#because it has crashing issues after literally EVERY windows update | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs | Tumgik (2025)

I love amd not automatically updating my graphic driver which least to my PC crashing after pretty much every Windows Update 🥰

Leads to many beautiful moments where I am in peril of hoping that I will be able to open amd before crashing so I can do the update ASAP 🥰🥰 And then hoping it won't crash until the update is done 🥰🥰🥰

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Win11 is so stupid. It has even less patience than me.

I'm installing DaVinci Resolve which is quite a heavy software, so also the installation file is a big one and takes some time. Win11 just prompted me repeatedly that the installer is not responding, asking whether I wanna retry or cancel it. It had never actually frozen. It was just taking its time and Windows went "WAIT THIS SOFTWARE IS NOT WORKING."

Dude it is you that is not working. Now let the other softwares install themselves in peace.

I'm also having constant problems with video games. I bought and built a freaking GAMING COMPUTER but I cannot even play anything. I built this game because Euro Truck Simulator 2 stopped working. I have been playing it today, but only a little, because it kept crashing over and over again no matter what I do, and Windows kept constantly restarting Steam. Or I clicked something in the game and then Win11 jammed the system because it thought I also clicked stuff like settings or Discord or whatever. I have been troubleshooting the whole evening and cannot find what's the damn problem with this thing now. At least the game runs, but still somehow worse than it did on Win7 when it still worked a year ago. Sure could be that my GPU is just too old for the game's newest patches, I don't really know.

The second game won't even start. I get to the menu and settings and whatnot, then try to start the game and it crashed after the loading screen. Only stuff I found was people saying it's crashing, devs asking more info, and never getting responses. Apparently according to the error files it's something to do with UnityPlayer.dll, but the instructions I found for that did not work, and I don't know what else to do. Other than trying to lower the settings a bit since devs said in some thread that having too high graphics settings could cause this error (and while my GPU is from the old PC, it's also an older GPU but which supports and should run all of my games well or even perfectly, it anyway meets the minimum specs for each game which is why I did not buy a new one just yet).

On a positive note, I actually did find out why my PC was so fucking laggy and slow yesterday - the CPU comes with an integrated GPU and there was not setting for using the other GPU as the primary GPU, so it was constantly just using the integrated graphics for everything, even video games. I had to go to BIOS and disable the integrated graphics from there, so now this computer actually works how it's supposed to work. Apart from the gaming issues which sometimes jam the whole computer and I have to force turn-off the PC because it won't shut down some windows such as the window for ETS2 and also did not let me click on anything at all.

After this, tho, there's some problems with the AMD Software as it keeps saying I need to install the driver but it's up to date, yet it won't start the software because it keeps saying it needs to be updated. Let's see if that changes once I restart the computer - or then I just have to uninstall the software and reinstall it. I thought I was reinstalling it today but apparently it just decided to fix itself instead but instead of fixing, the problem remained. Also for some reason it's constantly using Dx11 even when the package says that it also supports Dx12, so that's also something I need to figure out how to fix.

I really hope that I get Steam and the games work asap because I literally built this PC because Steam kept saying it doesn't support Win7 anymore, and games stopped working too, and now I have a high-end gaming computer but I can't even play games because Windows keeps fucking up Steam every single time I start a video game. I'll test other games soon too to see if it's a problem in the games or in the system.

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the forgotten one- chapter 1

A/N: hiya there! chapter 1 is here!! i finally had some time to write chapter 1. it’s... angsty, as many of you all have guessed. we’ll see how abby is holding on and ethan’s reaction to what happened. a couple of things:

in this chapter, dr. sebastian‘seb’ chacko (abby’s brother) and their mother jazmin chacko will make their debut! sebastian skipped two grades and is now the most famous and wealthiest neurosurgeon in the country. seb is 30 years old and is experienced in neurosurgery for 6 years. he is the only best friend of ethan ramsey.

seb and abby are both half-indians and half-mexicans. their mother is mexican and their father is indian. even though their father Abraham is spiteful and malicious , they still like being an indian and jazmin took the time to learn hindi (the official language of india) and malayalam (a south indian language and the one i speak). i am NOT a mexican, but i am an indian. there will be terms a couple of indian terms, so at the bottom, i will add a glossary of words, which will be bolded and will have asterisks (*).

and remember, abby is a 22 year-old second year resident and ethan ramsey is 30 years old with 9 years of experience in medicine.

forgive me if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes. lmk what you think! enjoy!

pairing(s): dr. ethan ramsey x mc (dr. abby chacko)

warning(s): angst angst angst I’M SORRY

word count: 2535

catch up here: prologue

_______________________________________________________________

Ethan’s POV

Dr. Abigail Chacko. Abigail Chacko. Abby Chacko. Abby. Rookie.

She is all Ethan could think about while he is driving.

It’s Friday night. Cars are honking. People are laughing. Lights are flickering. The world is spinning. Yet every fiber of his being is thinking about the one woman that managed to flip his world upside-down. The one woman who broke down all his walls. The one woman who challenges him every day and every night. The woman who he can say is his girlfriend... kind of.

Abby came into his life like a wrecking ball, pushing past every limit even he didn’t know. When he went to the Amazon for two months, every part of him wanted to call her, ask her how she is doing, whether she received any PITAs, wanting to let her know that he still cared about her.

Seb was mad, mad, when he found out what Ethan did to her little sister. The Chacko let him know what Abby was feeling then: emotional, depressed, crying, not even smiling. He even said that the little sister he knew and loved changed so much, he couldn’t even recognize her anymore. Hearing that made Ethan’s heart break more and more. Hewas the reason she was feeling emotional. He was the reason she was depressed. He was the reason she was crying day and night. He was the reason she wasn’t smiling.

But Seb was understanding. He knewabout his trust issues. He knewabout his family life. He knewabout his childhood. And he knew that Ethan thought going to the Amazon, staying 3228 miles away from her, not calling her, was for her own benefit. Seb told him that he forgave him, because he knows that Ethan cares.

Even after coming back to the Amazon, he still had feelings for her. She occupied his mind every second of the day. What was thought to be effortless and trouble-free was challenging and strenuous. After a while, he surrendered and let himself accept her. From the dinner with the governor and the trip to the art gallery to the kiss outside of his apartment and the Mass Kenmore heist, he quit bearing his bottled up feelings for her.

The Senator assassination attempt was the last straw. Seeing Abby, his Abby, so frail and feeble, her skin so pale, still delivered him those haunting memories from nightmares he would see. Every time he sees Abby, even after that incident, he never wanted to let her go, afraid that something terribly wrong would happen to her.

He then realized he was the idiotic one, pushing he away a lot. He told her about his feelings for her, and Abby was more than enthusiastic to let him in. They did it in the car and in the ski resort, and he was never more joyful and ecstatic than before. Their relationship is getting more determined than ever.

He desperately wanted to give her a ride, but couldn’t because her shift hadn’t ended yet. And something still bothers him that it was a terrible idea, but he decided to let those thoughts pass, afraid of being negative.

But love? Do I love Abigail? Ethan thinks to himself. The truth is... he doesn’t know. He never knew love was possible until he met her, the whirlwind. It may take him a little more time to answer that question.

Instantly, he hears his phone ringing, disturbing him from his musing. It’s Naveen, his mentor and old friend.

The attending answers the call.“Hello? Naveen? Is everything alright?”

In return, he hears an audible sigh.“No, son, nothing is alright. And it might stay that way for a while.”

Ethan starts becoming worrisome. Did anything happen to Naveen. Did he get an update on the hospital? Is this the end of Edenbrook?“Naveen? Are you talking about the hospital?” Ethan asks carefully.

“Where are you now?”

“I’m driving home. Why?”

“... You might want to park the car somewhere if I need to tell you this.”

“...Why?

“Just listen to your mentor, son. Park your car.”

Ethan does as he is advised, wondering where this is going. “Naveen, you’re killing me. What is happening?”

Naveen paused for a long time.“When I tell you this, promise me you will not overrea-”

“Just spit it out, old man.”

Naveen sighs again, this time penetrated with grief and concern. “...It’s.. it’s Abby. She was stabbed-”

And that’s when Ethan cut the call, his mind racing, his heart thumping, driving recklessly back to the hospital.

________________________________________________________________

Seb’s POV

Chicago. Chi-town. Attractive city. The buildings. The lights. The horizon.

Him and Ethan were lucky to get huge penthouses overlooking their respective cities’ horizon. While Ethan doesn’t genuinely appreciate the view of Boston from his penthouse, the view of Chicago nonetheless manages to take his breath away.

Today was an exceptional day for Seb. He performed a successful decompressive craniectomy to a carpenter who was in a massive car crash. Seeing their family happy after he told them about the successful surgery made his heart leap. A craniectomy cost a lot, so he made sure the carpenter’s family didn’t pay at all.

That is Seb’s goal. To help everyone, even those who can’t afford treatment. That is Ethan’s goal. That is Abby’s goal. That istheirgoal. He’s fortunate to have Ethan as his best friend and Abby as his sister. He treasures them both.

Seb and Abby had a mierable childhood, living in Aurora, Illinois, but a different one from Ethan. The siblings both got abused by their father every single day, Abby being assaulted the most. The whips from the belt. The slaps from his hands. Being tied up and getting tortured. They still brought nightmares to Seb. Abraham is a very wealthy and elite lawyer,“fighting for justice.” But whenever poor people trying to get justice and freedom come to his door, he knocks them out, only letting rich people enter. The comic part is that Seb, Abby, and Jazmin didn’t receive a single penny.

Jazmin would get injured a lot while trying to save them, but failed when his people seized her away, locking her up. Every morning Seb wakes Abby up for school, he would see bruises, scars, dried-up blood, and seeing them made Seb’s eye burn with tears. Since then, he promised himself he would free him, Abby, and thier mother, from that prison. Together they moved to Chicago, Illinois, but still receive threats from Abraham and his gang, saying they will come find them.

Two weeks before was a nightmare for both Ethan and Seb. Their sister, Abby, was stuck in the Senator’s room, with gas they didn’t even know of. Seb and their mother, Jazmin, hastily packed their bags and booked their next flight to Boston, with Jazmin crying all the way, wondering if they’ll ever see their daughter again. Edenbrook and Mass Kenmore together found a cure, and he always wondered if, after that, Ethan Ramsey and Tobias Carrick ever reestablished their friendship.

Abby told them they didn’t need to be here and that she will be fine, but they still stayed there a week. Eventually, she kicked them both out, but not without a lovely smile, saying she will see them later when she’ll come to Chicago.

Seb was filled with joy and literally screamed at the phone when he found out that Ethan and Abby are in a relationship. He was kind of melancholy that they kept it secret, but was still filled with content that Ethan finally, finally, gave up the fight. When Jazmin found out, she made gulab jamun* with him to celebrate. They were both cheerful Abby had finallyfound someone. Ultimately, Jazmin told Seb that he needs to find a woman, too, which he knew was going to happen.

Seb is staring out the window, thinking about how they all got into the positions they are now. The lights are flickering in his eyes, but he pays no attention to them, but to the sun setting on the horizon, like the glow of a burning fire. He is paying attention to the deep orange and the small tinge of purple streaked across the sky when he hears a sudden crashin the kitchen. When he looks behind, he sees a woman with wrinkles, flour all over her clothes.

Oh, Mother, Seb thinks with a grin. He tried not to laugh, but lost with a small chuckle.

“Oh, stop making fun of your Amma*! Has Abby called you yet? She usually calls early.” Jazmin replies, worried all of a sudden.

Seb sighs, shaking his head.“No not yet. Probably stuck on some kinda case. What are you trying to make today?”

“Classic Tres Leches Cake*My family special! Wanna help me?” Her eyes light up.

“Sure. You have the three milks, right?”

“Yep! Follow me!” And with that, she prods off to the kitchen.

Seb laughs again, following her, until he hears his phone ringing. He walks over to the couch where the phone is and checks the caller ID. It’s Ethan Ramsey.

“Amma, hold on for one sec. It’s Ethan. Probably because I forgot calling him today.”

“Sure, Mone*! Take your time!”

Seb picks up the call.“Hey, Ethan! Sorry I didn’t get to call you. I performed a successful-”

“Seb.”

He hears the voice of a woman. A sound that he can recognize really well.“Harper? What are you doing with Ethan’s phone?”

Harper’s voice is tense. "He didn’t want to call you. He didn’t know howto call you.”

What? What is she saying? Did I do something wrong?“Harper, what are you talking about?”

Harper heaves a sigh.“It’s Abby. She got stabbed by one of the patients here at Edenbrook.”

Time stands still as he processes her words. Suddenly the sunset, the view from his penthouse, didn’t matter anymore.My sister. Stabbed. By some jerk. She barely survived maitotoxin and now this. Tears burn in his eyes, but he forced to blink them away. Was that why she hadn’t called today?

“...How is she now?”

“She’s now in an emergency surgery. The stab wound affected her liver, and they’re trying to fix-” At that point Seb heard too much. He cuts the call.

When he turned around, he saw Jazmin with anxious eyes.“Is everything alright?”

Seb looks at his mother in the eye, tears obscuring his vision.���Amma...”

He spills everything out.

_______________________________________________________________

Ethan’s POV

Blood rushing. Heart hammering. Eyes reddening. Fear surrounding.

The two emotions he can feel. Fear. Anger.

He wants, no, needs, to know who the hell stabbed his Rookie.

*Hours ago*

He walks into the hospital, each step with a thunderous clap, but at any moment, his legs could give away.Every one is looking at him with concern. He breezed through the hallways, eventually finding Naveen sitting on one of the waiting chairs. Naveen sights him and abruptly gets up.

“Ethan! I was trying to call you aga-”

“How is she?”

“Dr. Chacko was stabbed in the side, which affected her liver. They are performing an emergency surgery on her right now. Dr. Tanaka said to me that she will pull through.”

Ethan let go his sigh of relief, suddenly realizing that he was holding it for too long. He slumped down onto one of the waiting chairs, Naveen sitting next to him.“Are you alright, son?”

“Who hurt her? Who hurt Abby?”

Naveen exhales.“That’s what we don’t know. They said it’s a woman with grey hair, but she escaped from the hospital after stabbing Abigail. The security guards are checking the CCTV to figure out who it might be. And as for why, we don’t know. According to the patients in the ER, all Dr. Chacko did was ask the perpetrator why she was crying and the woman stabbed her. But don’t worry, my boy, they’ll figure it out.”

Rage fills through his blood as he hears Naveen’s words. She got stabbed. All because she was trying to assist a patient? If that‘patient’ ever comes into his sight, he will break him or her. Break them. That’s all he wants to do.

But he knows he can’t. He merely wants Abby to be alright. The surgery.

At that moment, Harper enters the waiting room.

“Ethan? I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to call her brother and mother.”

Goodness. He forgot about that. His one and only best friend. How is he supposed to tell him that? Most of all, her mother. She was sobbing so hard when she found out that Abby was exposed to a deadly toxin. If he tells them that Abby was stabbed, how are they supposed to handle the news?

“Harper? Can you do me a favor and call them for me?” Ethan decides. “I don’t think I have the strength in me to call them.”

“Sure, Ethan. Whatever you need.” Harper says sympathetically.

Ethan hands her his phone and tells her his passcode. All the while Ethan wants to break down and mourn. He wants to punch the wall repeatedly until his knuckles bleed.

“Ethan?” he is knocked to the present by Naveen. Ethan abruptly stands up.

“Naveen, any word on Abby?” he asks worriedly.

Naveen flashes him a brilliant beam.“The surgery was successful. She’s sleeping now.” He pauses for a moment.“Also, Seb and his mother will be arriving in a few hours.”

“That’s great.” Suddenly, he remembers.“... Did you get any word on the perpetrator?”

The chief’s smile falls into a frown.“Ah, I was... hoping you wouldn’t ask that.”

Ethan eyes his mentor and friend suspiciously.”...Why?”

Naveen takes a deep breath.“Are you sure you want to hear this, Ethan? Because I don’t think you’ll be ready.”

“Just tell me who it is already, damn it!” Ethan glares.

“...It’s your mother, Ethan. Louise Ramsey. She was the perpetrator.”

The attending’s heart stops. Time stands still. All the motions pause as Ethan consumes this news in. His bowels turn to ice water. Fear overtakes him. Rage fills his blood. Emotions are piling up.

My mother? My mother?

“Naveen? Please just tell me that you didn’t say what I think you said.”

“I’m sorry, son.”

At this point, Ethan has heard enough and starts punching the wall, blood spilling from his knuckles, the wall breaking. It’s my fault. My god, it’s all my fault! I started believing in this woman again, only to be hurt again. This time, almost taking the woman I lo-

“Ethan, STOP!!” Naveen’s voice cuts his thoughts off.

“I don’t care anymore. I’m gonna break that womanwhen I see her again.” Ethan’s growl is more than scary. It is haunting.

As Naveen tends to Ethan’s wounds, he can’t help but wonder:

How is he ever going to encounter Abby again?

________________________________________________________________

MYSTERY MAN’s POV

What Ethan doesn’t know is that a man is standing at the corner of the hallway, with a petrifying smile.

Yeah right, Ethan. Go ahead. Try to break Louise Ramsey. I dare you.

The thing is: you can’t. It’s alright to try. But you won’t succeed. Like she told Abby...

The game has just begun.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N (2): any guesses on who the mystery man is??

