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xenosgirlvents · 5 years

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Perdition’s Flame - Review

So here’s a quick tidbit about me: I really like horror of a specific bent. I’m not a fan of gore really, I find it lacks punch, but creeping dread, unsettling atompsheres, subtle horror is a genre I truly, truly enjoy.

So this is the first of the Warhammer Horror audio dramas I listened to and, personally, I feel like an audio drama is actually a pretty effective way of conveying horror. I’ve often found that any amount of frightening imagery can be handled by simply muting a video, robbing it of impact. But listening to something frightening even with now images often unsettles me.

So how is Perdition’s Flame? Well since these are beginning to get wordy I’m going to use a spoiler bar and write about it below. Further I’ll try to be a bit more systematic in my thoughts since this might help some people choose if they do or do not want it. That being said I don’t pretend to be ranking quality here with this only my personal position on how enjoyable I think it will be and to whom.

Perdition’s Flame: A disgraced Vostroyan Imperial Guardsman huddles, alone and freezing, against a dark storm. Desperate for a chance to redeem himself, he grasps at any hope for peace. But in the Dark Millennium, the Gods offer nothing but horror…

Plot: Perdition’s Flame has a fairly succint and tight plot which works in it’s favour. Largely set upon a single vessel and dealing with a rather small timeframe the story doesn’t really drag or plod or have unneccessary sequences barring the introductory framing device and the concluding framing device, both set some time after the actual events of the story.

The story also largely focuses on just two characters, Officer Brandon and her companion the prisoner Vostroyan Vosk (the protagonist). This tight focuses helps us get to know both characters and invest them to an extent. I often find in short audio dramas it is important to have a small cast as a large cast often simply reduces the characters into very unmemorable individuals.

The short of the story is largely that an assault forces Captain Brandon and Vosk to work together to try to stop a series of supernatural phenomena dooming the prison ship they are on, connected to some mysterious cargo an Inquisitor has brought aboard the vessel. The story actually has a not bad bait-and-switch concerning the actual ‘horror’ with the obvious candidate of Chaos ultimately not being as obvious as it first appears.

So how is the horror then, seeing as this is a horror story? It’s not bad...but I’d stop short of calling it amazing. There is one or two early cases of genuinely pretty unsettling scenes, which I enjoyed, but the story’s ‘horror’ transforms into a more visceral ‘zombie hoard’ style of horror by the halfway point which I just never really find very interesting or frightening. The horror, thus, is mostly contained to the first half after which it’s more just like a monster story with little in the way of dread and more just very instinctive ‘this monster will eat me if I don’t shoot it’ fear.

Whilst the plot is middling to good I must admit the end is just to me flat. I know it’s pretty standard for horror stories to feel the end to finish on a very depressing note but in this story that depressing note seems to undermine the primary theme of the entire story. So for this reason I personally feel the ending doesn’t work and undermines the theme of the story.

Characters: There are really only 3 characters who need to be discussed; Brandon, Vosk and Inquisitor Herrin. Without a doubt, for myself, Brandon shines through as the most engaging characer. A Captain of the Praetorian Guard Astra Militarum Regiment she has the most agency in the story by far, her actions largely being the only proactive ones that drive the plot forwards. The story also, despite introducing her as a hardass, shies away from making her a vindictive brute as many Imperial ‘hardasses’ are portrayed as being. Indeed I greatly enjoyed that she directly questions and defies the authority of the Inquisition when it endangers the lives of everyone onboard the vessel.

(On a seperate note just how casually both Brandon and her superior do question and defy Inquisitor Herrin is...perhaps a little questionable? Considering the aura of menance the Inquisition is normally afforded in 40k the fact that a ship’s Captain seems to have almost no fear mouthing off to an Inquisitor and demanding she jettison her cargo is perhaps a little uncharacteristic.)

Vosk is our protagonist and, if I must be honest, the most exogenous of the characters. He isn’t bad, per say, he just isn’t particularly interesting or well-integrated. For example one would think specifying he was a deserter would be part of the theme of the story or important to it but, in actuality, it really is irrelevant. It isn’t worked in as part of the plot really. Indeed, if anything, the primary theme of the story probably means him being imprisoned for being an atheist, or a heretic, would have worked better. Regardless Vosk isn’t a bad character he’s just a rather dull one. He very much serves ONLY as a vessel for narration and I feel often that if you’re doing an audio drama having a character who’s just there for narration is a waste as the audio drama already provides that.

Inquisitor Herrin then is, I suppose, the closest to an antagonist in the story. There is little given on her beyond her being an Inquisitor of the Ordo Chronos and, well, she is a problem. Unlike Vosk her problem is not that she is uninteresting just...the story makes her come across as an idiot. This is a problem considering she is meant to be an Inquisitor and there is already a small tendency of Inquisitors being reflected as idiots at times in stories. To her credit she doesn’t fall into the common narrative trap of being a bloodthirsty idiot, as many Inquisitors are shown to be, just one with seemingly poor grasp of reality. She is consistently presented with evidence that she, and everyone else, onboard the vessel is about to die...but seems to take no action to stop this? Even hinder some of Brandon and Vosk’s actions and insist that everything will be fine if everyone ‘does their jobs’ even though it is made painfully clear that everyone is dying en masse.

Part of this maybe comes down to a poor job of conveying her meaning at the end. In her final sequence, when her ‘special cargo’ is broken open she babbles a bit about some vague indication that she could have prevented something but...the story doesn’t make clear if she actually means she was about to solve the problem or just refering to a smaller, different issue related to her cargo. Either way it would perhaps have been better to replace her with an Inquisitorial Acolyte delivering the cargo for their Mistress or Master and thus more easily excuse their incompetence.

That, or, considering how ridiculously significant the cargo turns out to be, I have no idea why a random prison ship is being used as a transport and not an Inquisitorial Vessel or a Blackship.

Sound Direction: As always the sound direction and voice acting is great. Grace Andrew’s Brandon is particularly fun but even Vosk’s Vostroyan accent is a delight to hear. There is good use made of ambient noise at quite a few stages in order to help give the story a more grounded feel. The only part where I think this ambient sound becomes a bit silly is a sequence near the end where a laugh track from Brandon seems to play on repeat for a few good minutes and sounds incredibly robotic and unconvincing after the first few times.

I must draw special attention, though, to the use of distorted voice for the ‘horror’ at the end. As much as I feel the ‘horror’ lacks punch at the end the voice given to it is superb and very well-done!

Theme: Despite the name, the reference to fire, the protagonist’s main trait, redemption, damnation, perdition are not really the themes of the story. The primary focus is more on faith, as hope, in a dark situation. Throughout the story the cast are confronted by a ‘dark reality’ they have not encountered before and which now shakes their faith and their hope. Brandon, the character of agency, is defined by her constant working to save them even in the face of hopelessness, whilst for Vosk his primary motivation is an all-consuming desire to escape and run away from the things he’s now seen.

The conclusion, though, is an event which Brandon interprets as a ‘miracle’, evidence that there is hope, via faith, for them, that they are not left in a hopeless situation. Though Vosk does not share her thoughts on this ‘miracle’ he comes to see Brandon as representing that hope for him, stressing his desire to ‘live on’ is purely because he doesn’t want Brandon, who saved him, to have done so in vain. Finding something to believe in, despite a seemingly grim outlook, is the stronger theme to me.

Which is part of why the ending, which basically invalidates this, falls flat in my opinion. It’s one thing to have a cruel twist ending, it’s another to build a theme throughout a story and then just pull it out from under the audience at the end and go ‘silly rabbit hope is for kids!’

Conclusion: Perdition’s Flame is okay. Certainly better than Killshot and the Devil You Know. It is not amazing or incredible but it just manages to coast by enough that though I would not be enthused to listen to it again I would not never do so as with Killshot and Devil You Know. It manages to just about break average or slightly above average. I can’t recommend it as a story I think anyone needs to listen to but I can say that if you are bored give it a try.

#warhammer #warhammer 40k #warhammer 40000 #inquisition #astra militarum #imperial guard #vostroyan firstborn #legion of the damned #chaos #lost and the damned #audio drama #review #warhammer horror #black library

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trinuviel · 7 years

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Winterfell’s Daughter. On Sansa Stark (part 3)

This is the third part of my analysis of the character of Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones. (Part 1, Part 2)

“WAR IS EASIER THAN DAUGHTERS”

Things are understandably tense among the Starks when they arrive in King’s Landing and Ned clumsily tries to soothe Sansa’s broken heart by giving her a fancy doll.

Sansa reacts by being a bit of a brat but try to look at it from her point of view: her father killed her beloved pet on the whim of the king and queen – and he gives her doll! A toy is not a replacement for a pet and Ned ought to have known that. What’s even worse is that she hasn’t played with dolls for a while and Ned doesn’t even know that. It is such a heartbreaking scene because it highlights how little Ned actually knows his eldest daughter. After Sansa has left, he makes a rueful remark to Septa Mordane about “war being easier than daughters” but that isn’t quite true, which the next scene exemplifies: Here, Ned goes to talk to Arya, explaining things and telling her that KL is a dangerous place and that the Starks have to stick together:

Ned: Sansa was dragged before the king and queen and asked to call the prince a liar.

Arya: So was I. He is a liar!

Ned: Shh darling, listen to me. Sansa will be married to Joffrey someday. She cannot betray him. She must take his side even when he’s wrong.

Arya: But how can you let her marry someone like that?

Notice that Ned has NO answer to Arya’s question! He is effectively shamed into silence by his 11 year-old daughter because he has no good answer as to why he has allowed the betrothal to stand after what happened on the King’s Road. Even when he knows that Joffrey is a vicious little shit, he still intends for Sansa to marry him. It is only when he falls out with Robert in ep06 that he finally wants to break the betrothal. I know it is unpopular to criticize the sainted Ned Stark, but as a parent, he fails Sansa. Firstly, he allows his fondness for Robert to blind him and he uncritically accepts a betrothal when Robert suggests it in an off-handed manner in the crypts of WF. Secondly, he lets the betrothal stand even after he suspects the Lannisters of murder, even after he learns Joffrey’s true nature. You might say that he cannot go against the king but that is not true. He adamantly opposes Robert, and rightly so, when he wants to have Daenerys assassinated. However, he never goes against Robert when it comes to Sansa - not when her wolf is to be killed and not about whether her future marriage is in her best interest – not until he cannot be blind to Robert’s faults any longer.

I want to go back to Ned’s comment about “war being easier than daughters”. As already noted he doesn’t seem to have any problems relating to Arya and he makes the effort to explain things to her and warn her that King’s Landing is a dangerous place. He makes no such effort with Sansa; he simply leaves her in the care of her septa. Never once does he try to temper her naïve romanticism and his interactions with her are superficial, and that is so very sad because Ned and Sansa actually share many similar character traits. No one tries to temper Sansa’s naivety with the truth – in fact, several people actively try to reinforce her romantic blinders – and thus she is eventually forced to finally face the truth in the most brutal and traumatic manner possible.

I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about the relationship between Ned and Sansa. Suffice it to say, that several factors may have been in play to create a situation where Ned doesn’t really know his daughter and instead of dealing with his unease, he buries his head in the sand and lets someone else deal with her. Gender is definitely a major factor here. I have already noted how Sansa inhabits an exclusively feminine space that Ned isn’t comfortable with. One of the reasons he relates so well with Arya is that she’s a tomboy who likes the masculine pursuits that falls within Ned’s purview as a parent and as a lord. Furthermore, Sansa has always been an obedient child and that may have led to her being a bit overlooked in a large family because she didn’t need special attention.

TRAPPED BY THE PATRIARCHAL ORDER

One of the scenes from season 1 that I find the most interesting is the scene where Sansa and Septa Mordane before the Iron Throne, discussing Sansa’s future as Queen Consort. Here Sansa demonstrates that she actually does know that being queen isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. This scene also establishes that she doesn’t really have anyone to confide in – someone who’ll take her worries seriously.

(video, timestamp: 18:16)

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Septa M: Someday your husband will sit there (IT) and you will sit by his side.

Septa M: And you will present your son to the court. All the lords of Westeros will gather here to see the little prince.

Sansa: What if I have a girl?

Septa M: Gods be good, you’ll have boys and girls and plenty of them.

Sansa: What if I only have girls?

Septa M: I wouldn’t worry about that.

Sansa: Jeyne Poole’s mother had five children – all of them girls.

Septa M: Yes, but that is highly unlikely.

Sansa: But what if?

Septa M: Well, if you only had girls, I suppose the throne would pass to Prince Joffrey’s little brother.

Sansa: And everyone would hate me.

Septa M: Nobody could ever hate you.

Sansa: Joffrey does.

Septa M: Nonsense. Why would you say such a thing? That business with the wolves? I’ve told you a hundred times – a direwolf is not…

Sansa: Please shut up about it…

[…]

Sansa: My grandfather and uncle were murdered here, weren’t they?

Septa M: They were killed on the orders of King Aerys, commonly known as the Mad King.

Sansa: Why were they killed?

Septa M: You should speak to your father about these matters.

Sansa: I don’t want to speak to my father, ever.

Septa M: Sansa, you will find it in your heart to forgive your father.

Sansa: No, I won’t.

Let’s unpack this exchange because there are two very important things going on here:

Firstly, Sansa knows that as queen her most important job is to produce a male heir for the throne – and she knows that she has absolutely no control over whether she’ll birth boys or girls. It is a real and legitimate worry on her part. How does her septa respond to those worries? She brushes them off? Sansa has to press her again and again to even acknowledge that her future may not be so bright after all – even if she is to be queen. Sansa also knows that she will be the one blamed if she doesn’t produce a son – because that is how patriarchy works. Once again the septa brushes away her worries and fears as insignificant.

Secondly, there’s the issue of Joffrey. Sansa states that he hates her. She’s actually quite perceptive but once again the septa denies both Sansa’s experience and her worries – she actively tries to dissuade Sansa from trusting her own instincts! Furthermore, she goes on to dismiss Sansa’s feelings about the loss of Lady and berates her anger against her father. Sansa speaks from a place of hurt but the person responsible for her well-being won’t even address her feelings. Septa Mordane doesn’t want to talk about the unpleasant aspects of life with Sansa and refers her to her father, who hardly interacts with his daughter in a meaningful manner.

Notice how the adults responsible for Sansa either ignore, dismiss or invalidate her feelings, worries and fears!

It is no wonder that she lets herself be convinced that what she perceives and feels are wrong – and that Joffrey and Cersei are not the vicious and petty people that she experienced on the King’s Road. Sansa’s tendency to block out or re-write her experiences and perceptions can thus be understood as a coping mechanism. She’s trapped in a situation (her betrothal to Joffrey) that has turned sour and no one will listen to her and take her worries seriously.

Ned and Septa Mordane probably act out of a misguided desire to shield her but it does her more harm than good. Like the septa, Ned doesn’t really address Sansa’s feelings of loss and anger when it comes to Lady. He clumsily tries to give her a doll but a toy is a poor replacement for a beloved pet. He doesn’t even try to talk with her. Yes, she is a bit rude and standoffish but he doesn’t try and his behavior is thrown into sharp contrast when it is compared with how he interacts with Arya. Sansa is left alone with her hurt, her fears and her questions because the adults in her life won’t talk to her about difficult and unpleasant things.

You get the feeling that Sansa exists on the periphery of Ned’s life. She’s a girl so her education has primarily been entrusted to her mother and the septa. She’s an obedient child so she generally doesn’t need special attention. Yet when she does need special attention, Ned utterly fails her. However, in the end he does sacrifice his precious honour to save her life. That at least is something. Maybe Ned couldn’t really refuse Robert’s offer of a betrothal but neither he nor Cat talk seriously with Sansa about what her future entails. She is simply left to her own devices or in the care of a woman who constantly invalidates her legitimate fears and worries. Apparently, it is far easier for all the adults to leave Sansa to seek refuge in her romantic fantasies. She’s less troublesome that way.

To be continued...

#game of thrones #sansa stark #character analysis #winterfell's daughter

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myvoicenottheoneyougiveme · 4 years

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Something to be said of what’s happening:

By virtue of the fact that I reject “this” (and the person(s) authoring it by extension) and I call it what it is, I leave but one option for myself in “this” manufactured reality. There is only one way for our Queen and Savior to handle that fact.

Unable to escape the fact--unable to indoctrinate me into the shared delusion--there is but one choice for the person(s) putting “this” on. If the record must read harm and crime, if “this” must be known for what it is and the author unable to escape that fact, it CANT, CANNOT, MUST NOT be a reflection on said person(s). If “this” is evil, it cannot be a reflection of the author of “this” but of the person it’s being done to.

My, our, Queen and Savior is not what is wrong with “This” picture. There is nothing wrong with “this”. If there is, it’s because there’s something wrong with me. If “this” is harm, if “this” is crime, then it’s not because a monster is at the wheel; it’s a monster it’s being done to. The Great Invalidator here to threaten her reflection by virtue of his mere existence and insistence on being a person unto himself. We must put an end to his rampage. We must contain and control this great threat to all that is good in the world.

It cannot be, a reflection on the person making all of “this” possible. It has to be a reflection on the person it’s being done to. Short of my spineless cooperation and allowing this sponsor of my life to have their way with me, there is no remotely reliable way to avoid the beatdown via anything and everything (and everyone) within reach at any given moment. It’s a given. I am what is wrong with the world. Our savior needs only fill in the blank with whatever she can cobble together at any given moment.

