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● 07.17.15

● Links 17/7/2015: Linux Mint 17.2 RC, Google Joins OpenStack

Posted in News Roundup at 4:44 am by Dr. Roy SchestowitzContentsGNU/LinuxGNU/Linux

=> ↺ Alternative is the question, Linux is the answer

• I can already hear the groans. You’ve all heard it before. Linux is superior, more secure, more flexible, and reliable. The list goes on and on. But for some people, there’s another answer that they’re now anxious to hear. That answer? It’s not Microsoft.

Desktop

=> ↺ Laptops, PCs: Not Quite Dead Yet

• About six months ago, I placed tongue firmly in cheek and wrote satirically in FOSS Force about how we are entering the “pre-post-PC era” in technology. Depending on whom I’m talking to about this topic, sometimes I bring it up just to watch their eyes glaze over.

• But for all intents and purposes, I unequivocally believe that all the talk about desktops and laptops being obsolete is hilariously misguided nonsense.

Server

=> ↺ Announcing rkt v0.7.0, featuring a new build system, SELinux and more

• Today we are announcing rkt v0.7.0. rkt is an app container runtime built to be efficient, secure and composable for production environments. This release includes new subcommands for a rkt image to manipulate images from the local store, a new build system based on autotools and integration with SELinux. These new capabilities improve the user experience, make it easier to build future features and improve security isolation between containers.

Kernel Space

=> ↺ AllSeen Alliance Deepens IT Infrastructure and Cloud Computing Expertise for IoT

• The AllSeen Alliance, a cross-industry collaboration to advance the Internet of Everything through an open source software project, today announced 13 new members have joined the initiative including industry giants IBM and Pivotal.

Graphics Stack

=> ↺ Nvidia GRID adds high-end Linux power to any device

• Nvidia has added high-end Linux power to its GRID cloud gaming service, which can be used on an device.

• GRID currently powers 3D graphics of VMware’s recently released Horizon 6 for Linux, meaning users can offer a high-end Linux workstation experience.

Applications

=> ↺ SubNetCalc 2.4.2 (Command-Line Subnet Address Calculator) Has Been Released

=> ↺ RcppEigen 0.3.2.5.0

• A new release of RcppEigen arrived on CRAN and in Debian yesterday. It synchronizes the Eigen code with the 3.2.5 upstream release.

=> ↺ Fractgen 2.0.17 (Fractal Generator) Received Small Fixes Only

• As you may know, Fractgen is a simple software built by using the Qt libraries, for generating fractals, enabling the users to zoom into images, save image parameters as XML files, export calculated images as PNG files.

=> ↺ FileBot 4.6 (Open-Source Movie And Music Renaming App) Brings Fixes And Changes

Proprietary

=> ↺ New Opera 30 Release Fixes dpkg Issues

• The Opera developers have released yet another update for their Internet browser, and they closed a number of small bugs, among other things.

=> ↺ Vivaldi Tech Preview 4 Has Been Released, Adding Support For Chrome Extensions

• As you may know, Vivaldi is a Chromium-based open-source internet browser, built by the Opera founder. It did not reach a stable version yet, but it is already usable.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ How to enable SSL for MySQL server and client

=> ↺ How to Setup Android/SmartPhone Test Farm (STF)

=> ↺ Attaching debugger and ptrace_scope

=> ↺ 10 Things to Do After Installing Linux Mint 17.2

=> ↺ CouchPotato lets you download movies automatically – Installing it on 5 different Linux Distros (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Centos, Arch)

=> ↺ Install And Configure Bacula In Ubuntu 15.04

=> ↺ How To Install ConfigServer Security And Firewall In Linux

=> ↺ Install And Configure LDAP Server In CentOS 7

Games

=> ↺ Point-And-Click Adventure ‘The Apotheosis Project’ Released On Steam For Linux

• The Apotheosis Project is a traditional point-and-click adventure game where you control two protagonists with supernatural powers, and the game is now available for Linux on Steam.

=> ↺ Lucius II Adventure Game Is Coming to Linux

• Lucius II, a third-person action game developed and published on Steam for Linux by Shiver Games, will be released for Linux users, according to an entry in the Steam database.

=> ↺ Team Fortress 2 Gets Fixes and Balancing Changes

• Team Fortress 2, a free online FPS multiplayer game developed by Valve, has been updated once more. The latest patch is all about fixes and some balancing changes and it’s not a major upgrade.

=> ↺ Crusader Kings II Gets a Huge 80% Price Cut on Steam for Linux

• Crusader Kings II, a historical simulator developed and published by Paradox Interactive on Steam for Linux, is now available with an 80% price cut and a brand-new DLC has been made available.

=> ↺ SteamOS 2.25 “Brewmaster” Based on Debian 8 Gets Linux Kernel Update and More

• Valve has recently announced that it’s working on a new SteamOS based on the latest Debian 8 branch and the developers have just released a new major update for it. The new OS is still under development, it’s not stable, but it’s exciting already.

=> ↺ Permadeath 2D Platformer Amygdala Launches on Steam for Linux

• Amygdala, a new 2D platforming adventure developed and published on Steam by a studio called MachineSpirit, has been released on multiple platforms, including Linux.

Desktop Environments/WMs

K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

=> ↺ KDE Devs Working to Bring Android Apps on Linux

• Developers are working to build a simulated Android environment that would allow users to run any kind of Android apps in a Linux OS. This work is still in its infancy, but it’s happening and it will be presented at the KDE Akademy 2015 event.

=> ↺ KDevelop Checker Framework – pushed

• I’m pleased to announce that the KDevelop Checker Framework has been pushed to the KDevPlatform repository.

GNOME Desktop/GTK

=> ↺ GNOME 3.17.4 unstable tarballs due

• Hello all,

• Tarballs are due on 2015-07-20 before 23:59 UTC for the GNOME 3.17.4 unstable release, which will be delivered on Wednesday. Modules which were proposed for inclusion should try to follow the unstable schedule so everyone can test them. Please make sure that your tarballs will be uploaded before Monday 23:59 UTC: tarballs uploaded later than that will probably be too late to get in 3.17.4. If you are not able to make a tarball before this deadline or if you think you’ll be late, please send a mail to the release team and we’ll find someone to roll the tarball for you!

