Linux Action News

Linux Action News

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Linux Action News episodes

  • Linux Action News 29

    Android tracking more invasive than previously known, Ubuntu wants your ideas for Mir, and Linus gets heated about Kernel security while we focus on the technical issue at the heart of the matter.

    Plus a new magazine from the Raspberry Pi Foundation, several vulnerabilities in Intel's Management Engine, and more!

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    • Google collected location data from Android users who didn't know
    — In a nutshell, the whereabouts of every active Android phone and tablet in the world were tracked even with location services disabled and no carrier SIM card inserted.
  • Ubuntu want community input on Mir
    • — However we’re also at the place where we need to reach out to the community and ask what are the aspects of your desktop that you value most, to help us figure out a direction for Mir.
  • New magazine from the Raspberry Pi Foundation - Hackspace
    • — The first issue of HackSpace magazine is here! Join us as we explore thinking machines, build a trebuchet, learn how Arduino changed the world, see how far we can overclock a Raspberry Pi using liquid nitrogen, and much more…
  • Linus gets heated about kernel security
    • — Linux Lord fires up over proposal to secure Linux by shutting down wonky processes
  • Then calmly explains his position
    • — His long post on the matter suggested to security practitioners that “'Do no harm' should be your mantra for any new hardening work.”
  • Others act like children
    • — So on the day of Kees' presentation, where he tried to drop a useless 0day on me and talk up how many upstream developers reviewed his code that did the same limitation right, I wrote an exploit of my own.
  • Vulnerability in Intel Management Engine
    • — Remote attackers could launch commands on a host of Intel-based computers, including laptops and desktops shipped with Intel Core processors since 2015.
    24 min
  • Linux Action News 28

    Fedora goes modular, Firefox makes a quantum leap, and a Linux classic makes a come back.

    Plus a big moment for the Kernel, Red Hat goes ARM, and OpenPlus has a backdoor with a twist.

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    • Fedora 27 released
    — The Workstation edition of Fedora 27 features GNOME 3.26. In the new release, both the Display and Network configuration panels have been updated, along with the overall Settings panel appearance improvement.
  • Firefox 57 arrives
    • — It’s by far the biggest update we’ve had since we launched Firefox 1.0 in 2004
  • There's an option for people who don't like change
    • — a fork of the Mozilla code-base pre-Servo/Rust... Basically for those not liking the direction of Firefox with v57 rolling out the Quantum changes, etc.
  • Ubuntu Unity 7 flavour might be on the horizon
    • — A proposal to create a new community Ubuntu flavor which uses the Unity 7 desktop by default is gathering support within the Ubuntu community.
  • LTS kernel 4.14 released
    • — Anyway, go out and test the new 4.14 release, that is slated to be the
    next LTS kernel - and start sending me pull request for the 4.15 merge
    window.
  • RISC-V support may be coming to 4.15
    • — RISC-V is hoping to see mainline with Linux 4.15. We've known for a while now about their mainline ambitions for 4.15 and a pull request was sent today, but it remains to be seen yet if Linus Torvalds will pull it for this merge window.
  • Red Hat announces ARM version of RHEL
    • — Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.4 for ARM, the first commercial release for this architecture.
  • Oneplus backdoor
    • — OnePlus accidentally left in place a diagnostic testing application made by Qualcomm. After decompiling this application, he discovered that it can be exploited to grant root access—effectively acting as a backdoor.
    28 min
  • Linux Action News 27

    New details show Linux on Galaxy phones further along than expected, Bitcoin's bad week explained, and CrossOver enables Windows apps, on ChromeOS.

    Plus Canonical puts out a call for help, Munich votes to return to Windows, and Steam on Linux turns 5.