It’s a given. Tell us how it is today. Tell us again tomorrow. Change your mind in a week. Shapeshift the plot lines. Create a new reality on the fly. Improvise like a person holding up a house of cards that without “this” great monumental effort blows over in the breeze.

By virtue of the fact that I reject and refuse to be moved from my own lived experiences and how I feel about any of it... Oh, it’s all for me, but what it does to me, what I actually think and feel is such a damned inconvenience... but it’s for my own good, and you’re here to tell me what that is.

“This” is abuse. I reject it and its author. The only way for she/it to handle that reflection is to make it a reflection on me instead. The more I remain adamant and refuse to EVER allow myself to be dragged into her/its shared delusion again, the more the author must, MUST, make evil of me.

I throw gasoline on the fire in which I am being consumed every second I remain unmoved and unyielding to what is being done to me. There is no other way for her to handle the reflection. The one person she needs most to control, she must do so by another means, via everything and everyone within reach.

And when she couldn’t control him anymore, she needed a replacement.

Lucky me.

It’s too simple, but it is that simple. Forget the supposed vague and non-descript “crimes“ I ever supposedly committed. They’re no better than every passing daily detail weaponized to service her narrative. Whatever can be cobbled together, doesn’t matter. The most benign and useless information, everything is a weapon. Everything. Everyone.

It’s very simple, and unlike what is leveraged against me, it doesn’t need held up and modified without end. It requires no special understanding. It doesn’t even require a fancy name attached to it.

I reject and refuse. The only way for the author to handle that reflection, is to make it a reflection on me instead. I pour the gasoline over myself. The author has no choice.

Actually the music video for Alt-J’s Hunger of the Pine, seems to take on a lot more relevance suddenly. ...It’s been so long.

Edit: for reference

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Edit: re next morning's response via my "mother"

Or you know, since there's supposedly two of them (or more depending on the day, but two most consistently) the one plays a hapless innocent pawn/victim roped into "this" the same as me, while the other plays a totally distant and disinterested mere facilitator of these events.

There is a special understanding, however, when it comes to the methods and means. And the one putting it on gets to appear as though they aren't themselves really involved. So it was said of the puppet show coined "flying monkeys" which is itself a reference to the Wicked Witch of the West. But she'd rather be known as "Dorothy" so...

This charade of course shapeshifting when it's most convenient. Let's just pretend that the countless other times these two have signaled standing as one or being on the same team, never happened. And didn't happen yesterday either, however subtley (which wasn't plain enough to take note of in own record keeping).

Shapeshift the plot lines.

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webseoadd · 4 years

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Tips for Preventing Accidental Damage to Student Laptops

Hundreds of thousands of laptops are issued to students every year. Spending the time, resources and mescaline to do so is a valuable siege into children's offshoot in today's digital age. This article allocation common causes of offense and the best method to prevent them from occurring.

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Tony runs Tamper Evident, an Australian based supplier of Asset Labels, Security Labels and other security goods aimed at controlling access.

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siva3155 · 5 years

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300+ TOP TECHNICAL SUPPORT Interview Questions and Answers

Technical Support interview Questions for freshers and experienced :-

1. Name some of the latest Computer Processors? Intel Pentium Quad Core, Intel I3, I5 and I7 processor are some of the latest Computer Processor. 2. What does a ‘?’ sign in device manager indicate? When this sign appears, it indicates the device is not properly installed. Such problem arises in case of brand new plug-in cards. 3. How will you cope up with a customer, who complains about a brand new printer and system, and yet failing to get a proper print copy? The first thing I will ask the customer, whether the system is properly connected with the printer. The next thing would be to check the Device Driver. Many times it happens that if you install an incorrect Device Driver, the print copy would not be clear. 4. How you keep yourself updated with the current technology? I keep myself connected with social networking sites, the first platform for any technological advancement news and also keep surfing on the latest technology on internet. 5. What are the tools that will be helpful to you in identifying the problems and solving them? Manuals, Knowledge, team-members and experience are the tools that will be helpful to trouble shoot the problem and solving them. 6. What is the expected period of an average call while dealing with the customers? The expected period of an average call would be around 2-3 minutes, sometimes less or more depending on the problem complexity. 7. Why 8085 processor is called 8 bit processor? It is called 8 bit processor as it has 8 bit ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit). 8. What is stack and can we use ROM as stack? Stack is a portion of RAM used for saving the content of the program counter and general purpose registers. ROM cannot be used as a stack, as it is not possible to write on ROM. 9. What does it mean by interrupt? To perform a particular task, interrupt is a signal send by external device to the processor. 10. What is a Microprocessor? A microprocessor is a program controlled device. It retrieves the data instructions from memory and decodes them, after decoding, it executes the instruction.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT Interview Questions 11. What is Latch? It is a temporary storage device controlled by a timing signal, which can store 1 or 0. It is a D-type flip flop storage device. 12. What is the disadvantage of microprocessor? It has a limitation on the size of the data, also most microprocessor does not support floating point operations. 13. What do you mean by DHCP? DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, it is a network protocol, and it enables the server to assign automatically, IP address to a computer. 14. What do you mean by OSI? OSI stands for open system interconnection. It is a standard description or a reference model of how message should be conveyed between any two points within a telecommunication network. It is made up of several layers and each layer provides services to the layer above. 15. What is TCP/IP? TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol or Internet protocol. It is used to connect hosts on the internet, by transferring data over the network. 16. What are RJ45 and RJ11 connectors? RJ45 connectors are used for LAN/internet connections while RJ11 connectors are used for Table cable connectors. 17. What do you mean by packaging a Microprocessor? What are the different packaging’s available? The process of packaging a microprocessor to the computer motherboard is known as a microprocessor. The different types of microprocessor’s packaging are PGA SPGA SECC LGA 18. Explain the Cache memory? What is the advantage of a processor having more cache memory? Cache memory is the memory area between Processor and Ram. If the cache memory increases, the speed of the system will also increases. 19. What is over clocking? What are the advantages of over clocking? It is a process where the computer component is forced to run at a higher clock rate. The advantages of over clocking are: Increases the CPU’s performance It is cost-saving Makes PC games and Applications to run faster 20. What is chipset? How is it different from processor and motherboard? Chipset is one of the processing devices in a computer. It is a number of integrated circuits, designed to control how information travels between other components and processor. It is a group of microchip to work as a unit to perform one or more related functions. While motherboard is where all other components like CPU, Memory, Sockets for external connectors and drives are attached. Chipset is a built in feature of Motherboard. While, processor is a main integrated circuit block, which does the function according to the instruction of a computer program. It is based on the logical, arithmetical and input/output of the system. 21. What is heat sink and what is the use in the system? To lower the temperature of a device, a heat sink component is used. It is there on the microprocessor and if it is not functioning well then the computer will shut down automatically. 22. What is Jumper and why you need it? Jumper is a metal bridge that closes an electric circuit. A jumper consists of a plastic plug that fits over a pair of protruding pins. It is used to change the board’s parameters. 23. What are the different types of DRAM? The different types of DRAM are SRAM, VRAM, SGRAM, DDR-SDRAM 24. What might be the problem when you don’t see the display? ► Power related issues ► Heat sink related issues ► CPU fan related issues ► Improper Jumper settings 25. What is SATA? SATA stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. It is high speed computer bus interface designed to connect the host bus adapters to mass storage devices, such as hard disk drives and optical drives. 26. A Customer running Windows XP (Home Edition) with an Antivirus application installed reports that he has downloaded a program from the internet and installed it in his computer. After installing the program, he started receiving emails from people he never knew. The Customer removed the program from his computer but he is still getting those emails. How would you help this customer? Download the most recent virus signature files and scan his computer for viruses. 27. You are configuring Power Management on your Windows XP Computer. With ACPI, Power Management should be under the exclusive contol of: The Operating System 28. Which file must be located in the root folder of the Active Partition for Dual Booting of Windows XP and Windows ME to boot? Boot.ini 29. A Customer calls and says he is unable to get online. He uses a cable connection to connect to the internet on a Windows XP Computer. You ping 127.0.0.1 on his computer and get the results that All the packets are Lost. What should you do next? Rebuild the TCP/IP Stack in the users computer 30. Very frequently, users in your office put floppy disks in the drives and forget to take them out. This results in boot-up problems and results in support requests. How would you stop this computer from looking in the A: drive for boot files first. Change the Boot Order in BIOS. 31. After Restarting your Windows XP (Professional) computer, your monitor shows a Blank, Blue screen. You remember that a new Video driver was just installed. What would be the best way to fix this problem? Restart the Computer, Keep tapping on the F8 Key to go to the Windows Advanced Options Menu and select the option “Last Known Good Configuration” and hit the key. 32. You need to Dual-Boot a computer with Windows XP and Windows Me. You need all the Partitions to be accesible from both the Operating Systems. Which File System would you use in this scenario? FAT32 33. What is the command to convert a FAT32 file system to NTFS? Would there be any loss of data? The command is: CONVERT : /fs:NTFS. There will be no effect on the data. (Data will be safe).But remember this: if you want to convert NTFS partition back to FAT32, you will have to re-format that partition and select the FAT32 file system. 34. What are the features of the Disk Defragmenter Tool in Windows XP and Windows 2000? Does the Windows XP version have any more features than the Windows 2000 version? The features of the Disk Defragmenter Tool are the same in both Windows XP and Windows 2000. They are: 1. Enhanced Analysis Functionality 2. A Compression option 3. Increased Defragmentation Option and an Automatic Defrag-Scheduling Option. 35. You are a Desktop Support Technician at EQS. One of the customers has just installed a Brand New Printer for himself. This customer calls you after some time and says that every time he tries to print something, all he gets is some garbled text. However, the printer prints the Test Page fine. What do you think is the problem here? The customer has installed an Incorrect Device Driver for the Printer. I would uninstall the driver, from the WIndows Device Manager and install the correct Device Driver for the Printer from the Disk that came with the Printer. (If the Disk is not available, I can still download the correct device driver from the manufacturer’s website) 36. If, upon Booting up a Computer, you see the error message “Keyboard Error…” What do you think could be the problem? It could be that 1. The keyboard is not attached to the PC or 2. The keyboard has failed 37. If you turn on a PC and the boot-up process halts and you get the error message “Non-System Disk or Disk Error…Replace and Press any Key when Ready…” What do you think could be the problem? A non-bootable Floppy Disk is in the Floppy-disk drive and it should be removed. 38. If, upon booting up a PC, you see a message which says “Invalid Drive Configuration..” What do you think is causing this? This problem could be due to any of the following situations: 1. The Hard-Disk cable within the System Unit is not attached to the Controller 2. The Hard Disk Drive has failed 3. The Hard Disk Drive has not been partitioned. 39. If you turn on a PC and the boot process halts and you get the error message ” C:\System32\Config file missing or Corrupt” What is this due to? The Registry Hives are corrupted. They need to be repaired. 40. A Customer complains that he keeps getting the error message “HAL.DLL missing or Corrupt”. Which file needs to be repaired/rebuilt to rectify the issue? BOOT.INI 41. You have Norton 360. When the Firewall is turned on, you are unable to browse the internet. But if you turn off the firewall, you are able to browse. What is the first thing you would do to fix this problem? Reconfigure Norton Firewall to allow Internet Explorer to access the internet. 42. Which utility is used to do a Software Clean Boot? Msconfig 43. What does a “?” sign in device manager signify? The device is not installed. ( You can refer to this article for more details). For more information on Device Manager check this article from Microsoft. 44. What is the command to start Windows System Restore from the Command Line? rstrui.exe 45. What does the term UAC stand for? UAC stands for User Access Control. For more information read this article. 46. You are a Desktop Support Technician. A user calls and complains that till yesterday he was able to view his CD drive in his computer. But today when he turned on his computer, he is not able to view the CD-ROM drive in “My Computer”. What can be done to fix this problem? Open the Windows Registery Editor and Delete the Upper and Lower Filter Keys. 47. A user calls and says that whenever he starts his computer, it boots up only in Safe Mode. There is no other error message. What would you do to fix this problem? Go to Msconfig and select Normal Mode and Restart the Computer. 48. A user complains that whenever he connects any USB 2.0 device to his computer, he gets the error message “USB device not recognized…” What could be the possible reason for this? The USB Port could be faulty. 49. A user complains that he is no longer able to hear any sound from his computer – after he downloaded some updates from the Microsoft Website. What could be the possible reason for this? The Windows Audio Service is Disabled. Enable it. 50. Mark uses Windows XP Professional and is connected to the internet directly through a DSL line. He wants to know how he could enable the filtering of packets and get rid of the harmful incomming data. What would you tell him? Enable the Firewall 51. A Customer reports that his Windows XP Professional portable computer is not able to connect to any network resource and is also not able to authenticate on the network’s Active Directory Domain. The computer was fine yesterday. No other person in the organization is facing this problem. What is the first thing you would do to fix this problem? Ask the user to Right-Click on the Network Connection icon and select “Repair” from the Menu. 52. A customer has recently upgraded from Windows 98 to Windows XP Professional. After the upgrade, it takes longer for Windows, Menus, Sub-Menus and other use interface features to open. She wants them to open faster. How can you help this customer? Use System in Control Panel and select the option “Adjust for Best Performance” in the Performance Options dialogue box. 53. You suspect that your computer is failing because of a Corrupt Master Boot Record. Which utility is the best to fix this problem? Recovery Console (By Using the fixmbr command) 54. You performed a Parallel installation of Windows XP (Home Edition) to resolve certain problems on a Customer’s Computer. After installation, the customer says she can see the previous profile folders in Documents & Settings but when she tries to open then, she gets an “Access Denied” error. What can you do to remove the “Access Denied” Problem? Boot into Safe Mode, Right-Click on the Old Profile Folder, Go to Security – Advanced and give Ownership to the new user. 55. A Customer calls in and says that her copy of Windows XP went corrupt and the previous Technician installed it again without losing any data. Now when the computer boots up, it shows a menu for a few seconds and then it boots normally.She wants to get rid of this menu. You asked her about the menu options and the customer tells you that both the options in the Menu Read the same thing – Windows XP Home. How will you fix this problem so that the Menu does not appear again? Edit the Boot.ini file and set the Timeout as 0 (Zero) or Edit the Boot.ini file and Remove the Second Option and set the Timeout as 0 (Zero) 56. What is BIOS? BIOS stands for Basic Input-Output System and is pronounced as “Bye-Ose“. The BIOS is available on all the computers. It makes sure that all the components of the computer can function together. It has information about all the hardware components in the Computer. BIOS can also be called as a Special Software that interfaces the major hardware components of a computer with the Operating System. It is usually stored in a Flash Memory Chip on the Motherboard. Some functions of BIOS: Performs a POST (Power-On Self Test) for all the different Hardware Components in the System to make sure everything is working properly. Activating other BIOS Chips on different cards installed in the computer, for example, SCSI and Graphics Cards. Provides a set of low-level suiting that the Operating System uses to interface different Hardware devices. BIOS manages things in your computer like the Keyboard, Monitor, Serial and Parallel Ports especially when the computer is Booting up. Manage the settings for Hard-disk drives, System Clock etc. Sequence of things done by the BIOS when you turn on your Computer: Check the CMOS for Custom Settings Load the interrupt Handlers and Device Drivers Initialize Registers and Power Management Perform POST (Power On Self Test) Display System Settings Determine which devices are Bootable Initialize the Bootstrap sequence 57. What are the Hardware Components of a Desktop Computer / Laptop? The Hardware Components of a Desktop Computer / Laptop are as follows: 1. The Processor (CPU) 2. Motherboard 3. RAM (Random Access Memory) 4. Power Supply – SMPS (Switch Mode Power Supply) 5. Hard-disk Drives 6. CD/DVD-ROM Drives 7. Floppy Disk Drive 8. Sound Card 9. Graphics (Display) Card 10. Keyboard 11. Mouse 12. Monitor 58. What are Hard-Disk Partitions? Partitions are used to Divide a Hard-disk drive into smaller segments as required by the user and for better management of the space in it. 59. Difference between RAM and ROM? RAM (Random Access Memory) – is used to temporarily store information that the computer is currently working on. ROM (Read Only Memory) – This is a Permanent type of memory storage used by computers for important data which never changes. (Example: BIOS) 60. What would you check if there is no sound from your computer? (Audio not working) 1. Check for cable connections 2. Check for power to the speakers 3. Check for volume control 4. Check for device drivers 61. If a Customer complains that his computer is working really slow, what are the things you would check? 1. Check if it is taking longer than usual to start up 2. Check if it is slow with one / any particular application or slow overall. 3. Check for Spyware/Malware/Virus in the computer 4. Check the available Hard-Disk Drive Space in the computer. 62. What is the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)? A Blue Screen of Death (or just a Blue Screen Error) is an indication of a Critical System Problem wherein the Computer freezes altogether and does not respond to anything. To rectify this problem, try Restarting the computer or Booting into Safe Mode. For more information, read this. 63. Why are Device Drivers required? A Device Driver (or just Driver) is a piece of software which is requied to run every Hardware Component present in the computer. 64. Name one of the latest Computer Processors (CPU) ? Intel Pentium Quad Core, Intel I3, I5, I7 processors. 65. What is Ping? Ping is a command that checks the connectivity with an IP address. For more read this article 66. What is a Data Cable? A Data Cable is a Thin Plastic band-like cable used to connect the Data-Devices like Hard-disk drives, Floppy Disk Drives, CD/DVD-ROM drives with the motherboard. Data Cables are primarily used for Data Transfer. 67. Lights on a Modem / LAN Card: Generally, there are 04 lights. They indicate the following: 1. Power Light: Shows if the device (Modem)is getting Power Supply or not. 2. Link Light: Indicates if the device is getting broadband/internet signals properly from the ISP 3. Data Light: Indicates wether the internet is working or not. 4. Connectivity Light: Indicates the Modem is connected to a PC or not. 68. Name some of the Ports available in a Computer Some of the commonly available ports in a Computer are as follows: 1. Keyboard & Mouse Ports – Also known as PS/2 ports 2. USB Ports 3. VGA Ports 4. Sound Ports 5. LAN Port – Also known as Ethernet Port 69. What does the term USB stand for? USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. It allows devices to be connected or disconnected from a computer without shutting down or restarting the computer. The current version of USB is 2.0 70. What is the difference between CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and LCD (Flat Screen Monitors)? CRT Monitors: The Monitor has a picture tube and uses a light-gun to highlight pixels on the screen. LCD Monitors: These monitors do not have a picture tube and contain a layer of liquid crystals on an Electronic Board. 71. What is an IP Address? An IP address is a unique numerical identifier of every device on a network. A typical IP address can look like this: 216.27.61.141. To detect a computer’s IP Address, go to Start – Run – Type in CMD in the Run Dialogue Box and click OK or hit – In the Command Prompt Screen that comes up, type in IPCONFIG and hit 72. What is DHCP? DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. It is used to generate & provide IP addresses to the computers on a network. 73. What is DNS? DNS stands for Domain Name Services – it is used to convert URLs into IP addresses and vice-versa. 74. Mention a sample computer configuration: 1. Intel Pentium Core 2 Duo – 3.0Ghz 2. 2 GB RAM 3. 300GB HDD 4. DVD Writer 5. 17 inches LCD Monitor 6. Keyboard 7. Mouse 75. Name any Five Microsoft Office Applications: 1. MS Word 2. MS Excel 3. MS Powerpoint 4. MS Access 5. MS Outlook 76. What are RJ45 and RJ11 connectors? RJ45 connectors are used for LAN/Ethernet connections and RJ11 connectors are used for Telephone Cable connections. 77. What is a Parallel Windows installation? When the first installation of Windows fails to boot for some reason, another copy of Windows is installed in teh same drive but in a different directory (so that the customer can access to and backup his old data). This is called Parallel Installation of Windows. 78. Name some of the versions of Windows XP. Windows XP Home Edition, Professional, Media Center Edition, Tablet PC Edition, Mobile 79. Difference betwen a WORKGROUP and a DOMAIN? In a Workgroup, all the computers function as Peers. But in a Domain, One computer is the Server and the others are Clients. 80. What is the difference between FAT32 and NTFS file systems? 1. NTFS allows compression and file encryption. FAT32 does not. 2. NTFS is more secure than FAT32 81. What does BOOT.INI do? Boot.ini lists all the Operating Systems present in the computer and provide information about which partitions they are located on. 82. How would you access the Recovery Console in Windows? By booting with the Windows XP CD and following the on-screen instructrions. The Recovery Console can also be installed in your computer. 83. Provide the names of a few Firewalls: Norton, McAfee, Zone Alarm etc 84. What feature of Outlook Express allows multiple customers to send and receive emails, each using a separate account? Identities 85. What are the components needed to setup a Basic Home Network? LAN Cards, LAN Cables, Router/Hub Technical Support Questions and Answers pdf Download Read the full article