=> ↺ GNOME’s Tracker Search Engine Reaches Version 1.5.0 with Multiple Fixes

• On July 15, Martyn Russell, the developer of the open-source semantic data storage engine for desktop and mobile devices that is heavily used in the GNOME desktop environment, announced the immediate availability of Tracker 1.5.0.

=> ↺ Evolution Open-Source Groupware Client Receives Massive Update for GNOME 3.16

• The developers of the Evolution open-source groupware, calendar, and email client used in numerous distributions of GNU/Linux have recently released a massive update for the GNOME 3.16 desktop environment.

Distributions

New Releases

=> ↺ OpenELEC 6.0 Beta 3 Is Based on Linux Kernel 4.1 and Kodi 15.0 “Isengard” RC2

• On July 16, the OpenELEC development team informed us all about the immediate availability for download and testing of the third Beta build of the anticipated OpenELEC 6.0 GNU/Linux operating system designed for embedded devices.

=> ↺ MeX Linux Distro Is Now Based on Linux Mint 17.2, Ubuntu 15.04, and Debian 8

• Arne Exton, the creator of numerous free and commercial Linux kernel-based and Android operating systems, was glad to inform us earlier about the general availability of MeX Linux Build 150714.

Red Hat Family

=> ↺ Red Hat support evolves with new Access Insights services

• Open source users flock to Red Hat for enterprise support, but not all subscribers like the way the company handles IT issues.

• The company recently launched an updated support service. User experience is important to Red Hat Inc., and it dedicated its day-three keynote at the Red Hat Summit last month to its support.

=> ↺ Carahsoft Named Red Hat Public Sector Distribution Partner of the Year

=> ↺ Red Hat and Samsung Team Up for Mobile Enterprise Solutions

• Red Hat and Samsung are teaming up packaging Red Hat’s open source middleware, mobile and cloud technologies with Samsung Business Services, portfolio of technologies targeted for business from smartphones to wearables, tablets, digital displays, hospitality TVs and printers.

=> ↺ Docker 1.7.1 Open-Source Linux Container Engine Has Better Support for CentOS 6.6

• The well-known and widely used Docker open-source container engine for GNU/Linux operating system has recently been updated to version 1.7.1, a release that fixes over 15 issues reported by users since the announcement of Docker 1.7.

Fedora

=> ↺ Display and control your music on Fedora Workstation

• Many Fedora users listen to music through their laptops and desktops. In fact Fedora offers a wide range of media players, such as Rhythmbox, Banshee, and GNOME Music. Some of these players, like GNOME Music, provide notifications that appear when a track changes, but these notifications are easy to miss, and they don’t provide any control over the playing music.

• This is where the Media Player Indicator extension (which can be installed directly via the GNOME Extenstions website) can be an excellent addition if you listen to music on your Fedora Workstation. By default, the Media Player Indicator extension places an additional widget in the system status menu. This widget adds Artist, Trackname, and Album information, as well as Album artwork, and controls for stopping, starting, and skipping tracks.

=> ↺ Beautiful Chapeau 22.1 Linux Distro Out Now to Fix Issues with the Korora 22 Repos

• Vince Pooley, the creator of the Chapeau project, a beautiful GNU/Linux distribution based on the well-known Fedora Linux operating system, has recently announced that the first point release of Chapeau 22 is available for download.

=> ↺ Fedora for Science (and the KDE desktop)

• Being an amateur Theoretical Physcist is alot of work, I searched just about everywhere for a scientific version of Linux, while I had previous, but short uses of Ubuntu and Mint proved them, to me, unsatisfying. So after more digging around I decided to look at Fedora, it seemed great, but I still needed the scientific software pre-installed so I don’t have to go do more digging. After a small bit of reading I saw the spins, sounded intresting, but I needed more, then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the LABS page, it had everything from Art, to Cybersecurity, with all the applications pre-installed, I just had to go for it. You know what, it was completely worth it, it had a comprehensive library of everything, and after installing Libre Office, I was ready to go. It is safe to say that this got me HOOKED on linux, I adore having it dual booting on my Windows 7, so I can have a personal and scientific system. It runs on the modern and functional KDE desktop. One of the biggest pluses I found was that it ran on my 1920×1080 moniter right out of the box, without even running in render mode, or requiring drivers.

Debian Family

=> ↺ HP Linux Imaging and Printing 3.15.7 Adds Support for Debian 8.1 Jessie

• On July 16, HP had the great pleasure of announcing the immediate availability for download of the seventh maintenance release of the HP Linux Imaging and Printing (HPLIP) 3.15 software for GNU/Linux operating systems.

Derivatives

Canonical/Ubuntu

=> ↺ Ubuntu 15.10 Desktop Updates Bring Fixes for Mir Backend

• Ubuntu developers are making some really interesting progress with the upcoming Wily Werewolf release, and they have revealed some of the work that’s being done for the desktop. It’s not much to look at, but there are a couple of items that should be mentioned.

=> ↺ Lenovo and Canonical Announce Laptop Deal

• Canonical announced that it has lined up a contract with Lenovo to preload Ubuntu on Thinkpad L450 laptops in India. The announcement marks the first joint launch for Ubuntu and Lenovo in India, a country where Ubuntu already has a strong foothold. The laptops will be available for purchase at selected commercial resellers throughout the region.

=> ↺ A Grooveshark-Alternative Music Player For Ubuntu Touch Is Under Development

• As you may know, Grooveshark has been discontinued and has been removed from all the platforms where it was available. With this occasion, a third party developer has decided to create a new media player for Ubuntu Touch, with the needed features to replace Grooveshark.

