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Wednesday Evening Reviews (0 Comments) (link)  Wednesday, 6-May-2026  22:20:12 (GMT +10) - by MUTMAN Audio Visual: ENDORFY Viro Plus USB Alt Gray Gaming Headset @ Madshrimps Kiwi Ears Belle Earphones @ APHnetworks Keyboard: EPOMAKER TH108 Pro Review @ Vortez QUNIX MQ80 Keyboard @ TechPowerUp Epomaker Luma40 Keyboard @ Madshrimps Cooling: CPS PCCOOLER RT720 TC @ TechPowerUp Cooler Master Elite Liquid 360 Liquid CPU Cooler @ ThinkComputers Noctua NF-A14x25 G2 chromax.black @ APHnetworks ASRock Phantom Gaming 360 LCD @ TechPowerUp Motherboard: MSI Z890 GAMING PLUS WIFI6E Motherboard @ FunkyKit ASRock B850 Rock WiFi 7 AMD AM5 Motherboard @ OCinside ASUS ProArt Z890-Creator Wi-Fi @ TechPowerUp PSU: CPS PcCooler YT1000 ATX 3.1 Power Supply Unit @ NikKTech FSP MEGA GM 1000W ATX 3.1 Power Supply Unit @ NikKTech Video Card: ASUS GeForce RTX 5090 Matrix Platinum @ TechPowerUp Sapphire NITRO+ PhantomLink X870EA and Radeon RX 9070 XT @ guru3D MSI GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16G VENTUS 2X OC PLUS @ TweakTown MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti VENTUS 3X PZ OC @ TweakTown Benchmark: Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus vs AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D @ ThePCEnthusiast Portable, Prebuilt: Ninkear YBOOK 15 @ TechPowerUp HP OmniBook 7 (Panther Lake) 16" Laptop @ TweakTown HP Omen Max 45L Desktop PC @ HotHardware Wednesday Evening News (0 Comments) (link)  Wednesday, 6-May-2026  21:51:33 (GMT +10) - by MUTMAN As both Apple and Google introduce unwelcome changes in their phone OSes, here's a quick reminder that you do have alternatives to the Gruesome Twosome. The Keep Android Open campaign is gathering attention and support as the big red numbers on its page count down. The good news is that you do already have alternatives. If you are not the sort of person who reads phone reviews, or writeups of alternative phone OSes, and just wants to buy a new handset and retain control of it and its contents, we thought it might be a good time to remind you of where to go and who to talk to. Notepad++ creator threatens legal action over macOS port of open-source app. Nextpad++ after legal action and a firm warning from the original Notepad++ developer, who was listed on the author page, and did not appreciate his name and branding being used without his permission. The port, for what it's worth, is at least functional and is indeed a native Mac OS port. Firefox integrates an ad-blocker, but not to block ads. The inclusion of the code is experimental, and it's not intended for blocking ads. That's presumably also why it didn't appear in the release notes for either the early March beta or the late March release. So, yes, there is code for an ad-blocker in the last two versions of Firefox, but it’s off by default, and there’s no user interface to enable it. There are ways round this, and we'll return to that later. NBN will start forcing fibre upgrades next year. NBN Co says impacted customers will be notified three times about the need to upgrade. This will happen at six months, three months, and one month out from the disconnection date. Customers who do not upgrade to FTTP within the six months will have their connection suspended. Requesting a fibre upgrade will resume connectivity. Customers who do not do this within 30 days will be disconnected entirely. These customers will need to order a new NBN service to get back online. Global semiconductor revenue hit $298.5 billion for Q126, up 25% from the previous quarter. That nearly $300 billion of total revenue accounts for sales of logic, memory, analog, mixed signal and other types of chips. In March 2026, monthly revenue stood at $99.5 billion, which represents a 79.2% increase from $55.5 billion recorded in March 2025 and 11.5% higher from February 2026 levels. These monthly figures are calculated as a rolling three-month average by World Semiconductor Trade Statistics. Global chip sales remain on track to reach $1 trillion in 2026, with Q1 sales significantly exceeding sales in Q4 2025. A newly-disclosed Linux kernel bug dubbed "CopyFail" is already being exploited, just days after researchers dropped a working root-level exploit. The Python-based code works against Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Amazon Linux 2023, RHEL 10.1, and