04/05, 7:35am
Jolla inches closer to launch with release of the Sailfish OS SDK
Jolla has released the Software Development Kit (SDK) for its Linux-based Sailfish mobile operating system. The SDK has been made available for Mac, Windows and Linux (32-bit and 64-bit) with its release paving the way for interested developers to create native applications for Jolla’s forthcoming handsets. The Sailfish OS also supports the Qt platform, which developers previously used for creating native apps on Nokia’s abandoned Symbian and MeeGo operating systems, making it simple for apps running on those platforms to be ported to the new OS.
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03/26, 1:18pm
Linux on a Mac could be hazardous
Yesterday in the MacNN forums, Grizzled Veteran "abbaZaba" questioned the veracity of a technician's report that Linux on Apple hardware could permanently damage the CPU. "Do I need Adobe Flash Player?" asks one Forum Regular who is trying to avoid a plague of pesky popups and other such annoyances.
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03/25, 4:40pm
Device reads each track multiple times, ensuring correct playback
High-end consumer audio manufacturer Parasound has released a CD player driven by a Mini-ITX computer, powered by Linux to make CDs "sound significantly better than anyone has imagined possible" according to the manufacturer. The Halo CD 1 utilizes a PC-grade CD-ROM drive that reads the track multiple times before it is converted to audio, nearly guaranteeing no error in playback.
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03/08, 12:06pm
Rolling updates blog post complains about 'elite' users
The founder of Canonical, Mark Shuttleworth, called out users of Linux that believe that using the operating system is "supposed to be hard." A blog post by Shuttleworth responding to recent changes and rolling releases in the Ubuntu Linux distribution complained about aspects of the community that seemingly want Linux to be an insular, introverted and exclusive operating system.
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02/19, 1:13pm
Tablet-based OS to offer added multitasking, device convergence
Canonical has launched a version of its Linux distribution specifically made for tablets. Ubuntu for Tablets follows on from Unbuntu Phone, launched last month at CES, and the desktop version of Ubuntu in using the same base code, but instead relies on touch-based navigation and gestures, rather than physical buttons or keyboards.
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02/18, 3:54pm
First devices not expected until later this year
The Linux Foundation has introduced a major update to its Tizen operating system, adding many essential features as developers continue working on the first Tizen-powered devices. Version 2.0, spotted by TG Daily, will enable devices to take advantage of Bluetooth and NFC hardware, while app developers can integrate new features such as text-to-speech and background operation.
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02/15, 7:57pm
Source code available for developers
Canonical has announced that it is set to release the first public preview of its Ubuntu Phone operating system for smartphones. The initial release will be available in two builds, one for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and another for LG's Nexus 4, while source code will also be posted for developers to begin working on installations for other devices.
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02/14, 5:54pm
Linux client, games major step towards Steam Box
Valve has launched its Steam game distribution platform on Linux, after a lengthy period of beta testing. Initially announced in July 2012, the internal project has now opened up the store on Ubuntu, with interested users being able to download the client through Canonical's Ubuntu Software Center at no charge.
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02/04, 1:06pm
Most iOS devices supported
The Evad3rs hacking team has released its promised jailbreaking tool for iOS 6 devices. Known as evasi0n, the software supports any version of iOS 6 through 6.1, and is available in Mac, Windows, and Linux editions. It's also untethered, meaning that it doesn't require connecting to a computer and reapplying the jailbreak if an iOS device is rebooted.
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01/09, 10:59pm
Ubuntu's mobile OS impresses in our brief look at it in action
We got a chance to check out a demonstration of Ubuntu's mobile operating system that was announced at the start of the year. It was running on a GSM-version of the Galaxy Nexus, and was certainly impressive when viewed from a close distance. The graphics look clean and smooth, without any hiccups on what is an older, though one-time flagship device.
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01/01, 6:21am
Ubuntu set to reveal touch-based OS plans?