=> ↺ What the Ubuntu IP Announcement means

• So this is about a year after the time I exchanged emails with Dr. Richard Stallman not only about privacy issues that Canonical was trying to wave off but also these licensing issues. We (myself and other Ubuntu Developers) had been hearing that other distros had been essentially bullied into signing contracts and licenses pursuant to Canonical’s IP Policy for Ubuntu at the time.

=> ↺ Canonical Updates Ubuntu Licensing Terms After Two-Year Discussions with FSF

=> ↺ Don’t Expect Much from Intel Compute Stick with Ubuntu, Windows Version Is Terrible

• The Intel Compute Stick sounds great on paper, and it’s also shipping with Ubuntu, but you shouldn’t really get your hopes up. The Windows version is not all that great, and it’s quite possible that the Ubuntu edition is not up to par either.

=> ↺ Canonical Clarifies IP Policy, No One Else Happy

• In the continuing saga of Canonical versus contributors’ rights, a clarification was issued today. Most consensus is that Canonical’s “trump clause” fixes the largest part of the intellectual property dispute, but still leaves issues unresolved. The Free Software Foundation and the Software Freedom Conservancy played key roles and have issued their own statements. Bradley M. Kuhn, Matthew Garrett, and Jonathan Riddell weigh in as well.

=> ↺ One Ubuntu PC maker is kicking Adobe Flash off its Linux systems

=> ↺ Ubuntu maker System76 ditches Flash because “security, security, security”

=> ↺ FSF guides Canonical towards the light by making them change their IP rights policy

• After two years of negotiations, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) have helped Canonical change it’s intellectual property rights policy” to make it comply with the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) and other free software licenses.

=> ↺ FSF and SFC work with Canonical on an “intellectual property” policy update

=> ↺ The Number of Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition Invitations Has Tripled

• Users can only buy a Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition phone if they play a game on the official website and get one of the very illusive invitations. Now, that number of invitations has been tripled.

=> ↺ Ubuntu 15.10 (Wily Werewolf) Gets the Latest LibreOffice 5.0 RC3

• The upcoming Ubuntu 15.10 (Wily Werewolf) will have the latest LibreOffice 5.0 suite when it is made available in October, and in the meantime the newest RC has been made available through the repos.

=> ↺ Here Are the New Beautified Monochromatic Icons of Ubuntu Linux

• On July 16, Canonical’s Steph Wilson posted a new article on the Ubuntu Design website to inform us all about the new beautified monochromatic icons that will be implemented in the next version of the Ubuntu Linux operating system.

=> ↺ Unity 8 And Mir Has Received Interesting Improvements

• Canonical’s Kevin Gunn has recently announced that Unity 8 has received updates and enhancements, including UI improvements, code cleanups and better multi-monitor support via QtMir, LXC support for Xapps, work for the launcher parity has been done, some features landed in the Slim greeter, the preparations for implementing the Vulkan API from the Khronos Group have been made.

Flavours and Variants

=> ↺ Ubuntu 15.10 MATE Does Not Use The Desktop Cube As The Default WM Anymore

• Ubuntu MATE (the newest member from the Ubuntu family) permits the users to choose the default window manager, in real time, four alternatives being available.

=> ↺ Xubuntu Linux is Being Used to Teach Students at Colegio Hispano Americano in Puerto Rico

• The Xubuntu developers kicked off a new series of interesting articles where they interview various organizations from all over the world in regard with the usage of the Xubuntu Linux operating system.

=> ↺ Linux Mint 17.2 “Rafaela” Xfce Edition RC is Based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and Xfce 4.12

• Immediately after announcing the release of Linux Mint 17.2 “Rafaela” KDE Edition RC (Release Candidate), Clement Lefebvre, leader and main developer of the Linux Mint project, informed us about the immediate availability for download and testing of Linux Mint 17.2 “Rafaela” Xfce Edition Release Candidate.

=> ↺ Linux Mint 17.2 “Rafaela” KDE RC released!

Devices/Embedded

=> ↺ Give Your Raspberry Pi Night Vision With the PiNoir Camera

• The Raspberry Pi and Pi2 are economical little ARM machines which can happily run Linux. The popularity of the Raspberry Pi and compatible Pi 2 models means that a great deal of accessories are available. These accessories include the PiNoir Camera and 4D Systems’ touch-sensitive, 3.5-inch display.

• The PiNoir camera is so named because it does not have an Infrared Filter (no-IR). Without an IR filter the camera can be used at night, provided you have an infrared light source. With night vision you can use the Raspberry Pi as an around-the-clock surveillance camera monitor, baby monitor, or to give vision to a robot. The PiNoir Camera comes without a case, so you might like to pick up something to help protect it.

=> ↺ PiDrive A Low Power Raspberry Pi mSATA Solid State Disk (SSD)

• Raspberry Pi users that are in search of a high-capacity low-power consuming storage device for their Raspberry Pi B+, A+, and B+ v2 mini PC may be interested in the new PiDrive that has been created by Bud Griffin.

Phones

=> ↺ Jolla hooks up with Indian phonemaker, launches Sailfish 2.0

• Jolla’s Sailfish OS had a rocky start, but now it’s found its first licensing partner: India’s second largest phonemaker, Intex Technologies. It’s even developing a regional mobile ecosystem called Sailfish India with the manufacturer and other partners (to be revealed in the future) in an effort to become a huge presence in the country. This move apparently signifies that the company’s set to license its OS to more partners globally. In fact, it already built LTE devices optimized for its platform based on Qualcomm Snapdragon 200, 600 and 800, enabling future collaborators to release Sailfish phones as soon as possible.

Tizen

=> ↺ Leaked images of Samsung Z3 with Tizen 3.0? We don’t think so

• This morning there have been images flying around the web about a Samsung Z3 Smartphone running Tizen 3.0. Well, we don’t think so. The image shows the Tizen Store being accessed by a device, but the Z3 hasn’t been given Tizen Store access permission yet, and this handset with this firmware would not get in. Also Tizen 3.0 on a Smartphone has a long way to get released as it is still under heavy development, so yet again, we don’t think so.

