Linus Torvalds is back in charge as Linux kernel 4.19 is released


After taking some time out from the Linux community to "change some of [his] behavior", Linux Torvalds is back. In a post to the Linux Kernel Mailing List announcing the release of Linux kernel 4.19, Greg Kroah-Hartman -- his temporary replacement -- handed back the reins.
After writing about the changes to be found in the latest release, Kroah-Hartman signed off by saying: "Linus, I'm handing the kernel tree back to you. You can have the joy of dealing with the merge window :)".
Half of new app development requests end in failure


In the US and across European countries, 50 percent of all new app development requests end in failure -- either by not being delivered at all, or being delivered without meeting the original business need.
According to research carried out by IDG for low-code development platform Appian, 16 percent of new development projects requested by EMEA enterprises never even get started.
How to access Google's secret text adventure game


Google is well known for hiding Easter eggs in its software and tools, and a new little treat has just been discovered. Hidden in Google Chrome's developer console is a text adventure game.
While this is not exactly The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and it's unlikely to draw you away from Fortnite or Assassin's Creed, the game is a simple delight like Chrome's jumping dinosaur. Here's how to access it.
Microsoft stops development of touch-friendly Office apps for Windows


Microsoft has confirmed that it is no longer developing the touch-friendly versions of Office apps for Windows
The Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, and PowerPoint Mobile apps found in the Microsoft Store first appeared for Windows 8.1, and development has continued with the release of Windows 10. But now this is changing, with Microsoft saying it wants to focus on the Win32, web, iOS and Android versions instead.
Security is developers' top concern for open source components


Developers rate security as their top concern when dealing with open source components, above integration and functionality, according to a new study.
The report from open source security and license compliance management company WhiteSource reveals that an average developer invests 15 hours a month dealing with open source security vulnerabilities, but only a small fraction of that time (25 percent) is devoted to actual remediation.
Companies continue to use vulnerable open source components


Use of known vulnerable open source components has increased by 120 percent over the last year and 62 percent of organizations say they have no meaningful control over OSS components, according to a new study.
Sonatype's fourth annual State of the Software Supply Chain Report shows that open source continues to be a key driver of innovation -- with software developers downloading more than 300 billion open source components in the past 12 months. However, hackers are exploiting this growing trend, and even beginning to inject vulnerabilities directly into open source projects.
After Torvalds' apology, the Linux community is adopting a new code of conduct


Following years of questionable behavior and ranting, the grandfather of Linux Linus Torvalds issued an apology and announced his intention to take a break from kernel work. Now the Linux community is adopting a new code of conduct to help make the environment more welcoming.
Based on the Contributor Covenant, the new Code of Conduct seeks to make participating in the community "a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, disability, ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity and expression, level of experience, education, socio-economic status, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, or sexual identity and orientation".
Linus Torvalds apologizes to Linux community for unprofessional 'flippant attacks'


Linux creator Linus Torvalds has used his regular Sunday email to the Linux Kernel Mailing List to apologize for unprofessional behavior, and to announce that he is taking a break from his Linux kernel work.
Acknowledging that he has previously launched "flippant attacks" on people -- something he labels as "unprofessional and uncalled for" -- Torvalds says he wants to "apologize to the people that my personal behavior hurt and possibly drove away from kernel development entirely".
Azure Pipelines CI/CD service arrives in the GitHub Marketplace


Microsoft today announced the successor to Visual Studio Team Services, Azure DevOps, as well as Azure DevOps Server, replacing Team Foundation Server. As part of this, the company also launched a new CI/CD service called Azure Pipelines which gives developers the chance to build, test and deploy to any platform.
Azure Pipelines has been launched in the GitHub Marketplace, and it is completely free for open source repositories.
Developers can now use staged releases in Google Play to test their Android apps on users


Google has announced that developers can now take advantage of a new "staged releases" feature to roll out new versions of their apps to a small percentage of their user base.
The feature was first revealed at Google I/O earlier in the year, and Google says that it will give developers the chance to test new features on a limited number of users before opting for a wider rollout.
Developers must give their apps a privacy policy or Apple will kick them out of the App Store


Apple has announced that all apps submitted to the App Store must have a privacy policy, including those apps which are undergoing beta testing.
The change is due to come into force on October 3, and after this date any app lacking a privacy policy that lets users know how their data is being used faces ejection from the App Store.
Google has slashed the size of Android apps


To tie in with the launch of Android 9 Pie, Google has given a glimpse into the improvements it has made to the app store.
In a blog post aimed primarily at developers, the director of Google Play, Purnima Kochikar, said that improved discovery features had helped to boost visits to the store by 30 percent while new tools helped to dramatically reduce crash rates. Google also points to new techniques which have enabled it to reduce app size by up to 65 percent.
Hate phone notches? Google says Android handsets can never have more than two


Phones with notches are incredibly divisive, but since Apple launched the iPhone X complete with a little screen cutout, there have been endless copies from other handset manufacturers. But is one notch enough? How about two or more?
If you fall into the "hate" camp when it comes to notches and cutouts it may be hard to convince you to buy such a phone, but for everyone else, Google has set out some new ground rules stating how many a phone can have, and where they can be located.
Google releases fourth and final Android P beta ahead of official launch


We may not yet know for certain what it's going to be called, but we now have a very good idea of what to expect from Android P -- or Android 9.0, if you prefer. After numerous developer previews, Google has now released the fourth and final beta ahead of the official launch later this summer.
This is very close to the final code that will be pushed to phones in the coming weeks and months, and Google says that "Beta 4 update includes a release candidate build with final system behaviors and the official Android P APIs (API level 28)". While it's aimed primarily at developers, there's nothing to stop anyone with a compatible handset (or emulator) downloading and installing the final beta of Android P.
Twitter removes 143,000 apps, now requires developers to request API access


As part of its continuing efforts to clean up the platform, Twitter has removed 143,000 apps in the last three months for policy violations. To help reduce the need for such measures in the future, the company has also introduced a new registration system that means developers must now request access to Twitter's APIs.
The change is a significant one, and with it Twitter will be hoping to prevent the appearance of malicious apps in the first place -- making its job easier and improving the overall experience for users.
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