Daily Tech News 29 August 2021

• I have a copy of the mee.nu system up and running on the new server. I do need to test more before switching over, since we're upgrading the versions of Python and the database server at the same time - but we're certainly getting there.
  
  Expect things to be about twice as fast as before as well.
  
  
  
• Is Microsoft hiring State Department spokescritters to handle its communications?
  
  You can't upgrade old hardware to Windows 11. Well, no, you can, but you have to do it manually rather than using the automated upgrade tool. Well, no, you can do it manually, but then you won't get any updates, ever. (PC World)
  
  Wait...
  
  No updates.
  
  No updates.
  
  Wrap it up, I'll take it.
  
  

• You can't get the chips, you know: All sorts of integrated circuits are in short supply, not just huge expensive ones like GPUs. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  I noticed recently that the new Asus Ryzen-based NUCs lack the headphone jack found on the old model. Today I discovered that so do recent units of certain QNAP NASes.
  
  It's not that they decided users no longer wanted audio output. They can't get the chips - or rather, the chips are prioritised elsewhere.
  
  
  
• Beware the benchmarks, they will lie: Upcoming Alder Lake desktop parts from Intel can draw up to 350W if the motherboard unlocks the power limits. (WCCFTech)
  
  Motherboard makers like to do just that because it's an easy way to win benchmarks. Downside is it runs very hot and very loud.
  
  AMD is not innocent of this trick but is not guilty to nearly the same degree.
  
  
  
• How Microsoft, Google, Apple, and IBM will help the US improve its cybersecurity. (Info Security)
  
  Well, IBM hasn't been in the headlines with a giant security catastrophe in the past week, so they've got that going for them, which is nice.
  
  
  
• Microsoft's Cosmos DB security bug has been described as "the worst cloud vulnerability you can imagine". (Ars Technica)
  
  Don't use cloud databases. Cloud servers, yeah, okay, though I still prefer to run my own. Cloud services, maybe. Cloud databases, hell no.
  
  
  
• What's Facebook been up to lately? I've been busy kicking Apple, Google, Twitter, Microsoft, Amazon... Oh, there we go: Facebook Messenger silently censors links in private messages.
  
  

  FB messenger silently censors some covid-related links but claims the messages were sent 🙃
  
  im pro-science/vaccine/etc, but this not cool fb pic.twitter.com/fJTZcTziy1

  — Kyle Morris (@kylejohnmorris) August 28, 2021

  
  
  I'm ready for my closeup, Mr Skynet. Just get it over with.
  
  
  

posted by Pixy Misa at 02:18 AM

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