Linux Action News

Linux Action News

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Linux Action News episodes

  • Linux Action News 39

    Red Hat shakes up the container world with its CoreOS purchase. Skype ships as a snap and Chris has a report from Canonical's recent development sprint.

    Plus more hardware for Plasma Mobile, Matrix gets a big boost, and the FSF receives a large Bitcoin donation.

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    • Red Hat to Acquire CoreOS, Expanding its Kubernetes and Containers Leadership
    — Red Hat today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire CoreOS, Inc., an innovator and leader in Kubernetes and container-native solutions, for a purchase price of $250 million
  • TechSNAP Episode 353: Too Many Containers
    • — We introduce you to Kubernetes, what problems it solves, why everyone is talking about it, and where it came from. Also who shouldn’t be using Kubernetes, and the problems you can run into when scaling it.
  • LibreOffice 6.0 Released
    • — The release of LibreOffice 6.0 marks the first major update to the productivity suite since the LibreOffice 5.4 release back in July 2017. It also coincides with the anniversary of the very first release of LibreOffice in January 2011.
  • How do I test Plasma Mobile? (part 2)
    • — Currently there are two possible ways of testing Plasma Mobile on an actual mobile device,
    Using postmarketOS
    Installing Halium and a KDE neon-based rootfs
  • GNOME and KDE in PureOS: diversity across devices
    • — If we were doing short-term planning it would be easy to “just use Plasma” for the Librem 5, but that would undermine our long-term vision of having a consistent look/feel across all our devices, where GNOME/GTK+ is already the default and what we’ve invested in.
  • Purism considering UBports for the Librem 5
  • Purism Might Develop An X11-Free Wayland Compositor
    • — We also reviewed and evaluated compositing managers and desktop shells that we could use for a phone UI. We aim to use only Wayland, trying to get rid of as much X11 legacy as we possibly can, for performance issues and for better security. From our discussions with GNOME maintainers of existing compositors and shells, we may be better off igniting a new compositor (upstreamed and backed by GNOME) in order to avoid the X11 baggage.
  • Matrix receives large investment
    • — We’re delighted to announce that our friends at Status have made a major strategic investment ($5M) in New Vector: the company which currently employs most of the Matrix.org core team.
  • FSF receives large Bitcoin donation
    • — The Free Software Foundation (FSF) announced it has received a record-breaking charitable contribution of 91.45 Bitcoin from the Pineapple Fund, valued at $1 million at the time of the donation.
    31 min
  • Linux Action News 38

    Ubuntu is switching back to Xorg, Linus calls out Intel, and are the BSDs dying?

    Plus how you can start testing Plasma Mobile, Pursim aims for convergence, and Mycroft is back!

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    • Ting: Save $25 off your first device, or $25 in service credit if you bring one!

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    • Plasma Mobile test ISOs
    — 44% poll participants wanting to test Plasma Mobile on their device, and/or as a virtual machine, or on real machine.
  • Purism aims for convergence
    • — Upon successful completion of our funding campaign, we started to look for a Designer to take care of the user experience for the Librem 5, and a web developer to help us improve the look & feel (and more technical parts) of our website in general. Today, I’m glad to finally welcome them publicly!
  • Mycroft Mark 2
    • — What sets Mark II apart? It’s open source. This means your personal data stays private, you can customize your experience, and Mycroft is a neutral player in the voice game, allowing you to be confident in your personal preference of apps and skills.
  • Ubuntu 18.04 to revert to Xorg by default
    • — We have decided that we will ship Xorg by default, and that Wayland will be an optional session available from the login screen.
  • Torvalds unhappy with Intel's response to Spectre
    • — Instead of treating Spectre as a bug, the chip maker is offering Spectre protection as a feature.
  • Are the BSDs dying?
    • — Too few eyeballs on code is a security issue as vulnerabilities go unreported and unpatched. Can FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD survive?
    35 min
  • Linux Action News 37

    A major open source milestone, some OnePlus users compromised, Google switches to Debian, and we have Spectre and Meltdown updates.

    Plus what happened to NHoS, and more!