SUSE 16, but the researchers warned that every mainstream Linux kernel built since 2017 is in scope of potential exploitation. The same exploit binary works unmodified on every Linux distribution, Theori says. The mechanics help explain the urgency. The attack is local and requires little access, with no user interaction, so anyone who already has a foothold on a vulnerable box can try their luck. It is the kind of bug that turns a small break-in into full control pretty quickly. After 29 years in the business Ask Jeeves has closed its doors. Ask Jeeves: 3 June 1996 - 1 May 2026. Send no memes. It's a sad but also somewhat ironic time for users of the old Internet. As a tech writer with over 13 years of experience and 30 years of age myself, my memories of Jeeves prior to Google and Yahoo's takeover of search are limited but fond. In a way, Jeeves is a precursor to modern AI Large Language Model chatbots of today, since the search engine was optimized around asking direct questions rather than chasing specific keywords. This is rather similar to how modern AI search from Google, OpenAI and the like work, though obviously far less advanced. Retro Gaming May 2026 (1 Comments) (link)  Saturday, 2-May-2026  16:33:01 (GMT +10) - by MUTMAN This month's "Retro Let's Play" for May is Commando from 1985 Commando is the seminal run-and-gun arcade game that introduced players to high-octane action and fast-paced gameplay. Known for its intense combat and iconic grenade-throwing mechanic, Commando became a trailblazer for future titles in the genre. Players assume the role of Super Joe, a soldier tasked with infiltrating enemy territory and rescuing hostages, all while battling waves of adversaries. Its simple yet addictive gameplay mechanics, coupled with its military theme, resonated with arcade audiences worldwide. The game’s popularity led to numerous home console ports, including on the NES, 2600, Speccy, Amstrad, C64, Atari ST and Amiga. click for the thread! Misc Pics (17 Comments) (link)  Friday, 1-May-2026  15:02:05 (GMT +10) - by Agg Friday again! Friday Afternoon Reviews (0 Comments) (link)  Friday, 1-May-2026  14:06:36 (GMT +10) - by Agg Motherboard & CPU: ASUS ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi7 NEO - A Crosshair by any other name on Tweaktown. ASRock B860 Rock WiFi 7 Motherboard on FunkyKit. Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus vs Ultra 9 285K CPUs on ThePCEnthusiast. NZXT N7 Z890 on TechPowerUp. MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk Max WiFi II Motherboard on Tweaktown. Input Etc: CHERRY XTRFY MX 8.2 PRO TMR Wireless Gaming Keyboard on FunkyKit. G-Wolves HTX Ultra mouse on TechPowerUp. Thrustmaster T598 Direct Axial Drive Force Feedback Racing Wheel Bundle on Tweaktown. CHERRY XTRFY K5 PRO TMR Compact Magnetic Switch Gaming Keyboard on FunkyKit. Razer DeathAdder V4 Pro Esports Green Gaming Mouse on MadShrimps. Audio Visual: beyerdynamic Aventho 200 Over-Ear Wireless Headphones on NikKTech. Victrola Journey Glow Suitcase Record Player on NeoSeeker. MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 Review - 500 Hz for the Elite Few on TechPowerUp. Edifier M90 Hi-Res Multimedia Speakers on NikKTech. Storage: Seagate Ultra Compact SSD 2 TB on TechPowerUp. Beelink ME Mini 6-Slot Home Storage NAS PC (Intel N95) on FunkyKit. Portable & Prebuilt: HP Omen Max 45L Desktop PC Review: Cool, Quiet, Brutally Fast on HotHardware. Motorola's 2026 Razr Fold Hands-On: Watch Out, Galaxy on HotHardware. DFRobot LattePanda Iota single-board computer on TechPowerUp. Lenovo Legion Pro 7 16IAX10H 16" OLED Gaming Laptop on NikKTech. Dell Pro Max GB10 Review: NVIDIA’s Mini AI Supercomputer Tested on HotHardware. ASUS ProArt GoPro Edition (PX13, HN7306) Review - Small but Deadly laptop on TechPowerUp. Power Supply: Jackery HomePower 2000 Ultra Review Video on FunkyKit. ADATA SR800 Magnetic Power Bank SSD on ThinkComputers. BLUETTI FridgePower, BlueCell 200, Display 1 Uninterruptible Power Supply on APHNetworks. Cases: Fractal Design Pop 2 Vision Black RGB Computer Case on APHNetworks. Cooler Master Cosmos Alpha Full-Tower Chassis on Tweaktown. Fractal Design Pop 2 Vision RGB on TechPowerUp. Fractal Design Pop 2 Vision on ThinkComputers. Arctic Xtender VG Black on OCInside. CORSAIR FRAME 4000D WOOD RS & 4000X RS on Vortez.

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