The Ubuntu homepage is teasing a countdown to what hints at a touch-based version of its Linux variant. The banner on the site reads, “So close, you can almost touch it,” setting the stage for a major announcement, or possible reveal, of the next iteration of the popular OS. The countdown is expected to run its course by 8AM ET on Wednesday, January 2nd, when all will be revealed.
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12/16, 6:54pm
Change in 3.8 kernel seen as positive by Torvolds
Linux is phasing out support for Intel's i386 architecture, in an effort to simplify maintenance to the operating system's kernel. The changes in the 3.8 version of the kernel marks a departure of the OS from the processor that Linus Torvolds developed Linux on in 1991, an architecture the software supported long after the rest of the computing industry moved on to other architectures.
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12/12, 4:42pm
'Experimental' Mac Driver may eliminate need for X Window
CodeWeavers has launched CrossOver 12, a new version of its software designed to run Windows apps in OS X or Linux. The update implements a new version of Wine, the program's core technology, which is said to have received over 5,000 changes. Support has been improved for a number of Windows apps, such as Microsoft Office and several editions of Quicken. Newly compatible apps include Quicken 13 and World of Tanks; on Linux, Guild Wars 2 has been added.
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10/30, 5:59pm
Search results transmitted to Amazon, Facebook, others by default
Web search settings in the latest Ubuntu 12.10 are to blame for what the Electronic Frontier Foundation calls a "data leak" and a privacy violation. Unless settings are altered, every time a search is performed for a document, application, or other file using the Dash feature, the search includes results from Amazon. Search results can also return advertisements sent unencrypted in the results, allowing for Wi-Fi or network sniffers to intercept and read the text.
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10/28, 7:15pm
Linux distribution installer to help mobile development efforts
Users of the Google Nexus 7 can now install Ubuntu onto the tablet. The Linux distribution maintained by Canonical can be made to run as the operating system instead of the factory-installed Jelly Bean version of Android, though the exercise is meant to help in developing a future iteration of Ubuntu for mobile devices, and not for general use.
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08/30, 4:36pm
Update 7 addresses hole ahead of planned update
Oracle has issued a patch to address a recently discovered security hole affecting Mac, Windows, and Linux users. The patch represents a rare early fix release, as Oracle was already slated to release a patch in October of this year. The patch is available for download at Java.com.
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08/27, 6:36pm
Lion, Mountain Lion safeguards provide modest defense
A new security exploit in Java 7 is affecting Mac, Windows, and Linux users alike, according to an engineering manager for Metasploit, an open-source penetration testing framework. The vulnerability is described as "super dangerous," since an attack can be triggered simply by visiting a hacked or intentionally malicious website. OS X Lion and Mountain Lion do provide a modest level of protection, since Java isn't installed by default on the operating systems, which also ask users if they want to run the software.
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08/23, 9:38am
Risk so far 'considered low'
A new piece of backdoor malware affecting OS X, Windows, Linux, and Solaris is in the wild, according to security firm Intego. Nicknamed OSX/NetWeirdRC, the code is said to be similar to Crisis in that it's a commercial remote access tool that was leaked to Virus Total. If a computer is infected, it can potentially allow an attacker to install new files, grab screenshots and system information, see which programs are running and steal encrypted passwords from apps like Firefox, Thunderbird, and Opera.
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07/20, 8:20am
Dell Project Sputnik leads to release of XPS 13 with Ubuntu
Dell will release a version of its popular XPS 13 ultrabook with Linux preinstalled. The company has issued a statement on the release indicating that the Linux-based ultrabook is part of its Project Sputnik initiative with the aim of bringing an Ubuntu developer notebook to market. When it is released this fall, the XP3 with Linux will ship with the Ubuntu 12.04LTS distro onboard.
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07/17, 4:35pm
Windows, Mac, Linux updates available
Skype is now releasing hotfixes addressing a serious security flaw in its VoIP client, according to a blog post. If a few recent versions of the app crashed during the middle of an IM session, they would sometimes send out the last recorded message to the wrong person on a user's contact list. The glitch was also contingent on rebooting Skype, or logging in as a new user.
