The Latest News from Across the FOSS Universe
Tesla has finally launched its cheaper Model 3 electric vehicle as promised by the founder Elon Musk. The rear wheel drive Model 3 Standard Range starts at $35,000, becoming the least expensive “long range” fully electric vehicle available in the market. The Tesla Model 3 Standard Range offers 220 miles of range and has the […]
The post After A Long Wait, Cheaper Tesla Model 3 Is Here For $35,000 appeared first on Fossbytes.
Google is working on a new cache for Chrome which would load web pages faster than before. However, this will be applicable only to the pages you’ve already visited, so revisiting those pages by hitting the back button will take lesser time. Since Chrome caches files that make up a page, so revisiting that page shouldn’t force the browser to retrieve the JavaScripts, CSS […]
The post Google Chrome’s New “Back/Forward Cache” Will Speed Up Page Loading appeared first on Fossbytes.
Twitter has been planning ways to provide users with more flexibility around their posted tweets, and it seems like a new Hide Tweets feature is in tow for the same. Initially spotted by a Twitter user, Jane Manchun Wong, the company is testing replies moderation which involves the new Hide Tweets feature. As found in […]
The post Twitter Could Soon Get An Option To ‘Hide Tweets’ appeared first on Fossbytes.
Following a controversy that involved derogatory and predatory comments being posted under videos featuring children, YouTube has decided to ban comments on almost all the videos that have children. Comments will be temporarily turned off for the videos with children in them to silence the pedophiles who are causing a menace on the platform. Comments will be allowed only on […]
The post YouTube Disables Comments On Videos Featuring Children appeared first on Fossbytes.
Ubuntu 16.04.6 is a security-fix only release of Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Xenial Xerus. It protects new installs from a APT vulnerability.
This post, Ubuntu 16.04.6 LTS Released, Fixes Major APT Security Issue, was written by Joey Sneddon and first appeared on OMG! Ubuntu!.
Canonical announced today that it added support for Containerd container runtime in the latest releases of its Charmed Kubernetes and Microk8s products to improve their security and robustness.
Canonical released today the Ubuntu 16.04.6 LTS point release to its long-term supported Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) operating system series to address a recently discovered APT vulnerability.
American computer manufacturer System76 has launched today a refreshed version of its Oryx Pro flagship Linux-powered laptop with latest technologies from Intel and Nvidia, as well as bigger displays.News briefs for February 28, 2019.
Mozilla today released Common Voices, the "largest to-date public domain transcribed voice dataset". The dataset includes 18 languages and almost 1,400 hours of recorded voice from more than 42,000 people. From the Mozilla blog: "With this release, the continuously growing Common Voice dataset is now the largest ever of its kind, with tens of thousands of people contributing their voices and original written sentences to the public domain (CC0). Moving forward, the full dataset will be available for download on the Common Voice site."
KStars v3.1.0 was released today, marking the first release of 2019. This release focuses on stability and performance improvements—for example, some bugs in the Ekos Scheduler, Ring-Field Focusing was added to the Focus module, and the LiveView window now enables zooming and panning for supported DSLR cameras. See the Jasem's Ekosphere blog for all the details, and go here for download links and other resources.
LibreELEC 9.0.1 (Leia) is now available. This release of the Linux-based open-source operating system for embedded devices "contains many changes and refinements to user experience and a complete overhaul of the underlying OS core to improve stability and extend hardware support. Kodi v18 also brings new features like Kodi Retroplayer and DRM support that (equipped with an appropriate add-on) allows Kodi to unofficially stream content from services like Netflix and Amazon." In addition, "Changeable SSH passwords and a default firewall configuration have been added to combat the increasing number of HTPC installs that can be found on the public internet." Go here to download.
System76's new Oryx Pro laptop with RTX 20-Series GPUs is slated to arrive today. Features include "super thin aluminum alloy design, switchable NVIDIA and Intel GPUs, performance 8th-gen CPus, 15" and 17" IPS display options and up to 32GB of memory", and comes with Pop!_OS 18.04 LTS (64-bit) or Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (64-bit) for the OS.