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    • Wine 3.0 Released
    — This includes in particular Direct3D 12 and Vulkan support, as well as OpenGL ES support to enable Direct3D on Android.
  • Oneplus pwned
    • — One of our systems was attacked, and a malicious script was injected into the payment page code to sniff out credit card info while it was being entered.
  • ​Google moves to Debian for in-house Linux desktop
    • — Google has officially confirmed the company is shifting its in-house Linux desktop from the Ubuntu-based Goobuntu to a new Linux distro, the DebianTesting-based gLinux.
  • Meltdown and Spectre Linux kernel status
    • — Some “enterprise” distributions did not backport the changes for this reporting, so if you are running one of those types of kernels, go bug the vendor to fix that, you really want a unified way of knowing the state of your system.
  • Red Hat pulls microcode update
    • — Which, er, sounds like Red Hat has given up and, to avoid any blame, has told its customers to just get whatever firmware your CPU maker is offering. And if it works, it works, and if it makes your box fall over, uh, don't look at Red Hat.
  • Red Hat: We Didn't Pull CPU Microcode Update
    • — "It's actually an encrypted, signed binary image, so we don't have the capability, even if we wanted to produce microcode. It's a binary blob that we cannot generate. The only people who can actually generate that are the CPU vendors."
  • Ubuntu almost ready to patch against Spectre
    • — This week we published candidate Ubuntu kernels providing mitigation for CVE-2017-5715 and CVE-2017-5753 (ie, Spectre / Variants 1 & 2) to their respective -proposed pockets for Ubuntu 17.10 (Artful), 16.04 LTS (Xenial), and 14.04 LTS (Trusty).  
  • Skyfall and Solace: Meltdown and Spectre are just the beginning
    • — Skyfall and Solace are two speculative attacks based on the work highlighted by Meltdown and Spectre.
    Full details are still under embargo and will be published soon when chip manufacturers and Operating System vendors have prepared patches.
  • NHoS shut down
    • — The small team behind an ambitious NHoS Linux project are calling it a day, citing receipt of a trademark infringement warning from the UK Department of Health's (DoH) "brand police" as the "final straw."
    25 min
  • Linux Action News 36

    Barcelona is switching to FOSS the right way, Nextcloud launches peer-to-peer encrypted video calls, big changes are coming to Google's AMP, and why the BSD camp is laughing at Linux this week.

    Plus Fedora's new "primary architecture", Ubuntu 17.10 is back, and more.

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    • Barcelona to switch to FOSS
    — According to the news report, the city plans to first replace all its user applications with alternative open source applications. This will go on until the only remaining proprietary software will be Windows where it will finally be replaced with a Linux distribution.
  • Nextcloud Talk
    • — We’re very proud to announce today Nextcloud Talk, the first enterprise-ready, self-hosted communication technology giving users the highest degree of control over their data and communication.
  • AMP changes aren't good enough for some web devs
    • — The Web is not Google, and should not be just Google.
  • Ubuntu 17.10 ISOs available again
    • — The Ubuntu 17.10.1 ISO re-spin is for disabling the SPI kernel driver to avoid messing up select laptops.
  • lkml.org is hosted on a home connection
    • — The site's backend is hosted on a machine at home which is waiting for someone to enter a luks passphrase after a power outage while on vacation.
  • Bad news for the fans of lkml.org
    • — Bad news for the fans of http://lkml.org  : the main board of the server somehow did not survive the outage :(
    Expect prolonged downtime while I source replacement parts.
  • Fedora might make AArch64 a primary architecture
    • — Fedora developers are looking to promote their AArch64 / ARM64 / ARMv8 server offerings to being a "primary architecture" for this next Fedora release.
    25 min
  • Linux Action News 35

    We start with good news, fun speculation, and an open source success story. Then we get into Meltdown and Spectre.

    Plus we follow up on the lawsuit that could split the community, and then we eat some Bitcoin humble pie.

    Sponsored By:

    • Ting: Save $25 off your first device, or $25 in service credit if you bring one!