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07/17, 1:49pm
Left 4 Dead 2 reportedly stable, working towards full Linux support
Valve is bringing the Steam game distribution platform to Ubuntu. A company blog for the project tells of an 11-person team porting not only Steam, but also Source engine-powered game Left 4 Dead 2. According to the post, co-founder of Valve Gabe Newell has been interested in a Linux port of Steam and Source for some time, and last year formed the team devoted to the project.
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07/11, 12:51pm
Uses rare cross-platform attack method
A new piece of malware is targeting Mac, Windows, and Linux users all at the same time, note security firms F-Secure and Sophos. The code pretends to be a needed add-on; in reality victims are opening up a Java Archive file, which then detects the platform a person is using before connecting to a remote server to fetch additional code, creating a back door for hackers. The Mac version of the malware is identified by F-Secure as "Backdoor:OSX/GetShell.A."
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06/29, 8:37am
NVIDA loses up to $500 million in lost GPU order
NVIDIA is said have lost an order to supply 10 million GPUs due to its poor support for Linux. The news follows Linus Torvalds recently blasting NVIDIA for its commercial decision to back mobile GPUs that support Linux-based operating systems like Android, but offer very limited support for the open source platform on PCs. The lost GPU order was for the Chinese government and is estimated to have cost the company between $200 million and $500 million in lost sales.
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06/18, 6:42am
Linux founder Torvalds lets fly at Nvidia
Linus Torvalds, one of the living legends of the computer industry as the genius behind Limux, has used a forum hosted by Aalto Center for Entrepreneurship in Otaniemi, Finland to vent his frustration with Nvidia. As the clip embedded below highlights, Torvalds was responding to a question from a woman in the audience about the technical trouble she was experiencing trying to run Linux using a notebook with an Nvida GPU.
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05/30, 10:12am
VIA ARTiGO A1200 uses 1GHz dual-core processor, requires RAM and storage
VIA, maker of small computer boards and mini PCs, has showed off its latest product, the fanless ARTiGO A1200 mini PC. It uses a dual-core 1GHz VIA Eden X2 processor and is a successor to the ARTiGO A1100 from 2010. The new mini PC is just under 1.2 inches tall.
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05/29, 10:16am
Agora tablet can now be pre-ordered, due to ship on June 25 in Australia
Australian hardware maker Kogan has introduced a new budget tablet, the 10-inch Agora. Kogan makes low-priced portable electronics such as netbooks and tablets, powered either by Linux or Android. This latest tablet has Android 4.0 onboard, displaying the interface on its 10-inch, 1024x768 touchscreen.
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05/24, 6:46pm
Samsung, Apple largest single manufacturers
Research firm IDC has published its latest smartphone market-share report, finding Android and iOS to be responsible for eight out of 10 smartphones shipped in the first quarter of 2012. Android captured 59 percent of all sales, while iOS took 23 percent of the 152 million smartphones shipped in the first quarter. Linux phones maintained the same small share held for four quarters. Symbian and Blackberry shipments continued to drop precipitously.
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04/24, 3:20pm
Firefox 12 final ready to go
Mozilla has posted the finished release of Firefox 12. The browser has a key update each for Mac and Windows users. Windows' update is most conspicuous and doesn't need the user to confirm the update in a User Account Control prompt on Vista or 7. Mac users see a lift, as Mozilla has fixed slow WebGL graphics performance on some hardware.
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04/23, 7:20pm
Precise Pangolin due April 26th
Three days prior to the release of Ubuntu Linux distribution 12.04 LTS Precise Pangolin, the next major release has been named. Following the software's trend of alliterative titling, version 12.10 of the popular distribution will be known as Quantal Quetzal.