GLOSSARY

gulab jamun: an indian sweet which is sugary and sweet AND IS SO GOOD INDIANS CAN YOU RELATE

amma:an indian word which means‘mother’ (i’ve only heard south indians (like me) using this word, but maybe north indians use this word??

classic tres leches cake: (had to do some research) a mexican cake made with three types of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream.

mone: means‘son’ in south india.

tags:@missmiimiie​ @aylamwrites​ @starrystarrytrouble​ @udishaman​ @caseyvalentineramsey​ @queencarb​ @choicesstan1​ @newcolonies​ @arcticrivers​ @angela8756​ @takemyopenheart​ @rookie-ramsey​ @ohchoices @ohvamsey​ @ohramsey​ @natureblooms24​ @drariellevalentine​ @openheartfanfics

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Insecurities

Prompt: A Plus Size Female Reader, who feels a bit insecure in their relationship because of their appearance

Fandom: Wonder Woman, DC

Relationships: Diana Prince x Gender Neutral!Reader

Characters: Diana Prince, Reader

Word Count: 2300

Warnings: Talk of negative body image, mentions of past bullying

It was drizzling outside. You could hear the patter of raindrops against the window from where you sat on the couch, flicking idly through TV channels. Usually, you didn’t find it that difficult to find something to occupy your time, but tonight you were restless, mind flicking from thing to thing, unable to stop thinking for longer than a couple of minutes.

Landing on a channel playing dumb infomercials, you glanced over to where your phone sat on the kitchen counter. You'd placed it there to avoid the pull to check it, but still, it called to you, saying that a brief scroll of the internet wouldn't hurt.

No. It was late enough that photos would've started to appear by now, and looking at them would just hurt you more.

You turned your attention back to the TV where a forcefully enthusiastic lady was trying to sell some fancy house ornament for way too much. Surprisingly, it was kind of tempting.

The clock in the corner of the screen turned to 8 pm. Fuck it was still early.

You wished you were with Diana.

You could've been with her. The fact that you weren't was only your fault. She'd invited you to the fancy do, an event designed to get some more high-class benefactors to invest in the Louvre. You’d declined the offer, stating you had work deadlines that needed to be met. It wasn’t a lie, there were deadlines, but they weren’t the reason you decided to skip. The whole affair was going to be big, with enough famous guests to warrant paparazzi showing up outside to catch a snap of them arriving. And the very thought of getting caught in all those flashes made you almost throw up.

By the time you realized what you were doing, your phone was in your hand and you were pulling up the photos that had come in so far. It wasn’t hard to find a site that had a whole slideshow of them. Several of the faces you knew through Diana, but most you had no knowledge of as you flicked through, taking in the expensive suits and glamorous dresses. And then there she was. Diana. She looked beautiful in the burgundy gown, hair pinned up with just a few strands free. One part of you wished you really were there, holding her hand as you smiled at the cameras. The other part of you was so very glad you were nowhere near the event.

An alert popped up at the top of the page, informing you of new updates from the party. A quick refresh and new photos popped up of what was going on inside. There were a bunch of publicity shots of different individuals smiling together and pretending to be the best of friends. You knew some well enough to know better. Most were boring, but then Diana appeared again. Standing next to Bruce Wayne himself. She’d told you he was coming, his appearance and support more than enough to easily secure investments from several others. You liked him well enough on the couple of occasions you’d met. A little broody when the public persona slipped, but you knew he valued Diana’s friendship and thoughts, and if Diana was happy he was there, you were happy too.

But that didn’t mean you could shake the thought of just how damned good they looked together. They both exuded a natural elegance and charisma that could win over anyone and looking at them standing next to each other, it was impossible not to think just how gorgeous they were. They’d be the ultimate power couple if they were to get together. Unstoppable, really.

You shook your head, all but tossing your phone away as you stalked over to the window. They were stupid thoughts. Diana didn’t want Bruce or anyone else. She wanted you. She loved you. She told you so every day. But you just couldn't shake the feeling that she could do so much better. She deserved someone of her caliber. Someone just as attractive and...and thin, your mind supplied.

All the things you weren't.

You stayed by the window, watching the droplets of rain hit the pane of glass and slide down into nothing. The perfect setting for your continued dwelling. You knew you shouldn't have looked at your phone. Knew full well the pictures would just play into every insecurity you had. You could text Diana, ask to meet after the party, tell her how you were feeling. She had some natural ability of always making you feel better no matter what was wrong. But this wasn't her issue to deal with either. She hadn't done anything to make you feel like this, it was all on you, and it seemed unfair to drag her into it.

It was probably for the best to keep it yourself.

Arms slipped around your waist from behind, startling you out of your dwelling with a fright. The fear didn’t last though when you felt soft lips kiss just below your ear, and you caught the familiar scent of the perfume Diana always wore.

“I’m sorry I frightened you,” she whispered, thumbs rubbing small circles on you over the jumper you wore. “It wasn’t my intention.”

“My fault. Was too busy daydreaming again.” You leaned back into the embrace slightly, knowing that Diana could support all of your weight and so just a little now wouldn’t be an issue. “I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”

“I tried calling you but there was no answer so I came to see if you were okay.”

An internal cringe shot its way through your body at that. You must’ve missed it ringing from wherever it had landed earlier, too busy feeling sorry for yourself, and now you’d made Diana worry about you. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to spoil your night.”

Diana’s lips dropped down to your neck, leaving a trail of gentle kisses along the sensitive skin. You could feel her smile against you. “Don’t be, my love. It was a good excuse to leave.”

“That bad, huh?”

Diana hummed in response, coaxing you to turn around in her arms, “I missed you,” she said, before kissing your lips.

It was easy, getting lost Diana’s kisses. She’d learned early on what you liked, what drove you wild, what melted you into her embrace and took full advantage of that knowledge often. Like now, she was set on turning your legs to jelly, forcing you to wrap your arms around her in return just to stay steady. Not that she’d ever let you fall. You could feel the skin of her bare back under your fingertips, a little chilly from being exposed in the backless dress all night, but not too bad. You traced random patterns over it as you kissed, the way she liked it, and you were rewarded with a quiet little moan that sent sparks down your spine.

She was the first to break the kiss, smiling at you as she took your hands in hers. It was the first time you’d seen her in the flesh all night, and God, she looked even more breathtaking than in the pictures. “Shower with me,” she said, the subtle shift in tone making it perfectly clear what she was thinking. You followed her, helpless to do anything else. She was captivating when she had that teasing smile on her face, and it was near impossible to resist her.

But then you caught a glimpse of you both in the mirror, and all the thoughts that had been temporarily forgotten came crashing back. The thought of being naked with Diana right then…

You faltered in your step, and Diana must’ve seen the change in you because she stopped, smile slipping into a frown instead. "What's wrong?"

"I…" You didn't really know what to say. How to word what you were feeling or even if you should word it all. "I showered earlier. You should go ahead and I'll pour us some wine, yeah?"

Diana looked far from convinced, keeping her hold on you when you tried to tug free. "Y/N, has something happened?"

She looked so concerned. You hated making her feel like that, making her worry when the only thing wrong was you. "No, everything's fine, really. Don't worry about me," you said with a smile.

"I can see that's not true," Diana stepped closer, a hand coming up to rest at the back of your neck, fingers playing with the fine hairs there. "You can talk to me." She was so earnest, and you knew she wouldn't judge you, it was just so hard to open up.

"Di," you sighed, "it's dumb."

"If it's bothering you then it could never be dumb. Tell me." Before you knew it Diana was guiding you to the bedroom and sitting you both down on the bed.

How were you even going to start? It wasn't something you'd ever talked about, even before meeting Diana. "I…I don't know where it came from. I mean I do, but…it's been worse recently and I don't know why. It's not like anything has changed." Wow, was it even possible to be even vaguer in your rambling?

"What do you mean?"

You took a breath, trying to organize your thoughts. "Us. Or me more specifically. It's...recently I've been thinking about why the hell you're with me. You could be with anyone…and you chose me of all people."

You weren't looking at her, but you could hear the frown, the confusion in her voice. "Why would I not choose you?"

"Because you're you. You're beautiful."

"As are you."

"No. I'm not." You looked up at her at that. "I'm fat and flabby and have rolls and stretch marks. People like me don't get to be with people like you." There was no judgment in Diana's eyes when you met them for a brief moment, but she was still trying to understand. "All my life, I've been the person to get asked out as a joke or a bet or to embarrass a friend because that's the only thing the fat ones are for."

"You know what we have is no joke to me."

"I know. I do. And I've always known. I'm happier with you than I ever thought I could be. But after so many years of bullshit…"

"It's difficult to believe you're enough."

You nodded, grateful that she understood now. "Yeah. And when the person you're dating is brave and strong and beautiful and quite literally a goddess it's even tougher sometimes."

Diana reached out towards you, cupping your cheek. "How long have you felt like this?"

"It didn't really bother me at first. Crossed my mind, yeah, but I was having so much fun with you I decided to just go with it. And…I guess I wasn't expecting things to get serious or last all that long. But then you said you loved me and I fell hopelessly in love with you, and that's when they started creeping in...these insecurities."

She nodded, tucking her legs up on the bed so she could scoot in close to you, brushing away the tears you that you hadn't noticed start to fall. "Is this why you didn't want to come with me tonight?"

"Yeah. I saw some of the photos and I was right not too. You...you looked exquisite, and when you were standing next to Bruce, you looked so good together. And I just couldn't help but think how you should always have someone that good next to you at every event, or date, or walk down the street."

"I already do. You say these things about me but don't realize they're the same things I see when I look at you. You are beautiful, Y/N. The first time I saw you I thought you'd been created by the Gods themselves because they could not make anyone fairer. Every day you amaze me with your kindness and wit and goodness. I've been told that I inspire people to be their best selves, but they don't realize that you inspire me to be better. You are everything I could ever want, and I love you." If the words weren't enough to make you cry even harder, the look in her eyes would've been. The open honesty that said she meant every word, the adoration, and love that made your heart swell.

"Thank you," you whispered. With someone else you may have questioned it, but not with Diana, and while not all of your thoughts vanished, knowing how Diana saw you helped. "I love you too, Di. I never knew I could be so happy until I met you."

"Nor I before you." Diana moved you both so you were lying on the bed, no doubt rumpling and creasing the expensive dress, not that she seemed to mind, and pulled you to her until you were wrapped in each other's arms. "When you feel this way, tell me. I want to help you."

You nodded, leaning in for a kiss. "I will. I promise."

Diana smiled and the two of you fell quiet as you just enjoyed holding the other. It was nice, one of your favorite things about Diana was how tactile she was. She loved to touch and hold and show affection just as much as you did, and it was always relaxing.

After a few minutes, Diana pulled back slightly. "Bruce invited me to Gotham tonight. He's hosting an event for the museum. A small, private thing for him. Will you come with me?"

"You want me to?"

"Of course."

You bit your lip, thinking a moment. Just the thought made you nervous but with Diana next to you…You nodded and smiled, "I'd like that."

She returned the smile and kissed you, "Thank you."

You kissed her back, getting lost in the sensations of it to the point you almost missed Diana's hands, slipping under your jumper and running over your back. You broke the kiss and chuckled softly. "How about we take that shower now?"

"I could think of nothing better, my love."

Like what you read? Consider buying me a coffee! (I’ll love you forever)

Tagging: @lifeaccordingtojenna​ @amachnowski @highwayunicornroadtoluv​

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Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18305 released

Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18305 released. A simplified Start layout Tt=he simplified Start layout is part of an ongoing effort designed to enhance your Start experience in the upcoming release of Windows.

Windows Sandbox Windows Sandbox is a new lightweight desktop environment tailored for safely running applications in isolation. How many times have you downloaded an executable file, but were afraid to run it? Have you ever been in a situation which required a clean installation of Windows, but didn’t want to set up a virtual machine? An isolated desktop environment where you can run untrusted software without the fear of lasting impact to your device. Any software installed in Windows Sandbox stays only in the sandbox and cannot affect your host. Once Windows Sandbox is closed, all the software with all of its files and state are permanently deleted. Windows Sandbox has the following properties: Part of Windows – everything required for this feature ships with Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise. No need to download a VHD! Pristine – every time Windows Sandbox runs, it’s as clean as a brand-new installation of Windows Disposable – nothing persists on the device; everything is discarded after you close the application Secure – uses hardware-based virtualization for kernel isolation, which relies on the Microsoft Hypervisor to run a separate kernel which isolates Windows Sandbox from the host Efficient – uses integrated kernel scheduler, smart memory management, and virtual GPU To install Windows Sandbox, go to Settings > Apps > Apps & Features > Programs and Features > Turn Windows Features on or off, and then select Enable Windows Sandbox. Windows Security app improvements New Protection History experience: The new Protection History experience still shows you detections by Windows Defender Antivirus, but it’s now updated to also give more detailed and easier to understand information about threats and available actions. We have also added Controlled folder access blocks to history, along with any blocks which are made through organizational configuration of Attack Surface Reduction Rules. If you use the Windows Defender Offline scanning tool, any detections it makes will now also show in your history. Additionally, you will see any pending recommendations (red or yellow states from throughout the app) in the history list. We hope you like the changes we’ve made! Introducing Tamper Protection! Tamper Protection is a new setting from Windows Defender Antivirus, available in the Windows Security app, which when on, provides additional protections against changes to key security features, including limiting changes which are not made directly through the Windows Security app. You can find this setting under Windows Security > Virus & Threat Protection > Virus & Threat Protection Settings. Symbols and Kaomoji are now just a hotkey away! When you press WIN+(period) or WIN+(semicolon), in addition to emoji the picker that appears will now include symbols and kaomoji too! You may ask, what is kaomoji? Translated literally from Japanese, it means “face characters” – basically, it’s a way to create faces using only text. You may already use them, for example the one mentioned above is relatively popular: (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ This experience, originally introduced for Chinese (Simplified) during RS5 development, started rolling out to Insiders across all languages with Build 18252 – as of today’s it’s now available to all Insiders in Fast! Clipboard history gets a new look We originally opted to show bigger entries so there was space to show an image preview nicely, but when we looked at our data, we found 90% of items in the clipboard history were text. Based on that and your feedback, we now optimizing the design for text snippets – shrinking the height of each entry and thus giving you access to more entries without needing to scroll the view. Hope you like the change we made! Copy some text and press Windows logo key + V to check out the updated design. Signing in to Windows with password-less Microsoft accounts If you have a Microsoft account with your phone number, you can use an SMS code to sign in, and set up your account on Windows 10. Once you’ve setup your account, you can use Windows Hello Face, Fingerprint, or a PIN (depending on your device capabilities) to sign in to Windows 10. No password needed anywhere! Creating a password-less phone number account If you don’t already have a password-less phone number account, you can create one in a mobile app like Word to try it out. Simply go to Word and sign up with your phone number by entering your phone number under “Sign in or sign up for free”. Add your password-less phone number account to Windows Now that you’ve created a password-less phone number account, you can use it to sign in to Windows with the following steps: Add your account to Windows from Settings > Accounts > Family & other Users > “Add someone else to this PC”. Lock your device and select your phone number account from the Windows sign-in screen. Since your account doesn’t have a password, select ‘Sign in options’, click the alternative ‘PIN’ tile, and click ‘Sign in’. Go through web sign in and Windows Hello set up (this is what you’ll use to sign in to your account on subsequent sign ins) You can now enjoy the benefits of signing in to Windows with your password-less phone number account. Note: This experience is currently only available for Insiders on Home edition. We’ll let you know when it expands to more editions Streamlined Windows Hello PIN reset experience We know remembering a PIN can be tricky, so we wanted to provide our Microsoft account users with a revamped Windows Hello PIN reset experience with the same look and feel as signing in on the web. Check it out in today’s build by clicking the ‘I forgot my PIN’ link when signing in to Windows with a PIN. Note: This experience is currently only available for Insiders on Home edition. We’ll let you know when it expands to more editions. Keep your device running smoothly with recommended troubleshooting For example, we may recommend turning off a setting that sometimes causes an app or feature to crash unexpectedly until an update is available. We’ll let you know when we can help, and you can choose to run the troubleshooter or ignore it. You can also change how recommended troubleshooting is run on your device by opening Start > Settings > Privacy > Diagnostics & Feedback. You may see recommended troubleshooting from us while we test the feature. These tests, marked as “sample recommended troubleshooter”, are safe to run and will not make any changes to your device. The tests help to ensure that the feature is working as designed and give you an opportunity to give feedback, so we can help keep your device working at its best. Automatic Restart and Sign On (ARSO) for Enterprises Are you tired of seeing these flashing screens after every update? ARSO is a feature that automatically signs-in a user after an update to finish setting up and then locks the PC. This feature is part of our Seamless Update Story for Windows, and its goal is to reduce customer pain points around updates, including things such as post logon set up time and not being able to pick up where you left off. This feature will be enabled on Cloud Domain Joined devices that meet certain security requirements: BitLocker is enabled and is not suspended during the upgrade TPM 2.0 SecureBoot To check if your device will get ARSO go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Privacy: If the toggle is switched “On” and is not grayed out, then the device meets the security requirements for ARSO, and is enabled by default. If the toggle is grayed out and Enabled, this means that your IT Admin has explicitly enabled ARSO for you, irrespective of your device’s security requirements. If the toggle is grayed out and disabled, this means that you do not meet the minimum security requirements for Enterprise ARSO, or your IT Admin has explicitly disabled ARSO for you, irrespective of your device’s security requirements. Set a default Task Manager tab You can set your preferred tab via Options > Set default tab. Updated Settings Homepage Inspired by the Microsoft account homepage, the Settings home page now has a header at the top allowing you to take quick action for things like signing in and managing your Microsoft account, making the Windows and Microsoft experience better. It also gives you an easy to glance at system status, such as when updates are available.

