TallGuyJohninBKK

Is there a free, obtainable version of that kind of software that I could use for the purpose? That's pretty much what I had in mind at the outset. I knew such software exists... I just didn't know where/what.

FWIW, just coincidental to this news, I was back in the U.S. recently, and stopped by Walmart to buy their new version on the Onn TV 4K streaming box with Google's new Google TV interface (Android OS 12). Retail price $20 U.S., and an official Google OS device with the official Netflix app as well. Brought it back home here, set it up, and have been using it the past couple weeks, and it works perfectly fine for streaming, just as well as Amazon's Fire TV sticks. But the Onn TV device, unlike recent Fire TV devices, has the advantage of easily being able to install a custom launcher that hides all the manufacturer bloatware and self-promotion. https://www.walmart.com/ip/onn-Google-TV-4K-Streaming-Box/2835618394?wmlspartner=wlpa& 4K UHD resolution TV streaming 2 GB RAM with 8 GB Storage WiFi: 2.4/5GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac MIMO Compatible with Google Assistant CPU: Quad-core Cortex-A35, GPU: Mali-G31 MP2 Dolby Audio Fast WiFi Input: AC 100-240V, 50/60Hz, 250mA max; Output: DC 5V/1A Google TV OS - easily setup with your Google account The prior version of the Onn TV 4K box, which was the Android TV instead of the newer Google TV version, was resold here on Lazada in the past. But I haven't checked lately to see whether any of the Lazada resellers now are offering the newer, just released version of the Onn TV device. I have nothing personal against the two Chinese ATV device makers discussed in the OP news report...and those brands certainly are popular here... But when you can have an official, certified 4K Google TV streaming device for $20, the case for buying Chinese, non Google certified hardware gets tougher.

You don't HAVE to.... But if you want to be sure no one can access your former data in the future, that's one way to be sure. I think some non-techie folks assume that when they delete files in Windows that those files are permanently and irretrievably gone... And unfortunately, that's simply not the case.

From what I've understood in the past, to do the job completely, you need some kind of program that 100% overwrites ALL the space on the hard disk with new Xs and Os....as opposed to just erasing/reformating the disk.

A basic Windows reformat does erase the data...but not necessarily permanently. It can be recovered, AFAIK, just as Mickeymaus said.

Even if you do the full-blown reformat? Not just the quickie reformat that just does a surface wipe.... PS - I guess my thinking was, this being Thailand, after I leave out the laptops, someone might want to actually end up using them. They are functional, just are very old and have some minor issues....That's why I wasn't inclined to just take a bat to them.... I was hoping for a way to leave the laptops intact and functional, but at the same time, ensure that my prior data stored on their hard disks is totally unavailable to anyone no matter how smart their PC skills.

So no one who might end up with the laptops after I've tossed them would be able to attempt to restore any files that previously were on the hard drives... Surface deleting files on a PC doesn't really erase them permanently. It merely changing the file info on the files so they're not readable by Windows... But that process can be undone by anyone with a bit of PC smarts, if they wanted to do so. Unless you physically disable the disk as suggested above, or really do a full and complete reformat of the disk.

"Google was in the news for all the wrong reasons last week, despite not bearing much (if any) responsibility for the trouble. The issue began when streaming devices using Android TV code and manufactured in China were found to be sold preloaded with malware that could be used to launch cyber attacks. Device manufacturers AllWinner and RockChip were the two companies whose devices were demonstrably infected, but there may be others as well. These corrupted devices are not powered by the official Android TV operating system, which is licensed by Google. But thanks to the Android Open Source Project, the makers of these streaming players can build an interface using some Android TV code, and create unlicensed versions of Google apps and the Play Store so that customers think they are getting the real deal." (more) https://thestreamable.com/news/google-acknowledges-issues-with-malware-infested-android-tv-devices-offers-tips-to-avoid-danger Popular Android TV boxes sold on Amazon are laced with malware "AllWinner and RockChip might not be household names, but the two China-based companies power several wildly popular Android TV boxes that are sold on Amazon. These Android-powered television set-top boxes are typically cheap and are highly customizable, packing several streaming services into a single device, rather than buying separate hardware. Their listings on Amazon boast four-out-of-five star ratings and collectively racked up thousands of praiseworthy reviews. But security researchers say the models are sold preloaded with malware capable of launching coordinated cyberattacks." (more) https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/18/popular-android-tv-boxes-sold-on-amazon-are-laced-with-malware/