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    • UBports release OTA 3
    — This update brings some new features and bug fixes atop the Ubuntu Touch 15.04 base. New features include some new packages requested by the community, the default start page and search provider was changed over to DuckDuckGo, and not displaying the keyboard when working with multiple windows. This over-the-air update has also removed the Ubuntu Store from the App Scope.
  • Ubuntu Touch working on Android app support
    • — “Project Anbox”. Anbox - a shorted form of ‘Android-in-a-Box” - is a community effort which allows Android apps to execute in a container in a more native way rather than the more common approach of using an Android emulator,
  • LEDE and OpenWrt merge
    • — The merged project will use the code base of the former LEDE project.
  • Fuchsia available for the Pixelbook
    • — Fuchsia—which only started development in 2016—is Google's third operating system after Chrome OS and Android.
  • Meltdown and Spectre
    • — Meltdown and Spectre exploit critical vulnerabilities in modern processors. These hardware vulnerabilities allow programs to steal data which is currently processed on the computer. While programs are typically not permitted to read data from other programs, a malicious program can exploit Meltdown and Spectre to get hold of secrets stored in the memory of other running programs. This might include your passwords stored in a password manager or browser, your personal photos, emails, instant messages and even business-critical documents.
  • Law Center and Conservancy updates
    • — Because the SFLC has amended its trademark cancellation petition with a fraud claim, the SFC's motion to toss the complaint must be refiled after the fraud issue been considered.
    28 min
  • Linux Action News 34

    Our top 4 predictions for Linux in 2018, and then we shift gears and give you the top 6 things we hope just might happen.

    Plus we put hard numbers on the highs and lows of Bitcoin during 2018.

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    32 min
  • Linux Action News 33

    Chris and Joe look back at the big news stories of 2017, some notable trends, the changes that impacted Desktop Linux users, and the topics that dominated the community discussion.

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    • Arch Drops 32 bit
    — The decision means that February ISO will be the last that allows to
    install 32 bit Arch Linux. The next 9 months are deprecation period,
    during which i686 will be still receiving upgraded packages. Starting
    from November 2017, packaging and repository tools will no longer
    require that from maintainers, effectively making i686 unsupported.
  • Tails 3.0 will require a 64-bit processor
    • — We have waited for years until we felt it was the right time to do this switch. Still, this was a hard decision for us to make.
  • Ubuntu 17.10 Will Drop The 32-bit Desktop ISO
    • — There will no longer be any "ubuntu-desktop-i386.iso" produced. There is no longer any effective QA or testing being done on the Ubuntu i386 desktop image on actual 32-bit-only hardware.
  • Munich voted to return to Windows
    • — Munich city council's administrative and personnel committee has decided to move any remaining Linux systems to Windows 10 in 2020.
  • WSL added new distros and became easier to install
    • — At its Build 2017 developer conference today, Microsoft announced that Ubuntu has arrived in the Windows Store
  • Bitcoin Forked
    • — It was created by Bitcoin supporters worried about growing congestion in the mainstream bitcoin network that has led to slow payment processing and high fees. Bitcoin Cash removes an important technical obstacle that has hampered the growth of the mainline Bitcoin network. In principle, that could allow Bitcoin Cash to become more widely used—and hence more valuable—in the long run.
  • And Forked Again
    • — The trouble began earlier this year when a group of cryptocurrency upstarts cloned Bitcoin to create their own version, called Bitcoin Cash. The split, called a "hard fork," came after a long and acrimonious disagreement about how to get Bitcoin to handle more traffic failed to resolve amicably. Now, another group of Bitcoiners wants to create yet another version of the world's most popular digital money on October 25. They're calling it Bitcoin Gold.
  • And jumped around 20x in value this year
    • — Bitcoin is now worth over $10,000. The cryptocurrency, which crossed the milestone for the first time since its creation in 2008, surged past $10,000 on Tuesday evening as it climbs toward $11,000, according to research site CoinDesk. Bitcoin has spiked 933 percent since the beginning of the year, when it traded at $968.23, reports the Wall Street Journal.
  • The Ubuntu announcement that dominated the year
    • — This has been, personally, a very difficult decision, because of the force of my conviction in the convergence future, and my personal engagement with the people and the product, both of which are amazing. We feel like a family, but this choice is shaped by commercial constraints, and those two are hard to reconcile.
  • Cyanogenmod became Lineage OS
    • — A new fork of CyanogenMod called Lineage OS is taking up the mantle, and it will keep most of what you loved about CyanogenMod.
  • Sailfish carried on
    • — Today it’s our pleasure to announce all the details for Sailfish X, aka Sailfish OS for Sony Xperia X!
  • Android took a step towards solving the updates problem
    • — With Android O, we've been working very closely with device makers and silicon manufacturers to take steps toward solving this problem, and we're excited to give you a sneak peek at Project Treble, the biggest change to the low-level system architecture of Android to date.
  • Librem 5 funded
    • — This Monday, 14 days early, we have crossed a historic milestone.
  • Firefox OS officially died
    • — Mozilla is shutting down its “connected devices” group, which was responsible for the failed smartphone operating system Firefox OS and, more recently, attempts to build the OS into devices like routers, streaming boxes, and even basic computers.
  • Mozilla acquired Pocket
    • — Pocket will join Mozilla’s product portfolio as a new product line alongside the Firefox web browsers with a focus on promoting the discovery and accessibility of high quality web content.
  • Launched Firefox Focus
    • — Firefox Focus allows you to browse the web without being followed by tracking ads which are notoriously known for slowing down your mobile experience.
  • Project Common Voice
    • — Voice is natural, voice is human. That’s why we’re fascinated with creating usable voice technology for our machines. But to create voice systems, an extremely large amount of voice data is required.
  • Firefox Quantum
    • — It’s by far the biggest update we’ve had since we launched Firefox 1.0 in 2004
  • Faced a lawsuit over their Yahoo deal
    • — We recently exercised our contractual right to terminate our agreement with Yahoo based on a number of factors including doing what’s best for our brand, our effort to provide quality web search, and the broader content experience for our users.
    28 min
  • Linux Action News 32

