Giving Linux fans a little Christmas present, Linus Torvalds has announced that version 4.20 of the Linux kernel is now available.

In a post to the Linux Kernel Mailing List, Torvalds said that there was no point in delaying the release of the latest stable version of the kernel just because so many people are taking a break for the holiday season. He says that while there are no known issues with the release, the shortlog is a little longer than he would have liked. However "nothing screams 'oh, that's scary'", he insists.

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In recent years, technology companies have been under increasing pressure to be more transparent about the requests for data they receive from global governments. Firms such as Microsoft, Google and Facebook publish regular transparency reports, and Apple is no different.

Now the company has launched a new transparency report website which makes it even easier to trawl through its twice-yearly publication and see how many data requests have been issued by different governments.

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Earlier this week, we wrote about the growing number of people who have complained that their iPad Pro is bent. This is not something that has developed over time, but a problem that was present out of the box.

Apple responded to complaints by saying that the bend that has been noticed in some iPad Pro chassis was not a defect. Now the company has issued a further statement indicating that it believes the tablet's "unibody design meets or exceeds all of Apple's high quality standards of design and precision manufacturing". This is not something an owner of a bent iPad Pro would probably agree with.

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Just a few days ago, a lawsuit was filed against Apple accusing it of using misleading images in advertising to disguise the notch of the iPhone XS. Now it is OnePlus that has been accused of editing advertising images of its phones, this time to make the bezel of the OnePlus 6T seem smaller.

The company was called out on Twitter after people noticed that the OnePlus 6T featured in promotional videos appeared to have a much smaller "chin" than the real-life phone.

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Every year, millions of Americans get together with family on Christmas. Many adult kids return to a single parent's home to celebrate -- or a house shared by both parents if they beat the odds and aren't divorced. While there, if you know about tech, you may get asked to fix your mom or dad's computer. Be it malware or something else, this can be quite the frustrating task. Look, I know you are happy to help them, but you just want to relax and enjoy the holiday, right? How can you get the nightmare of fixing their Windows-based PC to stop? This Christmas, you should give them the gift of a stable and secure operating system that doesn't spy on them. Enter Linux.

Yes, a Linux distribution can stop this woe, giving your family member a more secure platform that is less susceptible to malware (and less likely to need your fixing). If they live in the web browser anyway, Windows is just a liability these days. What if I told you that there was a Linux distribution that you could loosely tie into the holiday? Well, candy canes are traditionally peppermint flavored, and wouldn't you know it, there is a new version of the excellent Peppermint OS out now! Called "9 Respin," it is a refresh of the previously released Peppermint OS 9 -- this time with many improvements and changes.

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Earlier this week, movie theater chain AMC dumped coal in my Christmas stocking when I attempted to cancel the $19.95-a-month, watch-three-movies-a-week Stubs A-List subscription. One, and then another, customer representative informed me that at signup, the terms of service explicitly states that commitment is for three months. He, then she, warned that cancellation would trigger immediate charge for the remaining two months. But the ToS restriction shouldn't apply to me, being a returning customer.

Everything comes down to the meaning of one word: Initial. When A-List launched, on June 26, 2018, my wife and I joined. We ended our membership about 90 days later. The ToS states: "A-List has an initial non-cancelable term of three (3) monthly membership periods (the 'Initial Commitment')". We were good with accepting that requirement, which we met. But on November 18, with a few holiday movies of interest, I resubscribed, presuming that by making a second commitment I could cancel whenever. However, AMC service reps claim that my 3-month obligation reset and initial is the applicable word. Oh, did I futilely argue the semantics of that. C`mon? Doesn't initial mean first time?

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Getting news out of hostile territories can potentially be extremely risky, but it is key to making sure that suppressed voices are heard, and that the wider world is aware of what is happening in war zones and regions with unstable leadership.

While the rest of us worry about data security because we’re shopping and banking online, for journalists, an increased focus on this type of security is critical -- particularly for those operating in dangerous regions of the world. As valuable as digital data trails can be to an investigative reporter, they can also work the other way, resulting in a journalist’s identity and stories being revealed. Not only can leaked information limit a journalist’s ability to report the truth, it could also put them and their sources at significant risk.