Looking for some advice here... I've got a couple of very old PC laptops that I plan to toss out, because they have various problems, etc etc. They currently have Windows 10 installed, and I've already used Windows to reset and clean reinstall the OS on both, which does as least a surface wiping of my own prior personal files on the machines. However, it's my understanding that that kind of disk wiping is just a surface treatment, and could be reversed by someone who might have the laptops in the future, if they wanted to go to the effort. I know it's probably overkill, but I'd really prefer to make sure all my prior content on the laptops is really and permanently erased. Just don't know how to accomplish that! Oddly, it seems Windows won't allow you to reformat a hard disk partition that already has the Windows OS installed on it. And AFAICT, you also can't uninstall Windows 10 from a machine where it's already installed.... What I'm looking for is something like the total disk reformat that you can do with external disks in Windows where you choose not just the quickie reformat, but the complete and full-blown reformat. How???

For some reason, the Thai MoPH appears to have not done their usual public weekly COVID update for the past week...May 21 onward. But, Thai PBS nonetheless provided a pretty good recap over the past weekend of where things stand in Thailand lately: "a warning yesterday from Dr. Nitipat Jiarakul, chief of the Division of the Respiratory Diseases and Tuberculosis at the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital, that COVID-19 is staging a comeback, with as many as 20,000-40,000 people being infected each day, about 20 times more than the rate of infection in April. According to Dr. Nitipat, admissions to hospitals have increased to about 400 a day, from about 20 in April and, of these, 5% are suffering lung infections and half of them have died." https://www.thaipbsworld.com/siriraj-hospitals-icu-and-ipd-fully-occupied-with-covid-19-patients/ Thailand wide COVID stats: March 26 to April 1 - COVID weekly new hospitalizations (in red) and new deaths (in gray). May 14-20 - COVID weekly new hospitalizations (averaging 376 per day) and new deaths (averaging 7 per day). https://www.facebook.com/informationcovid19/photos At last public count, Thailand also had 600+ COVID cases hospitalized in serious condition and/or requiring intubation in order to breathe.

I've often wondered if the Thai Meteorology Department is the worst weather forecasting entity on the planet... They would certainly seem to be in the running... Yes, Bangkok had a bit of a rain shower yesterday evening. Wasn't that heavy and didn't last that long, here in central BKK where I live. And now dry as a bone thus far today. From reading the TMD's predictions during the past week, you'd think that the storm apocalypse was coming!

Did it work/help??? ????

Financial literacy appears to be an endangered species among a lot of the common folks here.

I thought it was a nice play on words.... CAR-nage.....

Dunno where the downpour is/was... I live in central BKK, and the only rain I've seen was a half hour or so of very light showers Monday afternoon. Other than that, dry as a bone today/Tuesday... though mercifully quite cooler this week.

Per the Thai Ministry of Public Health and Bangkok medical services: 1. CentralWorld - every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. June 2-4, 9-11, 16-18, 23-25 and 30, Noon to 6 pm 5th floor, Atrium Zone Moderna (Bivalent) vaccine is available to people 12 years of age and older as a booster dose. 2. Central Pinklao - every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. June 2-4, 9-11, 16-18, 23-25 and 30, Noon to 6 pm 5th floor in front of Fitness First Moderna (Bivalent) Vaccine is available to people 12 years of age and older as a booster dose. 3. Lotus's Minburi - every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. June 2-4 and 9-11, Noon to 6 pm 3rd floor, Lotus Minburi Moderna (Bivalent) and Pfizer vaccines, orange and purple lids, available to people aged 5 and over. (children under 7 years of age must bring their birth certificate) 4. 69 BMA public health service centers in Bangkok - Wednesdays and Fridays, except public holidays. Walk-in service or pre-register through the QueQ app. Time 9 am to 3 pm Moderna Vaccine (Bivalent), Pfizer red, orange, purple cap, AstraZeneca Immunotherapy ready (LAAB) is available to those aged 6 months and older (children under 7 years old must bring their birth certificate). For more information, call 02 203 2883. Monday - Sunday from 8 am - 4 pm https://www.facebook.com/informationcovid19/posts/pfbid0L7rseUtyLVmhBTyMt2J4KN8B7muVrnBf9npRDVUeH4i6qkd9ptf7bxQFQmwvxEnEl

Bears repeating here, given the topic.... And then, we have this... Huh???

