All the News that Matters

• Debian: DSA-5051-1: aide security update>
  David Bouman discovered a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the base64 functions of aide, an advanced intrusion detection system, which can be triggered via large extended file attributes or ACLs. This may result in denial of service or privilege escalation.

• openSUSE: 2022:0140-1 important: grafana>
  An update that fixes two vulnerabilities is now available.

• openSUSE: 2022:0141-1 moderate: permissions>
  An update that contains security fixes can now be installed.

• RedHat: RHSA-2022-0205:02 Moderate: Red Hat Data Grid 8.2.3 security update>
  An update for Red Hat Data Grid is now available. Red Hat Product Security has rated this update as having a security impact of Moderate. A Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score, which

• RedHat: RHSA-2022-0216:06 Low: Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application>
  A security update is now available for Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7.4. Red Hat Product Security has rated this update as having a security impact of Low. A Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score, which

• RedHat: RHSA-2022-0083:03 Moderate: Red Hat build of Eclipse Vert.x 4.1.8>
  An update is now available for Red Hat build of Eclipse Vert.x. Red Hat Product Security has rated this update as having a security impact of Moderate. A Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score, which gives a detailed severity rating, is available for each vulnerability. For

• How to Install ModSecurity 3 & OWASP Core Rule Set with Nginx on Fedora 35
  In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install ModSecurity with Nginx on Fedora 35 Workstation or Server.

• How To Mount Google Drive Locally Using Rclone In Linux
  This guide walks you through the steps to mount Google drive locally using Rclone and then backup files to google drive using Rclone in Linux operating systems.

• Version 7 of WINE is better than ever at running Windows apps where they shouldn't
  WINE has come a long way. It took 18 years to get to version 1.0 and another nine years to get to version 2, but since version 3 in 2018, it's averaged roughly one major release per year. The project is now mature, stable, and quite functional. A lot of Windows programs work fine that formerly didn't. It's not limited to Linux – it also supports macOS and FreeBSD, and Linux relatives ChromeOS and Android.

• New Linux Kernel Vulnerability Patched in All Supported Ubuntu Systems, Update Now
  Canonical published today a new security advisory to inform users of the Ubuntu Linux operating system about a kernel vulnerability affecting all supported releases and kernel flavors.

• The Linux Foundation Announces SupplyChainSecurityCon will be Featured Under the Open Source Summit North America 2022 Conference Umbrella
  The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, has announced that SupplyChainSecurityCon, an event launched last fall at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America, will be hosted in 2022 as part of Open Source Summit North America, June 21-24, in Austin, TX and virtual.

• Omicron Storm Cancels In-person ‘Spacewalk’ Event – Online Version Rescheduled
  The current Omicron spike has forced organizers at All Things Open to make their first-of-the-year Spacewalk event online only and reschedule it for January 25, 2022.

• The Original Author of NGINX Has Chosen to Step Back from the Company
  Igor Sysoev, the author of the most popular web server in the world, left the company to work on personal projects and spend more time with family and friends.

• How to Do a Git Hard Reset - Walkthrough
  A tutorial on how to use the git reset --hard command to reset a git branch back to an earlier commit

• ONLYOFFICE 7.0 Brings Online Forms and Big Updates for All Editors
  Fillable forms, password protection, and version history in spreadsheets are just some of the new features in this ONLYOFFICE 7.0 release.

• Zsh shell installation and configuration on Linux
  The Z-shell (zsh) is a modern and very powerful shell: it incorporates and extends many feature of other shells, like Bash. Although it can be used as a powerful scripting language, it is mainly aimed at interactive use, since one of its more prominent feature is the advanced tab completion system. In this tutorial we see how to install zsh in the most commonly used Linux distributions, see what are its startup and shutdown files and how to perform the basic configurations.

• VirtualBox 6.1.32 Fixes Access to Some USB Devices on Linux Hosts, Improves Shared Clipboard
  Oracle released today VirtualBox 6.1.32 as the latest stable update to its open-source and cross-platform virtualization software for GNU/Linux, Solaris, macOS, and Windows systems.

• How to Install LibreNMS on Debian 11
  LibreNMS is an open-source network monitoring system based on PHP and with autodiscovery support. sing LibreNMS allows you to monitor operating systems like Linux, Windows, and BSD, also it supports a wide range of network hardware from multiple vendors such as Aruba, Cisco, Dell, D-Link, HP, and Mikrotik.

• Tracking Linux Stable kernels with UEK
  Oracle Linux's kernel has been built from a Linux Stable or Long Term Stable (LTS) release since its inception, but in the last few years we've moved even closer to the LTS model for the continuous uptake and delivery of bug fixes. Closely tracking LTS brings various advantages to Oracle Linux customers including faster delivery of security patches and close integration with upstream Linux.

• Mirantis brings secure registries to Kubernetes distros
  This is a big step forward in securing open-source container supply chains. Thanks to Solarwinds and Log4j, we know it's all too easy to have our systems busted thanks to software supply chain problems. To help us with this, Mirantis, the cloud and container company, has released Mirantis Secure Registry (MSR) 3.0, which can be used to build and deploy secure registries across any Kubernetes distribution.

• How to use LUKS with a detached header
  Linux Unified Key Setup (LUKS) is the de-facto standard block device encryption format used on Linux-based systems. We already discussed some of the features provided by it in a previous tutorial about using a file as a LUKS device key. When using LUKS, encryption metadata is stored on the header which is created at the beginning of the encrypted device (a copy of the header is created at end of the device for redundancy, when using LUKS2).If desired, it is possible to specify that the header should be detached from the device: in this tutorial we see how.

• Protect your PHP website from bots with this open source tool
  PHP is a widely-used programming language on the web, and it's estimated that nearly 80% of all websites use it. My team at CrowdSec decided that we needed to provide server admins with a PHP bouncer to help ward away bots and bad actors who may attempt to interact with PHP files.

• GeckoLinux ROLLING Now Ships with Linux 5.16, Improved PipeWire Configuration
  Less than two weeks after the previous updates, the GeckoLinux ROLLING editions have been updated to include the latest and greatest Linux 5.16 kernel, as well as various other updates and improvements.

• Manage your passwords in the Linux terminal
  Pass is a classic UNIX-style password management system that uses GnuPG (GPG) for encryption, and the terminal as its primary interface.

• How to scrape web pages from the command line using htmlq
  Web scraping is the process of analyzing the structure of HTML pages, and programmatically extract data from them. In the past we saw how to scrape the web using the Python programming language and the “Beautilful Soup” library; in this tutorial, instead, we see how to perform the same operation using a command line tool written in Rust: htmlq.

• How to use Cloudformation to create SQS Queues on AWS
  AWS Simple Queue Service (SQS) is a fully managed message queuing service that enables us to decouple and scale microservices,  serverless applications, and distributed systems. In this article, we will see the steps to create a Standard and FIFO Queue using Cloudformation Stack.

• Senate Judiciary Committee Clears Tech-Focused Antitrust Bill
  The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved the antitrust bill aimed at Apple, Meta Platforms, Amazon and Alphabet's Google, bringing the measure one step closer to consideration by the full Senate. From a report: The bill, S. 2992, sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar and Chuck Grassley, would prohibit companies from giving an advantage to their own products on their platforms. Smaller competitors have said these so-called gatekeeper companies use unfair business practices to maintain their dominance. The affected companies warn that the legislation would hurt U.S. innovation by giving an advantage to foreign competitors, would risk user privacy and security and would damage products enjoyed by consumers.
        
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• How AI Conquered Poker
  Good poker players have always known that they need to maintain a balance between bluffing and playing it straight. Now they can do so perfectly. From a report: One of the earliest and most devoted adopters of what has come to be known as "game theory optimal" poker is Seth Davies's friend and poker mentor, Jason Koon. On the second day of the three-day Super High Roller tournament, I visited Koon at his multimillion-dollar house, located in a gated community inside a larger gated community next to a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course. On Day 1, Koon paid $250,000 to play the Super High Roller, then a second $250,000 after he was knocked out four hours in, but again he lost all his chips. "Welcome to the world of nosebleed tourneys," he texted me afterward. "Just have to play your best -- it evens out." For Koon, evening out has taken the form of more than $30 million in in-person tournament winnings (and, he says, at least as much from high-stakes cash games in Las Vegas and Macau, the Asian gambling mecca). Koon began playing poker seriously in 2006 while rehabbing an injury at West Virginia Wesleyan College, where he was a sprinter on the track team.   He made a good living from cards, but he struggled to win consistently in the highest-stakes games. "I was a pretty mediocre player pre-solver," he says, "but the second solvers came out, I just buried myself in this thing, and I started to improve like rapidly, rapidly, rapidly, rapidly." In a home office decorated mostly with trophies from poker tournaments he has won, Koon turned to his computer and pulled up a hand on PioSOLVER. After specifying the size of the players' chip stacks and the range of hands they would play from their particular seats at the table, he entered a random three-card flop that both players would see. A 13-by-13 grid illustrated all the possible hands one of the players could hold. Koon hovered his mouse over the square for an ace and queen of different suits.   The solver indicated that Koon should check 39 percent of the time; make a bet equivalent to 30 percent the size of the pot 51 percent of the time; and bet 70 percent of the pot the rest of the time. This von Neumann-esque mixed strategy would simultaneously maximize his profit and disguise the strength of his hand. Thanks to tools like PioSOLVER, Koon has remade his approach to the game, learning what size bets work best in different situations. Sometimes tiny ones, one-fifth or even one-tenth the size of the pot, are ideal; other times, giant bets two or three times the size of the pot are correct. And, while good poker players have always known that they need to maintain a balance between bluffing and playing it straight, solvers define the precise frequency with which Koon should employ one tactic or the other and identify the (sometimes surprising) best and worst hands to bluff with, depending on the cards in play.
        
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• Amazon Heads To the Mall With Prototype Clothing Store
  First, Amazon competed with malls. Now, it's moving inside one. From a report: The online retailing giant said Thursday that it plans to open a clothing store in a Southern California mall later this year. It's the latest foray into brick-and-mortar for Amazon, which already sells more than 10% of all clothes in the U.S. The store, which will sell women's and men's clothing as well as shoes and other accessories, will open at Americana at Brand, a mall in Glendale, California. The entry into malls could become another threat to traditional clothing sellers because of the data and shopper insights Amazon may gain, experts say.   Amazon says its algorithms will spit out real-time recommendations as shoppers keep scanning items that they see. Shoppers can also fill out an online survey of their preferences for style and fit. The store will be about 30,000 square feet, similar in size to a Kohl's, but about one-third the size of other department stores like Macy's. However, it will offer more than double the number of styles as traditional stores do because only one of each piece of clothing will be on display, with the rest in the back room. Items are chosen by Amazon curators who also use feedback provided by millions of customers shopping on Amazon.com.
        
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• London Mayor Wants Daily Driving Charge of Up To $2.7
  London's mayor says he needs to charge drivers a "small" daily fee of up to 2 pound ($2.73) for "all but the cleanest vehicles" to help hit climate change targets. From a report: The road pricing proposal is part of a push by Sadiq Khan to encourage people towards public transport, walking, cycling or electric vehicles. The RAC called the plan "poorly timed" with cleaner vehicles being "too expensive for most people." Longer term, Mr Khan says he needs to bring in a pay-per-mile system. He is also considering charging drivers from outside the capital who wish to travel into Greater London, widening out the current charging zone. Mr Khan said he was "not willing to put off action."
        
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• Starving Afghans Use Crypto To Sidestep US Sanctions, Failing Banks, and the Taliban
  NGOs looking to provide emergency aid to Afghanistan are turning to cryptocurrency. From a report: When the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August of last year, Fereshteh Forough feared that the group would close her school in Herat, the country's third-largest city. Code to Inspire, an NGO Forough founded, was teaching computer programming to young Afghan women, and the Taliban oppose secondary education for women. Months later, the picture is much different -- and worse -- from what Forough imagined. The school survived, becoming mostly virtual, but has transformed from a coding boot camp into a relief organization. The biggest risk for Forough's students wasn't lack of education, it was hunger. Forough looked for a way to provide emergency checks to the women but was stymied by banks that don't want to risk violating severe U.S. sanctions.   JPMorgan Chase repeatedly blocked her attempts to transfer money, she said, and she grew increasingly alarmed by students who said they couldn't access cash at local Afghan banks -- many of which have closed or imposed strict withdrawal limits. In response, she turned to cryptocurrency to provide monthly emergency payments to help students afford enough food to survive. [...] There are several advantages to using crypto: Afghans fleeing the Taliban can take their assets with them without risk. Humanitarian agencies seeking to bypass banks and discreetly avoid the Taliban can provide cash directly to those in need. Smugglers and intermediaries who may steal or try to resell aid packages can be circumvented if aid is given directly through a digital transaction.
        
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• Google is Building an AR Headset
  Meta may be the loudest company building AR and VR hardware. Microsoft has HoloLens. Apple is working on something, too. But don't count out Google. The Verge: The search giant has recently begun ramping up work on an AR headset, internally codenamed Project Iris, that it hopes to ship in 2024, according to two people familiar with the project who requested anonymity to speak without the company's permission. Like forthcoming headsets from Meta and Apple, Google's device uses outward-facing cameras to blend computer graphics with a video feed of the real world, creating a more immersive, mixed reality experience than existing AR glasses from the likes of Snap and Magic Leap. Early prototypes being developed at a facility in the San Francisco Bay Area resemble a pair of ski goggles and don't require a tethered connection to an external power source.   Google's headset is still early in development without a clearly defined go-to-market strategy, which indicates that the 2024 target year may be more aspirational than set in stone. The hardware is powered by a custom Google processor, like its newest Google Pixel smartphone, and runs on Android, though recent job listings indicate that a unique OS is in the works. Given power constraints, Google's strategy is to use its data centers to remotely render some graphics and beam them into the headset via an internet connection. I'm told that the Pixel team is involved in some of the hardware pieces, but it's unclear if the headset will ultimately be Pixel-branded.
        
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• Sony Expects Microsoft To Keep Activision Games Multiplatform
  Sony said Thursday that it expected Microsoft to ensure that games from Activision Blizzard are available on non-Microsoft videogame platforms if Microsoft completes its proposed acquisition of Activision. From a report: "We expect that Microsoft will abide by contractual agreements and continue to ensure Activision games are multiplatform," a Sony spokesman said Thursday. Activision supplies some of the most popular games for Sony's PlayStation game console, including the Call of Duty series. After Microsoft on Tuesday announced its acquisition plan, some analysts raised the possibility that Activision games might be available exclusively for Microsoft's own Xbox console and its subscription videogame services in the future.
        
