Librem 5 Gyro and Ambient Light Sensor Progress

The software stack around sensors is coming together piece by piece. It will take longer for features like auto-rotate to start working, but the raw data is there and ready to be used by PureOS and software developers.

USB armory Mk II: A secure computer on a USB stick featuring open source hardware design

The hardware security professionals at F-Secure have created a new version of the USB armory – a computer on a USB stick built from the ground up to be secure.

SB Servo is a powerful open source digital serial servo motor

SB Servo motors have been created to offer affordable, powerful and open-source digital servo motors with Torque, Speed, Position Feedback and full 360-degree rotation mode. Early bird pricing starts from £10 and deliveries are expected to start next month during March 2020.

OSMC Skin update

While we usually release a single monthly update, we've made a number of improvements to the OSMC skin and would like to get these changes out as promptly as possible for feedback. [...] To get the latest and greatest version of OSMC, simply head to My OSMC -> Updater and check for updates manually on your exising OSMC set up. Of course — if you have updates scheduled automatically you should receive an update notification shortly. If you enjoy OSMC, please follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and consider making a donation if you would like to support further development. You may also wish to check out our Store, which offers a wide variety of high quality products which will help you get the best of OSMC.

Data Doctors: Is the Brave browser safe to use?

If you’re like most users, you spend more time using a browser than any other program on your computer or smartphone. You probably don’t think about what browser you’re using; the focus is on getting to a website, not what got you there. Google Chrome is by far the most popular browser, but because it’s a Google product integrated with all their tracking and advertising networks, a lot of people are looking for an alternative.

Here’s how to know if the Brave browser is safe to use

A: If you’re like most users, you spend more time using a browser than any other program on your computer or smartphone. You probably don’t think about what browser you’re using as the focus is on getting to a website and not what got you there. Google’s Chrome is by far the most popular browser, but because it’s a Google product integrated with all their tracking and advertising networks, a lot of people are looking for an alternative.

Netflix Now Exploring AVIF For Image Compression

Following Netflix's AV1 adoption with collaborating with Intel on the SVT-AV1 encoder, now using AV1 streaming for Android users, and others around this advanced royalty-free video codec, Netflix is now exploring AVIF as their next-gen image format. [...] Netflix acknowledges the significant need for next-gen image coding that has better compression efficiency and more features than JPEG. Netflix believes AVIF has the potential albeit they aren't yet ready to transition to AVIF today. In their testing they are finding good results out of AVIF compared to JPEG and other image formats. For those wanting to go through a long and interesting technical read, on the Netflix Tech Blog they have example screenshots and results comparing their AVIF results to other formats.

Netflix begins streaming AV1 content on its Android mobile app

Netflix today announced that it is beginning to stream videos compressed using the AV1 codec, on its Android mobile app. AV1 is a next-generation, royalty-free video codec that provides compression efficiency that is improved by 20%. This codec, developed to replace VP9, was built by the Alliance for Open Media, of which Netflix, Google, Amazon Prime Video, and more big-name content providers are a part of.

Best open source cloud-storage services

Worried about storing your private files with data-hungry tech giants such as Google and Microsoft? Here are three open source alternatives

New Open-Source Software SHARPy Launched

The Aeroelastics Research Group has launched an open-source software tool – SHARPy The tool offers dynamic simulation for everything from wind turbines to solar-powered aircraft. SHARPy (which stands for Simulation of High-Aspect Ratio aeroplanes in Python) is a dynamic aeroelasticity simulation package. It offers structural, aerodynamic and coupled aeroelastic/flight dynamics analysis, and has particular application for low-speed and very flexible aircraft, and for wind turbines.

Iowa Caucus App Fiasco Shows Need for Open Source Transparency

The Iowa caucuses were thrown into disarray as reports surfaced an opaque app used to tabulate the results and report them to Democratic Party officials was reporting only part of the required data. Although the app had been developed to improve efficiency in communicating the final caucus tallies, it ended up causing significant delays. According to security experts, the incident served to highlight the risks of relying on digital systems and the centralization of information, and a lack of transparency regarding these systems.

How to Vet the Engineering Chops of Your Software Vendors

After witnessing the debacle in Iowa, campaign decision-makers across the country are wondering just how good is the engineering behind the software they purchase for their campaigns? And for good reason: the stakes couldn’t be higher.

SD Times Open-Source Project of the Week: OWASP SAMM

The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) has announced version 2 of the Software Assurance Maturity Model (SAMM). SAMM is an open-source framework that enables teams and developers to assess, formulate and implement better security strategies that can be integrated into the software development life cycle.

Austin Alexander Burridge of Rosemount Compares Open-Source and Proprietary Software Security

When open-source software developers are made aware of a specific security vulnerability or bug in their software products, they often publish the vulnerability to the community. If there's a developer who wants to offer a fix, he can build one and publish it as a particular version. If there's no funding to develop an upgrade, an IT professional is still aware of the problem so that he can create a custom workaround for his company's unique system until an updated version of the software becomes available.