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portfoliosmedia · 5 years

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99 ways to make your computer amazingly fast

Over the years, as a system administrator, network administrator, and help desk expert, I’ve worked on IT at various companies, and I’ve written and learned about many ways to improve the performance of not only my PC, but also many people. PCs on my network, from Windows 98 to Windows 10

In this article, I will try to build a huge list of all the different methods and tricks I used to get my last juice on a slow PC. Whether you’re using an older PC or using the latest hardware, you can use some of these tips to make your PC run faster.

I’ve written two blogs, Help Desk Geek and Online Technical Tips, so I’ve written about many performance tips before. If you didn’t write about it, you’ve thrown links to related articles from other favorite sites. This list is not in a special order, it is written in the order I can think of.

Perhaps there are some great tweaks and performance hacks I missed here, so take your comments and feel free to comment. enjoy it!

Speed up PC listings

Defragment your computer’s hard disk using built-in Windows tools or third-party programs.

If you are still running Windows XP, you need to defragment your Windows page file and registry.

Clean up hard drive disk space occupied by temporary files, the Recycle Bin, and Hibernate files. You can also use tools like TreeSize to determine the area that takes up space on your hard drive.

Load Windows faster-using Startup Delayer, a free program that delays the startup of programs, which shortens Windows’ boot time.

Speaking of startup programs, many of them are useless and can be turned off. To disable the startup program, use the MSCONFIG utility.

By default, the size of the paging file is controlled by Windows, so fragmentation may occur. Also, the paging file must be on a different hard drive or partition than the boot partition. See here for the rules for best paging file performance.

For Windows, the Windows Search Indexing Service is turned on by default for all local hard drives. Turning off indexing can improve performance.

If you don’t mind all the cool visual effects in Windows, you can go to performance options and turn it off.

Various technologies can be used to optimize Windows boot time, including BIOS updates or unnecessary hardware disabling.

Clean up the registry by removing broken shortcuts, missing shared DLLs, invalid paths, invalid installer references, and so on. Read about the registry cleaners I recommend.

One of the main reasons PC is slow is spyware. Here is a list of the best anti-malware and anti-spyware programs.

If you have a deeper spyware infection, such as a rootkit that is very difficult to remove, you may need to perform an offline virus scan.

Use PC Decrapifier to remove unwanted preinstalled software (aka junk software) from your new PC.

Disable any unnecessary third-party Windows services that are slowing down your computer.

Tweak Windows XP and adjust your Windows 7 or Windows 10 settings using a free program.

If you are an advanced user, please disable User Account Control (UAC) in Windows.

Adjust mouse settings to copy and paste faster, faster scrolling and faster navigation while navigating.

Use free programs like CCleaner to delete temporary and unused files from your computer. It can also solve registry problems.

Free up disk space and enhance your privacy by deleting your browsing history, temporary internet files, and cookies.

If you are using Windows XP, clear the Windows Prefetch folder to improve performance.

21. If you are a Firefox user, check out the ultimate guide to making Firefox faster.

Reduce the number of fonts you need to load when you start your computer.

Does it take time to shut down the computer or hang during shutdown? Read the fix document.

Allow Windows to use a wired connection over a wireless connection to transfer data faster over the network.

Turn off System Restore only if you regularly back up your Windows system using third-party software.

26. Move or change the location of the My Documents folder so that it is on a separate partition or hard drive.

Troubleshoot slow right-click context menus in Windows.

Regarding the right-click context menu, you can speed up the display by editing the right-click context menu and removing unnecessary items.

Is your Internet use a bit slow? Here are some tips to speed up your internet.

Also, if you have a slow Internet connection, others may be stealing your WiFi. Make sure no one is using your WiFi and internet.

Upgrade your existing router or modem to the latest version to improve your LAN transfer speed.

Do I need to copy a large number of small files over a network? Windows may be slower, so check out some third-party quick copy programs.

Use the Windows Performance Toolkit and trace logs to speed up Windows boot time.

Use an external DNS server such as OpenDNS or Google DNS to speed up your Internet browsing.

35. Improve Windows performance with ReadyBoost, a new feature that allows you to use the free space on your USB drive as a caching mechanism.

Do you have many tabs open in a browser window? Switch between tabs faster with keyboard shortcuts.

37. It is recommended to do a clean install of Windows if your system with numerous programs is overloaded

HD video is delayed or choppy when playing on Windows. Here are some workarounds.

If you have an Outlook desktop, here are some tips on how to reduce the amount of memory that Outlook uses.

If you are an overlocker, you may be interested in RAM, GPU and CPU tuning utilities.

To speed up file copying in Windows, use a program called TeraCopy.

I use ads for my livelihood, but using the adblocker extension in my browser can help me navigate faster. Just whitelist my site!

Invest in a program like DeepFreeze if your computer is used by other people, especially kids who are installing garbage on your system and slowing it down.

Do I use Intel Celeron processors in my PC? It is worth looking at the Core i3, i5 or i7 processor. i9 is funny.

If you are running Windows with less than 2 GB of RAM, install additional RAM in your computer.

46. Change your power settings to maximum performance instead of balancing. It uses more energy but makes your computer faster.

47. Try the Performance troubleshooter in Windows 7 and Windows 10. Good advice.

When reinstalling Windows, make sure your hard drive is partitioned correctly to maximize performance.

Is disk utilization always close to 100% in Task Manager? Here are some tips to solve this problem.

Use Hyper-V for free to turn your PC into a virtual machine, visit dangerous sites, or install junk programs, games, and more in your virtual machine instead of your host operating system.

For security reasons, do not clear the paging file during shutdown. Clearing the paging file will slow down the system.

If your XP or Vista computer does not use NFTS, convert your FAT disk to the NTFS file system.

Update all drivers for Windows to the latest version, including chipset and motherboard drivers.

Sometimes you run the built-in Windows Disk Cleanup utility.

Use Task Manager to find processes running low on resources running on your PC.

Remove unnecessary or outdated programs from the Add or Remove Programs or Programs and Features dialog in Control Panel.

Using your program, click memtest86 or Prime95 to check your PC for bad memory.

Check the BIOS version and check the manufacturer’s website for a BIOS update.

Clean the mouse, keyboard, and computer fans from time to time to clean dust and other buildup.

Replace the slow 5400 RPM hard drive with a faster 7200 RPM drive, SATA drive, SSD drive, or SAS drive. Here’s how to check the RPM of your hard drive:

Changing from hard drive configuration to master/slave to cable selection can significantly reduce boot time.

Regularly scan your computer for viruses. Here are a list of the most popular antivirus software and some tips on how to protect yourself from viruses and malware.

Remove additional toolbars from your Windows taskbar and your internet browser.

If you do not want to use Windows Vista and 7 sidebars importantly, disable them. All of these devices require memory and processing power.

If you have a SATA drive and are running Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can use advanced write caching to speed up your PC.

You can learn how to use keyboard shortcuts in Windows 8, Windows 10, Microsoft Excel, Outlook, or create your keyboard shortcuts.

Turning off Aero visual effects in Windows Vista and 7 improves computer performance.

If you are technically savvy, you can take some risks. You can overclock the processor.

Speed up Explorer’s Send To menu by typing “send to” in the Run dialog and deleting unnecessary items.

Download all the latest Windows updates, service packs, and hotfixes to make sure your “normally” computer is working well.

Use the check disk or chkdsk utility to check your hard drive for bad sectors or other errors.

If you are not using some hardware of your computer, such as floppy drive, CD-ROM drive, USB port, IR port, Firewire port, go to BIOS and disable it so you don’t have to load it all during power and boot.

Although it may seem silly, you can install faster software on your system. Chrome, for example, is much faster than Firefox and IE IMHO. If you are using Adobe Photoshop, you can do the same with Paint.NET. Use LibreOffice instead of Microsoft Office. Got an idea, right?

If you are using a dual boot setup, you can shorten the boot menu timeout so that the desired OS loads faster.

Although less secure, you can set up automatic login in Windows so that you can boot to the desktop immediately after restarting.

I have already mentioned reducing visual effects, but the same dialog also has a processor scheduling option. You can choose from a program or a background service.

Explorer can be slow if there are many files in one folder. It is best to create multiple folders and distribute the files among them.

In general, if you have large files on a specific partition, you can also increase the cluster size to 16K on NTFS or 32K instead of 4K. This will speed up file opening. Only available for advanced users.

OneDrive comes bundled with Windows 10 and uses resources even if you don’t use it. If you don’t need cloud syncing, disable or remove OneDrive.

Control Panel, go to the uninstall program, select it, and then use Windows features, click the Disable / enable the unnecessary feature in Windows to turn off. You can turn off remote differential compression, Tablet PC components, DFS Replication service, Windows Fax and Scan, Windows Meeting Space, media features, IE 11, and more.

81. If you have enabled hibernate in Windows 10, you need to make sure that the quick start feature is enabled for fast boot.

Use a program such as Revo Uninstaller to completely uninstall the program and the application. Normal removal will remove any residual water.

If you know what you are doing, you can install multiple hard drives in your computer and set them up in a RAID 0, RAID 5 or other RAID configuration. RAID 0 is the fastest.

If you are using a USB 1.0 or USB 2.0 port, upgrade to a USB 3.0 port. Or buy a new expansion card and install it in the empty slot.

Remove drivers for any older devices that may be hidden from Device Manager that you no longer use.

A more extreme option is to choose a faster operating system. If Vista or 7 is slow, go to Windows 10. Switching to Mac OS X or Linux is also an option.

If you don’t mind the live tile in the Windows 10 Start menu, you should disable it to improve performance.

Upgrading the CPU can be complicated, but not so for the GPU. Upgrading the GPU can improve PC performance even with older CPUs.

Disconnect all unused USB devices from your computer. The boot and login process is slow on Windows.

90. If you have a desktop background, make sure it is a small, simple bitmap image, not a nice picture on the internet. The best way is to find a really small texture and tile it.

91. Change your privacy settings in Windows 10 to prevent your PC from always connecting to Microsoft servers.

I have already mentioned virus scanning, but mentioning that Windows Defender is usually enough, it can slow down your system, so you need to remove third-party antivirus products. We recommend that you use an antimalware program in addition to Windows Defender.

93. If you have a customized computer or previously used PC, check the optimal settings such as CPU cache available in BIOS, correctly set IDE / SATA data transfer mode, memory timing, updated drivers, etc. This option also allows you to use Fast / Quick boot.

If you have been using one local account for a long time, we recommend that you create a new user account with a clean profile. You can delete the old user account later.

Sometimes useful, but if you want better performance, you can disable taskbar thumbnails and disable thumbnail previews in Explorer.

For advanced users, you can disable the Program Compatibility Assistant, which checks each program at runtime for compatibility issues.

97. If you don’t use Cortana Digital Assistant in Windows 10, you can save resources by disabling it completely.

If you are running a 32-bit version of Windows, you should switch to the 64-bit version as soon as possible, even if that means hardware upgrades.

Buy a new computer !!! 😉 Pretty easy?

Whew! If you passed that entire list, I was impressed! Not all information applies to everyone, but virtually no information can be added to the Internet. If you missed a good performance tip, leave a comment. enjoy it!

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austinjr · 5 years

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Tips for Preventing Accidental Damage to Student Laptops - Accidental Damage Insurance

Hundreds of thousands of laptops are issued to students every year. Spending the time, resources and money to do so is a valuable investment into children's development in today's digital age. This article shares common causes of damage and the best ways to prevent them from occurring. Besides, there Accidental Damage Insurance for laptop there. Before having a great damage this can be great advantage for students.

Protecting a laptop from damage is much more than reducing costs and administration time. The laptop will form a core part of a child's school life and will hold a large amount of information and material important to them.

It is impossible to stop all accidents from happening. However, by identifying how accidents can occur and educating parents and children, steps can be taken to protect these valuable assets

Look Out For Cables

One of the common causes of a laptop being damaged is by someone tripping on a power cable which has been left on a walkway, suspended in the air or coiled up at their feet.

Most laptops provide between 4 and 8 hours of battery life when fully charged. This means there will be times the laptop must be plugged in when being used.

Even when not in use, damage can occur if the laptop is on charge. Carefully positioning the laptop, cable and power outlet is very important in an effort to prevent this.

Position the laptop close to the power outlet to prevent the need to stretch the cable and cause it to hang in the air - a very effective trip wire!

When charging a laptop, place it on a flat surface (not the floor!) and ensure the cable is tucked away neatly

When using the laptop while plugged in, try to sit close to a power point which is above the height of the desk where possible. If this is not possible, keep the power cable positioned as close as possible to the wall, away from the legs of the chair and feet

Be aware of your surroundings and take a moment to think about the best place to plug your laptop in. If possible, change seats to a better location, re-arrange bags or other obstacles and keep your cable safe and tidy

Too Hot To Handle

Laptops are electrical goods with moving components and some of them move at very fast speeds. This generates heat with even more heat generated when the laptop is recharging.

This heat escapes through ventilation slots on the bottom of the laptop and blocking these will cause the laptop to overheat.

Always place the laptop on a flat surface when in use or when it is being recharged - this lets the air flow through and keeps the laptop cool

Never operate the laptop on a bed, doona or pillow - this is a popular place to watch movies, browse the web ad network socially. Fabrics are especially bad for laptops as they can restrict airflow completely

Sounds ironic but try to avoid operating a laptop on your lap. The heat generated from prolonged use can not only damage the device but also cause harm to the user

Which Way To The Port?

Laptops have many ways of connecting to other devices. These include USB Ports (often more than one), network ports, video outputs for connecting to monitors (VGA or HDMI), and memory card readers.

