What’s the difference between Windows 10 and Windows 11? Windows 11 has all the power and security of Windows 10 with a redesigned and refreshed look. It also comes with new tools, sounds and apps. Every detail has been considered. All of it comes together to bring you a refreshing experience on your PC. Click here to read The Register's take of Microsoft's latest version of it's desktop operating system.
NB: Windows 10 Home and Pro follows the Modern Lifecycle Policy. This applies to the following editions: Home, Pro, Pro Education, Pro for Workstations. The retirement date for Windows 10 is 14th October 2025.
What an absolutely incredible afternoon we all had in Portsmouth on Saturday. Lovely weather, warm with light winds, turning sunny as the day went on. Perfect for abseiling down the Spinnaker Tower!
I was pleased to have a support team (Tracy & Bri, Kim, Rosie, Harry, Jamie, Megan, Benji, & Katy - South Central Regional Fundraiser for Parkinson's UK) there to egg me on!
This abseil event was superbly organised by Extreme Horizons, the equipment (harnesses, ropes, shackles, etc) we used were first rate & in superb condition. Training & guidance was excellent. Safety was paramount!
While we were at the bottom of the Spinnaker Tower, looking up it looked a long way (100 metres / 330 feet) to the top. The Spinnaker Tower is apparently the second highest abseil in the UK - the Shard is #1. However, when our group of 6 trainee abseilers arrived at the top - the ground looked very far away!!! People looked like dots! At that point - the enormity of what we were about to do finally sunk in!
Please do take ~15mins to watch the video. At this point in the event - I had to take a leap of faith (or step at least). It's an incredible thing to truly put your life in the hands of another... While descending from the top - I started with a few inches at a time. As the abseil progressed and I got more confident: I did bigger progressions. It's a "weird" thing to feel the bounce in the rope!
As it had just been painted, we had to wear silly plastic overshoes - to avoid getting shoe marks down the tower. By the time we reached terra-firma - the overshoes had been thoroughly shredded!
Massive thanks to Zurich Community Trust for allowing us to piggyback onto their fundraising event (I was originally booked to abseil Guildford Cathedral in May 2020 - but due to COVID - this got delayed several times, then cancelled!). Huge thanks also to Parkinson's UK - for this fantastic & fun opportunity, to support their very worthy cause.
Thank you to all of the very kind folks who have sponsored & encouraged me so far. If you would still like to donate - it's not too late! Here is the JustGiving link - which finally closes for donations on 7th July 2021. After that date, please use this link.
Storage drive maker Western Digital is telling owners of its WD My Book Live device to disconnect it from the internet after reports that some have had their data erased by malicious software.
According to an advisory issued by the firm, malicious attackers are compromising the devices – commonly used to back up data such as home movies, photographs, and important documents – resulting in their entire contents being wiped in some cases.
Western Digital has determined that some My Book Live devices are being compromised by malicious software. In some cases, this compromise has led to a factory reset that appears to erase all data on the device.
The first indication that most victims will see is an “invalid password” message when they attempt to log into their device.
In a thread on Western Digital’s support forum, many My Book Live owners have described how all of their data has disappeared.
listen to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old -
things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.
We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach their children,
so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.
They would not be like their ancestors -
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.
Trials riding, for the uninitiated, is a highly technical form of competition in which riders work their way across difficult to impossible-looking terrain without letting their feet touch the ground. These are the guys you see hopping off a tiny stone and somehow ending up on top of a bus, or leaping from the top of one pole to another on the back wheel, or riding up a tree and then rolling back down.
It's magical stuff to watch, relying on a degree of skill, balance, co-ordination and courage that's utterly alien to most road riders. And it's all possible thanks to extremely specialized trials bikes: tiny things, with no seats and just a couple of liters of fuel. These 250-300cc single-cylinder machines are the mountain goats of the motorcycle world, weighing just 145 lb (66 kg) in competition trim and able to go just about anywhere in the right hands.
Honda's Africa Twin, on the other hand, is a vastly different beast. It runs a 1,100cc v-twin engine, it has rather a lot of seat and weighs in at a meaty 498 lb (226 kg) in standard trim. Terrific, I'm led to believe, for cross-country on-road/off-road touring, but not exactly ideal for trials riding.
I've spent a couple of days riding the previous incarnation of this bike (Honda Africa Twin CRF1000L) in 2016 at the fantastic Honda Adventure Centre, Wales. Sadly my skills in dirt are somewhere between non existent & beginner (LOL!), but I had a lot of fun, was physically challenged, learned lots & improved my meagre dirt skills no end. The Honda Africa Twin is a great bike, & very capable in skilled hands. In this video, Tony Bou is running the newer - bigger engined, more power, greater weight version: CRF1100L & riding it like a master! Enjoy!
Breaking the cycle of poverty: Our work is making a lasting change to generations of children. The support they receive at the centre means they can go on to sit the compulsory primary school exams and access education. Hundreds of children like Ebo gain opportunities they would never have received growing up on the streets!
This means that we can break the cycle of poverty and prevent future generations from growing up on the streets. Together we can prevent children growing up on the streets.
£20 could support outreach staff to find hidden mothers and children, like Lumisu and Ebo, who need our support.
£40 could buy a training kit for two young street-connected women in Accra, with everything they need to learn a skill such as hairdressing or tailoring.
All images belong to Chance for Childhood