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04/20, 4:15pm
Google 'spring cleaning' targets mobile
Google on Friday detailed another round of sweeping consolidation that would drop even more of the servers it no longer considers vital. One Pass, its digital publication payment system, has been shuttered and its users transitioned to "other platforms." The implementation was intended to compete with Apple's own App Store publication rules and gave publishers as much as a 90 percent cut as well as access to subscriber details.
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04/19, 8:30pm
Chumby quietly shuts hardware store
Chumby's Duane Maxwell has confirmed suspicions among prospective buyers that the company had stopped selling hardware. He told community members that the company had stopped selling its own-branded products, having stopped production in 2011. Chumby had run out of stock, he said.
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04/18, 6:40pm
All Q.Bo orders scheduled to ship in Fall
As previously reported, developer The Corpora has commenced pre-orders of its Q.bo open source robot. Ten individual items are available for pre-order, including three models of complete robots either assembled or ready-for-assembly, along with seven individual components available separately for the hobbyist. All orders are expected to ship in the fourth quarter of 2012.
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04/13, 10:30am
Samsung Chromebook sports SandyBridge chips
A new Samsung Chromebook prototype that looks to be based on the Series 5 we saw at CES but sporting some new changes was spotted at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing. It runs on the current Sandy Bridge-series of Intel processors, unlike that dual-core Celeron-powered Chromebook from the Las Vegas trade show. It also gets the Linux-based Coreboot BIOS software that allows it to boot up in just five seconds.
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04/12, 3:50pm
Three Qbo robots due for pre-order on April 18
When the full Corpora website goes live on April 18, it will allow visitors to pre-order the Qbo open-source robot. Qbo runs Linux operating on its x86 component hardware, letting developers experiment with their code. It will be available in three models, with the entry-level one coming as a kit buyers will need to assemble on their own.
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04/12, 1:20pm
Fusion-io shows off first workstation flash card
SSD maker Fusion-io has introduced its ioFX PCIe-based solid-state drive for workstations that contains 420GB of storage. Meant for HD video editing in the movie industry for special effects work, the card uses a less costly internal design than other Fusion-io cards. There are four flash channels, or a quad-die package, so there is half of the write I/O per second performance of the previous products.
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04/10, 1:40pm
Chrome 19 allows opening tabs from Android, more
Google has posted a Chrome 19 beta that answers a common call for fast access to tabs across devices. Signing in on the same Google account both on a desktop and an Android device running Chrome for Android will give either device access to whatever tabs happen to be open on that device at that moment. The approach makes it easy to continue reading an article from an Android phone or to check directions that were just on the desktop.
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04/09, 4:25pm
Supports latest Ubuntu beta
Parallels has released a minor update of Desktop 7 for Mac, its flagship virtualization software. The patch introduces "experimental" support for the final beta of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, a Linux variant due to be launched on April 26th. Another new Linux-related feature is the ability to download and install Fedora 16 without leaving the Parallels Wizard.
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04/02, 1:20pm
NetApplications shows second big increase for IE
New NetApplications data has shown that Internet Explorer might be on a sustained, if slight, recovery in web share. Microsoft's browser gained almost exactly one point to hit 53.83 percent of browser use online. The gain roughly mirrored one from January and saw IE at its highest position since October.
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03/28, 6:45pm
Google Chrome 18 reaches stable level
Google on Wednesday posted the finished version of Chrome 18. The stable version now brings hardware graphics speedups to HTML5's Canvas for 2D and is potentially much faster for certain websites. Acceleration works on both Macs and Windows PCs, but not Linux so far.
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03/25, 1:15pm
XBMC 11 Eden gets long-awaited modernized UI
The XBMC team has posted a finished version of its comprehensive 11.0 Eden update. The version is the first fully updated version to simultaneously reach both desktop platforms as well as jailbreak-based implementations on the second-generation Apple TV and iOS. Every platform now lets an XBMC device serve as an AirPlay target for video and more.
