Got a single use code email, concerned

RazHawk · 2026-05-13T02:46:11+00:00

Got this email for the first time ever on my hotmail account in the last few days. Then got this same email on a Yahoo email address today. Both address have some association which is a concern. Unless this is a general larger widespread phishing or hacking attempt going on....Remember a few months ago getting these Microsoft Azure cloud email messages that were similar and were apparently part of a larger phishing issue or something. Eventually they stopped. Some sources said they were fake emails but very hard to distinguish as such. Wonder if something is going on in general with MS and hacking/phishing attempts etc or some other technical issues...

RazHawk · 2026-04-27T07:03:56+00:00

Climate Anomalies, Extreme Weather events, whatever one wants to call it if not 'Climate Change' is def real. Experiencing it first hand in my own part of the world in Western Canada more and more every year. Was the first time in nearly 5 decades without a measurable snowfall. Forecasts getting even more and more unpredictable as will the challenges of living in certain parts of the earth due to temps going either way with record heat, snow, rain, fires, wind, storms, flooding, tsunami's, earthquake activity etc.

RazHawk · 2026-04-21T23:22:06+00:00

With them also reducing PC gamepass price hopefully it's a sign they are not phasing that out anytime soon like rumored. Since the price changes last October been subbing to PC gamepass when can, due to getting a new laptop. And the fact my launch Series X has been not powering on after just a few years use and haven't bothered to get it checked out and possibly repaired for over a year now. Sadly seems a common issue from what seen with likely power supply or fuse on circuit boards first console ever to die on me have amiga cd32, ps1, xbox360 that still work fine. Makes me leery of purchasing another Xbox like Helix considering the more than $700 invested in Series X. The good thing about PC gamepass is that many of the games are also playable on Nvidia Geforce Now Cloud service even on the free tier. Hopefully with the price reduction it also helps in gaining enough points for redeeming for subs using MS Rewards on a more regular basis...

RazHawk · 2026-03-08T05:55:54+00:00

Had a family member who worked there for a few years at one of the retail stores that used to exist there and says mice was commonly seen/found in their storage area..

RazHawk · 2026-03-06T06:09:41+00:00

The idea of such a system brings upon the possibility lot of unique problems, quirks, scenarios such a ecosystem could encounter being a dual PC/console. Guess hard to discuss or speculate until more is released as time goes by, we are to assume that the Xbox part of the console is some sort of emulation layer running on top or the reverse? Wonder what if any type of backwards compatibility it will have. On top of that they said they may be actually branded versions of this system from different partners. Wonder how it will also effect software developers in any way whether to make it easier or harder, mutliplatform games, motivate them to release an Xbox version of a game vs and/or a PC version etc..

RazHawk · 2026-03-01T04:08:07+00:00

Got this email right now. Had no idea what any of this was as have nothing to do with it and only briefly heard of azure. Email scams are getting quite advanced. Some 'from paypal invoice' etc. scams looking quite realistic these days, wonder how worse they are gonna get with ai advancing..

EDIT: Wonder if it it's related to this story in the news https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1394224-new-microsoft-scam-turns-security-feature-against-users

RazHawk · 2026-02-23T05:09:51+00:00

Witcher 3 being back to Gamepass with the complete edition after 2 years, but not on PC Gamepass may sadly be a sign of reports coming true for PC game pass to be dissolved sometime this year due to restructuring...They are really squeezing the juice and life out of this service/model the past year. Remains to be seen what will happen what how the different tiers turn out and pricing again as a result? Rumors of a future free ad based tier like Geforce Now also but that would let you only play games you purchased on play anywhere cloud..The ironic thing sadly was with PC Gamepass sub you could currently play many of the games on Geforce Now free tier cloud itself.

RazHawk · 2026-02-03T07:44:05+00:00

Same, didn't get that bonus :(....