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• Elon Musk's Brain Implant Company Is Inching Toward Human Trials, Report Says
  Elon Musk's brain implant company Neuralink is now hiring a clinical trial director, an indication that the company's longstanding goal of implanting chips in human brains is coming closer. Bloomberg: The trial director position would oversee the startup's long-promised human trials of its medical device, according to the listing. Neuralink's brain implant -- which Musk has said already allows monkeys to play video games with their thoughts alone -- is intended to help treat a variety of neurological disorders, such as paralysis. The job description for the position, based in Fremont, California, promises that the applicant will "work closely with some of the most innovative doctors and top engineers" as well as with "Neuralink's first Clinical Trial participants." It also indicates that the job will mean leading and building "the team responsible for enabling Neuralink's clinical research activities," as well as adhering to regulations. Last month, Musk told the Wall Street Journal that Neuralink hoped to implant its device in human brains sometime in 2022.
        
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• Bank of Russia Calls for Full Ban on Crypto
  Russia must ban cryptocurrencies, the country's central bank said in a report released Thursday. From a report: The report, "Cryptocurrencies: trends, risks, measures," was presented during an online press conference with Elizaveta Danilova, the director of the Bank of Russia's Financial Stability Department. The report says cryptocurrencies are volatile and widely used in illegal activities such as fraud. By offering an outlet for people to take their money out of the national economy, they risk undermining it and making the regulator's job of maintaining optimal monetary policies harder, the report says.   The bank, therefore, suggest Russia needs new laws and regulations that effectively ban any crypto-related activities in the country. In particular, cryptocurrency issuance and organization of its circulation in Russia must be banned. The ban should apply to exchanges, over-the-counter trading desks and peer-to-peer platforms. An existing ban on using crypto for payments should be reinforced, and punishment should be introduced for buying or selling goods, services and labor by Russian individuals and businesses, the report suggests.
        
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• Locations and Contact Data on 515,000 Vulnerable People Stolen in Red Cross Data Breach
  A cyberattack targeting a contractor working for the International Committee of the Red Cross has spilled confidential data on more than 515,000 "highly vulnerable" people, many of whom have been separated from their families due to conflict, migration and disaster. From a report: The Red Cross did not name the contractor, based in Switzerland, which it uses to store data nor say what led to the security incident, but said that the data comes from at least 60 Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies. In a statement, the international organization pleaded with the attackers not to publicly share or leak the information given the sensitivity of the data.
        
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• Google Forms Blockchain Group Under Newly Appointed Executive
  Google is forming a group dedicated to the blockchain and related technologies under a newly appointed executive who has spent more than a decade on the company's core business of search advertising. From a report: Shivakumar Venkataraman, an engineering vice president for Alphabet's Google, is now running a unit focused on "blockchain and other next-gen distributed computing and data storage technologies," according to an email viewed by Bloomberg News. The executive will become a "founding leader" of Labs, a business division in which Google houses its various virtual and augmented reality efforts, according to the email.
        
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• Antimicrobial Resistance Now a Leading Cause of Death Worldwide, Study Finds
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Antimicrobial resistance poses a significant threat to humanity, health leaders have warned, as a study reveals it has become a leading cause of death worldwide and is killing about 3,500 people every day. More than 1.2 million -- and potentially millions more -- died in 2019 as a direct result of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, according to the most comprehensive estimate to date of the global impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The stark analysis covering more than 200 countries and territories was published in the Lancet. It says AMR is killing more people than HIV/Aids or malaria. Many hundreds of thousands of deaths are occurring due to common, previously treatable infections, the study says, because bacteria that cause them have become resistant to treatment.   The new Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (Gram) report estimates deaths linked to 23 pathogens and 88 pathogen-drug combinations across 204 countries and territories in 2019. Statistical modeling was used to produce estimates of the impact of AMR in all locations -- including those with no data -- using more than 470m individual records obtained from systematic literature reviews, hospital systems, surveillance systems, and other data sources. The analysis shows AMR was directly responsible for an estimated 1.27 million deaths worldwide, and associated with an estimated 4.95 million deaths, in 2019. HIV/Aids and malaria have been estimated to have caused 860,000 and 640,000 deaths, respectively, in 2019. While AMR poses a threat to people of all ages, young children were found to be at particularly high risk, with one in five deaths attributable to AMR occurring in children under the age of five. Some of the actions policymakers can take, as mentioned in the report, include "optimizing the use of existing antibiotics, taking greater action to monitor and control infections, and providing more funding to develop new antibiotics and treatments."
        
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• Red Cross Begs Hackers Not To Leak Data of 'Highly Vulnerable People'
  The Red Cross has disclosed that it was the victim of a cyber attack and has asked the hackers who broke into the IT network of one of its contractors not to leak the personal information of more than 515,000 of "highly vulnerable people." The Record reports: The data was stolen from a Red Cross program called Restoring Family Links, which aims to reunite family members separated by conflict, disaster, or migration. "While we don't know who is responsible for this attack, or why they carried it out, we do have this appeal to make to them," said Robert Mardini, director-general for the International Committee of the Red Cross. "Your actions could potentially cause yet more harm and pain to those who have already endured untold suffering. The real people, the real families behind the information you now have are among the world's least powerful. Please do the right thing. Do not share, sell, leak or otherwise use this data," Mardini said.   "The people affected include missing people and their families, unaccompanied or separated children, detainees and other people receiving services from the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement as a result of armed conflict, natural disasters or migration," the organization said in an email.
        
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• Something In Your Eyes May Reveal If You're At Risk of Early Death, Study Shows
  A quick and pain-free scan of the human eyeball could one day help doctors identify "fast agers," who are at greater risk of early mortality. ScienceAlert reports: A machine learning model has now been taught to predict a person's years of life simply by looking at their retina, which is the tissue at the back of the eye. The algorithm is so accurate, it could predict the age of nearly 47,000 middle-aged and elderly adults in the United Kingdom within a bracket of 3.5 years. Just over a decade after these retinas were scanned, 1,871 individuals had died, and those who had older-looking retinas were more likely to fall in this group.   For instance, if the algorithm predicted a person's retina was a year older than their actual age, their risk of death from any cause in the next 11 years went up by 2 percent. At the same time, their risk of death from a cause other than cardiovascular disease or cancer went up by 3 percent. The findings are purely observational, which means we still don't know what is driving this relationship at a biological level. Nevertheless, the results support growing evidence that the retina is highly sensitive to the damages of aging. Because this visible tissue hosts both blood vessels and nerves, it could tell us important information about an individual's vascular and brain health. The study was published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
        
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• Social Media Bans of Scientific Misinformation Aren't Helpful, Researchers Say
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: The Royal Society is the UK's national academy of sciences. On Wednesday, it published a report on what it calls the "online information environment," challenging some key assumptions behind the movement to de-platform conspiracy theorists spreading hoax info on topics like climate change, 5G, and the coronavirus. Based on literature reviews, workshops and roundtables with academic experts and fact-checking groups, and two surveys in the UK, the Royal Society reached several conclusions. The first is that while online misinformation is rampant, its influence may be exaggerated, at least as far as the UK goes: "the vast majority of respondents believe the COVID-19 vaccines are safe, that human activity is responsible for climate change, and that 5G technology is not harmful." The second is that the impact of so-called echo chambers may be similarly exaggerated and there's little evidence to support the "filter bubble" hypothesis (basically, algorithm-fueled extremist rabbit holes). The researchers also highlighted that many debates about what constitutes misinformation are rooted in disputes within the scientific community and that the anti-vax movement is far broader than any one set of beliefs or motivations.   One of the main takeaways: The government and social media companies should not rely on "constant removal" of misleading content [because it is] not a "solution to online scientific misinformation." It also warns that if conspiracy theorists are driven out of places like Facebook, they could retreat into parts of the web where they are unreachable. Importantly, the report makes a distinction between removing scientific misinformation and other content like hate speech or illegal media, where removals may be more effective: "... Whilst this approach may be effective and essential for illegal content (eg hate speech, terrorist content, child sexual abuse material) there is little evidence to support the effectiveness of this approach for scientific misinformation, and approaches to addressing the amplification of misinformation may be more effective. In addition, demonstrating a causal link between online misinformation and offline harm is difficult to achieve, and there is a risk that content removal may cause more harm than good by driving misinformation content (and people who may act upon it) towards harder-to-address corners of the internet."   Instead of removal, the Royal Society researchers advocate developing what they call "collective resilience." Pushing back on scientific disinformation may be more effective via other tactics, such as demonetization, systems to prevent amplification of such content, and fact-checking labels. The report encourages the UK government to continue fighting back against scientific misinformation but to emphasize society-wide harms that may arise from issues like climate change rather than the potential risk to individuals for taking the bait. Other strategies the Royal Society suggests are continuing the development of independent, well-financed fact-checking organizations; fighting misinformation "beyond high-risk, high-reach social media platforms"; and promoting transparency and collaboration between platforms and scientists. Finally, the report mentions that regulating recommendation algorithms may be effective.
        
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• The Linux Foundation Announces SupplyChainSecurityCon will be Featured Under the Open Source Summit North America 2022 Conference Umbrella
  Open Source Summit continues to focus on covering the most critical topics, innovative technologies and pivotal open source projects as the premier event for the open source community. SAN FRANCISCO, January 19, 2022 —  The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, has announced that SupplyChainSecurityCon, an event launched last fall [0]
  
  The post The Linux Foundation Announces SupplyChainSecurityCon will be Featured Under the Open Source Summit North America 2022 Conference Umbrella appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• The Linux Foundation Announces SupplyChainSecurityCon will be Featured Under the Open Source Summit North America 2022 Conference Umbrella
  Open Source Summit continues to focus on covering the most critical topics, innovative technologies and pivotal open source projects as the premier event for the open source community. SAN FRANCISCO, January 19, 2022 — The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, has announced that SupplyChainSecurityCon, an event launched last fall [0]
  
  The post The Linux Foundation Announces SupplyChainSecurityCon will be Featured Under the Open Source Summit North America 2022 Conference Umbrella appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• Tracking Linux Stable kernels with UEK
  How Oracles UEK tracks Linux Stable ker Click to Read More at Oracle Linux Kernel Development
  
  The post Tracking Linux Stable kernels with UEK appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• The OpenSSF and the Linux Foundation Address Software Supply Chain Security Challenges at White House Summit
  WASHINGTON (January 13, 2022) Today marks an important moment in the Linux Foundation’s history of engagement with public sector organizations. The White House convened an important cross-section of the Open Source developer and commercial ecosystem along with leaders and experts of many U.S. federal agencies to identify the challenges present in the open source software [0]
  
  The post The OpenSSF and the Linux Foundation Address Software Supply Chain Security Challenges at White House Summit appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• Baumer, Infineon, Qualcomm Innovation Center, Percepio and Silicon Labs Select Zephyr RTOS for their Next Generation of Products and Solutions
  SAN FRANCISCO, January 13, 2022 – The Zephyr Project announces a major milestone today with Baumer joining as a Platinum member and Infineon Technologies, Qualcomm Innovation Center, Inc., Percepio and Silicon Labs joining as Silver members. These new members have selected Zephyr RTOS as one of the key technologies to build their next generation of [0]
  
  The post Baumer, Infineon, Qualcomm Innovation Center, Percepio and Silicon Labs Select Zephyr RTOS for their Next Generation of Products and Solutions appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• Understanding Bluetooth Technology for Linux
  This article was written by Martin Woolley of the Bluetooth SIG. Linux has been around in various forms for about 30 years, and the kernel is the basis of other operating systems such as Android and Chrome OS. Supercomputers use it at one end of the computing spectrum and in embedded devices at the other. [0]
  
  The post Understanding Bluetooth Technology for Linux appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• Please Join Us In The January 2022 SPDX Community SBOM DocFest
  SPDX was designed for tools to produce and consume SBOM documents. A decade of experience has shown us that tools may interpret fields differently – a file may be a valid syntactic SPDX SBOM,  but different tools may fill in different values. By coming together as a community to examine the output of multiple tools [0]
  
  The post Please Join Us In The January 2022 SPDX Community SBOM DocFest appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• Record your terminal with script and scriptreplay
  Creating documentation? Make an instant, editable video of your terminal to demo a process with these Linux commands. Read More at Enable Sysadmin
  
  The post Record your terminal with script and scriptreplay appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• Classic SysAdmin: How to Check Disk Space on Linux from the Command Line
  This is a classic article written by Jack Wallen from the Linux.com archives. For more great SysAdmin tips and techniques check out our free intro to Linux course. Quick question: How much space do you have left on your drives? A little or a lot? Follow up question: Do you know how to find out? If you [0]
  
  The post Classic SysAdmin: How to Check Disk Space on Linux from the Command Line appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• Classic SysAdmin: Understanding Linux File Permissions
  This is a classic article written by Jack Wallen from the Linux.com archives. For more great SysAdmin tips and techniques check out our free intro to Linux course. Although there are already a lot of good security features built into Linux-based systems, one very important potential vulnerability can exist when local access is granted – – that [0]
  
  The post Classic SysAdmin: Understanding Linux File Permissions appeared first on Linux.com.
  

Engadget"Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics"

• NBA games in 4K are coming to YouTube TV
  The view from your couch will look a little more like sitting courtside in the days to come, as Streamable reports on Thursday that YouTube TV will begin offering select NBA matchups in 4K. 
  
  The only, ahem, hoop viewers will need to get through in order to watch is having a YouTube TV subscription with the 4K Plus add-on. YTTV on its own is $65 a month, the 4K add-on will set you back an additional $12/mo for the first year before nearly doubling, up to $20/month thereafter. Not every game will be made available in the high definition format though Saturday9s game between the Cavs and Thunder will.
  

• Twitter brings NFTs to profile photos, but only for Twitter Blue subscribers
  Twitter is giving NFT enthusiasts a new reason to pay for a Twitter Blue subscription. The company is testing a new feature that allows NFT owners to authenticate NFTs displayed in their profile photos.
  
  The feature, which is being offered as an early stage “Labs” feature for Twitter Blue subscribers, allows NFT owners to connect their crypto wallet to their Twitter account and display an NFT as their profile photo. While many NFT owners already use the art in their profile photos, the Twitter Blue feature will also add an icon indicating that the NFT has been authenticated and that person behind the account is the official owner of the piece.
  