Damage is often caused to a laptop by attempting to force the incorrect cable into a port or by putting an incompatible memory card into a reader.

For example, a USB cable will fit into a network port but is not compatible. Trying to 'wiggle' the cable in a mistaken attempt to get the USB device to work can lead to damage to network port. Once devices are connected, these ports can become damaged through tugging or knocking the cable.

Become familiar with the ports on your laptop - you may never use the network or video ports so look them up in the user manual and know what they are

Never pull on a cable to disconnect it from the laptop

If you are unsure if your memory card is compatible with the reader, refer to the user manual - never 'give it a go' as it may be very difficult to retrieve once inserted (memory cards that fit will CLICK once engaged)

Never pack a laptop away with devices still connected; this risks the ports knocking against objects and getting damaged

Handle With Care

Hands up who has ever opened a bag to find a drink container has opened or something has broken - pens snapped, sunglasses cracked or an iPod scratched...

Carrying a laptop in a bag is a great way to keep it safe; just think of it like a carton of eggs...would you put that at the bottom of your bag?

Many backpacks have special pockets for laptops which are padded and separate from the rest of the bag. Use these where possible as to prevent pressure on the laptop or items knocking against it

Ensure the laptop cables and accessories are stored in a separate pocket - especially as the power cable can be quite bulky and has many sharp edges

Avoid carrying liquids with the laptop. Perfume lids separating, drinks containers opening and even the condensation from cold drinks may cause liquid damage if it comes into contact with the laptop (OK, eggs don't care about getting wet, however...)

If carrying the laptop out of a bag - carry with extra care! Don't run with it. Always close the laptop. This will reduce the chance of an accident and the amount of damage caused

It's What's Inside That Counts...

Subtracts and multiplies, connects to the internet, creates documents, stores pictures, plays movies and generally make things easier.

Within a laptop there are complex processors, hard drives and memory chips which make all the above happen. Most of these are hidden away and difficult to access, but some parts need to be available for servicing and upgrading.

It is important that only qualified and authorised people attempt to open a laptop. Attempting to open a laptop can cause extreme damage, invalidate the warranty and lose stored content.

Ensure that everyone issued a laptop is aware of the consequences of attempting to open it; whether it is an attempt to upgrade it, swap parts or just out of curiosity

Place a non-replaceable label across the entry point to the hard disc highlighting any attempt at access. This label can also contain contact details for the school should the laptop be lost (which will increase the chance of recovery)

If the security label seal is removed accidentally, the laptop should be returned for inspection and re-labelled as soon as possible

"If You Close Me Now, You'll Probably Invalidate My Warranty"*

*Sung to the tune of Chicago's "If you leave me now"

Laptop screens are expensive things to replace - a cracked screen can be impossible to use and annoying to live with.

The most common cause of laptop screen damage is the leaving of pens, pen lids, keys and USB drives on the keyboard when closing the laptop

Always ensure that all objects are cleared from a laptop before closing

Never close a laptop with more effort than is required. It should never be "snapped" shut or forced

The faster you pack away a laptop, the more likely it is that something could be left on the keypad. Take a moment to gently run your hand across the keypad; a black pen lid may not standout and can cause a lot of damage

Conclusion

The Laptops for Schools program is a big investment, both for families and education organisations. Taking steps to prevent the most common causes of damage will not only protect the investment but will lead to a happy experience for parents and children.

#accidental_damage_insurance

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ratex7 · 1 year

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youtube

Fix invalid video reference must be replaced | in 1min

This tutorial shows how to solve invalid video reference must be replaced error from youtube editor and fix youtube studio not saving changes For more info: https://brecast.com/

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citizentruth-blog · 6 years

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The Trump Presidency As Religious Cult? Not As Weird As You Might Think - YOUR NEWS

New Post has been published on https://citizentruth.org/the-trump-presidency-as-religious-cult-not-as-weird-as-you-might-think/

The Trump Presidency As Religious Cult? Not As Weird As You Might Think

Scholars of religious studies such as Reza Aslan warn that support of Trump by some white evangelicals is like that of a religious cult, which would present a clear danger to our country. (Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr/Creative Commons)

In November of 2017, avid Donald Trump supporter Mark Lee, as part of a panel of Trump voters speaking with CNN’s Alisyn Camerota, spoke about Trump’s possible collusion with Russia in the context of religious faith. His comments, which made the rounds on the 24-hour news cycle/water-cooler political discussion loop, were truly astonishing to many. Here’s the one that had people, if not up in arms, scratching their heads:

Let me tell you, if Jesus Christ gets down off the cross and told me Trump is with Russia, I would tell him, “Hold on a second: I need to check with the president if it is true.” That is how confident I feel in the president.

You read that right. Hold on, Mr. Savior, I have to ask President Trump if what you’re saying is God’s honest truth. Beyond the seeming absurdity of this scenario—Jesus returned just to tell Trump supporters about his connection with Russia?—the expressed faith in Trump above all others (and I am not using the word faith lightly) was duly baffling.

When Camerota pressed Lee for additional context, Lee, a pest control business owner who expressed vague notions of Trump being an advocate of the little guy, America-first, a drainer of the swamp, and a non-politician, stressed his belief that Trump is a good person, and that he (Trump) “has taken so many shots for us.” Presumably, that “us” is the American people, and any backlash is related to jealousy of his constant “winning.” Dude can’t help it if he’s so famous, handsome, and rich—that’s just how he rolls.

Any number of observers might choose not to share Mark Lee’s views. Heck, I sure don’t. Still, as extreme as Lee’s stances might seem, they may not be that far off from other people’s admiration for or faith in the current President of the United States. Reza Aslan, author, commentator, intellectual, and religious scholar, recently authored a video for Big Think about his notion that the Trump presidency is a religious cult. At first blush, Aslan’s comments might seem as grandiose as Lee’s. Trump as a cult leader? And his devotees are the ones who have drunk the proverbial Kool-Aid?

For all our skepticism, though, Aslan does make his case in a very well-thought-out manner. First, before we even get to “why” certain Americans feel compelled to hold up Donald Trump, there’s the matter of “who.” Aslan cites a statistic that 81% of white evangelists who voted in the 2016 election went for Trump. That’s pretty significant, especially when considering that’s a higher percentage than George W. Bush received, an actual white evangelical. What else is significant about this figure? Well, for one, 67% of evangelicals of color who voted cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton. Thus, when Aslan instructs us not to ignore that there is a racial element to Trump’s support, we would be quick to agree that he ain’t just whistlin’ Dixie.

As to why, however, white evangelicals “acted more white than evangelical” in their backing of Trump, as Aslan and others have put it, one element Aslan points to is the influence of what is known as the prosperity gospel. Loosely speaking, this is the idea that financial success is God’s blessing, and through faith, preaching the word of God, and, of course, generous donations, one’s material wealth will increase. In other words, if the Lord didn’t want you to have that Mercedes-Benz, he wouldn’t have made it so dadgum shiny. This is the sort of Christianity that Aslan explicitly dismisses and rejects, associating it with the likes of “charlatans” like Joel Osteen and T.D. Jakes, but given Trump’s boasts of wealth and ostentatious displays of such, it makes sense that Christians who adhere to this doctrine would back him, even when his spiritual credentials are, er, lacking.

Additionally, Aslan points to Trump’s promises to afford secular benefits to white evangelical groups and other religious affiliations. In Trump’s apparently ambiguous vows to “give them back their power,” Aslan points to Trump’s willingness to defend Christians in their goal of making a stand on specific issues—even if he may not agree with their positions on those underlying issues—as well as his indication of intent, for instance, to repeal the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits 501(c)(3) organizations like churches from endorsing or opposing political candidates. Just a few days ago, Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of the Treasury not to find churches guilty of “implied endorsements” much as secular organizations wouldn’t be. Never mind that this could help create a slippery slope that allows churches to bypass campaign finance laws and effectually become partisan super PACs. That sweet, sweet support from the religious right is too much to ignore.

Meanwhile, all of this may merely be a prologue to a separate conversation we need to be having about Donald Trump, morality, evangelicals, and the intersection of the Venn diagram of their circles. As Reza Aslan insists, none of the above explains why white evangelicals have gone from a voting bloc that has insisted on a candidate’s morality as a significant qualification for office to one that eschews such concerns—in the span of one election cycle, no less. To reinforce this idea, Aslan highlights the fact that, re Trump, self-identifying atheists were more likely to consider morality as important than white evangelicals. So much for being “values voters.”

As Aslan reasons, this is more than can be reasoned away by talk of race or the prosperity gospel or the Johnson Amendment, and points to a different conclusion: that Trump, his presidency, and his most influential supporters have turned a significant portion of his white evangelical base into a religious cult, and a dangerous one at that. From where he (Aslan) stands, all the signs are there. For one, he points to Trump’s infamous remark that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose votes as being a kind of prophetic revelation. Aslan also alludes to statements made by Pat Robertson that he (Robertson) had a dream in which God took him up to Heaven and Trump was seated at His right hand—the space traditionally reserved for Jesus Christ—and Robert Jeffress, Robertson’s pastor, who said that he (Jeffress) prefers Trump as a candidate to someone “who expresses the values of Jesus.” Suddenly, Mark Lee doesn’t sound so out of place.

The implications, in short, are scary. As Aslan instructs, cults, particularly when confronted by the realities of the world, do not tend to end well. The Trump presidency, for all its claims of stability and success, by most objective accounts is on the brink of collapse, its central figure “spiraling out of control,” as Aslan puts it, and the subject of regular conversations about impeachment or other removal. In the perhaps likely event that leadership fails, the response for cult followers is often to double down on the group’s mantra, and this creates, at least in Aslan’s mind, a very perilous situation for the country at large. As he closes his address, “The only thing more dangerous than a cult leader like Trump is a martyred cult leader.” Ominous, indeed.

Reza Aslan is a religious scholar, and since he often approaches worldly matters from a spiritual frame of reference, even with his treatise on why Donald Trump’s presidency is a religious cult, there would likely be doubters and dissenters on this point. On the right, because so much of politics these days involves taking sides, this is all but a given. Naysayers would undoubtedly highlight Aslan’s Iranian heritage and Muslim beliefs (in reality, his faith is more complex, having been born into a Shia Muslim family, converting to evangelical Christianity, and then converting back to Muslim, all while largely regarding religion as nothing more than a series of metaphors and symbols designed to express one’s faith), as well as his anti-Trump animus (after Trump’s comments on the 2017 terrorist attack in London in which a van struck and killed pedestrians on London, Aslan referred to POTUS as a “piece of shit” and “man baby,” comments that, ahem, didn’t go over too well with then-employer CNN). Never mind that that Aslan is a theologian and literally talks about, thinks about, and writes about this stuff for a living. Because he doesn’t care much for Trump, his opinions must, therefore, be invalid, right?

For the non-shameless-Trump-backers among us, though, there might similarly be a reluctance to characterize the President’s following in terms of a destructive religious cult, since these societies tend to remind us of devices of works of fiction set in apocalyptic times. To this, I submit people may be understating just how abnormal Trump and his presidency are. Besides, as many would aver, we are in the midst of a crisis right now, one primarily borne of climate concerns, but not without worry over its political stability. Trump just pulled the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal without an apparent replacement strategy. Does this make the world safer? Does this instill confidence that the U.S. is a country that honors its agreements and is therefore worthy of trust? On both counts, the answer is a resounding “no,” and that should inspire concern from Americans regardless of their political orientation.

Then again, maybe it’s just that devout Christians can be hypocrites or otherwise twist the Bible to suit their purposes. Phil Zuckerman, a professor at Pitzer College and someone who specializes in studies of atheism and secularity, among other topics, penned an essay shortly after Donald Trump’s upset 2016 electoral victory regarding the role of religion in the election’s outcome. Zuckerman—who also cites the statistic about 81% of white evangelicals voting for Trump, as well as 56% of American voters who attend church at least once a week going for the orange-skinned one—points to other disappointing tendencies of the Christian right.

For one, they tend to regard men as superior leaders and reinforce values that support male dominance over obeisant females. They also hate, hate, hate homosexuals and tend to fear and hate other religions, dividing people into a saved-unsaved binary. Furthermore, fundamentalist Christians place a stronger emphasis on authoritarianism, and mistrust and reject the science which clashes with their faith. Or, as Zuckerman frames this, they are a sanctimonious lot, a subdivision of the American electorate that touts morals and yet voted en masse to elect someone in Trump who is the epitome of immorality. As with Aslan’s criticisms, people would be wont to use context to dismiss Zuckerman’s views. He made these comments not long after Election Day, and thus was probably harboring strong feelings at the time of his piece’s publication. Also, he’s interested mainly in secular studies. Maybe he just hates religious types. PROFESSOR, YOUR BIAS IS SHOWING.

Maybe, maybe not. Irrespective of Reza Aslan’s invectives directed at President Trump and Phil Zuckerman’s discontent with strong Christians for voting for someone clearly not of the same mold, this sense of devotion to Trump by a significant portion of the American people is startling and disconcerting, especially in light of the comparisons between Trump and Jesus. These are the same kinds of “values voters” who, say, conceive of gun ownership as a God-given right. Fun fact: the right to bear arms is a constitutional amendment contained in the Bill of Rights, not one of the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not kill. Gun ownership increases the likelihood you will violate this precept. How does one reconcile these two apparently competing interests?

One oft-cited biblical passage, Matthew 10:34, in which Jesus is believed to have said that he “did not come to bring peace, but a sword,” may just as well speak to Christ’s existence dividing (as a sword would cut) people based on their belief, if not a faulty translation from the original Koine Greek. Psalm 144 in the Book of Psalms, another quoted portion of the Good Book, has been translated as, “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.”

This is context-dependent, however. David, in speaking of bodily strength, ascribes true strength to God, and prays to Him to rescue him and his people “from the cruel sword.” In this context, David is King of Israel at a time when war among rival groups is common, and what’s more, the ending of the psalm expresses a hope for peace. This seems like quite a departure from the rhetoric of the National Rifle Association, which would have you believe in its promotional videos that America resembles a scene from The Purge. Lock ’em and load ’em, ladies and gents. Conflict is brewing, and nothing shouts His love like the cold steel of a .45.

Mark Lee’s pro-Trump comments seemed crazy at the time of first utterance, and a mere six months later, still do. As the Trump presidency wears on, though, at least until anything manifests with respect to impeachment or other means of removal, and as Donald Trump’s support from his base not only holds steady but grows, one wonders whether Aslan’s depiction of Trump as a salvific figure, as something more than an inspiration to those blinded by patriotism, is accurate. For white evangelicals who support him, in particular, Trump’s actions should prompt them to look critically at their set of beliefs and the importance of morality to their worldview. Whether or not the apparent abandonment of their principles holds beyond Trump’s presidency, meanwhile, is anyone’s guess, and is hard to approach with any sense of faith on the part of those who already don’t believe in him.

Trump Is Not a Threat to a Free Press Despite Inflamed Rhetoric, Obama Administration & DNC’s Recent Lawsuit Much More Menacing

#conservative Christians #donald trump #evangelicals #Phil Zuckerman #religious right #Reza Aslan #Trump relgious cult #white evangelicals

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patriotsnet · 3 years

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Why Are Republicans Trying To Repeal Obamacare

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/why-are-republicans-trying-to-repeal-obamacare/

Why Are Republicans Trying To Repeal Obamacare

Some Republicans Are Playing Down The Possibility That The High Court Will Invalidate The Health Law While Others Believe The Party Should Emphasize Its Ideas For A Replacement

Democrats have said 20 million Americans could lose their health coverage if the Affordable Care Act is invalidated.

[email protected]

WASHINGTON—A looming Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act is pitting Republicans who believe the party should release a replacement proposal against other GOP lawmakers and health policy experts who have played down the need for a plan because they say the court is unlikely to strike down the law.

The lack of a consensus Republican proposal has animated Democrats who say the GOP push to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court poses a risk to 20 million Americans who could lose their health coverage if the law is invalidated. Democrats portray Judge Barrett as an opponent of ACA who would give the court a 6-3 conservative majority likely to rule against the law. “I’m not hostile to the ACA. I’m not hostile to any statute you pass,” Judge Barrett told senators at her confirmation hearings Tuesday.

What would you like to see included in a Republican health-care plan? Join the conversation below.

President Trump has repeatedly promised to produce a health plan that he says would be an improvement over the ACA. Last month he sketched out a health-care vision he said would protect coverage for people with pre-existing health conditions.

Related Video

Democratic lawmakers on Monday held photographs of people they said would be impacted by the elimination of the Affordable Health Care Act.

Curious How Many In Your State Could Lose Their Health Insurance If The Gop Repeals Obamacare Without A Replacement We’ve Got You Covered

Shane Dixon Kavanaugh

Republican Senator Bob Corker is beginning to get cold feet about an immediate repeal of Obamacare. And perhaps for good reason. Under the GOP’sÂ current plan to gut the health care law before providing any alternative, Corker’s state of Tennessee could see the number of uninsured individuals soar by more than 525,000 â€” 7.9 percent of the state’s 6.6 million people â€” in the next two years, according to a recent analysis.

In Kentucky, home of Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, the uninsured number could rise by 200 percent, or 486,000 people.Â As for House Majority Leader Paul Ryan’s Wisconsin? Try 413,000 newly-uninsured, or about 7.5 percent of the state’s total population.