    Mozilla violates users' trust, Amazon has a new Linux, OpenSSH is coming to Windows, and Intel blocks disabling of the Management Engine.

    Plus an update on the Conservancy's fight with the Software Freedom Law Center and more.

    Sponsored By:

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    • Introducing Amazon Linux 2
    — Amazon Linux 2 provides a modern execution environment with LTS Kernel (4.9) tuned for optimal performance on Amazon Web Services (AWS), systemd support, and newer tooling (gcc 7.2.1, glibc 2.25, binutils 2.27).
  • Amazon Linux 2 Benchmarks
    • — With Amazon AWS this week having released Amazon Linux 2 LTS I was excited to put this updated cloud-focused operating system through some performance tests to see how it stacks up with the more well known Linux distributions.
  • OpenSSH coming to Windows 10
    • — The software giant is now adding a native OpenSSH client to Windows 10. It’s available immediately as a beta option in the Fall Creators Update for Windows 10, and it’s easy to enable.
  • Not just the client
    • — we also shipped OpenSSH's sshd server, but it's a little tricky to configure right now. Expect a blog post this week. * This is not production-ready in the current version of Windows 10 (hence the "(Beta)" in the label), but we hope to be soon.
  • Mozilla faces blowback after slipping Mr Robot plugin into Firefox
    • — Firefox users noticed a strange new plug-in popping up in their browsers. A new plug-in called Looking Glass found its way into each instance of the new Firefox Quantum browser. It was disabled by default, but users were still alarmed to see a plugin they hadn’t installed.
  • Steve Klabnik on Twitter
    • — I am pretty upset with my employer, @mozilla, today
  • Carol Nichols, Rus Dev on Twitter
    • — "Mozilla wasn't paid for the Mr. Robot tie-in"
  • Intel to slap hardware lock on Management Engine code to thwart downgrade attacks
    • — From version 12 onward, ME-equipped chips will defend against patch rollbacks.
  • Conservancy update on fight with Law Center
    • — Today, Conservancy filed for summary judgment in SFLC's trademark cancellation action. As I understand from our lawyers, summary judgment is a mechanism to ask a Court to expediently handle a matter where the facts are straightforward and, as a matter of law, there is no plausible way that the party filing for summary judgment won't prevail.
  • TechSNAP reboot
    • — Systems, Network, and Administration Podcast. Every week TechSNAP covers the stories that impact those of us in the tech industry, and all of us that follow it. Every episode we dedicate a portion of the show to answer audience questions, discuss best practices, and solving your problems.
    28 min
  • Linux Action News 31

    The Ghost of Yahoo and Mozilla go to battle, the right way to abandon a project, the coming UK Bitcoin crackdown, and Android GO is released to OEMs.