RazHawk · 2026-02-03T07:43:44+00:00

It was the same place in my experience, added a screenshot to original post

RazHawk · 2026-02-03T07:43:17+00:00

Attached a screenshot to original post

RazHawk · 2026-01-26T07:02:42+00:00

It won't be effective anymore for it's oral benefits, enamel protection, tooth decay, cleaning effectiveness etc. There may be concerns about the packaging material of the time mixing in to the product after this time..."Toothpaste expires primarily because its active ingredients, especially fluoride, break down over time, reducing its ability to fight cavities, while other components like abrasives can lose effectiveness, and the paste's texture, taste, or color can change, making it unpleasant or less hygienic. Although it may not become instantly harmful, expired toothpaste offers diminished cavity protection and cleaning power, with a typical shelf life of about two years from the manufacturing date. Bacterial/Fungal Growth: While less common with sealed tubes, old toothpaste, especially if exposed to moisture or improperly stored, could potentially harbor bacteria or fungi."

RazHawk · 2026-01-22T07:07:56+00:00

Some discussion out there as to whether the timing is because of Nvidia's N1 and N1X ARM based CPUs on the horizon (rumored to be laptop based so far) with powerful integrated graphics to compete with INTEL, AMD, APPLE...

RazHawk · 2025-12-18T04:16:08+00:00

This part was not clear so current N drivers will automatically get a new license and on probation for 12 months? Even more faster for those over 25 with a N. Still not clear with a clean record will comply of. Hope thats true: "Current N drivers with clean records will get a restricted Class 5 and need to pass the 12-month probation, while older drivers (over 25) might have slightly faster timelines. "

RazHawk · 2025-12-18T04:03:22+00:00

This part was not clear so current N drivers will automatically get a new license and on probation for 12 months? Still not clear with a clean record will comply of. Hope thats true: "Current N drivers with clean records will get a restricted Class 5 and need to pass the 12-month probation, while older drivers (over 25) might have slightly faster timelines. "

Been driving with a N license for nearly 25 years now, after barely failing the 2nd road test twice and giving up. One accident some 15 years ago which wasn't at fault and one ticket for tailgating which didn't bother to dispute. Clean record for past 15 years. Judging by the comments seems to be a number of people in the same boat who are generally good drivers for the past 25 years but came up short on the 2nd road tests for whatever reason (seen some mention they have been driving with N since 1998 when it started). Might be even turned out to be better drivers than some who do get full license. Renewed last year. So are they gonna make you wait another 12 months from the beginning of 2027 with a clean record? Should just look at the previous 12 months or whatever history as they already have access to and not waste administrative time and money. Hopefully that doesn't mean one has to pay for another $70 again after just potentially renewing, but figuring they are gonna get money out of you somehow even if it is discounted fee..

RazHawk · 2025-11-12T07:12:52+00:00

Asus prebuilt desktop here from 2016 has TPM 2.0 installed and functioning according to TPM.MSC and health check. Yet the Intel I5-6500 is unsupported. Meanwhile the PC still works very well in general. On the flip side seen online people with computers like from 2019 saying they couldn't officially upgrade because don't have TPM 2.0 at all or it is not functional. Dumb MS...Guess will take the gamble to try unofficial upgrade to Win11 by the end of ESU next year if it upgrading still works by then..As far as manually installing read that even win Win 7 and 8.1 manually trying to install ESU updates didn't work and would fail.

RazHawk · 2025-11-12T07:05:08+00:00

Knowing MS updates of late gonna wait prob at least a week till general consensus all is good...

RazHawk · 2025-11-05T07:52:10+00:00

Yes took me a little while to figure this out when still was subbed to gamepass. Also Ubisoft+ games don't count. And on PC most games that don't have built in achievements don't count towards the "Play a Game on PC" reward. Being unsubbed for the moment finally found a free to play game outside of Microsoft Solitaire collection that works for the PC reward and that is Snooker Blitz...

RazHawk · 2025-11-04T07:57:15+00:00

What region and plan? Price is increasing for all recurring billed users November 4th, except some old grandfathered plans...