Election Interference? The U.S. Has Done It In 45 Countries Worldwide

Republicans, however, seem unwilling to budge. Calling Obamacare “a catastrophic event,” Trump on Tuesday urged Congressional leaders to repeal it immediately and to replace “shortly thereafter,”he told the New York Times.

Republicans Push Plans To Defund Sanctuary Cities, Campuses

Regardless, Republican leaders are hoping to adopt a budget resolution this week that would allow a repeal to Obamacare with just 50 votes in the Senate.

The move could buy Corker and his GOP colleagues a little more time. As it stands, their five states alone could see another 2.2 million people lose their health insurance should Obamacare be repealed without a replacement.

Why Do Republicans Want To Repeal Obamacare So Much Because It Would Be A Big Tax Cut For The Rich

There are going to be so many tax cuts for the rich, you’re going to get tired of tax cuts for the rich. You’re going to say, “Mr. President, please don’t cut taxes for the rich so much, this is getting terrible.”

arrow-right

And it will start when Republicans repeal Obamacare.

This is the Rosetta Stone for understanding why conservatives have acted like subsidized health care was the end of the republic itself. It wasn’t just that it had the word “Obama” in its name, which, in our polarized age, was enough to ensure that 45 percent of the country would despise it. No, it was that Obamacare was one of the biggest redistributive policies of the last 50 years. The Republican Party, after all, exists for what seems like the sole purpose of reversing redistribution.

A quick recap: Obamacare is a kind of three-legged stool. First, it tells insurance companies that they can’t discriminate against sick people anymore; second, it tells people that they have to buy insurance or pay a penalty, so that everyone doesn’t just wait until they’re sick to get covered; and third, it helps people who can’t afford the plans they have to buy be able to. Which is to say that you need to come up with a whole lot of money to make this work — money that Obamacare gets by taxing the rich. Indeed, at its most basic level, it raises taxes on the top 1 percent to pay for health insurance for the bottom 40 percent.

Getting tired of tax cuts for the rich yet?

Gop Wants To Repeal Obamacare Without A Backup Plan But Some Republicans Say That’s A Bad Idea

U.S.CoronavirusHealth CareObamacareCongress

A Republican-led lawsuit is leaving the fate of the Affordable Care Act hanging in the balance of the courts amid a pandemic that’s ravaged the globe and exacerbated the need for health care.

Yet GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill concede they do not have safety net legislation ready to catch the millions of Americans who would find themselves suddenly without health insurance during a potential second coronavirus wave.

Some Republicans, however, believe that needs to change.

“We need to have a plan in place to make sure that people don’t lose coverage,” said Senator Mitt Romney .

Pre-existing conditions are the “most important thing” to cover, said Senator Martha McSally. But, the Arizona Republican added, “there are many other contingencies that we need to be looking into,” referring to a wide array of issues that could arise without the law.

Republicans have tried unsuccessfully over the years to repeal and replace Obamacare with health provisions of their own. But more than three years into President Donald Trump’s first term, they acknowledge there is neither a discussion nor a plan available to simply replace the expansive health care law that is Obamacare, should it be struck down.

Senator Rick Scott , a former hospital CEO, said he’s “come up with lots of proposals. But there’s no proposal here,” he added.

Republicans Are Still Trying To Repeal Obamacare Heres Why They Are Not Likely To Succeed

Conservatives are still trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act — even after the Republican-majority Congress failed to overturn the law in 2017. A coalition of conservative groups intends to release a new plan this summer. The groups will reportedly propose ending the law’s expansion of Medicaid and convert Medicaid funding into block grants to the states. And just last week the Trump administration’s Justice Department argued in a legal filing that key provisions of the law — its protections for persons with preexisting conditions — are unconstitutional.

Why are Republicans still trying to undo the ACA? We argue in a forthcoming article that the law’s political vulnerabilities and Republican electoral dynamics drive conservative efforts to uproot it.

In the past, conservatives have thrown in the towel

As politicians and political scientists both know, the can never be taken for granted. Even so, the duration and intensity of conservative resistance to the ACA is historically unusual. The ACA is a moderate law, modeled on ideas that Republicans once supported, such as insurance purchasing pools. What’s more, many red states refuse to accept the ACA’s funding to expand Medicaid to more of their citizens — such as Texas, which has a large number of uninsured residents — even though you would think they would want those federal benefits.

So why is the ACA still politically vulnerable?

The answer lies partly in the way the program was designed.

Is repeal likely?

Trump Administration Republican Attorneys General Ask Supreme Court To Repeal Aca

Gianna Melillo

The Trump administration and Republican state attorneys general called on the Supreme Court to overturn the entire Affordable Care Act . President Trump has endorsed repealing the ACA since his 2016 campaign, while Republican lawmakers have largely opposed the law since its inception in 2010.

This story has been updated.

The Trump administration yesterday asked the Supreme Court to repeal the Affordable Care Act stating“the entire ACA act must fall,” hours after Republican state attorneys general, the coalition challenging the law, filed its briefs in the case. Overturning the ACA was a key campaign rallying point for President Trump in 2016 and Republican lawmakers have largely opposed the law since its inception in 2010.

Despite the economic crisis due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, Trump in May promised to continue fighting the ACA, stating “We want to terminate health care under Obamacare.” The case is expected to go before the Supreme Court in the spring of 2021.

In a statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned the request. “President Trump and the Republicans’ campaign to rip away the protections and benefits of the Affordable Care Act in the middle of the coronavirus crisis is an act of unfathomable cruelty,” she stated.

The filing accuses the ACA of inflicting “classic pocketbook injuries on the states,” in addition to preventing states from enforcing their own laws and policies.

Trump Carries On Criticism Of Mccain As A Republican Calls His Words ‘deplorable’

On Wednesday the president repeated his prediction that the GOP would be “the party of great health care.” He slammed the current law as a “disaster” and referred to the court case underway in federal court. He asserted that the case would do very well in the Supreme Court. And if the high court scrapped the law, he vowed, “we will have a plan that’s far better than Obamacare.”

Some GOP political strategists are skeptical. “Dear GOP: When Democrats are setting themselves ablaze by advocating for the destruction of American health care, try to resist the temptation of asking them to pass the kerosene,” tweeted Josh Holmes, a former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who is advising GOP campaigns in the 2020 elections.

“It is a top-of-mind issue for voters; and for Republicans, having a health care plan is very important. I’m not sure that this was the right move to win back suburban voters who are obviously very concerned about pre-existing conditions, and what does that mean for them. But if this lights a fire under us to have a really good health care plan, maybe that’s the silver lining here,” another veteran Republican campaign strategist told NPR.

The Health Care Repeal Lawsuit Could Strip Coverage From 23 Million Americans

Nicole RapfogelEmily Gee

Tomorrow, the Trump administration and 18 Republican governors and attorneys general will file their opening briefs with the Supreme Court in California v. Texas—the health care repeal lawsuit. The lawsuit, criticized across the political spectrum as a “badly flawed” case, threatens to upend the Affordable Care Act and strip 23.3 million Americans of their health coverage, according to new CAP analysis—about 3 million more than was forecast before the coronavirus pandemic. The anti-ACA agitators who initiated the health care repeal lawsuit, backed by the Trump administration, continue their attempts to dismantle the ACA, including its coverage expansions and consumer protections, amid the pandemic, during which comprehensive health coverage has never been more important. Millions of Americans who have lost their jobs and job-based insurance due to the current economic crisis are relying on the insurance options made possible by the ACA to keep themselves and their families covered.

Impeachment Just Got Less Likely And 6 Other Takeaways From The Barr Letter

Whit Ayres, a GOP pollster, maintained that the 2018 midterm results were driven more by demographic trends than by the health care issue.

“Democrats had made it clear that they wanted to make health care a major issue in the 2020 election and this decision helps them in that effort. We will see how successful they are in absence of a court ruling. But it does help to shine a spotlight back for an issue that they believe will be helpful to them.”

NPR’s Jessica Taylor contributed to this story.

Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court To Strike Down Affordable Care Act

If successful, the move would permanently end the health insurance program popularly known as Obamacare and wipe out coverage for as many as 23 million Americans.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court late Thursday to overturn the Affordable Care Act — a move that, if successful, would bring a permanent end to the health insurance program popularly known as Obamacare and wipe out coverage for as many as 23 million Americans.

In an 82-page brief submitted an hour before a midnight deadline, the administration joined Republican officials in Texas and 17 other states in arguing that in 2017, Congress, then controlled by Republicans, had rendered the law unconstitutional when it zeroed out the tax penalty for not buying insurance — the so-called individual mandate.

The administration’s argument, coming in the thick of an election season — as well as a pandemic that has devastated the economy and left millions of unemployed Americans without health coverage — is sure to reignite Washington’s bitter political debate over health care.

In his brief, Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco argued that the health law’s two remaining central provisions are now invalid because Congress intended that all three work together.

The court has not said when it will hear oral arguments, but they are most likely to take place in the fall, just as Americans are preparing to go to the polls in November.

Medicare’s Uncapped Drug Costs Take A Big Bite From Already Tight Budgets

The president continues to pick a fight on Twitter and at political rallies with the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., for his role in derailing the GOP’s repeal effort, but his attacks do not accurately reflect the reality that there was never an alternative health care bill to vote on that could have passed Congress. McCain, Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, were all deeply skeptical of a strategy that threatened to negatively affect health care for millions of Americans without a clear plan to fix the damage uprooting the law would cause in practical terms.

Health care is an issue the president still wants to pursue. Trump huddled privately with Senate Republicans this week and told them it’s an area in which the party has fallen short and he wants a win. “The Republican Party will soon be known as the party of health care,” Trump told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

Trump Administration Says Entire Affordable Care Act Should Be Repealed

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced plans Wednesday to try to force a vote on an amendment to a disaster aid bill, under debate in the Senate this week, that would block funding for the Justice Department’s work on that lawsuit aimed at dismantling the ACA. “Let’s see how our Republican colleagues will vote on this,” he said.

Health care was the No. 1 motivating issue in the 2018 midterm elections that delivered Democrats a House majority. According to a Washington Post analysis of exit poll data from 69 battleground districts, health care emerged as the top issue for voters — besting Trump, the economy and immigration as priorities.

A Word Not Uttered By Republican Officials At The Convention: Obamacare

A longtime refrain, promise and rallying cry is gone.

In 2012, right in the middle of his convention speech, Mitt Romney declared the repeal of Obamacare a crucial priority. It was part of his five-part plan for a “better future.”

“We must rein in the skyrocketing cost of health care by repealing and replacing Obamacare,” he said.

Four years later, there was little doubt that Donald J. Trump would also mention the health law: “We will repeal and replace disastrous Obamacare!” he declared to roaring applause.

This week, Mr. Trump didn’t mention Obamacare at all in his convention speech. The word that rallied Republican voters for nearly a decade has barely been uttered. It came up precisely once during the convention, during a speech by Natalie Harp, a cancer survivor who is not an elected official.

In the 2012 and 2016 G.O.P. conventions, repealing Obamacare was a central, almost obligatory part of every political speech, a goal shared by every candidate, a priority of almost every Republican voter.

The term Obamacare, originally conceived by Republicans to diminish its popularity, has been used less often among Democratic politicians, though President Obama himself ultimately embraced it.

The 2010 health care law expanded health coverage, barred insurers from discriminating against patients with pre-existing health conditions and made numerous other changes to the way health care is delivered and financed. The desire to upend it has not abated much among Republican voters.

Repeal And Replace Is Dead Republicans Cant Figure Out What Comes Next

The pandemic and Biden’s incremental policies have scrambled the party’s usual lines of attack.

A demonstrator holds a sign in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as arguments are heard about the Affordable Care Act on Nov. 10, 2020. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo

02/26/2021 04:30 AM EST

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Former President Donald Trump is gone and so are his promises to throw out Obamacare. Now the Republican Party is left with figuring out what comes after “repeal and replace.”

GOP lawmakers rarely mention Obamacare, and a GOP-backed challenge to the law at the Supreme Court doesn’t appear to be a major threat. Republican attacks on Democrats pursuing a “government takeover” of health care through a single-payer system don’t quite sizzle when President Joe Biden has made clear he wants nothing to do with it. And long-favored Republican designs on shrinking the health care safety net isn’t great policy or politics in the middle of a pandemic and economic crisis.

Which leaves a big fat question mark about what vision of health care Republicans will offer to voters as the country emerges from the pandemic, after a decade in which implacable opposition to the Affordable Care Act was part of the GOP’s core identity.

Xavier Becerra testifies during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on his nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. | Greg Nash/Pool via AP

Filed Under:

Opposition To Obamacare Becomes Political Liability For Gop Incumbents

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You must credit us as the original publisher, with a hyperlink to our khn.org site. If possible, please include the original author and “Kaiser Health News” in the byline. Please preserve the hyperlinks in the story.

Have questions? Let us know at [email protected]

Trumps Executive Action Could Erode Marketplace Built Under Obamacare

Attempts to repeal portions of the Affordable Care Act have failed in the past several months, leading President Donald Trump to issue an executive order expanding access to cheaper, less comprehensive health care plans.

The order, signed on Oct. 12, instructs federal agencies to remove certain limitations on “association health plans” and expand the availability of short-term health plans, both of which can skirt certain minimum coverage requirements included in the Affordable Care Act and state laws.

These changes will not immediately take effect; federal agencies will have to figure out how to act on Trump’s directions.

The executive action orders agencies to explore ways in which the government can expand access to short-term health plans, which are available to individuals on a three-month basis and meant for people who are in-between health care coverage plans. Under the instructions, association health plans would be allowed to sell plans across state lines; those plans allow small businesses to band together to create cheaper health care plans that offer fewer benefits.

The order was intended to create more options for individuals seeking health insurance and help stimulate competition among insurers. Some health policy advocates worry that it could disrupt the insurance marketplace in a way that would drive up health care costs for elderly individuals and people with medical conditions.

It will be months before changes are seen in the marketplace.

Republicans Learn The Limits Of Reconciliation With Failed Aca Repeal

With late night drama not often seen on the Senate floor, Republicans’ latest attempts to pass a bill repealing the Affordable Care Act failed last night, thanks in part to a divide the party’s congressional leaders, especially in the Senate, could simply not bridge.

At the end of the day, however, individual Senate Republicans concluded that even if leaders had judged that “repealing Obamacare” was in the best interests of the party collectively, they could not support the different proposals drafted to actually get there. This was perhaps most true of Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski , who opposed beginning debate and all three alternative proposals considered this week. There were also, however, 11 other senators who voted no on at least one of the alternatives offered this week. While some of those votes may have been strategic, as members knew that the proposal would not ultimately be enacted, they do help illustrate the persistent divides within the Republican Party about the best way to proceed on health policy. In an era of high party polarization and a well-sorted electorate, this kind of cross-pressuring, where what’s good for the party is not necessarily good for the individual member, is less common than it once was. But as the experience of the last few months suggests, those situations can still and do arise.

Trump Wants To ‘repeal And Replace’ The Affordable Care Act Quickly

Following the Republican playbook, Donald Trump promised as president to repeal the Affordable Care Act and to replace it with something that emphasizes free market principles.

“Real change begins with immediately repealing and replacing the disaster known as Obamacare,” Trump said at a Nov. 7, 2016, rally in Michigan.

Currently, 20 million people have health insurance under President Barack Obama’s signature law, and the uninsured rate is below 9 percent, a record low. Repealing and replacing Obamacare would require lawmakers to figure out whether they will cover those people, and if so, how.

WHY HE’S PROMISING IT

The Affordable Care Act isn’t popular. Polling conducted in 2016 shows that Americans are divided on the law.

And the law has some problems. Despite provisions aimed at curbing rising health care costs, premiums for plans on HealthCare.gov are expected to go up an average of 22 percent in 2017. Insurance companies have pulled out of the marketplaces in 29 states.

HOW MUCH WOULD IT COST

Trump has several policy ideas for what the health care law replacement should include. He suggests allowing providers to sell insurance across state lines, making it so individuals could deduct premium payments from their tax returns and requiring price transparency from health care providers. He also proposes block-granting Medicaid to the states and encouraging health savings accounts.

WHAT’S STANDING IN HIS WAY

Mandate Rollback Not A Repeal Of Obamacare But It May Undermine It

The Republicans’ successful drive to pass a massive tax bill allowed President Donald Trump to take another slice off of the Affordable Care Act. Effective 2019, the sweeping tax package repeals the penalty on people who might be able to afford health insurance but choose not to buy it. The individual mandate affects a relatively narrow sliver of Americans, but it has been a pillar of Obamacare.

The mandate was the stick to herd more people — healthy people — into the insurance pool. That would spread the risk, keep premiums down and produce a stable insurance market.

Fundamentally, it was the evil twin of a very popular feature of the health care law — guaranteed coverage of people with pre-existing conditions. The deal was that if the government is going to force insurance companies to cover everyone, then it must deliver a big insurance pool with a lot of people who won’t rack up medical bills. The mandate plays a similar role with the Affordable Care Act’s community rating rules, which prevent the insurance companies from charging sick people more than healthy people.

Last year, about 6.5 million households paid the penalty . In a Nov. 13 tweet, Trump called the mandate unfair and highly unpopular and urged the Senate to add repeal to its tax package. Trump got what he wanted.