  Though only Twitter Blue subscribers can access the feature, the authentication symbol will be visible to everyone on Twitter. And other users will be able to tap on the hexagon symbol in order to learn more about the NFT in the image.
  Twitter
  While Twitter has previously indicated that it was working on an NFT authentication service, it’s notable that it would choose to offer the feature to Twitter Blue subscribers first, The company debuted the $3/month subscription service in November, in a bid to appeal to power users who might pay for specialized features. The NFT feature is “still under active development,” according to the company, and it’s not clear if it plans to launch it more widely. Twitter has previously said that early-stage “labs” features are experiments that could become available outside of Twitter Blue, kept around for subscribers, or killed off entirely.
  

• Airbnb will offer travel insurance this spring
  Airbnb knows you might be reluctant to book a stay while the COVID-19 pandemic makes trips risky, so it9s planning to offer some protection of its own. The rental service has revealed it will introduce custom travel insurance for guests sometime this spring. While the terms aren9t available, Airbnb will team with a "reputable" insurer to offer coverage.
  
  The company has also launched a Guest COVID Support Program that partly compensates travellers if border closures, quarantine periods or other government policies make existing reservations impractical. If a host won9t provide a full refund, Airbnb will offer a travel coupon worth 50 percent of whatever hasn9t been refunded so far. The program applies to all stays with a check-in date of December 1st, 2021 or later, so you might want to talk to Airbnb if your holiday plans fell apart.
  
  There9s no mystery behind the strategy. Airbnb9s business has been hit hard by the pandemic as a whole, and COVID-199s Omicron variant is only increasing the worry for hosts and guests who were hoping the worst was behind them. First-party insurance and coupons might persuade some would-be adventurers to book stays when they would have otherwise stayed home.
  

• Peloton is reportedly pausing Bike and Tread production amid lower demand
  Peloton is reportedly pumping the brakes on Bike and Tread production as demand for the home fitness equipment is said to be slowing.
  
  It9s said to be putting production of its standard Bike and Tread (treadmill) products on hold for two months and six weeks, respectively. The company stopped building Bike+ units last month and it doesn’t plan to pick up production of that more expensive model until June, CNBC reports. As for Tread+, Peloton reportedly doesn’t expect to build any more of those in its 2022 fiscal year.
  
  According to CNBC, Peloton said in an internal presentation that there’s been a significant drop in demand due to consumer “price sensitivity” and increased competition from rivals. On top of that, gyms are open again in many regions following COVID-19 lockdown measures. After being cooped up at home for the better part of two years, it wouldn’t be surprising if fitness fans wanted to work out elsewhere. Meanwhile, research firm M Science said it hasn’t seen evidence of a rise in demand for at-home fitness amid the surge of the Omicron variant.
  
  As things stand, Peloton is said to have overestimated demand and thousands of its products are in warehouses and on cargo ships. It reportedly needs to sell many of those before making more bikes and treadmills.
  
  Meanwhile, per the presentation, Peloton Guide was delayed from October to next month, and the product might slip again to April. Peloton Guide is a strength-training system that uses camera and machine learning to track users9 movements and help them match their form against an instructor.
  
  Earlier this week, it was reported that Peloton is looking to reduce costs. Measures could include layoffs and store closures.
  
  Engadget has contacted Peloton for comment. The company will report its latest quarterly financial results on February 8th, which should make the status of Peloton and its products slightly clearer.
  

• Facebook takes down fake Iranian accounts that posed as Scottish locals
  Facebook disabled a network of fake accounts that posed as English and Scottish locals, but were actually an Iran-based influence operation. The company detailed the takedowns in its latest report on coordinated inauthentic behavior on its platform.
  
  The network was relatively small — eight accounts on Facebook and 126 on Instagram — though it had amassed about 77,000 followers, according to the company. Facebook’s security researchers didn’t indicate exactly who in Iran was behind the effort, or what their motives were, but said some of the people involved had a “background in teaching English as a foreign language.”
  
  “This network posted photos and memes in English about current events in the UK, including supportive commentary about Scottish independence and criticism of the UK government,” Facebook writes in its report. In a call with reporters, Facebook’s Global IO Threat Intelligence Lead, Ben Nimmo, said that it’s not the first time the company has caught Iran-linked fake accounts targeting Scotland, but that the latest network stood out for its “artisanal” approach to the fake personas.
  
  “What was unique about this case was the effort that the operators took to make their fakes look like real people,” Nimmo said. He noted the accounts spent considerable time posting about their “side interests,” like football, in an attempt to boost their credibility. Some of the accounts also lifted profile photos from real celebrities or media personalities, and regularly updated the images in order to appear more real. Other accounts used fake photos generated by AI programs.
  
  Overall, Facebook says that the fake accounts weren’t particularly successful as the most popular account had only reached about 4,000 followers, about half of whom were actually located in the UK. “In a way, this is more like an old fashioned pre-internet influence operation, creating detailed fake personas and trying not to be noticed,” Nimmo said.
  

• Senator Klobuchar's major tech reform bill advances out of committee
  A major tech reform bill that would prevent the industry9s biggest players — Apple, Amazon, Google, and their ilk — from discriminating against smaller businesses that rely on the big platforms9 services is one step closer to passage on Thursday after passing from committee on a bipartisan 16-6 vote. Senators Mike Lee, John Cornyn, Ben Sasse, Tom Cotton, Thom Tillis, and Marsha Blackburn all voted against it.
  
  The American Innovation and Choice Online Act, which was sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar, would prohibit Amazon from promoting its own Amazon Basics gear over similar products in search results. Similarly, Apple and Google would be barred from pushing their in-house apps over those from third-party developers in their respective app stores. The bill passed out of both the antitrust subcommittee and the primary judiciary committee with the support of that vote and will now be put forth on the Senate floor.   
  
  Unsurprisingly, the platforms impacted by these proposed regulations are none too pleased with the recent proceedings. Apple9s Tim Cook has reportedly been personally lobbying against the bill while Amazon has released the following statement:
  
  There’s a reason why small businesses who sell on Amazon are asking Congress to take a look at the “collateral damage” that will fall on them and their customers, should the American Innovation and Choice Online Act become law. This bill is being rushed through the legislative process without any acknowledgment by its authors of its unintended consequences. As drafted, the bill’s vague prohibitions and unreasonable financial penalties—up to 15% of U.S. revenue, not income—would jeopardize our ability to allow small businesses to sell on Amazon. The bill would also make it difficult for us to guarantee one or two-day shipping for those small businesses9 products—key benefits of Amazon Prime for sellers and customers alike. The bill’s authors are targeting common retail practices and, troublingly, appear to single out Amazon while giving preferential treatment to other large retailers that engage in the same practices. We urge the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject Senator Klobuchar and Senator Grassley’s bill and refuse to rush through an ambiguously worded bill with significant unintended consequences.
  
  A similar bill has already passed the judiciary committee9s counterpart in the House though the President has not yet weighed in regarding his support of these proposals.
  

• New 'Wallace & Gromit' and 'Chicken Run' movies are coming to Netflix
  After a hiatus of more than a decade, the world’s favorite fictitious British inventor (or possibly second after Q from James Bond) and his lovable canine sidekick are making a comeback. Today as part of its ongoing partnership with Aardman Animations Netflix announced the arrival of a new Wallace & Gromit movie and the long-awaited sequel to Chicken Run.
  
  Due out sometime in 2023, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget picks up after Ginger and Rocky’s daring escape with the hatching of the couple’s new chick Molly at their new island sanctuary home. And while Julia Sawalha and Mel Gibson won’t be reprising their roles as the leading chickens, Dawn of the Nugget’s cast will still feature some big-name stars including Thandie Newton (Ginger), Zachary Levi (Rocky) and Bella Ramsey (Molly), the latter of whom is also set to play Ellie in pic.twitter.com/wI39M8ZN4B
  — NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) January 20, 2022
  As for the still-untitled Wallace & Gromit movie, original series creator Nick Park will be returning as director featuring a story written by Park and Mark Burton (Madagascar, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Shaun of the Sheep Movie). Slated to arrive almost two decades after The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Wallace and Gromit’s second feature-length film revolves around Wallace’s latest invention: a “smart gnome” that has developed a mind of its own. Queue the hijinx.
  
  Notably, unlike Dawn of the Nugget which will be a worldwide exclusive on Netflix when it starts streaming sometime next year, the new Wallace & Gromit movie will debut first on the BBC in the UK before becoming available on Netflix in all other regions sometime in 2024.
  
  With Aardman and Netlix’s stop-motion musical Robin Robin having been recently shortlisted for the Oscar’s in the animated short film category, it’s nice to see even more claymation movies get the green light–especially after the bomb that was 2018’s Early Man. That said, with the original Chicken Run and The Curse of the Were-Rabbit having already claimed the number one and two spots as the highest-grossing stop-motion animated films of all time, Aardman Studios might have a hard time competing for attention in a time when traditional computer-animated films have dominated the box office.
  

• Casio made a super fun singing keyboard
  Casio hasn’t been a serious player in the world of synthesizers for some time. Gone are the days of the beloved CZ series, while the current lineup lacks the lo-fi charm of classic keyboards like the SK-1 and VL-1. But for the last few weeks the company has been teasing what seemed like a return to real-deal synths, possibly with a vocoder.
  
  Well, bad news: The CT-S1000V is not a return to Casio’s analog glory days. Nor is it a vocoder. And the $450 list price is a little hard to swallow.
  
  So what exactly is the CT-S1000V? It looks like a midrange Casiotone that uses the company’s flagship AiX engine, with vocal synthesis tossed in as a bonus. In short, it’s a singing keyboard. Frankly, the novelty of being able to whip up some lyrics in the companion app, send them to the CT-S1000V, and then play the words as a melody was more than enough to pique my interest. I’m a sucker for vocoders, over-the-top autotune and talkboxes, so a singing synth is right up my alley.
  
  Before we dig too far into the vocal synthesis side of things, let’s quickly cover the AiX engine and the hardware. AiX made its debut in 2018 and its strength supposedly lies in recreating acoustic sounds. And look, credit where credit is due: The piano sounds on this are pretty decent. Can I say the same about the other acoustic instruments represented here, like violins, guitars or trumpets? No. But there are enough quality sounds, including some recreations of classic Casio synth tones, to keep you entertained for a while.
  
  Don’t come to the S1000V expecting a truly customizable synth, though. While there are some tweaks that you can make, this is not the keyboard for someone looking to learn synthesis or get into sound design. That should be immediately obvious, however, when you look at its front panel. The controls are minimal. Physically it has much more in common with the $250 CT-S400 than it does with the $480 CT-X5000 (the closest Casio has to a traditional synth).
  Terrence O9Brien / Engadget
  I haven’t played a modern Casio in some time, but I do have to say, the speaker system is impressive. Because the CT-S1000V is clearly aimed at budding pianists and home entertainment, being self-contained is a huge plus. While the built-in speakers on other keyboards often seem like an afterthought, Casio clearly put effort into them here. When you switch over to the drum and rhythm presets, it’s really quite shocking how much bass you get from the kicks.
  
  On the whole, the CT-S1000V feels well built. It’s plasticky and the full-sized keys are a tad springy, but it feels solid and the click wheel that serves as your primary tool for navigating the interface is satisfying. Casio did make some strange decisions, though. For instance, the mod knob above the pitch wheel. Mod wheels and mod strips? Sure. But a mod knob? In this configuration, where the placement would suggest it’s a performance tool, seems very odd.
  Terrence O9Brien / Engadget
  The keyboard also comes with a Bluetooth adapter in the box, but it can only be used for streaming audio and MIDI data. It can’t connect to the companion Lyric Creator app. There are no dedicated MIDI ports on the back and, while it can supposedly be used for MIDI over USB I was unable to get it to work. There are, however, two pedal inputs on the back (one of which can be used for expression), plus ¼-inch stereo audio outs and ⅛-inch jacks for audio in and headphones. There’s also a pair of USB ports: one USB-A specifically for the Bluetooth adapter and a micro-USB (sigh) connector for transferring lyrics from the app on your phone.
  
  The app is very well designed and thorough, and lyric transfers over USB using a camera kit adapter with my aging iPhone X were almost instantaneous. Casio says transfer over Bluetooth isn’t supported because it would simply be too slow, but just having it as an option would be nice.
  
  In the app you can either type out or dictate phrases and it will do its best to automatically parse the text. Your mileage may vary, though. Computers aren’t always the best at reproducing human pronunciation and the CT-S1000V is no different. For example, “Engadget” was automatically broken down as “en-gadget”. But when the keyboard sang it back, it became “engage.” I had to go in and manually tweak the lyric to be “En-gad-jet” for it to sound right.
  Terrence O9Brien / Engadget
  You can really dive deep and customize the phonemes if you want, and punch in specific timings using standard music notation. But there’s no avoiding the fact that getting lyrics to sound right requires a lot of trial and error, which would be less of an issue if you could preview the rendered vocals on your phone before transferring them to the keyboard. Right now it’s just a lot of back and forth.
  
  On the keyboard itself, you have two primary ways of playing back lyrics: Either in Phrase mode or in Note mode as individual syllables. The former will play back the words using the timing you programmed in. As long as you9re holding keys down, it will sing the lyrics to you. The one issue here is that playback will start over from the beginning if you ever let go of the keys. With syllable playback you have more control over timing and it’s a bit easier to knock out a melody (at least for someone like me who can’t really play piano). But it’s still important that your syllables be broken down just right or the timing will be off when you try to play back a vocal lick.
  
  There are 22 different voices for you to pick between that range from synthetic choirs, to demonic growls, to talkbox emulations. Some of them get pretty same-sounding, but the variety is welcome. There are a few ways to tweak the voices, including changing the “age” and “gender”, though they dramatically alter the core tone of each.
  
  One last feature worth mentioning is the S1000V’s sampling capabilities. There are two different sampling modes: melody and drum. The latter lets you assign samples to individual keys to create custom drum kits. It’s also probably the easiest of the sampling methods to use. Melody, on the other hand, lets you play back a single sample chromatically across the keyboard by slowing it down or speeding it up. This latter trick is a fun and simple way to create custom instruments, and it’s part of what gave Casio’s SK series its charm.
  
