• Article

Facebook has vigorously denied allegations that it shared user data with the likes of Apple and Samsung through device-integrated APIs. In an article entitled "Facebook Gave Device Makers Deep Access to Data on Users and Friends", the New York Times raised concerns about the social network's privacy practices.

The NYT says that Facebook has brokered "data-sharing partnerships with at least 60 device makers" over the last ten years. It alleges that the APIs gave companies access to the data of Facebook users' friends without their explicit consent. The article questions not only Facebook's privacy protections, but also its compliance with an FTC deal it struck back in 2011.

Continue reading →

In his weekly message to the Linux community on Sunday, Linus Torvalds announced the release of Linux 4.17. The release comes a couple of months after the first release candidate, and in his message Torvalds also talks about version 5.0 of the Linux kernel.

Having previously said that Linux kernel v5.0 "should be meaningless", he said that this next major numerical milestone will come around "in the not too distance future". For now, though, it's version 4.17 -- or Merciless Moray, if you prefer -- that's of interest.

Continue reading →

There have long been rumors that Microsoft has an interest in buying GitHub, but in recent weeks it seems that talks between the two companies have been getting more serious.

Talks between Microsoft and GitHub have been going on for a number of years now, and a new report suggests that an acquisition is closer than ever. While Microsoft share prices rose at the news, GitHub users are less convinced that the move would be a good idea.

Continue reading →

Yesterday -- following the sudden and unexplained disappearance of the Tablets section of the Android website -- we, like many others, wondered if Google was walking away from tablets completely.

Today we know that the answer is "no". The section has made a reappearance after its earlier vanishing act, and a bug has been blamed... but not everyone is convinced.

Continue reading →

Just yesterday, we shared that The GNOME Project moved to GitLab. This was a major score for GitLab, but also, an important move for GNOME as well -- it should greatly improve collaboration between its contributors. GNOME is not alone in its move to that Git-repository manager, however, as GIMP (plus the babl and GEGL libraries) also made the transition. Actually, believe it or not, GNOME is hosting GIMP there.

If you aren't familiar with GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program), please know that it is an open source image/graphics editor/manipulator. It is very similar to Adobe Photoshop, although GIMP is totally free. In fact, the open source Photoshop alternative is a cross-platform affair, available not just on Linux, but macOS, and Windows too. It is an extremely important program for the open source community -- right up there with LibreOffice.

Continue reading →

A developer discovered a video on Apple servers that not only shows Xcode 10 running on macOS 10.14, but also reveals a dark mode as well as an icon for the Mac News app nestling in the Dock. The leak comes just days ahead of this year's WWDC.

Steven Troughton-Smith found the video in an API for the Mac App Store backend, and leaked his findings to an eager audience. Coming direct from Apple's servers, this leak is something of a rarity as it gives a glimpse of what's coming up in macOS pretty much direct from the horse's mouth.

Continue reading →

Google has removed the Tablets section from the top of its Android website, sparking talk that the company is dropping tablets altogether.

It has been some time since we saw an Android tablet from Google, so the move would not be entirely surprising. What took many people by surprise however, was the fact that Google dropped the Tablets section of its website without any sort of announcement.

Continue reading →

Event ticketing service Ticketfly -- owned by Eventbrite -- has fallen victim to what it describes as a "cyber incident". The company took down its website late on Thursday, and it remains inaccessible two days later.

The full extent of the security breach is not yet known, but Ticketfly says that "some client and customer information" was compromised. The attack saw the site defaced with an Anonymous-style masked figure from the movie V for Vendetta, and the hacker threatened to provide download links to customer databases. A hacker by the name of IShAkDz has claimed responsibility.

Continue reading →

GNOME is one of the most important open source projects on the planet. Even if you use an alternative desktop environment, such as KDE or Xfce, you cannot deny that GNOME's contributions have largely shaped the path of Linux on the desktop for the better. Don't forget, GNOME is much more than just a DE -- many of its apps are essential. That's probably why someone (or something) recently pledged to donate $1 million to it -- GNOME's existence and success is a must for the Linux community.

Today, The GNOME Foundation makes a very big announcement -- the project has fully transitioned to GitLab. In other words, yes, the GNOME Project is growing up a bit and becoming better organized. This move to the GitLab Git-repository manager is a breath of fresh air, quite frankly, and should really improve collaboration between GNOME Project contributors.

Continue reading →

WinStep Software Technologies has updated its flagship products, WinStep Nexus Dock and WinStep Extreme, to version 18.5. Despite the point release, WinStep is billing this as a "massive release".

Docks are now accessible through NextSTART while the Media Player’s internal command gains enhanced features for unobtrusive music playback. There are also numerous improvements and features added to the Nexus Dock component.

Continue reading →

Facebook has announced plans to kill off the Trending feature of its newsfeed. The social network says that this is to "make way for future news experiences".

Over the years, Facebook has experimented endlessly with the presentation of news, and has faced criticism for failing to weed out "fake news" and also accusations of liberal bias. Now the company wants to find new ways to help people find news that matters to them, ensuring that it comes from reliable sources.

Continue reading →

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov says that Apple has stopped approving updates for its mobile app on a worldwide basis.

He says that it coincides with Russia implementing a block on Telegram, and it means there have been no updates rolling out to users anywhere in the world for a month and a half. Apple has said nothing about the apparent update block, and the lack of transparency has forced Durov to go public.

Continue reading →

Today is officially the day -- BetaNews is celebrating its 20th birthday! While people typically get presents on their birthday, we are flipping the script a bit. To celebrate the occasion, we will be doing giveaways all month long. This is our way to thank our dear readers for two decades of loyalty. Whether you have been a reader since the beginning or you are new to the site, we wish you luck in our many June giveaways.

The first giveaway is a really exciting new product from Linksys -- the all new Velop Dual-Band Whole Home Mesh WiFi System. If you aren't familiar with mesh networking, please know its like having a router with super-long range. How does it work? Several access points -- in this case three -- work together to blanket your home in glorious Wi-Fi. We have one system to award as a prize, with the value being $299.

Continue reading →

One of the problems with choosing an Android phone is that it is difficult to know quite how long it will be supported. While Apple tends to offer updates for quite a number of years, it's a very different story for Android users.

Now -- in something of a blow for consumers -- a court in the Netherlands has ruled that Samsung does not need to offer updates for its older handsets. A consumer association filed a lawsuit against the company, arguing that it should be forced to keep phones updated for at least four years; the court disagreed.

Continue reading →

On June 1 1998, BetaNews hit the web for the first time. We’re celebrating the site’s 20th birthday with a huge, month-long giveaway, and there are some truly spectacular products up for grabs.

Throughout the month of June, we will be giving away thousands of dollars worth of hardware products, including a mesh Wi-Fi system, Xbox router, digital art frame, robot vacuum cleaner, hardware encrypted hard drive, smart home camera, keyboards, mice, and more! There will be the opportunity to enter multiple times for each product, giving you more chances to win.

Continue reading →