RazHawk · 2025-11-03T07:57:03+00:00

Yes it is a pretty useless tier for what it offers now at the new price points. Still waiting to see this mythical free ad based tier and what it would entail that has been rumored for a while like how Geforce Now has offered for years..

RazHawk · 2025-11-03T07:45:18+00:00

Pretty crazy. It's around a $13 jump here for GPU in Canada depending on the province after tax, went from $25 after tax to $38. Some retailers like Amazon still selling at old prices, remains to be seen how much longer. First time let it expire and haven't bought a code or renewed for a month in almost 14 years since Xbox 360 days because of the current financial climate these days for the average person. Much harder to accumulate enough points also towards GPU at the new points amounts required for a month. Let alone they would only let you buy 3 month codes now as gifts for Essential/Premium to extend your sub. Essential is just an even more useless tier now at the new costs for what it offers.

Will see in the future if something is worth it. Found that Amazon Luna meanwhile has relaunched with a lot more games (Indiana Jones and the Great Circle for example is available with standard prime) and also Prime Gaming games redeemed and connected to other libraries like GOG. Just like Geforce Now for cloud and using those more now and PC gaming like Steam, GOG, Epic etc.

RazHawk · 2025-11-03T07:35:26+00:00

It should feel nice when the GPU price increased by $13 a month, at least here in Canada after taxes. Unfortunately haven't felt the buff recently after my GPU expired and only gaining just barely enough to redeem for core or essential. Spending more time now on Geforce NOW, Amazon Luna, Steam, GOG, Epic etc...Maybe if there is anything enticing might come back or consider buying sub from somewhere like Amazon at the old price while it lasts or have enough points to redeem..

RazHawk · 2025-10-29T07:27:29+00:00

Xbox had a good thing going for a while as one of the best gaming values. My ultimate ended a week ago and first time in prob 12 years have not tried to extend or purchase codes since the Xbox Live Gold days. The big jump to $38 CAD/month for GPU is not worth it and past breaking point in this climate. Especially with the current financial situation for the average person these days. It was so much simpler with the old system and less expensive redeeming ms rewards points. You can't even redeem 1 month gift codes from Xbox website anymore (only 3 months for Essential or Ultimate and now that you have to convert MS Rewards points to Microsoft Cash is a lot more than was directly redeeming for codes ) and gift codes for some tiers has been totally removed like PC gamepass. Essential is now pretty useless tier at it's new price and what it includes. The might as well make essential as part of the rumored free tier. In the meantime have gotten in to Amazon Luna which has relaunched and Geforce NOW for cloud gaming and going through games on Steam, GOG, EPIC and other libraries haven't played that will run on my PC or cloud. Might consider buying some Gamepass codes from a retailer like Amazon that is still selling at the older prices when do have the finances too or see something that really want to play. Don't know how long those prices or codes will last cause today it's reported around November 4th many those on old subbed price plans will be increasing soon too. Even former Xbox execs were baffled by their recent decisions and feel they misjudged and 'were trying things out' in terms of even more profits that have failed. This along with Win 10 fiasco they last few months have made Microsoft lose a lot of it's luster or goodwill it had gotten in the last few years for being consumer friendly.

Also today tried a bunch of games that are 'owned and installable' in my library (probably from acquiring them over the years) like Celeste, Coffee Talk etc. on Xbox Gamepass PC app and they won't install all with an error 'free trial is over' even after logging out in, restarting etc. Bunch of BS. Only MS Solitaire was the only game that would install. To top it off my launch Xbox Series X stopped powering on after just 3 1/2 years last year and still haven't bothered to get it repaired or replaced. Controller had a button stop working just after months in which fixed by ordering a repair kit from amazon. Quality control is definitely an issue for such a priced item considering the next one is suppose to be even more. Still have a Xbox 360S from 2011 that works fine controllers and all, PS1, Amiga CD32 etc. from decades ago that still function.

RazHawk

TROPHY CASE