52 @48/Hadrian the Seventh: "Microsoft fixes things? That sounds suspiciously like caring about the customer."

Or realizing that their customer base really has had enough of their bullshit and is starting to walk away and stay away.

"We've got to protect our phoney baloney jobs!"

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at July 15, 2026 06:05 AM (O7YUW)

53 Oh! There are 2 Win 11 security updates begging me to restart my PC.

What a koinkadinky!

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at July 15, 2026 06:07 AM (ayKiF)

54 I don't understand why this hasn't completely imploded yet. It really should have.
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at July 15, 2026 06:04 AM (O7YUW)

There's a lot of us who wouldn't mind going through that just to see our 'betters' suffer.

Preferably...oh my something is ready.....

Posted by: Stateless - He ain't heavy, he's my dog at July 15, 2026 06:08 AM (Sco7b)

55 w00t late

Posted by: m at July 15, 2026 06:09 AM (6wpGE)

56 Good morning morons

Posted by: San Franpsycho at July 15, 2026 06:11 AM (RIvkX)

57 - 50 comments in and not a single 'I see what you did there, pixy.'
Hmmm, maybe I'm reading something into it.

Posted by: TeeJ at July 15, 2026 06:11 AM (dAv7M)

58 One nice thing is that the roads I've seen in the smaller town seem to be in much better condition than the side streets in the bigger town.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 15, 2026 05:45 AM (wzUl9)

One of the interesting quirks about Portland, which I have usually lived near but rarely in, is the way that the East Side (east of 82nd Ave) is really the unwanted stepchild. IIRC, people loved the unincorporated land for being cheaper, but building it out without proper utility planning led to septic pollution, so a judge ultimately forced a shotgun wedding and made Portland take responsibility. But the City made the people on the side streets pay for their own paving if they wanted it, so many on that side of town are still gravel to this day.

Posted by: SciVo at July 15, 2026 06:16 AM (Sy6m/)

59 Good morning Horde. Thx Pixy
Reading all the comments about NYC. I live 90m north of NYC and it's politics are creeping outward. Lots of people moved up here after 9/11 and then DeBlasio and they vote the same way expecting a different result. What happens in NYC ain't staying in NYC

Posted by: Smell the Glove at July 15, 2026 06:16 AM (m2wmY)

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