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    • SegWit2x Bitcoin fork called off
    — "Although we strongly believe in the need for a larger blocksize, there is something we believe is even more important: keeping the community together," Belshe said. "Unfortunately, it is clear that we have not built sufficient consensus for a clean blocksize upgrade at this time. Continuing on the current path could divide the community and be a setback to Bitcoin’s growth."
  • Eco friendly Bitcoin competitor announced
    • — Cohen has just started a new company called Chia Network that will launch a cryptocurrency based on proofs of time and storage rather than bitcoin’s electricity-burning proofs of work. Essentially, Chia will harness cheap and abundant unused storage space on hard drives to verify its blockchain.
  • More Linux On Galaxy details
    • — Described as a “Concept Demo”, the vid has a couple of interesting moments.
  • CrossOver enables Windows apps on ChromeOS
    • — CodeWeavers has now announced the availability of their Wine-powered CrossOver software for Chrome OS.
  • Canonical wants volunteers to create art for Ubuntu
    • — A new theme based on Adwaita, the default GNOME GTK theme.
  • Steam Linux client turns 5
    • — It was on 6 November 2012 when the Steam Linux beta roll-out began and gained more steam as the year came to a close.
  • Munich votes to return to Windows
    • — That means, that Munich will transition to Microsoft Windows 10 in a 2 year phase (till 2020) on 29,000 pcs. The cost for this transition is actually confidential, but is estimated to be more than 100 million euros (more than 116 million US dollars).
  • Apple relicenses CUPS
    • — The CUPS Common UNIX Printing System up to now had been developed under the GPLv2 license while now Apple will be switching it to the Apache 2.0 software license.
    31 min
  • Linux Action News 26

    It's a week of red flags and success. The Plasma Mobile project sets humble goals, Firefox learns new tricks, a TOR flaw for Linux users, and Canonical joins the Gnome Advisory Board.

    Plus a new report claims every Bitcoin transaction uses as much energy as your house in a week, and two legal matters that may have long-term impacts on the Linux community.

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    • Plasma Mobile Roadmap
    — Our development strategy is to build a basic system and platform around our core values first and then extend this.
  • Librem 5 progressing with Plasma Mobile
    • — In general, Plasma Mobile already provides a usable (albeit alpha-quality) mobile interface today. The Qt Quick/QML based Kirigami component library and interface guidelines also provide a nice framework for mobile application developers
  • Firefox to remove canvas fingerprinting
    • — The Mozilla Foundation is boosting privacy in an upcoming version of its Firefox browser by removing the snooping capability called canvas fingerprinting, a method of tracking users across multiple websites.
  • Tor flaw: TorMoil
    • — TorMoil threatens Mac and Linux versions of Tor browser; Windows and Tails not affected.
  • Canonical joins GNOME Foundation Advisory Board
    • — The GNOME Foundation is pleased to announce that Canonical, creator of the Ubuntu operating system, has joined the GNOME Foundation advisory board.
  • SCO vs. IBM Lives on
    • — As Groklaw records, this case kicked off in 2003. The dispute centres on “Project Monterey” a joint effort by SCO and IBM to build a unified UNIX capable of running on several different microprocessor architectures. SCO – at that time known as the Santa Cruz Operation – sold versions of UNIX and tossed some of its source code into the Project Monterey mix, as did IBM. The parties signed a “joint development agreement” (JDA) to formalise the deal.
  • SFLC files a suit against Conservancy
    • — This trademark action is in its early stages. SFLC filed a petition on September 22. Yesterday, we provided an answer that lists defenses that we plan to use.
    24 min
  • Linux Action News 25

    Big changes coming to Linux Mint, hope for ZFS upstream in Linux, and Mozilla helps out TOR. Plus how Russia may help legitimize cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, and Solus makes a call for help.