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If you’re not all spent out for Christmas, and fancy treating yourself to a great product with a substantial discount, then Wellbots has put together not one, but two deals especially for BetaNews readers.

As you might expect, both products will ship after Christmas now, but should arrive before the holiday period ends.

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The rise of homeworking means one thing, trying to focus on work whilst the family and daily chores are going on around you. Get on a conference call and you have to try and eliminate background noise to sound professional. When you’re on a call you suddenly realize how much noise is going on around you.

Get in the car and head to a coffee shop and you'll find there are people talking around you -- it’s no better at all. You just cannot seem to get away from surrounding noise. And that’s if you can even get a fast enough internet connection and a stable enough call to make it worthwhile and professional enough to impress the other callers.

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More and more devices in our homes and workplaces are gaining smart capabilities as the Internet of Things starts to move from niche to mainstream.

But greater adoption also means an expanded threat surface. So what can we expect to see from the IoT in 2019? We’ve rounded up the opinions of some industry experts.

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Microsoft recently confirmed that it plans to transition its Edge browser away from the EdgeHTML engine to Chromium, embracing open source, bringing Chrome extensions and more. Making such a big change obviously requires a lot of testing, and Microsoft is giving you the chance to get involved via the Microsoft Edge Insider program.

The company already has the Windows Insider program for people who want to get their hands on new builds of Windows 10 earlier than they would normally, but this is a commitment that not everyone is willing to sign up for. Now Microsoft has launched a beta program for Microsoft Edge so you can try out early builds and help to shape the future of the browser.

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It is the year 2018, and 2019 is right around the corner -- 64-bit processors have been mainstream for a really long time. If you are still using a computer that is 32-bit only, it is time to toss it into a dumpster. No, I’m not being an elitist; it is simply time to move on. A much superior laptop can be had new for a few hundred bucks. Hell, you could probably buy a used 64-bit machine for under $100.

With all of that said, I am proud of all Linux-based operating system maintainers that have the courage to ditch 32-bit processor support. Some misguided Linux community members will decry this, claiming that the open source kernel can breathe new life into old hardware. That’s true, but it’s time for the world to raise the bar on what the bottom is -- all hardware can’t be supported forever. The latest major operating system to drop 32-bit support? Lubuntu.

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Boot into your brand new PC and you find you’re welcomed by rather a vanilla operating system, perhaps with a few key default apps installed by the manufacturer.

Although it’s initially interesting to start with a blank canvas, you soon realize not only do you have your most important applications installed but the settings and preferences all need to be setup again from scratch.

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In 2018, digital workplace transformation across the professional services market finally began to take hold. Today, applications for professionals across accounting, insurance, consulting and other industries are actually providing anywhere and anytime access, seamless collaboration, intuitive experiences and smart capabilities.

For years, those who worked in the professional services market expected these capabilities from their applications, having used consumer tools like Google, Facebook and Amazon that provide a consistent, easy-to-use experience across every device, allow for straightforward collaboration with trusted friends and family, automate tedious tasks and anticipate needs based on preferences and past behavior. After first resisting these demands and then struggling to deliver such capabilities, 2018 saw the wide-scale emergence of comprehensive technology platforms that deliver mobile, intuitive, collaborative, secure, automated and smart digital workplaces. The digital transformation of the professional services market made professionals’ day-to-day tasks easier, reducing training and other costs for firms, increasing productivity and empowering professionals to be more creative.

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With browsers often in the middle of many corporate activities, it’s no wonder that they are now subject to many of the same challenges encountered on desktops, smartphones and other hardware-based endpoints. Many IT pros wouldn’t consider browsers to be a critical network endpoint, but those pros would surely place importance on mobile devices, laptops, desktops and servers. Given the valuable role browsers play in accessing enterprise applications and information, it’s time to rethink how we classify them and, more importantly, how we manage and secure them.

Mobility and cloud computing are taking over today’s workforce, and the browser’s significance is trending. The majority of office applications -- such as Microsoft Office 365, Salesforce CRM, and the Zoho One business suite -- run in the cloud and are accessible via browser. These kinds of applications allow users to work from anywhere, at any time, using their laptops, smartphones and other browser-enabled devices.

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