=> ↺ Samsung’s Brings New Tizen based JS7000 4K SUHD Smart TV to the Masses

• Following the successful launch of Samsung’s flagship SUHD TV line, the Korean company has Introduced a new 4K SUHD TV, the JS7000, that has been launched in the US. The Tizen based Smart TV will feature high quality picture enhancements with a brighter, more true-to-life picture, all at a competitive price. Samsung Electronics has been a leader in home entertainment for nine consecutive years now.

Android

New Devices

=> ↺ Hands on review: Sony Android TV

• The beauty of Android TV is that it cuts down on your reliance on mobile devices for some tasks, particularly when it comes to multimedia. Now you can just flop down on the couch with the remote and watch your digital content the old-fashioned way. If this sounds appealing then Android TV might be for you. Even if you’re happy to drive your television from your phone or tablet, Android TV might appeal to members of your household who aren’t.

=> ↺ The world’s first ‘true Android PC’ costs just $20

• Google’s vision for Android doesn’t work for everyone, and many OEMs are looking at different ways of using the operating system for improving our computing needs. Chinese company Jide Tech is one such Android device maker that’s imagining Android as a Windows-like platform that could deliver PC-like functionality to end users. The company has previously launched a very affordable tablet on Kickstarter, and now it’s back with a $20 device that’s described as the “world’s first true Android PC.

=> ↺ Oppo brings diamond flair to Android with new Mirror 5 smartphone

=> ↺ Marshall just released the world’s most badass Android phone

• Simply called the London, the phone is pretty standard on the inside with 4G LTE, 720p display, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and an 8-megapixel camera. The difference, according to Marshall, is that this has been designed for music.

Commodore Android-Powered

=> ↺ What’s Old Is New as Commodore, Kodak Brands Re-Emerge on Android Devices

• The just-announced return of the Commodore brand atop an Android smartphone marks the continuation of a small but growing trend of once-popular tech names returning to life in the phone business.

=> ↺ Commodore’s name is getting slapped on this Android phablet

• Pretty soon you’ll be able to buy a Commodore smartphone. Wired reports that the famed 1980s brand is being resurrected once more by two Italian entrepreneurs who claim they’ve acquired rights to the Commodore name in many countries across the globe. (Commodore’s trademark has been passed around over the years after the original company went out of business in 1994.) So while there’s no direct connection with the famed 8-bit home computer, Massimo Canigiani and Carlo Scattolini have designed the new Commodore PET with a gaming focus in mind. The Android 5.0 Lollipop handset will ship with two emulators built in (VICE C64 and Uae4All2-SDL Amiga, per Wired).

=> ↺ Commodore PET returns as a nostalgia-powered $312 Android phone

India, Intex, iRist, and Android

=> ↺ Intex Unveils Android 4.4 Running iRist Smartwatch With Built-in 3G, Wi-Fi, and GPS

• India’s Intex Technologies has unveiled its first wearable device in the form of the iRist, a smartwatch that runs Android 4.4 KitKat – not Android Wear – and can operate independently of your smartphone. Launched at the sidelines of Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai, the iRist is priced at Rs. 11,999 and will be available in India starting August in Black, Pink, and Orange colour variants. The smartwatch will be exclusive to eBay India “for a few days” before it is available via Intex’s retail partners across the country.

=> ↺ Intex iRist is a budget, Android-powered smartwatch for India

• Indian smartphone manufacturer Intex has moved into wearables with its affordable, standalone smartwatch, the iRist.

=> ↺ India’s Snapdeal, Intex Seek An Android Alternative

• Today Jolla has announced that India’s OEM, Intex, which it says is the country’s second largest mobile maker (after Micromax), will be bringing “Sailfish OS based products to the market later in 2015″. According to The Indian Express, Intex will be launching a 4G smartphone running Sailfish called the Intex Aqua Fish this September, priced at around Rs 15,000 ($240). Update: According to Jolla, the price-point for the forthcoming handset will be less than Rs 10,000 ($150).

Security

=> ↺ Darkode Shutdown: FireEye Intern Accused Of Creating $65,000 Android Malware

• One of the more successful English-speaking cybercrime forums, Darkode, was shut down today and 28 arrests of individuals linked to the site made across the world, the FBI and Europol confirmed this morning. Charges were filed in the US against 12 individuals. They included the apparent Darkode creator, 27-year-old Wisconsin resident Daniel Placek, an alleged admin, Swedish 27-year-old Johan Anders Gudmunds, and the accused creator of Facebook Spreader, malware designed to ensnare users of the social network into a massive botnet – a network of infected machines.

=> ↺ Author Of Surprisingly Well-Marketed Android Malware “Dendroid” Arrested In Multi-National Cybercrime Raid

• Last year, there was a rather widely-covered story about a piece of Android malware (rather, an Android malware control suite) called Dendroid. That malware was published for sale on a cybercrime-aligned forum known as Darkode, and it just so happens that the FBI (with assistance from agencies in other nations) just arrested the guy who wrote Dendroid as part of a larger raid on Darkode’s operators.

Android vs. iPhone

=> ↺ This Android app adds one simple feature I wish I could have on my iPhone

=> ↺ What Would It Take to Make You Switch to Android or iOS?

Android M

=> ↺ Android M is getting native visual voicemail

=> ↺ Android M Preview 2 hands on: One step closer to a final release

Updates

=> ↺ U.S. Cellular Samsung Galaxy S4 Finally Receives Android 5.0 Lollipop Update: How To Upgrade

=> ↺ Samsung Galaxy Note Edge Android 5.1 Lollipop Released For Sprint Users, Galaxy S6 And S6 Edge Receive Minor Updates

=> ↺ Android 5.0.1 Lollipop Update For Samsung Galaxy S4 (SCH-R970): How To Install It

=> ↺ Motorola Android 5.1 Lollipop Update Breakdown [July]

HTC

=> ↺ Android 5.1 OS update rollout to HTC One M9 on AT&T and T-Mobile imminent

=> ↺ HTC updates its Desire lineup with 4 new mid-range Android handsets for the US

=> ↺ HTC One M9 for AT&T will get Android 5.1 starting today

• HTC’s VP of product management, Mo Versi revealed on Twitter that Android 5.1 Lollipop for the One M9 for AT&T has been approved by Google. The new firmware has been scheduled to start seeding over-the-air from today onwards.