  But it’s worth noting that the sampling process here is slightly more cumbersome than on those old-school instruments. There’s no dedicated sampling controls on the front, you have to do a little menu diving. And there’s no built-in microphone for quick and dirty recording, you need to use the ⅛-inch jack around back, or a Bluetooth connection. It’s a nice tool to have, but I do wish it were featured more prominently and the interface a little less obtuse.
  Terrence O9Brien / Engadget
  Casio deserves credit for doing something somewhat unique in building a singing keyboard. Sure, it’s a bit gimmicky to type out (or dictate) your favorite song and then play it back using a synthesized choir. But it’s undeniably fun. And including the ability to record custom samples, and layer them with the keyboard’s built-in sounds is a welcome feature.
  
  It’s hard to overlook the $450 price, though, especially considering the limited sound design controls. The CT-S1000V is probably best suited for someone learning to play piano who wants a fun keyboard with a bit of versatility to practice on. But its price is a bit steep for what feels like mid-range Casiotone. You can get a more capable sampler for around the same price, and Arturia9s MicroFreak delivers limited vocal synthesis and a real vocoder for less. Obviously, the Casio has advantages over those — quality built-in speakers, expansive full-sized keyboard — but you9ll have to decide how much those features are worth in terms of tradeoffs and price. 
  

• AR and VR hardware sales more than doubled in the US this holiday
  Virtual (and augmented) reality appear poised to take off after years of modest demand. The NPD Group reports unit sales for AR and VR hardware more than doubled in the US during the 2021 holiday season (between Thanksgiving week and Christmas), jumping 180 percent compared to 2020. The growth wasn9t quite so brisk for the full year at 9just9 163 percent, but there was clearly a lot of demand for immersive worlds.
  
  Raw revenue also climbed 153 percent during the holidays and 137 percent for the year. That suggests people were buying lower-cost or discounted AR and VR devices.
  
  NPD executive director Ben Arnold was quick to caution that AR and VR "likely benefitted" from console shortages — if you couldn9t gift a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, a Meta Quest 2 might have served as a stand-in. He noted that people were still looking for "unique" entertainment, however. We9d add that the lingering pandemic may have encouraged people to stay inside and try virtual experiences at a time when in-person equivalents like gyms and nightclubs might be seen as too risky.
  
  This doesn9t mean buyers are embracing the metaverse or similar high-minded concepts. It does hint at a brighter future for AR and VR, though. NPD already expects a 32 percent jump in revenue in the first half of 2022, and upcoming headsets like Meta9s Project Cambria could further fuel demand. Don9t be surprised if headsets are in vogue next holiday season.
  

• The first movie studio in space could be attached to the ISS in 2024
  A module that hosts a film studio and sports arena could be connected to the International Space Station by December 2024. Space Entertainment Enterprise (SEE), which is co-producing a Tom Cruise movie that will partly be shot in space, is behind the project. If and when SEE-1 is up and running, it plans to host TV and film productions, as well as music events and some kind of sports, which can be filmed or livestreamed, according to won a NASA contract to construct the first commercial ISS module, will build the station. All going well, SEE-1 will be connected to Axiom9s arm of the ISS. Axiom Station is scheduled to split from the ISS in 2028 with SEE-1 still attached.
  
  Whether SEE and Axiom can make good on their plan remains to be seen. SEE hasn9t said how much the facility will cost, for one thing. It9s currently planning a fundraising round.
  
  Last year, a Russian crew shot a feature-length fiction film in space for the first time, beating Cruise and his director Doug Liman to the punch. That film, The Challenge, is expected to be released this year. Cruise and Liman, meanwhile, are expected to shoot their movie on the ISS later in 2022.
  

• Google reportedly plans to release an AR headset in 2024
  Google might have ditched its Daydream VR headset years ago, but that doesn9t mean it gave up on headsets altogether. The Vergesources claim Google is developing an augmented reality headset, nicknamed Project Iris, that it wants to release in 2024. The standalone wearable would use a custom Google processor, outward-facing tracking cameras and run Android, although a custom OS is a possibility given job listings. It might also rely on cloud-based rendering to overcome the processing power limitations of a headset.
  
  Clay Bavor, the manager for the Project Starline 3D telepresence booth (also said due for 2024), is understood to be overseeing the highly secretive project. The tipsters also said the AR headset team included Google Assistant creator Scott Huffman, ARCore manager Shahram Izadi and Mark Lucovsky, the former leader of Meta9s in-house OS development. The Pixel division is also believed to be involved in some hardware work.
  
  We9ve asked Google for comment, although CEO Sundar Pichai hinted in October that AR was a "major area of investment" for the company. The headset is supposedly very early in development without a clear market strategy, suggesting that the 2024 target isn9t firm.
  
  The headset might seem unexpected from a company burned by its initial take on an AR wearable. It9s not a shock given the evolving landscape, however. Apple is widely rumored to be creating a mixed reality headset, while Meta hasn9t been shy about wanting to both develop AR hardware and jumpstart the metaverse. Google risks ceding the field to competitors if it doesn9t offer AR hardware or the platform to match, even if finished technology is still years away.
  

• PlayStation's Wrap-Up is back to break down your PS4 and PS5 stats for 2021
  Sony has at last flipped the switch on its PlayStation 2021 Wrap-Up, allowing players to delve into their PlayStation 4 and PS5 stats for 2021. After you log into your PSN account, you9ll be able to see how many hours you spent on PlayStation games last year, the five titles you played the most and how a breakdown of the trophies you scooped up.
  
  The tool breaks down your playtime by PS4 and PS5 games, how long you spent playing on a console vs. Remote Play and how many hours you used PlayStation VR. You9ll also see the number of games you played and get a code for four avatars as a bonus.
  
  Sony took the opportunity to promote some of its games by highlighting some global community stats. In Death Stranding Director9s Cut, for instance, players collectively traveled more than 45 million kilometers and delivered more than 9.4 million packages. They played more than 12 million hours of Returnal in total, while 34.6 percent of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart players unlocked all of the weapons.
  
  Users need to be aged 18 or over and have played at least 10 hours of games on PS4 or PS5 to access their Wrap-Up. It may not work for PS5 players who haven9t enabled full data collection and those who haven9t consented to "Additional Data" collection on PS4 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australasia, India and Russia.
  
  While the PlayStation9s year-end wrap-up feature is emerging much later than ones for other platforms and services, at least it takes the entire year into account. Spotify Wrapped, for instance, only covers listening data from between January and October. The latest edition of PlayStation Wrap-Up is actually arriving a little earlier than the one for 2020, which arrived last February. The tool will be available until February 20th.
  

• Peacock adds live local news channels to its streaming lineup
  NBCUniversal9s Peacock isn9t going to let the live news from rivals like CBS go unanswered. The streaming service has added free, around-the-clock local news from NBC stations for all users. The broadcasts are initially available from stations in Boston (including the New England Cable Network), Chicago, Miami and Philadelphia. New York City and Los Angeles channels will be available in the "months ahead."
  
  The platform already has live and on-demand news from NBC9s self-branded services as well as Sky and Telemundo. You can also watch live entertainment TV from 11 local NBC stations, including those from cities in the news rollout.
  
  The decision may have been an easy one to make. Airing existing news channels won9t cost much more, and could help Peacock serve cord-cutters who may still want local events in between The Office marathons. There9s also increasing competition. Live news is quickly becoming a selling point, including through Amazon9s free app on Fire TV devices. The NBC stations could reduce the temptation to switch to other channels and services.
  

• Instagram now lets you create TikTok-like remixes using any video
  You no longer need to dive into Reels to create TikTok-style collaborative videos on Instagram. The social network has expanded its remix feature to let you make collaborations and similar reworks from any video on Instagram. So long as the video was released after the update, you can choose "remix this video" from the three-dot menu to create your response to the clip. You9ll still need to share the result through Reels, but you9ll also have the same editing tools to create collaborations, voiceovers and effects.
  
  Instagram is also doing more to court livestreamers. You now have the option of highlighting your next Instagram Live broadcast on your profile, giving viewers an easy way to set a reminder. You won9t need to attach a regular feed post to the scheduled stream, either. While you can9t yet tease later streams, this could help you build hype for an interview or ask-me-anything session.
  
  The expanded remix feature could be important. Instagram hasn9t been shy about wanting to counter TikTok, and the Duet feature is a significant factor in that rival9s success. The option to remix any video potentially gives Instagram users a wider pool of videos to choose from than TikTok, including footage that wasn9t originally meant for that short-but-sweet format.
  

• 'Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga' will arrive on April 5th
  Two years after the game was initially supposed to debut, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will finally arrive on April 5th. The long-awaited title from TT Games adapts all nine movies in the Skywalker Saga, and you9ll be able to choose which trilogy to start with (so you might want to get the prequels out of the way first).
  
  Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is coming to PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC. It9s said to be the biggest Lego game to date, and publisher Warner Bros. Games provided an in-depth look at what9s in store with a gameplay trailer.
  
  There are new combat mechanics, including ways to string attacks together and defend yourself with counter moves "in styles tailored to your favorite characters." Expect fresh blaster mechanics, with an over-the-shoulder perspective and third-person aiming reticle, and a cover system. Of course, there9ll be a ton of lightsaber action, space dogfighting battles and many opportunities to use Force powers as well.
  
  Many levels will have multiple paths to explore and you9ll be able to take on side missions. Class-based abilities are upgradable and there are more than 300 playable characters to unlock. There9s also a Mumble Mode, which will replace intelligible voice lines with mumbling, à la previous games in the series.
  
  Based on the gameplay trailer alone, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga seems like a huge game. However, despite the lengthy delays, the development team was still required to work long hours (or "crunch"), according to Polygon. 
  
  Several current and former employees told the publication that TT Games has had a "challenging work culture over the last decade and a half" and that, during crunch periods, work weeks of between 80 and 100 hours weren9t rare (though overtime is said to have been limited in recent months). TT Games has also reportedly had a high level of staff turnover since work started on Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga nearly five years ago.
  

• Oura’s third-generation Ring is more powerful, but not for everybody
  The wearables business is hard, especially if you’re a small startup with a device you could, perhaps uncharitably, call “niche.” Oura, which makes activity-tracking rings worn endorsed by a numberof celebrities, recently released its third-generation model. This new hardware is a technical marvel, packing many of the features that most wrist-worn devices take for granted. But the need to keep the cash rolling in has seen Oura, like Fitbit, Apple, Wahoo and others, pivot to a recurring-revenue model. Oura says that this is key to shift from the idea of buying a device that never changes, to supporting its broader goals of building an evolving fitness ecosystem.
  HardwareDaniel Cooper
  Before we get into the specifics of this new Oura ring, let’s take a moment to remember that this device is still a marvel of engineering. Taking the sensors from a smartwatch or fitness tracker and shrinking them into a ring is worthy of enormous praise. For all of its imperfections, it’s amazing to see Oura push the limits of what is capable in such a small form factor. And there’s much more tech crammed in this time around, despite the size and weight remaining the same as the second-generation version. The headline features these new sensors enable include continuous heart-rate tracking, temperature monitoring, blood oxygenation and period prediction.
  
  The sizing process is the same for pretty much every smart ring I’ve ever tried: The company sends you a set of plastic dummy rings you have to wear for a couple of days. Once you’ve determined the correct fit, which is tight and secure around the base of your index finger, but not to the point where it’s uncomfortable, you can order the real thing. This actually was the most stressful part of this review, since I felt that one size was too loose, the other too tight, but I opted for looseness rather than sacrificing a digit to the gods of fitness tracking. Oura says that the index finger is the best place for its ring, but you can stick it elsewhere if you prefer.
  
  Unfortunately, the one thing you can’t do much about is the size of the ring itself which is a bit too big. I’m a big-ish guy with big-ish hands, but it feels a bit too ostentatious on my fingers, enough that people notice and ask me what it is as soon as they spot it. If you have more slender hands, I’m sure you might have a similar issue with folks pointing it out. I suspect that the smart thing to do is visit Parts Of 4 to get some more adornments to balance out the look.
  Software
  Without a screen, Oura is yoked tightly to the iOS or Android app where all of this data will be displayed. The Oura app is clean and tidy, only giving you the deepest data when you go looking for it. The app breaks down all of the information generated from your finger and compresses it into three scores, which are shown on the homescreen. These are for Readiness, Sleep and Activity, representing how prepared you are to face the day, how well-rested you are and how much exercise you’re doing.
  
  The only other thing you’ll find on the homescreen is a breakdown of your heart rate across the day, showing you where the peaks and troughs are. You’ll also get advice on your ideal bedtime, which is useful when you’re working late nights and need to juggle sleep with getting things done. You’ll also get periodic reminders to move if the app detects you’ve been still for a while, and advice when it’s time for you to wind down for the day.
  
  Go into one of the categories, like Readiness, and you’ll get scores for your recovery index, sleep, as well as your HRV balance, body temperature and resting heart rate. You can also see that my figures dropped quite substantially during a three-day period when I got food poisoning from a New Year’s Eve takeaway meal. During that period, I was given plenty of warnings telling me I wasn’t rested or well enough to do much else – not that I felt like I was gonna go for a run or anything.
  
  As part of Oura’s plan to add extra value to its platform, the company is adding a series of video and audio guides for meditation, breathwork and sleeping. These guides, which are essentially guided meditation audio tracks, can be backed with a white noise option of your choice. You can pick the hum of a train station, the crunch of a forest stroll, the sound of the tide lapping at the land or rainfall, amongst others. These are a thing for people who find those things useful to fall asleep and feel restful but I, personally, do not find them that great.
  
  That said, where Oura differs from its rivals in this space is that it’ll break down your vital signs during your meditation. If you’re wondering how to get better at meditating then you’ll be guided to more appropriate tracks that’ll help prod you toward nirvana.
  
  Oura is working on adding more features to the Ring v3 over the next year, including more content as well as more accurate sleep and period tracking. These will not actually appear as new features so much as they are behind-the-scenes improvements in the underlying systems. Finally, at some point this year, the ring will be able to identify your blood oxygenation (SpO2) while you sleep in order to help detect disorders like sleep apnea.
  In useDaniel Cooper
  The best thing about the Oura ring is that, once you’ve worn it a few days, you quickly start to ignore its presence. And while you’re not paying attention, it begins worming its way into every corner of your life, learning your working patterns and getting ready to make helpful suggestions. If you feel like crap in the morning but don’t have the mental wherewithal to comprehend why, you’ll be told as soon as you look at your phone. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing here that other platforms don’t do as well, but this is certainly an elegant implementation of the idea.
  