Robust security crucial for adoption of open source

New Delhi [India], Feb 11 (ANI/NewsVoir): While speaking at the inaugural session of the "3rd Open Source Summit 2020" recently in New Delhi, Vivek Banzal, Director (CFA), Bharat Sachar Nigam Limited (BSNL) said that it is a challenge to keep pace with the technology, more so when security of data has to be quite robust. [...] "The Government of India has encouraged the adoption of this technology in the Digital India initiative and this has further encouraged the CIO's of enterprises and other government organizations to make a move towards Open source technology. The rise of digital transformation in India has pushed the adoption of open source both by enterprises and government," said Sunil Kumar, Deputy Director-General, National Informatics Centre (NIC), while commenting on the adoption of Open source by the Government to India.

Leaders share how agencies bring agility into application development

Additionally, tapping into open source development communities allows them to overcome some of chronic IT skills gaps many agencies continue to face. [...] Open source is being used both in civilian and defense agencies. Even though open source code is used for unclassified applications, it does not mean it’s unsecure, assures Michael Kanaan, co-chair of artificial intelligence and machine learning for the U.S. Air Force.

The Top 13 Free and Open Source RPA Tools

Searching for Robotic Process Automation (RPA) software can be a daunting (and expensive) process, one that requires long hours of research and deep pockets. The most popular RPA tools often provide more than what’s necessary for non-enterprise organizations, with advanced functionality relevant to only the most technically savvy users. Thankfully, there are a number of free and open source RPA tools out there. Some of these solutions are offered by vendors looking to eventually sell you on their enterprise product, and others are maintained and operated by a community of developers looking to democratize robotic process automation. In this article, we will examine free and open source RPA tools, first by providing a brief overview of what to expect and also with short blurbs of the options currently available in the space. This is the most complete and up-to-date directory on the web.

The Two Faces of Open Source: ECT News Roundtable, Episode 5

The open source software movement has evolved dramatically over the past two decades. Many businesses that once considered open source a threat now recognize its value. On the other hand, in spite of increased enthusiasm among enterprises, consumer interest by and large has not materialized. With large companies increasingly embracing open source, what does it mean to be a part of the free and open source software, or FOSS, "community"?

Pimcore’s free, open source digital experience platform - a rock tossed into the CX pond?

The retail and eCommerce landscapes have changed dramatically over the past decade as customer experience has risen to the forefront of enterprise marketing priorities. Marketers have turned their focus away from price as the key driver of sales to their ability to deliver the most convenient, streamlined and personalized experiences across channels whether online, in-store, or on mobile phones. [...] Their solution Pimcore, introduced in 2013, is a free open source software platform for managing digital data and customer experiences for any channel, device, or industry.

Chef Serves Up Partner Program to Push Open DevOps Model

Aims to help channel sell 100% open-source portfolio

Chef Introduces New Global Partner Program Purpose-Built for 100 Percent Open Source Software

Chef, the leader in DevOps, today announced a new channel program specifically designed to ensure that partners and customers are able to take maximum advantage of Chef’s 100 percent open source business model. The Chef Partner Program (CPP) creates three tiers of partners -- Principal, Senior and Junior -- with the highest benefits and incentives applied to those who drive the strongest results for themselves and their mutual enterprise customers using Chef Enterprise Automation Stack.

CableLabs, Altran team to take open source to the edge

Altran and CableLabs have teamed up on "Project Adrenaline," an open source initiative that aims to help the cable industry build and manage edge networks and smooth the path for apps that can run on them. And while Adrenaline is initially focused on cable, the broader aim is to apply the resulting open source platform to multiple industries while still staying aligned with Kubernetes.

Building even more of LibreOffice with Meson, now with graphics

Note that this contains only the main deliverables, i.e. the shared libraries and executables. Unit tests and the like are not converted apart from a few sample tests. It was mentioned in an earlier blog post that platform abstraction layers are the trickiest ones to build. This turns out to be the case here also. LO has at least three such frameworks (depending on how you count them). SAL is the very basic layer, UNO is a component model used to, for example, expose functionality to Java. Finally VCL is the GUI toolkit abstraction layer. Now that we have the GUI toolkit and its GTK plugin built we can build a VCL sample application and launch it. It looks like this:

XSS vulnerability patched in TinyMCE

A security update has been released for the popular open source text editor TinyMCE after a researcher discovered a a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability impacting three of its plugins.

