Windows 10 Update Fixes VPN, Proxy Connection Internet Issues

Normally, this isn’t the kind of software update that we’d dedicate an entire post to, but with millions of people attempting to work from home for the first time, fixing this kind of problem is of outsized importance. The ability to connect to remote resources using VPNs or proxy servers has become much more important for a lot of homebound folks trying to access remote corporate resources.

Microsoft has published the following update:

An out-of-band optional update is now available on the Microsoft Update Catalog to address a known issue whereby devices using a proxy, especially those using a virtual private network (VPN), might show limited or no internet connection status.

We recommend you only install this optional update if you are affected by this issue.

The company’s landing page includes links for patching each specific version of Windows 10, so as long as you’re on a relatively recent version of the OS you should be able to update without a problem.

This problem has the potential to strike any machine that’s installed the February 27 cumulative update (KB4535996) or any of the three subsequent cumulative updates released by Microsoft, which is to say, it impacts a pretty broad swath of machines (assuming that you keep your OS updated).

If you’ve been having problems accessing Microsoft services or applications, including Office 365, Teams, Office, Outlook, IE11, or Edge, this bug is likely why. Also, please don’t use Microsoft Internet Explorer. We may be grappling with a global pandemic but there’s no reason to give up all hope.

Social distancing! Social distancing! AND YOU TWO, GET AWAY FROM EACH OTHER.

In other news, Microsoft has announced a 775 percent increase in the use of Microsoft Teams since the pandemic began in Italy, where severe lockdown measures have forced citizens into hiding for a prolonged period of time. Some of the only bright spots on the entire market, to whatever dubious extent the world economy could be said to have bright spots at the moment, are the companies providing various remote communication and telework software solutions.

In any event, this is a small news story but an important one if you’ve been grappling with trying to get Windows to play nice with a corporate VPN or proxy server. Hopefully, you can move on to more important tasks, like wondering how your next-door neighbors managed to acquire an incredibly loud dental drill cleverly disguised as a small child.

Now Read:

• Windows Zero-Day Attack Lets Hackers Hide Malicious Code in Fonts
• Windows 10 Update Causing Computers to Continuously Wake from Sleep
• Microsoft Guts Cortana’s Features, Removes Her From Local Accounts

from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://www.extremetech.com/computing/308598-windows-10-update-fixes-vpn-proxy-connection-internet-issues

Ancient Mars May Have Had 2 Distinct Water Reservoirs

Mars from Hubble: Astronomers took advantage of a rare close approach by Mars in 2001. When the Red Planet was just 43 million miles away, Hubble snapped this picture with the WFPC2. It has a surface resolution of just 10 miles. This is the best image we’ve gotten of Mars that didn’t involve sending a robot there.

We used to think of Mars as a bone dry husk of a world. While there is some evidence of occasional flowing water on the surface, most of the planet’s water is long gone. We can still reconstruct some of Mars’ liquid past with the help of rock samples in the form of Martian meteorites. A team from the University of Arizona analyzed a pair of such objects and determined that Mars may have had two distinct water reservoirs, and that could change how we understand planetary formation. 

Scientists may one day be able to send samples from Mars to Earth — the Perseverance rover will collect some material and store it for a possible future sample return mission. Until then, the best we can do is study the handful of meteorites known to come from Mars. The Arizona team led by Jessica Barnes analyzed two Martian meteorites known as Allan Hills 84001 (of Maritan microbe fame) and Northwest Africa 7034. The former was discovered in Antarctica in 1984 and the latter came from the Sahara Desert in 2011. 

The key to understanding past water on Mars is the way hydrogen isotopes are distributed in the samples. Water contains hydrogen, but not all hydrogen is the same. Hydrogen with one neutron is known as deuterium or “heavy hydrogen.” If there are no neutrons, that’s called protium or “light hydrogen.” On Earth, the vast majority of hydrogen is protium with a ratio of 1:6,420. However, deuterium is more common on Mars today. 

When evaluating the meteorites, the mix of materials allowed the team to track hydrogen isotope levels over about 4 billion years. They found the hydrogen ratio fell between that of Earth and modern Mars consistently over that time. But that didn’t match previous research, which found hydrogen isotopes in Martian meteorites vary considerably. 