  Sleep tracking is generally fine, by which I mean it works by tracking movement and therefore can’t tell when you’ve been rudely awoken but haven’t moved. As part of this new pivot, however, Oura is promising that the sleep tracking will soon become vastly more accurate as a consequence of behind-the-scenes changes. This will not be readily visible to users, however, since all you’ll get is a pop-up telling you that things just got more accurate. Still, it offers a fairly good indicator for how the night went, although I find the activity tracking to be a little more on the generous side. Yesterday morning, for instance, it told me that my morning shower was a strength training workout with plenty of burned calories for my trouble. Similarly, it’ll tell me around lunchtime that I need to take a half-hour brisk walk to finish my activity for the day, and then by early evening, having done nothing more than stand at my desk, make dinner and put my kids to sleep, it’ll tell me I’ve completed my goal.
  
  One of the features that Oura is tempting its users with is Workout Heart Rate, which I find inadvertently amusing. Because the ring is so chunky, and it has such a hard edge, that I really don’t find it comfortable to wear during workouts. For instance, if I’ve got a pair of free weights, or I’m doing an incline push up on a Smith machine bar, the ring just pushes into the fleshy parts of my hand. For most of the proper “gym” workouts I’ve done, the ring has had to come off, lest I tap out too early or draw blood from the chubby parts of my fingers. But for more ring-friendly jobs, like running, walking, or cycling, you should find this to be a big help.
  
  In terms of vital-signs tracking accuracy, I think it’s always wise to remember that wearables will not be as inch-perfect as a clinical-grade device. But in a number of random spot-tests, the Oura offered the exact same figures as the Apple Watch on my wrist. In fact, Oura’s reputation for accuracy has always been pretty high, and one of the reasons that the company hasn’t released some of these features is to ensure they’re ready to go when they do arrive.
  
  Oura quotes battery life at seven days, although I rarely managed to get past five without having to drop it on the charging plate. Certainly, real-world stamina is a bit far from what the company is saying, but then it’s hardly a deal breaker since you can charge it full in two hours. It’s become common for me to take the ring off while I’m standing at my desk on Monday and Friday mornings and let it re-juice while I’m working.
  Economics
  The third-generation Oura ring will set you back $299, which gets you the ring in one of four finishes: Silver, Black, Stealth or Gold. In the box, you’ll receive the charging plate and a USB-C cable, and as part of the deal, you’ll get a six-month trial of Oura’s subscription service. Membership, which costs $5.99 a month for new users, will entitle you to “daily health insights,” “personalized recommendations,” as well as more video and audio sessions. Any existing Oura user who upgrades to the new ring will get a lifetime membership thrown in for free.
  
  I want to be fair here and say that I understand why Oura is pivoting to this recurring revenue model. It’s not as if other companies in this space, like Fitbit, aren’t doing the same in the hope of bolstering their bottom lines. And that’s before we get to talk about how much lock-in the Apple Watch gets as a consequence of Fitness+. But I also think there’s a difference between the sort of product that those rivals are offering compared to Oura’s product.
  
  After all, Apple and Fitbit can both offer coaching both on their devices and on bigger screens, which Oura can’t. Not to mention that Oura is really only able to offer guided audio clips (and short videos) through its app. And that while Apple and Fitbit are selling their devices as (having the potential to become) Capital-F Fitness gear, the Oura really isn’t. But, then again, that’s not what Oura is pitching here – it’s for the meditator, the runner, the cyclist, who doesn’t want to strap something beefy to their wrist.
  Wrap-Up
  Here’s the problem with reviewing Oura: It’s not a device that every fitness person will love. If you want something with more versatility, you’d buy a smartwatch and have done with it. Oura is more of a subtle product, for people who want to be less ostentatious about their health, or simply want something that slips into their lives and does the job. Honestly, since I’m not a gym bro, I really like the data the ring offers me without any fuss or muss.
  
  As for the subscription, it’s likely that Oura will have to keep squeezing as many new features and insights as possible out of this new hardware. Between that, and vastly improving its currently slender content library, it’s worth it if you’re a paid-up member of the Oura family. But, and this is more a comment on the industry as a whole rather than a slight against Oura itself, I do find this need for every company to squeeze some rental income out of their users to be a little bit grating.
  
  
  

• What we bought: A rice cooker whose greatest trick isn't actually rice
  Every month, Engadget features what our editors are currently into, whether it be $195 Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy rice cooker. And ironically, what I ended up liking most about it isn’t rice at all.
  
  The reason I held off was mostly that I didn’t think I needed it. Since I only live with my husband, I told myself I didn’t need a single-purpose appliance. After all, I could already make rice on the stove with just a saucepan. I’ve become adept at making small portions of rice over the years. Plus, it only takes 18-or-so minutes. A rice cooker, on the other hand, can typically take 35 minutes or longer. So even though I enjoy rice enough to make it regularly, I just couldn’t quite justify the seeming inconvenience.
  
  This, however, was challenged over this past winter break. We had our family over on Christmas Eve, so I ordered takeout from a local Chinese restaurant. At one point, we ran out of rice, so I set about making more on the stove. I had to make rice for around 10 people, which I’m not used to doing. Long story short, my calculations were off, and the rice I made ended up crunchier than I would like. Of course, my family didn’t complain, but I was still a little upset with myself. That’s when I reconsidered getting a dedicated rice cooker.
  Engadget
  After some research, I opted for the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy rice cooker. Sure it’s expensive – you can easily get basic models for less than $50 – but I wanted one that can cook all kinds of rice such as short-grain and medium-grain white rice, long-grain jasmine rice, sweet (or sticky) rice, brown rice and more. More importantly, I wanted a cooker with “fuzzy logic” (yes, that’s an industry term), which essentially means that the device has a computer chip. This gives it the smarts to adjust temperature and cook time to accommodate other variables, such as human error (like what I experienced over Christmas), to ensure perfectly cooked rice every time.
  
  I’ve now had it for a few weeks, and I love it. It really does make cooking rice so much easier. Instead of having to fuss over the stove, I can just rinse the rice, add water, push a button and walk away. It also has a “Keep Warm” function that lasts over five hours, giving me plenty of time to prepare dinner as the rice cooks. It also comes with a handy guide that tells you the proper rice and water ratio for all the different kinds of rice. On top of that, it has a timer so you can have the rice ready whenever you want it.
  Engadget
  But I’d argue the killer function of the Neuro Fuzzy isn’t rice at all. I’ve discovered that it actually makes amazing oatmeal from steel-cut oats. I learned about this from an NYT Cooking recipe for “Rice Cooker Steel-Cut Oats,” (link requires subscription) and it is really such a game changer for me. Steel-cut oatmeal usually takes 20 or so minutes to make, and I don’t usually have time for it in the mornings. But with the rice cooker, I just dump in one cup of oats followed by four cups of water and a teaspoon of salt before I go to bed, set the timer for 8AM, toggle the menu to the Porridge setting, press Cook, and I get to wake up to fresh oatmeal every morning. What’s more, the resulting oatmeal is the best I’ve ever had. The texture is so creamy and smooth, making it the perfect vehicle for both sweet and savory applications. I like mine with spam, spinach and furikake. 
  
  Additionally, and it admittedly sounds silly to talk about a rice cooker this way, but the Neuro Fuzzy is just adorable. Its long oval shape gives it a rounded, egg-like appearance that I find aesthetically pleasing. It also plays a tune whenever it starts or ends cooking. My favorite design feature, however, is its power cord: it’s retractable! This way you can store it away without a nest of cables to contend with.
  
  Perhaps the only real downside of the Neuro Fuzzy rice cooker is that it’s pretty slow. White rice takes around 40 or so minutes to cook, while brown rice can take 90 minutes or longer (stovetop timing on the other hand, ranges from 18 minutes for white rice to 45 minutes or so for brown rice). Still, that’s a small price to pay for perfectly cooked rice, creamy morning oatmeal and, hopefully, no more ruined Christmases.
  

• Why airlines and telecoms are fighting over the 5G rollout
  Rollouts of new wireless technologies and standards have not always gone well. When the GSM system debuted, it caused hearing aids to buzz and pop with static while early cell phone signals would occasionally disrupt pacemakers. Today, as carriers expand their 5G networks across the country, they are faced with an equally dangerous prospect: that one of 5G’s spectrum bands may interfere with the radio altimeters aboard commercial aircraft below 2,500 feet, potentially causing their automated landing controls to misjudge the distance from the ground and crash.
  
  Sticking the landing is generally considered one of the more important parts of a flight — which is, in part, why you never hear people applaud during takeoff. As such, the FAA, which regulates American air travel, and the FCC, which controls the use of our telecommunications spectrum, have found themselves at loggerheads over how, when and where 5G might be safely deployed.
  
  5G is shorthand for 5th generation, referring to the latest standard for cellular service. First deployed in 2019, 5G operates on the same basis as its 4G predecessor — accessing the internet and telephone network via radio waves beamed at local cell antennas — but does so at broadband speeds up to 10Gb/s. However, because 5G can operate on the C band spectrum, there’s a chance that it can interfere with radio altimeters if within close proximity to airports, especially the older models lacking sufficient RF shielding.
  
  “The fundamental emissions may lead to blocking interference in the radar altimeter receiver,” a 2020 study by aeronautics technical group RTCA, observed. “The spurious emissions, on the other hand, fall within the normal receive bandwidth of the radar altimeter, and may produce undesirable effects such as desensitization due to reduced signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), or false altitude determination due to the erroneous detection of the interference signal as a radar return.”
  
  So when the FCC sold a range of C band in the 3.7 GHz to 3.98 GHz frequency range last February for a cool $81 billion, the airline industry under the umbrella of Airlines for America (which represents American Airlines, Delta, FedEx and UPS) took umbrage. These concerns prompted the FAA to issue a warning about the issue last November and led Verizon/AT&T to push back their plans to launch 5G service on C Band by a month.
  
  This warning, in turn, prompted the CTIA (the wireless industry’s main lobbying arm) to file its counterargument shortly thereafter, asserting that aircraft already safely fly into and out of more than 40 countries that have broadly deployed 5G networks, such as Denmark and Japan. “If interference were possible, we would have seen it long before now,” CTIA President, Meredith Attwell Baker, insisted in a November requested Verizon and AT&T delay their primary rollout by two weeks, starting on January 5th and extending to January 17th, to give the government time to further investigate the issue. Unsurprisingly, those complex issues were not resolved within the given time frame, causing the airline industry to look towards the supposedly falling heavens and Chicken Little even harder.
  
  In a letter obtained by https://t.co/NeXVJbFhzQpic.twitter.com/ws5Y5HKx1X
  — davidshepardson (@davidshepardson) January 17, 2022
  "We are writing with urgency to request that 5G be implemented everywhere in the country except within the approximate two miles of airport runways as defined by the FAA on January 19, 2022," the airline CEOs leaders argued. "To be blunt, the nation9s commerce will grind to a halt." The airlines also objected to potential incurred costs related to better shielding their avionics (which helped alleviate the previous issues with hearing aids).
  
  For its part, United Airlines told Reuters that it faces "significant restrictions on 787s, 777s, 737s and regional aircraft in major cities like Houston, Newark, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago." That’s about 4 percent of the carrier’s daily traffic. These restrictions would apply to cargo aircraft as well as passenger planes, which will likely further exacerbate the nation’s current supply chain woes.
  
  The FAA has conceded that 5G cellular technology could potentially cause issues but stopped short of the airline industry’s apocalyptic predictions. “Aircraft with untested altimeters or that need retrofitting or replacement will be unable to perform low-visibility landings where 5G is deployed,” the agency said in a statement, directing airlines that operate Boeing 787s, for example, to take extra precautions when landing on wet or snowy runways as 5G interference could prevent the massive airfcraft’s thrust reversers to fail, leaving it to stop using brake power alone.
  
  AT&T is none too happy with the FAA’s course of action either. "We are frustrated by the FAA9s inability to do what nearly 40 countries have done, which is to safely deploy 5G technology without disrupting aviation services, and we urge it to do so in a timely manner," an AT&T spokesperson said in a statement.
  
  The FAA is already considering the airlines’ request for buffer zones and, on January 8th, released a list of 50 airports across the country where it plans to implement them. The agency also notes that it has cleared five models of radio altimeter to operate within low-visibility areas where 5G systems operate. These models are installed in more than 60 percent of aircraft flying in the US including the Boeing 737 - 777, Airbus’ A310 - A380, and the MD-10/-11.
  
  "We recognize the economic importance of expanding 5G, and we appreciate the wireless companies working with us to protect the flying public and the country’s supply chain. The complex U.S. airspace leads the world in safety because of our high standards for aviation, and we will maintain this commitment as wireless companies deploy 5G," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, said in a statement on Tuesday.
  
  This leaves the FAA in a tight spot. With the two week delay having already expired, Verizon is moving ahead with its 1,700-city, 100 million-customer rollout. AT&T is doing so as well, though on a more limited basis in select parts of eight metro areas including Detroit, Chicago, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. The agency has pledged to continue to investigate the issue and regulate based on its findings though it has not yet disclosed what steps it plans to take next for doing so.
  

• Facebook and Instagram may help you create and sell NFTs
  Meta might be the next to hop on the NFT bandwagon. The Financial Timessources claim Meta is developing ways to create, display and sell NFTs on Facebook and Instagram. The company9s Novi wallet technology would power much of the "supporting functionality," one tipster said. Instagram is reportedly testing a way to showcase NFTs, while Meta is also said to be discussing a marketplace that would help you buy or sell these digital collectibles.
  
  The company has already declined to comment, and the sources cautioned the effort was still early and could change.However, Instagram leader Adam Mosseri said in December that his social network was "actively exploring" NFTs. The technology is on the company9s mind, at least.
  
  A dip into NFTs would make sense. While companies sometimes abuse the link between NFTs and the metaverse (merely offering NFTs doesn9t mean you9re creating a metaverse, folks), Meta might want a framework for them so that residents of its virtual worlds can sell unique digital goods. This could also help Meta prevent third-party platforms like OpenSea9s market from gaining too strong a hold if NFTs prove to be more than a short-lived trend.
  

• 'Zero Trust' is the guiding principle of Sikur's latest security-focused smartphone
  Security-focused smartphone maker Sikur is back with its latest handset. The Android 11-powered Sikur One, which was developed with the help of Brazilian manufacturer Multilaser, follows the Zero Trust approach to security.
  
  The Zero Trust concept is, in a nutshell, self explanatory. It assumes that no one can fully be trusted from a security perspective. A company or organization typically has control over a Zero Trust setup, which requires users to be authorized, authenticated and continuously validated for them to retain access to apps and data.
  
