Following yet another vocal backlash against a new privacy policy, the makers of open-source audio editor Audacity have responded to concerns, blaming "unclear phrasing" in its policy update.

While a previously proposed policy change was not implemented because of the negative response from users, it does not seem that this latest change will be halted. Instead, the developers say that it will be rectifying what it regards as poor wording, and goes to some lengths to explain the reasons for the changes in an attempt to justify them. While the type of data collected is nothing particularly out of the ordinary, the arrival of telemetry is not something that is welcomed by fans of open source software.

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Is your computer up to the task of running Windows 11? To help you to find out, Microsoft released the PC Health Check app, updated it to make it more useful, but then pulled it for not being useful enough.

So how can you check your system's compatibility with Windows 11 -- especially the TPM requirement? We've already written about WhyNotWin11 which does a great job, but you can also try Win11SysCheck, a great open source utility that gives you a straight yes or no, along with helpful information if the answer is negative.

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One of the problems with open source vulnerability databases is that each uses its own format to describe vulnerabilities and this makes tracking and sharing of vulnerabilities between databases difficult.

To address this and boost security, the Google Open Source Security team, Go team, and the broader open-source community have been developing a simple vulnerability interchange schema for describing vulnerabilities.

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Blender is one of the most important open source projects, as the 3D graphics application suite is used by countless people at home, for business, and in education. The software can be used on many platforms, such as Windows, Mac, and of course, Linux.

Today, Ubuntu-maker Canonical announces it will offer paid enterprise support for Blender LTS. How cool is that? Surprisingly, this support will not only be for Ubuntu users. Heck, it isn't even limited to Linux installations. Actually, Canonical will offer this support to Blender LTS users on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Wow!

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Many organizations are now relying on voice assistant systems to handle enquiries, but just as with other forms of information it's important to protect the consumer and the proprietary data that flows through voice.

The Linux Foundation is launching an Open Voice Network, an open source association dedicated to advancing open standards that support the adoption of AI-enabled voice assistance systems.

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Many digital transformation initiatives have been boosted by the pandemic, but they are still too often held back by a shortage of the technical skills needed to deliver them.

Now though open source company WSO2 is launching Choreo, a new integration platform as a service (iPaaS) for cloud native engineering.

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As recent high-profile attacks have shown, bad actors are increasingly going after software supply chains to exploit vulnerabilities in commercial and open source code.

Developer tool specialist Sonatype is launching a new deep code analysis platform called Lift that installs easily on any source repository and provides developer-friendly feedback on a wide range of bug types.

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Enterprise cloud developers believe open source will be key to the future of their organizations, as businesses look to restart growth post-pandemic.

Research from Finnish software company Aiven surveyed 200 UK developers in large companies and shows that 90.5 percent say open source will be a part of the future of their organizations.

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Being able to find web vulnerabilities as soon as they emerge, before attackers can exploit them, is critical for organizations wanting to stay on top of web application security.

Saas security specialist Detectify is launching a new stand-alone application security tool that's specifically tailored for ethical hackers, making it easier for them to share their latest findings.

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System76 makes and sells excellent computers running Linux-based operating systems. The company's laptops and desktops can be had with your choice of the popular Ubuntu or the company's own Ubuntu-based Pop!_OS. For many years now, System76 has been a huge proponent of both the Linux and open source communities. Quite frankly, Linux users all over the world are very lucky to have System76 computers as an option.

And now, PC manufacturer System76 is becoming an accessory maker too. You see, after teasing the product for months, today, the company officially unveils its newest product -- the "Launch Configurable Keyboard." Yes, folks, it is a mechanical keyboard made in the USA with a focus on open source. The Launch has both open source firmware and hardware. Even the configuration software -- which runs on Linux, Windows, and macOS -- is open source.

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Microsoft has launched a new project which has the aim of bringing Linux kernel tool eBPF (Extended Berkeley Packet Filter) to Windows.

The company insists that the move to get the technology working in Windows does not represent creating a fork of eBPF. Instead, it will use existing projects, including the IOVisor uBPF project and the PREVAIL verifier, to run eBPF programs and APIs on top of its own operating systems -- specifically Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 or above.

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There are way too many Linux distributions nowadays. Some of them are unique, but for the most part, they are largely repetitive and don't all need to exist. One Linux-based operating system that manages to stand out, however, is Bodhi, which uses the Moksha desktop environment (a fork of Enlightenment).

If you aren't familiar with Bodhi, please know it is a lightweight operating system that is based on the great Ubuntu. Today, Bodhi 6.0 becomes available. This release comes nearly three years after version 5.0 became available. This is the first release of Bodhi Linux to be based on Ubuntu 20.04.

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Whatever the reasons behind it, the inclusion of telemetry collection in software never goes down well -- as Microsoft knows all too well from the reaction to Windows 10 telemetry. Now, open-source audio editor Audacity has taken the decision to add such data capture into the software.

The development team stresses that telemetry exists solely to "identify product issues early", but there has already been quite a backlash. The sharing of data with Google and Yandex has not gone well.

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There are thousands of different languages spoken around the planet, but a sizable number of these are at risk of disappearing.

In fact, of the over 7,000 native languages currently in use, some 3,000 are in danger, and on average, a language becomes extinct every fourteen days. Google Arts & Culture is taking action to help preserve these endangered languages.

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Back in the day, getting a laptop with Linux pre-installed was almost unheard of. For the most part, you had to buy a computer with Windows and then install Linux yourself. This wasn't bad necessarily, but it did mean that the price of the computer usually included a Windows license you maybe didn't want. In other words, Microsoft was profiting off of Linux users -- just because the consumer bought a Windows PC.

In 2021, however, there are many computers to be had with Linux pre-installed -- thanks to pioneers like System76. Of course, nowadays, big companies like Dell and Lenovo are selling Linux machines too. Today, yet another such laptop hits the market -- the Star Labs StarBook Mk V. This 14-inch notebook can be had your choice of several quality Linux distributions pre-installed, such as Linux Mint, Ubuntu, and Manjaro to name a few. And yes, Windows 10 is an option too.

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