• Nvidia's GTX 1660 Super is out.  (AnandTech)
  
  Spoiler: It's a GTX 1660 with GDDR6 RAM.  That's it.  No other changes.
  
  But since it's only $10 more than the 1660, and the RAM speed is increased from 8GHz to 14GHz, it's quite a bargain.  It's nearly as fast as the 1660 Ti and $50 cheaper.
  
  But rather than replacing both the 1660 and 1660 Ti, Nvidia are choosing to squeeze the 1660 Super into the wafer-thin gap between them.  And the 1650 Super will launch in three weeks and add to the squeezeness.
  
  This has irked some reviewers.
  
  
  
  
• How Backblaze took 18 months to raise their price by $1.  (Backblaze)
  
  
• A Go programmer takes a look at Nim.  (Jungle Coder)
  
  Nim is to Python what Crystal is to Ruby.  I prefer Crystal because it compiles directly to executables using LLVM, where Nim produces C which then gets compiled, and my experience of that sort of thing - not Nim itself, but that process - has been blargh.  This article suggests that in this case it works pretty nicely.
  
  
• He'll save every one of us!  (Google Webmaster Central Blog)
  
  Browser makers are auditioning for the role of Ming the Merciless and killing off Flash.  And being arseholes about it.

  I still remember my son playing endless number of Flash games until my wife yelled at him. It's time to go to bed, son. Hey Flash, it's your turn to go to bed.

  In fairness, Adobe killed Flash slowly by embedding an infinite number of security problems.
  
  
• Google's Pixel 4 XL gets a bad review.  (ZDNet)
  
  In short, it's a great phone, if it's still 2017.
  
  
• Microsoft's Surface Laptop 3 gets a good review.  (ZDNet)
  
  In short, it doesn't fall over.
  
  That is, it's a modern lightweight laptop with a 3:2 screen ratio, so the center of gravity is much higher than a typical 16:9 model, and previous Surface Laptops (and other 3:2 devices) had a bad habit of tipping over if you took the name literally and put them in your lap. 
  
  My Spectre X2 is great, but you really, really need a desk or table or some flat surface if you want to use it.  Or it works fine as a tablet.
  
  
• Reports are circulating of new Android malware that can survive a factory reset.  (ZDNet)
  
  Exactly how it does that is unclear; it shouldn't be possible on an unrooted device.
  
  
• CS:GO keys are the new Bitcoin?  (ZDNet)
  
  Criminal groups were buying the keys in bulk and then selling them at a loss to launder cash.  Valve said oh no you don't and the price of keys instantly tripled.
  
  
• The MikroTik CRS312-4C+8XG-RM is a 12 port 10Gb Ethernet switch for $500.  (Amazon)
  
  It has 8 RJ-45 ports and four ports supporting either RJ-45 or SFP+.  
  
  (Thanks Rick C for the tip.)

Posted by: Rick C at Thursday, October 31 2019 01:17 AM (Iwkd4)

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