Adobe has released a new version of Flash Player for Windows and Mac, 12.0.0.44, to cope with a serious security hole. The company warns that exploits for the vulnerability have been seen in the wild, and that the problem could potentially allow an attacker to seize control of a computer. A matching Linux update is labeled v11.2.202.335.
Mozilla has released Firefox 27, an update to its browser for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. The desktop apps have been given an updated Social API, allowing for multiple notifications at the same time. Until today, Firefox would only show notifications for the social network indicated in a user's toolbar. Mozilla is also supporting two new networks, Delicious and Saavn.
While it continues to dominate the vast majority of worldwide, there is a sense that both consumers and industry are moving slowly away from Windows software as alternatives -- primarily Apple's OS X and iOS -- gain more mainstream attention. This drift seems to be embodied in the latest release of "Red Star OS," a Linux variant developed for the last decade by North Korea as a state-sanctioned OS. In a bold move, version 3 has adopted a directly OS X-like look, dropping the previous Windows 7 stylings.
Once again, the Humble Bundle team has put together a package of DRM-free indie games in support of its chosen charities, with users paying whatever amount they want for four cross-platform games. Buyers paying above the average price ($4.03 at present) also get two additional games, with more said to be coming. Soundtracks are included for some of the games, all of which run on the PC, Mac, Linux and Android platforms (system requirements vary).
A smartphone running on Ubuntu Touch will be available in 2014, according to Canonical founder and product strategy leader Mark Shuttleworth. Canonical has signed an agreement with an unnamed manufacturer to have the Linux distribution put onto high-end smartphones, with other manufacturers also apparently in talks to do likewise.
Mavericks is already the predominant version of OS X in use by the public, according to November tracking data from Net Applications. During that month, Mavericks' share rose from 0.84 percent to 2.42 percent of the Mac's total global share of 7.55 percent. Mountain Lion's share, meanwhile, plummeted from 3.31 percent to 1.85, while Lion dipped from 1.56 percent to 1.34. Leopard and Snow Leopard, already marginal platforms, dropped only slightly, slipping from 0.33 and 1.6 percent to 0.32 and 1.53 percent, respectively.
Google has released Chrome 31, an update of its web browser for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and Chrome OS. The primary addition is better payment support, in the form of allowing site access to Chrome's auto-complete data (with user permission). This lets people save payment information in the browser for quicker access. Google says, however, that Mac compatibility will only be included "in a future release."
At the New Orleans LinuxCon, Valve founder and game developer Gabe Newell reaffirmed his commitment to Linux, calling it the "future of gaming." Additionally, the Valve head claimed that "next week, we're going to be rolling out more information about how we get there and what are the hardware opportunities we see for bringing Linux into the living room," perhaps bringing the previously-rumored "Steam Box" game system to fruition.
Samsung is reportedly preparing to launch televisions that run Tizen, a Linux-based operating system that the company is co-developing with Intel. Speaking to German outlet Die Welt, Samsung's consumer electronics head, Boo-Keun Yoon, noted that Tizen will be used for upcoming smartphones, TVs and home appliances.
GeekBench 3 has been released for all major platforms including Windows, OS X, and Linux on the desktop. A mobile version of the widely used benchmarking utility has also been released for Android and iOS. The new version is the first major revision to the app since version 2 was released six years ago. According to Primate Labs, the new suite of tests includes 15 new benchmark tests that have been designed to real-world processor intensive tasks.
Mozilla has released Firefox 23, an update of its web browser for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. The desktop apps have gained several important features, most notably a Share button, which ties into Mozilla's new Social API. The button lets people share virtually any content on the web without having to use buttons built into a website.
Forums for the Linux distribution Ubuntu have been hacked, with sensitive data for all members of the forum being seized in the intrusion. Usernames, passwords, and e-mail addresses for every user on the Canonical-operated forum has been taken in the attack, which is estimated to have affected around 1.82 million users.
Google has released a beta version of Chrome 28 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. The most significant change is in the Windows release, where a native notification center for apps and extensions has been turned on. These can include not only text and images, but optional actions such as making a phone call or sending email. Notifications can appear even when Chrome is closed. Google is promising Mac notifications "soon."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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