Eliminating it does no favors for Obamacare’s goal to get more people covered at a price they can afford.

Read About Our Process

Louis Jacobson

Selected References To Obamacare At Recent Republican Conventions:

In 2012:

“We must rein in the skyrocketing cost of health care by repealing and replacing Obamacare.” — Mitt Romney, presidential nominee

“The greatest threat to Medicare is Obamacare, and we’re going to stop it.” — Paul Ryan, vice-presidential nominee

“Elect Mitt Romney so we can repeal Obamacare.” — Paul Ryan

“He will roll back Obamacare, starting on Day 1.” — Kelly Ayotte, U.S. senator

“Can we repeal Obamacare?” — Ted Cruz, U.S. Senate candidate

“It is time to repeal Obamacare.” — Pam Bondi, Florida’s attorney general

In 2016:

After Mueller Report Memo Democrats Turn To Health Care For Now

For Republicans, the renewed effort threatened to pick the scab of old political wounds. Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who is up for re-election in 2020, was one of the three Republican senators who helped defeat a last-ditch GOP effort in 2017 to repeal Obamacare. Collins told reporters Wednesday that she is “vehemently opposed” to the administration’s decision. A spokeswoman said Collins is drafting a letter to Attorney General William Barr to voice her opposition to the effort.

While Republicans and Trump campaigned for the better part of a decade against the health care law — the signature domestic achievement of the Obama presidency — the party never coalesced around an alternative policy that would provide insurance coverage to more Americans and protect coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.

How Repealing The Aca Could Impact The Gaucher Disease Community

The Affordable Care Act represents one of the most substantial changes to our nation’s healthcare policy since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid. The legislation was first introduced and approved by a Democratic congressional majority. The Obama administration signed the ACA into law on March 23, 2010.

When the ACA was first enacted, many Americans didn’t consider healthcare to be a fundamental human right. Now, less than 10 years later, 54% of all Americans believe the government should provide a national health insurance program, according to a CNN poll.

But once again, the ACA is under fire. New efforts to strike down the entire ACA in court are underway, and so far, they’ve been successful. In this month’s podcast, we speak with Claire Sachs, author of The Patient Advocate’s Chronicle. She is a counselor and patient advocate with over 30 years’ experience studying policy and managing insurance coverage. During our conversation, we discover how the ACA helps people living with Gaucher disease and other chronic illnesses—and what we stand to lose if the ACA is repealed. For more information about healthcare legislation, NGF explains what is healthcare legislation?

The Affordable Care Act addresses several key issues, including health insurance coverage, preventative care, coverage for preexisting conditions, and healthcare costs. At its heart, the idea behind the ACA is to expand health insurance coverage using public options at both the federal and state levels.

Repeal Of Obamacares Taxes Would Be A Huge Tax Cut For The Rich

This did not play a major overt public role in the 2009-’10 debate about the law, but the Affordable Care Act’s financing rests on a remarkably progressive base. That means that, as the Tax Policy Center has shown, repealing it would shower moneyon a remarkably small number of remarkably wealthy Americans.

The two big relevant taxes, according to the TPC’s Howard Gleckman, are “a 0.9 percent payroll surtax on earnings and a 3.8 percent tax on net investment income for individuals with incomes exceeding $200,000 .” That payroll tax hike hits a reasonably broad swath of affluent individuals, but in a relatively minor way. The 3.8 percent tax on net investment income , by contrast, is a pretty hefty tax, but one that falls overwhelmingly on the small number of people who have hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in investment income.

Tax Policy Center

For the bottom 60 percent of the population — that is, households earning less than about $67,000 a year — full repeal of the ACA would end up meaning an increase in taxes due to the loss of ACA tax credits.

But people in the top 1 percent of the income distribution — those with incomes of over about $430,000 — would see their taxes fall by an average of $25,000 a year.

Under the actual AHCA, Jared Kushner would actually pay even less in taxes. As a young person, Kushner would get a larger tax to buy insurance under the AHCA than he does now.

Directive Ending Key Subsidy Threatens Obamacare’s Viability

After failing in several attempts to pass legislation overturning the Affordable Care Act, the Trump administration took a big step toward undercutting the law Oct. 12 when it said it would no longer continue funding a class of widely used subsidies without congressional appropriations.

The payments in question are known as “cost-sharing reductions.” They were intended to ease copayments and deductible costs for millions of low-income Americans who have purchased insurance coverage on the Affordable Care Act online marketplaces. The estimated cost of the payments was $9 billion next year and nearly $100 billion over the next decade.

The payments have been subject to a legal dispute since House Republicans sued in 2014, arguing that the Obama administration was improperly paying the subsidies when no money had been appropriated for that purpose by Congress. The House Republicans’ lawsuit was initially upheld in federal district court, but the case has continued to work its way through the courts.

In its announcement, the White House specifically cited the legal case as the reason for ending the payments. Insurers had been expecting a new round of payments on Oct. 18.

Health policy specialists agreed that the impact could be serious.

Experts said that lower-income Americans would be hurt the most by the change.

But ending the subsidies could have other indirect impacts, experts said.

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medproish · 6 years

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Google today launched Chrome 66 for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS. The desktop release includes autoplaying content muted by default, security improvements, and new developer features. You can update to the latest version now using the browser’s built-in updater or download it directly from google.com/chrome.

With over 1 billion users, Chrome is both a browser and a major platform that web developers have to consider. In fact, with Chrome’s regular additions and changes, developers have to keep up to ensure they are taking advantage of everything available.

The biggest improvement in this release is that autoplaying content with sound is now blocked by default. This functionality was delayed — it was originally slated for January with the release of Chrome 64 — but now it’s finally here. Chrome 64 did, however, add an option to completely disable audio on a per site basis, functionality which also arrived later than planned (it was originally scheduled for Chrome 63).

In our tests, autoplaying content that is muted still plays automatically. Autoplaying content with sound, whether it has visible controls or not, and whether it is set to play on loop or not, simply does not start playing.

We received mixed results with YouTube videos, however — sometimes they played automatically and other times they did not. Some would expect a video site to autoplay content, as presumably that is the main focus of the page, but others may disagree. Either way, if a page somehow circumvents the autoplaying block, you can still mute whole websites.

The discrepancy is due to how Chrome ranks each website for you. On desktop, Chrome has a Media Engagement Index (MEI), which measures the propensity to consume media for each site you visit. You can check your MEI for each site by navigating to the chrome://media-engagement internal page.

The MEI is determined by a ratio of visits to significant media playback events per origin, with these four factors taken into account:

Consumption of the media (audio/video) must be greater than 7 seconds.

Audio must be present and unmuted.

Tab with video is active.

Size of the video (in px) must be greater than 200×140.

When Google first announced its plans, the company justified its approach by saying that while “autoplay can make it faster and easier to consume on the web,” unexpected media playback is also “one of the most frequent user concerns” because it “can use data, consume power, and make unwanted noise while browsing.” A side benefit, Google argues, is unified desktop and mobile web behavior, making web media development more predictable across platforms and browsers.

Speaking of platforms, Chrome 65 was the last release of Google’s browser for OS X 10.9 users. Chrome 66 requires OS X 10.10 or later. If you haven’t upgraded your Mac yet, this might push you to pull the trigger.

Moving on to developer features, Chrome 66 includes ImageBitmap Rendering Context for the canvas tag. Instead of first creating an img tag and then rendering its contents to a canvas, which causes multiple copies of the image to be stored in memory, this new rendering context streamlines the display of ImageBitmap objects by avoiding memory duplication. Google notes that a WebGL game, for example, could use this to load new textures on the fly as gameplay progresses.

Next, Chrome 66 implements CSS Typed Object Model. Instead of changing CSS properties by manipulating strings (only for the browser to then convert it back to a typed representation), the CSS Typed Object Model Level 1 reduces this burden on both the developer and browser by exposing CSS values as typed JavaScript objects rather than strings. This is not only more performant, it allows developers to write more maintainable code.

Next up, there’s a new asynchronous Clipboard API with a promise-based means of reading from and writing to the clipboard (future versions will support richer types of data, including images). Google claims it is simpler than the execCommand(‘copy’) API released in Chrome 43 and integrates with the Permissions API.

Finally, the AudioWorklet aims to replace the legacy ScriptProcessorNode, which was asynchronous and required thread hops that could produce an unstable audio output. The AudioWorklet object provides a new synchronous JavaScript execution context that allows developers to programmatically control audio without additional latency and higher stability in the output audio.

Developers will also want to know that Chrome 66 includes an update to the V8 JavaScript engine: version 6.6. The release includes new JavaScript language features, code caching after execution, background compilation, removal of AST numbering, and performance improvements. Check out the full list of changes for more information.

Other developer features in this release (some are mobile-specific):

Animation: The add and accumulate compositing operations are intended for building modularized animations. The add and accumulate keywords will be supported in Chrome soon. Until then, they will no longer throw errors. This is to maintain compatibility with Firefox and other implementations.

CSS: The mathematical expressions calc(), min(), and max() are now supported in media queries, as required by the CSS Values and Units Module Level 4 specification. This change brings them in line with other types of rules where these functions are allowed anywhere a number is allowed.

CSS: Floating point values are now allowed in the rgb() and rgba() functions.

Feature Policy: By default, the deviceorientation, deviceorientationabsolute, and devicemotion events are now restricted to top-level document and same-origin subframes, the same as if the feature policy for those features were set to 'self'. To modify this behavior, explicitly enable or disable the specific feature.

File API: The File API now results in a network error instead of a 404 when attempting to read from an invalid or non-existing blob URL.

Forms: The </a></code> element and the <code><a href="https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/form-elements.html#the-select-element"><select></a></code> element now support the <code>autocomplete</code> attribute as required by the specification.</li> <li>Forms: A mutable checkbox now fires three events as <a href="https://html.spec.whatwg.org/#checkbox-state-(type=checkbox)">required by the HTML specification</a>: a <code>click</code> event, then an <code>input</code> event, then a <code>change</code> event. Formerly only the <code>click</code> and <code>change</code> events were fired.</li> <li>Fullscreen: If a page in fullscreen mode opens a popup and calls <code>window.focus(),</code> <a href="https://www.chromestatus.com/feature/5732193850621952">that page exits full screen</a>. This does not occur if the popup receives focus some other way.</li> <li>GetUserMedia: A new method on the <code>MediaStreamTrack</code> interface called <code><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/MediaStreamTrack/getCapabilities">getCapabilities()</a></code> returns a <code>MediaTrackCapabilities</code> object, which specifies the values or range of values which each constrianable property. Capabilities vary by device.</li> <li>JavaScript: The <code><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Function/toString">Function.prototype.toString()</a></code> function now returns exactly what is written in the source code. This includes whitespace and other text that may have been used. For example, if there is a comment between the function keyword and the function name, the comment is now returned in addition to the keyword and name.</li> <li><a href="https://github.com/tc39/proposal-json-superset">JSON is now a syntactic subset of ECMAScript</a>, which allows line separator (U+2028) and paragraph separator (U+2029) symbols in string literals.</li> <li>JavaScript: The <code>catch</code> clause of a <code>try</code> statement can now be <a href="https://tc39.github.io/proposal-optional-catch-binding/">used without a parameter</a>.</li> <li>JavaScript: <code>String.prototype.trimStart()</code> and <code>String.prototype.trimEnd()</code> are now available as the standards-based way of trimming whitespace from strings, in addition to <code>String.prototype.trim()</code> which was already implemented. The non-standard <code>trimLeft()</code> and <code>trimRight()</code> remain as aliases of the new methods for backward compatibility.</li> <li>JavaScript: The <code><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array/values">Array.prototype.values()</a></code> method returns a new array iterator object that contains the values for each index in the array.</li> <li>Layout: The grid prefix has been removed from the CSS gutter properties: <code>grid-gap</code> becomes <code>gap</code>, <code>grid-row-gap</code> becomes <code>row-gap</code>, and <code>grid-column-gap</code> becomes <code>column-gap</code>. The default value for all three is <code>normal</code> and the prefixed properties are aliases of the new ones. Note that <code>column-gap</code> property already exists and is used by <code>css-multicol</code>.</li> <li>Layout: Elements with the display properties <code>table-row</code>, <code>table-row-group</code>,<code> table-header-group</code>, <code>table-footer-group</code>, <code>table-cell</code>, and <code>table-caption</code> that have a transform property are now containing blocks for fixed position elements. Blink currently does not make <code><tr></code>, <code><tbody></code>, <code><tfoot></code>, and <code><thead></code> be containing blocks for fixed-position elements.</li> <li>Media: As announced <a href="https://blog.chromium.org/2017/09/unified-autoplay.html">earlier</a>, <code><a href="https://www.chromium.org/audio-video/autoplay">autoplay</a></code> is now <a href="https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2017/09/autoplay-policy-changes">allowed</a> only when either the media won’t play sound, after the user clicks or taps on the site, or (on desktop) if the user has previously shown an interest in media on the site. This will reduce unexpected video playbacks with sound when first opening a web page.</li> <li>Media: The <a href="https://www.chromestatus.com/feature/5869632707624960">Media Capabilities, Decoding Info API</a> allows websites to get more information about the decoding abilities of the client. This <a href="https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2017/12/chrome-63-64-media-updates#media-capabilities-decoding-info-api">enables</a> more informed selection of media streams for the user, avoiding scenarios such as where the client is unable to smoothly and power-efficiently decode a resolution that might have been picked based only on available bandwidth and screen size.</li> <li>Network: The Fetch API has two new features. The Request object now supports a <code><a href="https://www.chromestatus.com/features/5760375567941632">keepalive</a></code> property which allows a fetch to continue after a tab is closed. This feature is invoked by passing a boolean in the constructor’s initialization object. Its value can be read back from the object itself. This property can be used with <code>sendBeacon()</code> as well. New <code><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/AbortSignal">AbortSignal</a></code> and <code><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/AbortController">AbortController</a></code> interfaces allow a fetch to be canceled. To accomplish this create an <code>AbortController</code> object and pass its signal property as an option to <code>fetch</code>. Calling <code>abortController.abort()</code> cancels the fetch. There’s more information in our <a href="https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2017/09/abortable-fetch">abortable fetch article</a>.</li> <li>ServiceWorker: A service worker can no longer respond to a request whose mode is <code>same-origin</code> with a response whose type is <code>CORS</code>. This is a security measure recently added to the Fetch specification.</li> <li>ServiceWorker: <code>FetchEvent.clientId</code> now returns an empty string instead of null when it isn’t set. For example, this can occur during a navigation request.</li> <li>WebRTC: Chrome now supports the <code><a href="https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=812587">RTCRtpSender.dtmf</a></code><br /> attribute per the specification. This replaces the <code>CreateDTMFSender()</code> function which has not yet been deprecated.</li> <li>CSS: The <code>object-position</code> and <code>perspective-origin</code> properties no longer accepts three-part values such as <code>top right 20%</code>. This change also applies to basic shapes and gradients. Valid position values must always have 1, 2, or 4 parts.</li> <li>HTML: Following a specification change, <code><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/ImageCapture">ImageCapture</a>.prototype.setOptions()</code> has been removed.</li> <li>Input: Following a specification change, <code><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Document/createTouch">document.createTouch()</a></code> and <code><a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Document/createTouchList">document.createTouchList()</a></code> have been removed.</li> <li>Web Audio: Following a specification change, automatic dezippering of <code>AudioParam.prototype.value</code> changes was removed from Chrome. If you need to smooth the value of <code>AudioParam </code>changes, use<code> AudioParam.prototype.setTargetAtTime()</code>.</li> </ul> <p>For a full rundown of what’s new, check out the <a href="https://www.chromestatus.com/features#milestone%3D66">Chrome 66 milestone hotlist</a>.</p> <p>Chrome 66 also implements 62 security fixes. The following ones were found by external researchers:</p> <ul> <li>[$TBD][<a href="https://crbug.com/826626">826626</a>] Critical CVE-2018-6085: Use after free in Disk Cache. Reported by Ned Williamson on 2018-03-28</li> <li>[$TBD][<a href="https://crbug.com/827492">827492</a>] Critical CVE-2018-6086: Use after free in Disk Cache. Reported by Ned Williamson on 2018-03-30</li> <li>[$7500][<a href="https://crbug.com/813876">813876</a>] High CVE-2018-6087: Use after free in WebAssembly. Reported by Anonymous on 2018-02-20</li> <li>[$5000][<a href="https://crbug.com/822091">822091</a>] High CVE-2018-6088: Use after free in PDFium. Reported by Anonymous on 2018-03-15</li> <li>[$4500][<a href="https://crbug.com/808838">808838</a>] High CVE-2018-6089: Same origin policy bypass in Service Worker. Reported by Rob Wu on 2018-02-04</li> <li>[$3000][<a href="https://crbug.com/820913">820913</a>] High CVE-2018-6090: Heap buffer overflow in Skia. Reported by ZhanJia Song on 2018-03-12</li> <li>[$500][<a href="https://crbug.com/771933">771933</a>] High CVE-2018-6091: Incorrect handling of plug-ins by Service Worker. Reported by Jun Kokatsu (@shhnjk) on 2017-10-05</li> <li>[$N/A][<a href="https://crbug.com/819869">819869</a>] High CVE-2018-6092: Integer overflow in WebAssembly. Reported by Natalie Silvanovich of Google Project Zero on 2018-03-08</li> <li>[$4000][<a href="https://crbug.com/780435">780435</a>] Medium CVE-2018-6093: Same origin bypass in Service Worker. Reported by Jun Kokatsu (@shhnjk) on 2017-11-01</li> <li>[$2000][<a href="https://crbug.com/633030">633030</a>] Medium CVE-2018-6094: Exploit hardening regression in Oilpan. Reported by Chris Rohlf on 2016-08-01</li> <li>[$2000][<a href="https://crbug.com/637098">637098</a>] Medium CVE-2018-6095: Lack of meaningful user interaction requirement before file upload. Reported by Abdulrahman Alqabandi (@qab) on 2016-08-11</li> <li>[$1000][<a href="https://crbug.com/776418">776418</a>] Medium CVE-2018-6096: Fullscreen UI spoof. Reported by WenXu Wu of Tencent’s Xuanwu Lab on 2017-10-19</li> <li>[$1000][<a href="https://crbug.com/806162">806162</a>] Medium CVE-2018-6097: Fullscreen UI spoof. Reported by xisigr of Tencent’s Xuanwu Lab on 2018-01-26</li> <li>[$500][<a href="https://crbug.com/798892">798892</a>] Medium CVE-2018-6098: URL spoof in Omnibox. Reported by Khalil Zhani on 2018-01-03</li> <li>[$500][<a href="https://crbug.com/808825">808825</a>] Medium CVE-2018-6099: CORS bypass in ServiceWorker. Reported by Jun Kokatsu (@shhnjk) on 2018-02-03</li> <li>[$500][<a href="https://crbug.com/811117">811117</a>] Medium CVE-2018-6100: URL spoof in Omnibox. Reported by Lnyas Zhang on 2018-02-11</li> <li>[$500][<a href="https://crbug.com/813540">813540</a>] Medium CVE-2018-6101: Insufficient protection of remote debugging prototol in DevTools . Reported by Rob Wu on 2018-02-19</li> <li>[$500][<a href="https://crbug.com/813814">813814</a>] Medium CVE-2018-6102: URL spoof in Omnibox. Reported by Khalil Zhani on 2018-02-20</li> <li>[$500][<a href="https://crbug.com/816033">816033</a>] Medium CVE-2018-6103: UI spoof in Permissions. Reported by Khalil Zhani on 2018-02-24</li> <li>[$500][<a href="https://crbug.com/820068">820068</a>] Medium CVE-2018-6104: URL spoof in Omnibox. Reported by Khalil Zhani on 2018-03-08</li> <li>[$N/A][<a href="https://crbug.com/803571">803571</a>] Medium CVE-2018-6105: URL spoof in Omnibox. Reported by Khalil Zhani on 2018-01-18</li> <li>[$N/A][<a href="https://crbug.com/805729">805729</a>] Medium CVE-2018-6106: Incorrect handling of promises in V8. Reported by lokihardt of Google Project Zero on 2018-01-25</li> <li>[$N/A][<a href="https://crbug.com/808316">808316</a>] Medium CVE-2018-6107: URL spoof in Omnibox. Reported by Khalil Zhani on 2018-02-02</li> <li>[$N/A][<a href="https://crbug.com/816769">816769</a>] Medium CVE-2018-6108: URL spoof in Omnibox. Reported by Khalil Zhani on 2018-02-27</li> <li>[$N/A][<a href="https://crbug.com/710190">710190</a>] Low CVE-2018-6109: Incorrect handling of files by FileAPI. Reported by Dominik Weber (@DoWeb_) on 2017-04-10</li> <li>[$N/A][<a href="https://crbug.com/777737">777737</a>] Low CVE-2018-6110: Incorrect handling of plaintext files via file:// . Reported by Wenxiang Qian (aka blastxiang) on 2017-10-24</li> <li>[$N/A][<a href="https://crbug.com/780694">780694</a>] Low CVE-2018-6111: Heap-use-after-free in DevTools. Reported by Khalil Zhani on 2017-11-02</li> <li>[$N/A][<a href="https://crbug.com/798096">798096</a>] Low CVE-2018-6112: Incorrect URL handling in DevTools. Reported by Rob Wu on 2017-12-29</li> <li>[$N/A][<a href="https://crbug.com/805900">805900</a>] Low CVE-2018-6113: URL spoof in Navigation. Reported by Khalil Zhani on 2018-01-25</li> <li>[$N/A][<a href="https://crbug.com/811691">811691</a>] Low CVE-2018-6114: CSP bypass. Reported by Lnyas Zhang on 2018-02-13</li> <li>[$TBD][<a href="https://crbug.com/819809">819809</a>] Low CVE-2018-6115: SmartScreen bypass in downloads. Reported by James Feher on 2018-03-07</li> <li>[$N/A][<a href="https://crbug.com/822266">822266</a>] Low CVE-2018-6116: Incorrect low memory handling in WebAssembly. Reported by Jin from Chengdu Security Response Center of Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. on 2018-03-15</li> <li>[$N/A][<a href="https://crbug.com/822465">822465</a>] Low CVE-2018-6117: Confusing autofill settings. Reported by Spencer Dailey on 2018-03-15</li> <li>[$N/A][<a href="https://crbug.com/822424">822424</a>] Low CVE-2018-6084: Incorrect use of Distributed Objects in Google Software Updater on MacOS. Reported by Ian Beer of Google Project Zero on 2018-03-15</li> <li>[<a href="https://crbug.com/833889">833889</a>] Various fixes from internal audits, fuzzing and other initiatives</li> </ul> <p>Google thus spent at least $34,000 in bug bounties for this release. As always, the security fixes alone should be enough incentive for you to upgrade.</p> <p>There are two more changes related to security worth noting. Chrome 66 includes a small percentage trial of <a href="https://www.chromium.org/Home/chromium-security/site-isolation">Site Isolation</a>, which improves Chrome’s security and helps mitigate <a href="https://venturebeat.com/2018/01/03/intel-confirms-security-issue-in-its-processors-as-os-makers-ready-fixes/">the risks posed by Spectre</a>.</p> <p>Google has also started the process of deprecating Chrome’s trust in the Symantec certificate authority (including Symantec-owned brands like Thawte, VeriSign, Equifax, GeoTrust, and RapidSSL). If your site is using a SSL/TLS certificate from Symantec that was issued before June 1, 2016, it will stop functioning in Chrome 66, while all remaining Symantec SSL/TLS certificates will stop working starting in Chrome 70.</p> <p>Google releases a new version of its browser every six weeks or so. Chrome 67 will arrive by late May.</p> <p>Chrome 66 for Android was also <a href="https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2018/04/chrome-for-android-update.html">released</a> today and is rolling out gradually over the next few weeks via <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.android.chrome">Google Play</a>. The <a href="https://blog.chromium.org/2018/04/protecting-webview-with-safe-browsing.html">big</a> <a href="https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2018/04/protecting-webview-with-safe-browsing.html">change</a> here is that Google Safe Browsing now works with Android’s WebView by default. Safe Browsing provides lists of URLs that contain malware or phishing content to Chrome, Firefox, and Safari browsers, as well as to internet service providers (ISPs). This change means developers of Android apps using WebView no longer have to make changes to take advantage of Safe Browsing.</p> <p>Chrome 66 for iOS is out as well over on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/google-chrome/id535886823">Apple’s App Store</a>. In addition to the usual stability and performance improvements, you can now export your passwords.</p> <div id='pressboard-ad-sponsorship-msg'></div> </div>