  The Sikur One is designed primarily for corporate and government use, with organizations having the ability to control each device in line with their policies. Sikur says the device is compliant with European GDPR and Brazilian LGPD data privacy standards.
  
  Using a system called Sikur ID, the Sikur One can carry out a password-less authentication token function. The company says that will prevent malware and phishing attacks. The phone can be locked or wiped remotely if it9s lost or stolen. Users can restore data from the cloud on another device.
  Sikur
  Data is encrypted at the source Users won9t be able to install apps from unsecured third-party stores and Sikur One will switch off location services by default. The company will strip out unneeded system applications, while the Sikur One will be up to date with over-the-air patches. The company says that won9t leave "any room for commonly exploited vulnerabilities." There9s no USB file transfer support either.
  
  The Sikur One uses Sikur Messenger as the standard communication platform, encompassing messaging, file storage, file sharing and voice and video calls. All data is stored in a private cloud.
  
  Despite the security measures, Sikur CEO Fabio Fischer says the smartphone has "the same usability as a regular device." The Sikur One has access to all apps on the Google Play Store, but the organization in charge of the device can determine what kinds of apps can be downloaded or whether users can install their own apps at all. 
  
  On the hardware side, the Sikur One has a 6.5-inch screen, an octo-core processor, 4GB of memory and 128GB of onboard storage (which is expandable by up to 512GB using a memory card). It has a 4,000 mAh battery and dual SIM support, as well as 4G, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. The device has a triple camera array on the rear and a 3MP front-facing lens. In addition, there9s a fingerprint sensor and support for facial recognition.
  
  Sikur One builds on the company9s previous handsets, GranitePhone and SikurPhone, which it released in 2015 and 2018, respectively. Although those were also intended for organizations, consumers were still buying the GranitePhone. 
  
  Sikur will offer its latest model to the public as well via its sales channel partners. Pricing varies by country, but the Sikur One costs around $274. That covers the cost of the device as well as a one-year license for Sikur Messenger and mobile device management. After the first 12 months, organization will need to pay $145 per user per year for those features.
  

• Amazon one-day sale knocks up to 40 percent off Anker chargers and accessories
  You can grab a bunch of Anker accessories from Amazon for up to 40 percent off just for today only. One of the products on sale is the Anker Nano II 30W GAN charger, which is currently listed for its all-time low of $25, down $9 from its usual retail price of $34. The adapter works with the latest iPhones, Samsung Galaxy phones S8 and later, iPads, the Apple Watch, AirPods cases and even the 2020 MacBook Air. It9s much smaller than an original MacBook adapter even though it works with the laptop, because it uses GAN II technology that gives it an efficient way to disperse heat. The technology enables small chargers to operate at faster speeds without overheating. 
  Buy Anker Nano II 30W GaN charger at Amazon - $25
  The Anker 2-in-1 wireless charging stand for the iPhones 12 and 13 is also currently on sale for $34, down $16 from its original price of $50. This magnetic stand can securely prop up an iPhone — vertically or horizontally — while charging it and the AirPods or other earbuds you place on its base. It works with MagSafe cases for the iPhone 13, as well.
  Buy PowerWave Magnetic 2-in-1 charging stand at Amazon - $34
  Another Anker item on sale worth mentioning is its power strip that comes with three outlets, two USB-A ports and one USB-C port. The USB-C port is capable of delivering 30W high-speed charging speeds, while the two USB-A ports can deliver 12W charging. The sale knocks off $14 from the power strip9s usual retail price of $40, so you can get it within the day for $26 only.
  Buy Anker USB C Power Strip at Amazon - $26
  Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
  
  All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
  

• The Morning After: Apple closes education discount loophole
  Apple has finally closed aloophole in the US that allowed most buyers to claim education pricing, even if they weren9t actually a student or a teacher. First noted on Reddit, the US Apple Store now requires buyers to verify their status via UNiDAYS to be able to purchase MacBooks, iPads and other devices from its education portal. The change appears to have happened over the past few days.
  
  I’m based in the UK, where Apple has long required proof through the UNiDAYS platform to nab that often substantial discount on some of the company’s priciest devices. For legitimate students and teachers, you’ll have to click through to the UNiDAYS9 partner page for Apple first and sign in before you get to those discounts. Not that anyone can go too crazy: shoppers are limited to one desktop, one Mac mini, one laptop, two iPads and two accessories per year. Still, that’s a lot of Macs.
  
  — Mat Smith
  
  
  Anemia could make space travel to Mars a challengeIn space, your body destroys more blood cells than it makes.Tesla driver in fatal California crash first to face felony charges involving AutopilotAutopilot was apparently engaged at the time of the crash.'
  A Tesla owner is facing the first felony charges filed against someone using a partially automated driving system in the US. The defendant, Kevin George Aziz Riad, was driving a Model S when he crashed into a Honda Civic at a California intersection in 2019. It ended up killing the Civic9s two passengers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently confirmed the vehicle’s Autopilot mode was switched on at the time of the crash. The NHTSA formally opened a probe into Tesla9s driver assistance system in August last year following a string of 17 people killed in 11 crashes involving parked first responder vehicles.
  
  AT&T and Verizon finally switch on their C-Band 5G networksVerizon expects to hit over 1,700 cities this month, but AT&T9s rollout is more limited.'
  After a six-week delay — and no availability near many airports for the time being — people in some areas of the US will have access to C-Band services starting today.
  
  AT&T is taking a relatively cautious approach to its rollout, with its C-Band 5G services going live in "limited parts" of eight metro areas, including Detroit and Chicago. Folks in three regions in Florida also use AT&T9s C-Band network. Verizon (Engadget9s former parent company) says 100 million more people will gain access to its 5G Ultra Wideband network this month.
  
  Google is discontinuing its old free G Suite tier on July 1stAffected users will need to move to a paid Workspace plan.'
  First, it was Google Apps, then G Suite and now it’s Workspace. During all those name changes, Google offered new subscription plans while doing away with older ones. It now plans to sunset a tier that had survived the suite’s most recent rebranding.
  
  In an email spotted by 9to5Google, the company told Workspace administrators it won’t offer G Suite legacy free edition as of July 1st, 2022. This doesn9t necessarily mean you have to start paying for GDocs. If you9re using Gmail, Docs, Sheets and the rest through a free Google account, you won9t be affected by the move. Google will continue to offer free Workspace plans to nonprofits and schools that qualify for its Fundamentals tier.
  
  Airstream9s concept electric camping trailer propels itselfThe eStream helps tow itself.Limited beta brings Google Play Games to WindowsPlay some big-name Android titles on your PC.'
  You can now play Google Play Games on Windows — if you live in the right country. Google has launched registration-based beta access to "popular" Play Games titles on Windows PCs in Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. Google said it would offer details of later betas and expansions "soon." It previously committed to a generic 2022 rollout.
  
  The Backbone One made cloud gaming on the iPhone feel naturalIt9s an expensive controller, though.Engadget
  Whether it’s Xbox Cloud gaming, Stadia, PlayStation Remote Play or just a very severe addiction to Apple Arcade, gamepads are a better way to play many games on your smartphone. Normally that means using some kind of smartphone clip, but there are several options now that snap directly to your phone. The $100 Backbone One is a single-piece controller that extends to fit your iPhone and plugs directly into it.
  
  Continue reading.
  
   
  
   
  The biggest news stories you might have missed
  Amazon gives its 9Lord of the Rings9 series a redundant name
  
  Microsoft9s Xbox Elite Wireless Series 2 controller is $40 off again
  
  I tried Silk9s dairy-inspired Nextmilk and wasn9t fooled
  
  Apple9s WeWork drama 9WeCrashed9 premieres March 18th
  
  President Biden signs memo to help improve military cybersecurity
  
  iRobot9s Roomba 694 is back down to a record low of $179
  
  GM aims to use hydrogen fuel cells for mobile power generators
  

• Crypto.com loses $34 million in hack that affected 483 accounts
  In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Crypto.com9s Chief Executive Kris Marszalek has admitted that 400 customer accounts were compromised by hackers. He said his team detected unauthorized transactions made from the accounts, but that they9d fixed the issue immediately and fully reimbursed the affected users. Now, the company has published a report revealing details from its post mortem. Apparently, 483 accounts were affected and the unauthorized withdrawals totaled 4,836.26 ETH, 443.93 BTC and approximately $66,200 in other currencies. Based on current exchange rates, that9s $15.3 million of ETH and $18.7 million of ETC for a total of $34 million in losses. 
  JUST IN: CEO @cryptocom���s Kris Marszalek discusses the site9s recent hack with @BloombergTV���s @emilychangtv. "Customer funds were never at risk." #TheYearAheadpic.twitter.com/YlCtGO60t5
  — Bloomberg Live (@BloombergLive) January 19, 2022
  Before the company revealed the scope of the hack in terms of lost funds, blockchain security analytics company PeckShield Inc. said Crypto.com may have lost cryptocurrency worth $15 million. At least 4,600 of the coins lost were Ethereum, and half of them are reportedly being washed — a process that obfuscates a coin9s transaction trail. Meanwhile, Bitcoin research firm OXT Research said the company9s loss might be worth up to $33 million.
  
  The report explained that the company9s risk monitoring systems detected unauthorized activity a few days ago, wherein transactions were being approved without two-factor authentication for a small number of accounts. As a result, the cryptocurrency exchange paused withdrawals on the evening of January 16th. Indeed, people in the comments on its Twitter announcement revealed that they had funds stolen even if they had 2FA enabled. 
  
  In another tweet posted on January 17th, Marszalek said that "no customer funds were lost," the company9s infrastructure was down 14 hours and that his team strengthened its security in response to what happened. The report expounded on that last part, revealing that Crypto.com revoked all customer 2FA tokens and implemented additional security measures that required all account users to re-log-in. The company said the move is necessary, because it migrated to a completely new 2FA infrastructure. However, it intends to eventually move away from 2FA and to true Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
  
  Crypto.com has also introduced an additional security measure that requires users to wait 24 hours before they can withdraw to a newly registered whitelisted address. Finally, the company is launching the Worldwide Account Protection Program (WAPP) on February 1st for users who want additional protection for their funds. 
  
  WAPP can restore up to $250,000 of a participating user9s money in case a third-party gains access to their account. That said, to qualify for the program, users must enable multi-faction authentication on all transaction types and not be using a jailbroken device. To be able to recoup their funds under the program, they must9ve set up an anti-phishing code at least 21 days before an unauthorized transaction, file a police report and provide Crypto.com a copy, as well as complete a questionnaire to support forensic investigation. 
  

• Amazon is opening its first physical clothing store
  Amazon is opening its first-ever Amazon Style physical clothing store with the promise of a high-tech shopping experience, confirming a rumor from last year. It will offer brands consumers "know and love," according to Amazon, and an app will let you choose an item, size and color and send it directly to a fitting room or pickup counter. The first store is coming to The Americana at Brand in Los Angeles sometime "later this year," the company said.
  
  Amazon said it will offer "hundreds of brands" chosen by fashion curators and "feedback provided by millions of customers shopping on Amazon.com." It didn9t specify which, but its online store currently carries products from designers like Oscar de la Renta, Altuzarra and La Perla. However, many luxury and high-end brands have resisted listing goods online with Amazon.
  
  The stores will offer double the number of styles of traditional stores, while not forcing customers to search manually for the right size or color. Instead, if you see a clothing item you like, you can scan its QR code using the Amazon Shopping App to see sizes, colors, customer ratings and other details. You can then send it to the fitting room or directly to the pickup counter if you don9t need to try it on. As you might expect, it also uses an AI-powered algorithm to recommend more products based on what you9ve already picked. 
  
  You can open the fitting room door using the app, with all the items you9ve picked inside. Each one offers a touchscreen that lets you continue shopping and request new items to try on without having to leave. They9ll then arrive in "minutes" thanks to tech that Amazon also uses in its fulfillment centers. 
  
  You can feel free to buy items online that you found in the store, with the same prices in both places. Items can be returned in store, and any item you9ve scanned will be saved in the shopping app so you can revisit it later. 
  
  Amazon has already opened a number of Fresh grocery stores, along with book stores and even a hair salon. It didn9t say if it would use its cashierless "Just Walk Out" tech found in Fresh and Whole Foods, but it will use the Amazon One palm recognition service for checkout. 
  

• Canon's EOS R5C is a hybrid cinema camera with 8K video and 45-megapixel stills
  Canon has revealed the EOS R5C, a new member of its cinema camera line that looks like a good choice for photos, too. It strongly resembles Canon9s EOS R5 mirrorless camera, but has a big hump in back to accommodate an active cooling system. As such, it offers most of the benefits of the EOS R5 with none of the overheating issues when shooting 8K or high frame rate 4K video. 
  
  On the video side, the EOS R5C can shoot 8K at up to 60fps in Canon9s 12-bit RAW LT format using the entire width of the sensor, a big step up from the 8K 30p RAW available on the R5. Better still, it can work at that setting "indefinitely," while the R5 is limited to just 20 minutes at 8K 30p due to overheating issues. It can also handle RAW 5.9K/60p with a Super 35mm crop, 2.9K/120p with a Super 16 crop, and 4K at up to 120 fps with no crop and full AF capability. 
  
  It also supports ProRes RAW output to an external recorder via the HDMI port at up to 8K/30P. "Proxy data can also be simultaneously recorded to an SD card in-camera, helping to provide efficient post-production operations," Canon said. Unfortunately, it uses micro HDMI rather than a full-sized port — not ideal for a dedicated cinema camera. 
  
  Unlike the R5, however, the R5C doesn9t have in-body stabilization — so any optical shake reduction for stills or video will only be available via supported lenses. However, the optical lens stabilization can work in concert with Canon9s electronic stabilization, with a 1.1x image crop.
  Canon
  There9s one other notable limitation. Because the EOS R5C uses the same LP-E6NH batteries as the R5, it doesn9t have enough power to operate the lens mount in certain video modes (8K and 5.9K above 30p and 2.9K Super 16 above 60fps). That means you lose autofocus at those settings on battery power only, though you can get it back by using external power from Canon9s PD-E1 USB power supply or its new DC coupler. 
  
  On the photography side, the full-frame 45-megapixel sensor is a big plus, as is the 20 fps shooting speed in electronic shutter mode (12 fps with the mechanical shutter). It uses Canon9s Dual Pixel autofocus system for both stills and video, along with eye/face detection and subject tracking, so it should offer the same excellent AF performance as the R5. When you flip the camera over to photo mode, all the menus and button settings change accordingly. 
  
