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The checklist link in the original post returns “Authorization Failed”.  I even located this website (https://www.aicpa-cima.com/resources/article/disaster-financial-issues-tools-to-help-with-disaster-recovery) and the download buttons are greyed out. Seems one has to be a signed-in member to download? I’ve located other such lists but am curious what AICPA has to say.

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

I know this is an older thread but noticed it because I just got hearing aids. I wanted to pair them to my desktop Bluetooth for streaming, music etc..  I discussed this with the audiologist where I bought them and she told me I couldn’t do that unless I purchased an intermediary piece of hardware at an additional cost of around $200.

I asked her why and she said their Bluetooth capabilities are proprietary.  As for pairing to smartphones, she said iPhones are compatible but only some Android phones are.

I asked her if that had to do with whether or not the phone manufacturers had licensing agreements for the proprietary software and she said “yes”.  Seems the hearing aid companies are protecting revenue streams:  hardware sales and/or licensing fees — while the consumers get the short end of the stick plus all the frustrations? This should all be standardized, imho.

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

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Casey H

Virus Total often has lesser known scanners amongst their security vendors. So I consider this if it gets only a few detections. In this case, most big security companies show the file as clean, except for CrowdStrike who only shows its detection confidence at 70%.

If all the major players show the file as clean, I will sometimes trust it — depending on my need-vs-risk tolerance. It seems this one may be OK but that’s for you to decide.

It could be the detections are because editing the hosts file requires administrator rights and editing it in malicious ways could redirect internet traffic in nefarious ways.

 

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

Seems there is an incompatibility with LibreWolf:  My VPN has to be on no matter what DNS settings I chose in LibreWolf. With the VPN off, it’s a complete no-go. I’m OK with that for the time being since Brave and Firefox work fine with VPN being on or off.  I may try a different secure DNS later.

 

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

Thanks. Some weirdness to be staightened out, it seems. I’ll tweak some more….

 

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

Interesting synchonicity. As a small part of my start to the new year I reviewed my DNS settings just yesterday (I had been using Cloudflare).

I decided to try one of Mullvad’s encrypted filtering DNS servers. I first changed my ISP-provided router which allows setting my own DNS. Then I set all my browsers to use the same: Brave, Firefox and LibreWolf. I have DuckDuckGo’s browser, but it has no DNS setting that can be changed. I assume the router takes care of that.

I use NordVPN which has the option to choose a custom DNS, so that got changed as well.  Also had to go into Settings>Network & Internet>Status>Properties (Ethernet while connected) and Edit to change the DNS servers there as well.  Wifi is turned off on this computer.

In elevated command prompt I just now ran “ipconfig /all” to check everything, as suggested by Michael432. VMware Virtual adapters still show 1.1.1.1 and 1..0.0.1 – I may have to open VMware to change these later.  All is working well so far. 🤞  https://mullvad.net/en/help/dns-over-https-and-dns-over-tls

 

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

Regarding Sync-Droid. I found a video on YouTube about it and someone from Syncios (Anvsoft – the company that made Sync-Droid and now makes Syncios) posted the following:

@synciosofficial7996   6 years ago
Sync-Droid Manager has changed its name to Syncios Mobile Manager since 2015, please download latest version from: https://www.syncios.com/features.html

There is apparently a free and a paid upgrade version. Not sure what the difference is.

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

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jburk07

The “Plus Newsletter” is only available for Plus Members. Your avatar doesn’t have the Plus badge on it. I do see your membership is until 2026, so there may be an issue. You can email Susan at customersupport@askwoody.com and ask her to check into your situation.

 

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

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Cybertooth

I really appreciate the points you make about the arms race in AI:  “It’s a technological arms race now. We can only hope the advocates of privacy and truth prevail over the bad actors who want to deceive you.”

I also think it isn’t just the “bad guys” and the “good guys” that are involved. (Sometimes it isn’t easy to tell which is which!)  The people in the middle – the users of these products – also have a serious role to play with their educated opinions, personal choices and hard earned money to help steer where this all leads. I believe, as well, that societal/legal regulations can be an important part of the process.

In general, it seems to me that hype is leading many to jump on the horses of AI just because they are fast while life is seen to be mostly a race. Unfortunately, I see signs of runaway horses. We ought to consider that a bridle may be necessary to safely steer the steed where we want to go. Younger generations (especially) may not have the perspective or skills to ride safely, so to speak.