Slacker Radio

=> ↺ Slacker Radio Gets Android Auto Support

• Android Auto is a relatively new in-car infotainment platform from Google that’s based on Android, many major car manufacturers have already adopted the platform and will be shipping it in their new vehicles. However it’s not mass market just yet even though Google has also partnered up with OEMs to create aftermarket solutions to bring Android Auto to older cars. This is one of the reasons why there aren’t a lot of apps with Android Auto support but the list is surely increasing gradually.

=> ↺ Slacker Radio Updated With Android Auto Support In The Latest Version

• Take a moment to consider the plight of poor app developers. In order to evade the fury of Android users, they need to check their apps every few months to make sure they work with incremental updates. Then every once in a while they need to add support for new phones with weird manufacturer skins or new chipset architectures. And if that wasn’t enough, Google keeps adding entirely new product categories – Android Wear on smartwatches, Android TV for televisions, and Android Auto for cars. I’m not saying that developers shouldn’t make every effort to keep their apps current, just that we should take a moment to recognize what a hassle it is.

HBO

=> ↺ HBO Now Launches on Google Android, Amazon Devices

=> ↺ HBO Now moves beyond Apple, arrives on Android and Amazon devices

Games

=> ↺ Rovio Announces (Wait For It) Angry Birds 2, Coming To Android On July 30th

=> ↺ When is Fallout Shelter Coming to Android Devices?

• Ever since its announcement and subsequent release during E3 2015, Bethesda Softworks’ Fallout Shelter has garnered tons of attention. Plenty of would-be Fallout fanatics have decided to handle the task of developing their own vault for their community of Dwellers. After its initial release, Fallout Shelter reached the #1 spot on Apple’s App Store and its daily play sessions clocked in at 70-million times.

Misc.

=> ↺ These are the 10 most powerful Android phones in the world

• Performance is more than just numbers on a sheet of paper. Smartphone specs tell part of the story, but they never tell us the whole story. Apple has proven that time and time again as its dual-core iPhones with 1GB of RAM continue to slaughter quad- and octa-core rivals in performance tests. Meanwhile on the Android side of things, specs on recent smartphones have often appeared quite similar on paper.

=> ↺ Shashlik: A New Way To Run Android Apps On Linux

• Shashlik is an “Android Simulated Environment” to serve as a launcher for running Android applications on a conventional GNU/Linux distribution.

• Shashlik will be presented later this month at KDE’s Akademy 2015 conference as a new way for running Android applications on “real” Linux.

=> ↺ Android was ‘probably the best decision Google ever made’ says its former leader

• “Android was probably the best decision that Google ever made — you know, years ago,” Barra told Chang. “And, of course, the fruit of that will be around for many decades.”

=> ↺ Mobile Shopping App Wish Buys Android Lockscreen App Maker Locket

=> ↺ 5 animated Android Wear watch faces worth trying

• One of the coolest things about Android Wear is the ever-expanding array of face designs you can find for your watch. I’ve already put together a collection of some of my favorite Android Wear faces, but there’s a more specialized category that also deserves to be addressed: watch faces that are animated.

Free Software/Open Source

=> ↺ Open source router project administers Lithium

• The CloudRouter Project, a months-old effort to open source cloud routing, is announcing first shipment of OpenDaylight’s new “Lithium” SDN controller.

• OpenDaylight is a participant in the CloudRouter Project, and Lithium was released two weeks ago. It is OpenDaylight’s third SDN controller release and includes enhancements in security and automation, scalability, performance, OpenStack and group-based policy, including support for Cisco/Citrix/IBM/Microsoft/Sungard OpFlex policy protocol.

=> ↺ Continuous integration and delivery for documentation

• How does OpenStack merge over 900 documentation changes in less than three months? We treat docs like code and continuously publish reviewed content from multiple git repositories.

Events

=> ↺ Bruce Schneier: IT Teams Need Cyberattack Response Planning More Than Prevention

• Schneier will give a keynote on “Attacks, Trends, and Responses” at LinuxCon, CloudOpen and ContainerCon North America in Seattle, on Tuesday Aug.18, 2015. Here, he discusses the need for a conceptual shift on security and what organizations can do to better prepare for the – inevitable – cyberattack.

• Schneier has authored 12 books as well as hundreds of articles and essays. He writes a popular and respected newsletter “Crypto-Gram” and his blog “Schneier on Security” boasts more than 250,000 readers.

Web Browsers

Mozilla

=> ↺ Ubuntu 12.04 Finally Gets Latest Firefox 39 After a Long Wait

• The Ubuntu maintainers for Firefox have finally released the latest 39.x branch of the Internet browser for users of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.

=> ↺ Mozilla Blocks Flash Because Of Security Issues

=> ↺ Latest Firefox update now blocks Flash by default – all that you need to know about the firefox update

• Mozilla Firefox, for a very long time has been a name which has been one of the biggest players when it comes to the world of web browsers.

=> ↺ Mozilla’s Maker Party Starts Today

• From July 15 – July 31, Mozilla community members around the globe will come together to teach the Web through fun, creative and hands-on activities. In past years, we’ve created everything from robots and educational browser games to original artwork and dance moves. We can’t wait to make more cool stuff this July.

=> ↺ Former Mozilla Executive Seeks to Challenge Android

• A Hong Kong-based startup run by former Mozilla President Li Gong aims to take on Android with its new Web-based operating system, H5OS.

• Similar to the Firefox operating system from Mozilla, H50S is based on HTML5, a website development language that tries to give Web apps the same capabilities as so-called native applications that are downloaded to a device like the iPhone.