  It comes with a 3.2-inch variable-angle flip out LCD monitor and 5.76 million-dot viewfinder, the same as the EOS R5. While you get Canon Log 3 for improved dynamic range, the superior Log 2 option found on other Canon cinema cameras isn9t available. Other features include dual card slots (one CFexpress and one SD UHS-II), animal eye detection (cats, dogs, or birds), vehicles detection, a multifunction shoe for microphones and other accessories, a timecode terminal for multi-cam shoots and a DC coupler to provide continuous power.
  
  The EOS R5C will arrive in March for $4,499, a $600 premium over the R5. It9s a pretty interesting model as it can do more than some Canon cinema camera models for a lot less money and is much smaller, to boot. At the same time, it might give photo/video hybrid shooters serious pause if they9re looking to buy Sony9s $6,500 A1 hybrid. 
  

• What’s New in Debian 11 “Bullseye”?
  Image
  Debian is a preferred choice of millions of Linux users for some of the most popular and powerful operating systems, like Ubuntu and its derivatives are based on Debian.
  Debian 11has finally been released, finally, after a long development work of two years. Bullseye – that’s the name given to this latest Debian Linux distro. So what are the updates and upgrades? In this article, let’s check out what’s new in Debian 11.
  Debian 11’s ArchitectureDebian supports a good range of hardware architectures. 
  Supported Architectures
  ARM EABI (armel) ARMv7 (EABI hard-float ABI and armhf) 64-bit ARM (arm64) 32-bit PC (i386) 64-bit PC (amd64) Little-endian MIPS (mipsel) 64-bit little-endian PowerPC 64-bit little-endian MIPS IBM System z (s390x)Not Supported Hardware
  Old MIPS 32-bit CPUsLinux Kernel InformationDebian 11 supports the Linux Kernel 5.10 LTS. Debian 10 Buster, the earlier version to Debian 11, used Linux Kernel 4.19 while released. A newer kernel means a new set of bug fixes, new hardware support, and improved performance.
  This is the perfect kernel for Debian bullseye considering the Debian lifecycle.   
  Supports exFATexFAT is the shortened form of the Extensible File Allocation Table. It’s a filesystem used for flash memory, such as SD cards and USB flash drives.
  Now Debian 11 provides support for the exFAT. For mounting the exFAT filesystem, you don’t need the filesystem-in-userspace implementation provided by the exfat-fuse package additionally anymore. Thanks to kernel 5.10! exFAT comes in handy with it. Tools for checking and creating an exFAT are given in the exfatprogs package.
  Bauhaus Movement Inspired Theme & WallpaperDebian features cool wallpapers and a default theme for each of the major releases. Debian 11’s theme is inspired by the Bauhaus movement. Bauhaus means “building house” and it was an art and design movement from 20th century Germany. The Bauhaus movement revolved around abstract, geometric style featuring little emotion or sentiments. 
  Its modern aesthetic still is immensely influential for designers, architects, and artists. You can see this theme all through Debian 11 whether it’s the installer, login window, or the Grub menu.
  Newer Desktop Environment VersionsDebian 11 offers newer desktop environment versions. Desktop flavors you get here are, KDE Plasma 5.20, GNOME 3.38, LXDE 11, LXQt 0.16, Xfce 4.16, and MATE 1.24. Debian prefers stability and it’s quite clear from the desktop environments. You might not get the latest cutting-edge distributions like Fedora or Arch/Manjaro.
  Updated PackagesDebian 11 consists of more than 11,294 new packages out of 59,551 packages. It also reduced over 9,519 “obsolete” packages and removed 42,821 that were updated. A total of 5,434 packages remained as they were.
  A good number of software applications and package updates are included in Debian bullseye, such as Apache 2.4.48, Calligra 3.2, Emacs 27.1, LibreOffice 7.0, Inkscape 1.0.2, Linux kernel 5.10 series, Perl 5.32, PHP 7.4, Vim 8.2, PostgreSQL 13, and the list goes on. All these ready-to-use software packages are built with over 30,000 source packages.
  With this huge selection of packages and wide architecture support, Debian has always stayed committed to its aim of being The Universal Operating System.
  Improved Printer and Scanner FeaturesDebian 11 presents a new ipp-usb package. It is built with a vendor-neutral IPP-over-USB protocol that is supported by many latest printers. So, many modern-day printers will be supported now by Debian. And you won’t need the drivers for that.
  SANE driverless backend lets you use scanners without any trouble.
  EndnotesWant to try Debian Bullseye? Get it from here. You can also check “bullseye” with Live Images without installing it on your PC. This will load and run the entire OS in read-only mode. These live images are available for the i386 and amd64 architectures in the form of USB sticks, DVDs, and netboot setups. Debian Live has a standard image. So you can try a basic Debian without any GUIs.
  And that’s the ending of this article. Hope you find our Debian 11 guide helpful.
  #Linux Debian News

• Nvidia Linux drivers causing random hard crashes and now a major security risk still not fixed after 5+ months
  Image The recent fiasco with Nvidia trying to block Hardware Unboxed from future GPU review samples for the content of their review is one example of how they choose to play this game. This hatred is not only shared by reviewers, but also developers and especially Linux users.
  The infamous Torvalds videos still traverse the web today as Nvidia conjures up another evil plan to suck up more of your money and market share. This is not just one off shoot case; oh how much I wish it was. I just want my computer to work.
  If anyone has used Sway-WM with an Nvidia GPU I’m sure they would remember the –my-next-gpu-wont-be-nvidia option.
  These are a few examples of many.
  The Nvidia Linux drivers have never been good but whatever has been happening at Nvidia for the past decade has to stop today. The topic in question today is this bug: [https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/bug-report-455-23-04-kernel-panic-due-to-null-pointer-dereference]
  This bug causes hard irrecoverable crashes from driver 440+. This issue is still happening 5+ months later with no end in sight. At first users could work around this by using an older DKMS driver along with a LTS kernel. However today this is no longer possible. Many distributions of Linux are now dropping the old kernels. DKMS cannot build. The users are now FORCED with this “choice”:
  {Use an older driver and risk security implications} or {“use” the new drivers that cause random irrecoverable crashes.}
  This issue is only going to get more and more prevalent as the kernel is a core dependency by definition. This is just another example of the implications of an unsafe older kernel causing issue for users: https://archlinux.org/news/moving-to-zstandard-images-by-default-on-mkinitcpio/
  If you use Linux or care about the implications of a GPU monopoly, consider AMD. Nvidia is already rearing its ugly head and AMD is actually putting up a fight this year.
  #Linux NVIDIA News

• MuseScore Created New Font in Memory of Original SCORE Program Creator
  Image
  MuseScore represents a free notation software for operating systems such as Windows, macOS and Linux. It is designed and suitable for music teachers, students & both amateur and professional composers. MuseScore is released as FOSS under the GNU GPL license and it’s accompanied by freemium MuseScore.com sheet music catalogue with mobile score viewer, playback app and an online score sharing platform. In 2018, the MuseScore company was acquired by Ultimate Guitar, which included full-time paid developers in the open source team. Since 2019 the MuseScore design team has been led by Martin Keary, known as blogger Tantacrul, who has consistently criticized composer software in connection with design and usability. From that moment on, a qualitative change was set in motion in MuseScore.
  
  Historically, the engraving quality in MuseScore has not been entirely satisfactory. After the review by Martin Keary, MuseScore product owner (previously known as MuseScore head of design) and Simon Smith, an engraving expert, who has produced multiple detailed reports on the engraving quality of MuseScore 3.5, it has become apparent that some key engraving issues should be resolved immediately.That would have a significant impact on the overall quality of our scores. Therefore, these changes will considerably improve the quality of scores published in the sheet music catalog, MuseScore.com.
  
  The MuseScore 3.6 was called 'engraving release,' which addressed many of the biggest issues affecting sheet music's layout and appearance and resulted from a massive collaboration between the community and internal team.
  
   
  
  Two of the most notable additions in this release are Leland, our new notation font and Edwin, our new typeface.
  
  Leland is a highly sophisticated notation style created by Martin Keary & Simon Smith. Leland aims to provide a classic notation style that feels 'just right' with a balanced, consistent weight and a finessed appearance that avoids overly stylized quirks.
  
  The new typeface, Edwin, is based on the New Century Schoolbook, which has long been the typeface of choice by some of the world's leading publishers, explicitly chosen as a complementary companion to Leland. We have also provided new default style settings (margins, line thickness, etc.) to compliment Leland and Edwin, which match conventions used by the world's leading publishing houses.
  
  “Then there's our new typeface, Edwin, which is an open license version of new Century Schoolbook - long a favourite of professional publishers, like Boosey and Hawkes. But since there is no music written yet, you'll be forgiven for missing the largest change of all: our new notation font: Leland, which is named after Leland Smith, the creator of a now abandoned application called SCORE, which was known for the amazing quality of its engraving. We have spent a lot of time finessing this font to be a world beater.”
  
  — Martin Keary, product owner of MuseScore
  
  Equally as important as the new notation style is the new vertical layout system. This is switched on by default for new scores and can be activated on older scores too. It is a tremendous improvement to how staves are vertically arranged and will save the composer’s work hours by significantly reducing his reliance on vertical spacers and manual adjustment.
  
  MuseScore 3.6 developers also created a system for automatically organizing the instruments on your score to conform with a range of common conventions (orchestral, marching band, etc.). Besides, newly created scores will also be accurately bracketed by default. A user can even specify soloists, which will be arranged and bracketed according to your chosen convention. These three new systems result from a collaboration between Simon Smith and the MuseScore community member, Niek van den Berg.
  
  MuseScore team has also greatly improved how the software displays the notation fonts: Emmentaler and Bravura, which more accurately match the original designers' intentions and have included a new jazz font called 'Petaluma' designed by Anthony Hughes at Steinberg.
  
  Lastly, MuseScore has made some beneficial improvements to the export process, including a new dialog containing lots of practical and time-saving settings. This work was implemented by one more community member, Casper Jeukendrup.
  
  The team's current plans are to improve the engraving capabilities of MuseScore, including substantial overhauls to the horizontal spacing and beaming systems. MuseScore 3.6 may be a massive step, although there is a great deal of work ahead.
  
  Links
  
  Official release notes: MuseScore 3.6
  
  Martin Keary’s video: “How I Designed a Free Music Font for 5 Million Musicians (MuseScore 3.6)”
  
  Official video: “MuseScore 3.6 - A Massive Engraving Overhaul!”
  
  Download MuseScore for free: MuseScore.org
  #Linux Music Software FOSS

• Virtual Machine Startup Shells Closes the Digital Divide One Cloud Computer at a Time
  Image Startup turns devices you probably already own - from smartphones and tablets to smart TVs and game consoles - into full-fledged computers.
  Shells (shells.com), a new entrant in the virtual machine and cloud computing space, is excited to launch their new product which gives new users the freedom to code and create on nearly any device with an internet connection.  Flexibility, ease, and competitive pricing are a focus for Shells which makes it easy for a user to start-up their own virtual cloud computer in minutes.  The company is also offering multiple Linux distros (and continuing to add more offerings) to ensure the user can have the computer that they “want” to have and are most comfortable with.
  
  The US-based startup Shells turns idle screens, including smart TVs, tablets, older or low-spec laptops, gaming consoles, smartphones, and more, into fully-functioning cloud computers. The company utilizes real computers, with Intel processors and top-of-the-line components, to send processing power into your device of choice. When a user accesses their Shell, they are essentially seeing the screen of the computer being hosted in the cloud - rather than relying on the processing power of the device they’re physically using.
  
  Shells was designed to run seamlessly on a number of devices that most users likely already own, as long as it can open an internet browser or run one of Shells’ dedicated applications for iOS or Android. Shells are always on and always up to date, ensuring speed and security while avoiding the need to constantly upgrade or buy new hardware.
  
  Shells offers four tiers (Lite, Basic, Plus, and Pro) catering to casual users and professionals alike. Shells Pro targets the latter, and offers a quad-core virtual CPU, 8GB of RAM, 160GB of storage, and unlimited access and bandwidth which is a great option for software engineers, music producers, video editors, and other digital creatives.
  
  Using your Shell for testing eliminates the worry associated with tasks or software that could potentially break the development environment on your main computer or laptop. Because Shells are running round the clock, users can compile on any device without overheating - and allow large compile jobs to complete in the background or overnight. Shells also enables snapshots, so a user can revert their system to a previous date or time. In the event of a major error, simply reinstall your operating system in seconds.
  
  “What Dropbox did for cloud storage, Shells endeavors to accomplish for cloud computing at large,” says CEO Alex Lee. “Shells offers developers a one-stop shop for testing and deployment, on any device that can connect to the web. With the ability to use different operating systems, both Windows and Linux, developers can utilize their favorite IDE on the operating system they need. We also offer the added advantage of being able to utilize just about any device for that preferred IDE, giving devs a level of flexibility previously not available.”
  
  “Shells is hyper focused on closing the digital divide as it relates to fair and equal access to computers - an issue that has been unfortunately exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic,” Lee continues. “We see Shells as more than just a cloud computing solution - it’s leveling the playing field for anyone interested in coding, regardless of whether they have a high-end computer at home or not.”
  
  Follow Shells for more information on service availability, new features, and the future of “bring your own device” cloud computing:
  
  Website: https://www.shells.com
  
  Twitter: @shellsdotcom
  
  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shellsdotcom
  
  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shellscom
  #virtual-machine #cloud-computing #Shells

• Ubuntu 20.10 “Groovy Gorilla” Arrives With Linux 5.8, GNOME 3.38, Raspberry Pi 4 Support
  Article Images Image
  Just two days ago, Ubuntu marked the 16th anniversary of its first ever release, Ubuntu 4.10 “Warty Warthog,” which showed Linux could be a more user friendly operating system.
  
  Back to now, after the six months of development cycle and the release of the current long-term Ubuntu 20.04 “Focal Fossa,” Canonical has announced a new version called Ubuntu 20.10 “Groovy Gorilla” along with its seven official flavor: Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Kylin, Xubuntu, Ubuntu Budgie, and Ubuntu Studio.
  