    Plus the Intel ME situation that's much worse than previously known.

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    • Mozilla Files Cross-Complaint Against Yahoo Holdings and Oath
    — Yahoo Holdings and Oath filed a complaint against Mozilla on December 1, 2017, claiming that we improperly terminated the agreement between Mozilla and Yahoo. Today, in response, Mozilla filed a cross-complaint against Yahoo Holdings and Oath for breach of contract.
  • Mozilla tackles fake news
    • — The boundaries between truth and fiction are becoming harder to define, in part because of the proliferation of fake news and other forms of misinformation. Mozilla wants to shed light on this by sponsoring public demonstrations, using mixed reality and other art media that make the power of misinformation and its potential impacts visible and visceral.
  • Classic Shell abandoned as open source
    • — The source code is available at SourceForge, and the Classic Shell forum will remain online until the end of 2018 for folks that want to continue discussing the project.
  • UK and EU plan Bitcoin crackdown
    • — The Treasury plans to regulate bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to bring them in line with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financial legislation. Traders will be forced to disclose their identities, ending the anonymity that has made the currency attractive for drug dealing and other illegal activities.
  • Android Go released to OEMs
    • — Google’s stripped-down version of Android is ready for OEMs.
  • Mediatek announce Go optimized SoCs
    • — MediaTek’s MT6739, MT6737, and MT6580 SoCs, among others, now have board support packages available to run Android Oreo (Go edition). This marks one of the first times that entry-level SoCs are ready to be used shortly after the latest version of Android.
  • Pwning Intel ME
    • — The duo say they found a locally exploitable stack buffer overflow that allows the execution of unsigned code on any device with Intel ME 11, even if the device is turned off or protected by security software.
    25 min
  • Linux Action News 30

    Bitcoin breaks $10k and we ponder its true value, big companies join the compliance-first approach to GPLv2, we spot some red flags in the latest Raspbian x86 release, and Mozilla has a new open source project.

    Plus Jolla gets in on the blockchain hype, and we clarify the Linux LTS situation.

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    • Bitcoin surges past $10k
    — Bitcoin has spiked 933 percent since the beginning of the year, when it traded at $968.23
  • Big companies join the compliance-first approach to GPLv2
    • — To provide greater predictability to users of open source software, Red Hat, Facebook, Google and IBM today each committed to extending the GPLv3 approach for license compliance errors to the software code that each licenses under GPLv2 and LGPLv2.1 and v2.
  • LTS kernel support window clarified
    • — Just because +Greg Kroah-Hartman​ is doing it for 4.4 does not mean that all LTS kernels from now on are going to be maintained for that long.
  • New x86 version of Raspbian Released
    • — Today, we are launching the first Debian Stretch release of the Raspberry Pi Desktop for PCs and Macs, and we’re also releasing the latest version of Raspbian Stretch for your Pi.
  • LOL
  • Mozilla’s Open Source Speech Recognition Model and Voice Dataset
    • — I’m excited to announce the initial release of Mozilla’s open source speech recognition model that has an accuracy approaching what humans can perceive when listening to the same recordings. We are also releasing the world’s second largest publicly available voice dataset, which was contributed to by nearly 20,000 people globally.
  • Mozilla still loaded
    • — The State of Mozilla 2016 is our annual report. This report highlights activities for 2016 and is accompanied by detailed financials.
  • Jolla update
    • — Sailfish X has been now out for six weeks
    36 min

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Weekly Linux news and analysis by Chris and Wes. The show every week we hope you'll go to when you want to hear an informed discussion about what’s happening.