Friendly Dates in File Explorer Based on your comments, in Build 18305, we’re making it a bit easier to turn off if it’s not your thing – you no longer have to dig through settings, you can now just right-click on the date modified column and toggle friendly dates on and off from there. Friendly dates isn’t yet available for everyone, so don’t worry if you don’t see it just yet – we’ll let you know when it’s live for all. Shadows are back! Shadows are part of our long-term vision ofthe evolution of Fluent Design, and we’re excited to bring them back to you today after addressing some of the feedback you shared with us following the initial rollout. Re-releasing the new Japanese IME The latest version of the IME has enhanced key customization options and improved candidate window reliability (fixing an issue where it wouldn’t show), and we’re looking forward to you trying it out. Because we want to ensure the best possible typing experience, this will be a staggered rollout – some Insiders will get it today, and we will carefully review both metrics and your comments before pushing the IME out to everyone. Note: We are aware of compatibility issues with some game applications and the team is working on them – we’ll let you know when this has been addressed. Introducing the Office app for Windows 10 The app is a great starting point for Office that helps you easily find all your files in one place or easily access any Office solution available to you. It knows to connect you to the Office rich clients if they are installed on your computer or it will send you to the web version of Office if they’re not. IT will also appreciate the ability to customize the app by integrating other line of business applications that use Azure Active Directory into the experience and apply corporate branding to the app. Get more done with Cortana and Microsoft To-Do Want just one to-do list that works twice as hard for you? Save time and stay organized – Cortana helps by adding your reminders and tasks to your lists in Microsoft To-Do with this feature preview, so you can stay on top of what matters most. Use your voice, your PC, your phone – your choice. Streamline your tasks – your lists and reminders from across Microsoft To-Do, Cortana, and tasks in Outlook can now become one, centrally located in your Microsoft To-Do app. Use Microsoft To-Do anywhere: on your Android or iPhone, with Cortana, or on your Windows 10 PC. You can also access it from the web. It’s automatically synced so you never miss a beat. With this integration, we are furthering efforts to seamlessly sync your to-do lists across Microsoft To-Do, Cortana, and your tasks in Outlook. Read the full article

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Problems in tech support #???/??? aka“How do you not know how to turn it off and back on again?”

The sheer amount of people who don’t know how to turn a computer off and on, or what restarting a computer is never fails to amaze me

So I just got off a call with a lady... let’s call her.. Susan. Susan was actually pretty nice, called in to say she was having trouble getting her emails to send after she’d changed her password this morning. TL;DR her Outlook was still trying to connect to the Exchange server with her old password.

I asked if she’d rebooted since changing her password (99% of the time that’s the issue, passwords haven’t sync’d up, restarting fixes it) and she said yes. I asked again:

“You’re sureyou restarted? Like, the PC powered off and back on and you logged back in?” “Yes.” “And you did that today, after you changed your password?” “Yes.” “And you’re positive you didn’t just log off, that the PC actually fully shut down and powered back on?” “Yes. I’m sure.”

So I remote in to this lady’s PC and check her up time: 22 hours.

So, literally not possible she restarted her computer today. I again ask if she’s sureshe actually hit“restart” and not“log off”

“Yes. Positive.”

FFS

So I reboot the computer, which solves the problem. But the lady gets angry“Why did it work when you did it??!! I restarted before calling you!!”

Me: ... Susan your computer has been on for 22 hours. It’s literally not possible that it was restarted today. Susan: ... 22 hours? Me: Yes. 22 hours. Susan: ... Oh. I guess I logged out Me: Correct. Susan: But... that’t the same thing, right? Logging off, shutting down, restarting... they’re all the exact same?

Long post under the cut

A few more anecdotes since I’m in the sharing mood

I had a dude at my old job... let’s call him Gary. Gary was a piece of shit. He was just an asshole. An asshole who’s goal each day was to just be a fucking dick to people (his own secretary told me that). Unfortunately for me, Gary was also largely computer illiterate, but refused to acknowledge that and would just insist he knew what he was doing (he never did).

Anyway, Gary would call in every few weeks with the same issue:“My computer is moving slow, things are freezing/not opening correctly, programs are crashing, etc”.

And so we’d always ask“Gary, when’s the last time you restarted your computer?”

Now. Gary did not know how to restart his computer. He did not know how to turn it off or on. I literally had to walk him through how to press the power button once, hand to God. In the years I worked there, I spent... I don’t even know how many times, walking Gary through how to restart, telling him how often he should be doing it, etc.

Gary would bounce between two things:

1. He JUST restarted his PC and he’s still having the issue so we don’t know what we’re talking about.

And when we’d remote in and show him that his computer has been on for like 2 months, he’d jump to:

2. He never restarts his computer because it takes too long.

IT TAKES TOO LONG BECAUSE YOU NEVER RESTART IT YOU FUCKING IDIOT.

Anyway, Gary calls in one day with a bunch of issues he“is sure are not fixable” (they absolutely were, super tiny things he should know how to do himself). I check his up time, and realize... it.. to the literal fucking hour and minute, has been on since the last time Irestarted it, weeks ago. Gary is going on and on about how he’s been restarting like we tell him to and it doesn’t work so we’re all dumb yada yada yada. I show Gary his up time, then show him the ticket time from the last time I restarted his computer, and that they were the same, and explained“Gary, you cannot possibly be restarting your computer as much as you say. It’s literally been on since the last time I restarted it weeks ago.” Gary seems to take this in stride, asks a few questions (same shit I’ve explained to him time and time again), I help him with all his other issues, he thanks me for my help and we call it a day.

Gary then calls back in after I’ve gone home for the day to“Demand information on [redacted]’s‘computer restart policy’.”

If it sounds like bullshit, it’s because it is. Because there isn’t one. So when the person who answered explained there isn’t one, but explained that he should be restarting ideally every day, at the bare bare minimum once a week. Gary then starts to complain about me, saying that I’d‘’called him dumb’, (nope) and‘laughed at him’ (nope). The analyst, having known me, knows that’s not a thing I would do, so he pressed him. Gary back peddles and says“Well, no, she didn’t call me dumb or laugh... but she was extremely rude.” Analyst asks for more details, because if it were true (it wasn’t) it’s a big deal. Gary back peddles some more says‘well, no, she was perfectly polite and helpful... but she made me feel stupid (all because I told him he needs to restart his PC)”. Luckily, I’d been with the company long enough where my manager didn’t even look into it because he knew it was bullshit. But still.

A year or two before Gary, there was... Debra. I actually think her actual name was Debra, iirc.

Anyway, Debra was also not very tech savvy, and, surprise surprise, never rebooted her computer. She had a really old Windows PC that she wanted to use to work from home with, and somehow made it work. But, she’d been having troubles getting things to load, things were crashing, freezing, etc. Unfortunately for Debra, when she called in the first few times, she got people who don’t really know what they’re doing, so no one though to check“Hey how long has this computer been on?”

I remote in, and realize that a LOT of the icons on her desktop are super outdated. Like, several updates ago outdated. So I check her up time.

ALMOST 4 FUCKING MONTHS. FOUR. FUCKING. MONTHS. She had not restarted her PC in FOUR GODDAMN MONTHS.

So I point this out to Debra, who asks if that’s the reason behind“all this bullshit” (keep in mind, this is her own personal computer, we are technically not required to help her with it and could’ve told her to go fuck herself). I say“probably” and that we’ll need to restart, but inform her restarting could take a long while, as she’s got 4 fucking months of updates.

Debra: Well! I hope you have the passwords!!! Me: ... the passwords? Debra: YES. The passwords. Since you wanna turn things off.

First of all bitch, I don’t wanna do anything. I’m doing this because I’m nice.

Me: .. the passwords...? To your own personal computer? Debra: *now realizing she sounds stupid* Yeah.. Me: ... Debra...why would I have the passwords to your own personal computer? Debra: *huffs and puffs and starts swearing under her breath*

We restart (keep in mind, I TOLD her it could take a long while because she’s likely got a billion updates), and of course it takes a long while. I hang on the line with her (again, a thing I do not have to do) and the entire time she bitches.

Debra: WELL, how long is this going to take?! Me: Can’t say. Debra: what do you mean you can’t say? Me: Well, you’ve got over 100 updates (it was like 106 or something). Debra: WHY DO I HAVE SO MANY?! Me: ... because you haven’t restarted your computer in almost 4 months. You have about 4 months of updates just from Windows, not to mention from [redacted].

The updates take probably over 30 minutes or so. Again, I don’thave to help this lady, and the long call time is fucking up my stats, which negatively impacts my performance reviews. But I’m nice and want her to be able to work.

Debra spends the entire time screaming and yelling at me, before the updates finish and she goes

“Oh, now it looks like my computer in the office does.”

Yeah... because it’s updated, finally. Debra was a cunt, tbh.

Alright, one more before I get outta here

So right after Windows 8 came out, [redacted] decided to upgrade their systems from XP to 8. Which, huge fucking jump if you’re not tech savvy. So this lady calls in, zero idea what her name was... well call her... Lisa. Lisa calls in to complain because her computer is freezing, running slow, yada yada yada.

I, knowing that with Windows 8, the shut down/restart options are hard to find for many people, ask“Have you been restarting your computer?”

Lisa: Yes! I restart it every night! Me: You sure? You’re sure it’s fully powering off every night? Lisa: YES! I’ve been working on computers longer than you’ve been alive (she sounds fucking ancient so that’s probably true). Me: Ok. It’s just in the Windows 8 OS... Lisa: *cuts me off* *shouts over me* *demands I remote in to her computer*

I remote in, check her up time. About 3 weeks iirc. So I ask Lisa

Me: When you say you’re restarting the computer, powering it off, where are you going to do that? Lisa: ... the uh... welll... Me: Can you show me just so I can see? You said you do it every night, what do you do? Lisa: *now indignant* I go to blah blah and hit sign out. Every night.

... ok so that’s not restarting.

Me: Ok, so that’s not restarting. All the‘sign out’ option does is sign you out of your Windows account. It does not power the PC down. Lisa: ... No. That’s not what I was told. Me: Told by who? Lisa: *stammers and refuses to answer* Me: Well, if you were told that, you were told wrong, unfortunately. *shows her where the restart and shut down options are* *gives usual‘the importance of restarting your computer’ speech* Lisa: *proceeds to tell me I’m wrong* *screams at me some more*

Spoiler alert: Restarting her computer fixed her problem.

One thing that always irks me is when people say:

“I’m not a tech. I’m not trained in technical support” etc. Because... you don’t have to be a tech, you don’t have to have any certifications or special training to know how to turn something off and back on again. Especiallyif it’s something that you own.

TONS of people (mostly iPhone users in my experience) do not know how to turn their phones off. Many of them don’t even know you can. Have no idea where/what the power button is, etc. Like... this is a thing you own, that you likely picked out and bought yourself... learn the basics of how to fucking use it.

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Just Friends ~ Taken For Granted (part 49)

Harper White is best friends with Luke Hemmings, they always have been. Not only is she friends with the rockstar, but with the rest of 5 Seconds Of Summer, as well as a really nice girl named Erika.

Harper has a few secrets, she can play all the instruments the boys play and many more. It’s a talent she has kept hidden, only very few people know.

What will happen to the six teens, wondering around the world together?

***

“A tragic car accident has occurred by Truesdale Boulevard, it is apparent that a teenage girl has been hit, we don’t know the details on that yet. The cause is unknown so far, professionals are yet to inspect the issue. There were three people in the vehicle, all three have been hospitalized, their injuries are not yet known. There are not many details on the teenage girl’s condition, it’s just come in that there isn’t much hope for her surviving.”

“Jesus, that sad, that could literally of been any of us.” Erika says.

“I-,” Maddie gets cut off by my phone ringing.

“Sorry.” I apologise. “Hello?” I ask as I realise I didn’t look at the caller ID.

“Hi, are you Luke?” A man’s voice rushes and I furrow my eyebrows

“Uh, yes that is me.”

“Okay, you are Harper White’s most recent contact, she’s been in a car accident, I thought I’d inform you, and I’d advise you come down to the hospital.” He calmly informs me and I freeze at the news.

“Uh, I’ll b-be down there as soon as possible.” I tell him.

“Okay, safe travels.”

“Thanks, bye.” My voice wavering.

“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Calum asks.

“I think the person in that car crash is Harper.” I blurt out.

“No, no it can’t be.” Ashton shakes his head.

“Are you sure?” Michael questions.

“The hospital called me, because apparently I’m still her most recent contact, which is weird, anyway, he said she’s been in a car accident, I mean, I’m only assuming. She didn’t drive here, right?” I begin to panick.

“No, she didn’t.” Calum informs. “Okay, calm down, and we’ll all go down to the hospital.”

I nod my head and run my hands over my face, whilst they begin to get their jackets, shoes, and phones.

“Do you wanna call Sarah and Andrew?” Michael asks me.

“I probably should.” I agree and take my phone out, as we get into the car.

“Luke?” The friendly voice of Sarah fills my ears.

“Hey, been a while since we’ve talked, but I just got a call from the hospital, telling me Harper has been in a car accident, I’m not entirely sure about the severity of it all, but I think you should come down.” I explain, oddly calm, well, compared to what I was a mere few minutes ago. “Sorry to spring this on you.”

“Oh my God, okay, we’ll be down soon, we are actually with you parents right now. She wasn’t driving though, unless she took one of your guys’ car.”

“I don’t think she was driving, I think she was hit.” I quietly tell her, running my hand through my hair.

“What makes you think that?” She asks.

I stay silent as I hear shuffling on the other side.

“Uh, there was this report on the local news, a-and it seems too real to be a coincidence…” I trail off.

“Alright, we’re making our way now, stay calm, and I’ll see you soon.” She says.

“Okay, drive safely, bye.” With that, I hang up and pull my hair in frustration.

“Your relationship with Harper’s mum is adorable.” Maddie snickers.

I throw a look her way and she shuts up immediately, I know she’s trying to lighten up the mood, but I really don’t want to be laughing or smiling at this moment, it feels wrong.

“Is she going to the hospital?” Michael asks.

“Yeah.” I nod and purse my lips.

I shouldn’t of said any of the words I said.

I shouldn’t of accused her of that Blake dude being her boyfriend or whatever, and most of all, I shouldn’t of told her I regret dating her. The only regret I have in that relationship was cheating. I could see the metaphorical walls come up around her, and the iron gates form around her heart.

There’s no way I could win her back now - not that I had a chance anyway - I fucked up so hard. I tried to ignore the hurt on her face, it was there for a millisecond, and quickly masked over, but I saw it, and I couldn’t believe myself.

How could I of said something so untrue and hurtful to this great girl I once called my girlfriend?

“Is there any more news?” Erika asks.

“I’ll check the news.” Calum speaks up, and pulls his phone out, taps on it a couple times. “Nothing, just what they said on the the tv, just typed up.” He shakes his head. “Wait a second, holy shit.”

“What?” We all say.

“There’s pictures.” Calum states

“Really?” Ashton asks.

“Yeah, they’re pretty uh, graphic.” Calum trails off.

“Can I see?” I ask.

“I’m warning you now, just saying.” He informs as he passes me his phone.

I nod and take the phone, scrolling down a bit, and my body freezes at the state of the car; if you can even call it a car now.

The front is all fucked up, it’s on its side, windows are smashed, and debris is scattered all ever the place. It’s all the dark, so I can see the colours of the police car.

Scrolling down slightly to the next picture, which is just of a few police officers and a couple paramedics. Some of them talking, whilst the others are inspecting the scene.

The next is of a middle aged woman, being carried on a stretcher, to what I’m assuming is an ambulance. The next couple pictures are of the family that was in the car, all on stretchers, with people rushing after them.

My breathing stops completely when I see a specific picture. A girl, lying on a stretcher, her face turned so that it’s not facing the camera, blood everywhere, her hair flowing off the stretcher, an arm limply dangling over the edge, and a white material covering her body, which has blood drenching a lot of it. The blanket type thing doesn’t cover her fully, it goes from just above her ankles, to the middle of her shoulders.

“That has to be Harper, it just has to be! Look at the shoes, they are what she was wearing.” I exclaim passing the phone back to Calum.

“Are you sure?” Calum questions, as he studies the pictures.

“Wait, have a look at her arm.” I say.

I watch as he zooms in and his face changes significantly.

“No, no, no, no, no, it can’t be.” He shake his head.

This is killing me.

I don’t know if she is the teenage girl on the tv, or if she is in a completely different one, and has gotten by with just a single scratch; hopefully the latter.

“Do you think that car accident was actually Harper?” Michael asks everyone.

“She left not too long ago, and the report wasn’t too long after that.” Ashton says.

“That’s true, but the reporter said it was Truesdale Boulevard, Harper doesn’t live anywhere near there, unless she was just taking a walk or something.” Calum points out.

“I honestly don’t know what to expect, I think both scenarios are very possible.” Maddie sighs.

“There’s only one way to find out, I guess.” Erika says.