=> ↺ Mozilla Winter of Security is back!

• Last year, we introduced the Mozilla Winter of Security (MWoS) to invite students to work on security projects with members of Mozilla’s security teams. Ten projects were proposed, and dozens of teams applied. A winter later, MWoS 2014 gave birth to exciting new technologies such as the SeaSponge Threat Modeling platform, the Masche memory scanning Go library, a Linux Audit plugin written in Go for integration in Heka, and a TLS Observatory.

SaaS/Big Data

=> ↺ Google to Help Bring Linux Containers (and Cash) to OpenStack

=> ↺ All aboard! Google climbs on the OpenStack train

=> ↺ Google Signs On As OpenStack Sponsor, Will Contribute Container Tech

=> ↺ Google becomes an OpenStack sponsor. What is happening in this world?

=> ↺ Google joins OpenStack to build bridges between public and private clouds

=> ↺ Google Signs on as Corporate Sponsor of the OpenStack Foundation

=> ↺ Google joins OpenStack to build bridges between public and private clouds

=> ↺ Google sponsors OpenStack hybrid interoperability

• oogle becomes a corporate sponsor of the OpenStack open-source private cloud platform, aiming to deliver container management and cloud-native apps

• Google has become the newest sponsor of the OpenStack Foundation. It said it would support engineering efforts around Linux containers and the integration of container technology like Kubernetes with the open-source, private cloud platform.

=> ↺ Russian big data technologies evolve with one eye on US open source

• Russian data technicians have, until recently, shunned full-scale use of US-based open-source big data technology; but with one eye on it

• Russian technology firms have largely focused on developing their own technologies for big data. And these are put to work across many sectors of the Russian economy.

Databases

=> ↺ Why government needs open source databases

• Recent reports on our economy have been positive, but government agencies are still facing unprecedented financial pressures as a result of the 2008 economic crisis and subsequent sequester. As agencies are forced to make do with less, funding for technology programs – across federal, state and local jurisdictions – can oftentimes be the first area to face cuts. With this in mind, CIOs are always on the lookout for ways to centralize and optimize their existing technology to fit into new budget requirements. Open source technologies have become the new priority for government agencies as they look to rein in costs without sacrificing security.

Oracle/Java/LibreOffice

=> ↺ A look at what’s on the horizon for LibreOffice

• Recently I returned to using a Linux desktop as my primary computing platform, and with that came LibreOffice as part of the default setup. I’ve been an OpenOffice user for almost a dozen years, but I knew that LibreOffice forked from OpenOffice in 2010. I decided to give LibreOffice a try and I loved it.

=> ↺ LibreOffice 5.0 to Get Numerous DOCX Improvements

• The Document Foundation has released the third RC (Release Candidate) for the LibreOffice 5.0.0 branch, which is now available for download and testing.

BSD

=> ↺ Sudo Replacement Hits the Tree

• As noted in the commit message, this is under active development.

FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC

=> ↺ GCC 5.2 Officially Released

• GCC 5.2 was officially released this morning as the second stable update of the GCC 5 series.

• For those still not used to the GNU Compiler Collection’s new versioning scheme, GCC 5.2 is just a stable point release… A bug-fix release over GCC 5.1, the first stable release of the GCC 5 series that was introduced back in April. GCC 6 is coming next year as the annual major update to this leading open-source compiler.

• GCC 5.2 fixes more than 81 bugs/regressions in the GCC5 series. The new release can be downloaded from gcc.gnu.org.

Openness/Sharing

=> ↺ Unlocking employee potential in the open organization

=> ↺ What matters most? Using metrics to build a better team

Open Hardware

=> ↺ BUDDY opensource companion bot meets 100K crowdfunding goal in 1 day; now >200% funded

• BUDDY was purposely built on an open-source technology platform using popular development tools, such as OpenCV and Unity3D, to allow as many developers as possible to build applications for it. BUDDY’s industry standard platform includes the most popular programming languages and the Android mobile operating system.

Leftovers

=> ↺ Facebook and Twitter on the rise as sources of news in the US

• Pew Research Center study finds that 63% of each social network’s American users are getting their news from these services

=> ↺ Why Epic’s market dominance could stifle EHR and health IT innovation

• “As a country we get nervous when any company in any sector has a market share in the range of 40% because we know that companies will use their market dominance to limit consumer options and hold back technological advancement,” wrote Paul Levy, former CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, on his “Not Running a Hospital” blog.

Security

=> ↺ And finally, Adobe’s afterthought

• Adobe must think Linux users are a bunch of retards.

=> ↺ Security updates for Wednesday

=> ↺ Once-theoretical crypto attack against HTTPS now verges on practicality

• Almost a third of the world’s encrypted Web connections can be cracked using an exploit that’s growing increasingly practical, computer scientists warned Wednesday. They said the attack technique on a cryptographic cipher known as RC4 can also be used to break into wireless networks protected by the Wi-Fi Protected Access Temporal Key Integrity Protocol.

=> ↺ Estonia to host first international cyber summer school

• The first international cyber security summer school will be held in Estonia next week.

• IT experts from the US, the UK and Estonia will investigate information security, and discuss, among other topics, how to keep data safe, how to safely share it and anonymize it.

• Speakers will come from Oxford University, Columbia University, UC Berkeley, the University of Tartu and the Tallinn-based NATO Cyber Defense Center of Excellence.

Defence/Police/Secrecy/Aggression

=> ↺ We’ve created an open source database of every company flying drones in the US

• Last week we published a story about the first 500 companies given permission by the FAA to fly drones for commercial purposes over the US. The number of exemptions granted by the FAA has been growing quickly. Today we added all the data from the month of June, increasing the grand total by nearly 50 percent to 711. We also added this data set to the newly created collection of open-source projects from Vox Media, meaning you can dig into these numbers and use them to create stories, charts, or apps of your own.