Softpedia News reports that the security flaw discovered by EdgeSpot is "already being exploited in the wild and an official fix would only be released by Google in late April." In addition, "The PDF documents do not appear to leak any personal information when opened in dedicated PDF readers like Adobe Reader. However, it seems the malicious code specifically targets a vulnerability in Google Chrome, as opening them in the browser triggers outbound traffic to one of two different domains called burpcollaborator.net and readnotify.com." To protect yourself, don't open any PDFs in Google Chrome, especially from untrusted sources.
Possibly the most amazing thing, to me, about single board computers (SBCs) is that they allow small teams of people (and even lone individuals) to create new gadgets using not much more than SBCs and 3D printers. That opportunity for makers and small companies is absolutely astounding.
Two such projects have really caught my attention lately: the Noodle Pi and the TinyPi.
The Noodle Pi is a simple, handheld computer (about the size of a deck of playing cards). And, when I say simple, I mean simple. It's got a micro-USB charging port, another for plugging in USB devices, a touch screen and a battery. Think of it like an old-school PDA without any buttons (other than a small power toggle) and the ability to run a full Linux-based desktop.
Figure 1. The Credit-Card-Sized, Pi Zero-Powered, Noodle Pi
The TinyPi is a gaming handheld. And, believe it or not, it's even smaller than the Noodle Pi, with a tiny screen and tiny buttons. This is the sort of handheld game console you could put on a keychain.
Figure 2. The Impossibly Small TinyPi (Banana for Scale)
Both of these are built on top of the (super-tiny and super-cheap) Raspberry Pi Zero. And, both are built by lone individuals with a heavy reliance on 3D printers.
I wanted to know how they did it and how their experience was. What can we learn from these independent gadget makers? So, I reached out to both of them and asked them each the same questions (more or less).
Let's start with a chat with Pete Barker (aka "pi0cket"), maker of the TinyPi.
Bryan Lunduke: Could you give a quick overview of the TinyPi?
Pete Barker: TinyPi is (unofficially) the world's smallest pi-based gaming device. It started life as a bit of a joke—"how small can i make this?"—but it actually turned into something pretty good. The Pro version added more features and improvements, and a kickstarter was funded on December 30, 2018. Manufacturing is already underway, and the early-bird backers should start getting the kits in February 2019.
Figure 3. The parts of the TinyPi—the Smallest Handheld Game Console I Can Possibly Imagine
Xiaomi’s Indian subsidiary has thrown out teasers like loose change, fueling a lot of anticipation and excitement in us for the Redmi Note 7 series. While we were all prepared just for the Redmi Note 7 (under the newly-made Redmi sub-brand), to our surprise, we got to see the launch of the Redmi Note 7 […]
The post Redmi Note 7 Pro First Impressions: Is 48 The Lucky Number? appeared first on Fossbytes.
The upcoming Windows 10 April 2019 release (codenamed 19H1) is in the testing phase. While the Fast Ring is receiving testing previews frequently, Windows 10 Insider Preview Slow Ring wasn’t receiving updates for a long time. Many companies that use Windows Insider for Business program for validating new Windows releases have complained to Microsoft regarding the […]
The post Gaming Anti-Cheat Software Was Delaying Windows 10 Insider Preview appeared first on Fossbytes.
Data sharing apps like SHAREit and Xender have transformed the way files are shared, since their release a few years ago. The apps transfer files over wifi which is much faster compared to sending files using Bluetooth. However, a recent report by Threat Post disclosed two major vulnerabilities in the popular file sharing app, SHAREit, which […]
The post Critical SHAREit Flaw Gives Attackers Full Access To Device Files appeared first on Fossbytes.
Just after a day of launching Samsung Galaxy M30 in India, the Korean phone manufacturer has launched the Galaxy A series namely the Galaxy A10, Galaxy A30, and Galaxy A50. These handsets are the new low to mid-range offerings from Samsung that bring the latest features such as triple cameras, thinner bezels and octa-core processor. The highlight of […]
The post Samsung Galaxy A10, A30, A50 Launched In India: Price And Specs appeared first on Fossbytes.