On cue, we turn into the hospital car park, eventually finding a space in the crowded lot, we get out and slam the doors behind us.

Walking into the hospital doors, not knowing the outcome, whether we’ll come out with out bestfriend, or if we’ve lost her completely. Even though I haven’t been in her presence for a long time, I don’t know how I could live without her.

“Hey, we’re here for Harper White.” Ashton takes the lead.

“Hello, welcome, let me just check.”

The receptionist nods with a smile and clicks some things on her computer. “She’s in surgery right now, Harper was in a very critical condition when she first came in, there are no further updates at this moment in time, she’s only just went into surgery, this could last hours, there’s really nothing I can tell but she’s in surgery. We’ll be sure to update you as soon as possible.”

“Where was the accident?” Ashton quietly asks.

“Truesdale, at around 9:30.” She confirms.

Just like that, my bestfriend is most likely gone.

“Is she gonna be okay?” Michael asks, his voice wavering in the process.

“There’s no way of knowing right now, but I was told to warn you, not to get your hopes up.” She sadly looks down.

“Thank you for your help, we’ll be over there.” Ashton points to a corner and flashes her a small greatful smile.

“We’ll be sure to keep you updated, I’m sorry for your lack of information, I know how painful this can be.” She gives us all a sympathetic smile and Ashton waves.

I take a seat on a brown chair, I should probably get used to this, as I guess I’ll be seeing/sitting in it a lot.

I can’t believe this.

“Where do you think she was going?” Calum asks.

“I honestly have no idea. Her house isn’t anywhere near Truesdale Boulevard.” Erika shakes her head.

Then I realize something, Boulevard View, overlooks Truesdale Boulevard, she was probably going up to our special place.

“I know you think in its your fault.” I hear voice next to me.

Turning I see Calum, looking down at the ground, his arms folded, and legs stretched out.

“Well you can’t say it’s not.” I mimick his position.

“You were a dick, I’ll give you that, but I also know you’re frustrated with your relationship with her. I’m not gonna sit here and say it’s not partly your fault, I’m not saying this to make you feel bad, but it was also her choice to go wherever she was heading.”

“I said the shittiest thing to her, I can’t believe I said it, because it’s certainly not true. I told her I regret dating her.” I wince at the memory.

“You fucking idiot! Why’d you say that?” He asks with a sigh.

“I don’t know! I was thinking that if I got her to hate me, this would all be easier.” “Logical.” He replies sarcastically.

“It should be her who regrets dating me.” I mutter.

“I think you both took each other for granted, you never thought you’d end, fuck we didn’t think you’d break up, but I guess all good things come to an end. We all miss you two being together, even if you are being all gross with your kissing,” He laughs.

“I can’t tell you I wish we kissed more, because we took every opportunity we got.” I softly chuckle at the times where the guys would tell us to stop kissing.

“Got that right.”

It’s nice to talk to the guys about her, they’ve all been too causation to talk about her, at least in front of me.

“Luke, thank goodness.”

I look up to see Mr and Mrs. White.

“Hey, how are you?” I ask standing up, bringing Sarah into a hug.

“I’m fine, thanks, how about you?” She replies as I let go of her.

“As good as I can be. How about you?” I ask Andrew, shaking his hand.

“Alright.” He nods.

“Have you heard anything new from them?” I ask as I sit down again.

“No, only that she’s in surgery, and she’s in a critical condition.” Sarah sighs.

“Same, we only got here around 15 minutes ago.” I shrug. “Did they uhm, tell you t-that we shouldn’t get out hopes up?” I ask, immediately Sarah’s face pales and Andrew freezes.

I take that as a no.

“No, they didn’t.” She shakes her head.

I purse my lips and lean my head into my hand.

I terrifying thought suddenly hits me and I’m taken back by it.

What if I actually lose my bestfriend?

This daunting thought clouds my mind, and I don’t know what to do with myself. How am I supposed to live, knowing I will never see my bestfriend and first love? We may of broken up, but it always gives me comfort to know that she is out their living and under the same sky as me.

I miss her in every way possible, the way she’d say my name, call me babe, or the way she just talks. The thought of not hearing her voice ever again terrifies me.

I miss the way we’d lay on top of each other on a couch, my hands on the small of her back or on her hips. She’d usually be on top of me, but if I wanted to mess with her and hear her infectious laughter, I’d lay on top of her, bury my face in her chest, placing gentle kisses on the exposed skin. If she’d lay on top of me, I’d nuzzle into her neck, she’d giggle when I kissed her neck because it tickles, if I have my hands on her back, I’d interlock my fingers together.

I think what hit me hardest about the break up is two things, one is just the things we used to do and how we’d be touching most of the time so to not have that anymore is really weird. Secondly, is that we’ll never make any new memories, at least no happy one.

***

Stretching and letting out a small yawn in the process, I rub my eyes and slump further into my chair.

“How long has it been?” I ask no one in particular.

“6 and a half hours.” Erika tiredly murmurs.

“I’m gonna go get some fresh air.” I tell everyone, and get up, it feels so good to stretch my legs and move.

The doors automatically open when I step in front of them, and I walk out, leaning on one of the poles that supports the building. There are a few others out here, two of them smoking and the other just staring into space, they all look washed out.

It’s been a long night, Harper’s been in surgery for the whole night, we’ve heard no new news, only that she’s in surgery. We don’t know if they’ve managed to stabilize her or not, if she’s slowly slipping through our fingers, or if she’s fine and they are just stitching her up.

“Hard seeing the people you love in a place like this.” A voice says from next to me.

Turning to my right, I see the only person that isn’t smoking (besides me), he seems a little older than me.

“Yeah, it’s awful.” I nod at the ground.

“My little sister got in an accident and hit her head really badly.” He says.

“My ex girlfriend got in a car accident.” I tell him.

“Ex?” He questions.

“Yeah, uh we were bestfriends before we dated, then I fucked up and we broke up.” I explain.

“Ah. My sister is 17, she was fucking around on her bike then hit her head on a lamppost. She’s been in for a day, I got to see her for the first time this afternoon.” He stares down at his shoes. “She hasn’t woken up yet, the doctors said that she’d be awake in a day or two.”

“Sorry to hear that. I haven’t seen her yet, she’s still in surgery, 6 and a half hours, so far.” I say.

“That sucks, was she the one on the news?” He asks.

“Yeah.” I nod.

“Fuck, man, my thoughts are with you.” He nods his head and retreats inside.

“Thanks, same with you and your family.” I nod at him, and he gives me a small smile and wave, and I watch his back fade away.

Staying out here a little while longer, before I head inside again.

“Hey.” I breath.

“Hello.” Ashton nods.

“Hi.” Calum says with his eyes closed, leaning his head on the cool walls.

***

“Harper White’s family?” A doctor asks.

“We’re her parents, and the others are her friends.” Sarah tells him.

“Right, I’m Dr Melvin, we’ve managed to get her in a stable state,” he informs and we all sigh in relief. “But, she developed a brain hemorrage which is a bleed on the brain, had some more internal bleeding, she’s broken quite a few bones, broken two ribs, broke her left am, her index finger on her right and her ring finger, she dislocated her left shoulder, we believe that she’s damaged her right leg, but we haven’t had time to properly look at it as we needed to start surgery so soon and we thought that you all deserve to know before anything happens. Harper has also accumulated a lot of cuts, one particularly big one on the left side of her waist, suffered from some bruising all over her body, mostly on her legs.” The doctor explains and the thought of her in pain hurts me.

“So is she awake? Can we go see her?” Sarah asks.

“That’s the thing, uh, she’s in a coma.” He drops the - hopefully final - bomb.

“What?” I say.

“How long is it gonna be before she wakes up?” Michael asks.

“We don’t know, usually people are in commas for 2 to 4 weeks, but they can last years.” He says.

I guess not everything in life is all sunshine and rainbows, as much as you might want it to be, there’s just no possible way it can be. There needs to be bad days though, you can’t not have bad days, whether it’s as bad as this or you get splashed on by a car coming by in the rain. There has to be bad days, but there also has to be good days, you just never know what type of day it’s gonna be. It can also start off bad then turn into a happy day, vice versa.

But life isn’t a fairy tell and sometimes there just aren’t happy endings, you can’t necessarily help that though, you can do things to make your life a little happier and better, but it’s the same thing as you can’t buy happiness, it’s just a suprise.

You may go through bad periods that last longer than the happy days, but there are always gonna be happy days, and you just have to look forward to the happy days. It may not feel like you’ll ever be happy when you’re sad, but you just have to wait, you can’t force happiness.

“Can we go see her?” I ask.

“Yes, of course, but I’m warning you now.”

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Operation: First Noel (6/7)

Here we are at Day 6, @xhookswenchx! This is actually the vignette that I first wrote for you more than a month ago when I initially started spit-balling ideas for your Secret Santa gift, and it’s my personal favorite of the set and kind of the thing around which everything else evolved. If you’ve read any of my other work, you may have noticed know how much I love writing the quiet moments, and that’s exactly what this is. I really hope you enjoy it. I’ll try to have a little something to wrap up this fic for you by tomorrow!

Find it on AO3. Missed a chapter? Get caught up here.

Summary: When the residents of Storybrooke enjoy a rare period of peace over the holiday season, Henry asks his family for something he’s never had - a real Christmas. A series of holiday vignettes. (Captain Swan/Captain Cobra/Captain Charming. Canon Divergent. Domestic Fluff, Humor, & Smut. Rated E purely for Chapter 4.)

Requested tags: @optomisticgirl, @deathbycaptainswan. Want to be tagged on updates? Let me know!

Chapter 6: Tidings of Great Joy

The call of her bladder rouses Emma from a deep slumber, and she pries her eyes open with mild irritation, staring forward into the dark of the bedroom and heaving a mental sigh. Again? She pushes back the covers with one arm and pauses when she realizes that she’s alone in bed. Sitting up, she swivels her head to throw a quizzical look back at Killian’s undisturbed pillow before pushing herself to her feet. Toilet first.

The floor is cold against her skin, first the cool wood of the bedroom, then the frigid tile in the bathroom, but she bears it as she shuffles along, too sleepy to bother with socks. Emma huffs and pats her belly. Five more months of this (and much more) to go. She sighs, but reminds herself that she’s survived a pregnancy before under far less favorable circumstances. For that matter, she’s literally been to Hell and back. She’s got this.

When she finishes in the bathroom, she throws a robe over her flannel pajamas and pads downstairs. She’d retired shortly after getting home from Christmas dinner at her parents’ and left Killian by the fire reading Charles Dickens (part of what Henry refers to as his Christmas Crash Course). But that was several hours ago, and Killian has usually come to bed by this time of night. She wonders if he’s fallen asleep mid-sentence on the sofa again.

The ground floor of their house is illuminated by the flicker of the fire that still burns in the hearth and by the almost overwhelming glow of the legion of white Christmas lights Killian and Henry have succeeded in draping on every square inch of the handsome tree near the front window.

“Guys, I’m serious. If you put any more lights on that thing, astronauts will be able to see it from space.”

“Sorry, love, who will be able to see it from where?”

“…Zeus. Zeus will be able to see it from Olympus.”

“I’m fairly certain Zeus can see everything anyway, Swan.”

The stair creaks beneath her feet, and when she reaches the bottom and turns the corner, she sees Killian still sitting on the sofa where she left him, but his head and shoulders are craned around to look at her.

“Couldn’t sleep?” he asks, looking concerned.

She gives a little smile. “I was going to ask you the same thing,” she murmurs, coming around the side of the sofa to settle herself next to him. She perches her feet on the edge of the coffee table. “I had to go the bathroom.”

“Ah.” He nods knowingly, a tiny grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. His smile widens further as Emma sighs blissfully and wiggles her toes a little, enjoying the way the warmth of the fire licks at them. “Are your feet cold, love?”

“Better now,” she says, shifting down in her seat and moving to lean up against him.

“Hold that thought,” he tells her, gently pulling away and heaving himself off the sofa. Emma’s eyebrows pinch upward as he hurries up the stairs. A minute later he returns with a pair of her favorite gray woolen socks in his hand.

Her expression turns dopey as he sits on the edge of the sofa cushion and drops one sock on his lap, reaching forward with the other. Part of her wants to sit up and insist she can put on her own socks (she’s not exactly big yet), but she remains rooted in place, fascinated and touched as she watches him work. He loops the cuff of the sock around her big toe and gently pulls so that the cuff opens up wide enough to allow him to finesse it over the rest of her toes and onto her foot. He hums tunelessly as he works, and she grins. She’s seen him put his own socks on like this countless times, but seeing him do it for her, knowing how content he is to pamper her in little ways like this, makes her heart feel fit to burst. He tugs here and there at the tight knit until the sock is in place and then proceeds to help her with its mate. “There we are,” he declares with satisfaction, sitting back and throwing his left arm around her shoulders.

Killian Jones, the fearsome Captain Hook, vanquisher of sea monsters and Underworld denizens and cold toes. “Thank you.” She chuckles and burrows deep into his side, resting her head on his shoulder.

He turns his head, inhaling the scent of her hair, and plants a kiss on her head. “Of course.”

Emma’s eyes are half-lidded and dreamy as she stares into the dancing flames. “So why are you still awake? Staying up for Santa?” she teases.

She can hear the smile in his voice. “Do you suppose I should? He’s set to invade our home, after all,” Killian muses. “Perhaps I should fetch my cutlass. Inspire him to use the front door like a normal person.”

Laughter bubbles up in her chest at the idea of coming downstairs in the morning to find Killian has captured Santa Claus. The mental image of her husband grimly standing guard with his sword while the man in the red suit sits properly bound and gagged in an armchair is almost too much. “Pretty sure that gets you on the naughty list,” she comments when she catches her breath.

Killian waggles his eyebrows. “So does what we did to get you pregnant, Swan,” he murmurs into her ear. “I don’t recall you complaining.”

She can feel him smile against her as she flushes to the roots of her hair, a myriad of vivid memories flooding back and setting her skin tingling. She swats his arm half-heartedly but doesn’t try to hide her exhilarated smile. He rumbles low in his chest, and she turns her head to indulge him in a slow, sultry kiss. “Well, it was pretty fun,” she mutters against his mouth, her teeth dragging across his lower lip, her lashes dusky against her cheeks.

He pulls back and arches an eyebrow. “‘Pretty fun’?” he repeats with mock indignance. “May I remind you that you seriously started considering using silencing magic after that time we—”

She gives a throaty giggle and cuts him off by yanking his shirt collar forward until his lips are pressed against hers. Her tongue grazes his in invitation, and Killian answers without hesitation, plunging forth and kissing her hot and deep in the way they both know disorients her and makes her toes curl inside her socks. His lips slant over hers aggressively, and he steals her breath, reaching up to cup her face with his hand and drag his thumb across her cheek, hunger and defiance and unending devotion in the way he kisses. A tiny mewl escapes her, and shivers run down her spine when he responds with a gratified hum, clearly pleased at having successfully reminded her of all the ways he has to make her want.

“Fine,” she acquiesces breathlessly when they surface for air. “Um… Miraculous? Phenomenal?”

Killian grunts. “That’s more like it.”

Emma laughs quietly at the smug grin on his face and snuggles up against him once again. Her eyes fall to her stomach suddenly, and she smirks. “Oops. We might have woken someone up.”

“Oh?” His face lights eagerly. “You can feel her?”

Emma bites her lip at her little slip-up. Their baby started kicking only a few days ago, but she’d been hoping to reveal it to him Christmas morning as an extra gift. One look at his excited expression now, though, and all thoughts of waiting any longer are easily forgotten. She nods almost shyly and reaches for his hand, settling it on her belly and watching his face expectantly. They wait for a long moment, all but holding their breath, until the baby abruptly kicks again.

An awed smile blooms on Killian’s face, and he glances up at her with wonder. “There. That’s… that’s her?”

Emma folds her lips, blinking rapidly and nodding.

He looks back down at her belly and chuckles low when the baby issues another kick. “Hello, my love,” he croons, his voice sounding thick. “Did your mum and I wake you?”

They lapse into contented quiet while Killian continues to feel the baby move, slowly gliding his hand back and forth over Emma’s midsection in a loving caress. It makes her want to cry sometimes when he’s like this – so exquisitely, almost impossibly gentle – the man who was so angry for so long, who was one of the most feared pirates to ride the waves, who nearly destroyed all the Dark Ones forever, and who withstood torture at the hands of a god and still thumbed his nose at him. The fact that he can be so bold and unbreakable one moment and so soft and affectionate and heart-breakingly grateful the next – the range of this man, the depth of him, just takes her breath away.

“I was thinking about you, you know.” His quiet confession breaks the silence. “Just now before you and your mum came down. Did you know? It’s Christmas.” A delicate smile curves his lips, and he glances up at the narrow mantle from which hang three full-sized stockings labeled “Killian”, “Emma”, and “Henry” and a much smaller knitted stocking shaped like a baby bootie, courtesy of Granny. “It’s my first Christmas,” he continues thoughtfully, “which is fitting, because your mum and Henry tell me part of celebrating Christmas is spending time with your family, and this…” he intertwines his fingers with Emma’s, grinning softly at the now-familiar click of his ring against hers, “this is the first winter in a very, very long time that I can really say that I have one.”

Emma sniffles, and he catches her eye and gives her a watery smile.

“I’ve also read that that this holiday celebrates the birth of a child,” he says, his voice turning even heavier with emotion, “a baby that, I gather, gave a lot of the world hope, and that…” he pauses, “that seems fitting too.”