=> ↺ Sadegh Zibakalam: Anti-Americanism at a ‘dead end’ in Iran

• Sadegh Zibakalam is a professor of political science at the University of Tehran, and one of the most prominent public intellectuals and political analysts in the country. He is the author of a number of bestsellers in Persian, including How Did We Become What We Are, Hashemi without Polish, Tradition and Modernity, and An Introduction to the Islamic Revolution. In a telephone interview, he discusses how the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers will change the dynamics in the country – at least in the long run.

Environment/Energy/Wildlife

=> ↺ Government makes ‘outrageous’ U-turn over fracking in precious wildlife sites

• The government has made a U-turn on its promise to exclude fracking from Britain’s most important nature sites, arguing that the shale gas industry would be held back if it was excluded from them.

• Campaigners accused ministers of putting wildlife at risk and reneging on their pledge earlier this year to ban fracking in sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs), which cover about 8% of England and similar proportions of Wales and Scotland.

=> ↺ For Tony Abbott, it’s full steam ahead on coal, ‘the foundation of prosperity’

• If, as the environment movement contends, fossil fuels are the new tobacco, then Australia has cast itself as a sort of swaggering Marlboro man, puffing away contentedly as the rest of the world looks on quizzically.

=> ↺ Climate change seen as greatest threat by global population

• Climate change is what the world’s population perceives as the top global threat, according to research conducted by the Pew Research Center, with countries in Latin America and Africa particularly concerned about the issue.

Finance

=> ↺ The Minimum Wage–and Other Left Ideas Washington Post Might Find ‘Lame’

• There are a few points worth noting here. First, “the left” has many ideas for helping workers other than just the minimum wage. For example, many on the left have pushed for a full-employment policy, which would mean having a Federal Reserve Board policy that allows the unemployment rate to continue to fall until there is clear evidence of inflation, rather than preemptively raising interest rates to slow growth.

• It would also mean having trade policies designed to reduce the trade deficit (i.e., a lower-valued dollar), which would provide a strong boost to jobs. It would also mean spending on infrastructure and education, which would also help to create jobs and have long-term growth benefits.

• The left also favors policies that allow workers who want to be represented by unions to organize. This has a well-known impact on wages, especially for less educated workers.

=> ↺ Blame the Banks

• One of the first lessons I was taught on Wall Street was, “Know who the fool is.” That was the gist of it. The more detailed description, yelled at me repeatedly was, “Know who the fucking idiot with the money is and cram as much toxic shit down their throat as they can take. But be nice to them first.”

• When I joined in Salomon Brothers in ‘93, Japanese customers (mostly smaller banks and large industrial companies) were considered the fool. My first five years were spent constructing complex financial products, ones with huge profit margins for us—“toxic waste” in Wall Street lingo—to sell to them. By the turn of the century many of those customers had collapsed, partly from the toxic waste we sold them, partly from all the other crazy things they were buying.

• The launch of the common European currency, the euro, ushered in a period of European financial confidence, and we on Wall Street started to take advantage of another willing fool: European banks. More precisely northern European banks.

• From ‘02 until the financial crisis in ‘08, Wall Street shoved as much toxic waste down those banks’ throats as they could handle. It wasn’t hard. Like the Japanese customers before them, the European banks were hell bent on indiscriminately buying assets from all over the globe.

• They were so willing, and had such an appetite, that Wall Street helped hedge funds construct specially engineered products to sell to them, made of the most broken and risky subprime mortgages. These products—the banks called them “monstrosities” and later the media dubbed them as “rigged to fail”—only would have been created if they had reckless buyers, and the European banks were often those buyers.

• When a bank buys an asset it is lending money; the seller is the borrower.In buying various assets European banks were doing what banks are supposed to do: lending. But by doing so without caution they were doing exactly what banks are not supposed to do: lending recklessly.

=> ↺ European Court of Justice Official Proposes Bitcoin VAT Exemption

• Bitcoin operations should be exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT), the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice said in an opinion document published today.

=> ↺ European Commission opens antitrust investigations against Qualcomm—again

• The European Commission has opened two formal antitrust investigations against the US company Qualcomm concerning possible “abusive behaviour” in the field of baseband chipsets used in consumer electronic devices. The first investigation will examine whether the company abused its dominant market position by offering financial incentives to customers on the condition that they buy baseband chipsets exclusively, or almost exclusively, from Qualcomm. The second will explore whether it used “predatory pricing”—that is, charged prices below costs in order to drive competitors from the market.

Censorship

=> ↺ Shocking: Software Used To Monitor UK Students Against Radicalization Found To Be Exploitable

• Well, that didn’t take long. It was only a month or so ago that we brought to you the delightful news that software for monitoring the UK youth in classrooms was being recommended to comply with the UK’s insane policy that conscripts teachers to watch out for scary future-Muslim-terrorists. The idea was that the software, from American company Impero Software, would report back to teachers should the children under their watchful gaze search around for terms deemed to be terrorist related. The teachers were then supposed to involve school admins, law enforcement, or parents as deemed necessary. Because, see, possible-might-be-future-terrorists sprouting up from our own children is a very scary, albeit not-yet-existing threat to something something.

=> ↺ Security flaw found in school internet monitoring software

• Firm releases temporary fix to Impero Education Pro after researcher says fault could leave pupils’ information exposed to hackers

=> ↺ Roya Nobakht: British woman imprisoned in Iran over anti-government Facebook comments is ‘being physically tortured’, say campaigners

• A British woman who has been imprisoned in Iran since 2013 for posting derogatory comments about the country’s government on Facebook has been subjected to “physical and psychological torture” in jail, according to campaigners working for her release.

• Roya Nobakht, 48, was arrested while visiting family in Iran and accused of “insulting Islamic sanctities” through comments posted on a Facebook group. She was put on trial alongside seven other people without legal representation and sentenced to 20 years in jail.

• She has since been given a retrial at which she was allowed to speak in her defence for the first time. She was later told that her sentence had been reduced to seven years, but she was given no legal papers to confirm this and her family remain deeply concerned about her welfare.