Should You Opt For An Open-Source LMS [Ed: The proprietary software LMS vendors badmouthing Free software as if that means "no support" (which is exactly the opposite of what's true, the support of the lifeline of the developers)]

In the modern world, organizations are increasingly using learning management systems (LMS) for corporate training. However, with the availability of both open-source LMS and commercial LMS, choosing the more appropriate one for your organization can be challenging. Although leading open-source industry pioneers such as Moodle has dominated eLearning over the past few years, many organizations still prefer proprietary LMS over open-source LMS. In this article, we have assessed both these options and jotted down the factors you must consider before making a decision.

Open Source Community Responds to Rapid Adoption of Tech in Financial Services as FINOS Announces New Fintech Members

The companies include: EPAM Systems, Inc., a product development, digital platform engineering, and digital and product design agency; NearForm, an open source solutions design and delivery company; and CloudBees, a provider of DevOps solutions.

Finos welcomes new members

Finos (Fintech Open Source Foundation), a nonprofit whose mission is to foster adoption of open source, open standards, and collaborative software development practices in financial services, today announces the addition of three established fintechs to its already growing membership roster of prestigious financial institutions, technology companies and global consultancies.

Open source licence series - Cockroach Labs: Scaling a sustainable open source business model

Big cloud vendors have preyed upon open source R&D by providing open source software (OSS) software as-a-service to edge out small competitors. Combine that with the platform benefits of economies of scale and greater opportunities for integration… and you can see how the big cloud providers can drown open source startups. That said, companies eclipsing growth-stage and legacy companies looking to store mission-critical data in the cloud are becoming wary of big vendors not investing in their R&D.

Open source licence series - OpenStack Foundation: Protecting open source freedoms

Reduced to its essence, free and open source software is defining a set of freedoms, encoded into software licences. The Open Source Initiative (OSI) maintains an open source definition and a list of compatible licences, with the double goal of guaranteeing those essential freedoms and rights… and facilitating adoption by limiting licence proliferation.

Open source energy modelling tool shows how to decarbonise Australia

The future of Australia’s energy mix has spawned innumerable heated arguments over how to balance secure electricity supply with economic and environmental needs, prompting energy consultants ITP to launch an open source modelling tool to settle arguments and provide clarity. Inspired by similar open source models in Europe and North America, ITP launched the openCEM model as a free, transparent tool to cut through the complexity of Australia’s energy mix and how it can securely transition away from carbon. “ITP felt, as many have felt, that public discussions around renewables were fraught with many assumptions and made with few facts and little expertise,” ITP strategy group manager Oliver Woldring said. [..] Once openCEM is being used widely by policy makers and investors across Australia, ITP and ThoughtWorks aims to engage other markets across APAC and further afield, about creating tools to model uptakes of renewables into the grids of other countries.

Self-driving car dataset missing labels for pedestrians, cyclists

A popular self-driving car dataset for training machine-learning systems – one that’s used by thousands of students to build an open-source self-driving car – contains critical errors and omissions, including missing labels for hundreds of images of bicyclists and pedestrians. Machine learning models are only as good as the data on which they’re trained. But when researchers at Roboflow, a firm that writes boilerplate computer vision code, hand-checked the 15,000 images in Udacity Dataset 2, they found problems with 4,986 – that’s 33% – of those images.

New Project Eyes an Open Platform for Data From mHealth Wearables

A Massachusetts-based partnership aims to create a common workplace for healthcare providers and researchers using mHealth sensors in wearables and other devices. The Open Wearables Initiative (OWEAR), launched last September by Nextbridge Health, Shimmer Research and Dr. Vincent van Hees, announced that it is now “actively soliciting” open-source software and datasets from wearable sensors and other connected health technologies. The group wants to create a platform from which researchers and care providers can share digital health source codes and algorithms.

Monash Uni, Red Cross & Red Crescent team up on open-source video program

Monash University’s Faculty of Information Technology (IT), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) have announced that they have developed an innovative approach to empower communities around the world through development of a special video program. According to a joint statement from Monash, the Red Cross and Red Crescent some of the world’s most isolated and remote communities will now have the ability to share their stories and raise public awareness of the local issues they’re facing “through a unique open-source video program developed by Monash”.

Yelp Open Sources Fuzz-Lightyear IDOR Testing Framework

Hardware Bitcoin Node Provider Casa Open-sources its Software • CryptoMode

In the cryptocurrency world, very few people pay for something they can get for free otherwise. Casa, a Bitcoin startup focusing on hardware network node solutions, is open-sourcing its project entirely.

InterSystems Announces Enhanced Open Source Availability for InterSystems iKnow Technology

Open source availability enables existing InterSystems partners and customers, as well as other organizations and academics, to capitalize on the unique and unbiased bottom-up approach that delivers deeper insights with NLP provided by InterSystems iKnow.