A giant tear rolls down Emma’s face, and she’s a hair’s width from blubbering as she takes in the redness lining his eyes and the tender, emotional look his face. He knows she’s full of hormones right now, and yet here he is, saying these perfect words to their unborn child on Christmas Eve, and if she didn’t love him with every fiber of her being she’d punch him so hard right now for making her cry. Jerk.

Killian stops talking, as though he knows she’s barely keeping it together (or perhaps because he is too). He drags his ringed thumb back and forth along the side of her pinky absently, falling back into unspoken thoughts, his gaze fixed on their hands while the firelight frolics with the shadows around them.

They both smile when they feel another kick, and Emma nuzzles his neck with her forehead. “We love you, you know,” she whispers to him.

He takes a ragged breath. “Aye, I know.”

Emma squeezes his hand. “Come to bed?”

He turns his head and places another kiss in her hair. “As you wish.”

He climbs to his feet slowly, adjusting his grip on her hand to help her up, and they remain linked as she leads him out of the living room and back up the stairs, extinguishing the fire with the flick of her wrist.

She settles herself back between the bedsheets, leaving the socks on, while he quickly readies himself for sleep. Minutes later, he switches off the lights and slides beneath the thick blanket, scooting over the mattress toward her, his stump gliding across her hip to rest on the swell of her stomach and his chest pressing to her shoulder blades. Emma sighs happily as he touches his lips to the back of her neck.

“Good night, my loves,” he mutters into her skin.

Emma smiles in the dark, her hand finding his stump and squeezing it affectionately. “Merry Christmas, Killian.”

Thanks for reading! Ready for more? Click here for the next chapter!

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Gaming on Windows is just better.

Reasons windows is better I'll, save you guys the trouble there aren't any actually yeah. I agree. Are you guys kidding me? The vast majority of the world runs Windows on the desktop and believe it or not. There are some pretty darn good reasons for it, so guys we compiled the top 10 of them from our community to share with you in this video thanks LastPass for sponsoring a portion of this video. They relieve the burden of trying to remember all your passwords for every website. Let LastPass fill in your passwords, for you learn more at the end of the video or at the link below [, Music ]. First up and this one's a shocker gaming, our community spoke, and we agree. Gaming on Windows is just better.

Not only are there tons of current games for the Windows PC platform like literally thousands of them, but accessing them and keeping them up to date is much simpler than it used to be thanks to online marketplaces like Steam, origin, you play, and yes, even the epic Game store and Windows gaming has far more going for it than just the current library. Recent progress towards integration with Microsoft's Xbox ecosystem has brought cross-platform play to some titles and even cross-platform purchases, and on the subject of compatibility. Well, there's the back catalog of games, which numbers in the tens of thousands with a shocking number of old games still being playable on modern hardware. I fired up 1602 80, a game from almost 1602 80 on my Windows, 10 PC with a Titan RT X on it with minimal tinkering required.

That'S crazy! So we're actually working on a collab with good old games. Right now to show this off make sure your sub, so you don't miss it on the subject of tinkering Windows games, particularly the older ones, allow for a ton of it with large communities that have built everything from their own servers from multiplayer to mods that alter Visuals or gameplay elements and even mods that change the genre of the original title fun fact for you, young kids out there dota used to be a custom map in Warcraft 3. Finally, there's the advantage that comes naturally with being the incumbent gaming platform support wan na try out the hottest new peripherals like brand new graphics cards, VR headsets, haptic feedback, vests odds are excellent, that the Windows software is going to be much more polished than what's available. For other platforms, that is, if anything exists, for them at all, RTX real-time ray tracing on Mac.

Please is actually a common one for users of every platform and it's that it just works or because I don't feel like something new like Apple Microsoft has made it OS that, for the most part, works as intended. Out-Of-The-Box, no real extra effort is needed. Thanks to Auto magical third-party driver installs through Windows Update when you get into the weeds with obscure devices, hardware compatibility on the platform does have its issues, but for the average user it is much better than it used to be, and so is the general intuitiveness of Using it I mean I still remember when they introduced the documents and pictures folder. Comm 4 is the toolbox. The registry editor, if used responsibly, is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to optimizing. The windows experience task manager got some big upgrades with Windows 8 and now makes it so simple to monitor CPU RAM network and even GPU usage.

So anyone can do it, but if you want to go even further, this rabbit hole. 2 has pretty much no bottom resource monitor, gives you a much more granular. Look the information from cast manager, making it easy to identify processes that are sending large amounts of network data out or causing your disk to churn and slow down the rest of your system. Task scheduler is a crazy, powerful utility that lets. You have Windows, automate tasks for you. It can open and close programs for you when you log in and out it can send emails when tasks complete and you can even post to Twitter and Facebook using the window. Scheduler and power toys are back, so these are actually Microsoft provided tools that enthusiasts can use to add or enhance features.

I was a huge fan of sync TOI back in the day and this new window management one for Windows, 10 looks sick. 5. Is the support base want to learn how to do some of the stuff? You'Ve talked about well, with 78 % of the worldwide desktop OS market share. If it exists, someone has probably done it so, like you want to become the new macro king. Well, there are tutorials on how to do that, need to troubleshoot a weird error between the official support from Microsoft, for both current and legacy windows and the thousands of enthusiasts on forums around the world. The odds of finding someone to help. You are pretty good. One. Great resource is actually our forum linked below, where our community is ready, willing and able to help feel free to check that out after the video 6 is productivity. Even Apple had to acknowledge.

Windows is strength when it comes to buckling down and just getting some work done, whether you're trading stocks, writing reports, tracking financials, making super cool, PowerPoint, slides or making YouTube videos like us windows probably supports the software and the hardware that you need to get it done. Microsoft'S Office suite is incredibly powerful and works best on Windows if you want to do 3d or CAD work. Most of the industry-standard software is on Windows and, let's not forget the plethora of one-off and highly specialized programs needed for scientific study, engineering and many other industries. Now I wasn't sure where to put this little bit so we're gon na chuck it in productivity, shortcut keys, so many shortcut keys, classic control-alt-delete for when things go wrong windows and one two three and four to launch the corresponding app on your taskbar go ahead and

Try it it's really cool and if you like bad one, you can grab the other new power toy that lets. You hold the Windows key to see all the shortcut keys for your active programs. Oh productivity bliss awaits my friends. Seven is OS unity with some notable exceptions. Windows hasn't changed too drastically over the years. So if you went straight from Windows, XP to Windows, 10 you'd probably find your way around it sooner rather than later, and if you're a technician. This can be really nice because it's not uncommon to find yourself working on a different version from one hour to the next. It'S a totally different experience compared to Linux, which has I don't know, I stopped counting after 30, let's just say a lot of different distros or versions that are designed for a multitude of different tasks or specialized use cases.

There are mainstream optimized distros out there, but if you don't consult the internet beforehand as a newcomer, it can get really confusing and thing is even if you do consult the internet. People might not agree on which flavor of the month is vastly women do bunt to stop being cool. Eight was a bit of a surprise to me, but it came up a lot. So maybe I just take the taskbar and file explorer for granted. The modern taskbar is a great tool for maintaining a clean and organized desktop, giving you quick access to frequently used programs and offering up a quick preview of all of your active windows as for File Explorer. Well, it's got its issues. The search is pretty slow. The up, folder navigation is done. Sometimes, documents should go to sequel and slash users, slash your username, not this PC etc.

But it's got wide support for thumbnail, previews lots of useful information readily available, and it requires no keyboard shortcut to cut paste. Sometimes you don't have to be great just better than your competitor. 9 is reliability with good Hardware. The days of daily blue screens are long. Gone crashes do still exist, but for years now I've experienced long periods of smooth and stable performance. Microsoft does have some work cut out for them to make their automatic updates mover in the regarde, but they at least seem to be aware of the problem. At this point, bringing us to ten finally sort of related to gaming to compatibility, got an old program from the Windows XP days. Well, there's a decent chance that, with some trial and error, you will be able to get it to run even in the latest. Builds of Windows 10.

There are just so many specific use programs that have been written over the last couple of decades and losing access to them because of an OS update could be devastating for some people. Compatibility mode actually works more often than you'd think and when it doesn't, some quick googling will often bring up a solution, and the cool thing is that goes. Both ways got a computer that mom bought 10 years ago, but still wants to use. Well, there's a solid chance that Windows and most programs that run on it will still work on that, even if not very well. Our Skull trail system from 2008 was actually a great example of this no driver issues and, aside from a couple of games that refused to launch because of missing CPU instructions, our issues were related to performance rather than to compatibility, so guys go check out that video.

If you haven't already now one of the tools we love using on Windows comes, of course, from our sponsor for this portion of today's video LastPass LastPass relieves the troubles of remembering your passwords and reduces the anxiety about getting locked out of your accounts and then waiting For reset password emails, you won't need to write down, remember or reset passwords anymore with LastPass LastPass allows you to keep track of an unlimited number of passwords and not just passwords. Even just things like you know, Wi-Fi codes or just things you want to remember and store somewhere safe, and it doesn't only work for desktop it even works on mobile sites and apps for both iOS and Android. When you open an app or a site, LastPass will fill in your username and password making logging in easy, so click the link below to find out more about LastPass. So, thanks for watching guys hope you enjoyed this video see you

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It’s Always about the People

In May 2017 the Boeing Corporation, legendary for the safety and performance of the aircraft it has produced since 1916, rolled out the latest update of its workhorse 737 passenger plane, the 737 MAX. Seventeen months later, in October 2018, an Indonesian Air flight crashed, killing everyone onboard that 737 MAX. Five months after that another 737 MAX, this one flown by Ethiopian Airlines, fell from the air, with the loss of all passengers and crew. A total of 346 people died in these 2 tragic events.

The Boeing 737 MAX is constructed from 367,000 parts, strung together with 10 million lines of computer code. It’s a wonder that any device this complicated can fly at all, let alone be entrusted with hundreds of lives, day after day, year after year. Nevertheless, the 737 MAX is a bone-chilling exception to the amazing safety record of modern aviation. The plane is still grounded, as investigators pour over everything from crash debris to corporate minutes.

Here’s an emerging picture of the 737 MAX disasters, as reported in the December 23 issue of Bloomberg Business Week. (The story is in Business Week because, needless to say, the loss in money is huge, about $5billion so far; in reputation, it’s incalculable.) “…the most fundamental breakdown at Boeing may have been a lack of appreciation of how humans respond under stress–both in the machine it was designing and in its own organization.” The pressure to make customer training a profit center and disputes with the pilots’ union over hiring outside contractors amped up the corporate chaos level as the new aircraft was being birthed. Moving flight simulators from Seattle, where the planes were designed and built, to Miami may have been Boeing’s biggest misstep. The company put a continent between the engineers who contrive the machine and the flight instructors who observe in their simulators (hopefully almost all) the things that can go wrong when human being meets silicon and aluminum, long before anybody is hurt.

… …better it should be your doctor!

No matter how spectacular the latest disasters, the airline industry does way, way better than the medical industry. A study published in the medical journal, BMJ, in 2016 estimated that 250,000 Americans die every year from medical error, making it the third leading cause of death, after heart disease and cancer. Some estimates place the number at over 400,000. Going with the lower estimate, a quarter-million deaths per year comes to about three 737 MAXes, fully loaded with passengers and crew, crashing every day!

If you think Boeing experienced a certain degree of corporate chaos that contributed to fatal outcomes, you ain’t seen nothing until you’ve stepped into the world of healthcare. Time after time the electronic systems that ought to foster communication and collaboration among the various people that literally hold people’s lives in their hands don’t even talk to each other. Even within institutions, systems are too often clumsy and make-work.

Need I tell you that communicating electronically with patients, all of which falls under the rubric of telehealth, is woefully inadequate? Just think about how many things you can accomplish easily and securely online with your bank or how it is finding and purchasing the airline tickets that best meet your travel needs, compared with how you communicate with your healthcare providers.

Every breakdown in communication increases the likelihood that sub-optimal, harmful or even fatal healthcare events will occur. If the oncologist (cancer doctor) isn’t informed about what the nephrologist (kidney doctor) is doing, the patient could receive a bigger dose of chemotherapy than their kidneys can handle. If an office-based nurse practitioner doesn’t know that a person was recently discharged from the hospital after hip surgery the clinician might not know to suspect a life-threatening blood clot in the lungs when the muddled patient calls because they’re anxious.

The technology ought to be the easy part. Internet protocols are standardized. Most of what needs to be done can be accomplished with inexpensive devices. Nearly everybody has a computer and/or a smartphone that can transmit and receive data, including voice (that’s what a plain old telephone does), images and video. It’s the people that are the hard part; that is, the people individually and as they gang up in institutions.

In order to maintain a market advantage, health system A doesn’t want health system B to get its hands on its proprietary patient data… and vice versa. One set of doctors uses Mac IOS, another uses Windows. Managers must decide either to support both operating systems, with added glitches and complications, or else risk disempowering and angering a large segment of their physician clients. In the interest of “upcoding” (increasing charges) the billing department has insisted that nurses and doctors use checklist templates to record all encounters with patients, detracting from the richness (stories) in the medical record, while alienating the people on the front lines, as well as adding an hour or two to their daily workload. The medical licensing board in one state insists that every out-of-state doctor who does a telemedicine consult on even a single one of its residents get a full medical license–a tedious, expensive and slow process–no matter that the out-of-state physician may be the best expert to care for that sort of patient or that there is a severe shortage of that specialty in the state.

In healthcare, training simulators are at least a half-century behind where they are in aviation. To be fair, it’s way easier to simulate a standard machine made of metal and silicon and such than it is an infinitely varied, non-standardized human body. Still, electronic technology could be a great boon for healthcare quality and safety. The lowest hanging fruits dangle from strong limbs of well-tested communication protocols and simple devices. The willingness and structures for collaboration are what’s missing. It’s killing us.

The post It’s Always about the People appeared first on Marc Ringel | Author & Healthcare Professional.

source https://marcringelmd.com/digital-healing/its-always-about-the-people/

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2019 BMW X7 Review: The Best Big SUV Yet

Your first thought upon viewing the BMW X7: The massive front grille turns this amazing full-size SUV in the direction of self-parody. But step into the cockpit, where you don’t see the schnozz, and you’ll find a wealth of performance, handling, and driver-assist features that make this the best big SUV you can buy, at least until the next-generation (2020) Mercedes-Benz GLS arrives in quantity. What makes the X7 worth the better part of $100,000 is the seamless Level 2 self-driving with automatic lane changes, the big cockpit displays, the camera systems, the fabulous seats, the ride and handling, and reasonable third-row room.

The biggest (non-grille) downside is cockpit switchgear that has become at once prettier, harder to use, and harder to read. Also, a car this big would be more socially conscious if a plug-in hybrid version was offered in the first wave of X7 shipments rather than waiting for 2020 or 2021. And: Before you commit to lease payments up to $1,600, make sure you really need the marginally bigger interior the X7 provides. The BMW X5 is nearly as big in most ways unless you must have that third seat. On price, the X7 is clearly bigger, as much as $122,000, and even something of a public service: BMW is doing more to claw back money from the rich than Bernie and AOC combined.

Fabulous on Highways and Back Roads

I test-drove the 2019 X7. The 2020 model is virtually the same, adding a higher-power M design version. The BMW X7 is in its element gliding along the highway on 400-mile treks, whether you drive it yourself or engage the Active Driving Assistant Pro self-driving feature and let radars, cameras, and microprocessors do the work. Perhaps surprisingly — if you don’t know BMW-Audi-Mercedes-Porsche SUV engineering — it’s also quite at home on country roads as long as you factor in the 5,500 pounds of weight.

There are a lot of cars that have Level 2 self-driving, meaning your car paces the car in front up to the speed you set using adaptive cruise control and keeps the car in the middle of the lane (lane centering assist), while you lightly keep hands on the steering wheel. BMW does it as well as anyone. I was impressed by the auto-lane-change feature. Tap the turn signal, the car checks to the rear and side, and if the coast is clear, shifts lanes left or right. Not once was there an issue with the car trying to shift lanes at the same time a car behind was coming up quickly. Although it doesn’t hurt to look in the side mirror just to be sure, as some Tesla drivers have learned.

An X7 slides through the primordial soup. Actually, an off-road course at the BMW Performance Center outside Palm Springs, California. The X7 fords up 20 inches of water.

Long-haul driving is helped by the quality of BMW’s seats, the optional seat massagers, the side window shades in row two, heated and vented seats, and even the pillows attached to the headrests. At night, the mood lighting makes the car feel like a private jet. The console cupholders warm or cool drinks. USB jacks are abundant. Onboard Wi-Fi is available. Many of these features are optional (and desirable, and not cheap), and BMW’s close competitors offer many of the same features and options.

The mondo front grille is mostly trompe l’oeil (trick of the eye) that makes you suspect the X7 is bigger in every way than BMW’s other SUVs. It took me a day of driving to realize that the X7 is fine on twisty back roads because it’s no wider, just a bit longer, and about 500 pounds heavier than the X5, a happy back-road-warrior.

Among European automakers, there’s an arms race to have the family SUV be an off-roader and river-crosser. BMW has a package that lets you climb rocks and then cross a stream 20 inches deep. It’s an option. If you want to tow a trailer, you can, and with the trailer package, you can tow 7,700 pounds.