Case in point (your second topic): The harm of AI, social media and the addictive side effects of the internet to our youngest. To mix metaphors, it’s a very deep end of the pool they are growing up swimming in – often without the wisdom or guidance that comes with life experience…. which tragically too many will never have the opportunity to get.

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

Alex wrote:

At this point, it looks like the issue at hand is not really leased vs. owned, but predatory vs. non-predatory practices..

As a company gains preeminence in a market or product niche, the temptation to be predatory sometimes wins out, unfortunately. I pay for a number of software subscriptions and will continue to do so as long as I am treated with respect: high quality, good customer support, lack of any ‘dark pattern’ manipulations, no in-software advertising or nag-ware, no data-mining, good privacy and so on. And if I get these from ‘free’ software, I will support them via donations if I rely on the software regularly.

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

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TechTango, Cybertooth

Does the Recall feature include an option that will delete all images and logs at the user’s command? If not, I see Recall as a case of trading privacy and security for convenience and efficiency – even if it doesn’t transmit anything to the cloud. What if a user undertook activities in a State (or Country) where certain politicized things have been criminalized? Smart phones have already been used to prosecute such things. Laptops and desktops can be confiscated.

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

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Cybertooth

Subscription vs Purchase?  Service vs Product? Consumable vs Non-consumable?

If I subscribe to a magazine, I get new creative content with each issue. If I subscribe to a streaming service, I get to view new content every month. If I pay for electricity every month, power is delivered every month. The efforts of the seller are earning cash flow each month for the service or product delivered.  I would characterize these as “consumables”. I’m fine with this.

If I purchase say a power tool, I get a product that has an extended life. It may have wear and tear that shortens its usefulness, but I own it to use as long as it lasts or serves my needs. The manufacturer earns my money by creating a useful and durable product. This I would characterize as “non-consumable”. Unfortunately, companies that made well engineered, long lasting, durable products found themselves not selling enough product when the products lasted too long. Enter “planned obsolescence” which has led to poorly made products and the throw-away economy.

Software used to fall more in the “product” category rather than the “service” category. New versions were sold because of new features and functionality.  The last ten or fifteen years has seen an acceleration of SaS (software as a “service”) and making many things that are actually “products” into essentially a subscription. You want to turn on the heated seats in your BMW? Subscribe! ( https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/14/business/bmw-subscription/index.html )

Coupon clipping? Passive income? Maybe not entirely, but the trend is slowly enuring us to accept this as normal.

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

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Myst, bwsantana, F A Kramer, Cybertooth, teuhasn2

And another user friendly and upstanding thing Macrium is doing is making their new image file format ‘open source’ so that users can mount and access the folders and files in the image even if the user chooses to no longer use ReflectX.

“Open-Source Accessibility: Our image file formats are now open source, offering full transparency and flexibility for your data recovery and system deployment.”

https://github.com/macrium/mrimgx_file_layout

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

Agree with you on the old single folder installs. It was so simple – if done right.

I’ve watched that idea sort of come back after these many decades: “portable” versions of programs in Windows plus “flatpaks” in Linux. What’s old becomes new again.

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

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dg1261

One can read (and download) the entire Creative Computing Magazine (December 1981) here:   https://archive.org/details/creativecomputing-1981-12/mode/2up

The way-back machine for sure!

My first exposure to computers was a high school field trip in 1964 to the NORAD/SAGE site at McCord Airforce base outside Tacoma, WA. It was all tubes and magnetic core memory – in a huge warehouse of a room. I remember the guide telling us where the phrase “computer bug” originated – actual living bugs getting in the works (apocryphal?). He also mentioned that they had full-time employees who’s job it was to find and change out defective or out-of-spec tubes! I was absolutely fascinated.

Then in 1965 I learned Fortran IV programming via punch cards at Washington State University. Next I was playing around with my brother’s Apple II (Wizardy to be honest!) in the 70’s while salivating over DYI computer kits that I couldn’t afford at the time. Once the IBM PC was readily available in 1982 and I could afford one, I had no hesitation – like a kid in a candy store. On to DOS, Windows, Lotus 1-2-3, Basic, dBase IV, and onward to being in charge of a Unix mini at our company. Haven’t stopped geeking since. 😄

Thanks, Will.

 

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

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lanshark, jburk07, Cybertooth, TechTango, Will Fastie