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sporadicwinnersong · 6 years

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I don’t want to become Prime Minister, I want to be a chowkidar, said then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on the campaign trail during the 2014 elections. Social media is unforgiving and four years later – after the Nirav Modi banking scam blew up – a video of the PM’s chowkidar speech was repeatedly recycled. As the NiMo banking scam unfolds, reality has hit hard. To lay the blame at the prime minister’s door for a multi-crore scam in one branch of a public sector bank would be unfair. The scam reveals, though, that however tough the chowkidar at the top, there’s deep rot in an unaccountable public sector banking system. For example, all 20 PSU banks including PNB do not have a workman or an officer director. This mandatory watchdog post has been vacant, in many cases, for almost six months. So the question arises: Who is the better chowkidar, a single individual or a range of independent functioning accountable watchdog institutions that raise red flags in time? The personal commitment of a dominant political executive to act against corruption is welcome. Yet a single chowkidar sitting alone in Lok Kalyan Marg in Delhi cannot oversee goings on from Jhabua to Trichy, or PNB Mumbai’s Brady House Branch for that matter. Instead, it is anti-corruption institutions at every level which must be strengthened and empowered. Today public cynicism about corruption is overwhelming. Even a Davos group photo or PM’s references to “hamaare Mehulbhai” can lead to perceptions of cronyism, unless strong institutions act swiftly to catch the big fish. The government claims it has introduced tough new amendments in the Benami Property Act and brought in an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code to enable actions against swindlers. But who will implement these tough laws if administrators and institutions are rendered irrelevant? The government has not instituted a single Lokpal in the last four years and as many as four posts in the Information Commission are lying vacant. The CBI, described as a ‘caged parrot’ during the UPA, has still not been set free. That the Centre determinedly pushed through a controversial appointment of a Gujarat IPS officer as special director despite complaints of serious irregularities is evidence of a political system that is unwilling to create a truly independent federal police. Election funding, arguably the most visible source of political corruption, remains unchecked. The introduction of electoral bonds (now challenged in court) has failed to address the core issue of promoting transparency in funding: under the new law, details of individuals and corporates funding political parties will not be disclosed in public. The government claims that demonetisation must be seen as evidence of its drive against corruption. But 16 months later, the evidence is mixed: Despite initially aiding the IT department to hound hoarders almost all the money, including black money, is back in banks with the Rs 2,000 note replacing lower denominations. Banks have received back Rs 15.28 trillion or 99% of the invalidated currency. Truth is, a quasi-evangelical moral puritanism and a knee jerk criminalising of business isn’t the answer to the problem of instilling enough confidence that the honest will be protected and the corrupt will be punished. Public sector banks are an abiding symbol of political cronyism and the neta-babu nexus. That the Punjab National Bank was even given awards by the Central Vigilance Commission is a classic example of a ‘chalta hai’ attitude that militates against rigorous regulatory monitoring A commitment against corruption must see honest whistleblowers as vital allies. Yet information activists complain that the Right to Information Act is being systematically weakened. Several RTIs to the prime minister’s office go unanswered. Questions have been raised about the appointment of the CVC and the government has refused to answer RTIs asking for names of loan defaulters. In 2016, after alleged “encounter deaths” of eight SIMI activists in Bhopal, minister Kiren Rijiju said, “We should stop this habit of raising doubts and asking questions, this is not a good culture.” But isn’t democracy about asking questions? Perhaps if more questions had been raised by an alert banking system in 2015, the NiMo scam could have been stopped. Maybe, in November 2016 when the PM announced that demonetisation was a step towards cleaning up society, questions should have been raised over the accountability of banks. It is precisely in 2017, during the post-demonetisation period, that Nirav Modi obtained a fresh series of LoUs – showing that for bankers at PNB, it was still business as usual for VIPs. The finance minister recently said that while politicians are accountable, it’s the regulators who are not, suggesting that banking regulator RBI has not been vigilant enough. But the fact is, it’s the government’s responsibility to create autonomous and independent institutions that have the self-confidence to ask questions, even from well-connected VIPs. The Indian people’s interests are best served when the government takes urgent steps to ensure that institutions – CVC, CBI, judiciary, RTI, CIC, bank watchdogs – are not attacked or weakened or marginalised or bypassed but made vigorous, independent and staffed by persons of courage and integrity. It’s these institutions that are India’s real chowkidars, not a single individual.#MohnishAhluwaliaNotes

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the-fitsquad · 6 years

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Chip Competition Intensifies As AMD, Intel Face Off With New Competing Workstation Computer Platforms

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has contracted with Dell to obtain Windows-Intel computers for institutional use. (16) Faculties and Perform Units must make every single effort to replace computer workstations more than 3 years old due to the danger of the gear not becoming reputable for use or capable of supporting the University’s SOE. Technology Services do not help or keep out of warranty computer workstations. This table shows the approximate calendar year for the duration of which select Dell laptop models have been initially released. The models shown right here are those most commonly bought for use by faculty and employees who acquire help from ECN’s User and Desktop Services group. To rapidly estimate your computer’s age, just locate it in the table.

Whilst workstations are often component of a network, they can be standalone machines as well. Even a home personal computer can be a workstation if it is employed for particular kinds of work. So if you want to sound expert, the subsequent time you send an e-mail to a friend from your home Computer, you can let him know you are sending it from your house workstation. Dell initially manufactured computers in property and was a pioneer in the “configure to order” strategy to manufacturing—delivering individual PCs configured to consumer specifications. 93 In contrast, most Pc makers in those times delivered large orders to intermediaries on a quarterly basis. 94 95 As PCs became much more commoditized, Dell’s “configure to order” method of manufacturing was no longer as effective or competitive with higher-volume Asian contract manufacturers.

Our personal computer desks and workplace desks also come in a range of prices, so no matter what your price range, you can uncover one thing appropriate. Strategy ahead for workstation improvement expenses (desks, chairs, computer accessories, and so forth.) in annual budgets. The term workstation has also been employed to refer to a mainframe computer terminal or a Pc connected to a network. The Software program Licensing Service determined that the version of the computer BIOS is invalid. Corner desks are created to fit neatly into the corner of a room in a classic ‘L’ shape. These allow you to have far more desk space by extending the desktop along two sides of the wall. This enables you to use 1 location for housing your computer tower and for the monitor whilst the other side could be utilised for paperwork, books and the alike, supplying you with much more general work space.

Wait for the “Defragmentation is Complete” message. If you have not defragged a Dell laptop in a lengthy time, then the defragging approach may well take a while, even as lengthy as an hour for extremely fragmented Dell computer systems. Permit the Dell pc to run the defrag until the process is completed. You will know that the Dell pc has completed the defrag method when the “Defragmentation is Complete” message seems. This document is an try to bring different published sources with each other to present a timeline about Workstation Computer systems. I do not have a excellent definition of what a ‘Workstation Computer’ is (or is not), nor do I believe I will locate a single that absolutely everyone can agree on. Indeed, it is most likely that any such definition has changed more than time, particularly if such a definition was primarily based on absolute processing power.

This Workstation Computer features ample expansion slots, USB 3.1, and VGA video capabilties right from the board (DP, HDMI, and DVI-D from the board when paired with a E3 v5 CPU featuring Intel® HD Graphics P530). Walking towards the three computer systems close to the escalators, the rightmost (ROW302) is a LIRA workstations. A wide assortment of Modular Computer Workstations is presented by us to buyers in bulk at most reasonable rates. The supplied Modular Pc Workstations are made by us as per the specifications of the clients. Modular Pc Workstations are mainly known for their longer shelf life.

So in order to discover this notion a tiny additional and in higher detail we will now cover some essential variations among a workstation Computer and a regular pc in the CAD workstations – what is the difference section. At very first glance, a workstation and a desktop may not look that different, but on the inside, these are two extremely diverse systems. Workstation PCs have a lot of energy and operate at a high-performance, but they also come with a steep cost tag. Desktops may possibly not have as much energy as workstations, but they supply a lot of bang for the buck, especially if you don’t need to have all the high-finish features.

When you sit down at your laptop or desktop computer to variety up a report or produce a presentation, the machine’s only purpose is to create your text or presentation file. In the classic server-workstation model, the computer you personally use for your perform is a work station. Nonetheless, in contemporary usage some individuals reserve the term workstation to refer to a high end computers that perform computationally intensive tasks. These tasks can incorporate items like graphic design and rendering or sophisticated information modelling.

Though we are not affiliated with the Dell Pc Corporation, we have been specializing in Dell Laptop components and Dell laptop repair solutions far more than 15 years. At you can find whatever you require for your Dell laptop. This is why we have grow to be the top supplier of Dell laptop and tablet components for consumers, firms, government agencies, computer repair shops, college districts, and corporate firms. We provide all Dell parts for your enterprise and person Dell personal computer requirements and have done so because 2002. We also offer Dell laptop repairs at our 14,000 square-foot facility in Austin, Texas. We maintain a massive inventory of Dell laptop parts and refurbished Dell laptops so we can replace your Dell laptop if it cannot be repaired. Also at this facility, is our Dell notebook recycling center.

Workstations tended to be quite high-priced, typically numerous instances the expense of a standard Pc and often costing as a lot as a new vehicle Even so, minicomputers occasionally expense as significantly as a home. The higher expense usually came from utilizing costlier elements that ran quicker than those discovered at the nearby personal computer shop, as properly as the inclusion of features web site not located in PCs of the time, such as higher-speed networking and sophisticated graphics. Workstation makers also tend to take a “balanced” strategy to method design and style, making specific to stay away from bottlenecks so that information can flow unimpeded between the several distinct subsystems inside a laptop. Furthermore, workstations, offered their a lot more specialized nature, have a tendency to have larger profit margins than commodity -driven PCs.

Desktop PCs are properly-suited for residence or tiny enterprise personal computer users. Desktop Computer customers can surf the Net, play media files, e-mail, play games, chat and video conference. Desktop PCs can also run office productivity software program like databases, spreadsheets, word processors and Net applications with ease. Workstation users on the other hand, are frequently scientists, engineers, architects and digital media content material creators whose operate demands much far more computing power than the average small business personal computer user would ever want.