BMW’s self-driving suite, the Driving Assistance Professional Package, is slick; it even changes lanes by tapping the turn signal. (Note that mail truck is being towed and not wrong-way driving.) And only Wikipedia presents more information than BMW’s head-up display.

BMW in the Lead on Tech

BMW in the US has been the ultimate driving machine for half a half-century. Now it dazzles you with technical brilliance as well. Example: If you get the surround camera package, when you park, you see the view ahead (if you’re pulling in going forward) on the big center stack display side-by-side with a stitched 360-degree overhead view; as you get closer to the car in front or to the garage wall, the view-ahead camera angle rises up to help gauge the final couple feet, all automagically. Or if you get the parking assistant option, you can let the car ease itself into parallel or perpendicular spaces. If you do it yourself, nearby vehicles, walls, raised curbs, or light stanchions shown onscreen radiate green-yellow-or-red force fields outward to indicate how close you are. When you’re away from the car, the cameras let you monitor its well-being from your phone. At a time when even some mainstream cars — Ford Explorer, say — have auto-parking, BMW marshals overwhelming-show-of-force technology to make the case for premium cars.

The dual 12-inch displays (instrument panel and center stack) allow multiple panes of information. If you want, the center display can be dialed back to, say, just the moving map. The iDrive controller works well and you have multiple ways to interact: the control wheel, a finger-writing pad on top of the wheel, adjacent buttons to summon common features, voice input, and gesture controls including a Tinder-like swipe to answer the phone. Okay, gesture control may seem like a stupid pet trick, but BMW’s point is: We give you every way possible to interact with the car. The modes you don’t like? Don’t use them.

The head-up display is big with lots of information that you can choose to show or hide. When the HUD maps out the lanes you need to be in for the exit, it’s pretty hard to mess up. BMW monitors the driver for inattention via an instrument panel camera, which is faster and more accurate in determining if your attention has drifted. You won’t like being ratted out, but you’ll live longer. Most of BMW’s USB jacks are Type C, which is the way the industry is heading. You may need to buy a $5 adapter now, but your next phone will probably be Type C at both ends, and you’re ready.

And this is tech of a sort: the Panoramic Sky Lounge LED Roof creates six LED light patterns in the roof — white, blue, orange, bronze, lilac, and green — for more enjoyable nighttime driving.

BMW X7 center console: The function selectors forward of the iDrive controller are blocked by the optional crystal shifter, and the button cluster lost its find-by-shape pronounced vee-design.

Cockpit Controls Won’t Please Everyone

When a car costs this much, the owner has high expectations. Repeat buyers may be disappointed with the direction taken by the interface to the iDrive controls and control surfaces. Function buttons to control entertainment, phone, map, and navigation were arrayed in side-by-side vee shapes with the home button in between. You could tell without looking if you were touching the front or rear button by the way it sloped, and the left or right button set by where the flat home button was in relation. The buttons now are hard to access because the driver’s hand has to reach around the gearshift selector.

On the steering wheel, buttons are now finished in brushed satin chrome with black lettering that glows a weakish red at night. Drivers over 40 with imperfect eyesight may find them a challenge, especially those who don’t use their reading half-glasses while driving.

The X7 includes no adaptive cruise control in the base version, reserving it for the $1,700 self-drive package called the Driving Assistance Professional Package. BMW should include adaptive cruise control in the base price as Honda and Toyota do so the basics are all there: ACC as well as the provided lane departure warning, blind-spot detection, forward collision warning, and auto-emergency braking.

BMW does give you 10 free years of telematics service (not 10 years of free data) so emergency calling and crash notification are always there, BMW can download software updates, and you can reach out to the dealer to set up service. But there is no Android Auto, and access to Apple CarPlay costs $80 a year (after a free first year).

Cockpit fit and finish are fabulous on the X7.

BMW X7 Trim Walk

A basic X7 is $75K. But move up the ladder to the V8 and the M version, and/or add in as much as $20K in options, and you can easily surpass $110,000. The X7 SAV, or sports activity vehicle, as BMW calls it, comes in three variants with an eight-speed automatic transmission and air suspension. Plus lots of options packages and standalone options. All models are all-wheel drive with three rows of seating along with with Active Driving Assistant (daytime pedestrian protection, frontal collision warning with city collision mitigation, lane departure warning, active blind-spot detection, and rear cross-traffic alert), adaptive LED headlamps with auto high beams, panoramic moonroof, ambient cockpit lighting with 12 lighting themes, telematics with a Wi-Fi hotspot, and 21-inch alloy wheels.

BMW X7 xDrive 40i ($74,895 including $995 freight). The 3.0-liter 335 hp turbo inline-six-cylinder engine is rated at 5.8 seconds 0-60 mph with an EPA rating of 20 mpg city / 25 mpg highway / 22 mpg combined on premium fuel. The base audio system has 10 speakers, a 205-watt amplifier, satellite, and HD radio.

BMW X7 xDrive 50i ($93,95). The 4.4-liter turbo V8 reaches 60 mph in 5.2 seconds and is EPA-rated at 15 / 21 / 17 mpg. Audio is branded Harman Kardon with 16 speakers (464 watts).

BMW X7 M50i ($100,595). The V8 hits 523 hp and goes 0-60 in 4.5 seconds (EPA rating pending). Standard alloy wheels are 22 inches. There even-nicer upholstery and trim choices. Note to enthusiasts: While there’s an M in the name, this is not the same as an M in front of the series number (M3 versus X7 M50i). But it will still outperform every most other big SUV currently on the road.

There are a half-dozen options packages for the X7 from $800 to $4,100. The Premium Package ($2,800) has the HUD, rear side shades, soft close doors, 12-speaker Harman audio, soft-close doors, and gesture control. The Executive Package ($4,100 on the six-cylinder) incorporates the Premium Package plus the Panoramic Sky Lounge LED Roof, heated and cooled cupholders, and “hand-made, diamond-cut glass trim elements” for the shifter, audio volume control, start button, and iDrive wheel.

The Driver Assistance Package ($1,700) is a must-have twice over: once because BMW omits adaptive cruise control from the base price and secondly because BMW rolls in a raft of other truly useful assists including Level 2 self-driving. The Cold Weather Package ($1,200) has heated front seat armrests and steering, and five-zone climate control. A Luxury Seating Package is $1,600.

You can order one or the other of these two: an Off-Road Package ($1,650) has specific modes for sand, rock, gravel, and snow); or the Parking Assistance Package ($800) with automated parallel parking, surround-view of the car while driving or while parked and way from the car, plus a video drive recorder.

Standalone options included Night Vision ($2,300), a trailer hitch that boosts towing capacity to 7,500 pounds ($550), a leather dashboard ($850), scented cockpit aromas (350), second-row captain’s chairs ($850), Alcantara (synthetic suede headliner, $1,000), “Shadowline” trim ($350), rear entertainment ($2,200), M Sport brakes ($650), and integral active steering ($1,150). All these have some degree of utility and can also drive the six-cylinder version to $87,000. More if you add premium paint (up to $1,950), pothole-finder 22-inch wheels ($1,300), specialty seat leathers ($3,700), or an M Sport design package ($4,350) that is about show more than go (it does include an aero kit to glue the car to the road at near-Autobahn speeds). The most costly X7 I managed to price reached $121,845, about $1,600 a month on a lease.

BMW X7 is 203 inches to the X5’s 194 inches. Width and height are essentially the same.

The Big SUV: What Took BMW So Long?

The Berlin Wall had barely come down when BMW first pondered an SUV, the X5. It arrived in 1999 and was a more immediate hit than the first Mercedes-Benz ML (now GLE) that rode like a truck (because it was built on a truck frame), or the first Lexus RX, 1998. BMW added the compact X3 as a 2004 model, the subcompact X1 in 2008, and fastback SUVs (X6, X4) along the way. The X7 was almost a decade in gestation if you count the years of internal deliberations and the five years from public announcement to first shipments this year. In the meantime, Mercedes-Benz ruled with the full-size GL (now GLS) that dates to the 2007 model year. The first X7 barely beat the third-generation GLS to market.

Why did BMW wait? For certain, BMW wanted to be sure the big honker would handle decently. Perhaps it had doubts about the propriety of building such a big vehicle at a time when many parts of the world have concerns about the car’s impact on the planet. You might approach 30 mpg in very cautious highway driving with the six-cylinder if you stick to the speed limit), and with a 21.9-gallon tank, cruise 550 miles or more between refills. Actually, if you gauge your speed by the amount of road and wind noise, you’ll think you’re doing 55, look at the speedometer, and realize you’re rolling at 85.

When you parallel park the X7, you’ll know it’s bigger: 203 versus 194 inches long. The 122-inch wheelbase, 5 inches more than the X5, smooths out the highway ride. Interior head, leg and shoulder room are no more than an inch better for the X7. Rear legroom, often the measurement that most determines rear-seat comfort, rounds to 38 inches for both, fair-to-good for a full-size SUV, but almost 7 inches less than the decade-only Ford Flex. Put all but the front seats down and the X7 trumps the X5 on cargo space, 90 to 72 cubic feet. But with all the seats up, there is a puny 13 feet behind the X7’s third-row versus 33.9 for the X5.

Be sure to try the third row for comfort. I’d describe it this way: good headroom, decent legroom, seat too low to the floor (but that allows for decent headroom). If you want a comfortable third row, either go to something like a Ford Expedition that is 2 feet longer, or get a — gasp — minivan. In other words, the third row is okay but you might have expected a little more room. The third row does get its own sunroof.

BMW offers two V8 engines with 523 or 465 hp (X7 M50i, X7 xDrive50i) or or an inline six 335 hp (X7 xDrive 40i). Choose your 0-60 time: 4.5, 5.2, or 5.8 seconds 0-60 mph.

BMW X7 vs. Mercedes GLS and the Field

Lincoln Navigator.

Among full-size luxury/sport SUVs, they all do a good job wrapping you in leather seating surfaces and making the straight-line driving experience joyful. Take a look at the direct and wannabe competitors:

The US-flagged brands, for the most part, do not pretend to be SUV versions of the brands’ sport sedans. Most come in big and bigger editions, including the Cadillac Escalade (204 and 224 inches long) and Lincoln Navigator (210 and 222 inches long), with the ability to tow at least 7,900 pounds. They weigh 5,500-6,200 pounds and use body-on-frame rather than a weight-saving unibody construction. The Navigator is new for 2019 and gets high marks for luxury appointments (even in this class), straight-line acceleration, second- and third-row room, and highway ride thanks to wheelbases of 123 and 132 inches. (The new Lincoln Aviator is more X5-sized.)

The Chevrolet Suburban, Ford Expedition, and GMC Yukon (especially Denali trim line) can be considered luxury vehicles: You can easily get the price over $70K, twice the average of a new car. The unibody Buick Enclave (204 inches long) and new Cadillac XT6 (199 inches) are less bulky than the Escalade-Yukon. Some reviewers found the XT6 didn’t match the luxe feel of the equally new, and larger, Navigator.

The Audi Q7 at 199.6 inches is borderline full-size with a tasteful cockpit and excellent technology; it is more of an X5 competitor. The Audi Q8 is a fastback Q7 that is shorter despite the higher numbering, and more of a BMW X6 competitor. The Porsche Cayenne is a midsize model with only two rows, but it is a Porsche, which means handling and cachet (also a pricey options sheet).

There are also off-road-centric big SUVs such as the aging Toyota Land Cruiser living off the same design since the 2008 model year and the sibling Lexus LX, with V8 engines and snug third rows. The Land Cruiser has reliability and exclusivity on its side: US sales average just 3,000 a year (although global sales dating to 1951 just passed 10 million). These vehicles are not remotely BMW X7 / Mercedes GLS competitors except that if you buy one, it will probably be the only such vehicle in the prep school pickup lane, and exclusivity has value. Just remember: 15 mpg on a good day.

Acura’s biggest SUV, the MDX, is more of a midsize three-row SUV at 196 inches, it’s aging (the third generation dates to MY 2014) and the next-gen MDX arrives within the year, but it’s a solid value. The well-regarded Lexus RX 350 L is an even smaller, still midsize, three-row. From Korea, the new Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride are also midsize three-row SUVs and exceptionally well outfitted for the price, offer Level 2 self-driving, for less than $50K; they define “class above” SUVs. That reduces to one the significant Asian competitors: Infiniti, with the 210-inch QX80 featuring a roomy interior, good cargo capacity, and outstanding fit and finish; handling will not be as inspired as the X7’s.

The Land Rover Range Rover has evolved to a beautiful car inside with plenty of room (especially the $110K long-wheelbase model), and superb off-road and wading capabilities.

The 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLS is the closest competitor to the X7.

That leaves the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLS, now arriving at dealers. It offers six- or eight-cylinder engines and dual 12-inch dashboard displays (same as BMW), excellent handling and safety, and a starting price, like BMW, in the low- to mid-$70s, in part because so many desirable features are extra, such as the E-Active Body Control that scans the road ahead for bumps and continuously adjusts the adaptive suspension. A loaded V8 GLS 550 reaches $120,000 and the AMG version starts at $125K. Specs suggest the GLS will be more comfortable for passengers aft of the first row compared with the X7, and a look at the front end shows one of the few big SUVs that haven’t succumbed to the big-grille fetish.

What to choose? Right now, the 2019/2020 BMW X7 is the best premium big SUV you can buy. Most likely the X7 and GLS will separate themselves from the field for those whose criteria include great handling, a tasteful interior, good passenger room in all three rows, state-of-the-art driver-assist features including Level 2 autonomy, and comprehensive safety features to avoid, deal with, and reach out after accidents. Look at the Lincoln Navigator long-wheelbase if you need to carry three rows of people most of the time and you’re less concerned about spirited driving on country roads. Or about getting it in the garage at night.

Before you commit, take one last look at the X5. Unless you must have three seating rows or need 7,500 not 6,600 pounds of towing capacity, the X5 is a match for the X7 in interior spaciousness (first two rows), technology features, and engines. Either one, X7 or X5, is fine with the six-cylinder engine. Where the BMW X5 and X3 are the top SUVs in their categories, the X7 may wind up sharing the crown.

Now read:

2019 Range Rover Sport HSE P400e Hybrid Review: The Premier Off-Roader Conquers the HOV Lane

2019 BMW X5 SUV Review: Best All-Purpose Vehicle for Those With Means

2018 BMW X3 Review: the Best Compact Crossover Money Can Buy

from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/298217-2019-bmw-x7-review-the-best-big-suv-yet from Blogger http://componentplanet.blogspot.com/2019/09/2019-bmw-x7-review-best-big-suv-yet.html

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No one will care about 3rd gen APUs and the H-Series if AMD doesn't take drivers seriously...

[Crossposted from /r/amd]

So I've posted quite a bit about the issues with Ryzen Mobile as it seems that AMD still hasn't started distributing drivers for Ryzen Mobile, even after more than a year since release and the appearance of over 30 unique devices running on those amazing Raven Ridge Mobile APUs.

Here's a quick overview of what I've done to grab AMD's attention:

Tweet at AMD, AMDRyzen, AMDGaming, LisuSu and HPSupport

Most popular post about the issues

Post AMD recognized about the issues

Post on AMD Support Forums

As you can see, enough people are having these issues and care about them because otherwise I wouldn't be getting guilded and my posts wouldn't be on the frontpage of /r/amd for as long as they were. It seems that many, many people are having these issues, but only about 1% from what I've seen actually do anything about it. Most people just complain that their system doesn't work and either replace their system or live with the issues. That isn't the way to deal with anti-consumer brands as by ignoring their acts we basically tell them that whatever they're doing is fine and they can just keep on doing it. Posts like the ones I'll be referencing later and this by /u/brokemyacct one are what we need to shine light on not only the outstanding performance of these APUs, but also the overly frustrating issues associated with only these APUs and not even relevant for older A-Series chips.

I've also spent lots of time chatting with others that own Ryzen Mobile systems to clarify that this isn't an HP issue, so any of you who planned on downvoting this post and commenting that HP sucks at driver support can simmer down and remember that this post is about all the driver issues on Ryzen Mobile devices and not just those limited to HP systems.

Issues

Drivers

The latest drivers to be found for Ryzen Mobile on any website are those from the Windows Update Catalog dated to the 30. August 2018, and by downloading drivers from HP, Acer or any of the other major brands you usually get older drivers from July of this year, repackaged as drivers from August/September. The Radeon Software is outdated as well as version 17.7 is from July of last year and is very basic without much control over the CPU/GPU in games or programs. Even amazing features that have finally made it over to Raven Ridge Desktop haven't found their way to Mobile yet such as Radeon ReLive or the Radeon Overlay. Radeon ReLive luckily can be installed with a workaround, but it isn't what we want, because seemingly everything is possible with a workaround, such as installing newer drivers that aren't designed for the GPU but do work somewhat.

What's also interesting is that it seems downloading drivers from say Acer on to your HP device and then installing those with the workaround doesn't seem to make a difference at all. The stability barely changes, the performance too and usually features don't disappear or get added based on the OEM that distributed the driver, basically proving that OEMs don't even touch the drivers much and if they do, they all do the same changes like seemingly lower clocks as installing unofficial drivers (18.9.3 for example) on my system will give me higher clock speeds even without changing anything in the BIOS or power plan settings.

