Philosobyte

Thanks for the response. I can't find the option in my local group policy editor on Windows 10 Education, so I'll have to do some more research.

When a Windows user has hidden file extensions turned on, they can't see the extensions on most of their files, making it easier to fall victim to phishing attacks like the one which happened to LMG. Let's say I hypothetically made a program which would stay minimized to the system tray when Windows starts up pop out of the system tray to alert the user if hidden file extensions are turned on provide a big button to turn hidden file extensions back off alternatively, the program could automatically turn hidden file extensions back off Would anyone at all actually bother installing something like this? I did some googling, and I think companies with IT resources can set up a group policy for all their employees so that hidden file extensions are turned off by default. But I don't think the group policy prevents users from turning it back on.

If I had a budget of $100, I'd get the Mackie CR3-X, which was compared favorably to the Presonus Eris E3.5 by an independent reviewer on audiosciencereview (not the site owner). The speakers would not require an amp and they'd have RCA, 1/4" TRS, and 1/8" inputs.

The wired version of JBL 104 are $129 a pair. Misses your budget target but just another option in case you haven't heard of it

I have not personally used Neewer products, but Neewer is pervasive in many budget markets and their scissor arms' reviews seem better than the reviews for the item you linked. Therefore, I suggest a Neewer arm unless you have the budget for a Rode PSA1. In general, you will not need a threading adapter for the Samson Meteor and the vast majority of microphone mounts, especially the ones I mentioned. Even mounts that use nonstandard 3/8 threads often come with an adapter already (or they'll be 5/8 and come with a 3/8 adapter).

The Samson Meteor uses standard 5/8-27 threading and I have put it on some OnStage boom stands with no problem. What boom arm do you want to use it with and what is its threading?

It's not a virus. Many applications use sandboxing or create multiple processes for multi-threading or security purposes. Maybe Firefox, like Chrome, uses sandboxing, which involves the browser creating a main process and then a separate process for each of its tabs. edit: for example, here is my Task Manager at the moment. Note the excessive number of Chrome processes.

What games released in the past few years do you think have the most realistic graphics on highest settings? Do you think there is a visual trend that the game industry is moving towards? Thus far, I believe that very few games have managed to render facial shadows and highlights believably, without excessive "shininess" in the highlights and with accurately sharp or blurred shadows depending on the lighting and angle.

As far as I'm aware, almost all wifi adapters are backwards compatible with older protocols, so I don't think you need to worry about compatibility with your router. The AC600 especially covers both the 2.4Ghz and 5.0Ghz frequency bands (the only ones which widely exist) and it covers both the newish 802.11ac protocol and the very old 802.11n protocol. If you want to be sure, though, you can look at your router and see if it has a label specifying its protocols. They'll often say 802.11ac or 802.11b/g/n or something similar.

That reminds me of my previous experiences with USB wifi adapters which I actually forgot until I saw your post because it's been such a long time haha. I had a $10 Edimax adapter (I believe some raspberry pi models come with it) which had horrible range, and I had a $30 Netgear model which would disconnect often. So yeah, don't buy Edimax or Netgear. Netgear makes crap drivers in general, not just for wifi adapters but for their security cameras, too. Driver performance also depends on the particular model, though, because the Linksys AC1200 has significantly worse reviews than the AC600 which I have.

May I ask which USB adapters you've personally had experience with? I agree that most models suck because of poor drivers, but mine works perfectly.

Wifi adapters need to have antennae to capture the wireless signal. The longer the antennae are, the stronger the signal will be and the more range your wifi adapter will have. This means that larger wifi adapters will generally have better speed and range because they can pack longer antennae. However, good engineering means that the AC600 I'm using has excellent reception comparable to the reception of larger adapters. That kind of engineering is expensive, though - hence the AC600's substantial price tag. That's why I suggested that if you don't need the portability, go with something larger. Larger adapters are generally cheaper for the same performance. For whatever you plan to get, make sure to look at relatively trustworthy reviews and look for stability/driver issues. Stability is the most common problem people have with USB wifi adapters, and it's why people tend to choose PCIe adapters if they can.

I have the Linksys Max-Stream AC600, and it works very well, without noticeable latency. I haven't tested its maximum speed, but it has no problem outputting 50 Mbps, the limit for my university's wifi. I haven't had any stability issues for the two months I've had it. It was quite expensive, at $50, but it was the least expensive I found with near-flawless reviews which was also portable. If you don't need portability, you might want to look at something cheaper and larger.

I don't know since I don't actually have an XPS 15. But on my laptop, I find that programming tends to drain the battery slower than wifi surfing. It depends a bit on how often you compile and what IDEs you use. But if we go by the rule that programming and word processing are less battery-intensive than wifi surfing is, then the 84WHr battery would be expected to last longer than 9 hours. 9 hours is how long the 84Whr XPS 15 lasts on wifi. My source is here: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-XPS-15-9550-Core-i7-FHD-Notebook-Review.158875.0.html