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    • Mint to add Flatpak support
    — The project says the upcoming release of Linux Mint 18.3 will come with “full support” for Flatpak out of the box.
    This will include integration with the Linux Mint Software Manager.
  • Drop KDE edition
    • — The Linux Mint crew has confirmed today they will be discontinuing future releases of their KDE spin following next month's Linux Mint 18.3 release.
  • Oracle Could Still Make ZFS A First-Class Upstream Linux File-System
    • — Mark wants to see ZFS become a core part of Linux. He wants it to become "the file-system of Linux" and "that could happen" for "core Linux." He later said, "it's a possibility... but I can't say how strong of a possibility," that includes talking with Oracle lawyers about the code license of both ZFS and Solaris.
  • Open ZFS File-System Running On Windows
  • Google Play Protect isn't very good at spotting malware
    • — When exposed to recent Android malware samples, six of the 20 software suites sampled correctly flagged every single one as evil and prevented them from running. Eight more managed a 99 per cent or higher hit rate. Google's own system, Play Protect, only detected 65.8 per cent of threats.
  • Mozilla helps out TOR and so can you
    • — Today we’re launching our end-of-year crowdfunding campaign, “Powering Digital Resistance,” highlighting Tor’s work protecting essential human rights around the world.
    As part of this end-of-year campaign, Mozilla is matching donations up to a total of $500,000 -- so your donation to the Tor Project will go twice as far!
  • Solus looking for help with aesthetics for Solus 4
    • — If you wanna help us improve the default experience for the next ISO, or you've some mad creative skills, let us know!
  • Steam VR Marketshare Already Larger Than Steam Linux Marketshare
    • — Valve developer Pierre-Loup Griffais‏ who is heavily involved in their Linux efforts as well as those around virtual reality has commented the VR market-share is already larger than the entire Steam Linux market-share.
  • Putin Will Require Cryptocurrency Miners to Register With the Government
    • — After months of conflicting statements, Russia has finally outlined its plan for cryptocurrencies.
    27 min
  • Linux Action News 24

    The Linux desktop on Samsung phones, Intel ME disabled on Purism laptops, big Kernel news, and Ubuntu 17.10 is out.

    Plus our brief thoughts on the new Ubuntu release, its various flavors, an important milestone, and the larger Open Source story.

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    • Samsung enable Linux on their phones
    — Linux desktops will become available if users plug their phones into the DeX Station, the device that lets a Galaxy 8 run a Samsung-created desktop-like environment when connected to the DeX and an external monitor
  • Purism Now Shipping Their Laptops With Intel ME Disabled
    • — Purism has announced today all laptops to be shipping from their company will now have the Intel Management Engine (ME) disabled.
  • Purism partner with Nextcloud on end-to-end encrypted storage
    • — Purism plans to include Nextcloud in the Librem 5 phone, as well as within PureOS for its Librem 13 and Librem 15 laptops. Additionally, Purism will be discussing with Nextcloud about a future Purism NAS that runs completely free software including Nextcloud and services.
  • LVFS/fwupd need donations
    • — At the moment the secure part of the LVFS is hosted in a dedicated Scaleway instance, so any additional donations would be spent on paying this small bill and perhaps more importantly buying some (2nd hand?) hardware to include as part of our release-time QA checks.
  • Linux Kernel Community Enforcement Statement
    • — It adopts the same termination provisions we are all familiar with from GPL-3.0 as an Additional Permission giving companies confidence that they will have time to come into compliance if a failure is identified. Their ability to rely on this Additional Permission will hopefully re-establish user confidence and help direct enforcement activity back to the original purpose we have all sought over the years – actual compliance.  
  • Ubuntu 17.10 released
    • — Under the hood, there have been updates to many core packages, including
    a new 4.13-based kernel, glibc 2.26, gcc 7.2, and much more.
    Ubuntu Desktop has had a major overhaul, with the switch from Unity as
    our default desktop to GNOME3 and gnome-shell.
  • Happy 13th Birthday
    • — Ubuntu 4.10 ‘Warty Warthog’ wasn’t the most glamorous looking release, but it offered open-source enthusiasts of the day a simple, straightforward install from a single CD. The distro was notable for trying to “detect as much hardware as possible, simplifying the X install.”
    GNOME 2.8, Firefox 0.9, Evolution 2.0 and OpenOffice.org 1.1.2 were among the software assembled for the formative release.
  • Ubuntu MATE
    • — After six months of tireless work we present Ubuntu MATE 17.10, by far the best release we’ve ever produced.
  • Xubuntu
    • — Accelerated video playback with Intel hardware should now work more reliably out of the box.
    34 min
  • Linux Action News 23

    Fixing Steam on Linux for good, new toys for Fedora and Plasma users, OnePlus gets busted & the Librem 5 gets funded.

    Plus some key project updates & more!