Now, I know that some people will and some people already have mentioned that Linux has great open-source drivers. I'm aware and I just want to say that this of course is a thread about the driver situation on Windows and I'm not interested in hearing about Linux every time I write something like this. I paid for Windows 10 Pro for a reason and that's because I want to use Windows 10 Pro, otherwise I could've ordered the FreeDOS variant of my device. I need Windows 10 Pro, want Windows 10 Pro and dislike Windows 10 Pro and there are many other reasons for not wanting to or not being capable to switch to Linux which is why this is an issue and switching to Linux isn't an answer.

Stability

Now all of that wouldn't be so bad if the systems at least ran stable. Especially the PRO variants found in devices like the HP EliteBook 755 G5 shine a terrible light on Ryzen Mobile because these devices (and the ThinkPad series) are marketed at enterprise users that require a little more GPU power than can be found in an Intel SoC and would be perfect for the use-case if it wasn't for their lackluster stability; from VLC crashing, Adobe Programs not recognizing the GPU all the way to the system showing multiple BSoDs an hour means that getting an Intel system is the better option for those who really need to get work done and can't upgrade to a 2'000+ CHF device. If GPU performance really matters, the only stable option is something like the EliteBook 1050 G1, Dell XPS 15 or a workstation for ridiculous amounts of money, which is terrible because not everyone (including myself) can afford a device like that.

Just from talking about these issues to other people I have found that a) I'm not the only one dealing with these issues and b) issues exist that I don't even have to deal with or others don't have to deal with:

Ridiculous TDP limits (post by /u/MinecraftAddict131 explaining the problem a little better)

VLC crashing in DX11 mode, not in OpenGL or other modes (comment /u/WillingMagic confirming that this isn't an HP-only issue, GIF displaying the issue)

Adobe Programs not recognizing the GPU and thus I'm forced to use the software renderer (used to recognize it in the beginning, image to display the issue)

Blender3D not recognizing the GPU (used to recognize it in the beginning as was Adobe Premiere Pro)

DX11 (and other) games not allowing to change the resolution, sometimes even with stock drivers (comment/u/MynnyD confirming that this happens on his Lenovo ThinkPad E485 with any non-OEM drivers)

Weird screen flickering when Vari-Bright is enabled (GIF to display the issue)

Framedrops in games when Chill and Target Framerate Control are enabled

Random crashing with BSODs often resulting in data loss (image displaying the issue)

Crashing when installing workaround drivers (image displaying the issue)

Can't change screen brightness with the F3/F4 keys, no option in the battery quick menu, have to go to the energy settings

The sad part about these issues is that clearly most of them are driver/software related meaning that with some simple BIOS and driver patches these issues could be resolved, possibly bringing these APUs back into the regular consumers' eyes and keeping people optimistic about the future APUs to be released. Already with the A-Series APUs AMD kind of messed up, even though even those are getting driver support, and I should know, because the EliteBook I'm currently writing this post on was supposed to replace my notebook with an A10 APU and R5 dGPU which is still getting driver updates!

/u/BadReligion even went as far as to contacting an HP Rep only to be disappointed by the fact that these HP employees like to point fingers at AMD when AMD points fingers at the OEMs for not updating the drivers as they should.

Especially the BSODs are annoying because of how common they are and usually result in data loss which means that I'm constantly saving files instead of focusing on writing them. As a programmer, spamming CTRL + S isn't as bad, but it's really freaking annoying to do this in literally every program and even on Reddit I've started using drafts.

Another interesting, and sad, thing is that most tech reviewers and tech journalists don't write about these issues even though some of them should know about these. Now either it means that they don't test enough or they're being paid to STFU, which sucks. The only reviewer I could find mention the issues is Solid State Tech that didn't a long-term real world review of the Envy x360 and mentions the issues in the middle of his video, but nothing to be found in the title or description about the issues. If reviewers and journalists would make people aware of the issues, less people would buy a product they don't want and AMD would get their shit together way quicker.

Performance

In addition to the lack of stability on some systems, it's clear that OEMs are "nerfing" the devices as I've done a lot of testing as well as others have to figure out pretty quickly that by simply installing "incompatible"/unofficial drivers like 18.10.1 can yield in major performance gains as this comment by /u/WillingMagic displays really well where someone benched his system with different drivers and also confirmed that his system is having issues with VLC even though he owns an Asus.

/u/MinecraftAddict131 also put in a lot of work to finding out that his Huawei Matebook - which I might add has one of the best implementation of Ryzen Mobile - could perform way better if it wasn't for these crippling factors that even Huawei implemented into their otherwise great system as he watercooled his device and explained in this post that removing the limits would give him way better (and expected) performance. He already went about bricking his system because of how "desperate" he is and I really think it's impressive how much work and trust people put into these AMD systems when all AMD - and the OEMs - do is disappoint us at seemingly every turn.

There are many others posts that display the issue and how unofficial drivers result in way better performance across all Ryzen Mobile systems such as this one from /u/bobzdar. Also /u/BadReligion (TechEpiphany) made some videos comparing the performance of the different drivers showing extremely well that drivers that aren't even designed for Vega Mobile perform better than those distributed by OEMs:

Ryzen 7 2700 Review PUBG *new drivers!* awesome performance

AMD Ryzen 5 2500U driver comparison. 17.7 "Official" vs. 18.1.1 Wolfenstein II

Far Cry 5 Ryzen 5 2500U Vega 8 "18.3.4" Driver Gameplay Benchmark iGPU

Request

Now, I've seen /u/AMDOfficial's reponse to mainly my posts and it seems that they're just trying to pull some PR bullshit by saying that they will "enable OEMs" to update their drivers twice a year. This sounds like the complete opposite of what we wanted as the first thing we wanted was more updates and secondly for those two come directly from AMD but with their statement they basically said that we'll be stuck with twice-annual updates that are as buggy as they are now and that AMD doesn't give enough shits to distribute the reference drivers (that exist FFS!) on their website or they're being limited by some clause.

So, for you AMD PR people that seemingly can't read, here's what we want. Separated by line breaks to make it as easy as possible to read and bold in case you have a vision problem:

Drivers for Ryzen Mobile coming straight from your website.

Drivers for Ryzen Mobile as part of your regular driver packs.

Future driver support for Ryzen Mobile (2-3 years at least!).

Ryzen Master for Ryzen Mobile.

More control over our hardware with Ryzen Master for Mobile.

Drivers from the OEMs for those who want "optimized" drivers.

Future

The point I want to bring over with this post is that if AMD doesn't take drivers seriously, no one will care how good the hardware of the upcoming (leaked) H-Series processors and 3rd gen Ryzen Mobile APUs will be if they don't update the current-gen's drivers. Ryzen Mobile was the same story, the very first laptop I remember seeing with Ryzen Mobile was the Lenovo IdeaPad and just seeing the Vega badge gave me a little hard-on. Then the first benchmarks rolled out and even though everyone knew that the idiots at Lenovo made a bunch of mistakes, those Vega iGPUs kicked intel's ass into the future and showed that an iGPU could keep up with current-gen dGPUs.

But in the end of the day, people still buy intel/nVidia systems even if they cost more and intel and nVidia are less pro-consumers because those systems just work and in terms of drivers intel and nVidia are actually more pro-consumer than AMD is.

The only thing AMD is doing that's really pro-consumer is making "pro" hardware available for the masses and not hiding products like Vega and Threadripper behind "pro" paywalls. And it does seem that their taking notice of what's going on with their recently made post and as this post shows, it seems that they have done some kind of "silent update" and quite possibly are working on Raven Ridge Mobile drivers meaning that there's a chance for us believers.

Update

It seems that AMD does read these posts as they responded to one of mine and made a thread about it that got massively upvoted, which is really sad because all in all they simply said that they don't care about their consumers and will make our situation worse by only enabling OEMs to release drivers every 6 months instead of every 3 months which is currently technically the case. You people need to understand that we don't want them to simply listen, we want to see change and we want to see drivers. Not some wimpy PR guy behind his desk trying to sooth us down. With their statement they also made it fairly clear that they don't plan on updating the drivers themselves and will just let the OEMs do whatever they want. Obviously I responded to that thread and the comment under my thread with an aggressive and a less aggressive response.

Also, my mainboard was replaced today, and as expected, nothing changed. VLC still crashes, the Radeon Settings are still outdated (obviously) and Adobe Programs still don't recognize my GPU for hardware acceleration. I haven't had a chance to check Blender3D or games yet, but this is enough to prove that we're dealing with driver issues, which is what I'll be telling the HP Support to make sure we either get new drivers (which won't happen) or I get a new system that works for free. It can't be that after all this time investment I still can't get my work done, which is important unlike the issues some are having with games which might be aggravating, but not vital.

Question

What drivers are you Ryzen Mobile users using and how's your experience with them been? I'm currently using the newest available from Windows Update which is dated to the 30.08.2018 which is honestly just... meh. Obviously it's more stable than those from AMD (18.10.2 etc.) which is why I'm using them, but the performance is lackluster and features like Adobe Mercury Render Engine - Hardware Acceleration don't work which is something I'm really pissed off about because it was one of my main requirements for my new laptop: HW acceleration, but now after the repair still isn't working and going to waste more of my time trying to convince HP that I need better drivers or a different device.

EDIT: Added paragraph about Linux not being an option for many of us even if the drivers are better, because it simply isn't the right solution for the most of us!

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Hotel California Ch 12, You Can Check Out Anytime you like

A/N: The hits keep coming...my wife is in the hospital and probably will be the rest of the week. This will probably be the only thing I update this week. As long as she doesn't have to have surgery, I should be able to post at least three next week to try and make up. Sorry. If I have a chance in a few days, I'll get the next chapter of this one up. It's been a heck of a few months around my house.

A/N 2: Hey, welcome back. I fear our stay at the hotel is coming to a close. I'm not for sure if the next chapter is the last or the one after that will be. This one is a little shorter, I'm dealing with some issues from the wreck I wasn't expecting but I wanted to get some things on paper heading into the home stretch.

We have a few things to clean up, take care of, *ahem*, tuck in. I'd like to warn you I use some language in this one I never have, but frankly, when I got there, I knew of nothing else to say but what was said.

Welcome to Hotel California Ch 12, You Can Check Out Anytime You Want

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, and admit it, you kinda like the 50s slang thing that made it's way into this fic(it was not pre-planned, I swear)

He was snapping the cufflinks on his coat. He hated wearing this tux, but it was for the hotel, it was for work, and it did make Sarah very happy, and that's all he was really worried about. She walked out of the bathroom and he turned toward her, fighting to keep his mouth off of the ground. She was wearing a black strapless dress. She was stunning, absolutely stunning.

"Wow," she said softly. "Aren't you the cat's pajamas?"

"Going for your own thing there, Missy?" she grinned at him and began to straighten his already straight suit. "You do know that I know everything on me is wrinkle-free?"

"Mmmhmm, I do my best," she hummed.

Chuck blushed. "So you're just touching me because you want to?" She gave him a look of pure innocence. "I just want everything to be straight, Chuck."

"Woman," he said low, his eyes darkening. She smirked.

"Bartowski, you used to be this easy-going guy but you've become a little more," she cut off with a gasp as he grabbed her gently and pulled her toward him, "handsy," she said breathlessly.

"Well," he said his breath hot on her lips millimeters from his. "I apologize."

"Oh, don't." Her grin was huge. "So, I can't believe I'm about to do this, but we need to talk."

"Oh, you're being the cube."

"I need you to not do that right now."

"You do know I don't deliberately do that, it's just being around you makes my brain go mushy."

"Same, except it's other parts of my body," She replied. Chuck reddened more. "You're too easy." Chuck shrugged. Sarah threw back her head and laughed. She let go of him and tried to fan her face and not laugh too hard; she'd start crying and ruin her makeup. When she got control of herself, Chuck stepped in front of her, looking nervous, a box in his hand. She gave him a questioning look.

"So, this has been the weirdest month, and frankly the last two weeks have been crazy and amazing. I am in love with you. I didn't think that was possible, but it is, even if it shouldn't be." He took a deep breath and grinned at her amused smile. "I got you something for Christmas but I was too scared to give it to you because I thought it was too much, but then….whew!….then you gave me the key, and I got overwhelmed."

A worried look crossed her face. "Are we going too fast?" Chuck's head was shaking no almost as soon as she started talking.

"No, Sarah, no. My emotions...feelings so deep, so fast...I just wasn't prepared for everything, and then Bryce showed up-"

"You knew?!"

Chuck grinned at her. "The ole go to their window, be drunk, and tell them how great we could be together, typical Stanford move." Sarah rolled her eyes, HARD. "But I was scared. I want you to have something. It's my family's." He held the box out to her. She opened it and saw it was a bracelet.

"Chuck," her eyes shone up at him. "Is this your mom's?"

He swallowed and nodded. He looked into her eyes, the pooling tears. "Yeah, it's my Mom's charm bracelet."

Sarah held her wrist out. Ever-so-softly, she pleaded, "Please, put it on me."

"Sarah, it doesn't go with that dress, it's not fancy enough."

"Well, it's the fanciest dress I have." Chuck started to speak and she shook her head. "Chuck Bartowski I will wear this charm bracelet where I damn well please and I damn well please to wear it right now." Her voice softened again. "It goes perfectly with my heart."

Chuck blinked and swallowed hard, trying to find his voice."Yes, ma'am." Chuck put the bracelet on her wrist. He stepped back as she turned it from one side to the other in wonder. "I hope you like it."

"I do!" She stepped forward and kissed him on the lips. The kiss told him she really did.

"Now, don't flip your wig." He stopped and rolled his eyes at himself. HARD.

She breathed out a sigh."Trying to seduce me, Bartowski? That's some fancy lingo. Some...cunning lingo. Almost a tongue-twister. You're working awfully hard."

"Well, I would, but we're late. And I can't help it, I'm just a silver-tongued devil." She grabbed his hand and was dragging him down the stairs. "Hey, I thought we needed to talk."

"Later!"

-ooooo-

It had been a long evening of mingling and doing the social thing. Sarah wasn't a social butterfly, but each time she had to talk to someone, there was Chuck to help her, be her backup, and sometimes, in relief, she just turned things over to him. He was amazing. He took care of her, protected her, and as she looked down at the bracelet she knew that talk she mentioned earlier had to happen. There was no getting away from it.

"Hey," she heard behind her. She spun and Chuck was there holding two champagne flutes. "Wanna sneak outside away from all of this for the countdown?"

"Chuck, no one is allowed out there." She was trying to sound like she was admonishing him, but the grin on her face told him otherwise.

He was grinning at her and she knew she was missing something. He handed her a flute that then he reached into his pocket to pull out his cellphone. "It's locked by a computer program." He was waggling his cellphone and she couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Come on, please."

"Bartowski," she replied a little breathlessly. "Don't you know by now I'd go anywhere with you?" The smile on his face could have lit up all of Los Angeles. She followed him to a door marked "Employees Only" and they entered it. They were giggling like teenagers. As he used his phone to unlock the door, Sarah realized how perfect this was. This night, this past week, this minute, and they all had one thing in common, Chuck Bartowski. He perfected them all.

They stepped out into the clear night sky, alone. Sarah knew it was time. She looked out over the city and then turned to him. "I need to stay some stuff and I need you not to freak out."

He gave her a smile that started small but grew until it made his nose crinkle. "That's kinda my thing."

She tried to give him flat look but it was pointless. "Move in with me."

Chuck looked confused. "Uh, you gave me a key less than a week ago, did you forget?"

She gave him and amused smile and tilted her head. "No, I didn't. I didn't forget at all." She saw Chuck's lip twitch. "You…" she slapped him on the shoulder. "You knew exactly what I meant!"

"Mayyyybbbee." She narrowed her eyes and he held his hands up. "I was trying to think of something to say so I didn't blow my cool by being all, OH, HELL, YEAH!" She began to smile. "Huh, may have blown it anyway."

She grinned salaciously. "Chuck, let's be real, if you were gonna run me off it would have been weeks ago."

"I thought I did."

Well, that sobered things up. She looked out over the city and then back at him. "Chuck, you made me feel things, you scared me. So I acted…"

"Crazy? Insane. Goofy as a pet coon."

She blinked a few times. "Do you know anyone with a pet coon?"

"No, but I'm sure it wouldn't take a lot of looking. This is LA." She threw her head back and laughed. "You want me to live with you, as a couple, together, all the time?"

"Yeah. That is exactly what I want."

"You know Ellie's going to explode, right?"

"I have super-duty ear plugs for both of us." They heard the New Year countdown begin.

"I love you, Sarah Walker. Yes, always yes."

"I love you, Chuck Bartowski." As the countdown reached zero the two kissed and realized that this year was going to be them, together. Theirs. The Year of Chuck and Sarah.

-ooooo-

It was four weeks later when the fairytale crashed….literally.

Everything had been great between Chuck and Sarah. Ellie and Devon had come over a few times for dinner. Ellie and Sarah were becoming extremely close, and Ellie was on the verge of exploding every time she saw the two of them together. On that last morning of January, Sarah had a doctor's appointment, so they took separate vehicles to work rather than riding together as usual.

It was getting later in the day, and Chuck had been busy helping Skip corral a new virus. They were in out in front of it, it was just going to take time. Skip had it under control and Chuck was scouring the system for anything they might have missed. It was over an hour later than when Sarah thought she'd return, but that was not that unusual, doctor's appointments, traffic, it could be another hour. That was when Chuck's phone rang.

"Hey Ellie," he answered seeing the ID.