The key to understanding the results was the geochemistry of two different types of volcanic rocks on Mars. So-called “enriched shergottites” have more deuterium and “depleted shergottites” have more protium, as you’d find on Earth. If you mix those two materials together, you get close to the values observed in this study. 

According to Barnes, enriched and depleted shergottites may be a record of two different water reservoirs in the planet’s past. That doesn’t happen on Earth because our planet has a global ocean of subsurface magma that homogenizes the crust. If Mars never had that, it could tell us a lot about the kinds of materials that were available to merge into planets in the early solar system.

Now read:

• NASA Conducts Final Test on Mars Helicopter Before Launch
• NASA Uses InSight’s Robotic Arm to Push Heat Probe Into Mars
• NASA Mars Image Shows Mysterious Hole

from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/308567-ancient-mars-may-have-had-2-distinct-water-reservoirs

Coronavirus: Teenager 'could have survived with appropriate treatment'

The 19-year-old's symptoms were dismissed as just a cold, according to his family.

from BBC News - London https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-52115265

Coronavirus: Transforming London's ExCeL centre into Nightingale hospital

The ExCeL centre has become the Nightingale and is due to start taking coronavirus patients this week.

from BBC News - London https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52112652

Coronavirus: London Mayor Sadiq Khan asks city's top clubs for NHS support

London's top football clubs are asked to help support the National Health Service through the coronavirus crisis, by the city's mayor Sadiq Khan.

from BBC News - London https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52112242

Coronavirus: The restaurants feeding hospital staff

Chefs whose business have shut have been volunteering to feed NHS staff working around the clock.

from BBC News - London https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52106689

Google Stops Selling the Pixel 3 and 3 XL

Google's Pixel manufacturing contract is reportedly the only profitable one for FIH.

Google announced the Pixel 3 and 3 XL with much fanfare in 2018, and we all hoped the issues from the previous generation would be solved. Alas, it was not to be. Google struggled to justify missing features and build quality issues throughout the Pixel 3’s run, and now that run has ended. Google confirms it’s run out of Pixel 3 and 3 XL devices. 

As is customary, Google continued to sell its previous-generation Pixels after the Pixel 4 and 4 XL launched. You could pick up one of the older devices for roughly half of the initial $800-900 price tag. That wasn’t really a bad deal, either. Unlike most Android device makers, Google commits to updating its phones every month for three years. While some new phones are still shipping with Android 9 Pie, the Pixel 3 has Android 10 and about 18 months of remaining update support. 

However, the Google Store suddenly reported no remaining stock early this week. Google has now confirmed that it sold through all its remaining units. Some other retailers might still have the phone for sale, but its days are clearly numbered. Last year, the Pixel 2 and 2 XL left the Google Store around the same time, so this isn’t much of a surprise. 

Credit: Zlata Ivleva/PCMag

The Pixel 3 and 3 XL were the first Google phones in years to support wireless charging, and the larger of the two had a display notch. That was all the rage among Android phones in 2017-2018. Even if they didn’t need the notch, it was a quick and easy way to ape the iPhone. Google’s gigantic Pixel 3 XL notch made the phone look lopsided, but it housed a pair of front-facing cameras. The Pixel 4 and 4 XL dropped that feature in favor of a larger bezel with 3D face unlock sensors. 

Throughout the Pixel 3 life cycle, there were signs that sales weren’t going well. In an earnings call last spring, Google admitted that the Pixel 3 and 3 XL were selling worse than the Pixel 2 and 2 XL. That was surprising as the second-gen Pixels weren’t particularly well-received either. Google’s budget-oriented Pixel 3a and 3a XL, on the other hand, sold extremely well and remain some of the best Android phones you can buy. There’s still no successor to that phone — Google was expected to announce the Pixel 4a at the I/O conference this year, but that has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Now read:

• Google Says Pixel 3 Sales Are Worse Than Pixel 2
• Report: Google Phone Sales Up Dramatically Thanks to Pixel 3a
• Google Pixel 3 Only Gets Max Wireless Charging Speed With Official Stand

from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://www.extremetech.com/mobile/308583-google-stops-selling-the-pixel-3-and-3-xl