Where top VCs are investing in open source and dev tools (Part 2 of 2)

Square Crypto's first employee talks open-source bitcoin development and small-team funding models

Sri Lanka- Mitra innovation becomes a WSO2 value-added reseller to deliver open source, API-First solutions

Sri Lanka- Softlogic Information Technologies together with Syntrex brings EDB Open Source Data Management Platform

Modernization of OSS/BSS with Open Source, Part 4: Transforming OSS/BSS from Monoliths to Cloud-Native Applications

Becoming a DSP requires modernizing operations support systems (OSS) and business support systems (BSS). CSPs must work closely with independent software vendors (ISVs) and systems integrators (SIs) to move current OSS/BSS solutions to the cloud-native, common, open-software technology base of the future.

TTC Foundation open-sourced its DeFi project ‘Tigris Protocol’

By releasing this open source, TTC Foundation expects to increase the interest on blockchain among the developer community. The source code, now accessible by the public, will empower the community to develop and launch high quality DeFi services - equivalent of the internet banking services on blockchain - with little to no efforts, It will provide more options to cryptocurrency holders to benefit from daily financial services such as staking rewards and collateralized debt.

Why I changed my open source project's license & started offering dual licensing

Codeplay Open Sources a Version of DPC++ for Nvidia GPUs

Writing software to run efficiently on today’s heterogeneous compute architectures is an ongoing challenge made increasingly difficult by the growing number of processor and accelerator choices. One effort to help mitigate the challenge is the high level programming model – SYCL – developed by the Khronos industry consortium. SYCL builds on OpenCL (Open Computing Language) and “enables code for heterogeneous processors to be written in a single-source style using completely standard C++.”

Deep learning in 3D with Facebook AI's new tool PyTorch3D

Facebook Open-Sources PyTorch3D CV Library

Although 3D computer vision is an increasingly important part of the computer vision research field, studies on 3D in deep learning have been limited by a lack of available tools and resources that can deal with the complexities involved in applying rich 3D data on neural networks. In a bid to simplify 3D deep learning and improve processing performance and efficiency, Facebook recently introduced an open-source framework for 3D computer vision. PyTorch3D is an efficient and reusable 3D computer vision library based on PyTorch that outperforms existing tools in many aspects of 3D modeling, rendering and other processing operations.

OCP Global Summit 2020 Drives Open Technology Adoption [Ed: Microsoft openwashing stunt; who needs source code anyway?]

A DevOps Kong Diary

While working at Zillow Group, I became part of implementing Kong in the Trulia DevOps group. I had never heard of Kong, but when my manager presented the project to me, I immediately said yes. Since it was a huge undertaking from which I wanted to retain my learnings, I decided to create a diary of my experience.

Enea Accelerates Migration of SD-WAN to uCPE with Open Source Evaluation Kit

KU Leuven in Belgium joins iRODS Consortium

iRODS is free open source software for data virtualization, data discovery, workflow automation, and secure collaboration used by research and business organizations around the globe. iRODS allows users to catalog all of their data and metadata into a unified namespace, and then automate their data management through an integrated rules engine.

Baidu releases open-source tool to detect faces without masks

Search giant Baidu has released an open-source tool to detect whether individuals in crowds are wearing face masks, as cities around the country impose rules requiring use of such protection in public spaces.

Baidu Open-Sources RNA Prediction Algorithm for 2019 Novel Coronavirus

In response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, China tech giant Baidu has open-sourced its RNA (Ribonucleic acid) prediction algorithm LinearFold. The tool can significantly accelerate the prediction time of a virus’s RNA secondary structure, affording frontline researchers an opportunity to better understand the virus and develop targeting vaccines in a time of crisis. Baidu’s AI scientists told Synced that they have already applied LinearFold to the 2019-nCoV, reducing prediction time from 55 minutes to 27 seconds. Knowledge of RNA secondary structures has become essential for researchers seeking to model RNA structures and gain insight into related functional mechanisms. However, current algorithms borrowed from computational linguistics and based on dynamic programming face a challenge: increases in RNA length cause their runtimes to scale in a cubic manner. This can seriously slow such algorithms when facing long RNA sequences and limit their use in genome-wide applications.

HPE Buys Scytale, Embraces Open Source Security

Auterion and Quantum-Systems Partner on Two New VTOL sUAS for US Defense and Security Markets

The partnership brings together best-in-class sUAS hardware with a secure, scalable, open source, operating system, Auterion OS. Auterion OS is currently employed on an ecosystem of sUAS from small multi-rotors to hybrid VTOL Group 2 air vehicles.

Microsoft open sources Outlook for iOS dark mode solution for iOS 11 and above [Ed: Disgusting openwashing of proprietary software Outlook (in effect Microsoft spyware) because the THEME ALONE has been dumped onto proprietary GitHub]

UBank releases open source accessibility kit on Github [Ed: UBank has put its code, for "accessibility", in a proprietary software trap and then it calls this “open”. This is not even ACCESSIBLE.]

UBank eyes accessibility for all with open source kit [Ed: This site serves blank pages]