=> ↺ Researcher Receives Copyright Threat After Exposing Security Hole

• A researcher who exposed security flaws in tools used to monitor the Internet usage of UK students has been hit with a copyright complaint. ‘Slipstream’ discovered flaws in Impero Education Pro which could reveal the personal details of thousands of pupils but in response Impero has sent in its legal team.

=> ↺ Canadian Court Ponders If A Disagreement On Twitter Constitutes Criminal Harassment

• ree speech debates can often get tiresome online (for fairly obvious reasons), but it continues to astound me how people seem to think that there should be some sort of obvious exception to free speech rights for speech they don’t like — and that there won’t be any unintended or dangerous consequences from simply outlawing the speech that they dislike. To me, that belief is dangerous, though obviously people should be allowed to make their arguments for it. Up in Canada — where they don’t have a First Amendment like we do here in the states — there’s a fascinating and very troubling case happening that shows the dangerous path that you go down when you start saying things like “offensive speech” should be illegal. The determination of “offensive” is incredibly subjective.

• The case here appears to be over a Twitter spat between a few individuals, who clearly don’t much like each other. That said, the spat appears to be not dissimilar from the many, many Twitter spats that happen each and every day. I’m pretty sure I’ve had Twitter debates as bad, if not worse, than what happened here, and the idea that such a debate could lead to possible criminal charges and jail time is fundamentally crazy.

=> ↺ Underage pornography measures backed by new poll

• A survey of more than 2,000 adults conducted earlier this month for Christian Action Research and Education (CARE), the social policy charity, found overwhelming support for strict regulation.

Privacy

=> ↺ UK Confuses Gullible Reporter Into Believing It Changed Its Position On Encryption

• We’ve talked a few times about how UK Prime Minister David Cameron has made it abundantly clear that he wants to backdoor encryption to make sure law enforcement and intelligence agencies can read private communications. Back in January, he made it clear that the UK “must not” allow there to be any “means of communication [that] isn’t possible to read [by the government].” Just a few weeks ago, he once again made it clear that there should be no “safe space” where anyone can communicate without the government being able to spy on you (that there already is the ability for two people to converse in person without being spied upon is left ignored).

=> ↺ Public bodies are releasing confidential personal data by accident, activists say

• Public bodies are unintentionally releasing confidential personal information on a regular basis, research reveals.

• Freedom of information website WhatDoTheyKnow.com, which automates FOI requests and publishes responses, says it has recorded 154 accidental data leaks made by councils, government departments, police, the NHS and other public bodies since 2009. This amounts to confidential data being wrongly released on average once every fortnight.

=> ↺ Cryptology research potentially a criminal activity

• Australia’s obsession with national security continues to have unintended consequences, with the academic exchange of information about cryptography now in danger.

• Internet freedom group Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) has supported a call by the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) for amendments to Australia’s Defence Trade Controls Act to include exemptions for scientific research and for education.

=> ↺ High court rules data retention and surveillance legislation unlawful

• A judicial challenge by the Labour MP Tom Watson and the Conservative MP David Davis has overturned the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (Dripa) 2014. The judges ruled that data retention powers in the legislation were inconsistent with EU laws.

Civil Rights

=> ↺ CELL PHONE VIDEO: Chandler officer ‘illegally’ enters woman’s home, arrests her while she is naked

• ABC15 has obtained video from the body camera of the back-up officer in the incident. The body camera was worn by Officer David Selvidge, who was cleared by Chandler Police of any wrongdoing. Portions of the camera footage can be seen in the video player above.

• A woman handcuffed naked by a Chandler police officer who entered her home illegally is planning to file a lawsuit against the city.

Internet/Net Neutrality

=> ↺ Net Neutrality: Improvements Are Still Possible

• European Parliament’s ITRE commission endorses the compromise adopted during the trialogue on 30 June regarding the regulation on telecommunications. Despite the improvements brought to the text compared to the Council’s version, the regulation still contains loopholes and inaccuracies that could violate people’s and SME’s rights.

=> ↺ Breaking up BT should only be the end of the line

• Sky and TalkTalk want Ofcom to force BT to split off the infrastructure division Openreach but the case for such radical action is weak and it might do nothing

DRM

=> ↺ JPEG Looking To Add DRM To Images… Supposedly To Protect Images From Gov’t Surveillance

• You may recall the mess a few years ago when, under pressure from the movie studios, along with Netflix and Microsoft, the W3C agreed to add DRM to HTML5. This resulted in lots of debates and reasonable anger from people who found that the idea of building DRM into HTML5 went against the idea of an open internet. And, now it appears that the organization behind the JPEG standard for images is heading down a similar path.

Intellectual Monopolies

Copyrights

=> ↺ Sinead O’Connor declares ‘music is dead’ after Rolling Stone puts Kim Kardashian on cover

• Music has officially died, according to Sinead O’Connor.

• The outspoken musician has called for a boycott on Rolling Stone magazine after it placed Kim Kardashian on its front cover.

• O’Connor wrote on her Facebook page: “What is this c*** doing on the cover of Rolling Stone? Music has officially died. Who knew it would be Rolling Stone that murdered it?

=> ↺ Kim Dotcom’s Seized Data Could Soon Be in U.S. Hands

• Kim Dotcom’s battle to stop more of his seized data being sent to the U.S. has suffered a setback. Three Court of Appeal judges today set aside earlier High Court rulings meaning that the Attorney-General can now issue new directions to police enabling the devices to be shipped to the United States.

=> ↺ Reda Report: Watch out for last minute amendments!

• On Thursday 9 July, the European Parliament will vote on its own-initiative report on copyright reform, proposed by MEP Julia Reda. The report has been widely picked apart due to pressure from industry lobbies and right-holders, but is set to go forward without any major change. La Quadrature du Net calls on MEPs to be on their guard concerning certain points that could be raised during the vote, especially the right to hyperlink, the right of panorama, or public domain.

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