The UBports community has put out a call for testing for the next OTA maintenance update for their Ubuntu Touch mobile OS for Ubuntu Phone devices, which will be available next week.After launching the device in China, Xiaomi has finally unveiled Redmi Note 7 Pro in India at an event held in New Delhi today. Notably, this is the first Redmi phone from Xiaomi that has been launched under the “Redmi” brand. The Redmi Note 7 Pro is priced at INR 13,999 (4GB/64GB) and INR 16,999 (6GB/128GB). It […]
The post Redmi Note 7 And Redmi Note 7 Pro Launched In India appeared first on Fossbytes.
There is no doubt that cord cutting is on the rise and services like Kodi and Roku are gaining more popularity. Even with video subscription services, users are sharing accounts to save bucks. According to CordCutting.com, 1 in 5 people is using the account credentials of their friends or exes to stream videos from Netflix, Amazon Prime, […]
The post Netflix Loses $192Million/Month Because Of Piracy And Cord Cutters: Study appeared first on Fossbytes.
If you’re from the Indian subcontinent, there are strong chances that you must have heard about TikTok app, which was formerly known as Musical.ly. The app recently crossed 1 billion downloads on Google Play Store and App Store, out of which 250 million downloads are from India. A US-based industry self-regulatory group called Children’s Advertising […]
The post TikTok Slapped With 5.7 Million Fine For Collecting Data From Teens appeared first on Fossbytes.
The development team behind the LibreELEC open-source and Linux-based operating system for embedded devices released the first maintenance update in the latest LibreELEC 9.0 "Leia" series.News briefs for February 27, 2019.
KDE announces it's been selected to participate in the Google Summer of Code for the 14th year. See the KDE Community Wiki for ideas and instructions for students interested in working with KDE for GSoC 2019.
MariaDB announced it is releasing a new version of its MySQL-compatible database management system called MariaDB Enterprise Server 10.4. ZDNet reports that "This new business server comes with more powerful and fine-grained auditing, faster, highly reliable backups for large databases, and end-to-end encryption for all data at rest in MariaDB clusters." The MariaDB Enterprise Server will be available in the second quarter of this year and will be fully open source.
CentOS is celebrating its 15th birthday. As part of its birthday celebrations, the CentOS blog wants to talk with those who "were involved in the early days, as well as some that have joined later on, to talk about how and why people get involved in this project". If you're interested in telling your story, contact rbowen@centosproject.org for an interview.
Cmd is a new security tool for Linux. According to Network World, "It reaches way beyond the traditional configuration of user privileges and takes an active role in monitoring and controlling the commands that users are able to run on Linux systems." It is designed for the cloud and monitors user activity "by forming user activity profiles (characterizing the activities these users generally perform), noticing abnormalities in their online behavior (login times, commands used, user locations, etc.), and preventing and reporting certain activities (e.g., downloading or modifying files and running privileged commands) that suggest some kind of system compromise might be underway. The product's behaviors are configurable and changes can be made rapidly."
Red Hat today announced the Red Hat Certified Architect Program in Telco Cloud, "a new training and certification program emphasizing the next-generation of telecommunications innovation". The program "focuses on the skills that telecommunications engineers need to build network functions virtualization (NFV) clouds, critical technologies that can help drive advanced services like 5G."
“For true, lasting privacy, we must shift from the ‘privacy policies’ of companies, which spring from data protection laws, to the ‘privacy’ of individual persons, as contemplated by human rights laws.”
How do we accomplish this shift?
TL;DR (in summary)
We live in the age of surveillance marketing, where consumers’ privacy is being violated without their knowledge, consent or recourse. Data from and about consumers is collected en masse by ad-tech companies and traded for profit. But few consumers knew about it until things blow up like the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook scandal. Most consumers think they are interacting with the sites they’re visiting or the apps (like Facebook) they’re using, but they aren't aware of the dozens of hidden ad-tech trackers that siphon their data off to other places or the aggressive data collection and cross-device tracking of apps. Not only are they not aware, they also definitely did not give consent to third parties to use, buy and sell their data. They wouldn’t even know who ABCTechCompany was anyway if it asked for consent.
Consent Is Not the Same as Permission, But Consumers Are Tricked Anyway