Two thoughts here: 1. If this monk was "renowned" before, he certainly is even more renowned now, but not in a very good way. 2. Glad to see that the local monks, who supposedly follow a code of poverty, easily were able to quickly scrape together 200,000 baht to pay off the mess the guy made. I wonder if that's the kind of use the local congregants were expecting for their donations when they previously handed them over to the temple?

Thai PBS had a pretty good recap of current things Thailand COVID related on Saturday: "a warning yesterday from Dr. Nitipat Jiarakul, chief of the Division of the Respiratory Diseases and Tuberculosis at the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital, that COVID-19 is staging a comeback, with as many as 20,000-40,000 people being infected each day, about 20 times more than the rate of infection in April. According to Dr. Nitipat, admissions to hospitals have increased to about 400 a day, from about 20 in April and, of these, 5% are suffering lung infections and half of them have died. The death toll also surged 20 fold, to about 66 a week now instead of just 4 in April." https://www.thaipbsworld.com/siriraj-hospitals-icu-and-ipd-fully-occupied-with-covid-19-patients/ Note re the above report -- the estimate of 20,000 to 40,000 new COVID cases per day is that of estimated infections, which the Thai government no longer officially tracks or publicly reports. The current data the Thai government reports as COVID cases are in fact only new COVID hospitalizations on a weekly basis, which obviously are much smaller real numbers than the estimated numbers of infections.

As usual, your post above is full of all kinds of claims and speculation, and not a single documented supporting fact or credible supporting source to be found anywhere.

I'm not aware of any reason that someone with heart disease would be advised by knowledgeable doctors to NOT receive a mRNA COVID vaccine. COVID mRNA vaccines are safe in patients with heart failure 22 Aug 2022 "Barcelona, Spain – 22 Aug 2022: COVID mRNA vaccines are associated with a decreased risk of death in patients with heart failure, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2022.1 The study also found that the vaccines were not associated with an increased risk of worsening heart failure, venous thromboembolism or myocarditis in heart failure patients. “Our results indicate that heart failure patients should be prioritised for COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters,” said study author Dr. Caroline Sindet-Pedersen of Herlev and Gentofe Hospital, Hellerup, Denmark. “COVID-19 vaccines will continue to be important for preventing morbidity and mortality in vulnerable patient populations. Thus, studies emphasising the safety of these vaccines are essential to reassure those who might be hesitant and ensure continued uptake of vaccinations.” https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/COVID-mRNA-vaccines-are-safe-in-patients-with-heart-failure

I believe the famous Dr. Yong has lately been quoted as predicting the current COVID surge is likely to continue into June and July before subsiding.... That seems to be one prediction. I have no idea whether his predicted timeline will turn out to be too pessimistic or too optimistic... Waiting to find out as the weeks pass.

The Thai government has previously and publicly said they're moving toward an ANNUAL COVID vaccine program for this year and next year for the general public, to coincide with the flu shots period. You have to make some allowances for how the Google Translate version of original Thai content handles the nuances of some things....

Obviously that was a typo on my part... The Thai government is saying the recent deaths mostly involve the UN vaccinated and UNDER vaccinated.... as has been the case all along.

Perhaps it had something to do with the actual headline of the posted news report: Siriraj says all beds for critical Covid patients full https://thainewsroom.com/2023/05/27/siriraj-says-all-beds-for-critical-covid-patients-full/ And nowhere in the article does the article itself make any mention of the report involving the private vs public parts of the hospital. Those terms aren't ever used in the article. Perhaps if the original article had been more clear and less misleading, then you wouldn't have had to post the following that you did regarding Siriraj subsequently having to issue a clarification: "From a source we cannot quote on here, Siriraj issued a clarification that the situation in the public side was normal and controllable, they have not added any COVID beds as they did at the peak."