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    • Solus pushing forward Steam with Snaps
    — That snap, as some people have already guessed as much, will be the linux-steam-integration project, using a strict-mode LSI intercept module. We can also make various tweaks on top of that runtime to enforce ABI compatibility where it might be missing.
  • AAC will be supported in Fedora Workstation 27
    • — What we will be shipping in Fedora is a modified version of the AAC implementation released by Google, which was originally written by Frauenhoffer. On top of that we will of course be providing GStreamer plugins to enable full support for playing and creating AAC files for GStreamer applications.
  • Plasma 5.11 released
    • — Plasma 5.11 brings a redesigned settings app, improved notifications, a more powerful task manager. Plasma 5.11 is the first release to contain the new “Vault”, a system to allow the user to encrypt and open sets of documents in a secure and user-friendly way, making Plasma an excellent choice for people dealing with private and confidential information.
  • 5.12 aims for Wayland improvements
    • — If we all just use Wayland and report and fix the bugs we run into I'm sure that 5.12 will be an awesome release on Wayland. So please help to make it happen!
  • KDE turns 21
    • — t was on 14 October 1996 that the "Kool Desktop Environment" was founded by Matthias Ettrich. At the time he wanted KDE to be a "consistent, nice looking free desktop-environment."
  • Fwupd 1.0 Released
    • — fwupd now supports 72 different kinds of hardware, support for another ~12 devices is currently being worked on, many vendors continue using or exploring fwupd, and around 165,000 devices each month get updated firmware using fwupd with LVFS.
  • Oneplus collecting data in Oxygen OS
    • — Moore discovered that some of the data being sent to OnePlus' servers included the phone's IMEI number, the phone number, MAC addresses, mobile network names and IMSI prefixes, Wi-Fi connection info, and the phone's serial number.
  • Say they'll stop
    • — By the end of October, “all OnePlus phones running OxygenOS will have a prompt in the setup wizard that asks users if they want to join our user experience program.” Not only that, but he also stated that OnePlus “will no longer be collecting telephone numbers, MAC Addresses and WiFi information.
  • Librem 5 funded
    • — 14 days early, we have crossed a historic milestone.
  • Purism Collaborates with Cryptocurrency Monero
    • — The Monero Project is a grassroots, community-driven initiative that advocates for privacy on a global scale by producing several free libre open source software projects, with the flagship offering being Monero, a fungible and decentralized cryptocurrency.
    25 min
  • Linux Action News 22

    Google's new hardware fails to impress, Sailfish X becomes a reality, and the most disappointing thing about Munich's slide back to proprietary software.

    Plus why Bitcoin Gold is the people's coin, Oracle advises the White House against FOSS, and ChromeOS gets a grownup Linux feature.

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    • Google Announce new Hardware
    — Google announced the new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL; an interesting new camera called Google Clips; a new Google Home Mini and Max; a Pixelbook, and an updated Google Daydream.
  • Chrome OS gets a lot more interesting
    • — This component, known as crosvm, runs untrusted operating systems along with virtualized devices. No actual hardware is emulated. This only runs VMs through the Linux's KVM interface.
  • Sailfish X becomes a reality
    • — Jolla have released the Sailfish X product page and the Jolla shop (which at the moment is dedicated to the selling of Sailfish X).
  • First 64-bit RISC-V SOC released
    • — The processor is intended for AI, machine learning, networking, gateways and smart IoT devices.
  • Oracle advises White House against FOSS
    • — Silicon Valley is comprised of IT vendors most of which fail. The USG is not a technology vendor nor is it a start-up. Under no circumstance should the USG attempt to become a technology vendor
  • Munich starts move back to Microsoft products
    • — "The city will use MS Exchange. It will be used for mail and calendar, so Kolab will not be used anymore," said the source, adding that the switch will take place in November.
  • Bitcoin Gold
    • — The fork mainly seems to be a reaction to widespread ire directed at one Bitcoin mining giant in particular, China-based Bitmain. Bitmain was an important player in the Bitcoin Cash fork.
    33 min
  • Linux Action News 21

    Atari has a Linux powered console, some brief Ubuntu updates, and the biggest Kernel news in years.

    Then we consider the recent smattering of opinion pieces on Microsoft's commitment to Open Source.

