Articles about Open Source

Linux 6.11 is now available. In his announcement, Linus Torvalds mentioned that the release was largely uneventful, with the majority of patches being relatively small and focused. Torvalds highlighted that the most prominent update in this release is the addition of Hyper-V Confidential Computing documentation.

Torvalds, who is currently on the road in Vienna, noted that while the merge window for the next release cycle opens tomorrow, progress might be slower than usual due to his participation in Open Source Summit Europe and the Kernel Maintainer Summit. He has over 40 pull requests pending but asks for patience as he works through them.

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Linux Mint has long been praised for its user-friendly design, with the Cinnamon desktop being a core feature. However, Cinnamon's look outside the Mint distro often leaves users unimpressed. In many distributions, Cinnamon’s default visual style feels outdated and unrefined, giving the impression that its aesthetics have been neglected.

Part of the reason for this is Mint’s focus on the Mint-Y theme, which brings a more polished and modern appearance to the desktop. The default Cinnamon theme, however, is largely left untouched, serving as a fallback option for troubleshooting. With little attention from theme developers, this results in a less-than-appealing experience for users of other distributions that don’t implement Mint-Y.

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The Mono Project, a key component of the .NET ecosystem since its start in 2001, is undergoing a transition. Originally created to allow developers to easily build cross-platform applications, Mono has been instrumental in extending .NET to various operating systems, including Android, iOS, and Linux.

After Microsoft acquired Xamarin in 2016, it became the steward of the Mono Project, continuing its development. The last major release of the original Mono Project occurred in July 2019, with only minor patch releases since, the most recent in February 2024.

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There is a movement underway to bring about a set of intelligent data apps that will require a new type of modern data platform to support them. TheCube Research identifies this as the 'Sixth Data Platform' -- an open, multi-vendor, modular platform.

We spoke to Justin Borgman, co-founder and CEO of Starburst, who believes an Icehouse architecture is the ideal foundation for building an open data lakehouse, underpinned by flexibility and open technologies.

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Sharing of passwords is a problem. It's reckoned that 43 percent of US internet users share their passwords with others, probably using insecure methods such as messaging, writing them down, or shared documents.

The issue is even worse for businesses, with approximately 69 percent of employees admitting to sharing passwords with colleagues. Good news then is that open-source password manager Proton Pass is launching Secure Links, a new feature enabling users to share items easily and securely with anyone, including non-Proton Pass users.

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Data centers have a strong emphasis on performance and delivering workloads whilst remaining power efficient.

In order to deliver on these aims the open instruction set architecture RISC-V is increasingly being used as an accelerator in data centers since it offers a lot of flexibility, which is especially important with AI. We spoke to Ian Ferguson, senior director at SiFive to discuss why this technology has become key to the server market.

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Half of IT professionals believe there are devices connected to their network that they're unaware of, despite nearly 60 percent admitting that insecure devices pose a 'very high' or 'high' risk to their organization.

This is among the findings of a survey of 250 IT professionals by Advanced Cyber Defence Systems (ACDS) which also finds over two-thirds of organizations have experienced three or more data breaches in the past 24 months.

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Enterprise secrets could be inadvertently leaking via GitHub repositories, according to new research from Aqua Security.

By scanning the most popular 100 organizations on Github, which collectively includes more than 50,000 publicly accessible repositories, Aqua researchers found active secrets from open source organizations and enterprises such as Cisco and Mozilla providing access to sensitive data and software. The exposed secrets could lead to significant financial losses, reputational damage, and legal consequences.

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postmarketOS v24.06 is now available, targeting Linux enthusiasts who seek more control and flexibility on their devices. This release brings stability improvements and automated testing, though it may not yet match the polish of ChromeOS, Android, or iOS.

The appeal of running Linux on personal devices lies in the freedom it offers. postmarketOS does not require account setups, does not push cloud storage, avoids pre-installed bloatware, and does not follow privacy-invasive AI trends. Instead, it focuses on free software, user control, and extending device usability beyond the original vendor's support.

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Organizations face significant challenges with open source security, primarily due to the rapid pace at which open source vulnerabilities are identified compared to the slower pace of remediation efforts.

This discrepancy creates a scenario where security teams are constantly trying to catch up, struggling against an ever-growing list of vulnerabilities that pose serious threats to their systems.

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Deepin, a Linux-based open-source desktop operating system developed in China, has announced the release candidate (RC) of its latest version, Deepin V23 (download here). This RC version introduces numerous new features and improvements, aiming to attract users who are considering a switch from Microsoft Windows 11. However, as this is not the final release, potential switchers should wait for the stable version to ensure a seamless transition.

The Deepin V23 RC comes with a host of new features that enhance usability and user experience. The installer has been optimized with improved UI details, updated carousel images, and a trial mode for users to experience the system without installation. It also reverts pre-installed applications to deb versions, supports 14th generation U terminal devices, and provides dual kernel options of 5.15 and 6.6.

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To be a world leader in AI, the UK must leverage its position as Europe’s number one in open source software. As the PM said on Friday, open source “creates start-ups” and “communities”. The UK’s open source community has flourished under the UK tech sector radar in recent years. OpenUK’s 2023 report showed 27 percent of UK Tech Sector Gross Value Add was attributable to the business of open source from the UK.

On the back of the AI Safety Summit last November, the UK has not taken the European Union’s route to a legislative solution. We will soon see the outcome of the EU’s gamble in being the first in the world to legislate. The very prescriptive legislation will likely be out of date before it is in use and this may engender regulatory capture in AI innovation in the EU. Few beyond big tech will be able to manage the compliance program necessary to meet the regulation. The risk is obvious and real.

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Gentoo Linux has become an Associated Project of Software in the Public Interest (SPI), following a formal invitation by SPI’s Board of Directors. SPI is a non-profit corporation dedicated to supporting open source software and hardware projects by providing fiscal sponsorship services such as accepting donations, holding funds and assets, and more. Importantly, SPI holds a 501(c)(3) status in the U.S., meaning donations made to SPI and its supported projects are tax-deductible for U.S. donors.

Gentoo Linux excels as a Linux distribution but has faced challenges in maintaining its non-profit status in the U.S. The Gentoo Foundation, while a non-profit in New Mexico, is considered a for-profit entity at the federal level. Transitioning directly to a federally recognized non-profit would be complex and costly.

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The development community has been quick to embrace generative AI for its productivity potential. But at the same time it raises concerns for enterprises around IP/ownership, security, compliance and more.

We talked to Steve Martinelli, director of developer advocacy and community at Equinix, to discuss the similarities between GenAI and open-source software's acceptance journey, and how we might tackle the unique challenges it presents.

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Canonical, the company behind the popular Ubuntu operating system, has announced a significant extension to the support lifecycle of its long-term support (LTS) releases. The new Legacy Support add-on for Ubuntu Pro subscribers will now provide security maintenance and support for an impressive 12 years, extending the previous 10-year commitment.

This enhancement is available starting with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and will benefit both enterprises and individual users who rely on the stability and security of Ubuntu for their critical systems. By default, Ubuntu LTS releases receive five years of standard security maintenance. However, with Ubuntu Pro, this is expanded to 10 years for both the main and universe repositories, offering access to a broader range of secure open-source software.

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