Geekly Update - 01 September 2021

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

The Chinese government is restricting individual liberties again, but this time I applaud them for it. Chinese kids under 18 will only be allowed three hours of online video game time per week, and only between 8pm and 9pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Government regulators have expressed concern about the impact of excessive gaming on the young, calling it “spiritual opium,” and will work with gaming companies to enforce the time limits.

Microsoft has set October 5th as the release date for Windows 11. It will be available as a free download on that date, even though it won't be quite complete. Some promised new features, including support for Android mobile apps, will roll out "later." Depending on your hardware, you can expect the upgrade sometime between October 2021 and mid-2022.

In related news, Microsoft seems to have relented on their push to restrict installation of the new Windows 11 operating system to only those computers with the newest CPUs. Microsoft now says those roadblocks to installing Windows 11 on older PCs were really just to help businesses to evaluate Windows 11. Hmmm... So you can upgrade at your own risk, but Microsoft won't recommend or advertise this option. Oh, and there's another potential gotcha. Systems that don't meet the strict compatibility guidelines, but are upgraded to Windows 11 anyway, may not be able to get Windows Updates or security patches. This story is still developing.

This just in from the “Sorry I Stepped On Your Tail” Department: Did you celebrate National Dog Day last week? If you missed it, give your dog an extra treat and a belly rub today. One of the reasons we love our canine companions is that they seem to understand our human emotions. Researchers in Germany are now studying whether dogs can differentiate between intentional and unintentional actions.

Will Apple's iPhone 13 have satellite connectivity? Rumors abound that the new iPhone 13 could connect to Low Earth Orbit satellites, enabling them send texts and make calls, outside the range of 4G/5G cell towers. Other reports say it will be for emergency communications system in remote areas only. And still others claim it doesn’t involve satellites at all. Again, still developing.

Back in the 90’s, we were blaming squirrels with an appetite for ethernet cables. Now it seems pigeons are messing up our satellite broadband connectivity. A report from the University of Surrey says intermittent Starlink outages may be caused by "pesky pigeons" mistaking the satellite dish for a bird bath.

Gelo makes environmentally friendly soap products. The company also encourages kids to install their “Parent Track” tool <to spy on their parents devices. It allows Gelo “to follow your parents around the internet” and shame them if they shop for products with single-use plastics.

McAfee's Advanced Threat Research Team has found vulnerabilities in intravenous medical pumps that could allow malicious attackers to send commands to the devices and change doses. The software used by the pumps has been updated, but McAfee said hospitals routinely use out-of-date tools and software.

Samsung says it can remotely disable stolen TVs, but not yours. The feature is called the “Television Block Function,” and though it may sound like this feature might be used to help individual consumers whose TVs have been stolen, Samsung says it’s only for use in large-scale thefts, such as happened at a South African warehouse last month.

NASA's Redwire Regolith Print (RRP) is a 3D printing system can use lunar soil and operate in microgravity settings. The regolith, which is composed of loose rock and soil, could be used by the RPP to build structures such as landing pads and housing on the Moon and Mars. The technology could also be used on Earth, for construction in remote areas where traditional raw materials for building are hard to get.

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