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03/19, 10:15pm
Pay-what-you-want offer supports charities
The Humble Bundle team are making another stab at promoting Android gaming alongside independent-developer desktop gaming with their latest offer, the Humble Bundle for Android 2, which offers four DRM-free games that are available for Mac, Linux and PC as well as all debuting on the Android platform. Buyers choose their own price and most of the games are also available on Steam, a cross-platform gaming service.
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03/19, 11:50am
Linux 3.3 released with a plethora of changes
The Lunix 3.3 kernel was released this past weekend, bringing with it a number of changes and, notably, the ability to run Android or its apps. An interview with a newly minted Fellow of the Linux Foundation member, Greg KH, by MuktWare reveals that while the new release will let users boot into the Android userspace without modifications, power management isn't very good. Some of the other changes include better general power management, Radeon HD 5000 HDMI audio support, more driver support, and a number of other, more complex changes.
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03/12, 4:25pm
Sprint USB modem doesn't need software installs
Sprint has just introduced a 4G-capable USB modem, the 3G/4G Plug-in-Connect USB. It can simply be plugged into a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer and provide mobile data access on Sprint's 4G network or 3G in areas not yet covered by the faster network. There is no need to install drivers, just as with the recently introduced Clearwire Stick Atlas modem.
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03/08, 1:20pm
Stick Atlas is first plug and play 4G USB modem
Clear has just introduced its latest USB modem, the Stick Atlas. It comes billed as the first that doesn't require any software to be installed, and gives users access to Clear's WiMAX network more quickly as a result The modem is compatible with Macs and Windows PCs, but also Linux, Chrome OS, and Android devices with a free USB port.
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03/08, 11:05am
NVIDIA joins AMD, Intel at the Linux Foundation
Graphics processing chipmaker NVIDIA has now joined the Linux Foundation. Other chipmakers already long-time members of the organization are AMD and Intel and support the free and open-source operating system. NVIDIA will now take a more active approach to supporting the platform, as before users had to reverse-engineer drivers for its graphics cards on Linux PCs.
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03/07, 11:30am
InstaPrint creates photos from Instagram app
A Brooklyn-based company, Breakfast, is looking to raise funds through Kickstarter to get its InstaPrint project into production. Basically a mobile printer running on Linux, it uses Zink's inkless technology to print Instagram photos from Wi-Fi-connected iPhones and iPods. The photos include comments and are searched for by user-specified hashtags.
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03/07, 10:25am
Google rewards researchers for exposing flaws
Just in time for the CanSecWest security conference, Google has announced it has handed out $47,500 in rewards to users who identified bugs in its Chrome browser. There were 14 bugs fixed, with three users getting $10,000 each for their contributions. The vulnerabilities were addressed in a March 4 update to the browser, though the release was suspended due to a small issue.
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02/21, 2:35pm
Ubuntu for Android takes on work, developing world
Canonical in the run-up to Mobile World Congress sought to change the approach to smartphone use with Ubuntu for Android. Going beyond even Motorola's Webtop, it promises a full Ubuntu Linux desktop with a windowed environment when the smartphone is mounted in a dock and attached to both an HDMI display and a USB keyboard. From the start, users get a full Chromium web browser, Gwibber social networking, Thunderbird for e-mail, and VLC for media playback.
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02/20, 6:05pm
Linux-based $35 PC shipping later this week
The $25 to $35
Raspberry Pi computer is closing in on its first shipments. The micro PC was expected to ship today, but that now has slipped a few days until Thursday or Friday. When it does ship, the Pi will come loaded with Fedora Remix, now considered the 'blessed' version of Linux for the system.
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02/18, 4:00pm
VLC 2.0 media player ships
VideoLAN on Saturday posted one of its largest updates yet in the finished version of VLC 2.0. The new media player sees the most interface changes on the Mac, where it now has a single-window interface as well as tighter visual and technical integration with Lion. It now supports any QTKit device capture and sound, and both PowerPC and Leopard-era users can still expect support, even at higher video resolutions.
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