“Dude! You happen to be getting a Dell.” These words are as prophetic right now as they have been 15 years ago, when Dell and a scrappy spokes-teen introduced the now iconic phrase into the lexicon of American pop culture. But it was another young upstart who was accountable for the meteoric rise of the tech firm: Michael Dell. At the age of 19, Dell borrowed $1,000 from his family members to start off what he was then calling PC’s Limited. Although still a student at the University of Texas at Austin, Dell operated the fledgling enterprise out of his dorm room, and within a year he had designed a pc that sold for much less than an IBM machine. The result was practically immediate recognition, and a gushing report in Pc Week catapulted the organization into the spotlight.

Picking a Tv tuner enables your technique to replace your DVR. Hauppauge Tuners function with Over-the-Air Tv (OTA) and assistance ATSC and QAM standards. The European version supports DVB (Pal). Ceton HD Cable Television Tuners only work with US cable providers (any). Making use of two CETON Tuners enables you to watch or record up to 12 HD channels simultaneously. The InfiniTV six External Ethernet can be utilised with all computer systems in your network at the same time. Ceton My Media Center smartphone and tablet apps (iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows eight, Nook) permit you to handle your recordings remotely. Recommendation for Reside Tv is Windows eight.1 Pro with Media Center (configurable under).

The computer systems that are referred to as workstations span a broad variety of personal computer power. They contain systems that differ from sophisticated, higher-powered computer utilised for personal computer-aided style (CAD), computer-help engineering (CAE), graphics, and simulations, all the way to basic data entry terminals with no independent central processing unit (CPU). A workstation generally includes a mouse, keyboard, monitor, and frequently, even though not always, a CPU. It may also consist of peripheral devices such as a modem, digital camera, scanner, or printer.

We know that energy customers have special needs to run effectively and we take the feedback we hear seriously. Considerably of that useful feedback comes by way of the Windows Insider System Today we are very excited to announce a new edition of Windows ten Pro designed to meet the requirements of our advanced users deploying their Workstation PCs in demanding and mission-essential scenarios. Windows 10 Pro for Workstations will be delivered as component of our Fall Creators Update, obtainable this fall.

Bifocals and progressive lens: Even if you put on bifocals or progressive lens, if you sit back in your chair in a reclined posture (with you back at about 110 degrees) that is advised for great low back overall health, rather than sitting erect at 90 degrees. If you slightly tilt the monitor backwards and spot this at a comfortable height you should be able to see the screen with out tilting your head back or craning your neck forwards. Postural problems with bifocals can happen if you sits erect or even hunched forwards. Low monitors result in neck flexion and endure more from glare. Recent research have shown that the ideal position for a pc monitor is for the center of the screen to be at around 17.5 degrees beneath eye level. Try to align your eyes with the prime of the viewing area of the screen, and this should place the center about proper geometrically.

(18) Asset disposal procedures have been established to facilitate the removal of obsolete personal computer workstations from the University’s asset database and to establish efficient procedures to erase data and data from the laptop in preparation for trade and physical removal of gear from the University. Prior to any request for pc workstation disposal and removal of data can be actioned, the Perform Unit must fully comply with the disposal procedures as outlined in this policy. It will be the duty of Monetary Operations to ensure procedural compliance, with help from Technologies Solutions.

From easy workstations to higher end command desks, we’ve got plenty of furnishings choices for your office, property, or pc area, several with built-in cable management systems and numerous configurations to customize to your liking. We’ve also got workbenches, media carts, storage cabinets, shelving units, chairs, and even a desk with a built-in server rack. We have solutions for your IT labs, classrooms, warehouses, education facilities – wherever a comfy, organized workspace is desired.

When it comes to the education marketplace, the Compute Card could be used in an affordable, Chromebook-like laptop. That could make it less complicated on schools when children inevitably break their personal computer shells, as effectively as for when they need to have to upgrade their fleet of computers. Intel also brought up the possibility of possessing students move the Compute Card from their laptop to a smart screen in the classroom, or bringing it to a more capable laptop shell at residence to continue their work.

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centuryassociates · 6 years

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EU Regulators Provide Guidance on Notice and Consent under GDPR

By Mark Young, Joseph Jones and Ruth Scoles Mitchell

The Article 29 Working Party (WP29) has published long-awaited draft guidance on transparency and consent. We are continuing to analyze the lengthy guidance documents, but wanted to highlight some immediate reactions and aspects of the guidance that we think will be of interest to clients and other readers of InsidePrivacy. The draft guidance is open for consultation until 23 January 2018.

Transparency

Updating existing notices. The guidance is clear that if processing already is underway, “a data controller should ensure that it is compliant with its transparency obligations as of 25 May 2018.” In other words, notices need to be updated to include all of the information set out in Articles 13 and 14.

Content of notices. A schedule in the guidance sets out all of the required information (under Articles 13 and 14) and WP29’s corresponding comments, such as: notices preferably should include different means to communicate with the controller; notices should specify the “relevant” legal bases; and categories of recipients should be as specific as possible (and the default should be to “provide information on the actual (named) recipients”).

Clear language. The guidance emphasizes the need to use clear language, and states that expressions such as the following are not sufficiently clear: “’We may use your personal data to develop new services’ (as it is unclear what the services are or how the data will help develop them); ‘We may use your personal data for research purposes’ (as it is unclear what kind of research this refers to); and ‘We may use your personal data to offer personalised services’ (as it is unclear what the personalisation entails).”

Website notices. The guidance includes some specific pointers on providing notice on websites and in other online contexts, and making sure that notices are easily accessible. In relation to websites, for example, it states, “Positioning or colour schemes that make a text or link less noticeable, or hard to find on a webpage, are not considered easily accessible.”

App notices. The guidance acknowledges that it can be difficult to provide notice but that users should not have to go searching for it. In the app context, it states that, “once the app is installed, the information should never be more than ‘two taps away’. Generally speaking, this means that the menu functionality often used in apps should always include a ‘Privacy’/ ‘Data Protection’ option.”

Notices to children. Language should be tailored to the audience. When processing children’s data, the language should be age-appropriate. The guidance notes that, “A useful example of child-centred language used as an alternative to the original legal language can be found in the ‘UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Child Friendly Language’.”

Means of providing notice. Providing information in writing is the default method, and the guidance refers to various options, including layered privacy statements/ notices, “just-in-time” contextual pop-up notices, 3D touch or hover-over notices, and privacy dashboards. Additional “means” include “videos and smartphone or IoT voice alerts . . . , cartoons, infographics or flowcharts” (see WP29 Opinion 8/2014 on Recent Developments in the Internet of Things). The guidance goes on to set out recommendations for each of these methods of providing information, including for providing notice orally and in-person.

Icons. The guidance clarifies that icons should not replace all of the information required under Articles 13 and 14, but should be used in combination with such information (citing Article 12(7)). The draft guidance recognizes that “the development of a code of icons should be centred upon an evidence-based approach and in advance of any such standardisation it will be necessary for extensive research to be conducted in conjunction with industry and the wider public as to the efficacy of icons in this context.”

Free services and notice. Where free services are being provided, “information must be provided prior to, rather than after, sign-up given that Article 13(1) requires the provision of the information ‘at the time when the personal data are obtained’.” The guidance also states, “information provided under the transparency requirements cannot be made conditional upon financial transactions, for example the payment for, or purchase of, services or goods.”

Changing notices. Going forward, “a notification of changes should always be communicated by way of an appropriate modality (e.g., email/ hard copy letter etc.) specifically devoted to those changes (e.g., not together with direct marketing content).” Further, “References in the privacy statement / notice to the effect that the data subject should regularly check the privacy statement /notice for changes or updates are considered not only insufficient but also unfair in the context of Article 5.1(a).” Although the GDPR is silent on timing requirements when making changes, the guidance recommends that changes are notified to individuals “well in advance of the change actually taking effect” if it involves “a fundamental change to the nature of the processing (e.g. enlargement of the categories of recipients or introduction of transfers to a third country)” or even a change that “may be relevant to and impact upon the data subject.”

Further processing. The guidance clarifies that information must be provided to data subjects when “personal data are further processed for purposes that are compatible with the original purposes” (applying Article 13.3 and 14.4), including information about the compatibility analysis that the controller has conducted.

Notice reminders. Even if information in notices does not materially change, if individuals “have been using a service for a significant period of time,” controllers should consider “reacquainting” individuals with notice information, “for example by way of reminder of the privacy statement/ notice notified at appropriate intervals.”

Exceptions to providing notice. The guidance examines in some detail the various exceptions to providing notice under the GDPR, including where data is obtained indirectly and providing notice “proves impossible” or “involves a disproportionate effort.” This aspect of the guidance will be of interest to data controllers that process and obtain personal data from various third parties (e.g., in the online space and in connection with research). The guidance also explores exceptions that apply, for example, when conducting anti-money laundering checks, when complying with EU or Member State laws, or when complying with professional obligations of secrecy.

Consent

The guidance on consent reiterates that consent is only one of six lawful bases to process personal data under Article 6 of the GDPR (and one of nine lawful bases to process sensitive personal data under Article 9). The guidance emphasizes that when relying on consent, individuals must be offered control and a genuine choice in order for consent to be valid. This confirms what many readers familiar with the GDPR and existing guidance will already know: consent should not be considered a default option to legitimize processing of personal data; and, in some contexts (such as employment), it will be difficult to demonstrate that consents are valid and meet the stringent requirements under the GDPR.

Existing consents may have to be renewed. The guidance repeats that existing consents are valid if they have been obtained in line with the conditions under the GDPR. In practice, this will likely mean that many organizations will have to update existing consents. For example, the guidance states that “all presumed consents of which no references are kept will automatically be below the consent standard of the GDPR and will need to be renewed.” Similarly, consents based on a more implied form of action by the data subject — such as ignoring a pre-ticked opt-in box — will have to be renewed. On a more positive note, the guidance recognizes that not all of the notice elements in Articles 13 and 14 must always be present for consent to be deemed “informed,” which means that pre-GDPR consents will not automatically be invalid if controllers have not previously provided all of this information.

Employees and imbalances of power. The guidance cautions against relying on consent as a basis for processing personal data of employees due to the perceived imbalance in the employment relationship. Consent should only be relied upon to process HR data in limited situations where the employee will suffer no adverse consequences “at all” if they do not provide consent. (An example mentioned is if a filming takes place in an office based on the provision of consent and an employee who refuses to consent suffers no adverse consequence). More broadly, any “element of inappropriate pressure or influence” may render consent invalid. (For more on processing data in the HR context, see the WP29 guidance from earlier this year on data processing in the employment context.)

“Consent and contract cannot be merged and blurred.” The guidance states, citing Article 7(4) GDPR, that tying or bundling consent with the acceptance of terms and conditions is “highly undesirable”; this kind of “conditionality” leads to a presumption of lack of freedom to consent (recital 43), which is only capable of being rebutted in “highly exceptional” circumstances. The guidance states that “to assess whether such a situation of bundling or tying occurs, it is important to determine what the scope of the contract or service is.” If a controller seeks to process personal data that are necessary to perform a contract then the correct lawful basis is more likely to be contract (Article 6(1)(b)), rather than consent. The guidance recalls, however, that processing that is “necessary for the performance of a contract” is to be interpreted strictly; there should be a “direct and objective link” between the processing of the data and the purpose of the contract. Examples provided include processing credit card details to facilitate a payment. Processing that falls outside of this scope will not be considered “necessary.”

Multiple purposes require multiple consents. The guidance recommends a granular approach to consent. Citing several provisions of the GDPR (recitals 32, 43, etc.), it states that where a controller anticipates using personal data for several separate purposes, consent should be sought for each purpose in order to help prevent “function creep”. Consent may cover different processing activities, but only if these serve the same purpose. If a controller seeks consent for various different purposes, it should provide a separate opt-in for each purpose.

New purpose requires new consent. Following on from the above point, the guidance states that “if a controller processes data based on consent and wishes to process the data for a new purpose, the controller needs to seek a new consent from the data subject for the new processing purpose. The original consent will never legitimize further or new purposes for processing.” An example given involves a cable TV network that collects subscribers’ personal data, based on their consent, to present them with personal suggestions for new movies they might be interested in based on their viewing habits. If the TV network decides it would like to enable third parties to send (or display) targeted advertising on the basis of the subscriber’s viewing habits, this is a new purpose and new consent would be required.

Form of consent. As already mentioned, consent should not be obtained through the same physical act as agreeing to a contract or accepting general terms and conditions. The GDPR states that valid consent requires an unambiguous indication by means of a statement or by a clear affirmative action (Article 2(11)). When obtaining electronic consent, the guidance suggests that “affirmative motions” (e.g., swiping on a screen) can qualify as affirmative action. By contrast, scrolling down or swiping through terms and conditions that include declarations of consent will not suffice. Using pre-ticked opt-in boxes is invalid (the GDPR states this explicitly, see recital 32), and opt-out constructions “that require an intervention from the data subject to prevent agreement (for example ‘opt-out’ boxes) similarly are not permissible. The guidance, after setting out the need for specific, granular consents, flags the danger of “click fatigue,” but leaves it to organizations to work it out, saying merely that “GDPR places upon controllers the obligation to develop ways to tackle this issue.”

Relying on browser settings. In response to the click fatigue issue, the guidance mentions the possibility of using browser settings, noting that any such consent must meet GDPR requirements and thus “be granular for each of the envisaged purposes and that the information to be provided, should name the controllers.” WP29 repeats its long-held view that consent should be given prior to the processing commencing.

Explicit consent. The guidance clarifies that the need for consent to be “explicit” consent when processing sensitive personal data “refers to the way consent is expressed by the data subject. It means that the data subject must give an express statement of consent.” The guidance suggests: expressly confirming consent in a written (and possibly signed) statement, filling in an electronic online form, sending an email, uploading a scanned document with their signature, or by using an electronic signature. Oral statements remain another possibility, although the validity of such consent may be more difficult to demonstrate. Another possibility is two-stage / double consent, i.e., a data subject first receives an email explaining what consent is required, rep[lies by email stating, “I agree,” and after the reply is sent then receives a verification link that must be clicked (or an SMS message with a verification code) to confirm agreement. Again, the guidance recalls that consent is not the only basis to process sensitive personal data — Article 9(2) lists nine other legal grounds.

Time limit. According to the guidance, the duration of consents depends on: the context, the scope of the original consent, and the expectations of the data subject. If processing operations change or evolve considerably then the original consent will no longer be valid. The guidance highlights that best practice is to refresh consent at “appropriate intervals”.

Withdrawal. The guidance emphasizes that consent should be as easy to withdraw as it is to give. For example, if providing consent requires swiping a screen, this, or an equally simple method should be available for withdrawal. Further, a data subject must be able to withdraw consent using the same service-specific user interface (e.g., a website, an app, or log-on account) and without incurring any detriment. The general rule set out in the guidance is that if consent is withdrawn, “all data processing operations that were based on consent and took place before the withdrawal of consent . . . remain lawful, however, the controller must stop the processing actions concerned. If there is no other lawful basis justifying the processing (e.g. further storage) of the data, they should be deleted or anonymized by the controller” — unless the processing is based on more than one lawful basis, e.g., performance of a contract, and this has been stated at the outset of processing. The guidance warns controllers against “silently migrat[ing] from consent (which is withdrawn) to [another] lawful basis.”

Consent of children online. The default rule under the GDPR is that consent of someone with parental responsibility is required before processing — in the online context — personal data of a child under the age of 16. Member States can lower this age, but not below 13. There is no equivalent rule for offline processing. The guidance warns that if a controller provides a cross-border service and processes personal data of children from different countries, the controller “cannot always rely on complying with only the law of the Member State in which it has its main establishment but may need to comply with the respective national laws of each Member State in which it offers the [service].” WP29 encourages the Member States to search for “a harmonized solution” to this issue. Controllers must make “reasonable efforts” to verify the age of the data subject, but the guidance stops short of suggesting specific methods other than to say that “age verification should not lead to excessive data processing” and should involve “an assessment of the risk.” In low-risk situations it may be appropriate to require the entry of a data subject’s date of birth, for example. There is little practical guidance on how to gather the parent’s consent or to establish that someone is entitled to perform this action. The guidance does acknowledge, however, that in some low-risk situations an email may suffice, it may be appropriate to ask for more proof where the risk is higher, and trusted third party verification services may have a role to play. New consents directly from data subjects would be required once they reach the age of 16.

Scientific research. The guidance considers ‘scientific research’ under the GDPR to have its “common meaning” (i.e., “a research project set up in accordance with relevant sector-related methodological and ethical standards”). The guidance cites recital 33 and states that where the purposes of a scientific research project cannot be specified at the outset, data subjects should be able to consent in more general terms and consent to subsequent processing as the research advances.

Nothing new on ePrivacy and consent. The guidance states that WP29 is aware of the link between the notion of consent under the draft ePrivacy Regulation; confirms that “organizations are likely to need consent under the ePrivacy instrument for most online marketing messages or marketing calls, and online tracking methods including by the use of cookies or apps or other software;” and refers to WP29’s existing recommendations and guidance to the European legislator (see Opinion 03/2016 on the evaluation and review of the ePrivacy Directive (WP 240).)

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