"Chuck." Her tone…Chuck sat up straight in his chair. "Chuck, Sarah's has been in a car accident."

"WHAT?!"

"She's okay, but she's got some busted up ribs, and she might have issues with her hip."

"Okay, I'm on my way." He hung up, told Skip where he was going, when he crashed into Bryce coming downstairs.

"Hey, Chuckster, where's the fire?"

"Bryce, Sarah's been in a car wreck."

Bryce nodded like he had told him the weather. "That's terrible. When you see her tonight, you tell her that I said I hope she's better."

"Dude, I'm going now. That is my girlfriend, the woman I love, live with, in the hospital. I have to go see her, now." He began to walk past, when Bryce grabbed his arm. Chuck paused and looked down at Bryce's hand. "Bryce, I don't have time for your games."

"You're not going anywhere, you have a virus to take care of and you're the head of IT."

"Bryce, I'm going to the hospital now."

He started toward the steps when Bryce's voice shot out. "You leave, you're fired."

Chuck stopped and Bryce smiled. Checkmate, Bryce thought. What Bryce didn't realize was Chuck had reached the limit. Stealing the project at Stanford, getting him kicked out of Stanford, sleeping with Jill, the no-dating rule, and just Bryce being Bryce Larkin. Chuck turned toward him and looked him square in the eye.

"Fuck off, Bryce." Bryce's eyes went wide as Chuck rushed out of the room. Bryce never noticed Skip recording the entire encounter.

-ooooo-

Ellie was doing her best to keep her brother calm but Chuck Bartowski worried about Sarah Walker sent Chuck into a place she had never seen. "She's asleep, will you calm down? She's going to be fine, she's just banged up."

He ran his hand through his hair and stared at her, asleep. He hoped that's all it was. What if she had lost her memory and didn't know who he was? "Sis, are you sure, is there something you're not telling me?"

Sarah had heard their conversation for a few minutes. She loved her Chuck, she really did, and she knew when they started this his concern for her was going to be a bit much, but this was ridiculous….and a lot adorable. She felt her fingers laced through his. His palms sweaty from nerves. He was worried about her, she knew, and she had to do something or he was going to freak out all over the place.

"What she isn't telling you," she croaked. She had been dozing the last little bit from the pain medicine. "Is I can't wear the lacy gauzy things for a while because my leg and hip hurts. But don't you worry, cowboy, I'll be able to soon."

He kissed her hand, wrapped around his. "I don't care if you ever wear them again. Do you understand?"

Uh oh. She opened her eyes and looked into those brown pools of life. They were full of fear, worry, and intense love. It was almost too much, being loved like that. Almost, but not. She loved him the same way, she knew..

"Hey, I'm fine. I don't think the car is gonna make it."

Chuck gave her a flat look. "I could care less."

She smirked at him. "Of course, because it's my car."

"You can have mine." There was no hesitation in his voice. She gave him an amused smile.

"Like he needs it now," she heard Ellie mumble. Chuck gave her a look. Ellie rolled her eyes and started out of the room. "If he gets to be too much tell me, and I'll have him sedated."

"Ellie, if you don't mind, I'm keeping him." Ellie started to say something and Sarah grinned. "I've made up my mind." Ellie laughed and left. Sarah turned to Chuck.

"Mind carpooling with me for a while?" Chuck squeezed her hand. "In fact I'll even let you drive."

"But once your medically cleared, no more, right?" he asked with a grin. Sarah shrugged. "Whatever you need." Sarah nodded. She saw something past him, out in the hall. She watched but never betrayed herself with facial expressions.

"What I need is for you to go get something to eat, because I know you, Chuck." He nodded.

"Can I bring you anything?"

"No, unless you can get Morgan to smuggle me a pizza in here. Hey, lighten up. I'm okay. Hip is just sore, nothing broken." She winked at him. "It will be good as new quick."

"Sarah, you take as long as-"

"Bartowski, I said it will be good as new quick and I meant it will be good as new quick. Now go get something to eat. I can't have you passing out from lack of nutrients when I get up and limber." Chuck fled.

-ooooo-

Chuck reentered Sarah's room a little while later, something tickled his nose….a perfume he knew. It wasn't Sarah's it wasn't Ellie's but it was someone he knew. He just couldn't place it. He quickly pushed those thoughts out of his mind when he saw her. She was sitting up, watching TV, when he came in. She gave him a welcome-smirk.

"So, Chuck? What the hell did that exchange with Ellie mean? Anything happen at work today I should know about?" Chuck shifted in his seat, her eyes boring into him. "Chuck, for our relationship to work, we have to be honest, we have to tell the truth, otherwise…"

That pause sounded ominous. "Otherwise, what?"

"You know all those lacy, gauzy, thingys?" Chuck nodded, his mind drifting in the land of Sarah and lace and gauze and...

"Sarah, I'm not sure we should be having this conversation, you know, in your condition, and also my sister is nearby and could drop in at anytime."

"Chuck." She said softly, but intensely. He nodded. "I'll keep wearing them, but never take them off or let them be taken off, except to shower, and only by myself, with no one else around." Chuck gulped. "Do you understand how serious I am? How miserable you will be?" She paused. "How miserable I will be?" He nodded. "Chuck, no secrets, no lies."

"I told Bryce off." Sarah raised an eyebrow. She picked up her cellphone and played the video for him. "I like how his mouth drops at the end." She laughed carefully, trying not to hurt her ribs.

"Zondra and Carina both have talked to me, in fact you just missed Carina."

"Ah-ha! You had help." Sarah gave him a flat look. "And you never should have heard it from them, you should have heard it from me." She grinned and nodded.

"You're not fired, and you have a ton of sick days you're taking to help me around the house until I become more mobile." Chuck nodded. "Zondra has talked to the Larkins." Chuck sat forward in his chair. "They saw the video and were horrified. It's time to begin the Get Rid of Bryce plan, and Carina has an idea."

"One question, does it involve furry porn?"

Sarah threw back her head and laughed. Chuck was smiling at her, and in her heart, she knew. She knew what she had to do, and she would. Just as soon as she took care of Bryce Larkin and taught him not to mess with her man. No one was going to mess with her Chuck ever again.

A/N: Next, the take down you've been waiting for. And what other plans does Miss Sarah Walker have up her sleeve? Come on back, next time to the Finale, Ch 13, But You Can Never Leave.

"You make me crazy, you make me do these crazy things, say these crazy things. Do you think I've ever discussed dreams with anyone else?" Chuck got a goofy grin on his face. "I love that your brain reboots over me, I love that you made a joke about you making the safe word 'Chuck' to protect me, but I use it against you."

Hope you enjoyed it….Take Care…Reviews and PM are welcomed and always appreciated.

DC

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Personal computer Workstations Lighting

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29.6.17

I went in to work at 2, greeted by a slightly worried-looking Peter; turns out GIF - an updated C&C operating system that was made to replace the current one, not those jerky fit-inducing flash animations - dropped today, without so much as a‘how do you do’. It had been first mentioned a good while ago (even as far as last year I think), but there were some issues which meant we stuck with the old system.

However, it is now finally here, and, well...it’s okay I guess. Hard to say after one shift and a ten-minute crash course; I went out with someone who was there for the day to help us into the transition, and I picked simply enough. GIF includes pictures,although I am so used to recognising the items by name, that this was actually a little unsettling at first. No doubt this feature will come in handy, though. There are some parts which are made easier, but also some that seem needlessly more finicky. That sort of thing greatly irritates me, because surely the whole purpose of any update is make things easier?! It will take some getting used to, for sure, and I hope after a while it won’t even cross my mind how ambivalent I was towards it at first. It does at least look like something that would be used in this century, as opposed to the Windows-95-inspired look of its predecessor.

I wrote at the start of the month that my work target was to improve my figures in the mysterious‘pick rate’ column, but it quickly became apparent that no matter what I tried, nothing had a noticeable impact upon it. Thus, I quickly turned my attention to improving my pick speed, which is the bread-and-butter statistic anyway. That is what you see in the picture - normally, I can just log on to our work page and it will tell me, but as I picked up the habit of checking these figures almost every day, I noticed that for some strange reason, the total for the month was incorrect, and it omitted certain days from the tally. But, this allowed me to stretch the mathematical side of my brain, and work it all out for myself (which I did quite enjoy doing!).

And, I am pleased to report that after reaching 140 in May, I outdid myself, and amassed a whopping 177 in June! A keen observer will note that I have one more shift this month, and that I could not possibly have acquired today’s statistics - I have magnanimously decided to disregard them in the final tally, given that GIF has kicked in and is causing all sorts of chaos. Regardless, I think that’s a bluddy good total, even though my pick rate stayed exactly the same! Additionally, it seems that some people have noticed this too; Pete has - once or twice - been seemingly flabbergasted by my numbers, and when Shelley came for a look one Sunday morning, she was very impressed at what I’d achieved. I’m not really sure how to react to this, as I’m normally a modest individual (not sure how modest I appear on here sometimes), and because it’s literally how fast I work every day - admittedly faster than anyone else in the team - but I know it can only be a good thing that some important persons are seeing this.

*cough* raise, boss? *cough*

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New Post has been published on Vin Zite

New Post has been published on https://vinzite.com/batman-arkham-city-3d-review/

Batman: Arkham City 3D Review

3D saves a PC game plagued with bugs and a missing DX11.

Chances are you know who Batman is. If not, he’s this dude who wears tights and likes to swing around tall buildings. Not to be confused with Spiderman, who also wears tights and likes to swing around tall buildings. Chances are you have also played Batman: Arkham Asylum and know the score. If not, Batman Arkham Asylum is a third-person action-adventure game based on that Batman guy. Batman: Arkham Asylum was developed by Rocksteady Studios and was released in 2009. It was a good year to be a Bat, and the game was met with rave reviews and its fair share of awards.

Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to the successful Arkham Asylum. Arkham City is a maximum security prison for the nastiest criminals that Gotham City has to offer. As chance would have it, Bruce Wayne gets his ass tossed into Arkham City for opposing the new prison’s existence, and is forced to go all “Escape from New York”. Within moments, Bruce manages to score his crime-fighting equipment and become his alter ego, Batman. We all watch TV, anything can be got in prison if you know the right people. I don’t want to get all nuts with spoilers, so let’s sum up the story by saying that Catwoman drops in, Batman runs into an old flame, fails to get laid, Robin makes a brief appearance and Alfred is only a radio signal away. On “team naughty”, Batman bumps into a load of our favorite baddies, including Harley Quinn (damn, she’s annoying), Two-Face, Mr. Freeze (possibly the toughest boss fight of the game), The Joker, Penguin, Hugo Strange, Poison Ivy, Clayface and plenty more crazies.

Batman: Arkham City is a single-player game with the main storyline which sees Batman seeking a cure to a disease which could wipe out a superhero or two. In addition to the main story, you will regularly unlock side missions, which can either be completed right away or put aside for later. The side missions are just as good as those that are included in the main story, which makes for a lot of awesome added gameplay. In addition to the side missions, you’ve got the Riddler to contend with. Cataloging and collecting Riddler’s trophies is an addictive game within the game. Then there are the challenge maps, which make for some excellent mindless melee fun. Challenge maps are unlocked as you play through the game, and more are available in DLCs. There are three funky flavors to hone your Bat-skills with, including ranked leaderboard combat, timed campaigns, and custom rules.

Technical

In Arkham City, there is always a superhero around when people need one, in real life, there certainly was no superhero around to help me gain access to the game. First, you enter your key on Steam, then you enter your key for SecuRom (if you’re lucky it accepts it the first time; I was not lucky), then you have to tie it all together with Games for Windows Live. GFWL was the primary bottleneck. I spent an hour trying to log in to GFWL as it gave me some song and dance about needing to update. Like really, what’s the point of this kind of layering? The games are going to get pirated all the same, and according to many, the reason the PC version of Arkham City was delayed was so that they could maximize sales from the console versions first.

When Batman: Arkham City has released just over two weeks ago, PC gamers were disappointed to find out that DX 11 was buggered. Upon launch, Rocksteady immediately recommended DX 9, as reports of DX 11 performance issues began making the rounds. People wondered how something like this, a selling point like DX 11, could have made it through testing and out the door for launch. It took a couple of weeks, but a DX 11 patch was finally released. The outcome was not really worth the wait, and many are still plagued with low FPS and game-breaking bugs. I consider myself one of the lucky, as I only spent about four hours dealing with crashes and bugs that would not allow me to proceed further in the game.

Arkham City comes with a built-in benchmark tool, so using both that and Fraps I grabbed some quick stats to share. Right before publishing this review a patch was released for Batman: Arkham City, which in part addresses the DX 11 issues. Running Alienware M17x laptop /w NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M and 6GB RAM / 3D Vision (not 3D Vision 2), at 1920 x 1080. Both DX 9 and DX 11 were run with all settings max, including detail level, tessellation, and PhysX.

The DX 11 patch seems to be hit and miss. For many people, it solved the issue of poor frames while running DX 11. For others, it buggered things up even more. For me, the patch DID improve FPS in DX 11, but oddly lowered frames with DX 9. Go figure.

On my system, the best settings for performance and aesthetics are DirectX 11 (very high) and PhysX set to “Normal”, this works out perfectly both with and without 3D Vision enabled.

Combat

Combat in Arkham City is ridiculous, while also being ridiculously fun. Here’s the ridiculous bit… there were very few times during the game that I needed any sort of strategy in order to win an encounter. A couple of bosses had an attack pattern that had to be learned in order to defeat them, but outside of that, you can literally finish the game by repeatedly hitting your left mouse button. In fact, I broke a mouse playing Arkham City. Yup, button-mashed it to death. While using special attacks makes combat more fun, it isn’t actually necessary. Now for the ridiculously fun part… combat is an absolute joy to watch, and even if you don’t have mad take-down skills, the simple act of punching, kicking and evading is wicked fun. That said, if you want to kick ass on the challenge maps then you’ll need a bit more than button-mashing. The challenge maps are slightly more skill-based and if you want to rank then you’ll have to use combos and special moves.

Sometimes I thought I preferred combat while playing as Catwoman because she’s mean, lean and fast as hell. But after a while, I’d sort of start missing the Bat. Both characters have their own missions, skills, and gadgets, but the character I really would have liked to play is Robin. While the Robin Bundle DLC will allow you to play the Boy Wonder, you will only be able to do so on challenge maps. I’d rather be able to play him inside missions like you can with Catwoman. Sadly, Robin’s appearance in the game was very brief, and although he was looking buff, tough and not at all like the Robin we all grew up with, Batman simply bitched him out and told him to piss off. So that was that.

NVIDIA 3D Vision

One of my first experiences with 3D was seeing Friday The 13th Part 3 in 3D. I walked five miles through the snow with no shoes to see it at the theater. It was crap, but exciting at the same time, and it was the best we had. For the next quarter century, I would associate 3D with eye strain and headaches. Whenever I post about 3D Vision on VE3D the post is met with comments like “I’m too old for 3D, I don’t need the eye strain” or “3D gives me headaches”. Exactly the things that I had always associated with it. Well, Toto, it looks like we’re not in Kansas anymore! This ain’t grandma’s 3D. I’ll admit that I’ve reached the age where reading glasses come in handy. I didn’t have much interest in 3D. Mostly I was afraid to try it because I thought my head would explode. I guess I had read into the old school hype a bit too much. But I survived 3D, and am loving every second of it. Eye of the tiger baby, an eye of the tiger. Plus I look cool in the glasses.

Since I just recently began gaming in 3D, my experiences are limited. What I have noticed so far is that 3D Vision adds an extra layer of realism to games. 3D games come alive, giving you a greater feeling of actually being there. In Batman: Arkham City this is especially true, particularly when grappling around the city and using gadgets. Even cut scenes are great in 3D. All of the villains in Arkham City look amazing and force you to keep watching, even if you don’t normally enjoy cut scenes. Graphics look sharper, and cleaner and flaws that you would see while out of 3D tend to get smoothed over. If I was to slap a number on Batman: Arkham City without 3D Vision, the game would land a 7/10 (70%). While Arkham City is a truly entertaining trip through the gutters of Gotham, the bugs and the graphic issues that the game shipped with are not acceptable. Waiting over two weeks for a half-assed patch is also not acceptable.

Because 3DV enhanced my Arkham City experience, Batman: Arkham City 3D is a 9/10 (90%), and worth its weight in guano.

What I Liked:

Gloom and doom atmosphere makes for some very immersive gameplay.

The story is actually interesting, you’ll want to watch the cutscenes.

Both Batman and Catwoman show wear and tear in their costumes as the game go on.

Catwoman side-missions, it was fun to take a break from Batman and spend some time crawling on ceilings.

Challenge maps are a good workout and a nice change of pace, actually requiring some combat skill.

Voice acting is great.

I can’t wait to get back in and collect more Riddler trophies.

Arkham City is totally engrossing, and the experience is even further enhanced when playing in 3D.

What I Didn’t Like:

A three-layer activation process.

No side-missions for Robin.

Getting stuck to my Batarang on a block of ice for two hours.

Spending another two hours trying to figure out why I couldn’t dive-bomb.

I would have loved to see Arkham City in the daylight.

A little too much traveling back and forth across the city.

Combat, while fun to watch, requires no skill.

Crashing during the closing cinematic.

Finishing the game before a DX 11 patch was released.

Trying to find a good tutorial on 3DV video rendering.

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