  Ubuntu 20.10 is a short term or non-LTS release, which means it will be supported for 9 months until July 2021. Though v20.10 does not seem a major release, it does come with a lot of exciting and new features. So, let’s see what Ubuntu 20.10 “Groovy Gorilla” has to offer:
  New Features in Ubuntu 20.10 “Groovy Gorilla”
  
  Ubuntu desktop for Raspberry Pi 4
  Starting with one of the most important enhancements, Ubuntu 20.10 has become the first Ubuntu release to feature desktop images for the Raspberry Pi 4. Yes, you can now download and run Ubuntu 20.10 desktop on your Raspberry Pi models with at least 4GB of RAM.
  
  Even both Server and Desktop images also support the new Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4. The 20.10 images may still boot on earlier models, but new Desktop images only built for the arm64 architecture and officially only support the Pi 4 variant with 4GB or 8GB RAM.
  Linux Kernel 5.8
  
  
  Upgrading the previous Linux kernel 5.4, the latest Ubuntu 20.10 ships the new Linux kernel 5.8, which is dubbed��“the biggest release of all time” by Linus Torvalds as it contains the highest number of over 17595 commits.
  
  So it’s obvious that Linux 5.8 brings numerous updates, new features, and hardware support. For instance, Kernel Event Notification Mechanism, Intel Tiger Lake Thunderbolt support, extended IPv6 Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) support, Inline Encryption hardware support, Thunderbolt support for Intel Tiger Lake and non-x86 systems, and initial support for booting POWER10 processors.
  GNOME 3.38 Desktop Environment
  
  
  Another key change that Ubuntu 20.10 includes is the latest version of GNOME desktop environment, which enhances the visual appearance, performance, and user experience of Ubuntu.
  
  One of my favorite features that GNOME 3.38 introduces is a much-needed separate “Restart” button in the System menu.
  
  
  
  Among other enhancements, GNOME 3.38 also includes:
  Better multi-monitor support Revamped GNOME Screenshot app Customizable App Grid with no “Frequent Apps” tab Battery percentage indicator New Welcome Tour app written in Rust Core GNOME apps improvementsShare Wi-Fi hotspot Via QR Code
  
  
  If you’re the person who wants to share the system’s Internet with other devices wirelessly, this feature of sharing Wi-Fi hotspot through QR code will definitely please you.
  
  Thanks to GNOME 3.38, you can now turn your Linux system into a portable Wi-Fi hotspot by sharing QR code with the devices like laptops, tablets, and mobiles.
  Add events in GNOME Calendar app
  
  
  Forget to remember the events? A pre-installed GNOME Calendar app now lets you add new events (birthday, meetings, reminders, releases), which displays in the message tray. Instead of adding new events manually, you can also sync your events from Google, Microsoft, or Nextcloud calendars after adding online accounts from the settings.
  Active Directory Support
  
  
  In the Ubiquity installer, Ubuntu 20.10 has also added an optional feature to enable Active Directory (AD) integration. If you check the option, you’ll be directed to configure the AD by giving information about the domain, administrator, and password.
  
  
  Tools and Software upgrade
  
  
  Ubuntu 20.10 also features the updated tools, software, and subsystems to their new versions. This includes:
  glibc 2.32, GCC 10, LLVM 11 OpenJDK 11 rustc 1.41 Python 3.8.6, Ruby 2.7.0, PHP 7.4.9 perl 5.30 golang 1.13 Firefox 81 LibreOffice 7.0.2 Thunderbird 78.3.2 BlueZ 5.55 NetworkManager 1.26.2Other enhancements to Ubuntu 20.10:Nftables replaces iptables as default backend for the firewall Better support for fingerprint login Cloud images with KVM kernels boot without an initramfs by default Snap pre-seeding optimizations for boot time improvements
  A full release notes of Ubuntu 20.10 is also available to read right from here.
  How To Download Or Upgrade To Ubuntu 20.10
  If you’re looking for a fresh installation of Ubuntu 20.10, download the ISO image available for several platforms such as Desktop, Server, Cloud, and IoT.
  
  But if you’re already using the previous version of Ubuntu, you can also easily upgrade your system to the Ubuntu 20.10. For upgrading, you must be using Ubuntu 20.04 LTS as you cannot directly reach 20.10 from 19.10, 19.04, 18.10, 18.04, 17.04, or 16.04. You should first hop on to v20.04 and then to the latest v20.10.
  
  As Ubuntu 20.10 is a non-LTS version and by design, Ubuntu only notifies a new LTS release, you need to upgrade manually by either choosing a GUI method using the built-in Software Updater tool or a command line method using the terminal.
  
  For command line method, open terminal and run the following commands:
  
  sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
  
  sudo do-release-upgrade -d -m desktop
  
  Or else, if you’re not a terminal-centric person, here’s an official upgrade guide using a GUI Software Updater.
  
  Enjoy Groovy Gorilla!
  Ubuntu Groovy Gorilla GNOME GNOME 3.0 Raspberry Pi kernel

• Linux Mint 20.1 “Ulyssa” Will Arrive In Mid-December With Chromium, WebApp Manager
  Article Images Image
  As the Linux Mint team is progressing to release the first point version of Linux Mint 20 series, its founder and project leader Clement Lefebvre has finally revealed the codename for Linux Mint 20.1 as “Ulyssa”. He has also announced that Mint 20.1 will most probably arrive in mid-December (just before Christmas).
  
  Until you wait for its beta release to test Linux Mint 20.1, Clement has also shared some great news regarding the new updates and features that you’ll get in Mint 20.1.
  
  First, packaging of open source Chromium web browser and its updates directly through the official Mint repositories. As the team noticed delays between the official release and the version available in Linux distros, it has now decided to set up their own packaging and build Chromium package based on upstream code, along with some patches from Debian and Ubuntu as well.
  
  As a result, the first test build of Chromium is available to download from here.
  
  In last month's blog, the Mint team introduced a new WebApp Manager, inspired by Peppermint OS and its SSB (Site Specific Browser) application manager, ICE. It is a WebApp management system that will debut in Linux Mint 20.1 to turn a website into a standalone desktop application.
  
  However, the Debian package of WebApp Manager v1.0.5 is now available to download, which comes with UI improvements, bug fixes and better translations for languages.
  
   
  
   
  
  Another feature that you’ll be thrilled to see in Linux Mint 20.1 is the hardware video acceleration enabled by default in the Celluloid video player. Obviously, hardware-accelerated players will bring smoother playback, better performance and reduced CPU usage.
  
   
  
   
  
  Besides the confirmed features, the Linux Mint team is also looking for feedback on a side-project by Stephen Collins, “Sticky notes.” It is a note-taking app, which is still in Alpha stage. But if all goes well, who knows, you’ll see Sticky notes app in the upcoming Linux Mint.
  
   
  
   
  
  The Linux Mint team has also asked for opinion on IPTV (Internet Protocol Television). If you use M3U IPTV on your phone, tablet or smart TV, you can let them know. The team seems interested to develop an IPTV solution for Linux desktop as a side project if the audience is small or turn it into an official Linux Mint project, if demand is good enough.
  Linux Mint

• Newest IPFire Release Includes Security Fixes and Additional Hardware Support (IPFire 2.25 - Core Update 147)
  Image
  Michael Tremer, maintainer of the IPFire project, announced IPFire 2.25 Core Update 147 today. This is the newest IPFire release since Core Update 146 on June 29th.
  
  IPFire 2.25 Core Update 147 includes some important security updates including a newer version of Squid web proxy that has patched recent vulnerabilities.
  
  Beyond security updates, IPFire 2.25 Core Update 147 adds support for additional hardware, as well as enhancing support for existing hardware because the new release ships with version 20200519 of the Linux firmware package.
  
  IPFire 2.25 Core Update 147 also rectified a recurring issue relating to forwarding GRE connections.
  
  In addition, the update improved IPFire on AWS configurations.
  
  IPFire 2.25 Core Update 147 includes these updated packages: bind 9.11.20, dhcpcd 9.1.2, GnuTLS 3.6.14, gmp 6.2.0, iproute2 5.7.0, libassuan 2.5.3, libgcrypt 1.8.5, libgpg-error 1.38, OpenSSH 8.3p1, squidguard 1.6.0.
  
  You can download IPFire 2.25 Core Update 147 here.
  Releases

• Linux Mint 19.2 "Tina" Cinnamon Now Available, IBM Has Transformed Its Software to Be Cloud-Native and Run on Any Cloud with Red Hat OpenShift, Icinga Web 2.7.0 Released, Google Rolling Out Android Auto Design Updates and Kernel 5.1 Reaches End of Life
  
  News briefs for August 2, 2019.
  
  Linux Mint 19.2 "Tina" Cinnamonwas officially released today. This is a long-term support release that will be supported until 2023, and it brings updated software and many improvements. Go here toread about all the new features.
  
  IBM yesterday announced it has transformed its software to be cloud-nativeand run on any cloud with Red Hat OpenShift. From the announcement:"Enterprises can now build mission-critical applications once and run themon all leading public clouds, including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google CloudPlatform, Alibaba and IBM Cloud and on private clouds.The new cloud-native capabilities will be delivered as pre-integratedsolutions called IBM Cloud Paks." IBM also announced Red Hat OpenShift onIBM Cloud, RedHat OpenShift on IBM Z and LinuxOne, and consulting andtechnology services for Red Hat.
  
  Icinga Web 2.7.0was released this week. Improvements include Japanese andUkranian language support, bonus functionality for Modules, an enhanced UIand much more. You can get the official packages from packages.icinga.com.
  
  Google begins rolling out new Android Auto design updates. ZDNetreports that "the new Android Auto starts playing media and Google Mapsas soon as the car starts. Maps will also show suggested locations. If aroute has already been planned on a phone, Android Auto automatically addsthe directions and displays routing information....Android Auto now also canuse widescreen displays to give extra space for step-by-step navigation,media playback, and call controls. Changes to improve visibility includeeasier-to-read fonts and a new dark mode.Overall, the design changes are meant to get users on the road faster andallow easier management of apps with fewer taps."
  
  Greg Kroah-Hartman recentlyannounced that Linux kernel 5.1 has reached endof life: "Everyone should bemoved to the 5.2.y kernel at this point in time. 5.1.y is nowend-of-life."
  Linux Mint IBM Cloud cloud native Red Hat OpenShift Icinga Google Android kernel

• Canonical Announces the Availability of Xibo as a Snap, Chrome 76 Released, Viruses Discovered in LibreOffice, Pop!_OS 18.10 Reaches End of Life, and Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security Warns of Microsoft Office Online Privacy Risks
  
  News briefs for August 1, 2019.
  
  Canonicalyesterday announced the availability of the Xibo open-source digital signageplatform as a snap. From the announcement: "Xibo provides acomprehensive suite of digital signage products, with its Content ManagementSystem (CMS) at the heart of this experience-led offering. Xibo for Linux iscompletely free and natively built for the Xibo CMS, which can be installedon servers or combined with Xibo cloud hosting."You can download the Xibo snap here.
  
  The Chrome team has promoted Chrome 76 to the stable channel for Windows,Mac and Linux. According to SoftpediaNews, "Highlights of the Chrome 76 releaseinclude Flash plugin blocked by default, Dark Mode support for websites,more improvements to the Payments API to allow merchant websites or web appsto respond when a user changes payment instruments, better support for PWAs(Progressive Web Apps), and the ability to control the 'Add to Home' screenmini-infobar."
  
  Silent macro viruses have been discovered in LibreOffice. TheRegister reports that there's an "issue where documents can beconfigured to run macros silently on opening". The vulnerability wasreported by Nils Emmerich and assignedCVE-2019-9848. According to The Register, "It appearsthat the supposedly fixed 6.2.5 is still vulnerable—confirmed by us."There is an updated bugreport here. To fix it, "disable LibreLogo immediately if it is present and enabled in your build of LibreOffice."
  
  System76announces that Pop!_OS 18.10 has reached end of life and will no longerreceive security updates. To keep your system secure and up to date, upgradeyour OS to version 19.04.
  
  Due to security and privacy risks, the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security is warning governmentinstitutions not to use Microsoft Office online or mobile apps. According toTheRegister, "A report from PrivacyCompany, which was commissioned by theministry, found that Office Online and the Office mobile apps should bebanned from government work. The report found the apps were not incompliance with a set of privacy measures Redmond has agreed to with theDutch government."
  News Canonical Xibo Snap Chrome LibreOffice Security System76 Pop!_OS Microsoft Privacy

• Collabora Announces xrdesktop, Blender 2.8 Released, Arduino Selects Auth0 as Its Identity Management Platform of Choice, Microway Showcasing Its Data Science WhisperStation at PEARC19 and KDE Plasma Maintenance Update
  
  News briefs for July 31, 2019.
  
  Collaborayesterday announced xrdesktop. This new open-source project"enables interaction with traditional desktopenvironments, such as GNOME and KDE, in VR. Sponsored by Valve, xrdesktopmakes window managers aware of VR and is able to use VR runtimes to renderdesktop windows in 3D space, with the ability of manipulating them with VRcontrollers and generating mouse and keyboard input from VR." See the wikifor instructions on how to install xrdesktop.
  
  Blender 2.80 hasbeen released. This new version "features a redesigned userinterface that puts the focus on the artwork that you create. A new darktheme and modern icon set were introduced. Keyboard, mouse and tabletinteraction got a refresh with left click select as the new default. QuickFavorites menus provide rapid access to often-used tools." See the ReleaseNotes for details.
  
  Auth0 announces Arduino has selected Auth0 as its identity managementplatform of choice. Auth0 will be replacing Arduino's own Single Sign Onsolution for all of its public-facing web properties. From the announcment:"Arduino discovered its homegrown authentication solution would not scale tomeet the rapidly developing needs of its growing global community, andreached out to Auth0. In addition to Single Sign On, Arduino will takeadvantage of Auth0's new Universal Login, which enables developers tocompletely customise their branded authentication experiences quickly, andDevice Flow for browserless or input-constrained devices."
  
  Microway is showcasing its Data Science WhisperStation, a UniqueUltra-Quiet NVIDIA Data Science Workstation, at PEARC19 in Chicago this week(ending on August 1st). From the press release: "Up to 10 times faster thanCPU solutions from data preparation to result, the Data ScienceWhisperStation helps data scientists, analysts, and engineers transformmassive datasets into insights in less time." You can learn more about PEARChere, and more about the DataScience WhispterStation here.
  
  KDE released the fourth maintenance update to the latest KDE Plasma 5.16desktop environment. The release adds three weeks' worth of newtranslations and a few bug fixes, which are small but important. See the fullchangelog for details.
  News Collabora xrdesktop VR Valve Desktop Blender Arduino Auth0 Security Microway Big Data Hardware KDE Plasma