boot13A post on Jeff Atwood’s Coding Horror blog describes the process Jeff uses to test the stability of new computers. It’s an intensive set of tests, and if your hardware is in the least bit flaky, this process will probably break it.
Opera 12 isn’t dead yet
It’s been ages since Opera updated the classic (pre-Webkit) version of their browser. Although still available for download and still technically supported, the old version is obviously not Opera’s focus. Before yesterday, the latest version of classic Opera was 12.17, and hadn’t changed since April 2014.
Yesterday, in response to recent web-wide changes affecting security, Opera released a new version of the 12-series browser: 12.18. The associated announcement explains why this was done. Sadly, the new version isn’t even mentioned on the change logs page. There is still a link to the 12.17 change log, but that link is still broken.
In related news, Opera (the company that develops the Opera browser) is expected to be sold to a Chinese consortium in the near future. It’s difficult to predict how the new owners will influence the browser, but I’m not optimistic. I had begun switching from Firefox to Opera as my main browser, but that’s on hold for now.
Meanwhile, I’m looking at Vivaldi, an alternative browser developed by former Opera employees. So far it looks promising.
Opera 35.0.2066.68
A couple of minor bug fixes and a Chromium Engine update prompted the release of Opera’s latest version, 35.0.2066.68. You can check out the full change log, but trust me, there’s not much there.
Moore’s Law has run its course
Ars Technica has an interesting look at how Moore’s Law is losing its relevance and will no longer be the focus of industry plans for the future of microprocessors.
Moore’s Law originated with a 1965 prediction of Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, which gradually came to mean that the number of transistors per microchip would double every twelve months. This prediction held true for decades but has been strained in recent years.
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14257
My Windows 10 testing computer is still on the Windows Insider Preview ‘Fast Ring’, which means it gets the very latest Windows 10 preview builds as soon as they become available.
The test machine was just updated to preview build 14257. This build includes a lot of bug fixes, including one for a nasty app crashing problem related to memory management. The WSClient.dll error dialog box problem has not yet been resolved.
Google axes another useful product
If you use Google’s image management software Picasa, you should start looking into alternatives, because Picasa is headed for the chopping block on March 15. It will continue to work, but it will no longer be supported.
Thanks Google. I love your work, but getting us hooked on something only to yank it away again is getting very annoying.
Firefox 44.0.1 and 44.0.2
Two stealth releases this week for Firefox. Version 44.0.1 was released on February 8 to fix a handful of minor bugs. Version 44.0.2 was released yesterday to fix a startup hanging problem and to address one security issue.
Most installations of Firefox will offer to update themselves automatically, but since 44.0.2 includes a security fix, you should check your version and trigger an update if you’re still running an older version.
If you’re wondering where Mozilla hid the ‘About’ box:
- Click the ‘hamburger’ button (three stacked horizontal lines) at the top right.
- Click the question mark button at the bottom of the menu.
- Click ‘About Firefox’.
Microsoft finally providing Windows 10 update history
Responding to a steady stream of complaints since the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft has finally relented and will now provide useful notes to accompany changes to the operating system.
The Windows 10 update history page shows changes to release versions, starting with the initial release (build 10240.16683) in July, and ending with the most recent release version, 10586.104.
The notes for release 10586.104 show that a serious security flaw related to InPrivate browsing in the Edge browser has now been fixed.
Six security fixes in Chrome 48.0.2564.109
The announcement doesn’t go into much detail, but a total of twenty-eight changes for Chrome 48.0.2564.109 are listed in the full change log.
Patch Tuesday for February 2016
Thirteen security updates from Microsoft this month address over forty issues in Windows, Internet Explorer, Edge, Office, server software and .NET. Six are flagged as Critical.
In keeping with their recent practise of tagging along with Microsoft, Adobe also just released several updates, most notably for Flash. The latest version of Flash is now 20.0.0.306. As usual, Internet Explorer on Windows 8.1 and 10 and Edge on Windows 10 will get their new Flash via Windows Update, and Chrome will update itself with the latest Flash. The associated security bulletin gets into all the technical details. A total of 22 vulnerabilities are addressed in the new version.