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    • New Atari console runs Linux
    — The Ataribox is powered by a ‘customised’ AMD processor and uses Radeon graphics. On the software side the machine runs a ‘customised’ version of Linux that has an “easy-to-use user interface”.
  • Ubuntu 17.10 final beta
    • — Artful Final Beta includes updated versions of most of our core set of packages, including a current 4.13 kernel
  • 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.
  • Announcing the XFree KWin project
    • — The idea is to be able to start KWin/Wayland without XWayland support.
  • 6 year LTS kernel
    • — Linux LTS releases will now be maintained for six years.
  • Nextcloud Introducing Native Integrated End-to-end Encryption
    • — Nextcloud End-to-end Encryption keeps the server from ever seeing the data while still facilitating syncing between devices and sharing with other users.
  • SQL Server lands on Linux for the first time
    • — Microsoft hit a major milestone today with the official general availability of SQL Server on Linux.
  • Microsoft Rolls Out A Preview Of The New Skype For Linux
    • — This long-awaited Skype for Linux update brings screen sharing, group chat, and other features not recently available under the current Skype for Linux client. This new Linux client is part of their effort to "rebuild Skype from the ground up with cloud technology."
  • Microsoft becomes a sponsor of the Open Source Initiative
    • — As a premium sponsor, Microsoft joins the likes of Google, IGM, HPE, AdblockPlus, GitHub and Heptio as top sponsors of the project. Other sponsors at lower levels include RedHat, The Linux Foundation, Mozilla and HP.
  • When Microsoft met SUSE: This Windows-Linux partnership gets stronger every day
    • — Microsoft SQL Server, which just became available on Linux, is also available on SLES and SLES on Azure on October 2.
  • Will Microsoft love Linux to death? Shuttleworth and Stallman.
    • — "It certainly looks that way. But it won't be so easy to extinguish us, because our reasons for using and advancing free software are not limited to practical convenience," he said.
    25 min
  • Linux Action News 20

    GNOME endorses the Librem 5, Replicant and UBports support more devices, Pipewire is major news for video on Linux, EFF walks away from W3C over DRM, Facebook reacts to community pressure, and Red Hat expands their Patent promise.

    Special Guest: Wes Payne.

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    • GNOME officially on board for the Librem 5
    — The GNOME Foundation is committed to partnering with Purism to create hackfests, tools, emulators, and build awareness that surround moving GNOME/GTK onto the Librem 5 phone.
  • Replicant expands list of supported devices
    • — A few months have passed since the initial Replicant 6.0 release and it’s time for another one. This release more than doubles the number of supported devices and contains a few important fixes and improvements.
  • UBports release OTA 2
    • — The UBports project is excited to announce the immediate availability of Ubuntu Touch 15.04 OTA-2.
    This is a huge release for the Ubuntu Touch platform, bringing new supported devices, new features, and many bug fixes.
  • Launching Pipewire!
    • — Pipewire is the latest creation of GStreamer co-creator Wim Taymans. The original reason it was created was that we realized that as desktop applications would be moving towards primarly being shipped as containerized Flatpaks we would need something for video similar to what PulseAudio was doing for Audio.
  • EFF quits W3C over Encrypted Media Extensions
    • — In 2013, EFF was disappointed to learn that the W3C had taken on the project of standardizing “Encrypted Media Extensions,” an API whose sole function was to provide a first-class role for DRM within the Web browser ecosystem. By doing so, the organization offered the use of its patent pool, its staff support, and its moral authority to the idea that browsers can and should be designed to cede control over key aspects from users to remote parties.
  • Facebook finally caves on react.js license
    • — Next week, we are going to relicense our open source projects React, Jest, Flow, and Immutable.js under the MIT license. We're relicensing these projects because React is the foundation of a broad ecosystem of open source software for the web, and we don't want to hold back forward progress for nontechnical reasons.
  • Red Hat Announces Broad Expansion to Open Source Patent Promise
    • — The expanded Patent Promise, while consistent with Red Hat’s prior positions, breaks new ground in expanding the amount of software covered and otherwise clarifying the scope of the promise. Red Hat believes its updated Patent Promise represents the broadest commitment to protecting the open source software community to date.
    25 min

About Linux Action News

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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.